Bits of Romance

I wanted to share bits of romance from My Petite Maison

today and throughout the upcoming holiday weekend

This little French white bistro bench says 

romance

to me...

Romance all over it!

It's a flea market find and it holds memories

just like all my items...

My daughter and I found it Easter Sunday

we carried it to the car together... heavy but so,

so, so much fun!

I love the way the sun-dried sun flowers

look in the basket on this bench

How many sun flowers has this bench seen?

I bet millions! ;)

Chippy Galore!

Homemade Vinaigre a l'estragon

 I even put my homemade tarragon vinegar on it

to brew away in the sunshine...

See my hand-written labels?  So much more fun

to do it all by hand... like to incorporate the herb's

look into the label!

Doesn't it look pretty with the sun hitting

all those herbs we grew here at the Maison?

Another thoughtful thing I want to share,

Debbie at Lake House

Hollyhock seeds from Debbie at Lakehouse

sent me this beautiful parcel...

My heart jumped when I was handed

the package at the... well... what do we call it?

Our little town post office burned down

(A whole other story ;)

In any case... it's an extreme happiness,

thank you, Debbie!

Card from Debbie

Even the card has hollyhocks on it...

be still my hollyhock loving heart!

All different colours/colors sorted out

So very nice...  They'll be so many

hollyhocks growing in my garden next year...

Placing them in my dear garden shed until

the time is right.

Now to another bit of romance...

You all know, or most of you do,

My addiction to Illy Caffé/Espresso

I even think my dear friend, Janet of Shabbyfufu

and I have a contest going on... who loves Illy the very best.

I was in my outdoor studio today and started thinking~

About romance, café drinks & one of my favorites~

Roses... White roses

They go hand in hand, non?

Made me think of one of our daughter's favorite

childhood drinks made with rose water and almonds

I made the rose water concoction

(my word for the long weekend)

from our old recipe and voila!

A new romantic drink is born...

delicious, délicieux, delizioso

Romantique Rose Iced Illy Caffé

by My Petite Maison

Here's the recipe if you'd like to give it a try

1 tsp rose water

1/2 quart low fat milk

1/2 tsp (or more to taste) almond extract

Mix rose water, almond extract & milk together

Brew three to four individual servings 

Illy Espresso or Caffé

(we use a Moka to brew our coffee here)

Add rose water, milk mix to blender

Add coffee mixture

Add lots of ice

(we like it chunky...  goodness)

Blend and serve in your favorite vintage glasses!

Serves 4-6

So whatever you do this long weekend...

Do it with lots of romance!

Watch the world go by... romantically!

Romance your home, 

your friends,

your love!

Joining in White Wednesday

at Kathleen's Faded Charm

Happiness to you~

White Wednesday ~ Here & There

This post for White Wednesday is here & there

And all around the Maison... 

Hope you have some fun!

Forgive me, but it's 106 here and it's a challenge

to get something together right now

side garden tour to happen in cooler weather!

(I'm not really a plan ahead type of person

& write my posts right before I publish)

I figured we'd start in the Maison to say hello...

bon jour!

And work our way out for refreshments

Not much text today, let's just enjoy the photos ;)

A little bit of art I've been creating

I know... MORE My Petite Maison projects

love sea shells and projects.

And now a little tour to see some white

flowers before they get wilted by this very,

very hot Sun today

Spoon created by Sandi of Wayside Treasures ~ Merci, Sandi!

 Even the strawberries have the prettiest

white flowers.  I have eaten so many

my throat's closing a little (allergic, just a tad

but nothing serious... really!)

It's so hot, my angel trumpets started opening

within a day... all the buds

The smell of these plants is heavenly

and two of them are pure white.

Yay for our local nursery.  Lost all my angel trumpet

plants during the freeze earlier in the year

 A quick walk to town to show you one of my

very favorite restaurants, Ravenous.

They have a gorgeous courtyard out back,

just seems like a neighbor's quaint backyard ;)

 And now I leave you for the evening...

with some delicious macarons on one

of my very favorite Pillivuyt plates

I'll leave you here,

back in the Maison

Hope you're cool and cozy

Please don't forget to turn off

the light after you finish your

Chocolat Macaron ;)

Happy White Wednesday

Happiness to you!

Herb Project

How was your weekend?

Mine was fantastic, filled with projects.

I didn't finish my potting shed yet or the side yard,

but I'm working as hard as I can to show you!

Put some of my herbs to good use while I was

clearing out my little potting area.

I love the herbs rosemary and lavender so much 

with their fragrances mixed together

I decided to make wreaths for My Petite Maison

A little rosemary, lavender and a tiny bit of sage.

We have tons of sage... growing in the ground,

containers, well every where!

The rosemary plant is so big it's taking over

one side of the house!

See, Buttercup's impressed for certain ;)

It's so hot now, the rose is wilted

or I should say dried, but I think that just adds

to it's beauty.

What are your favorite herbs and do you

like to mix fragrances too?

Happiness to you

Sparkling Giveaway from Fifi

Happy Sunday

I'm busy in one of the side yards

cleaning & just working away

But The one & only

Fifi

Photo:  Fifi O'Neill

is having a glorious giveaway

Now... for moi

Back to work!

Recycling my addiction... Illy Caffe cans w/herbs

Sunday Sun coming in My Petite Maison

Hurry over to Sweet Fifi's to see the goods.

Chat soon et Bonne Chance ~ Good luck!

Happiness to you

Weekend Plans & Talking Pets

A very quick wish for you

for a happy weekend

I'll be here cleaning up this side area...

And here... so much cleaning up to do back

here in this little corner and up in the vines!

I'm planning a little potting area on the side of my shack...

Think I'm going to hang a couple of flea market finds

and maybe bring out a piece of vintage furniture too.

Can't wait to get started!

And, of course, hang out with this guy...

Did I mention my hubby's been working on a project

that takes him away from home for quite some time now 

and Zeke has listened to me going on and on 

for weeks & weeks on end?

I can't believe Zeke doesn't know how to speak yet,

I'm trying my hardest to get some kind of feedback

from this French Oaf.

Aren't animals just the best loneliness busters?  

Don't know what I'd do without you, Zeke!

His latest nickname is Fluff Munchkin

He seems to like it as long as I'm getting

ready to give him something real tasty

(or he thinks I'm going to that is ;)

See, he's giving YOU a flower for the weekend!

What are your plans?   

Will you be working in the garden

or making something special to eat

from your garden?

Happiness to you!

White Wednesday ~ Taste of France

Today I thought I'd share a little Taste of Français

from the little corner where I'll be prepping it out just for you!

Our petite window (old fashioned window, like Grandma's ;)

But here's a little outside view first...

Don't you just love walking by houses and trying to take

a little peek inside?

I do ;)

My hubby doesn't though... what's up with that?

Embarrass him just a bit at times.

 So... here we go, back to the inside

My little view from the kitchen table,

love, love, love to sit at the laptop here 

and dream away!

Feel the Wine Country breezes lilting in the windows?

Another window...

Apologize for the big decal, but we have pets inside,

Need to let folks know we have important

family members inside too.

Oh and please don't mind the window dust...

happens with windows open with those lovely summer breezes!

My petite white corner

where I'm preparing this White Wednesday post now...

Most items...  flea market finds, of course,

and even the cats have a vintage café au lait bowl

(daughter's idea)

Fleurs, little magnolia buds, collected flea market tidbits

Can't remember a time this little house

did not have fresh fleurs inside

These are grocery store flowers my hubby brought me,

Aren't they beautiful?  Yes... Inexpensive but very beautiful!

Always organic fresh fruit.  White nectarines, raspberries & Pink Pearl apples

 Have you tried the Elderflower Pressé yet from Belvoir Farms?

It's delicious!  Found at local gourmet market

Bubbly goodness, not too sweet ~ just the bottle is art

and a White Wednesday object for certain.

White Spice Jars from Anthropologie ~ Clearance Items = Perfect Price ;)

Did I mention there are white peaches out there?  Right outside!

Vintage Fleur de lis salt & pepper shakers

Which brings me to the Tastes of France

for today

 1 ~ Sea Salt with Herbes de Provence

 Take approximately 2 T French Sea Salt

(I used Esprit du Sel)

and mix in 1/2 tsp Herbes de Provence

 Crush until well blended and aromas meld together

Smells heavenly!

 Looks heavenly too... See?

 I also use it to fill these little shakers

so old (vintage now ;) from France

You can also make the same thing with pepper/poivre

Yum!

Vintage French shakers & Mother of Pearl salt & pepper shakers

 Next, my other Taste of France 

to share with you today

2 ~ Honey & Lavender Ice Cream

(Easy Recipe)

1 tsp dried lavender flowers (pesticide free)

3/4 c sugar

2 c milk

1/4 tsp Herbes de Provence salt (we just made it!)

4 egg yolks

1/4 c lavender, wildflower or herbes honey

1 c heavy cream

Process the flowers and sugar in food processor until blended

In med suacepan, scald milk.  Stir in lavender, sugar & salt until dissolved.

In top of double boiler, whisk egg yolks until light & smooth

Gradually whisk eggs yolks until they're smooth

Cook mixture over the boiling water, keep stirring until thick and very smooth

Remove mixture from heat, stir in honey until it dissolves

Gradually stir in cream

Pour into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap & place in refrigerator for 3 hours

Place into your ice cream machine and freeze or you can freeze for 4 hours 

in your freezer.

Enjoy... And

Don't forget to add a little extra sprinkling

of our special

Herbes de Provence salt on top

Honey Lavender Ice Cream topped with Herbes de Provence Salt

3 ~ Now isn't that great?

Two great tastes of France

 right there (or here) together!

They're both perfect for White Wednesday ;)

So are you going to give them a try?

Happiness to you!

(from my petite corner of this little kitchen garden)