Le Chateau des fleurs, breakfast nook

Oh i loved the Alice in Wonderland  party yesterday...I can't stop looking at the pictures...So glad i have a camera to capture those memories...Now....The tour continues...
Welcome to the Breakfast nook. The walls are brown like in the kitchen. Ceilings Aqua blue. The floor is the same as kitchen... Cobblestone in an Antique pattern.

I really love this white buffet...I love painted furniture.

When i lived in Southern France, we lived in a small white house with a Terracotta roof tile, like in this picture. We were on a hill facing another hill. My bedroom view was on the other hill, covered with Sunflower fields.....Oh so beautiful...France is covered with fields. We have our own agriculture and produces for the country, it includes farming too.

Yep, Zacky, you match my furniture...Looking good... LOL

I love the bench, although plan for a lot of room to move it to sit down.

I love toile. It is the theme for my kitchen and nook.

It is next to the kitchen... What you see, the green wall is the hall to the lockers if you go right. On the left  is the garage door.

This is my winter look on the buffet. Tomorrow is my spring makeover in the breakfast nook...:)

Alice in Wonderland party!!

I thought it would be a great idea to have an Un-birthday party. I always have an excuse to have a party!

We have Alice...

We have our White Queen...

Our Mad Hatter...

Our red Queen...Oh well what can i say...

Zacky wanted to be the blue cat....Told him he looked like the mouse....LOL

Here is our cat...

We are all ready for a Tea Party...

I made this cake from my friend Juli's blog....Definitely desserts here.

Super good...I molded it with a big yogurt cup. Boiled some strawberry jam for the syrup on top, added Raspberries.

I made some egg sandwiches in the shape of flowers....Never had this in France....It is hard boiled eggs cut in little pieces, with mayonnaise, Pickle Cut in little pieces. Layer on bread. Very good.

Cloches were used to protect the food from bugs and keep it fresh in old days. We use them in France a lot for cheeses.

This cake is easy to do...Red velvet cake, chocolate icing, white icing. Cut and layer in Big yogurt cup. Freeze , it comes out more easy. Mini Chocolate chips and Raspberries on top. 

We had herbal tea, sugar in a cup and milk in small jar.

Yum!!!

I used a duvet comforter from the girl's room and my Toile China...

Branches of Cherri blossoms hanging from Chandelier...Since we could not have the party outside...

We had fun!!!

Little kids love Tea Parties...

Then we saw Alice in Wonderland in 3 D.

With our pretty clothes...and hats...We all loved it...

Ice cream in France

I just got my favorite fashion magazine and i can relax with my favorite ice cream.....In France, in restaurants, you are most likely to get  Haagen Dazs if you order ice cream. It is one of the best there. SUch good quality. I get the small size at the store, i like Mango...but they are all good flavors....OHH, i have a party tomorrow, all is ready...Come see tomorrow night :)

Teddy is potty trained

It is official, Teddy is potty trained. He is 5 months now. I am very proud of him. He is officially an inside dog.  He is super sweet, loves to chew plastic and still acts like a puppy. It is so funny how clumsy he is. He is so big!!

He still loves the trash can a lot...

French garden

Spring is calling you? It's calling me!!
I have been planning my garden, we don't have the landscaping yet here. My first project will be a formal veggie garden. 
This book has been a great inspiration for me.

Here is my planning...

For each elements many choices can be found...

Beds material : Can be made of... wood frames, bricks, boxwood (the boxwood takes more room). 


Towers in each beds : Roses, Green beans, tomatoes...anything vines.


Arches at each entry : Roses, Honeysuckle, Wisteria, vines.


Middle of garden tree : Rose tree, dwarf fruit tree, any ornamental tree. Statue, standing fountain...Standing garden ornament.


Another design here...

Arches.....

Back of the garden focal point...It could also be a statue or bench...

Keep in mind to limit the use of the same element to one... like a fountain or statue. The same plant and color can be repeated. Think balance. and symmetries.

You can plant the beds with flowers, repeating the same patterns in all of them, rotate plantings in beds every few years for a veggie garden, keep in mind that one of the bed might be permanent with herbs.
Make sure the beds have adequate sun exposure for your plantings. 


Here is my garden plans so far for each beds :

Salad garden

Red salad

Green salad,

Celery

Tomato

Cucumber

Parsley

Green beans

Strawberries

Salsa garden

Tomatillo

Jalapeno or Habanero pepper

Pepper

Yellow onion, green onion

Cilantro

Pizza garden

Tomato

Bell pepper

Onion

Basil

Oregano

Rosemary

Fairy garden

The kids love this one...Will talk more about this one later.

You can also make a secret  Asian garden for relaxation and Yoga, another one is a Fairy garden with the formal plan on the small scale. Will talk about these later.


A plus (see you later)
Frenchy

One month without meat ?

Yes, this is a guacamole burger...but, i only had 7 burgers in the last 2 years. In France, fast food is a luxury, actually expensive....Then you have to take the bus to go get it HAHAHA. Yep doesn't happen...often :)

Anyways...

My husband had guys from the factory in Taiwan for Amber Alert GPS fly here. They were talking about this new diet book made in China.
They had a search about health and eating with millions of Chinese....the result...poor people live longer and have less health problems.
The cause...Meat. Poor people don't eat meat so live longer and have less health problems and ...are leaner?

I know that it takes 3 days for our body to digest meat, so not good if i am trying to loose weight and calories.
So here was my experiment. No meat for 30 days.

That is a hard one.

I can cook, thankfully, my Mother is a great French chef and passed it down.


So here is what i noticed. I did not crave meat, i ate more sugar than i would like, I find it hard to find vegetarian recipe for everyday though but not impossible.
Hubby lost 20 pounds!!!!??
Me none????? I think it was the sugar....
I felt lighter and healthier... Easy digestion.


I have been eating less meat since and i think it is good.
I believe that meat should be consumed sparingly anyways.


Here is the deal also. I am a city girl...if i had to kill my food, i would be in trouble. LOL.
I could not kill and eat my chickens. 
I have a friend who is Vegan, her name is Britta, she started because of her high cholesterol (she is very young). Her diet is working.
So yeah, there is no secret...food is very important in health and eat meat sparingly.

French statues put to good use

Statues in French design is an important and very familiar part to me. They are find in all Parisian gardens,

Here is my twist on using them in the bathroom.

This little Cherub hold brooches and rings.

This godesse holds my pearls.

I also find it very practical to just grab one necklace and go.

This post is linked to Romantic home,

Starting your Etsy shop

I think it is the dream of many women to have their own little shop. I know it is one of mine. Here is what i have learned so far about the process.

1. You need to have a design and a product that nobody has, copying is not cool and most products have a copyright. You don't want to waist money and time making something and have bad publicity coming back to you. Do you homework.
2. If you design, copyright it. See the top right of my blog and click on the copyright website. My blog is all my invention and copyright. I want to protect it. You can protect your invention with a picture of it too.
3. Start small. finding the same material for a lot of pieces is hard and will take time. If you can, that's great. Do not invest too much money in it. You want it to be a good experience, even if it takes some time to start.
4. Take great pictures.
5. Start your Etsy boutique. It is very easy.
6. Have a great photo representing what you sell.
7. Start your shop.
8. Etsy will advertise for you and you can also ask your friends with blogs to talk about it, have a giveaway on a blog to celebrate.
9. Be patient and don't give up.

Hubby has started and has been successful with all his businesses. I know by experience that a business takes about 5 years to start paying bills. You have to be passionate, believing in it, work hard, patient and have a great idea to start. Make friends with your crafter community and partner with them...And follow your guts...You can't go wrong...Life is a learning Journey, there is no failure, just learning..:)

this is a learning experience for me too and a fun one....I can do it watching Tom and Jerry with my 2 year old. HAHAHA

I am almost there.....

French lunch with a girlfriend

A lot of time i invite a girlfriend over and i make lunch for us. I usually make something French. I go simple too, because i don't want it to be a drag.  

Here is Tommy. He is very distant and not really a lover BUT, he will come and stay by me when i am on the computer. 

I love the quiche recipe, if you had quiche at Mimi's cafe or Thankgiving Point in Utah, it doesn't come even close. THIS IS the real stuff and it smells and taste like Paris....Like my Mom's kitchen...Ahhhhh it takes me back there. It is so good!!!

Cheese, bacon and onion quiche

1. Pastry pie crust, mad or frozen.
2. 1tbsp Dijon mustard.
3. 6 bacon slices, cooked and cut in small pieces.
4. 1 onion, chopped.
5. 3 eggs.
6. 1 cup sour cream
7. 1/4 milk.
8. 5 slices Suisse cheese, cut in small pieces.
9. salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat oven at 400 F. Cut onion in small pieces, brown in non stick pan. If bacon is not cooked, cook before onions, take out of pan and brown onions in second. 

In bowl put together, eggs, milk and sour cream, cheese and salt, pepper. Dijon Mustard. beat together until well blended. Add bacon and onion.

Put the whole thing in pastry shell.

Bake until the top is golden and firm.

 

Slice, Serve with salad, tomatoes.

Take out your pretty dishes for your girlfriend.....Those need to be used not only stared at. LOL.

Enjoy some time with a friend and this French dish this week.

I am still working on my accessory line, i will talk about it tomorrow.

Good night or morning (In France)

Gros bisous.

Frenchy