Perfect Patina

Hi everyone. How has your week been so far? We have had a pretty average week but one rather important development has occurred – Claire bear started babbling. Little, silly, nonsense words delivered with great emotion and intent! The cutest thing ever! It so amazing how one day, she wasn’t “talking” and the next she is.

Anyway, a little shop news – I was thrilled to have our antique, Edwardian tea caddy featured on Brightnest.com in a post all about – How to Decorate your home like Downton Abbey.

Love that! I just finished the 3rd Season and well…lets just say I’m slightly devastated! If you have been watching, you know why. If you haven’t been watching, drop everything and go do so. It is simply divine!

Since, I’m in a Downton mood, I thought I would share some more photos of the antique and vintage silver we have in the shop now…

This gorgeous gravy boat has beautiful art nouveau embellishments and the perfectly aged patina.

How sweet is this swan creamer? I fell in love with this one. It was made in Japan probably in the 1940′s. In Japan, the swan is a symbol of everlasting love. So romantic.

Nothing says Downton like this set! Beautiful lines and elegant details. Okay that’s all for now…but I’m always on the hunt for fabulous silver.

What kinds of items do you just love to hunt for?

Have a wonderful Thursday.

xo,

My Society6 Shop is now Open!

Hello friends,

How have your Fall been so far? Portland has been delivering absolutely gorgeous, sun filled, Autumn days – but I know the rain is coming soon. We have been trying to make the most of this lovely weather by taking long walks, visiting with neighbors and of course, I’ve been sneaking in a few photo shoots. Fall has brought forth a surge of creativity in me and I finally decided to open up a Society6 shop, where I can sell my digital art and photography. Here are a few of my latest pieces…

Guess I have been inspired by roses lately!

I invite you to come visit the shop and hope you enjoy my work. Thank you for all your love, support and encouragement. You all inspire me to keep creating!

xo,

Tomorrow is the day…

Hi there! It’s been a whirlwind since I last posted. I’ve been admitted to hospital twice and have yet to come home with Baby Claire – annoying to say the least! BUT tomorrow it’s official…due to a spike in my blood pressure and concerns about pre-eclampsia, my Doc will be delivering her via c-section at noon! I’m excited, nervous and well….terrified! Our whole world is about to change. I can’t wait to meet her. So, I’m sending you all lots of love and promise I will be back when I can…

Wish me luck!!

xo,

Image via here

Claire’s Nursery – in the works…

Hello. I am a wee bit tired today but my inspiration (and a cup of tea) is keeping my energy up. Yesterday, I worked a bit on preparing Claire’s nursery. I’m sure you will be utterly surprised to hear that it will have a Parisian flair to it..done in a palette of soft grays and pinks. Let me share a couple of shots with you of the work in progress. Still waiting on draperies, some bedding and other items so bear with me…it’s not done yet.

Toby thinks the changing table pad is his new bed! Not for long, my little fur-ball.

Grace donated her favorite rose flower to Claire’s room. She found it at a thrift store on one of your treasure hunting trips. It’s kinda hilarious but she just loves it – so it came home with us. At least it’s the right shade of pink…

I bought the antique, pink books at one of the flea markets in Paris. They are so pretty! I need to photograph them by themselves, so you can see them.

This little bunny followed me home from France too. I have been told that in French culture, babies will often receive bunnies as first toys, instead of teddy bears. So I’m going with it…

Grace’s old glider has survived but needs a little TLC. I actually ordered a Shabby Chic cream-colored slip cover for this…can’t wait to get it! The vintage, pink chenille blanket was a great vintage find! I love the little white pom-poms.

I know, I know, I’m not really showing you much…but I promise when it is finished I will give you a full reveal. What you are not seeing are the boxes of hand me down clothes from Grace’s stash, unassembled bits for the crib canopy and other unsightly things…so trust me you are not missing anything at this point.

Last night, I did create this piece of digital art work for above the changing table. I’m going to have it printed on canvas so I hope it turns out okay!

Hope your week is going well!

xo,

Shopping the Paris Flea Markets: Les Puces de Saint-Ouen

Hello there. How was your week? I hope it was lovely! So, I promised I would share some shots from my shopping experience at the famous Les Puces de Saint-Ouen – so here you go…

Oh, but first a little background. This expansive market is actually an entire area made up of several markets – each one, having its own personality and specialties. The entire area encompasses over 3000 vendors, so to say it’s large is an understatement. I recommend picking out a few of the markets within to focus on rather than trying to do the whole thing at once. We visited Marché Vernaison, Marché Paul Bert and Marché Biron. We may have stumbled into a few of the other areas too…but at least we tried to stay focused. One could truly get blissfully lost, meandering the alleyways and admiring the sheer variety and beauty of all the treasures to be found. A big tip…get this book!

It was a wonderful help planning this trip.

Okay on to the photos…

Almost every vendor had a little scruffy dog. Most of them had as much personality as their owners and it was quite impossible not to smile when we got the pleasure to meet these beloved French pooches.  This guy was perfectly content perched up on his antique chair!

Here are some of the amazing treasures I unearthed on that day…

All in all, it was another amazing shopping day! I have to thank my friend, Annie again for documenting our adventure with her trusty camera!

Have a fantastic weekend!

xo,

Home sweet home

Bonsoir my friends! Happy Easter! I hope you all enjoyed the holiday weekend.

I returned from Paris on Monday and I’m starting to get back into my groove. Forgive the delay in posting pics! I do have over 300 images to edit and it’s a rather daunting job, not to mention the mounds of Parisian treasures unearthed at the flea markets that need to be photographed and listed on my Etsy shop! It’s been a busy week but I couldn’t be more satisfied.

Paris was…amazing, dreamy, surreal, inspiring, overwhelming, breathtaking, exhausting, life-changing and incredible. I could go on…but I think you get what I mean.

We arrived at 2 pm. Dropped off by a friendly, somewhat amused (at us) cab driver in front of our Paris flat on Rue de Grenelle in the 7th Arrondissment. I felt like I had landed on a different planet. Jetlagged, pregnant and stupefied, I was overcome with how surreal it felt to actually be in Paris. My head was swimming as I took in our surroundings – beautiful old buildings with ironwork filigree, a quaint cafe across the street bustling with locals, a fruit vendor rearranging bunches of white asparagus, the aroma of fresh bread and flowers and the ever-present, gentle hum of the French language buzzing around us. I must have looked like a deer in headlights. I was in Paris. For real.

After settling into our apartment, we headed over to the corner bistro. Terrified, I approached the gentleman at the door.

“Bonjour?” My voice was barely audible. This whole language barrier was freaking me out…even after all my French practice.

He smiled and said in English, “Table for two, for lunch?”

I must have sighed rather loudly, because he chuckled. I nodded and he seated us at a sidewalk table and handed us English menus. Were we that obvious? I guess so.

With shaking hands, I managed to wolf down my first Parisian meal. Roasted chicken, scallop potatoes and a salad. Not that interesting but it did wonders for my blood sugar.

With a full belly we decided to stroll over to the Eiffel tower, ten blocks away.

Here comes that surreal feeling again. I stood in awe, gazing at this beautiful structure – the one seen through out my home on coasters, prints and pillows. There it was before me. Let me tell you, it is truly stunning!

As night fell, we headed back to our flat to (hopefully) sleep! I have never felt more exhausted and giddy all at the same time.

Here was the view from our bedroom window…

Sleep came quickly but I awoke at 11 pm to this sight…

Pure magic.

xo,