flea market finds

bonsoir!
today's the last day of the children's holiday, and i feel i need one too now.
we've all been sick, so we only managed three outings, including one in the rain and cold, and the rest of the time has been spent indoors, holding a sick baby (now, she was sick the entire time...), and trying to entertain two boys.
i'm exhausted.
i've only managed to post a couple of times, and take the occasional photograph.
still, i managed to go opshopping here and there, on my way to and back from the doctors often!! here's what i found:

this tin is my favourite now, it's cheerful and fun


i really like this plate, green and cream with a bit of gold

i like the shape of the colander, not sure about the colour...
maybe, maybe not?

but this set of suitcases, oh i love it
i can't believe no one had grabbed them before me
i like them so much (it's more deep orange in reality than on photos)
that they are in my living room, thinking of using them as a side table

jolies, non?!

have a look at great finds here at Sophie's flea market finds.

wordless wednesday: holidays

check out other photos at faith hope and a whole lotta love here

vintage finds

bonjour amoureuses de trésors chinés who play along with sophie's flea market finds (here),
i had a fun morning opshopping with hannah on saturday, and we bumped into zoe too so that made my morning just perfect! i found a couple of little things, egg cups in one of my favourite colours, another glass cake stand but a short one this time (or is it just called a cake plate maybe?), a suitcase for the boys, some vintage sheets, my favourite one has yellow roses, it's quite pretty. but my happiest moment opshopping this week was when i found my first vintage pyrex dish. i have only just realised how cool vintage pyrex is and i really want to start a serious collection (although we don't find a huge amount in this part of the world i think). i first got inspired when someone in their blog (sorry, i have forgotten who's blog) shared this site (here) that features all the different types of vintage pyrex designs, very cool. and then just the other day i found the lovely blog 'a cozy cup of tea' (here) with two amazing pictures of vintage pyrex collections, really amazing. and so i'm hooked...... I know i'm not the only one out there...! ;-)
have a great week
a bientot xx

et voila, my vintage pyrex dish!!

a special moment just for me...

yesterday, i had such a special moment, it didn't last long but it was so lovely.
i went outside to make the most of the sunshine in the middle of winter.
i sat on the wooden steps that go down to the lawn.
i had made myself of cup of milky (and very sweet) coffee and brought my favourite mag 'frankie'.
so i sat there, indulging in reading this great mag whilst sipping my coffee. bliss.
and then, i looked at the sun, closed my eyes, and soaked up the heat.
it instantly took me back home, at winter time, when i used to go skiing and stopping at a high altitude restaurant for a coffee and the same kind of behaviour would happen. devine. really.
i opened my eyes, there was no snow, just green trees and a baby calling for me.
i had been in heaven, and was happy to go back to normality.
just bliss.

wordless wednesday: lulu in the pool

enjoy wordless wednesday pictures here on faith hope and a whole lotta love.
xx

escargots

it was the french national day / le 14 juillet / bastille day after all... so we had to have some escargots (snails). oh oui! first time for the boys. thomas was quiet about it, he likes everything french so he reserved his judgment until he tried them. aston was adamant he would not try them. well, they both did. eh oui! oh la la!... thomas loved them, aston liked one enough but wouldn't try two. we had to buy two dozens but only had 12 shells, so we had some more the day after. nick and i loved them, which was a surprise to me because i thought i might be a bit funny about them after so long not eating them. plus the memory of what happens to the poor things between the time they are caught to the time they make it to your plate, that kind of put me off. but no, they were delicious!!.... (I know what you will be thinking, but seriously, they ARE nice!!)

look at their beautiful shells, gorgeous.

craft: guirlandes / garlands

this week end i managed to squeeze in some quick crafting, just enough time to make these 'guirlandes' (garland? bunting?). i first saw them on the blog 'les contours du silence' (here), a blog i particularly like reading, it's full of beautiful photos of close ups and patterns. when i saw these guirlandes, i knew i had to make some, and as it happened it was little stella's birthday this weekend, so i had an excuse (and a deadline) to make some. they are really easy to make, all you need is some craft paper scissors, some nice card/paper, and a sewing machine. easy. and fun.





have a peek our creative spaces to see some awesome craft.

flea market finds

Hello lovely opshoppers and treasure hunters,
this week i didn't get much time to haunt the local opshops as i had a sick little luciebelle who demanded a lot/most of my time.
still, i managed to steal 30 minutes get to a couple of shops on saturday and i only found the following: a retro teapot, a sweet jug, and a small gnome that is made of plastic unfortunately but he comes up with the silliest whistle when touched on his foot(...?!!).
never mind, i will get as much pleasure looking at your lovely finds on sophie's blog (here) as owning my own cool treasures - well, maybe not as much but at least i can enjoy yours and at the same time have the satisfaction that i don't have to worry about where to store them!! ;-)
have a lovely week and plenty of treasure hunting xx

zoe's petticoat becomes stella's petticoat for one day...

i took some photos of zoe's petticoat the other day (you can see them here), i loved capturing the froufrous: the cascading layers of white fabric, their play with light, their movement. it was very inspiring. so when little stella was wearing the magic dress to a birthday party a couple of days later, i had to take more photos.

wordless wednesday: joyeux 14 juillet / happy Bastille Day

faith hope and a whole lotta love's great initiative.
check other lovely photos here

flea market finds

bonjour!
this week only children's things seem to have come my way
the Cluedo game is brilliant, i love the pictures of the people, and for $1 we've already had our money's worth of fun
i love the nursery rhymes book, the illustrations are so retro
and talking about retro, what about that pram?
i hope you all had a good week, im just off to look at the great finds on Sophie's blog here.

if you liked the photos i took of Zoe's (cauliflower) petticoat (here), i will be posting more next week.

au revoir for now xxx

Zoe's attic: petticoat

whenever I go to Zoe's house, actually whenever I am with Zoe, I get so inspired.
this time, she only needed to get this amazing petticoat out of her attic, and my camera was out.
i could have spent the whole day clicking on the button
thanks zoe for inspiring me so much, i hope you like these photos.

embrace the camera

How often do you get pictures taken of you, with family, with friends, doing fun things, or just getting along with your daily routine?
When I stumbled upon this gorgeous blog the anderson family crew and discovered 'embrace the camera', i thought that was such a beautiful idea.
So, i decided to play along, and here is my first photo taken of me (well, that day, i 'demanded' (!) that photos be taken of me) with Lulu in Fiji to be shared with others.
And now, i'm off to check other mothers' photos and fill my day with love, fun, beauty, and more i'm sure.
Have a great day, it's Friday, yeah!! xxx

my creative space

I find it so hard at the moment to craft with a baby, but there's always at least one project on the go. All the other projects are in my head, waiting their turn patiently.
I'm crocheting a retro cardigan for Luciebelle.
This is my first crochet project with a pattern to follow, and not being an expert at crochet, i have had to start and re-start many many times...
Still, slowly getting there. (she'll probably have outgrown it by the time it's finished at the rate she is growing!!)

what is this life if... more on fiji

what is this life if, full of care,
we have no time to stand and stare.
No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.
No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.
No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.
No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.
No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.
A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

(William Henry Davies)

we had this lovely discussion with Zoe one day
about slowing down
and taking the time to look at what is around us
and enjoying the beauty this is truly part of our lives
often we are so rushed with kids, and life generally
that we forget to stop and look around
and zoe recited this beautiful poem to me
and i was taken by what is so obvious
and that was written so beautifully
to the point that i wrote this poem on our sliding door
and had another discussion about it with my children
i think of these words of wisdom often
and start looking around
and then i realise there is so much to admire
so much to feel blessed with
that make our lives delightful

on the last day in fiji it rained
so i took my camera out
and took some pictures
to remind myself
that even in bad weather
beauty is around us

Fiji

so beautiful
so relaxing
a week in paradise
the most beautiful people
so caring

fiji