Wednesday 16 June 2010

V is for Vide Grenier

Alphabe-Thursday has come around again and this week Mrs Matlock's students are pondering the letter "V".
Here in France, V must mean "vide grenier", which when literally translated means "empty attic".
A Vide Grenier is a cross between a yard sale, a flea market or a car boot sale depending which country you live in!
Need a bike?
I bought this little item for 3 euros at the last vide grenier we went to.

At the moment it is residing in the downstairs loo but I'm not inspired by it there.


I get so jealous when I read about all the great thrifty items some of my blogger friends find at Goodwill or Estate sales.
Two experts that spring to mind are Bill @ Affordable Accoutrements, he is the one to go to for beautiful, stunning tablescapes, and Jane @ Mamie Jane's who has the best "eye" for turning other people's junque into wonderful decorative home accents.
I can't imagine that you don't already know about these two fabulous blogs, but just in case you don't, click on the links to see what I mean when I say they are two of the best.
See you in class.

26 comments:

  1. What a sweet little shelf - you'll have fun trying it out all over the house.

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  2. I like the little shelf, honey. It could hold cook books very well I think.
    xoxo,
    Connie

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  3. I have a shelf similar to this and I use it in the bathroom to hold my hand creams etc. I liked it when I bought it but I could never seem to find the right spot for it. Now it's useful. Good Luck!

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  4. I know what you mean. I am in Canada and those guys get all the good stuff.
    There are not many good deals here with everything priced at almost the same as new.

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  5. OOH, other people emptying out their attics sounds good to me. I love yard sales and estate sales. I"M sure you will find the perfect spot for the little shelf soon. And I agree with you on Mamie Jane... she is marvelous isn't she?

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  6. You seem to be doing well! I love the shelf.

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  7. I love the idea of vide grenier and it explains your first picture. That little shelf is a keeper.

    Generally I don't have much luck, even when I visit a Good Will but I do seem some posts with incredible finds.

    Lately I've decided I have enough "stuff" and that maybe I need to do some thinning.

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  8. Maggie, I like that shelf, and I loved finding out about a "vide grenier". Since I am a retired French teacher, that is a great thing to know! Linda

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  9. I avoid sales like the plague. I really need to de-junk my house, not gather more stuff in.

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  10. I like that little shelf in that spot, but you move it to where it feels right to you.

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  11. Hi Maggie,
    The vide grenier you pictured looks like my kind of sale!! I think everything in french sounds so much better than the english version so I think I'm going to start saying I purchased something at a vide grenier rather than saying a garage/yard sale :-)
    And thank you so much for giving me too much credit for my repurposed projects (but you know I loved it!)....I was truly flattered!!
    Jane

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  12. Morning, Maggie. Oh, you are making me feel a bit jealous. You know I love to roam the markets of France. Yes, we have GW and other thrift shops, but not the weekend markets or vide greniers you get to roam. :-)
    Enjoy the weekend! Happy treasure hunting! ~Sarah

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  13. Super ‘V’ post – I really enjoyed reading it!Pity though we don't have vide-grenier events here in Spain!

    LOLA:)

    PS Mine this week is HERE. Hope you can join me!

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  14. What a wonderful stop on our little journey through Alphabe-Thursday's Letter "V".

    I love your little shelf. I can see it with cookbooks, too.

    This is the kind of event I would really enjoy!

    But I will settle for visiting vicariously through your link for now!

    A+

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  15. I'm sure that vide greniers are more interesting than plain old Canadian garage sales. You'll have fun deciding just where your shelf will end up.

    I haven't heard of either of those blogs, so I'm off to explore.

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  16. You are so right Maggie. Some people just know where to get the beautiful goodies like Bill does. We don't have estates like in Tennessee , all we have is second hand shops LOL or flea markets.
    Great V post.

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  17. what a sweet little shelf ... and i love that you through in a french term for us to learn! now off to visit those two blogs you recommended.

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  18. What a great post. I bet one can find all kinds of deals at a place like that. I like the shelf. I could find uses for it lol. Good V post.

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  19. Vide Grenier! That sounds so classy! Much better than garage sale.

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  20. I love your little shelf! What about all those sales i see on t.v. are they overpriced?

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  21. How I wish I had an empty attic, Maggie!!!
    And an empty storage unit.
    And a few empty drawers and closets too.

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  22. The vide grenier you picture at the beginning of the post is charming. My attic could use a good cleaning out.
    Thanks for the links to Bill and Jane. Their blogs are truly works of art.

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  23. It looks as tho you found some treasure...my favorite is the first picture with the sweet shelf...are you going to paint it white?
    Jil
    xo

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  24. It's always fun to see what "treasures" can be found at these sales. I actually need to have a Vide Grenier at my place...um...it would probably even be a good idea to do a whole "empty house" and not just "empty attic" sale! I have accumulated so much stuff over the 28+ years of marriage!

    Blessings & Aloha!
    Hope your family's father's day was an awesome one :o)
    Still trying to get to more "V" posts!

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  25. Maggie I think it looks really neat there, and a it's easy moveable you can have fun changing it around to other spots.

    I loved spending a few hours at the vide greniers I visited last time over there.......especially one where we walked to the next village (from my brother's) through the vineyard on a beautiful Oct. morning. Lovely memory.

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