Monday Moodboard - Comfort Zone

Bonjour !

I've never been much of a burgundy ou Bordeaux girl, no.

Too reminiscent of school uniforms, the cold winters of my youth up North,

le froid tout court.

So, I surprise myself as I peruse maroon in French highstreet stores, sleek online catalogues and moodboards.

Life begins when you move out of your comfort zone, so they say.

I'll be striding out of mine in marsala velvet ankle boots this Winter.

Who knows what'll happen next ?

...

Images from my pinterest boards and tumblr plumes and feathers

1

collage (top left to bottom right)

2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7

8

Letting Go

Relax, 

Unwind, 

Let Go,

Sometimes it's the only way to heal.

Rain, rain, non-stop rain here in the South of France.

I'm hyperactive, always busy, rushing, running around,

musn't waste a single, precious moment.

So today I'm at home taking my time, for once,

just listening to the pitter-patter

and letting go.

All images taken from my tumblr

Plumes & Feathers

( are you following me there yet?)

sources

(top left to bottom right)

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6

Et ça fait du bien ! 

Moodboard Monday - Hello October

 

 

Come on in October,

I'm ready for you.

Bring me your coppers, your russets, your soft lights and darkness

I'm falling in love

again.

Images taken from my tumblr

Plumes and Feathers

1

collage

2  3  4  5  6  7

8

Vive l'automne !

Just Two

Just two

For you

Two inspiring images from a favourite tumblr blog

Petite-Louve

I love curating over here

See you there?

Source:
HelloHello / Flickr
Mohamed Camara, Chambres maliennes / Malian Rooms series

Favourite Finds - The Rough with the Smooth

 

  
Tuesdays are for catching up with my online friends, browsing blogs and checking out new creative accounts across the web. After a long Summer break I feel slightly out of the loop, but rested and refreshed I'm eager to explore. 

Today's selection  of simple yet sophisticated finds is in keeping with yesterday's dark colour scheme, despite the stiffling heat here - guess I'm ready for Fall...

Links:

Variations Couture - Sarah Moon 

Loop The Loop - a new favourite online address

Hotoki Antiques

X11 + 52

Plumo

Box artist Peter Gabrielse' amazing work and château via Kotomi Creations 

Monday Moodboard : La rentrée

I know it's early days to be talking about Autumn but may I whisper?

"Here and Now", I hear you all say, you're enjoying an Indian Summer in the South of France n'est-ce pas ? What's the hurry? Make the most of it!

Believe me, I am. C'est la Rentrée, my kids have gone back to school, we've reorganized a few corners of our home and there's an invigorating, start-of-a-new-year optimism in the air. If I add to that a few splashes in the pool or ten minutes in the still very hot sun,  I'm sure you'll get the atmosphere.

What I can't convey in words is that feeling that everything is just about to change. There are acorns and dead leaves on the mossy paths I run down in a morning, grapes that need picking, and olive branches laden with beautiful green fruit slowly ripening in our garden.

                      C'est la Rentrée and Autumn is my favourite season of the year.

Image sources:

(top left to bottom right)

1 / 2/ 3/ 4

Inspiration - The Rough with the Smooth

 

  

  

This isn't the first time I've written about Slywia's inspiring work, and I'm pretty sure it won't be the last. Project-i is one of the handful of interior design blogs that I continue to follow, because I love this Polish studio's aesthetic, choice of materials and mix of colours, textures, rustic and modern. There's always a rawness, an interesting, intelligent use of space and a real sense of place in their creations. Every little detail feels right. I could move into this flat tomorrow, couldn't you?

More photos this stunning apatment can be found on Project-i's blog

 here, here, here and here.

Enjoy!

Moodboard - She Sells Seashells

So we're halfway through the school holidays and it feels like summer's just around the corner. Savannah and I have been enjoying the glow of the first rays of sunshine on our pale, winter skin, slowly turning apricot.

I love these carefree days - soft sunlight, a gentle breeze, the promise of longer, golden days to come.

Ahh, bientôt, 

bientôt,

Soon we will go to the sea...

Images:

( top left to bottom right )

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 

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Getting it Together

I am,

getting it together.

Suddenly, un déclic,

things are starting

to fall into place...

I have decided to step back a bit this year,

take my time,

 have a good long think about me, my life, online and off.

It's an age thing, I guess.

But I have plans,

a new direction,

an inspiring project,

un nouveau corde à mon arc.

One day,

when the time is right,

I'll tell you more...

I hope you enjoy this week's moodboard.

I always seem to be drawn to the same, neutral palette

Because it's me!

Images

1) Totally into motivational messages right now

collage

2) Farrow & Ball, Shadow White, and I love those saws on the wall!

3) Check out Chrystele Goncalves on etsy, her watercolours are gorgeous!

4) Go and explore Sarah Baird's beautiful tumblr!

5) Ana Tuominen - gosh, I still love her work

6) Audrey Marnay in Talking to Myself book by Yohji Yamamoto 

7) Vendredi is a beautiful new online and bricksandmortar concept store - love!

8 ) Reverse graffiti by Helen Birch, Flickr

I have been very busy on facebook, pinterest and tumblr lately.

In case you're wondering where I've been.

Bon week-end !

 

Moodboard - Paint it Black

Back to basics.

Back to neutral, natural,

raw

and black.

Ebony, ink,

charcoal,

En filigrane,

Smudged gras, matt.

There's an air of melancholy here today,

No sun. No spring.

Just rain.

For once...

Images:

(top left to bottom right)

1 ) Love the modern yet relaxed feel of this space incorporating art director chairs

2 ) July's XL bowls are to die for - and that's not something I often say!

3 ) Ritsuko Ozeki - beautiful work at Froelick Gallery

4 ) Omaomaopaopa - I come back to this original etsy store time and time again - love!

5 ) Sarah Moon's photography - timeless

6 ) Oscar Tuazon" Action " at Jonathan Viner, London

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Golden Brown, Texture Like Sun

 

Bonjour !

Happy Easter to all those celebrating today!

It's raining here, so quite honestly I just feel like staying under the covers and lounging around at home all day.  But, I promised myself that I would go for a run or a very long power walk at the least. 

I will do, later. I'm know.

Getting fit again, spending as much time as I can outdoors, is one of my priorities now. I crave nature, open spaces and the exquisite opportunity to spend sometime alone. I'm sure you all appreciate how vital a bit of "Me" time can be...

I am also longing for Summer, to feel that strong Mediterranean sun on my skin, slowly toasting me golden brown - I'm a Leo girl through and through. We turned the clocks back last night and all I can think about is enjoying a very early morning swim in the pool, listening to my kids playing out late in the garden with the swallows.

Bientôt - soon - j'ai terriblement envie ...

Image sources

1

collage

(top left to bottom right)

2 3 4 5 6 7

8

Bonne journée !

Revise your Classics

Just because 

J'aime...

I love this new sticker from Antique Home

and Paloma Wool continues to inspire me.

Tout Doux

Bonsoir !

Un grand besoin de douceur aujourd'hui.

It's unusually cold here and I've spent much of today battling through the wind and rain with a flimsy, now broken, umberella.

No surprise then that this week's moodboard is inspired by soft pastels, seascapes and pretty wild flowers.

C'mon on Spring, get your act together. We're waiting!!!

Images

( top left to bottom right )

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6

xxx

Shop The Look #4

 

Hello there!

I hope you all enjoyed your weekend.

Ours was an enjoyable mix of sport, spring sunshine and shopping.

If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you'll know we love flea markets, brocantes and secondhand shops like Emmaus. We always find something to wear, decorate with or even furnish our shabbychic home (almost bought a cement shower tray for our new bathroom this time!) whenever we go there, and I find it far more entertaining and creative than normal, 'offtheshelf' buying.

Anyway, I'm feeling happy and relaxed, ready to come back online a bit more. I have several ideas for new features, and indeed, a new blog / venture (more about that later), but for now, let's kick off the week with a new Shop The Look post:

Inspired by fresh, white interiors and a neutral natural palette combining linen, cotton, cement, stone and string - I love the finished feel.

Links:

1) I feel in love with Angelica Eichler's Desert Decor fashion portfolio last week.

2) Talking of love... I don't think there's one single item at The New Craftsmen that I wouldn't want in my home. Akiko Hirai and Claire Norcross' Buoy Light is simply beautiful.
3) I visit etsy daily and really enjoy curating my collection of finds. This katagami stencil popped up in my feed the other day and I love the graphic shibori star pattern. Check out Kyoto Kimono for more.

4) Coveting Ambatalia linen dish covers is new for me, but I've had my eye on them for a long time now, along with everything else in Quitokeeto, another favourite online shop of mine. 

5) Rareweaves - raw textiles and objects to die for! 

6) Bristol-based HunterGatherer (follow them here too) have put together a very unusual collection of vintage items, and I am sure these French Calvados bottles would look stunning in my kitchen! Be quick, there are only a few left I believe.

Moodboard: I'm a Flower Girl

I'm a flower girl,

busy at home and outside.

I apologise for my absence, 

the longest in 7 years, I believe.

I've been pottering, doing,

thinking, 

watching my garden grow.

Resting my mind, my eyes from life online.

ça fait du bien de temps en temps !

Image sources

(top left to bottom right)

1 / 2 / 3 / 4

For more visual inspiration

follow me

HERE

Inspiration: Tout doucement

I know, I know, it's still too early to be talking about Spring

But, you see, our balcony is so pretty covered in rose buds galore; there are daisies popping up around the pool and the air is sweet with pink almond blossom. It's hard not to think about warmer, longer days and a new soft colour palette inside and out.

Ah oui, ça vient, tout doucement... 

Images from my tumblr

Plumes & Feathers

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6

Slowly but surely Spring is on its way!

 

Kids' Inspiration: Berta & Co

They go by the name of Berta, Izabela, Emil, Adolf and Jan, and are some of the nicest art dolls I've seen in a long time. Handmade by Hommy in Japan for a small etsy store called RUCNI, renowned for their beautiful owls and other textile creatures, these velveteen giraffes, cats, elephants, wolves are dark, mysterious and quite exquisite - love!

Inspiration: Quali-T

T for Teapots, for Tundra too.

 I follow the magician Wu Wei Cheng here,

and so should you.

Take your hat off

 to this Latvian brand

 reviving traditions so fine,

Berta or a kippa? 

No, the big brown one

 there's mine!

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