Granny Christman Tree

This year, a vintage Christmas tree. I love using vintage items, especially textiles. I feel closer to those women who made everything themselves, now that I am making some stuff myself. My granny Christmas tree is kind of an homage in a way.

The "lacy" decorations were part of a crocheted center piece that I separated into different elements. Absolutely lovely...

The "beast" ;-)

And, gifts... Craft paper, a fantastic friend of mine, allows so many possibilities that I couldn't resist to use it again this year. For each gift, a large black letter, butcher's twine and a little ribbon to give them a more festive look and... Voilà!

Etsy.com, my Friend

I have a superb orange popsicle dining room. Clear, refreshing, imagine the energy boost when you are in that room. But, nothing on the walls. Yet. I found an old kitsch mirror I painted white. Looks nice. Still, something was missing, something artsy. I went through an extreme search on the wonderful etsy site, where artists sell their art online.

Here is what I bought:Sur la route vers Natashquan / Carol-Anne Pedneault (bought in Montreal, but available online)

Sanctuary / Cathy Nichols

Polaroid - Bunting / Amy Blackwell

Suitcases / Amy Blackwell

Green Nesting Bird / Bernadette Sipkes

Little Flats / Shelli Dorfe

Spot the Spurtle / Jill Bogart

Airplane Nursery / Sarah Knight
Spring Owl Tree / Aline

Town Archival Print / Lisa Congdon

I just need to find interesting frames (vintage of course), it's gonna be grand!

Julie & Julia

After seeing the movie Julie & Julia, big rush of ideas, lots of thoughts...

•I really have to cook more, I am missing somehting, I know. The sink and countertop are going to be installed September 22nd, it will help ;-)

•Great stories always start with a passion. Complications often follow, sometimes we feel a little discouraged to finally we achieve our goal. Must remember to be passionate, to feel the joy, throughout the journey. This way, whatever the result, at least we had fun!

•I too have a wonderful husband. Who thinks my ideas are great. Always remember that. (Easyyyyyy)

•I am a woman. My hormones sometimes drive me nuts. Typically feminine. Must learn to deal with that...

•Eating is pleasant. Sensual also. Cooking, eating are honourable actions.

•Working on perseverance is key.

•Never listen to your mother if she hinders you to become a better you. (I hope I'll never be Julie's mom with my daughters)

•Our daily dramas are tomorrow's funny moments.

A Glimpse

The yukky work in the kitchen is almost over. Still missing a countertop (it's gonna be something!), a sink and the plain white (large tiles) backsplash. So little to do, compared to the mess we had to live in mid-August. I can't believe how beautiful it is. I regularly end up in there, just admiring everything, enjoying it.

It even inspires me to write fridge poetry.

This morning light in there was fabulous...

On Design Sponge!

YESSS! I'm on Design Sponge today, featuring my crazy staircase. Soooo happy...

Beds

I know, it is strange, pictures of beds. But I really like beds, I do! A bed, is where you dream, where you start your days, where you think. In my case, it is the place I enjoy reading the most. It is also where I find my ideas, my concepts, seriously ;-)

My bed,

Alizée's,

and Miranda's.

Sweet dreams!

Homemade Food

Today, Claude and Miranda prepared great homemade food, most of them being traditions such as meat pies, donuts (Noëlla's recipe), potato pie (a childhood memory), egg rolls, Parmesan fondues and stuffed rolls. We'll eat meat pies at my in-laws' party. We started eating the donuts (an excellent desert, especially with a touch of Nutella!). The potato pie is already gone and we'll taste the other food soon...

Thanks you to our cooks... xx

Miniatures

I was living with Françoise the year I studied at Ottawa University. She was a very funny woman from Belgium, and with her I laughed like I never laughed before. Sometimes I miss her... I often wonder what she's become.

Françoise had many miniatures on an old armoire and I was fascinated. I wasn't 20 and she was a great friend. Françoise was a little older than me and I learned a lot from her (Brel, food, how to have lots of fun). When I left, she offered me one of her miniatures. I still have it. It belongs to a collection of useless knick knacks decorating my kitchen.

In my collection (I've always collected stuff from as far I can remember, I guess it's part of who I am), are ducks from Martine, a flower from my love, a handmade bird made by Alizée, a fishing thing (don't know what it is, really) found in Bar Harbor, a jug brought back from Greece by my sister Valérie, a few pebbles (Washington, Percé, Forte dei Marmi), teeny-weeny shells, a «#1 teacher» frog (gift from a student), Claude's pocket knife, a toy green monster found in San Diego and some more...

I don't buy miniatures, they simply come to me. And these little treasures remind me nice things, great moments, important people of my life. That's precious!

Miranda's Bed

A bedroom is a shelter, a very private place, especially if you don't have to share it. My daughters have that feeling of a personnal space. That's cool. And if we are restricted by the available space (old houses for average incomes have rooms that are quite small...), imagination has all the necessary space. On her bed (yes, it was done that day, yay!), we usually find lots of animals, well organized, well behaved, no fighting around here. A few weeks ago, though, she got rid of most of the plush toys (they're hidden somewhere...) and kept the "green" ones (okay, okay, the polar bear isn't green...) with hippopotamuses in the middle of the bed.

Hippopotamuses are synonyms of a lot of souvenirs, the most important being the nickname Miranda gave them when she was very young. Even if she started talking at a very young age, she sometimes had to modify the most difficult words. (and hippopotamus, between the age of 2, well, that's something...). She called them "petits potames» (meaning little tamuses, in French). Too cute, hey? We kept the name... I offered a «petit potame» to Eliane last year. A new tradition is born!

New Label

Inspired by her, I've decided to start new posts under the label: «Home, sweet home». We all have in our house nice little coves, inspiring spots that make the different between living somewhere and being home. So, here and there, posts about my little home...

When I bought the house, it belonged to a man who worked with wood. He left his worktable behind. After painting it, sanding the countertop and oiling it, well, the result was quite satisfying. Since we don't have a lot of work space in the kitchen, this solves our problem temporarily. Practical, simple and country-style, love it!