chalkboards and grain sacks...

Hello my long lost friends :)  Did you think I had disappeared altogether?!  It was just one of those crazy busy weeks, and I just had to skip the blogging or I wouldn't be able to get everything done...mostly I'm just trying to get ready for our trip to Paris...eeek, it's only 10 days away!!!  So I apologize for being so absent.  I thought I'd at least try and squeak in a short post today...

I have a little obsession with chalkboards and grain sacks!  When my mom gave me this empty frame recently, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it...turn it into a chalkboard of course!!

And, when I saw that my friend Kristin was selling some vintage French grain sacks, my heart started pounding...I had to have one...well two to be exact :)  Kristin has a wonderful blog called Faded Prairie with amazing photography and beautiful "prairie girl" style...please stop by her blog for a visit, you won't be disappointed...and soon she will have her etsy shop all restocked with new items for Spring!!!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!!!

Tracey

Shop talk...

I have lots of pretty pictures to share with you today because it's just about time for another issue of Jeanne d' Arc Living magazine to come out, as well as, I have a new book to offer in the SHOP !!!

Here is a sneak peak of the April issue of Jeanne d' Arc Living, which is now available for pre-order...

I also just stocked a gorgeous new book from Sweden called Romantiska Hem & Inspiration i Vitt...Romantic Home & Inspiration in White, by Ingela Broling and Petra Eriksson...I discovered this book when I happened upon Petra's lovely blog Romantiska Hem a few months ago.  Featured in this book are some of my favorite European blogger's homes, like Mia from Lilla Blanka, whom I absolutely adore!         {a complete list can be found on Petra's blog}...

The only place in the United States that you can get this book is right here in my little SHOP...how exciting is that??!!

It is a beautiful hard cover book, much like the Jeanne d' Arc Living books...with over 500 images of 40 different homes decorated with white as the focus...you all know how much I LOVE decorating with white...this truly is a feast for the eyes!!!

Here's a little peek...

Happy new week everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tracey

Mismatched and pretty...

You all know how much I love my white dishes...but did you also know I love mismatched thrift store china??!  Especially in the Spring!  I had a very last minute get together with some friends yesterday...when it was decided that my home would serve as the place to gather, I had one hour to pull something together...I decided I would take out a bunch of my garage sale/thrift store/flea market/anthropologie dishes and let the "prettiness" of them be the decoration.

Here's what I did to make a last minute cake and coffee get together a little extra special:

I used a store bought cake and added one of my little French flashcards {gateau means cake} and some pressed flowers I had made last summer to spruce it up a bit

I gathered a few small vases of inexpensive flowers

I tied vintage seam binding I had stamped around plain white napkins

I placed everything in the middle of the table for more impact

And that's it!

A very heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone for the loving, caring comments you left for me regarding my grandma's passing...they truly made a very sad time a little bit easier...

Blessings to you my friends!

Tracey

Small change out...

Well my friends, no major decorating or crafting projects from me this weekend, mostly just rest and relaxation (it's a rarity that I can say that)...but my little "window to Spring" was starting to look pretty pathetic, with the hyacinth long since done blooming and fading fast...so I decided to perk up my favorite little corner a bit!!!

I hung one of my little bird cages from the ceiling and a sweet little nest as well...and then tucked some flowers into the nest for added Spring appeal.  It's amazing what flowers can do to perk up your home and your spirits!  I have been searching for some white flowering branches, with no luck...so I finally decided just to go ahead and get these lovely yellow ones...and I'm very glad I did...adds a lot of "cheeriness" to the room!

The sun was finally shining yesterday afternoon, so I couldn't help but take a bunch of pictures...hope you don't mind, but I have been sorely missing my "photography sessions" the last few weeks :)

Lastly, I added a picture of my dear grandma and some of the only family peices (a few dishes) I have from her to this little table...sadly, my grandma passed away over the weekend...I am sad for myself, but mostly for my mother...there is sorrow that grandma's life has ended, but also joy that she is now free from any pain in this world and that she is finally able to embrace her only son again...together they are rejoicing with the Lord in Heaven...

Hoping your week is full of sunshine!

Tracey

Homemade Gifts...

Okay girls, trying something a little different today!  It's not decorating...not exactly crafting either...we're makin sugar scrub, the homemade kind...

I have been making this easy peasy recipe for a couple of years now and giving it out as gifts.  The kids love to help, and you can change the scent depending on which essential oils you use:

Sugar Scrub

1 cup of sugar

1/2 cup Grapeseed Oil

5 drops essential oil of your choice

Mix to combine.

I use all organic ingredients and change out the oil I use depending on if it's Summer or Winter...fractionated coconut oil is a great one for the Winter months...up your amount to 3/4 cup for this oil (you can find this at most any health food store).  I also use a few more drops of essential oil than the recipe calls for because I like the aroma a little stronger...right now I am loving mixing vanilla (not the kind you cook with) and orange essential oils...vanilla orange...yum!

Find a pretty canning jar and make a tag with either the person's name on it, or the scent of the scrub you made and voila...a homemade gift the easy peasy way!!!  My sister still asks for "refills" on the sugar scrub we made her 2 Christmases ago!

{isn't this lavender sachet sweet?...came in my fabulous order from Faded Prairie yesterday...more on that next week!}

I also want to make sure you know about 2 wonderful giveaways going on:

Dear, sweet Anne over at Fiona and Twig is having a giveaway just for all of us lovers of all things French...be sure to go and sign up for her Paris Flea Market Giveaway!!!

And, you'll be happy to know that my very good friend Traci from Traci Thorson Photography is giving a little Photoshop tutorial over on her blog, on how to use textures (did you notice? I used a few in today's post!)...trust me, you don't want to miss this one, if I can figure out Photoshop with Traci's help, ANYONE can!!!  She is also offering a chance to win the Carte Postale texture that everyone loved so much from the post I did awhile back...such a fun texture to use!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have a beautiful weekend!!!

Tracey

Pretty pictures...and a winner...

{country living}

Hello and good afternoon...or evening...whichever time you are reading this...happy new week to you!!!

I have a few lovely pictures to brighten your day, and a beautiful blog to share with you as well!

Let me start out by thanking my dear friend, Kasey, for covering for me on Thursday...what a fabulous job she did too, don't you agree??!!  You see, I have been very sick for the last week...so I have been quite absent from blogland...trying to keep up with emails and shop orders was about all I could even come close to managing.  So, please accept my apology to anyone who I did not get back to regarding questions and comments on my blog...I hate to let things slide, but sometimes it's just all you can do...

{better homes and gardens}

But, alas, it's a new week and I'm on a slow road to recovery.  I haven't so much as picked up my camera in the last week, let alone work on any projects, but I hope to change that in the next day or so!

I would love to introduce you to one of my favorite inspirational blogs,  Hvitur Lakkris, for any of you who have not yet had the absolute pleasure of perusing this beautiful...and I truly mean beautiful...blog!!!

Gua's amazing blog combines my love of all things white and my passion for incredible photography!!!

All images that follow are from Hvitur Lakkris...and there are many, many more to enjoy if you pop on over there for a visit...

And, of course, I didn't forget...the winner of the giveaway is Marietta from Sweet Old Vintage!!!  Congrats Marietta!

A huge thank you to everyone who participated and helped to spread the word about my giveaway!  I was truly overwhelmed with the response!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Luv ya!

Tracey

A unique opportunity...

A little shop news...

Just a quick post to let you know about a one time, unique offer to be able to see for yourself just how amazing the Jeanne d' Arc Living magazine is...at a "try me" price of only $10 (plus shipping)!!! Please note that this issue is the Danish text version, but the hundreds of incredibly beautiful pictures are exactly the same as the English version! There is endless inspiration here for you to enjoy in the Nordic-French style of decorating!

Currently available in the SHOP!!!

I hope you are all having a lovely Sunday!!! 

 I'll be back tomorrow to announce the winner of my giveaway! :)

Tracey

And the winner is.....

Hello Thursday.

I'm sure you are wondering right about now if you are in the wrong place....

but i assure you....

you are not.

There is no winner yet either....i just thought i needed a ploy to grab

your attention.

Obviously....i'm not Tracey.....

but my name rhythms with hers....

and we actually have quite a bit in common.

Hello...my name is Kasey...

and the lovely Tracey has asked me over to help guest post while

she is busy tidying up some loose ends.

Tracey and i have been friends for about 2.5 years...

we met when i had a shop...and she was one of my customers.

Needless to say...we've been friends ever since......

and now i'm one of her customers.

Tracey has three children...

I have three children.

Tracey loves to decorate....

i love to decorate.

Tracey doesn't sew....

i don't sew.

Tracey likes to sit and craft with her children....

i like to sit and eat ice cream while watching Oprah.

{that part is a total fabrication...well...maybe not the ice cream part}

What you don't know about me is that i have a sarcastic sense of humor....

and when Tracey asked me to guest blog....

she asked me to please not bring up the fact that

we like to drink our French wine in the afternoon..

in our closets....

while the babysitter watches our children.

I said ...NO PROBLEM!

My mouth is sealed.

zipped.

closed.

No one will know.

Tracey and I will actually be in Paris the same week....

that is why we need to practice our French wine drinking...

so we look like professionals.

I thought because Tracey always has such

Uber

fabulous photos of her home....

that i would show you what i have done with some of my

purchases from her shop French Larkspur.

I happen to have a running tally going.....

and i promise one day i will pay her back.

{I just hope she doesn't ask me before our France trip....}

Every time i head over to her home..i'm grabbing a new item...

then i go home and end up keeping it.

I don't think i want to know what my balance is....

i also a problem...

and it's called OCD.

Obsessive Collecting Disorder.

My husband likes to pretend that he's a doctor sometimes...

and he'll prescribe something like

cutting up my one and only credit card.

anyhoooo....

I used the wooden ampersand in one of my empty frames on my wall.

I have a problem with pillows.

I love pillows....lots and lots of them.

I even found my husband using one

under his head

late one night.....

and let me just say...i'm still not speaking to him.

He told me....what the heck are the pillows for then....

then i slowly replied.....

get.your.head.off.the.pillow.

I like to be creative when incorporating things in my home...

especially twigs and branches.

I found this branch outside in the fall and decided it

would make a lovely curtain rod.

I used a few crown hooks as well to hold up the branch.

I have just one small window along this wall...

so it needed only one curtain.

I tied it back using basic twine from the hardware shop.

Well girls....it's been a pleasure....

and i have a feeling Tracey will announce

her real winner soon;-)

Until we meet again...i bid you adieu.

xo

Hello March and a Giveaway...

Hello March...and hello my sweet friends!!!  It's been a long Winter, hasn't it??!  Would you like a little something to help you get ready for Spring?  I thought it would be fun to welcome March with a little "pick me up" Giveaway...

A copy of the gorgeous  Jeanne d' Arc Living garden book, Franske Fornemmelser, for one of my dear readers!!!

To help you get a jump start on Spring...

It's chuck full of beautiful pictures and ideas on how you can bring the Nordic-French style into your garden...

All you have to do to be entered...you know the drill...is leave me a comment!  Contest ends on Sunday, March 7th at midnight.  If you'd like to blog about my giveaway, I would be thrilled to give you 2 chances to win (just let me know in the comments)!!!

***Oh, and just for the fun of it...I'm also going to throw in 3 of the vintage clock faces from my collection...I get so many emails about those clock faces...plus a few vintage enamel tags and metal number stencils!  So the winner will get the book and the all of the other number themed goodies as well!!!  Good luck girls***

From the bottom of my heart...I'd like to take a minute to say thank you for making this creative space of mine such a joy to come to!  It wouldn't be any fun without all of you...I love every single comment you all leave for me...and I appreciate all of you who take the time to come by and read my posts!!!  THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!  You are simply the best!

Tracey