Welcome to my blog!

Thanks so much for stopping by! I believe that everyone can have a beautiful home without spending a fortune! One of my favorite things to do is find creative ways to re-purpose things I already have on hand, or have picked up at yard sales and thrift stores. Join me as I share with you some of my favorite ideas for crafting and decorating, as well as travel adventures, and fun things that I pick up on my treasure hunts! Much of my work is influenced by my love all things French, nature, and of course shabby chic! I have gotten so many creative ideas from you very talented bloggers out there, and I hope that I can be an inspiration to you as well!

Saturday, November 11, 2017

Boat Tour on the River Seine

Bonjour, all!
Care to join me on a cruise of the River Seine in Paris?
Oui?  Then come aboard the Bateaux Parisienne for an early evening ride!
Hubby and I decided to spend our last night in Paris on this one hour tour.  We had taken the tour several times over the years, but it never grows old!  From the river, you get a totally different perspective of the city, and night time with the twinkling lights seems extra magical.
I didn't think to get a picture of the boat before we boarded, but I did snap this afterward.

My very favorite church, Notre Dame.  It looks quite different from the water!

One of the many bridges in Paris.

This is Muse d'Orsay.  It used to be a train station many years ago, but was converted to a huge museum.  It's full of beautiful impressionistic art, including my favorite, Claude Monet. 
Below is  the Conciergerie.
I just love the turrets.  Behind the beautiful walls, it was a prison during the French Revolution.  Marie Antoinette was imprisoned here before she met her fate.


Sorry, I have some of the pictures out of order.  You can see now it is getting a bit darker.  Here we are about to go beneath a bridge.  I just love the way the lights shimmer on the water, and the way the bridge is illuminated.

Sigh!!!  I miss it already!
A not so great pic of moi.
The millions of twinkly lights on the Eiffel Tower hadn't been turned on yet.
Oooh, la, la!
It is such a romantic city, even more so in the evening, I think.
Now we are approaching my favorite bridge, the Ponte Alexandre III.
Coming back toward Notre Dame, where our boat ride began.
Well that concludes our tour:)
Thanks so much for joining me!

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

More Adventures in Paris

Bonjour, All!
Care to join me for a little tour of the City of Lights?
Ok, let's start out at Luxembourg Gardens.
We visited the gardens last Sunday, and the weather couldn't have been nicer!
Paris is a very busy city, so it's always a treat to take a little break in one of the many gardens thru out the city.  Some are very tiny,  but I think this one must be the largest.  It's huge! My photos show only a small portion of it.
Speaking of huge, check out the amazing palace!
It was built in the early 17th century for King Henry's wife, but is now a government building.
Can you imagine living there?

 We'd never been to Paris in October before, so I was pleasantly surprised to see so many flowers still in bloom!
 There is a small lake in front of the palace, and children can rent little toy sail boats.  We had so much fun watching the kids get all excited over their boats!
 If you look closely below at the little "house" in the center of the lake, you will see resident mallard ducks!
 Each boat had the flag of a different country, so I just had to snap this one of the US!
 Ok, moving on............
We love visiting the beautiful old  churches of Paris.  
This one is called Saint Etienne.
It took over 125 years to build, and was started at the end of the 15th century.

 Of course my pictures just don't do it justice.
Look at that huge pipe organ!
 And of course I just had to share a few more pics of the gorgeous blooms you'll see at the many flower markets and shops thru out the city.
 Well that's it for today. Thanks so much for joining me on my little tour!
If you aren't sick of my trip photos, stop back in next time when I share the pics I snapped on our night time boat tour on the River Seine!

Au Revoir!

Thursday, October 19, 2017

Bonjour From Paris!

Bonjour everyone!
Hubby and I just returned from Paris, our very favorite city in the world!  We spent 5 nights there, and had so much fun exploring the city, and also just relaxing.  We took so many pictures, I'll share some today and more over the next few posts.

I'll try and let the photos do most of the talking if I can!
We really lucked out with the weather.  It was in the mid 70's and even 78 degrees on our last day, sunny and no rain.  It was unusually warm for them this time of year. We were told that the previous week was cold and rainy, so we are glad we went when we did!
Below is our hotel, where we always stay when we visit.  The lower portion was recently painted gray, but it used to be bright red which we liked better.

 Look closely and you will see my hubby goofing off on our balcony!
We really loved sitting out there enjoying a glass of wine and a snack, or just people watching.
 Here is the view looking to the east from our room.
I miss it already!
 Below you will see Pont Alexander III, my very favorite bridge.

 That's me!
 We love visiting the beautiful old churches thru out the city.  When I say old, I mean hundreds of years old!  There is so much history it is amazing.  This is Sainte-Chapelle, dating from the 13th century.
 It's considered the most beautiful church in all of Paris. The stained glass windows are amazing!


 Wow!
 I always have to snap lots of pictures of flowers when in Paris.  There are tons of flower shops and markets all thru the city.
 I thought the little bouquets of pansies were so sweet!
Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you visit again soon, as I'll be sharing more photos in the coming days!
Au revoir!

Tuesday, October 3, 2017

I love Blue!

Hi everyone,
I was about to write this post yesterday, but my heart just wasn't in it, after learning of the horrible events in Las Vegas.
To say that it's shocking is an understatement.  My heart is heavy for those who were lost or injured, and everyone else there.
Praying that they find peace in the days ahead.

I'd planted morning glories up a wire trellis this summer, and had been disappointed that it never bloomed. Well, it's now making up for lost time!  The vine has been blooming its heart out for the past two weeks!
I just can't get over how blue those blossoms are!  Not many flowers that I know of are a true blue like this.
 Of course my pictures don't do justice to how pretty the vine is!
 Some days it even blooms thru the early evening, which I've never seen it do before!

 Here's one last close up.
 Below you'll see Natasha, my mannequin, modeling a necklace that I just made for myself.
I'd been wanting to make a really long one, and had fun putting this together with beads and findings that I already had on hand.
 I happened to find the pretty vintage bronze pendant in a box of odds and ends beads that I'd bought at a yard sale years ago.
 The other necklace is actually a rosary.  I'm not Catholic, but I've always loved the look of pretty rosaries.  This one is Joan of Arc.
Love the blue beads!
Can you tell blue is my favorite color?
 Behind Natasha are some of the chalk painted jewelry boxes, and other goodies that I've created for my Etsy shop.
 Here's one of the latest boxes that I transformed.
I had so much fun doing this, and of course forgot to take a "before" shot.  It was pretty boring and a walnut finished wood.
Not the look I was going for!
So after light blue chalk paint, and some pretty stenciling,
this jewelry box looks much happier!

 Another transformation for my shop is this pretty fan shaped framed chalkboard.
So shabby cottage chic, I think!
Well that's it for today.
Wishing you a day of peace.
Be sure to tell the ones you love just how much they mean to you.
Thanks for visiting:)

Tuesday, September 19, 2017

A Little Bit of This and That

Hi everyone!
Hope you are having a good fall so far.
Today I thought I'd share a few more photos from our trip to Austria, as well as show you some of my latest creations.

Before I go any further, I would like to mention those who have been hit by such terrible hurricanes as of late.  Keeping them in our thoughts and prayers, and remembering that they will need help for the long hail.   I just feel sad for those who have lost so much.

Ok, back to my little photo tour..........
One of the highlights of our trip was taking a tram ride to the top of the Untersberg alps.
Below is hubby about to board.
The view going up.........


 And up!
Now, I am not crazy about heights, but as long as I'm in an enclosed space, I am ok!


 The views were just amazing!  And my pictures just don't do it justice!
Notice me, below, not too close to the edge!

 At the very top was a charming little cafe.  I felt like Shirley Temple, playing Heidi should be popping out any minute!
We stopped for a glass of wine and beer, and just soaked up the incredible views.
 Wow, this is my idea of heaven on earth!!
 This huge iron cross was at the top of one of the peaks. Thought is was so neat.
 Notice all of the pretty alpine flowers? I was amazed how they could not only thrive at such a high elevation, but grow out of the rocks as well!
 Here's me, hanging on for dear life!  hahaha!

It truly was a day that I'll never forget!


I'll share more trip photos in a future post.

Now on to a peek at what I've been up to!
I've been busy working on creations to add to my Etsy shop, and am currently having a 20% off everything 
(with purchases of $25 or more) sale.  The discount will be automatically deducted, there is no need for coupon codes.
I fell in love with these neat galvanized metal canisters when I found them, and quickly snatched them up!
I gave them a French twist by adding these neat French labels to them. Love the graphics!
 Love this fun stenciled wood tote!
 This vintage Syroco mirror was transformed with a little paint and tlc.
It is even more gorgeous in person!

I love finding trays to make over, and had so much fun with this one.  I just love the bon appetit graphic that I hand stenciled on it!
You can find these, and many more treasures in my shop if you care to take a look!
That's it for today.
Thanks so much for stopping by, your visits and comments mean alot to me!
Have a great rest of the week!