Hidden In France

Everything FREEE!!!!

This must be Christmas in September.  Yesterday I was telling you about the Paris trip giveaway (it's not too late).  And today come two new wonderful giveaways.  

These days it's a miracle if we get to pay for anything at all.

Drumroll number one: Kit Colson, the interior designer who blogs at Chic Provence had all kinds of lovely things to say about my novel Hidden in Paris and is hosting a giveaway of authographed copies of the book.  So run there to enter, for yourself or for your grouchy boss or mother in law in the hope that a fun novel set in Paris might bring a smile to their disapproving faces. 

Since I won't enter that giveaway myself, which would be really pathetic and would make no sense considering my walls are lined with copies of Hidden in Paris. Drum roll number two:

DRESSES!!!!

I rarely, ever get excited about clothes. My husband says it's because I look all wrong in them and that I should take it all off at all time. But these dresses I LOVE.  Sabrina over at Barefoot in the Orchard  is hosting a giveaway for a smoking hot red dress by Shabby Apple.  I did not know this designer but one after the other, each dress is absolutely perfect in its own way. And reasonable too, most of them in the $50 to $80 range.  And I love that they're arranged by themes.  

My favorite Shabby Apple dresses are the ones with a french flair of course. In the oh la la collection I present you:

L'Artiste :

 

 

and la tour Eiffel:

Aren't those French dresses arorable? The model looks so thrilled something is even squirting out of her you know what. I wonder if that dress would have the same effect on me?

Okay ladies, get busy and enter those giveaways. 

 

Ma maison

These are random pretties around the house.

real branch, faux flowers

Euphorbia cut from the garden. I love the color.

Little things I buy for myself as a reward for going to the dentist (going this Thursday, yeah!)

Something fluffy wrapped around something hard for no reason at all.

Oh the irresistible charm of paper garlands, open and folded ones

C'est tout

High on Paris

I am spinning and loving it. Of course I do not mean spinning on those torture devices called stationary bikes.  In fact the only exercise I'm getting lately is to my fingers as I type and to my jaw as I munch on snacks. I mean my mind is spinning, I'm fully engaged intellectually and emotionally promoting my novel Hidden in Paris (in case you were hiding under a rock, on planet Mars.) I've received tons of emails and comments of encouragement, and I'm starting to get reviews and they are all GOOD! (thank you mom). Many bloggers have accepted to trade advertisement buttons with me, which is also GOOD and you'll start seeing them in the margin.  

I was particularly touched by a certain blogger, who who went out of her way for me, so let me tell you what she does.  The blog is called Une Petite Folie and the author of the blog, Linda Carswell lives in Tasmania but travels A LOT and I'm astounded at the beauty of her photography. But forget telling you. Let me show you.

There other thing that she is passionate about are miniatures, so if you're into the mini lifestyle you really should bookmark her site because it's shock full of the most delicate miniature house she is creating, as well as  mini rooms, mini furnitures, mini objects and even mini food.

On an embarrassing note:  The first edition of the novel has typos in it.  I knew it but I did not know where to find them.  Now I do... ahem.  Sorry guys, I'm fixing this.  If you get a copy of Hidden in Paris riddled with as many as twenty typos you can feel special because you know you are in possession of a first edition, (in case i become famous or something--doubtful, but hey, looking for a silver lining to this.) I know some will crucify me for this but what can they do to my sense of shame that I haven't done to myself already :(

Macaron color

I know I'm not around much.  You'll see why very soon, I promise.  And no it's not only because I'm glued to the Huffington Post watching every development in Japan, like that's going to help anyone... And it's not only because I found all past seasons of Sex in the City for free on YouTube. And it's not because I'm lazy although this is all so, so true. It's because I'm working on something.. you'll see, you'll see...

So as a form of apology, here is a very bohemian house in South Africa.  The article describes this decor as "explosive colors" what? where?  I found it quite subdued. 

More explosive images and text on Marie Claire Maison.

Speaking of colors, here is a little gift from France:  a video via Côté Maison revealing the secrets of the making of LaDurée Macaron. You can't still be mad now that you can prepare your macarons in industrial quantities thanks to me. 

 

paper lanterns

Not everything French is good. I occasionally reward myself for good behavior by going to the movies alone in the middle of the afternoon. Why alone? Why in the middle in the afternoon? Because that's when I get to see movies no one else in the family has any intention of seeing. French films for example.
The draconian rule I have set for myself in order to get my reward are that I must exercise a bit each day and write everyday that week. Now, 'exercise' might mean an hour of yoga, but it also might mean five push ups on my knees... yeah.. I know... Anyway, this week was mission accomplished by my own extremely low standard and I saw The Valet, a well below average French movie I cannot in good conscience, recommend.

While at the mall I rewarded myself further by becoming the misty-eyed owner of a cool paper lantern my dog has been furiously barking at for the last twenty minutes. Here are more lanterns by the manufacturer: not bad methink.

roulottes les verdines

Roulottes I have promised and roulotes I shall deliver.

Those Roulottes are apparently for sale on this zany website I’m not sure they ship. Something tells me they don’t. The company is called Les Verdines and is located in Saint Remy de Provence, one of the most glorious places on this earth.

Now of course, it is all about design, and I'm not sure those would be as lovely without the ultra talented free spirit that is Jeanne Bayol"

Loving pretty things somehow involves going against the grain. These last few years, decoration has shifted away from the Shabby Chic I adore and gone towards the minimalist, the clean lines, the ultra modern, which I also adore. But I can't keep things minimalist, or neutral, or quiet. Sure I fawn over those Zen like interiors in Dwell Magazine, but I'm chronically incapable of keeping things neutral. I drool over patterns, colors and messiness. These Roulottes, designed by Jeanne are the antidote to the zen mania, and I am thankful for that.
And now, by night: hang on to your socks:

jeanne bayol

Jeanne Bayol is a French interior designer who is not afraid of color. Her website is in French, but the photographs are splendid. She lives in Saint Remy de Provence, in the heart of Provence and her style combines Gypsy themes and colors that remind me of an earlier version of Tricia Guild or maybe a wilder Tricia Guild. She decorates homes, stores, events:

This is a photograph of an idian style tent set up in a backyard.

Tomorrow I'll try to post pictures of how Jeanne Bayol decorates those Roulottes.

On the one hand roulottes make me want to downsize, buy a tiny piece of land somewhere and plunk myself there. On the other hand, to make this work you'd want everything to be functional and pared down but the whole appeal of roulotte living is Bayol's poetic clutter without which what you have is basically a.. trailer. And I don't know about you but living in a trailer doesn't sound as sexy as living in a roulotte.

lyndie dourthe

Another French artist with a BIG future. Everything that Lyndie Dourthe creates gives me the chill. GooSEBumPS! (hmmm that was weird(?)).
Her jewelry is "inspired by wedding crowns and those waxed flowers one could find under glass globes in the 19th Century. The necklaces are made entirely by hand and the flowers are dipped in wax. They come out looking as though they are dewy, and are thereafter protected from the decline due to passing time."

There is more!

She's a genius!

sandrine herlin

Here are photos taken from Sandrine Herlin's website. She creates tablecloths, curtains, bags, children decor etc... I love this tablecloth with removable silk flowers.

I adore those panels made out of linen.

She also makes pillows embroidered with linen, cotton and silk.