Vintage French Café au Lait Bowls

Last weekend I was thrilled to jump back into the game!  After surviving the week with the sleepless and cranky jet-lagged kiddos and myself getting over sleep deprivation coupled with ten days of extreme single-parenting--I was ready to hit the pavement and put a little into the flea-market passion bank!  After missing several weekends of brocantes--it was high time to get back to doing what I love!

What doesn't surprise me is that the 'theme' of the bulk of my purchases this past weekend, at a brocante in Deauville, would revolve around COFFEE.  Oh, my best friend coffee!  How would I get by without you?!  Yes, I actually brought a pound of freshly roasted beans from a small roasterie in Boston back to France--for French Guy....which became part of his Father's Day gift coupled with a new grinder!

 

So when I happened upon a vendor at the brocante that had an interesting collection of vintage café au lait bowls--I couldn't help but take a look!

 I have been asked to sell café au lait bowls at Sunday Brocantes in the past, and I have searched for interesting ones, but truthfully in the past I have found only one to two... and never been attracted to purchase them.

 

 But this time.... the appeal and charm--won me over!

And I brought NINE home with me!

And the more I have them around -- the more I become hooked!  

I very well may just have to start a collection myself!

In the meantime, I have listed a few in the shop!  Click here to see them!

I love the look of the basic white one!  Which one is your favorite?

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great Monday!  

A bientot! See you again soon!

Homebound Magazine is here!

Happy Wednesday! Still trying to get back to normal here in the GMT timezone! Last night 'Petite Fille' decided that 2 AM was a fine time to wake up and start the day and poor French Guy who is on full-time parent duty (can you say "pay-back"?) had to wrestle with her for a few hours to convince her that here in France it was a better idea to catch a few more Zzzz's.

Just a really short post to announce the arrival of the Summer Issue of 'Homebound', a really gorgeous e-zine published by Heather at Post Road Vintage.  You might recall that Heather interviewed me about my life in France and Sunday Brocantes a while back on her blog and she asked me after to contribute an article for her beautiful magazine!

So there it is!  I am so thrilled to be a part of it.  My article, "Everyday Living with French Vintage" appears on page 16.  You can click the image above or go to Heather's blog to email a request for your free copy of the e-zine to read at your leisure!

Enjoy!  Have a wonderful day!  

A bientot!

Return to Home

Yesterday, which at the moment feels like two weeks ago, I got back home to France after a whirl-wind trip to the East Coast of the US to spend time with my family.  It was all quite amazing actually--the entire trip was conceived by my sister....she and her husband masterminded the entire plan to get me there for my parents 50th wedding anniversary, and the entire thing was a fabulously orchestrated surprise for them!  A complete, tactical, once in a lifetime surprise, that was organized over a period of 3 months and came to fruition a week and a half ago when I appeared at their door, with my eight year old and 1 1/2 year old .... and everyone shouted ' SURPRISE'!!!

So I am back now!  Time flew with my parents, their wonderful party, time with my brother and sister and families that I have not seen for three years... and my first trip back to the US since my move to France two years ago.  We took day trips to places from my childhood---Rockport, MA, Bearskin Neck, Halibut Point, Boston ...... 

I am jumping back into action tomorrow--at least that is my plan.  I am a tiny bit jet-lagged and dealing with two very weary little travelers... now home with 'French Guy' and the teen who stayed at home to hold down the fort.  I have lots to blog about, a few things to list at the shop and a few brocantes to get to this weekend--- so please stay tuned!  I will be back 'a toute de suite'!

..... as soon as I get rid of this headache, get some rest and the rooms stops spinning!

Happy to be back!  A bientot mes amis!

Vintage Luggage & Travel Dreams

Travel is on my mind.  This week I am posting not from France, but from back in my original hometown, Boston, Massachusetts where I am visiting my parents for ten days.  It is my first trip back to the US since moving away two years ago, and my first time leaving France since making it my home.

Although I would love to say that coming back to the US after this long absence was filled with blissful travel nostalgia--more honestly I obsessed over strategic packing as I brought both my one year old and my eight year old with me and traveled from Paris to New York to Boston without the aid of French-Guy who remained at home with our teen who is finishing up the school year and couldn't miss out of the last few weeks of school.

Beautiful cases from Seabold Vintage Market

But even though I was packing for convenience and efficiency (this time!) -- when I travel, my mind still wanders to the more romantic notions of beautiful vanity cases and train trunks with lovely patterns and stylish details.  Seriously, what girl has not dreamed of a gorgeous ivory set of vintage suitcases to hold pressed cotton dresses, petite handbags, a couple of pairs of patent leather pumps?

Vintage French tweed case with bakelite handles from Sunday Brocantes.

In the past few years, vintage luggage has really made a solid notch in the decor world.  Stacked pieces appear as side tables in bedrooms, in entryways, even in bathrooms holding plush towels and linens.

I love this trend to up-cycle and re-use that also offers hidden storage and a huge amount of style!

Vintage luggage also lends to some pretty eclectic display potential! 

Collecting vintage luggage is a hot trend that is certain to remain over time.... whether it inspires dreams of travel, adds a vintage touch to a small space while providing hidden storage, or just gives a nod to romantic travel of older days....  retro, cherished, well-traveled.... perfection!

A bientot mes amis!

Images: 1. Pretty Peach Peonies 2. Apartment Therapy 3. Seabold Vintage 4. Sunday Brocantes 5. ReNest 6. Fancy 7. Sunday Brocantes

This blog post can also be found at Second Shout Out.

French Mother's Day--Fête des mères!

Bonjour mes amis!  Today is fête des mères in France-- aka (for some of us) Mother's Day--do-over!  You see-- I get to have TWO!  One for my two American children (which was on the 13th of May) and now today for my one French 'petite-fille'....It is only fair right?!  But actually--to be honest-- this is Mother's Day 'trois'---because somehow we made the mistake and thought that French Mother's Day was on the 27th--and French Guy even bought me flowers for it!  So here we are--on the official ' fête des mères' and this one trumps the other two due to a very fun gift and more than that a lovely lunch with ma belle mother-in-law and soon--if  I play my cards just right--a little nap and maybe a glass of bubbly in the garden to end the day!

So you might have noticed that I have been away a little--I have been here actually all of the time, but  buried in a blissful way in several amazing projects!  One of which is wrapping up today or tomorrow and hence the lack of a brocante to tell you about!  I didn't go yesterday--I worked at a photo-shoot--and I didn't go today-- I lunched 'en famille'... a lovely and yummy long lunch at a bistro by the sea... on this windy rainy Dimanche.

But here is a peek at what I have been up to.... a food shoot for a local artisan restaurant owner and creative foodie who is doing a 4 book seasonal recipe series ...the first is obviously summer... L'été... 

Lots of gorgeous HOT summer colors ...

I absolutely love this project!  The book will be available both as an e-book and a print book, it is in French (mais, bien sur!) and I think it is going to be amazing--the author, Sophie is très fabuleux !  Talk about inspired and gifted recipe creation!  

I have something going on up next that will surely be interesting to you if you are a lover of all-things-vintage!  I can't wait to tell you about a pending kick-off of a ~ new venue ~ for Sunday Brocantes.....still waiting for official dates and loads of things going on before then---so stay tuned!  I will give you the full story and all of the details very soon!

Bon Dimanche mes amis!  I will be back soon!  Je promets!