adorable finds...

Bonjour mes belles,

It is going to be another warm day here in SW France and it is Pentecost (lundi de Pentecote)so it will be quieter than a normal Monday.

Yesterday there was a very large vide-grenier in our village with over 400 stands, French Boyfriend had a busy morning selling but I did not find a lot of tresors which is often the case  as we tend to find more goodies at the smaller vide-greniers.

I found this charming and large framed wedding photograph which I adore. It really is charmant and I plan to use it on my next project.

Another find was a old print of Bordeaux which is still in the back of the car and some toile de jouy cushions with matching lamp shades.

We had more luck on Saturday when we went to look at a couple of chairs that were for sale and ended up buying a Louis xv style bureau, a fabulous mirror, the pair of chairs and also have an option on 4 other chairs that the seller is holding onto for the moment but plans to sell later in the year.

 

 

 

As soon as I saw the chairs I wanted them but the fabric is worn in places hence recovering maybe necessary....a winter project perhaps.

 

Ironic as I like them the way that they are French Boyfriend thinks that they need recovering as it is rare that he wants to change anything...

 

Très bon début de semaine à tous , Leeann x

 

 



 

week-end tresors...

 

 

 

Bonjour mes belles,

 

A busy and exciting week ahead and I cannot believe that it is already Tuesday.

 

Yesterday I started work on a new reupholstery project and will try and take a couple of photos as I progress, note this particular chair requires rebuilding so it is going to take me a while....

 



One of the tresors that I found at the weekend is this fabulous and large Christmas wooden candle holder, she really is shabby chic.

You can guess French Boyfriend's reaction when I bought this as he thinks everyone should start thinking about Christmas a few days before hence buying Christmas decorations on the 1st of June is unthinkable.....still I loved her so I bought her. The same seller had a pair of Angels but I have not had a chance to photograph them but they are similar in style.

Next up is this vintage fabric, not sure what I am going to do with it but I loved the feel of it as it is a heavy linen and I think that it would make either great cushions or a curtain.

French boyfriend bought a load of antique linen made up of table cloths and lots of monogrammed napkins.

Included in the bundle, was a lovely set of 10 monogrammed napkins that you see in the photo below.
These will be listing on the online shop tomorrow.

Wishing you all a semaine fabuleuse, Leeann x

week-end tresors...

Bonjour from a cooler SW France,

For the first time in what seems like a very long time, we saw some rain yesterday and fortunately for us, it arrived in the afternoon so we were able to  do some treasure hunting in the morning.

First find was this lovely vintage goblet from Lourdes. It is made from pewter and has three images from lourdes on it...

 

 

You will find it here.

Next up was this antique French Old Paris (Porcelaine de paris or Vieux Paris) porcelain statue which depicts the Virgin Mary.

 
Typical of the tradition of Old Paris porcelain, gillded lines highlight the curves of the statue.

The interior of the statue features a stamped number.  It is in very good condition with the exception of some loss of the gilded highlighting and she has lost a small part oif her hand on the right hand side which is not noticeable unless you look closely.
Date: circa 1880. You will find her here.

From the same seller, was this vintage holy water font which is a souvenir from lourdes and has marked on it "sir de Lourdes" which translates to souvenir from Lourdes.

 

You can find more details here.

The final find of the day was this fabulous hand wall light which comes from a house in Paris and is the last thing that you expect to find in country France. It is very decoative and would look fabulous in a hall or a powder room.

Think that about covers all of yesterdays tresors, back to work I must go.

Je vous souhaite un bon début de semaine et un tout doux Lundi, Leeann x

Look what I found...

Bonjour à tous,

Yesterday was another busy day as we were rushing all over the place and we had winds of 85 kms per hour hence it was rather windy to say the least.

On Sunday we went to 2 vide greniers and 1 flea market. At the 2nd vide grenier, we spotted a a vendor selling a naturalised bird and we asked if he, by chance had a naturalised owl as I was looking for one to put in the new boutique.

To our amazement he said yes he did have one, infact he had two that he was willing to sell so we took his number and yesterday we went to see him and his tresors.

End result.......he is now guarding the boutique and I adore him. I only wish that you could see the back as his feathers are magnificent but I daren't move him as he is rather fragile but will take some more photos when he is residing in the new boutique.

 

Unfortunately there were not a lot of tresors to be had at the weekend apart from a fabulous light fitting, one that I have spent 4 years searching for and ironically it was an antique dealer that we know well so could negotiate on the asking price without insulting him.

I will show you a photo once I have hang it as it is bound for the apartment on the 2nd floor.

à demain, Leeann x

Sunday treasure with a bit of history....

Bonjour mes belles,

As promised I am back to tell you about the last treasure that we found and why it has an interesting history.

We left the lovely warm hall and stepped outside and  it stated to snow. Hence the poor vendors of the bread and pastries were offering special prices so that they would return to their warm house.

Directly in front of us was the religious wall hanging that you see in the photo above and in the photo below.

I commented to French Boyfriend that there was something familiar about it, despite it having camels which are not local to France but I saw quite a few when I loved in Dubai.

French Boyfriend asks the couple that are selling the wall hanging if they know the history surrounding Charles de Foulcauld and the connection with this area. They are intrigued but say they do not know anything about him.....the story goes something like this.....  


Few people outside the Roman Catholic church will have heard of Charles de Foucauld, who was the inspiration for the religious order of the Little Brothers of Jesus, often referred to as "worker priests" – priests who live in the poorer areas of cities, usually employed in blue collar jobs and sharing the lives of the poor. 

His life was in some ways similar to that of St. Francis of Assisi, in that he came from a prosperous family and then turned to a life of extreme poverty. 

He and his young sister were left orphans when he was aged just 6 years old and his sister 3 years old.

His parents died one after the other and they were then cared for by their grandmother,for only a year as they were all out walking one day when some cows scared her and she had a heart attack and died.

Charles de Foucauld's spiritual route was perhaps more dislocated than that of St. Francis, in that he began as a Trappist monk, then went to Nazareth, where he worked as a servant for the Poor Clares, and finally moved to a hermitage in the Algerian desert, where he spent the last fifteen years of his life among the Tuareg. 

The Dordogne connection: Château de Bridoire
 
Charles de Foucauld's connection with the Dordogne is, above all, with the Château de Bridoire, which belonged to the de Foucauld family from 1806 to 1938, and which Charles de Foucauld visited on many occasions, even celebrating Mass in the chapel when he became a priest.

Chateau Bridoire is a favourite of ours as French Boyfriend's friend's were the owners after the Foucauld familyso he has fabulous memories of the time he spent there when he was a child. 

The new owners are restoring the chateau back to its former glory after  being closed for over 20 years, in which time the chateau was vandalised and many of the original features stolen.

If you have a chance to visit the Chateau which opens again at the end of April, you will even see something that we sold to the new owners and I will give you a clue......it is hanging in the Grand Salon and has a fab French feel to it.

And to think that the story started with seeing an intriguing wall hanging displayed on the side of a car on a snowy Sunday morning a few kilometers from our house....hence you know why I love treasure hunting as there is always a tale behind the object.

.....tres bonne semaine à tous, Leeann x

Sunday treasures..

Bonjour mes belles,

I hope that you are having a trés bon week-end.   

The weather forecast was for snow flakes this morning hence I was not very motivated when the alarm went off this morning and was tempted to stay in bed.

French Boyfriend delivers cup of much needed coffee and bowl of organic muesli and then says on y va...let's go.

Off we set with no snow in sight. We arrived at the vide-grenier and although there were was a scattering of stands outside, we decided to head for the hall which housed the majority of the sellers. There were quite a few stands but not many customers which is better than a hall full of people making it impossible to regards the items on sale.

For us not only is it great to see what is on offer, it is also a time to catch up with other dealers and chat about business in general and who has found what and where they found it.

It is like show and tell and for me, the part I like the most as there is so much to learn about antiques and the history that accompanies the objects always fascinates me.

We tend to buy a lot from other dealers as it is always the better the devil you know than the devil you don't know.

One of my first finds was this fabulous vintage Florentine Triptych Madonna and Child Travel Icon, which really is a golden tresor.

 
Next find was this pair of fireplace decorations which date back to the mid 1850's and are in the style Louis XV Rocaille which is my favourite style as I love the rocaille style as I find it very decorative.

They would look fabulous standing in front of the fireplace.

They are made from bronze hence they are not the lightest of objects. You will find details here.

Another find is this napoleon III style hat pin cushion which comes complete with fabulous "M" monogramme.

It would be a great piece to display jewellery on.

It is adorable and it is rare to find objects this old in condition like this considering the fact that it is over 130 years old. You can find more details here.

The last item is, I think the most fabulous item that I have found since I have lived here as the history that goes with it, is very interesting - it is linked to a chateau with an intriguing past. 

But you will have to wait until tomorrow to read all about it....

à demain, Leeann x

making a list...

fabulous photo from here

Bonjour mes belles,

I hope that all had a fabulous weekend. I think that ours was the best so far, yesterday was spent tresure hunting on a sunny but chilly day and Saturday was the highlight of my year.

We had a stall at a local Christmas fair where trade was brisk with young female shoppers.....little girls love to shop and I love seeing their outfits, boots, skinny jeans, fabulous coloured jumpers and one even wore a tutu over the jeans....fashionably hip!

The day finished with a concert and mulled wine served with mince pies.......fabulous and I do not have many of the mulled wine spices left in stock.

As most of you know I adore making gingerbread cookies almost as much as French Boyfriend loves eating it so when I saw these fabulous trees made from gingerbread cookies on one of my favourite blogs I thought this is something that I would like to try hence I have started a list of all theh things that I need to do this week and making trees like these is on my list.

Have you started making a list, dites-moi.... 

amicalement, Leeann x

 

Pièce de résistance....

Think that this may well be my Pièce de résistance. I adore it but am not quite sure what I will do with it. Antique ciel de lits/bed crowns  are getter harder to find and when I saw this one, I knew I just had to have it.

I love the shape of it and think that it would look fabulous hanging above a day bed......hence it will be sitting with the other projects for winter in my garage, which there is quite a collection of and I have a feeling that it is going to be a busy winter.

Note I had not had time to photograph the new tablecloth but it is on my list of things to do.

.....à demain mes belles, Leeann x

sunday treasure....

Bonsoir mes belles,

Apologies for the lateness of this post but it has been a busy day and I have a feeling that the week is going to be pretty much the same.

Yesterday we went to a vide grenier in the nearby village of Duras and despite the fog, managed to find a few treasures including the lamp shades that you see above. These were my first purchase of the day and I was happy as my chandelier in my shop is bare, due to the fact that one of my lovely customers bought almost all of the lampshades that I had in stock, a few weeks ago.

The next purchase was a set of monogrammed nakins which are in the process of being laundered along with this fabulous 1880's Napoleon III Cross, which really is an unusual and very decorative piece.

I love the detail on the cross......

Last and this happens to be my most favourite purchase, was this gorgeous trio.......

You can imagine the looks and comments as I carried this lot to the car, and they weigh a lot as I found out.

One is already hanging in the Fabulously French boutique and the others are awaiting their fate.

 

 

 

She really is a lovely specimen as her features are oh so fine.

 

I am off to start dinner, before French Boyfriend arrives and finds I am still on the computer....

 

à demain, Leeann x

New arrival at Fab French + busy day treasure hunting..

 

 

 

new arrival at Fabulously French

Bonsoir mes belles,

I hope  you all had a fabulous weekend. Ours was another busy one as I have boxes of Christmas stock that I have started to unpack and display in my wee boutique.

Some of the Christmas decorations have next to sold out but I have more arriving this week.

It was an early start this morning as we went to a couple of vide greniers and managed to find a few treasures.....think fabulous late 1800's candle holder complete with detailed angel with wings design, vintage ribbon with letters and numbers, two fabulous antique rosaries,lots of vintage French prayer cards, fabulous  petite box covered in toile de jouy and you have an idea on what is in store for tomorrow.

Oops almost forgot the find of the day that made me smile.....vintage 1950's style shop mannequin that is one of those 1/2 torso types and I am thinking that she would make a fabulous lamp.

Halloween window display has been replaced by the Christmas display and in the corner of the boutique is a snowy white Christmas tree with grey and silver decorations....which I adore and wish that I have bought a white tree sooner as it really looks so serene and snowy white!

Promise to show you some photos tomorrow but am now off to chill out and watch a movie with FBF as I am feeling the effects of the early start.

 à demain, Leeann x

Last of the weekend treasure...

I was lucky enough to arrive at the vendor's stand at the moment he was unpacking this fabulous vintage tole bouillotte lamp. 

The colour is a lovely grey with slight crackle finish and it has a touch of doré around the edges. The rose detail really is the finishing touch, so fabulously French and at the same time, very shabby chic. For me it really was the find of the day.....

Bonne journée à tous, Leeann x

12 may 1787....

This is the date written on an antique marriage document that I found at the weekend along with another that is dated 1805.

Ironically one dates pre the revolution and the other just after.

A piece of history, they would look fabulous framed and displayed on a wall. You will find more details here.

...trés bon week-end à tous, Leeann x

Look what I found...

 

 

 

6am in the morning and 8 degrees....colder than normal hence most of the sellers were wrapped in blankets.

 

Was it worth getting up early? I think you already know the answer as one of the first objects I found was this stunning Napoleon III style clock which I plan to place on my mantle in my boutique.

 

 

 

I love the details and the contrast of the gold aginst the almost transparent marble....

 

 

 

 

Think that she ties in well with my Christmas theme this year....all that glitters..

 

Other tresors include a fabulous old French quilt in fabulous condition, gold rocaille style candelabra and a set of 12 immaculate monogrammed napkins.

 

I am hoping to spend this week updating the shop as I have a lot of new items that I have yet to photograph and place online.

 

Bonne semaine à tous, Leeann x

 

 

 

 

 

repurposed doorstop ...

She started life as a Chenet de Cheminée or fire dog as they are called in English.

I think that she makes a fabulous door stop and a very practical one as she is heavy, to say the least.


She came with 2 friends....a rather handsome looking fellow...

and a very pretty woman...

They also would make fabulous lamps as you can see from the photo below...

Love the lamps and think that they look extra special with the lamp shades made from vintage monogrammed napkins.....repurposing at it's best.

You could also use them as bookends......now i am wishing that I had a few more!

amities from a still very HOT SW France, Leeann x

sunday morning treasures...

Bonjour from a VERY hot SW France,

The heatwave is continuing and it is not expected to leave until next Friday so we are preparing ourselves for another week of extreme temperatures.

We managed a quick trip to a local vide grenier where I picked up lots of vintage rolls of ribbon or ruban as it is called in French.

The colours themselves are stunning but the thing I like most is the old style labels with their fabulous style of font and the way that each layer of ribbon is separated by a layer of paper.

Love them and just wish  that the vendor had more as I bought all that she had as I adore ribbon and not only will the rolls look great when used as part of a display, they alwyas come in handy as I found out this morning when I wanted to make a quick change to my sun hat so that it co-ordinated with the rest of my outfit......it is a girl thing but French boy friend agreed that it looked better with a touch of black ribbon.

After treasure hunting we stopped quickly for a cafe and a macaron and I wished that I had my camera with me as there were no small macarons left and the only macarons on offer with rose flavoured and filled with fresh rasberries and a light cream........forgot to menetion that they were the large size so I shared it with FBF.  It was delicious and not too sweet and the rasberries were firm but melted in your mouth......my idea of heaven.......treasure hunting and macarons.....what more could a girl want......oh yes a French boyfriend.....la vie est vraiment belle en France!

trés bon dimanche à tous et à demain mes belles, Leeann x

Sneak peak....my new house

I was hoping to have time to take photos of  the items that we bought yesterday but I have been busy with orders etc, but wanted to show you the dolls house that I found yesterday at a local vide grenier so I quickly took this photo.

The interior is not finished so I have a blank canvas to play with.......I am thinking along the lines of mini chandeliers, french couch, fabulous bed etc......along with some farrow and ball paint!

I cannot wait to start decorating but I am realistic so think that it will be a winter project. I am hoping that you will give me a hand re finding/making the pieces I need to make my maison de poupee fabulously french!

à demain mes belles, Leeann x  

sunday treasure...

It was an early start for us this morning and the stakes were high as it was a local vide grenier not far from us and we knew that there would be lots of dealers all hunting for the same kind of objects as us.

Fortunately luck was on our side and we returned with a few tresors including the fabulous mirror that you see pictured above along with a large antique mirror with fabulous fronton, more fabulous table napkins with monogramme, two matching prints and a dolls house that I simply adore.

Will take some photos tomorrow and think that you will all love the dolls house. The trouble is that it is empty so I may need your help sourcing furniture for it......call it my winter project!

Alas mes belles, it has been a long day and I am now off to soak in the bath as my limbs are weary....

à demain, Leeann x

sunday morning treasure...

As I sit writing this post, French Boyfriend is taking a sieste after spending the morning treasure hunting with me.

The first vide grenier that we visited this morning was situated in a park which backed onto a river.

What a fabulous way to start the morning......blue sky, cool morning air, shady trees and lots of stands full of potential treasures for one and all!

My first find was a local lady selling lots of fabulous table napkins; 3 different designs and all are gorgeous. I was conscious of the fact that there were a lot of antique dealers circling so decided the best approach was to purchase all that she had available.

End result.....french shopping basket full of serviettes, 33 in total.

Next purchase was a wall mounted cabinet containing a collection of shells, will photograph this later and show you a photo.

A few stalls later, we found a lovely local lady selling antique post cards which we admired one by one and walked away with 12 beautiful cards which I plan on placing in the album that I found last week.

Next up was the crocodile's head which FBF wanted so I bought it for him and you can see it in the photo above...enough said!

Then it was off to another vide grenier wwhich was being held in the streets of a local village.

It was chaos when we arrived, with everyone searching for a space to park. We managed to find a parking and off we set on our mission.

This particular vide grenier, was a contrast to the first, in the fact that there were more professional sellers, hence the quality of the goods on offer was high as were the prices.

This said, there is always a special price for fellow dealers of which French Boyfriend is one, having been in the business for over 30 years (let's just say he started at a yound age :-) )   and I love it when they start talking about their recent finds and the history that surrounds each object.

From one dealer who had the most gorgeous items, we bought the soup ladle that you see above....

....plus the set that you see below in its original box lined with velvet. All three pieces have the same design and gorgeous monogramme.

Another purchase from the same dealer was a pair of gorgeous but heavy candelabras which would be perfect for giving your dining table that something extra. I have not had time to unwrap these but will try and take a photograph tomorrow as they are very decorative.

Think that is about it for now, hope that you are all having or had a fabulous weekend. 

à demain mes belles, Leeann x