Tongue in Cheek

Late Autumn days sunshine beckon us to stay outside.

We have spent countless hours sitting around the wooden picnic table talking, cracking walnuts, eating pomegranates from my mother’s yard while visiting family and friends.

Happy place !

A sleepover.

Junkfood.

Mattress in the living room.

Soda.

I am on the couch.

The Party Pooper in me says, "I am not staying up all night."

Chelsea's Nickname for Baby Gabriel "Love Love". 

Refraining from eating him in one bite is becoming harder and harder to resist.

Though with that said holding him longer and longer is becoming harder too, he is a chunk.

All that sweetness.

Such a beautiful dream come true.

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Such incredibly beautiful weather for this time of the year. We had lunch outside today.

My mom made her delicious cream puffs I wanted to devour all of them and somehow manage to refrain. 

We had chilled pea soup, roasted and fresh vegetable salad,...

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We arrived safely. The flight was not difficult. We took turns holding Gabriel for eleven and a half hours. As long as we held him he was happy, and we were happy even if my arms felt like they might fall off.

Gabriel slept for about three hours in the twenty-some hours we traveled. He was curious and noticed everything about the plane...

Repost from 2007

Yesterday I called home to confirm to my parents our flight information. My little nieces and nephew were there. I had already bought gifts to bring for them, but I thought I'd ask them anyway what they might like...

Why is there such unrest in the world? We know most of the reasons. 

Often I think if countries would just gather people together to share a meal, a potluck of sorts in silence. A few children, a baby or two, a few people in their nineties and several more people from various backgrounds well I think it couldn't hurt.

Food...

Northern California during autumn,

golden valley, harvested fields, open spaces, geese in flight.

Country roads leading near and far.

Clouds adding texture between the valley and the foothills.

A single tree sets the stage.

A barn in the middle of a harvested rice field.

I...

Packing my bags as I will be going to visit my family in California with Chelsea and baby Gabriel- Nov 4th to Dec 15th. If you are in my childhood hometown I hope to see you. Please add some good vibes that Baby Gabriel has a sleepful, calm flight and not one that will hurt ears.

I cannot wait to see my mom hold Gabriel and see my family...

Preparing for Autumn. Gathering the abundant harvest at the end of summer. Canning the last of the vegetables and making pomegranate jam. Watching the first leaves dance down to the ground, grabbing from the upper shelf a sweater to wear, taking out the rake, stacking the cord of wood in the shed, smelling the fall aroma in the air.

Yes, I know you can imagine how thrilled I was when I opened this box at a brocante and found these hand-painted antique wallpaper designs. Instead of screaming YAHOO! I simply closed the box and asked, "How much for all of those papers?"

I sold them soon after.

Thankfully I have these photos to remind me how beautiful they were.

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After a wonderful visit with my daughter, son in law and grandson my friend @seeninprovence and I hit the brocantes in Paris. We had to take a taxi van to a rental car as we accumulated so many good finds. An unexpected road trip back to Provence, with a stuffed car, late in the evening we found a very charming manoir to spend the...

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The way the painting has crackled around the woman’s face it appears as a non threatening spider web, or a touch of mystical wonder? Fascinating to me. The crackling gives the painting a new story a curious perspective and dimension. My friend Gina bought it in Paris this weekend.

Later as I was walking around the brocante I heard a...

Here are some random views of Paris as I walked to and from Chelsea's apartment. Our apartment is in the fourteenth by Montparnasse and Chelsea's and Martin's apartment is in the tenth by Saint Martin's Canal.

If you would like to see more photos but mainly videos please follow my Instagram account and look at the daily stories. I posted...

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The last FRENCH la Vie group of the season ended today Such a whirlwind of brocante fanatics who were as crazy about antiques as I am I had such pleasure meeting those who came and look forward to doing it again next year!

 The new season will begin in April 2020 if you are interested in coming please let me know a few...

my friend Nelly, a friend and long time antique dealer had a beautiful bust.
The day after I took this photo her dog wagged his tail with jubilant joy and broke her antique bust shattering it to the floor in a million pieces. 

French la Vie antiquing with Lisa, Patricia, Gina, and Jeanette. They literally only stop to eat and sleep. These ladies have the Brocante Bug far worse than me and you know how bad that must be.

I think I am going to start, or maybe I have started a Brocante Addiction Group and the only cure is not more cow bells...

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I am terrible at writing back, and I feel guilty because of it most of the time.
If I did write everyone back, the computer would become my best friend, lover, child, housework, food, sleep, and new way of living reality... I do not want that to happen.

Every now and then when the questions start piling up I try to answer them here instead.

Kindred spirits when I meet people who read my blog and travel to France to share my passion.

The ease and happiness amazes me, that I can meet people and we feel we know one another and instantly start talking about our lives.

The French la Vie went to Cassis and even though it only has one brocante vendor everyone...

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Love something new every day, that sure beats, "Do something that scares you every day."

I suppose for some loving is scary.

For those of you following me on instagram thank you. It is easy to add videos so I add them daily especially during the French la Vie which I have been leading for the last several weeks.

...

 Autumn days. Gathering the abundant harvest at the end of summer. Canning the last of the fruit, making pomegranate jam. Watching the first leaves dance down to the ground, grabbing from the upper shelf a sweater to wear, using the rake, stacking the cord of wood in the shed, smelling the fall aroma in the air.

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The latest video of baby Gabriel showed him doing something new.

Devouring his father's nose.

No hungry wasn't an issue.

Maybe it was a sign of affection?

Though he hasn't mastered gentleness he was chewing mostly.

Nevertheless, I find him adorable !

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Dreams are said to be the language of God, symbolic messages. 

Dreaming is said to be a way our minds or inner being processes the day's events, thoughts and feelings.

Dreams are a way of putting the puzzle of daily life in order. A way of capturing the unconscious. A path to understanding the nuances that escape us. 

...

 The first page in a century-old book.

 A bronze drawer pull, 1700s.

 French antique textiles.

 A worn silver thimble.

 Delicate scissors for fine lace or...

French antique love letters are hard to come by. Love letters aren't just between two lovers, the one above was written to someone's grandfather. 

The love letters that I found are on embossed paper (14 x 10 inches). Most have paper flowers and birds on them, often tied with a pastel...

gathering stories

in one big hug

the sweet sad sour slippery luscious savory delightful carefree worrisome forgiven 

those moments that trickled by then splashed into a mighty wave

tieing them together

with a ribbon of intention

contentment

a nod to this age 

HAPPY

  The differences between France and America are subtle. Take Mums and pumpkins for example.

Mums are an Autumn flower that arrives in force in October. They spill out from the floral shops onto the streets creating a parade of magnificent color. Just as pumpkins shout out Autumn in America, mums are the...

A sweet postcard:

A little boy wearing a long white apron with a straw hat tilted on his head,

holding a bouquet of roses and mums that he has hidden behind his back

as he leans at the doorway to see if the person he cares for is near.

Sweet.

Brocante, I know and you know that I have the brocante bug bad. It is an illness I live with daily. Love it. Every aspect of it. It doesn't matter the side effects it brings: Big, small, tattered, worn, under cover, early mornings... it is worth it.

It doesn't matter what the brocante brings, it fascinates my imagination, makes me...

Guy and Bibi the owners of Pavillon de Galon have created an enchanting garden in Cucuron a small village close to Aix en Provence. I was fortunate to go there today while helping with the Red Shed Vintage Tour. Isn't it a sign of happiness when you leave a place and your mind still overflows with images and wonder? The...

The sun called out to enjoy the day.

Perfect as today I am helping Red Shed Vintage Tours lead 10 women around Provence.

Today started in Aix.

Any meal in France, don't be intimidated by the linen tablecloths

and napkins... that is just how it is in France.

...

Have you ever had homemade gnocchi?

Have you ever had homemade gnocchi made by an Italian?

If not put it on your bucket list.

Sacha has loved pasta since he was old enough to eat. He would cry for pasta and literally wanted it breakfast, lunch, and dinner. My mother in law was shocked that...

The saying, "Home is where the heart is", is certainly true especially when nearly everyone is under one roof. Sacha came home to see his Italian Girlfriend, Chelsea came home with Gabriel, and Martin was here last weekend. 

Yann is wearing a gift from his birthday (which was last month) a shower cap which is called a "Charlotte"...

I know to whom these belong.

Gabriel three and a half months.

A dumpling. I am surprised he hasn’t been gobbled up.

No need to add sugar.

The morning started with Gabriel and I sneaking out with the strollers for croissants, pain au chocolates, apple turnovers, and a baguette. Not even the scent of freshly baked goods could wake up Gabriel so I walked around the village: Baby bundled up in a stroller, whiffs of buttery croissants, a blue Provencal sky, bumpy cobble...

Oh and Chelsea, Martin, Sacha, and his Italian girlfriend too.

Summer is a royal feast for the senses. The color of the season surprises me over and over again, it never grows old, nor ordinary or expected. The season's gift is appreciated. Oh, that Provencal blue sky against the golden wheat. Gasp. It is the first time, isn't it? Do I smell baked bread?

I know I do.

The earth soaks in...

When each bite is delicious, when you do not have to search for the flavor, then a little is enough.

I once read somewhere, that when you take a bite of something without much flavor our appetite keeps searching, possibly eating more to find the depth of flavor. But when we taste something truly divine then we sit back and savor...

Wear the crown.

The one that rests upon your heart.

The one that has been with you since you were born.

Hold it, feel it, admire it, treasure it.

Some might say it is a crown,

but we know better than that.

It is a halo, a sacred gift, life-giving love.