It Won't be Long

It's usually right about now that I am ready for spring.

 

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It won't be long now! Just a matter of weeks...

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to my darling daughter! 

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Today is a family day. 

Have I told you how lucky I am to be part of a (large)
 wonderful, loving family?

Confident Color

Dusky grape (or is that gray?) and yellow look fresh with the raw wood and Belgian linen.

Anne Gelbard's striking color combinations were created for the Paris hotel, La Belle Juliette. The slate gray walls are an elegant backdrop for the orange and chartreuse.

Taking lavender to its full impact... and combining it with rose and yellow gold- very Parisian and elegant.

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Artistic License

A distinctive style, somewhat fearless and creative...these phrases come to mind when viewing the impressive work of Carine de Marin. 

Carine's fresh twist on decorating with paints and plasters has me intrigued.

Embossing, embedding, molding and ornamentation- all are employed.

Carine adds silver leaf, gold leaf and organic bits of matter, creating statement pieces that demand to be inspected and admired.

 

Don't you just love her creativity? 

To enjoy her work, visit Carine's website here.

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Soft and Pretty

Appreciating clean and simple today. 
A place of rest and relaxation...

softer colors and interesting pillows (love that coffee table),

including the subtle colors of mink and fawn.

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Exquisite

I recently discovered designer Anne Gelbard and her uber chic wallpapers. If you went to Maison et Objet, you probably saw her booth there in the Scenes d'Interieur Hall.

Leaf on multicolor background

Anne received her college degree in textile design. In 1997, she opened her atelier in Paris and has been designing fabrics for both haute couture and ready-to-wear merchandise. She also designs lampshades, cushions and wallcoverings for the interior design trade.

I particularly enjoy her unique style of adding gold, silver and copper leaf to her designs.

Using the silver leaf as a backdrop for the painting gives it a lovely soft glow.

Just beautiful... and inspiring!

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French Wall Art and a Giveaway

Today is the day! Please join me over at My French Country Home where Sharon is celebrating her first blog birthday with daily giveaways. Today she is featuring my contribution... custom painted bookends for the winner. Let's go see... here!

Welcome back! And now on to an uber creative family in Provence who did not leave their work at the office, but rather used their home as the perfect expression of their love of painting. 

Jean Pierre Misbach, Estelle Misbach and Danielle Misbach are the creative forces in the family. They have transformed their home into a wonderland of colours, designs and textures.

Look closely at the walls.

Utilizing the cool colors of gray, mauve/amethyst and Provencal gray and supplementing them with the warmer colors of yellow, orange and red, Jean Pierre has painted most rooms of the home.

Classic Italian and French influences are found here, along with trompe l'oeil, ornamentation, faux marbre, faux bois- a decorative painter's dream.

Estelle Misbach designs jewelry, beaded handbags; Danielle Misbach paints charming pieces of furniture besides her canvas art.

A wonderful example of joie de vivre, wouldn't you say?

[Images via Maisons de Campagne]

Color Code

Loving the purple and cream damask pillow in front of the well-worn canvas.  You wonder what rooms that canvas has seen...

These fabulous columns and doors play host to a classic chair with a funky fabric. Combining the unexpected...

Orange and purple, organic and sleek...together they make a fun vignette with the art pieces.

What combinations do you like?

Stop by tomorrow for my giveaway details!

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Quince and the Water

Have you ever forced branches before? You will be surprised at how easy it is.

Three weeks ago, these quince branches were brown and looking quite barren. We clipped them neatly (leaving no stubs) from the tree and placed them in a bucket with enough water to go up about 25% of the stem length. If the stem is thick, smash the end with a hammer to encourage water absorption. Then we covered the branches with lightweight plastic and positioned the bucket in a sunny window. Every few days, we checked it to make sure the bucket had enough water in it and gave it a few good spritzes of water to keep that humidity level up. 

Can you see the tiny buds above?

Take a walk in your yard and look for flowering branches, such as cherry, quince, pussy willow  and crab apple trees.

  They are such a great pick-me-up in the middle of winter.

Connecting up to Cindy at My Romantic Home.

Breathe Deeply

Mmmm... can't you just smell it? I cannot think of many other scents that could stop me in my tracks.

The scent of chocolate is instantly recognizable.

 Fudge, mousse, hot cocoa, brownies 
or just plain, deep, dark chocolate...
 

I am always ready for a taste.

One of my fond childhood memories is smelling the fudge that my mother would make on special occasions. 

I would like to share with you the recipe that I use for hot fudge sauce. I am usually requested to bring ice cream pies to the family get-togethers, even in winter. I also use this same recipe for the pies, placing it between the ice cream layers.

Hot Fudge Sauce

                  1/2 cup butter                   4 ounces unsweetened chocolate        

2 cups sugar                            1/8 teaspoon salt 

1/2 teaspoon vanilla                  1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk  

                                                                  

Melt butter in double boiler, then add sugar and stir till incorporated. Gradually add the evaporated milk and salt, stirring occasionally until the sugar is melted. 

This will take 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat and add vanilla.

 The only step left is to dish out your favorite ice cream!

                                  
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In a Peacock Mood

These are inspiring me today...

I need a dose of peacock color!

Loving this aqua Venetian plaster combined with the coral and pink accents.

This teal is perfect with the silver.

Turquoise + Gothic= Interesting.

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