Summertime and my thoughts are filled with traveling to France. Alas, no travel for me this summer, so I am taking a virtual tour to France by rereading older blog posts about previous trips to France. French architecture, including doors and doorways from Paris to ancient smaller cities across France, always captures my attention. And, I have written several blog posts focused solely on my love for French doors. 

 

So my virtual French tour via older blog posts begins with rereading Amour de Porte française (French Door Love). 

The Dordogne region of France is filled with castles, ancient cities, prehistoric caves, and lush countryside with incredible historic architecture. Two towers flank a large doorway entrance into the Medieval city of Domme, certainly a door worthy to make my list of French doors to love.  

French Country Inspiration No. 1

The best source for French Country inspiration is from France. Obviously. What better way to discover authentic French Country decor, gardens, architecture, food, design... than from the French themselves? And, once you have traveled to France and fallen in love with French Country living, finding resources here at home for adding the French je ne sais quoi to your own life is the next best thing to traveling through France. 

Je ne sais quoi literally means "I don't know what," but is a French expression for "a quality that is hard to put in words". While French Country style is sometimes hard to put in words, we can find examples of French Country je ne sais quoi from books, magazines, blogs, Instagram, movies, and television series. 

Louvre Glass Pyramids

A visit to the Louvre in Paris, France is filled with light from glass pyramids that were controversial when the Louvre's total remodel and reorganization began in the 1980s. Now the pyramids are recognized as beautiful landmarks to the former Royal Palace, the Musée du Louvre. 

Travel plans are often part of the upcoming Christmas season with most holiday travel destinations to homes of family members. However, there is a growing trend for families to travel to holiday destinations for new experiences together in place of exchanging traditional Christmas gifts. Instead of spending money on things, people are choosing to spend money on traveling together. 

Plus some travel is a surprise Christmas gift from a husband, a wife, or parents. Wouldn't you love to receive plane tickets and hotel reservations to your dream destination? 

Could it be P A R I S  is your ultimate dream destination? 

Bastille Day Fireworks at Eiffel Tower

J U L Y  1 4

What we know as Bastille Day in the United States is known as La Fête nationale française in France and is celebrated with  a concert and spectacular fireworks at the Eiffel Tower. 

If you love France or love fireworks, you will love the YouTube video of the 2017 La Fête national française - Paris - Tour Eiffel - 14 juillet 2017 (Feu d'artifice)  

The video begins with the crowd singing the French national anthem, La Marseillaise, followed by a live concert choreographed with fireworks at the Eiffel Tower for over thirty minutes. 

View in full screen so you can see the large outdoor screens at the bottom of each side of the picture. Those screens show aerial views. 

One of my favorite fireworks display during the presentation occurs around 4:45 minutes. 

b o n   f ê t e  

French Hot Chocolate for Valentine's Day

PARIS is on my mind in the midst of a dreary February day, overcast with a fine mist, and unfulfilled promises of much-needed rain. Just the kind of day that calls for hot chocolate, staring out the window at the drizzle, and flashing back to hot chocolate in France. 

Provence Fall Colors Blue and Yellow

Add a Little FRENCH STYLE 

To Your Kitchen This Fall

Yellow mixed with blue is one of the most common color combinations in Provence, a region in the south of France. The region is known for sunflowers and lavender, for warm sunny days under blue skies, and for Impressionist painters whose paintings reflected their bright sun-drenched surroundings. 

Likewise, local Provençal potters and weavers used those same colors to create dishes and linens making it easy for us to add Fall French style to our kitchens. With just a little yellow, we can give blue and white dishes a Fall look. 

French Design on Friday 19

~ Flea Markets ~

Where does one find genuine French design for her home... at a bargain? 

French design spans centuries, and French families inherit furniture, art work, linens, china, and silverware to furnish their homes. Don't have a French ancestor from whom to inherit? Good news. 

French design can be bought at a bargain price. 

Each year in France over 15,000 flea markets, brocantes (second-hand goods), and vide greniers (empty the attic) attract buyers searching for vintage items no longer being passed on to the next generation. 

Les Puces de Saint-Ouen in Paris, the largest and best known flea market in France, is open every weekend, but commands high prices for quality antiques. 

What To Do With Paris Flea Market Forks

Hunting for French vintage pieces in a Paris flea market is a great experience even if no treasures are found. If you have ever seen Paris After Midnight, you understand why. Strolling through small, winding streets filled with odd collections transports you to another era and to another lifestyle. Joie de vivre fills the air as you talk with French dealers offering inherited linens, odd pieces of flatware, figurines, bottles, anything and everything. 

Finding French vintage objects is more than the objects; finding French vintage items includes the entire joie de vivre experience of the Paris flea market. 

What do you do with vintage French flea market finds is a question that often comes to our minds when we find a special treasure. Here are five ways I have enjoyed using vintage French silver plate forks in my home. Number five is my favorite way for using a mismatched silver plate fork. 

Maybe one or more of the ways will also be just the idea that sparks how you can use a flea market find in your home. 

Puces d'Aligre, Paris, France 

Fall French Sunflowers

Have you ever seen a huge field of sunflowers in bloom at different times of the day? Have you noticed how the heads of the flowers follow the path of the sun during the day? 

How amazing it is to see all the sunflower faces turned at the same angle, pointing toward the sun.  

Paris International Trade Show Favorite

MAISON & OBJET

PARIS International Trade Show

and my favorite exhibitor

Maison & Objet is an international gift and home show in Paris that was held September 2-6, 2016. The dates for the show were the reason my sister and I chose to be in Paris the first week of September. Yes, we registered as international guests and bought tickets online long before we left for Paris. 

Chenonceau Château Fall Kitchen

Chenonceau Château Fall Kitchen 

Don't you love seeing beautiful decorations for gardens and homes in other parts of the world? Seeing how different cultures decorate for the seasons? Discovering new ideas to incorporate into your own decorating?

Part of the lure for returning to my favorite French château, Chenonceau, is to see the magnificent floral arrangements on display throughout the gardens and in the castle. Each time I visit I see fresh innovative ways to display grand-scale floral arrangements and come away with some thoughts about how to do something similar, on a smaller scale, in my own home.

Chenonceau Château, known as the Château de Femmes, was built, renovated, and saved by women over the centuries beginning in the mid-1500s.  Diane de Poitiers, the first notable female who resided at Chenonceau was the mistress to King Henri II. She created spectacular gardens that continue to be maintained. Perhaps it is the influence of her feminine touch, and the other prominent women who followed her, that makes Chenonceau a favorite for women.

From the first sight of Chenonceau, the castle captured my heart by its beauty inside and out. Here is where I saw for the first time in my life, spectacular, larger-than-life flower arrangements that filled every room and hall, created from the flowers and vegetables grown in the château's working gardens. 

France Travel Tips- Best EVER Carry-On Bag

Everyone has ideas about how to pack for a trip. Perhaps from personal experience, advice from friends, or even from researching packing tips. These France Travel - Best EVER Carry-On packing tips are a combination of all of those sources of advice, but most of the tips have been refined from personal experience traveling to France for more than thirty years with student groups and with family and friends. Now, my trips combine traveling with family and work-related traveling. 

Keep reading for what my carry-on bag to France looks like now. 

France Traveling Tips - To Do List

Vacations are always exciting with lots of anticipation and planning. At least, they are for me. For weeks I plan what to pack, make reservations for events and restaurants, and write lists of places to see. Here are my France traveling tips and to-do list for this year's 10-day vacation to Paris. 

Home to...  the Louvre, Musée d'Orsay, haute couture, flea markets, Cordon Bleu cuisine, Tour Eiffel, Metro, Tuileries Garden, Champs Élysées, tarte aux fraise, sidewalk cafes..... 

What is on my list for a vacation in Paris?

Juggling Cats, Trees, Internet, Phone, Upgrade Miles

Juggling as fast as I can, there is still the possibility that something is going to crash to the ground. Indeed, there have been some crashes this past week. 

Are there times in your life that you cannot seem to keep up with all that is calling your name and DEMANDING attention? Just when you think you have the rhythm down, smoothly juggling three things in the air, smiling as everything leisurely glides through the air, from out of nowhere a fourth object is thrown to you, then a fifth, and you juggle faster and faster. 

Made in France - Waterman Pens

fabriqué en france 

Made in France 

pens

Presents brought home for family, friends, or yourself when traveling always seem more special when the item actually is made in the country visited. Going to France this year? Then here is a great idea about a gift that is made in France and truly is one-size-fits-all. Stylos (pens) are excellent items made in France to bring home as cadeaux (gifts) to loved ones.  {Disclosure: affiliate links}

Who wouldn't love to receive a classic black pen that boldly states FRANCE between gold band accents? 

10 Favorite French Scenes

Vacation time will be here before we know it. School will be dismissed for the summer break, warm weather will entice us to be outside, and longer days of sunlight will give us more time to enjoy the days.

Vacation time always brings memories of my vacations to France and brings memories of my favorite French scenes. Most of which are my favorites because of the emotional connections to my fellow travelers and because of the pure immersion of a French experience.  Aren't these the two reasons we travel? To share our lives with our families and friends and for travel to provide experiences not found at home...

Vive la France!

There are no words to take away the pain, confusion, and loss for our French friends who suffered devastating losses this week in Paris.  Yet, beauty and compassion help ease the pain and remind us that the vast majority of people in the world seek beauty and compassion, not mayhem and destruction.  As we continue to write our blog posts, we are voices for beauty and compassion during this time of an incomprehensible violent act.  As an American, I send condolences to France and say Americans all across the United States are standing with France.

Sharon Santoni, author of My French Country Home, has written a moving post, making sense of it all,  in response to the violent acts in Paris.

Vive la France!

❦

Ever mindful that to do nothing is to grant victory to those whose actions oppose us, 

I am posting my regular blog post about beauty as a way to say 

we will go on, and we will not be defeated.   

Gold and White Pumpkin and France

Gold and White Pumpkin and France

There are no words to take away the pain, confusion, and loss for our French friends who suffered devastating losses this week in Paris.  Yet, beauty and compassion help ease the pain and remind us that the vast majority of people in the world seek beauty and compassion, not mayhem and destruction.  As we continue to write our blog posts, we are voices for beauty and compassion during this time of an incomprehensible violent act.  As an American, I send condolences to France and say Americans all across the United States are standing with France.

Sharon Santoni, author of My French Country Home, has written a moving post, making sense of it all,  in response to the violent acts in Paris.

Vive la France!

❦

Ever mindful that to do nothing is to grant victory to those whose actions oppose us, 

I am posting my regular blog post about beauty as a way to say 

we will go on, and we will not be defeated.   

❦

Add a little glimmer to your Thanksgiving table with a pumpkin 

resting atop gold and white wild wreaths. 

Start with a Cinderella-type pumpkin,  

or transform your Fall pumpkin into the centerpiece of your Thanksgiving meal. 

Spray a grapevine wreath with a coat of metallic gold paint.  

After the gold paint dries,

 overspray the gold wreath with a light misting of white spray paint, 

and leave some of the metallic gold spots. 

To get light coverage, hold the spray can 1'-2' from the wreath 

and continually move the spray can back and forth. 

    

Use the same metallic gold spray to paint thin, wild vines with complete coverage. 

Wild honeysuckle vines are thin
and often have interesting squiggles and braided vines. 

Place the grapevine wreath on a base such as a footed cake plate.
A basket is another option as a base. 

Place the pumpkin atop the grapevine wreath. 

Then twist the gold painted thin vines around the pumpkin. 

If possible, use thin vines that still have some attached leaves, 

and paint the leaves gold, also. 

If there are no attached leaves to paint gold, 

just paint loose leaves gold to add to the arrangement.  

Adjust the thin gold vines so that some are interspersed around the grapevine wreath, 

and some of the vines are lifted above the grapevine wreath and over the pumpkin. 

Voilà, a gold and white Thanksgiving centerpiece. 

❦

Thanksgiving is just days away, and then we will be decorating for Christmas. 

Mark your calendars for Christmas inspiration from all over Texas 

when over 20 Texas bloggers share a window into Christmas in Texas. 

Stacey at Poofing the Pillows

is hosting

December 7-11, 2015

I was thrilled when Stacey invited me to be part of this 

first-ever Christmas blog hop of over 20 Texas bloggers, and 

am honored to be on the first day line-up on 

Monday, December 7, 2015. 

Several of the bloggers have shared their plans with all of us, 

and this is going to be a great Christmas blog hop! 

You don't want to miss any of the posts 

that include decorations, crafts, recipes, and even a fashionista. 

Watch for more details in the posts to come. 

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Can't Go to France? Bring a Little France to You

Can't go to France,
but the longing for France dances in your mind daily? 

When you have friends going, hearing all their plans, 

but you can't go due to work, or family illnesses, or not in the budget.  

What to do when you can't go to France? 

  

Then... 

bring a little France to you. 

Here are suggestions for ways to 

bring a little France into a favorite spot in your house. 

Bring France to a place that you see every day, 

in full view from the kitchen and living room. 

Start with a French blue flower pot and add an old world live foxglove, 

one that takes center stage to add a touch of  

French country gardens and Parisian flower markets. 

Design tip:  Notice the multiple uses of blue... 

flower pot, large floral framed print on the stone wall, 

small picture on the chest, blue in the books, paperweight... 

The color bleu helps unify the grouping. 

Add another touch of greenery with preserved boxwood 

tucked into an empty glass candle holder 

that has golden scenes from Paris. 

The Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, the Conciergerie... 

Scenes that bring Paris to you... 

Display books about France. 

The Heart of FRANCE and 

ONE HUNDRED & ONE BEAUTIFUL TOWNS in France 

Just seeing the books brings to mind France's beauty. 

Having them in sight invites you to browse 

through them to take a 30-minute tour while having coffee. 

You may not be there in person, 

but your mind and spirit can be there as you daydream 

looking through photos and reading about French scenery. 

Place the boxwood at the base of a small lamp atop the stack of books. 

Design tip: Once again color has been repeated. This time, gold. 

Gold spine of the top book, gold design on the glass candle jar, 

and gold picture frame in the background. 

Sometimes good things come from accidents. 

Or perhaps, realizing not all is lost when accidents happen. 

The small lamp once had a cherry wood base 

with a blue and white teacup filled with artificial pastel flowers. 

Oops! 

The lamp was knocked onto the floor shattering the saucer 

and breaking the handle of the teacup. 

Miraculously, the teacup was still intact. 

So many memories of good times traveling to Salado 

with a dear friend, now deceased, are tied to the little lamp. 

Both my friend and I bought this same lamp on one of those trips. 

In the French spirit of treasuring the imperfect as well as the perfect, 

the handle was glued together, but the teacup was not glued back to the lamp base.  

Painting the lamp base white gave it new life and an update. 

Had the lamp not been broken, it would have been unlikely 

that it would have been painted, and for certain, it would always 

have retained the blue and white teacup. 

Now the lamp can hold any number of small things on its base. 

At Christmas time there was a small white vase with the word Noel. 

The accident paved the way for changing the lamp's look 

with each new grouping on the chest of drawers. 

Bring a little more France to you... 

Add a small picture of French lavender like this one 

purchased in France while touring lavender fields in Provence. 

Souvenirs from previous trips to France 

bring vivid memories filled with details of authentic French life. 

When you cannot create a new travel experience, 

relive a favorite memory of a previous trip. 

Postcards make excellent small photos to frame, 

and the photos often are from a viewpoint not available to travelers. 

Design tips: The small picture's frame echoes the gold of the larger print's frame. 

The beading and corner accents in the wooden frame reflect French design. 

With flowers, French scenes, books about France, 

and a souvenir picture you can 

Bring a Little France to You

~~~~❦~~~~

What is your favorite way to bring a little France 

(or insert country of choice) to yourself? 

Food comes to mind, but it is hard to incorporate 

into an arrangement on a chest... 

~~~~❦~~~~

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Linking it to your Pinterest page 

makes it easy to find for re-reading in the future. 

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Please join me at these inspiring sites...

MONDAY

Amaze Me Mondays @ Dwellings, the Heart of Your Home

Something To Talk About @ Karen's Up On the Hill

TUESDAY

the Scoop @ Cedar Hill Farmhouse

Tuesdays At Our Home @ Our Home Away From Home

Inspire Me Tuesday @ A Stroll Thru Life

WEDNESDAY

Wow Us Wednesday @ Savvy Southern Style

Centerpiece Wednesday @ The Style Sisters

THURSDAY

Share Your Style @ Common Ground

The Inspiration Gallery @ Craftberry Bush

Your Turn to Shine @ Canary Street Crafts

FRIDAY

Feathered Nest Friday @ French Country Cottage

Home Sweet Home @ The Charm of Home

Show and Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home

Simple & Sweet Fridays @ Rooted in Thyme

Fridays Unfolded @ Nancherrow 

SATURDAY

Share It One More Time @ One More Time Events

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Good Design Never Goes Out of Style

Deep in the Dordogne area in France 

sits an 11th century Romanesque church, Saint Caprais, 

in the small town of Carsac. 

As I reflect on good French design today, 

I see it in these photos of an 11th century church. 

The last time we were in France, 

we rented a house in the countryside just outside Carsac 

to use as our base to explore the surrounding 

medieval towns and pre-historic cave drawings. 

But, we did not want to miss seeing anything in the area, 

including the local church from the 11th century. 

How could we bypass a chance to explore such a treasure 

only ten minutes from our house?  

Beautiful in its simplicity, but undistinguished, 

describes the exterior of the little church nestled in the 

small town of fewer than 1500 residents. 

From the back, the small limestone church appears like most other 

Romanesque churches typical in other small French towns. 

A small domed circular section lies behind the main rectangle 

that is supported by buttresses on either side, 

the same general pattern for many small French churches 

built during the same time. 

Yes, a beautiful design. 

The most interesting part of the exterior design at the front is 

the recessed opening with graduated stone arches

which is another familiar design seen in many Medieval churches.  

Many other churches have elaborate carvings on each arch. 

A simply-designed church on the outside with interior designs 

common to most other 11-12th century French churches...  

at first glance. 

A winged angel holding a wreath supports one of 

the interior ceiling columns and could be from any other 

small Romanesque church in the region. 

Then... in the dim light... 

we saw a carving of a bust of a woman alongside an angel holding up the next column. 

Using the flash option, I could see more details. 

She is not a carving with generic features like the angel carvings. 

Rather, her face, hair, and clothes are unique, 

not seen in other churches.  

The next column was supported by a carving of a man, 

once again with detailed unique features of a pensive expression, 

hair with a receding hairline, and a draped garment about his shoulders. 

The stone masons used the church's parishioners as models! 

I wonder how the masons decided which parishioner to choose. 

Were the wealthy donors chosen? 

Or, perhaps, those that exemplified Christian virtues? 

Each carving is filled with rich details depicting different 

facial expressions, clothing designs, and hair styles. 

I love the high-necked garment and her hair wrapped with cords  

to form ponytails that fall to her shoulder bones. 

She looks so young. 

What do you suppose the object beside her is? 

Could the models have been selected for their beautiful features? 

Near the back was a recessed nave with ribbed arches supporting a curved ceiling. 

You can imagine how excited I was to see the beautiful French bleu ceiling 

and the bleu patterned ribs supporting it. 

More unique busts of parishioners support the columns on either side of the recess. 

Do you suppose this man and woman are husband and wife? 

See the delicate blue and green on the walls? 

The church was restored in the 16th century, 

and the colors in the ceiling and walls were repainted at that time. 

A close up of the carved bust on the left side of the recessed nave 

shows more color in the woman's hair and dress, on the column, 

and in drawings under the woman. 

How sad this woman looks. 

~~~~❦~~~~

As I study these pictures of the little church, 

I see elements of 

11th Century 

F R E N C H   D E S I G N 

that are still used today, 

ten centuries later.  

White and cream-colored stones 

Delicate pastel bleus and neutrals 

Vaulted ceilings 

Columns with carved acanthus leaves 

Simple, uncluttered overall design 

Form following function 

Unique pieces from a person's life 

Good design never goes out of style. 

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Please join me at these inspiring sites...

SUNDAY

Share It One More Time @ One More Time Events

MONDAY

Amaze Me Mondays @ Dwellings, the Heart of Your Home

TUESDAY

the Scoop @ Cedar Hill Farmhouse

Tuesdays At Our Home @ Our Home Away From Home

Inspire Me Tuesday @ A Stroll Thru Life

WEDNESDAY

Wow Us Wednesday @ Savvy Southern Style

Centerpiece Wednesday @ The Style Sisters

THURSDAY

The Inspiration Gallery @ Craftberry Bush

Your Turn to Shine @ Canary Street Crafts

FRIDAY

Feathered Nest Friday @ French Country Cottage

Home Sweet Home @ The Charm of Home

Show and Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home

Simple & Sweet Fridays @ Rooted in Thyme

Fridays Unfolded @ Nancherrow

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