Antique doors @ Le Presbytere

Today I'm linking up not just with Vintage Thingies Thursday over at Colorado Lady, Suzanne's place but also with Gina @The Shabby Chic Cottage for her Transformation Thursday get together and thought I'd tell you a little about the doors that hang between our dining room and kitchen in the 18thc part of the house.

Original to the house they were in a terrible state when we inherited them 13 years ago.

By the way, in case you were wondering, these are the "after" pictures.

The look is not to everyone's taste I know, but for me they are the epitome of shabby French chic.

In an effort to make them " keepable" I stripped off many layers of old paint, treated for wood worm and replaced two of the panes of glass with some I found in the outbuildings but two others remain unfilled!!

Since I still haven't found door knobs that I like. the empty space facilitates opening and closing the doors!
I had a carpenter re -hang them, so that they "swing" to & fro, rather like saloon doors in the Old Wild West.

The sides facing the dining room have carved panels on the lower half, the kitchen sides are not as fancy and you can see where they have been reinforced, at the corners, over the years.

How old do you think these doors are?
This is the date that I uncovered under all those paint layers: 1840.


That's right they are 169 years old, I love them as they are and will never repaint them, but would you?

Don't forget to visit ColoradyLady and The Shabby Chic Cottage

à bien tôt
Maggie

Claude Monet's garden at Giverny in September.

How quickly Wednesdays seem to come around nowadays, one appointment I always like to keep is with Suzanne @ Southern Daydreamer and her Outdoor Wednesday gathering. Do go over and visit with Suzanne and enjoy the other outdoor glories she has gathered today.

I recently wrote "A final farewell to my summer garden"mentioning a couple of influences from the French Impressionist Claude Monet’s garden at Giverny
Today I'd like to take you on a September tour of that beautiful garden which I so love to visit.
It never seems to matter what time of year I am there, the grounds are always a delight and another tour of the house is de rigeur.

Bequeathed to France's Académie des Beaux-Arts by the artist's son Michel in 1966, Claude Monet's property at Giverny has since undergone major restoration.


With its pink render on the outside, the house where the leader of the Impressionist school lived from 1883 until 1926 has now regained the colourful interior and intimate charm of those bygone days.

Several of its rooms are now devoted to the artist's precious collection of Japanese prints, hung in accordance with the instructions of the Master of Giverny.

Just a few steps from the house the restored Water lily Studio, is now home to the Monet Foundation shop.

Also restored to their original state, the gardens now offer the visitor that "painting made from Nature itself" that Monet's contemporaries regarded as one of his masterpieces.

The house and studios look out on to the geometrically designed Clos Normand, whose stunning flowerbeds are surrounded by arbours of climbing plants.
From spring through to autumn the Clos is the setting for the changing palette of a painter-gardener who was "simply mad about flowers".

Further down, a man-made, willow-shaded branch of the river Epte feeds the Water Garden with its celebrated Japanese Bridge and its wisteria, azaleas and pond.
Once again this spot has become that meeting of sky and water out of which emerged the pictorial world of the water lilies.


I hope that you have enjoyed your virtual tour with me today and perhaps one day, if you plan a visit to France and visit Normandy, we can go there together, once again.

à bien tôt
Maggie

Mosaic Monday in South Carolina

O.K. I know that summer is supposed to be over & everyone is getting ready to decorate for Fall but I'm not ready to say goodbye to the beach just yet.

If I had to choose another place in the world where I would like to live, high on my list would be Hilton Head Island, SC.
We bought a Marriott timeshare apartment there about 19 years ago and have been back many, many times for enjoyable vacations, shared with family and friends.
Off season is when we like to be there, the beaches are wide and empty and we enjoy going for long walks along the shore.

We did visit one year in August, never again!

When we were there in March this year I didn't think I'd be back for at least a year but guess what? Lucky me, we're heading back next month for another couple of weeks R&R.

To get me in the mood I've created a Carolina Low Country Mosaic to share with you and Mary at her delightful Mosaic Monday affair @ The Little Red House.

For an upclose look at my Carolina wonderland click on the pix to enlarge.

It's always a delight to see the wonderful mosaics that link up there and every one of them is beautiful and unique, go on over and give yourself a treat.

Be sure to mention my name & you'll get a great seat!
à bien tôt
Maggie

VTT reveal......and the winner is...............................

Last week for my Vintage Thingies Thursday post I showed you four beautiful ladies, I called them photocards but from comments left on the blog I believe they are also known as cabinet cards and I'll be trying to find out more about that.

I asked for ideas on how to display the cards and I was not disappointed by your responses.

However, it does seem that if I want to display both sides of the cards my choices are limited.

Still, I shall be looking for two sided clear frames and thinking about maybe putting the cards under the glass top of my coffee table, having first scanned the backs and mounted those scans onto card.

When I have decided I'll blog about it and show you the finished look.



Anyway....... get to the important part, I hear you all crying!

All the names of those who took the time to visit my Thursday blog and leave a comment were duly placed in a large straw hat this morning and my DH drew out the winners name.

Ta Da!! Drum roll, please.

Chasity @ The Wild Raspberry, it's you!!

Please email me your address and this pretty, hand painted cafe au lait jug & bowl will be winging their way to you very soon.

Here's a little background info about them.


They were produced in the late '50's early '60's in a small town called St Jean la Poterie, which is to be found in the Morbihan region of Brittany. Celtic decors such as these are a reflection of Breton heritage and tradition.


Chasity, I hope you enjoy these sweet vintage items of French pottery and ladies, please remember, that I shall also be sending a little gift to the person who's idea is the one I finally go with. Watch this space...................................
à bien tôt
Maggie

Cream cheese stuffed chicken breasts & champ for Foodie Friday

It's Friday...................the weekend is almost here and what could be nicer to start the weekend off in style than an easy to cook dinner of chicken served with fresh vegetables.

I'll be adding this recipe to all the other glorious foodie treats over @
Foodie Friday graciously hosted as always by "Designs By Gollum".

Hop on over and
give your tastes buds a treat.

Cream cheese stuffed chicken, with champ & home grown green beans.

This has been one of our favourite dinners this summer, making the most of fresh produce from my potager and it has to be one of the easiest chicken recipes I’ve ever come across.


I saw British chef Aldo Zilli cook this, in a TV ad for Philadelphia cheese, earlier this year and since then I have made it probably once every couple of weeks tweaking as I went along.

Click here to watch him cook this dish on youtube.

All the combinations I’ve tried have been delicious even if I say so myself.

To serve 2 you will need:

2 skinless chicken breasts.
50 g Philadelphia Light with basil. (Philly isn’t available in France, so I use Boursin)
3 slices smoked pancetta, (you could use smoked streaky bacon or smoked parma ham instead)
Pre heat the oven to 200C, gas mark 6.

Place the chicken on a clean board, breast side down.

Open out the fillet and spread half the cream cheese over each piece. (I sometimes add a slice of Roquefort or fresh basil or thyme for extra piquancy)
Place the chicken breasts into a non stick baking dish & roast in the oven for 25to 30 minutes or until the pancetta is golden and the chicken is cooked through.

For the champ you will need:
125g/4oz spring (salad) onions, chopped, or 40g/1½oz chives, chopped
300ml/10fl oz milk
6-8 potatoes
salt and pepper
75g/3oz butter
Boil the potatoes in salted water until just cooked, then mash, if using onions, simmer these in the milk until soft.
Add the onions and their milk and the chives, if used, together with the milk which you have heated separately. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Let the butter melt over the finished dish.

If this is your first visit to Normandy Life be sure to read yesterday's Vintage Thingies Thursday post, there's a giveaway involved!

Bon Appétit
Maggie

Vintage Thingies Thursday.

Today I’m joining hostess Colorado Lady, Suzanne at her “Vintage Thingies Thursday” party, for the first time.


This fabulous retro button has been calling to me for weeks now and she always has great vintage treasures to share, click here to check it out.

So, here’s the thing......................I found these four wonderful antique photocards several years ago, at a house clearance in Bavaria, Germany.

The little girl is so pretty and just look at those waists. I’ve often wondered who they were and what their lives must have been like.

My favourite is the one I call “White Lady with Parasol”, she reminds me of a painting, by John Singer Sargent, that I saw last year in the Dallas Museum of Art.

I’m ashamed to tell you that for almost twenty years they have lived in a drawer because I cannot decide what to do with them!!

I would love to be able to display them so that the backs are not hidden, but how to show them at their best, that’s the question.

So, talented ladies & gentlemen, fellow members of blogland, come on and inspire me!

Leave me a comment with your idea, I can’t wait to read what you all come up with and just to make life a little more interesting, everyone who leaves a comment will have the chance to win a little gift from me.
I’m thinking something vintage (ish), probably European, quite possibly Quimper, maybe shabby but most definitely chic.
3 days after this post (Sunday 13th September) all the names will go into a hat and “the senior partner” here at the Presbytere will draw out the name of the winner, and as a little extra treat if I use your idea you’ll get a prize too when I have completed the project and blog about it, d’accord?

à bien tôt
Maggie

There's always something new to learn.......................

As you may have noticed I have a new header picture today.

That's right I finally learned how to create a mosaic (collage) using Picasa and Susan's tutorial @ BNOTP, big thanks to Susan!!



Last week for Smiling Sally's Blue Monday extravaganza I shared a building site with you, boring.





This week as promised I have something prettier for your enjoyment, a blue, Quimper faïence, mosaic.
Double click on the mosaic for a better look at the individual items.

Let's share it also with Mary @ Little Red House.

Do pop in to visit both these ladies for their Mosaic & Blue Monday parties.

To find out more about this wonderful pottery from Brittany, France, click on these links: Quimper Club International Blog and QCI Web site.

à bien tôt
Maggie