bijou X

Collins defines the word bijouX as 

" something small and delicately worked, such as a trinket"

Back in January Monique @ A Half Baked Notion

along with hundreds of other bloggers was a participant in the

Grow Your Blog Party hosted by the wonderful Vicki @ Three Bags Full.

In her GYBP post which you can see by clicking here

Monique included a give away.

A beautiful pair of earrings and matching pendant 

using beads created by UK artist Jolene Wolfe.

I won the giveaway!

Imagine my delight when a pretty box arrived here at the Presbytere recently.

Inside delicate jewelry handmade by Monique.

X cited, well of course!

Linking to Mrs Matlock's Alphabe - Thursday once again

where everything this week is X rated!

cherry blossom time

This week despite cooler temperatures

 (or maybe even because of ?) 

our ornamental cherry tree has blossomed into magnificent glory.

I spent some time earlier today arranging some branches into various vases.

Then even more time photographing the delicate pale pink flowers.

another hour or so playing with the images on picmonkey

before finally creating some mosaics using picasa, picmonkey and photoscape.

Linking to

Beverly @ How Sweet the Sound for Pink Saturday

and

 Judith @ Lavender Cottage for Mosaic Monday.

bon weekend!

what's behind the door?

For Mosaic Monday this week 

some more photographs taken on our trip to Cyprus in February.

A collection of doors and shutters that captivated my imagination as we walked through the ancient cobbled streets and alleyways of Omodos, nestled in the beautiful Troodos Mountains.

The colour blue is synonymous with the Greek Isles of course, 

a different shade on every door.

Weather beaten and faded.

Always closed, sometimes padlocked. 

 The gardens behind them overgrown.

Rusting ironwork. 

Handles and hinges hanging off.

Each one beautiful in it's own way.

What stories could they tell?

Joining Judith @ Lavender Cottage

early morning in a normandy garden

Whilst waiting for the coffee to drip this morning I was gazing out of the kitchen window and suddenly became aware of how much newness had appeared, seemingly overnight.

I grabbed my lumix and headed out the door to capture the blossoming fruit trees 

and a beautiful blue hyacinth for the soul.

Quote.....

Spring is nature's way of saying "let's party!"

the late, great Robin Williams.

This pretty blue and white variegated primula with a bright yellow eye
could get any party started!

Joining Judith @ Lavender Cottage

for

Mosaic Monday

spring trilogy. #1 Plants

Regular followers will know that every spring three things happen here at the Presbytere 

to mark the season.

 #1. New plants for the potager.

When the sun starts to shine this girl's thoughts turn to the garden and all things veggie.

This morning I played in went to the garden centre.

This afternoon I got my hands in the dirt!

The plants that I bought were all pot bound with straggly white roots emerging from the bottom

 so into larger pots they had to go.

Sean the Gardner will be here on Friday to prepare the potager 

ready for planting out these beauties.

Courgettes/zucchini 3 varieties

cherry tomatoes

choux bruxelles 

(sounds so much fancier than brussels sprouts)

and

Belle de Fontenay early potatoes.

To add flavour to the herb garden new ciboulette/chives and persil/parsley plants

will go in alongside the thyme and rosemary which have overwintered just fine.

Have you been out planting and got your hands dirty yet?

Canadian magazines and coconut lime cupcakes

magazines from H

The magazine swap continued throughout our vacation 

with the arrival of these glossy Canadian magazines 

sent to me by Lorrie and H (a.k.a. Pondside).

Thank you, ladies.

 magazines from Lorrie

One recipe that I couldn't wait to try once we got back to Normandy

was the one for coconut lime cupcakes from style at home.

The frosting was very rich so I omitted the white chocolate 

and as there's only two of us chez nous I halved the quantities.

Seven pretty cupcakes for the SP and I to enjoy this Easter weekend.

Joining Michael Lee @ Rattlebridge Farm for Foodie Friday and Everything Else.

foodie chat .........

Before I begin to share some vacation memories 

 a quick disclaimer - to all Francophones following Normandy Life

 for every reason you love to visit France I probably have a similar one for Hilton Head Island!

The grass is always greener - so the saying goes.

We're just back from our twenty something visit to the Low Country and over the years we've developed certain tastes and habits.

anchors away @ Hudson's

As self confessed foodies some of our long time favourite restaurants include ......

Hudson's on the Docks for their fish and chips

 and Gruby's New York Deli where we like to split a NY Reuben.

We both love to cook and are always 

overwhelmed by the vast array of produce available at The Fresh Market.

Choosing which coffee to buy can sometimes take a while as there are so many blends to savour.

I mentioned in the previous blog post that my fave one this time was 

Charleston Coffee Roasters Organic Sumatra.

This trip we also experienced Whole Foods Market

which has replaced dear old Piggly Wiggly in Shelter Cove since our last visit. 

Searching out where the locals like to eat is a favourite thing of ours to do.

A Lowcountry Backyard

The Low Country Backyard serves up great food. 

We liked the flatbread sandwiches:

 Charleston fried green tomato; crab cake; and meatloaf (the SP's personal favourite).

 The homemade mushroom soup was also delicious.

(We weren't greedy, we dined there twice!)

Another HHI institution, but a new to us restaurant, is Annie O's serving "southern" food.

I tried the tomato pie which was so good.

 I've been all over Pinterest to find a recipe to replicate it. 

I think I've found one that comes close and plan on fixing it at the weekend.

The final place we discovered is a real hidden gem of a place.

The Sea Shack 

which really should remain a closely guarded secret.

The only problem is that last week I wrote a tripadvisor review for it 

and it's already received 256 views!

just looking for another new restaurant to try!

Linking to Foodie Friday and Everything Else with Michael Lee @ Rattlebridge Farm