Hunting and Gathering

In the midst of sourcing the elements required for our Master Bathroom renovation...

Mirror from nordstrom.com.

Mirror we already own
and can repurpose 

Anytime I'm out-and-about or online my search migrates into other projects, real and imagined, i.e., the mirror I found on Pinterest (nordstroms.com) for our Powder Room which necessitated a new sconce from lightingdirect.com. The sconce is lovely, but too small for the mirror. Luckily, we have a spare, smaller mirror in a guest room that works with the sconce for the Powder Room. Now, I'm thinking I'll move the Edward Hopper print from our Morning Room up to the sofa wall in our loft, and hang the Nordstrom mirror here.

Move Hopper print to Loft.

Hang instead of Hopper Print?

And then, there are the (3) gold-framed French architectural drawings (still unwrapped) I purchased second-hand at The New Interiors Anew, locally, for the Powder Room(!). CA looked around at the gold-framed photos and prints (French) on the Powder Room walls and said, "So, you don't like these any more?" MEN!!!

Existing prints and photos in Powder Room. The wall color just doesn't photo well.

Painted sideboard. Chair is turned from normal placement.

Do I go back to Interiors Anew today for that lovely Thomasville small console table that might fit in the Entry Foyer? Or, in the Great Room, necessitating moving the current painted sideboard into the Study-Dining Room--replacing the shabby-chic half-table already in-place?

And, while I love the current American Primative bench and small chest currently in the Foyer, where else can it fit? I wouldn't mind using the Thomasville console in the Great Room, but I don't want the shabby-chic half-table front-and-center.

And, have I EVER used this many en-dashes in a post previously?! Sheesh! It's like they're exclamation points or something. Bah-hah on whoever said one should only ever use (4) exclamation points in one's life!!!! (Or, is it "whomever"?)(And, where does the end punctuation go in a sentence that ends with quote marks not indicating spoken word?!)

**I digress.**

Yes, the painted sideboard can go in the Study-Dining Room. It belongs there. It's filled with dishes and has no business in the Great Room. It was a space filler and never the right color. Light yellow in a room with shades of blond and tan (café au lait). If I don't buy the small Thomasville console, I'd really love a French writing desk here.

This chair turned "out" is really bugging me.

What vexes me about the Thomasville console is that I think they doubled the price since I first saw it. Yes, that's a vague suspicion, but there's recent precedence. A week or so ago, I saw a sewing rocker at a local thrift shop, and behold! there it was (I think) at Interiors Anew, doubled in price. No hard feelings if I'm right; people have to make money. And then, with my current Autoimmune flare and all that confusion added to all the freaking details and moving parts on the bathroom reno... I am probably all wrong.

The best news is that, for now, I have all the products required for the Master Bathroom reno in-house. After much purchasing-exchanging-returning-Internet commerce-big box store wandering. That is, I have all the products except the tile, which I just found out is back-ordered to mid to late-June. Ugh! I revisited Century Tile yesterday to look for replacement tile, but after 10 minutes I told them we'll just wait.

All that, and I still have issues with these pieces:

In Powder Room for convenience. Not working.

This is just hanging around our loft doing nothing.

I'd like this bucket bench out of the Foyer.
Not sure where it'll fit.

I Needed a Big Smile

 

Habitually Chic posted this off-guard photo on a street in Paris. Reminded me of RvH and I--a (very) few years down the road.

 

RvH is the beautifully-put-together grande dame, while I shall remain quirky.

 

Love the adventures this implies.

 

Happy May Day

 

-source since lost- (apologies)

May Day (La Fête du Muguet, La Fête du Travail) in France is a public holiday to campaign for and celebrate workers rights. It is also an occasion to present lily-of-the-valley flowers to loved ones.

So... Today I sent many of my nearest and dearest an e-bouquet of one of my very favorite flowers. I have very fond memories of gathering many bouquets from my grandparents' garden. And, I'm additionally drawn to these flowers as I have a very sweet Lily granddaughter. Our oldest (9 years in a few days); the child who taught us (exuberantly) how to be grandparents.

 

White Asparagus

 

White asparagus was in-season when we were in Alsace spring of 2012. At lunch in Riquewihr, we sat (closely) next to a remarkably composed Alsatian (German? Swiss?) lady. She savoured each morsel of her white asparagus entrée, and I envied her selection. I mean, she savoured each tiny bite. It was a beautiful thing to behold.

 

Fresh Market had some white asparagus on offer late last week, so CA and I came home from Saturday's farmers' market and made a lunch of poached eggs, white asparagus, and Hollandaise. Excellent!

 

We oven-roasted the asparagus with olive oil, clarified butter, salt + pepper. (I use PW's technique) I don't usually clarify butter, but since I'm following the Whole30 this month, I did take the extra step to eliminate the dairy solids. We also used the clarified butter in the Hollandaise sauce.

 

Technique from here.

 

Herb and Vegetable Shears

 

Found these originally at the market in Cannes. The guy did a hopped-up Vegi-Matic style demo. It was impressive. Think I paid €5, but it might have been €10 because I hesitated, and bought just the one pair. Later, I found 4-blade shears in a kitchen store in Antibes for less €€ and bought them for JE and MK.

 

The best part of this particular purchase is the nifty blade cleaner. I find it indispensable. But, that's just me. I've now seen similar shears at Sur la table.

 

Pizza Knives

 

 

Used these all over Southern France and Paris, but had never seen them in U.S. We scoured the kitchenware shops in Paris, finally buying the final four available in a shop near E. Dehillerin.

 

They came with the cork enpointe. (O.K., I know that's not the right word for this usage, but I can't resist.)

 

Great for safety in the kitchen drawer scramble

 

 

Found these online:

 

 

-source-

 

-source-

 

Or, this crazy contraption that looks not only worthless, but dangerous, too.

-source-

 

August Giveaway: My French Country Home

 

One of my favorite bloggers, whom we had the pleasure of visiting in June 2012, is hosting a beautiful giveaway on her blog this weekend--a portrait by the gifted artist, David Terry. Visit My French Country Home and book a week at My French Country Cottage.

august giveaway no. 4 - a commissioned portrait by David Terry - Sharon Santoni

 

Peach Ice Cream, A William's Sonoma Recipe

 

 

 

Since we had such delicious peaches, we borrowed LL's ice creamer maker, a Kitchenaid mixer attachment, and made two batches of William's Sonoma Fresh Peach Ice Cream.

 

A great, rich recipe. It comes out a bit soft-serve, so we pressed some plastic wrap right onto the ice cream, them sealed the freezer container. Kept it fresh and non-icey for days.

 

For the very last serving of the first batch, I crumbled some French butter cookies (Sablés) into the ice cream. Delicious!

 

Heat Wave

Image via: A2gov.org

While our local heatwave has given us a slight break, the whole country plus Europe can identify with our summer weather thus far.

 

 

Canicule:

French word for a heatwave. It is based on the alternate name of Sirius, the main star in the Grand Chien constellation (Great Dog or Canis Major in English), which rises and sets with the sun during the hottest days of summer. This also explains the English expression "the dog days" of summer.

Definition via: chocolateandzucchini.com

 

HEAT WAVE

-linda ronstadt-

 

Whenever I'm with him
Something inside
Starts to burning
And I'm filled with desire
Could it be the devil in me
Or is this the way love's supposed to be

It's like a heat wave
Burning in my heart
Can't keep from crying
It's tearing me apart

Whenever he calls my name
Soft, low, sweet and plain
I feel, yeah yeah
Well I feel that burning flame
Has high blood pressure got a hold on me
Or is this the way love's supposed to be

It's like a heat wave
Burning in my heart
Can't keep from crying
It's tearing me apart

Sometimes I stare into space
Tears all over my face
I can't explain it
Don't understand it
I hadn't ever felt like this before
Now that funny feeling has me amazed
I Don't know what to do
My head's in a haze

It's like a heat wave
Burning in my heart
Can't keep from crying
It's tearing me apart

Yeah yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah oh oh (heat wave)
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
oh (heat wave)

Don't pass up this chance
This time it's true romance
Heat wave
Heat wave
Heat wave
Oooh heat wave

 

 

Chicago Sunday

Needing to visit JL at a hospital in Chicago, CA and I made a day of it--9:30am church service at Fourth Presbyterian...

 

 

Then a stroll down Michigan Avenue...

 

 

Arriving just before 10:30am for brunch at The Paris Club on Hubbard...

 

 

After a bit of shopping--Crate and Barrel, and the Apple Store--we had an encouraging visit with JL. About time.

 

Finished off the day with dinner at our new favorite local pub...

 

 

 

Bastille Day Chicago-Style

 

 

PB and J French Toast

Guessing we named French toast after the Croque Monsieur or Croque Madame typically served as a luncheon entree in cafes or bistros in France.

Yesterday morning I indulged in my first ever PB and J French toast. To-die-for! Truly.

I tiptoed in--making just half a sandwich to start--with Skippy Natural PB and some black raspberry preserves. Just dipped in the standard egg mixture--one egg, some milk and vanilla, all whisked together. Grilled that baby in a combination of vegetable oil and butter until it was perfectly golden.

Everything was all gooey and drippy, and crunchy, too. Double YUM!!

One comment. Fold do not cut bread in half to prevent excessive oozing and thus smoke while grilling.