We're Paris Bound!

Bon jour, Mes Amis!

Guess what?  This week hubby and I are headed to our very favorite city in the world, Paris!  

I have a "big" birthday coming up next week 

(I won't tell you which one it is, but it is quite the milestone!  Yikes, where on earth did the time go?)

and rather than having a party, I told hubby that I wanted to be climbing this on my big day:

 We'll be hanging out here:

 Shopping at our favorite markets..............

 Eating lots of this:

 Spending lots of time at sidewalk cafes.........

 Eating lots of this.........

 And visiting favorite cathedrals.

We always fly standby (hubby is retired from the airlines), so keeping our fingers crossed that we make it on our flights!

I will be sure to take lots of pictures to share with you when we return!

Au revoir!

Demi Johns and Thrifting Finds

Bon jour, Mes Amis!

It's such a beautiful day here at the chateau. Sunny, mild temps and no humidity! Sure wish we had more days like this!

Today I thought I'd share with you a few fun finds that I discovered at a church rummage sale yesterday.  This particular sale happens every year, and is worth getting up early for!  Most church rummage sales around here are mainly just a bunch of junk!  And often so overpriced!  But this sale has tons of goodies, and great prices, too!

I was super excited to find this adorable little vintage demi john!  At only a quarter, I just had to bring it home with me!  The cork was broken in two, so I removed it and will replace it with a new one.

Love it!

 I created a little vignette on our kitchen counter, along with the white wine basket carrier (another garage sale find from a few years ago).  I just had to paint it and add the little wine list tag!

 The demi john below is actually a reproduction that my mom gave me a few years ago.

 (darn, sure wish there was a way to hide that unsightly outlet!)

To the right of my new little demi john is another vintage one, again a yard sale find from a few years back.

I've also added a pretty blue and white plate to the vignette, a gift from my mom.

So I guess now I have an "official" demi john collection!

 I was also excited to find this vintage wire basket.  Not sure what it was originally used for, but I loved the shape and quickly scooped it up! I gave it a good scrubbing, and will be putting it in my Etsy shop.

 For it's photo shoot, I couldn't resist displaying my demi john's inside!

 Love that look!

 I could hardly believe my eyes when I spotted this large vintage mirror at the sale!  Good thing we got there early:)  There aren't any maker's marks on it, but it is similar to Syroco, and in excellent condition.  Of course I will be painting over that oh so gaudy, and oh so shiny gold!  It too will be making it's way into my shop!

 And last but not least, I couldn't resist sharing a photo of Katie, napping on the sunroom floor!  I picked up the little stuffed doggie at the sale for her, and she loves it!

Hope you have a great weekend!

A Drab to Fab Makeover & a Fun Win

Hope you all had a great Mother's Day weekend!

It's hard to believe that the middle of May is already upon us, isn't it?

Today I wanted to share with you one of my favorite recent "drab to fab" makeovers.

Of course I have to show you a little "teaser" photo first!  I love finding unique frames that I can transform into chalkboards. 

 Sometimes of course you have to look past what is, to what could be.

Are you ready to see what it used to look like?

I immediately was drawn to this large hand carved wood frame, with a linen looking inner fabric border.  I just knew it would make a gorgeous chalkboard, with a little tlc!

Wow!  Does this photo scream 1970's, or what?  I did feel a bit sad thinking that someone (a family member?) didn't value the photo of the little girl enough to keep it.

It actually hailed all the way from Prince Edward Island, Canada. What it was doing in a thrift store in Ann Arbor, Michigan, will remain a mystery!

Ok, I am totally dating myself here, but I remember when this young girl's look was in style!

As a matter of fact, I wore a dress very similar to this, when I was a junior bridesmaid in my older sisters wedding!  My mom made all of the bridesmaid's dresses, in baby blue polyester!  They had long sleeves, and plenty of lace like in this photo.  And can you believe that my sister's wedding dress was polyester as well?  Yep!  That was the 70's for you!

 Ok, I'm getting a bit off track here!

Are you ready to see the "after"?

 Wow, what a difference paint makes, don't you think?

I knew right away that I wanted to paint it my favorite shade of creamy white.  Hubby cut a masonite board for me, which I then painted with many layers of chalkboard paint.

A bit of distressing, and I think the frame is so much happier, don't you?

I've placed it in my Etsy shop, if you care to take a peek!

 Awhile back, I was thrilled to win a giveaway of a Ramsign enamel sign, over at Trisha's, of 

Glass Slippers and All Sorts of Stuff!

(thank you again, Trisha!)

 Well, I was super excited when the package arrived in my mailbox the other day, all the way from Denmark!

Rather than choosing our house number (since I didn't want to leave it behind when we move, whenever that may be!), I decided to go with our wedding anniversary date (an idea I got from Trisha!).

The sign is even nicer in person than I thought it would be!  It is made from a heavy, high quality enamel, in my very favorite blue and white!

Here I created a little vignette, along with our wedding picture.  Hard to believe that this August we will be celebrating 13 years!  We were married on the beach in Kauai, at sunset!
(whoops!  I just noticed that you can see a reflection of my pjs in our wedding photo!  I snapped the shot while I had my pink puppy pjs on!)

Time sure flies!

Hope you all have a wonderful week!

A Little French Vignette

Bon jour, Mes Amis!

Today I thought I would share with you a petite French themed vignette that I've created, inside our tv console.

 Isn't this sleeping angel just darling?  She was given to me by a sweet blogging friend after the loss of our beloved cocker spaniel, Emily.  I just love and treasure her, and it brings me great comfort.  

Propped up on a little iron easel, I've added a black and white postcard of Notre Dame, one of my very favorite sites in all of Paris.

 What could be more French than the Eiffel Tower?  I've added this little one, which I purchased on a trip to Paris, beneath the cutest little glass cloche.  My mom recently gave me the silver pedestal dish, which was a wedding anniversary gift to my parents many years ago.  It has developed the perfect amount of patina, which I love so much!

 A few years ago, I created a pair of Frenchy decoupaged platters, which were so fun to make!  I began with large wooden plates which I picked up at a thrift store.  After painting the back sides and the front edges creamy white, I then decoupaged pages torn from a vintage French book.

 Topping them off are a beautiful fleur de lis and crown, images that I found over at the Graphics Fairy (love!).

 I just realized that I never did show you our console, which is in our living room.  Last year, we had searched high and low for many months for just the right piece for our flat screen tv (sure don't miss our clunky big ol' tv!).

Initially, I was thinking of an armoire to hide the tv.  Because lets face it, a tv is not all that attractive!

Then I finally realized that our tv would look dwarfed inside of a large armoire!

 As luck would have it, hubby found an amazing custom built furniture store when he was down in 

Franklin, Tennessee last fall.  Hubby was describing this very console to me over the phone, as I was looking at it on line.  I absolutely loved it!  So, after I chose the specifics (color, leg style, doors, etc) he placed an order for one right away!  All the while, I was keeping my fingers crossed that I would love it as much in person as I did in the photos!

 So, the following week, hubby flew down (he's a retired airline employee, so we get to fly for free), rented a van,  picked it up, and brought it home!  We are so happy with it, it was worth the search and effort to get it!  It is very solid, heavy, and well built.  I especially love the bead board doors, and curvy fat legs.

Now I just need to find a way to hide those unsightly cords that you see inside, on the lower shelf!!

That's it for today, looking forward to getting caught up with all of you!

Fluffy Puppy

After a shampoo and blow dry, look who is looking nice and fluffy!

 But, Katie's cute look didn't last for long!  Not after a walk, a trip to the green house, and rolling around in the dirt!

 But that is life when you are a little puppy with snowy white fur!

 Trying oh so hard to be good!

(looks can be so deceiving!!)

 On a different note, thought you might want to see the latest chalkboard that I made for my shop.

I love it's clean lines and simplicity!

 I had originally painted the frame a glossy teal, but just wasn't happy with it.

 Creamy, dreamy white is so much better, I think.

Hope you all have a great week!

And The Winner Is..........!

Kim K., of "Musings From Kim K".

Congrats, Kim!  I am super excited for you!

I have a feeling I know who will be enjoying wearing your new scarf:)

I'll sent it, along with your other goodies, out right away!

Vintage Pottery, Puppy Pictures, & Giveaway Reminder

Hi everyone, how was your day?

 I am so excited!  My mom just gave me this gorgeous Roseville pottery piece yesterday!  It was a wedding gift to her and my dad back in the 40's.  I've admired it for years, and she always told me that one day it would be mine.  I am in love with the shape, the colors, and the gorgeous water lily, that is on both sides.  I will treasure it always, and one day pass it on to someone else in our family!

 So today I thought I would arrange it on my antique hutch in our living room, along with several other vintage pottery pieces that I already have.

 Did I tell you how much I love this?!  Now I think that I "need" a few more Roseville pieces so that I have an official collection!

 Among the pottery, I tucked a few favorite accessories, like my glass cloche.  Nestled inside is a real bird's nest, some moss, and several of my faux bird eggs that I created.

 I found this gorgeous McCoy green planter a few months ago while out thrifting.  I really love the raised leaf and berry motif.

 A pair of sweet little birdies poses in front of a vintage aqua gravy boat that I picked up recently.

 I really love the shape and color of this cute little aqua creamer, also a gift from my mom a few years ago.

 The other pieces are vintage as well, with the exception of the cream colored urn on the lower shelf.

I'm not sure howe long I'll keep the arrangement like it is, I think a bit of tweaking is in order.

But for now I am really loving it.  

 Yawn!!!!!!!!!!

Here's Katie taking a break on our  her bed!

 Being a cute little puppy sure takes alot of energy!

 "I can hardly keep my eyes open, mama!"

 "Can we please just get this photo shoot over with, so that I can have my little cat nap?"

 "Night-night!"

Just as a reminder, if you have not already entered my 

"Paris in Spring Time" giveaway, be sure to do so!  I'll be drawing and announcing the name of the winner either this Thursday or Friday.  You can enter here.

Au revoir!