Thursday 20 December 2007

Our Shop at Christmas

Our shop has been wearing its festive clothing in the past few weeks. I have used some red and white bed linen on this deep gray mattress bed. The foam Christmas trees are a favorite part of the decor. They look festive and the white tips look like real snow. I have used some stickers for the windows. I have always liked spelling wishes in many languages. This one reads Best Wishes in French. I also like the handwritten kind of lettering. I have used the fairies from last year's deco theme with the children's bedroom. It looks charming and appropriate.

Same tree as in previous picture, only this time it is framed in white. I like the change from the classic red to the more spicy and modern orange. See our Christmas tree? I never tire of it. This year, instead of the fairies I have used the red and white striped ornaments from 5 years ago!

This is the bed on our main window. I have dressed it in brown and orange. Our organic cotton bed spread with its taupe, brown, orange and burgundy stripes, is an invitation to cocooning!

I hope you all have a lovely Christmas season.

Tuesday 18 December 2007

Pillows and Beans

We have received some new pillowcases and a bean bag cover. They are made of jute and wool. I like this bean bag. It is comfortable to sit on, filled with natural rubber, and its cover is removable. This is lovely for a touch of the West or folk.

I like stripes. They are versatile and easy to match. These pillowcases cost 38 Euros each. The top pillowcase is more subtly colored, the one at the bottom works great with the bean bag.

En Provence

My best friend and childhood soulmate, Celine Magrini, has just published her first book. Celine is a specialist in the local litterature of the South of France. The book is a collection of legends from her native Provence, in the South of France, related to specific sites and accompanied by beautiful photography.
The book is called En Provence : Sur le chemin des légendes.It is a lovely addition to the library of the francophile in your list, and an enriching choice for your own enjoyment!

Here I am with my very own copy!

"Ce beau livre rassemble 36 légendes provençales choisies selon un parcours géographique qui permet au lecteur de (re)découvrir les plus beaux sites de Provence avec un autre œil. Les superbes photos couleur de J. Mathur rythment le circuit et font le lien entre passé et présent.
Cet itinéraire promène le lecteur le long des côtes de la Provence maritime, et le conduit par les terres vers la vallée du Rhône et la Camargue, bouclant un périple qui toutefois reste à jamais ouvert, puisqu’il débute et s’achève sur la mer.
Les légendes ont été sélectionnées pour leur ancienneté (de l’Antiquité au XIXe siècle en passant par le Moyen Âge et la Renaissance), leur ancrage dans la tradition populaire, écrite et orale, et leur lien avec des sites renommés."

Celine Magrini-Romagnoli est Docteur en litterature francaise et provencale de l' Universite de Provence et enseignante.
Elle ecrit par ailleurs des livres en provencal pour enfants.
Elle est vice-presidente du Centre Mas-Felipe Delavouet de Grans (maison d'ecrivains destinee a diffuser l' oeuvre du poete provencal du XXe siecle) et directrice de l'ensemble Tard-Quand-Dine, specialise dans la mise en musique de poemes provencaux.

Saturday 15 December 2007

Soap and Dish

"A thing of beauty, is a joy for ever".
Mary Poppins

I was doing some research down the basement when I found an old Oprah. As I was leafing through it, this photo popped out. It may be from a spring issue, but beauty knows no time. Besides, this composition makes for a beautiful sight in a festive bathroom.

Hand towel, Cath Kidston. Ceramic bowl, Clio. Iris soap, Santa Maria Novella. Hinoki wood sauna stool, Viva Terra.
(From O, The Oprah magazine, May 2006).

Friday 14 December 2007

Christmas Wreaths

There are some really talented ladies on the net. How innovative. There are some lovely books around with the renewed interest in crafts. Look at some beautiful and original wreaths I came across today.
This is the first one that made an impression on me. It is from nest decorating.

Here it is again, placed on a pink door. So feminine and creative!

This one might as well be used for Easter. But it is a doable and a pretty idea. From Amanda at soule mama.

This one is my favorite collection, though. SO warm and comforting, with endless possibilities for personalisation. From lulubeans.


Winter Wonderland

I wonder, did a fairy put this place together?




Oh, here is the fairy herself! Isn't she wonderful?


(Sheila Schole's home from British Country Living, December 2007)

Tuesday 11 December 2007

Un Air de France

I love magazines. They make me relax, travel and daydream. And I love the air de France. After all, I belong to France! My favorite French deco reads are Cote Sud and Cote Est. I occasionally read Marie-Claire but very rarely.

My all time favorite is Point de Vue. I have been reading Point de Vue since I was a child. My mum used to get Point de Vue-Images du Monde for the patterns of gowns she would copy.
Then I was selling the gowns to my dolls from the top of my bed, using Point de Vue as a catalogue.

I do not subscribe to any French mags because they are readily available at the international newsagents. But this year I made an exception. I subscribed to Atmospheres, a quite inclusive magazine that I could not find at the newsagents although I had asked them to order it for me. Apparently it doesn't get send to Greece, so I did take the plunge and subscribed to it. The first issue arrived last week. Here are some pics:



First, you have to put your feet up and relax.
Cozy up with some fabulous golden and purple festive colors.
And dream of Paris and Les Parisiennes.
Oh! Here is one of them!
By now you feel inspired by the refinement of things French and are ready to create the perfectly stylish festive home.
Lights, please!
Entrez! There is a festive capuccino waiting for you.

Here is what it takes to make it:
6 espressos
500g de glasse au chocolat noir (bitter chocolate ice-cream)
500g de glace au chocolat blanc (white chocolate ice cream)
Copeaux de chocolat (chocolate chips)
If you want to do the ice cream yourself, here is the recipe:
Pour faire la glace soi-meme (par parfum)
6 jaunes d' eoeufs
200g de sucre
1/2 l de lait
300ml de creme fraiche
100g de chocolat
Melangez les jaunes et le sucre jusqu'a ce que la preparassion blancisse. Faites chaufer le lait avec le chocolat et versez sur le melange oeuf-sucre. Remettez le tout sur le feu et tournez constamment avec une cuillere a bois jusqu'a ce que la preparassion epaississe et nappe la cuillere, mais en veillant a ne pas faire bouillir. Retirez du feu et ajoutez la creme fraiche. Tournez et melangez. Laissez refroidir, puis mettez a turbiner dans une machine a glace.
Au moment de servir, versez un espresso dans une verine ou en verre bodega. Dressez immediatement avec une boule de glace au chocolat noir et une de glasse au chocolat blanc. Decorez avec des copeaux de chocolat.

Now take your favorite new mag, and enjoy!

I enjoyed sharing this with you. Did you? Oh and by the way, does anyone know how I can put the accents when writing french?
(You may click on the images to view larger)

Friday 7 December 2007

We have our winners!

I am so pleased to announce the winners of my first giveaway. J picked them up and here is the order that they came out of the hat.

Nr. 1 is Ellen B of The Happy Wonderer. Congratulations! Ellen will receive issue #1 of the Greek edition of House and Garden.

Now I've said two runner ups will receive the winter issues of other Greek deco magazines. But I've changed my mind, girls. So, here goes:

Nr.2 is Claudia of The Paris Apartment. Congratulations Claudia. You will receive issue #2 of House and Garden.

Nr. 3 is Annie of My Life as Annie. Annie, you'll have to wait for awhile because you shall be receiving issue #3 of House and Garden. But I think it will be worth the wait!

As it is, our runner ups are

Nr.4 is Corine of Hidden in France
and
Nr.5 Carrie of Oak Rise Cottage.
Congratulations, ladies! You shall be receiving the winter issue of a Greek deco magazine.

I shall leave a comment or e-mail you all.
Thank you so much for joining me and for your enlightening comments. I promise to take them into account and build up to offering you interesting posts, info and lots of photos.

Happy reading!

Thursday 6 December 2007

House And Garden Giveaway

Tadam! There is always a reason to celebrate in this life. Christmas is coming, a most welcome time for decorating specials. I thought I'd celebrate, too. With a giveaway.

In honor of the publication of House and Garden in Greek, one lucky lady will receive the very first issue, bound to become a collector's item. Two runner ups will receive the winter issues of other Greek Deco publications.

Although it may be "all Greek" to you, the universal language of pictures will offer a beautiful feast. Besides, I'll be glad to help anytime with specific info.

So, what is the catch?

Please leave a comment letting me know what you would like to see in an overseas deco blog. What is Greek to you? It's that simple.

The winner will be notified on December 6th. Have fun.

Update 30/11/2007:
Because I am told that some kind readers cannot post a comment for some weird reason, please e-mail me (that's on the About Me page) and I shall post your names here.
Here is my list so far:
ellen b.-The Happy Wonderer
Claudia-The Paris Apartment
Corine-Hidden in France
Carrie-Oak Rise Cottage
Annie-My Life as Annie

Update 6/12/2007
Almost there! Today it's our little one's 6th birthday. He shall do the honors and draw the names out of the hat! I'll publish the names tomorrow.



Monday 3 December 2007

Christmas mags

Every year Cote-Est is the last one to arrive at the newsagent's. It usually gets here after New Year's. I was thrilled to find it so early this year.



I'll post my favorite pics this week. Come and leaf through!

Window Shopping-Home




Window Shopping-Toys and decorations










This is a lovely shop full of Americana and nostalgia. I shopped there both for the Christmas ornament exchange and the Christmas stocking swap from this shop.



(Click on images to view larger)

Best buys