Decorating with Flowering Branches

~ Good morning ~

I hope all of you moms out there had a wonderful Mother's Day!!!

We spent Mother's Day at my mom's house, and just when we were getting ready to leave, I spotted these beautiful flowering branches on the curbside of the next door neighbor...seems they had done a little tree trimming that day.  Well, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to grab these beauties, so we loaded up my trunk and I brought them home!

I used them to decorate my dining room and take some product shots.  I will have some new items in the SHOP on Monday!

This vintage French champagne basket was intended for the shop, but I wound up deciding to keep it for myself :))  I do love it!

I always buy some artisan honey at the markets while we are in France, as my son is a BIG fan of honey.  The one below has been our all-time favorite so far!  And it makes for a pretty vase when empty...

I bought quite a bit of vintage French mangle cloth on this last trip to France.  It makes a wonderful runner, just as is, if you have a larger table...or it can be used as beautiful linen fabric for any project for your home.  I have saved some for myself and would love to have some pillows made from it {mom I need you to sew for me!! }  

this particular length of French mangle cloth will make it into the shop on Monday

Thank you so much for stopping by!!!

Tracey

An Update and Paris Photos

Hi!  Happy almost weekend!  I thought tonight I would share a few photos from our recent time in Paris...to mix things up a bit.  I still have a lot more from Provence that I want to share with all of you, but I will circle back around to those a bit later...

This was our fifth trip to Paris, and I can honestly say that it feels magical every time we are there.  I love simply wandering the gorgeous streets of Paris, snapping photos as I go {thank you to my husband who so lovingly waits while I take all of my photos!}.

One place we always go for dinner while in Paris is Le Zimmer.  It is a beautiful old cafe created in 1896.  Before having dinner we always walk along the River Seine and take in the beauty...

The evening I took these photos, the sun was very bright {not the best time to take photos!} and it wound up reaching 80 degrees in Paris! 

I always come home with a ton of chalkboard photos :)  I wish the restaurants here used them more!

I did try and use what French I had mastered so far while on our trip, but I found myself rather skidish about using it since I had only been taking my online course for about 3 months before we left for France.  I am loving using Language101, but I realized that I could also benefit from a little "real life" help as well.  So, I recently started working with a private French tutor.  It is hard learning a new language as an adult, but I am trying very hard! :)

There were signs of spring everywhere in Paris, but many of the trees did not yet have their leaves...those that did were that pretty bright green that I always associate with spring...

I was lucky enough to attend an all day photography workshop last week with Scott Kelby!  I loved Scott's easy style and straight to the point photography tips in his Digital Photography Book series, and so I was really excited to attend his "Shoot Like A Pro" workshop.  If you ever get a chance to learn from Scott, jump on it!!!  It was such an inspiring day for me.  Scott gave us a lot of tips on shooting landscape/travel photography and I can't wait until our next trip so I can try all of his tips out...we are headed to Toulouse, Bordeaux, and Lourdes in early September!

More photos soon :)

Have a fantastic weekend ~

Tracey

p.s.  The June issue of Jeanne d' Arc Living Magazine is now available for pre-order in the shop.  I will be photographing more new items from France for the shop next week!!

Apt, France

I have so much I want to share with you from our recent trip to France, that I thought the best thing to do would be to just start at the beginning!

While in Provence, we stayed in the lovely town of Apt, France at the incredible La Madone.  I can not say enough good things about Apt or La Madone...simply put, we loved it there and plan to go back!!!  Owners and antique dealers, Nathalie and Jean-Bernard are as charming as they come and have done an amazing job making each "apartment" in La Madone so beautiful and inviting.  I felt right at home surrounded by French antiques, vintage linens and gorgeous chandeliers...

{you can see more photos of the apartment we stayed in on my Facebook Page}

The view out those windows you see above...

Every morning I opened the windows to peek out and each and every time, it took my breath away to be so blessed to be able to spend a little time in this lovely place!

Here are a few more shots from the immediate area around where we stayed...

{atop this bridge is where I took the first photo above...at the end of the day, just before sunset}

This car was parked next to our's one morning when we were ready to head out to the flea market and I just had to snap a pic :)

I have to mention too that Nathalie delivered fresh croissants and a baguette to us every morning...she would hang them on our door in the sweetest bag made from beautiful, vintage French linen!

Hope you enjoy your day ~

Tracey

The Shop is open!

{Vintage French Sarreguemines Plates and Antique French Letter Bundle}

Hello and Happy Monday!

I am just popping in to let you know that the SHOP is again open and I have added many new items from my recent excursions through the French brocantes!  Come and take a peek :)  I will be adding a whole new round of French treasures to the Flea Market Finds section of the shop again next Monday, so be sure to check back then too!

I am going to try and list some new France prints for the shop as well, over the next few weeks...I have hundreds of photos to go through :)  I just listed this "Sunset in Paris" print, that I took in Paris last week...

Hope your week is off to a great start ~

Tracey

p.s. the wonderful linen napkins in the first photo are from Kimberly's wonderful shop, Tiggy & Grace

Spring in Provence

Hello friends!

I am back from France and trying to adjust to the usual routine again :)  

It has done nothing but storm here since we returned and I'm wondering when spring is going to show up in the Midwest??!!  Not to mention, it is rather hard for me to photograph all of the new treasures I brought back for the SHOP when it is practically pitch black outside all day long, not cool!

I have sooooo many pictures of my time in Provence and Paris that I want to share with you, but I think I will have to do a few at a time, as I am so behind and it is just easier for me to do short posts...but I will try and post more often over the next few week!!

There were signs of spring everywhere in Provence and mostly sunny skies while we were there!  We ate outside for lunch almost every day...it was just so nice to feel the sun on my face after the long winter!

I shared quite a few photos of our trip on my Facebook Page while we were gone and will continue to share photos there, as well as, here on the blog {most of the time I try and share different photos on each, so please come and visit me over on Facebook }.

The SHOP will remain closed until Monday, while I start photographing all of the new French flea market finds, but if you need to pre-order the May issue of Jeanne d' Arc Living Magazine, you can do so *HERE*

Hope you have a wonderful day ~

Tracey