My Life in France

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I love reading. I also love classic movies. I was going through Netflix and came across Julie & Julia. I watched it and loved it! I ended up purchasing the movie and I have watched it a million times already!!



I love the scenes, the clothes and the food. Meryl Streep is a fantastic actress! I then “googled” Julia Child’s books and saw My Life in France. This is a wonderful book! I downloaded it onto my Kindle and I just can’t get enough of it. Julia Child tells the story of how she and her husband Paul lived in France. 


Her husband Paul wrote letters to his twin brother and Julia wrote letters also. No one threw anything away so you have all of this beautiful information that has been put into the book. She gives such vivid details into their lives and the food! This is such a delicious book! Here is a passage from the book that I read recently….


“It was near lunchtime, and though we were hardly used to such elegance, we looked at each other and said, “Why not?’ There weren’t many patrons yet and we were seated in a gorgeous semicircular banquette. The headwaiter laid menus before us, and then the sommelier, an imposing but kindly Bordeaux specialist in his fifties, arrived. He introduced himself with a nod: “Monsieur Henocq.” The restaurant began to fill up, and over the course of the next two hours, we had a leisurely and nearly perfect luncheon. The meal began with little shells filled with sea scallops and mushrooms robed in a classically beautiful winy cream sauce. Then we had a wonderful duck dish, and cheeses, and a rich dessert, followed by coffee”. 


Just wonderful and so is the video of the movie below. Enjoy!

photo by Annie Spratt





(video via Youtube)

The Scent of Lilac

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A dear co~worker of mine brought me in some lilac from her yard. I was ecstatic! My office smelled wonderful!! I planted some of my own lilac bushes this spring and I cannot wait until they return next year!

My lilac at work
My lilac bushes at home
(photo via Mrs. Shockley)

A Whimsical Garden

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While I was scanning through the pages of Traditional Home, something captured me. This beautiful, whimsical garden. I was just telling my husband how I wanted the front of my house to have a whimsical elegance to it.

So when I saw this garden I thought, “Wow, there it is, my dream garden.” This was in the October 2009 issue of Traditional Home magazine. I have just been studying it and staring at it for weeks! The garden was created by a man named Stan Fry and apparently it’s a series of gardens unified together. See the photos below and click on this link here to see the original article.  I hope you love it just as much as I do.

The photo that started it. 

Just spectacular!!!

The front of the home, need I say more. 





(all photos Traditional Home.com)

Anthropologie Tea for Me

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I took another visit to Anthropologie and what did I spy with my little eye? Another great tea cup! I just had to have this! It is really big and looks wonderful on my desk at work. I have used it multiple times already. If you missed my Anthropologie store tour see it here.

This cup was in the clearance section of the store.




(photo via Mrs. Shockley)

My Floral Sandals

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Looking for floral sandals this season has been hard! I love floral prints, especially sandals!! My ideal summer wardrobe is a white lace shirt, black skirt and floral sandals. I just think that look is so fresh and chic.

I did a long and hard search on Amazon and stumbled across these beauties. I was a bit apprehensive about ordering them but I have been so please with the way they fit and how they look that I am considering ordering a second pair! They are just lovely.

They are called the Brieten Rhinestone Sandal. 
They come in 4 different colors.







(photo via Mrs. Shockley)

The Best Way to Make a Hamburger

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I love hamburgers!! But then again who doesn’t… check out this wonderful video from Southern Living.

My hamburger at home




(video via Youtube)

Perfume Dos & Don’ts

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We all love perfume and have our favorites but there are some dos and don’ts that you should know. I came across an article in the December 2008 Better Home and Gardens magazine that gave 5 reasons for how to wear perfume.

* Don’t
Over-douse yourself. Spritzing yourself over and over in the morning doesn’t make a fragrance last all day. Instead, reapply sparingly at 6-hour intervals. And as a rule, perfume should never be noticeable beyond an arm’s length.

* Do
Combine your scents. Mix up your fragrance wardrobe by layering different aromas-a lovely, the original scent may emerge.

* Do
Store perfume with care. Most fragrances will last for years, provided you keep them away from extreme temperatures and heat, which can alter and “turn” the scent.

* Don’t
Buy a fragrance because you liked it on someone else, Scents smell different on each person, depending on her body chemistry, how dry or oily her skin is, and even what she ate for dinner the night before. Try it on your own skin if possible.

* Don’t
Buy perfume on the street. You can’t be sure of the source or even if it’s the real thing, turning a bargain into a blunder quickly.

Photo by Laura Chouette on Unsplash