Top Ten Blogs For Francophiles

Flicker Photo

This morning I opened my email to find that Becky Ramsey of Wonders Never Cease has added me to the list of blogs.com ~ Top Ten Blogs For Francophiles.

I was astonished! As you know, I love everything French, and the other blogs on the list are the very ones I go to for my own inspiration.

Thank you so much, Becky! I am truly honored!

For those of you who may not know, Becky Ramsey is the author of one of my favorite books, French By Heart. If you’ve always wanted to know what it’s like to be an American in France (and you’re looking for some great laughs), Becky’s book is for you.

And A Good Time Was Had By All . . .

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I wanted to thank my wonderful sister-in-law and her amazing chef sweetheart for the BEST Thanksgiving dinner I’ve ever had.

All photos © Fete et Fleur Designs

Menu

Roasted Turkey with Pomegranate Gravy

Wild Rice and Bacon Stuffing with Cilantro Gravy

Baked Yams with a Brown Sugared Walnut Topping

Fete Cheese and Tender Spinach Salad

Scalloped Potatoes Au Gratin

The Season Beckons . . .

As we get ready here in America for one of my favorite holidays, Thanksgiving, I find my heart wandering down white snow-filled paths. It could be the inspiration I’ve been finding here, here, and here.

I’m going to be taking a short break until after Thanksgiving, but I wanted to leave you with a little inspiration in shades of white.

All Photos © Fete et Fleur Designs

Wishing you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving, filled with love, laughter and joy!

The Heart Revealed . . .

The howl of the wind was all around the little cottage. The lights went out in an instant. Her fingers trembled as they sought along the ledge of the fireplace for the match she knew would be there. She found it, struck it and lit the candle. The soothing warmth of the light permeated the room.





A thought went through her mind: The Heart Revealed . . .





Why had she been so afraid a few moments ago when the lights had gone out? Was it her silly childhood fear of the dark? She laughed to herself and looked down at the project she had just finished. Was it her imagination or did the waves in the ocean seem to be moving? And was that the far off sound of a trumpet she heard in her ears?





The magic of creating hung in the room and enveloped her in its arms.





This amazing paper theatre kit was assembled by myself and created by the very talented Lindsey of Little Robot. It is called, The Heart Revealed.

Results and Ornaments

Thank you all for the sweet blogiversary wishes. I just can’t believe it’s been one year! I'm planning a giveaway soon to celebrate that and my 200th post. So stay tuned . . .

I wanted to let you know the results of my blog music opinion poll. There were more of you who preferred not to have music, and even those of you who enjoyed music preferred soft playing music, without lyrics. Many of you stated that you have the sound turned off while reading blogs because music is a distraction to you. Several of you emailed me, saying that music will actually keep you away from a blog. One of you said the reason for this is that many times the volume on the players is so loud it blasts, and if you forget to turn your sound down, it scares you! Thanks so much for letting me know your feelings on blog music.

Ornaments

Every year I like to add one Christmas ornament to our tree. This year the ornament I will be adding is from one of our very own talented bloggers. I recently visited the beautiful Kristen Robinson’s blog. She created a lovely batch of ornaments that are currently being featured in the latest Somerset Life Magazine. She’s also created some for her Etsy shoppe. I fell in love with the one called, The Music of My Soul.

I received my ornament yesterday with another gift inside.










Aren’t they beautiful? I was thrilled when I saw the other ornament that Kristen had included. It is called From the Ball. I love it, Kristen. Thank you. I will treasure them both!

A Year of Blogging . . .

It’s difficult to put into words what this year of blogging has meant to me. I’ve laughed, I’ve cried, I’ve been comforted and have met many a kindred spirit. In a month that is appropriate to give thanks for the things that we have, I give thanks for all of you and for this great year of blogging. I hope this small space on the web has become a place for you to dream.

My heart is overflowing . . .

Photo: © Fete et Fleur

Sunday Apple Pancakes Courtesy of Miss Dapoppins

Thank you Miss Dapoppins for the sacred apple pancake recipe. As I promised, I have honored the giver of The Recipe, with a full post. They were a hit at our Sunday brunch. The mmmm's could be heard a mile away.

Me in my apron. Sorry for those of you who hate shoe (feet) photos. This is my lucky shamrock apron.

My favorite paring knife and a gorgeous apple.

Slicing the Apples

All the ingredients gathered

Hubby lending a hand

Stirring the cut slices into the butter and sugar ~ Pouring the batter onto the apples

Apples in batter ~ The finished apple pancakes

Thanks so much for your lovely recipe. They were scrumptious. For the recipe click here.

For more on yummy foods, check this out

Too Much to Title

The wonderful Sherry from Edie Marie’s Attic has given me this award.

Thank you so much, Sherry. I feel honored to have received this. I would like to pass this award on to all the bloggers in my Wonderful Places to Visit. I’m never good at the picking and choosing, so everyone gets one!

Also . . .

I wanted to ask your opinions on blog music. What do you think? Love it? Hate it? I would love to know.


Eye Candy:

Here is a beautiful antique print I wanted to share with you. This is just precious to me, having been a dancer for so many years. This brought back memories of getting ready for my performances. The best part about dance for me: the costumes and defying gravity. I could have used a few of these little cherubs on some of my costume changes.

I LOVE Our Blogging Community!

Our blogging community never ceases to amaze me with its thoughtful and caring individuals. I received an email just recently from one such individual, a Miss LiLi of LiLi M's Adventures. She had read my post where I shared my love of Carolyn Quartermaine’s style. In the email she told me of a magazine in her country that had just published an article on Carolyn, and if I was interested, she would send me the magazine!

I was bowled over by her kindness. You will never know how much that meant to me, LiLi. I was in a down place at the moment and it helped to perk up my heart. The magazine arrived a few weeks ago and to my surprise, LiLi had translated the article for me! I wanted to savor this magazine article when I read it, so . . . I made sure everything was just right when I sat down to read it.

My check list included:

1. An afternoon of peace and quiet. Believe me, with my life, that takes some doing.
2. A cozy comfy chair and ottoman.
3. A hot cup of tea.
4. Pillows on my lap to spread out the magazine and translation.

I read the article slowly the first time and then I read it two more times after that, oohing and ahhing over the photos. What I loved the most about this article were the personal details shared about Carolyn’s life in France. I have photographed parts of it for you to enjoy.

The cover of the article. Please excuse the photography, for some reason my camera was really acting up.

I love this chandelier! Drool . . .

I wouldn't mind a pair of these beside my bed.

These beautiful shoe tags were created by Miss LiLi herself.

Hugs LiLi!

Thank you!!

Marie Antoinette Birthday Soiree

On this day we celebrate the birth of Marie Antoinette, France’s most famous and infamous queen.

Thank you Joy, for inviting me to be a part of this birthday celebration.

Marie Antoinette: born November 2, 1755, died October 16, 1793

"Courage! I have shown it for years. Think you I shall lose it at the moment when my sufferings are to end?”
- MARIE ANTOINETTE

While preparing for this soiree, I did many hours of research on Marie Antoinette. I found her to be a very courageous, enterprising and intelligent woman. The youngest of 15 children, not well educated and quite unspoiled compared to many of her contemporaries. She was brought to the palace at Versailles at 14 years of age. Can you imagine the fear she must have felt when she looked up at this building.

Her name evokes so many different emotions in a short space of time. The more I read of her life, the more I believe she became a scapegoat for the ailing French economy. From the moment she stepped foot in France she was under a microscope, which eventually led to her demise. I can’t help but wonder if things might have been different if the French economy had been thriving when she and Louis XVI inherited the throne.

I found this postcard of the young princess and was inspired to create a vignette in her honor.

Marie Memory Board

To create the memory board overhead, I chose an antique frame and created a padded insert with cotton batting and a lovely damask cotton covering. Then I added a copy of the postcard trimmed in a silver thread with a sterling silver finding to crown the top, and a rhinestone brooch pinned to the bottom. The gorgeous blue green silk screamed royalty to me so I added it as a frame to the postcard. I had a lot of fun with this project.

Pearls, which might have adorned her neck, sit in a gorgeous mother of pearl vase.

Details of a lion on the dressing mirror.

A close up of the center of my memory board.

Her symbols:

I found this lovely set of doors on Rubylane a little too expensive for my taste at $200,000.00 for the pair. They happen to carry the monogram of Marie Antoinette. I would love to know the history behind them.




I found this teacup a while ago and fell in love with it. This cup carries the favorite symbols of Marie Antoinette, the pink rose and the blue cornflower.

French hand painted miniature of Marie

I hope you enjoyed yourself. Now please visit Joy at Cupids Charm for more Marie party-goers.

There is a wonderful link you should follow if you would like to know more about Marie. Lady Antonia Fraser discusses why Marie Antoinette has fascinated people throughout history. Please click here for the link.