One of my weekend finds.....

I thought I'd share a picture of this lovely little chest of drawers I found at the weekend, it has pretty painted floral panels on the sides and the top as well as little flowers around the handles.  I was so pleased when I spotted this on a stall at the brocante.
I'd quite like to keep it, but it is probably destined for ebay...
Enjoy your evening.
Nickyx

Swallows, swallows and more swallows.......

What a lovely early morning greeting.  Can you see all the little black dots on the lines, these are the swallows sitting outside our house this morning, I took this picture looking out of our bedroom window.  I counted 70 and then gave up.

We have them every year.  Enjoy your day.
Nickyx

Oh So Elegant 1920's fashion.....

I bought this old Paris Fashion magazine at the weekend.  I just loved the pictures of all the elegant ladies in their gorgeous creations....

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I don't know how you feel about this period in time, but I just love it, all those scrumptious fabrics and stunning designs......

Even the lingerie was trés chic.... what do you think?
I don't know whether to frame some of these pages, it seems such a shame to take the magazine apart. 
Enjoy your weekend.
Nickyx

Shabby Chic Flower Fabric....

I found this gorgeous piece of cotton fabric the other day.  With it's lovely soft pink background and pretty red and white flowers I just thought it was so pretty.

A pretty piece of fabric always makes me smile....

Nickyx

Two little dicky birds sitting in a wall......'or at least they should be....'

We have two little birds who nest every year in the wall of our pigsty (now laundry).  These two little sweety pies have been up to nothing but mischief over the last couple of days.  They are sooooo greedy and get so close to the outside edge that they keep falling out of their hole.  The trouble is they're not yet quite strong enough to fly.  So 'N' has to keep donning some gloves to put them back in, so that something doesn't get to them, i.e duck, chicken or other larger bird of prey.

Four times yesterday, it got to the point we were all on tenderhooks and kept checking every time we stepped outside the door.

Why is she showing us a picture of the wall you might be asking yourself, well I thought some of you many be interested in the finer points of stone masonary in the Limousin.... no, this is the little hole where these little sweeties kept falling from (virtually centre of picture).

Nickyx

Lots of Sun and Vintage Treasures....

We have had a lovely weekend, lots of lovely sun, time spent with friends and hunting for treasures too, what more could a girl want.  We had some friends over for a BBQ on Friday evening which was fun, with lots of chat a lovely bottle of wine from the vinyard of a friend of the friends who came, very drinkable if you know what I mean.  Lots of chat mostly about antiques between the men (both being antique dealers) and food, gardens and the children and brocanting between us girls.

The next moring we were up early, very normal for our weekends in the summer months.  We drove to a lovely town about 1hr away which sits on a hill with a chateau and lots of little streets full of people with stands full of things to sell.  No at this point I must apologise, I had the camera in my bag but with all the excitement and concentration too I totally forgot to get any photos to share with you.  We parked the car and walked up to a square where the streets then led off  like the legs of spider.  Quite narrow streets, with tall stone houses with painted shutters in lots of lovely colours and pots of flowers outside.  It was quite a workout really, you'd wander down these little streets totally engrossed in the contents of the stalls and then you'd get to the bottom and have to climb to the top again. 

 I had a rather good weekend, I found some lovely things, lengths of fabric, a large piece of beige and cream mattress ticking, some rather retro floral fabric in greys and pinks, some shabby chic little rosebuds with a blue stripe running inbetween, a small tablecloth hand hemmed around the edge in a liberty style paisley, a blue and cream ticking stripe large cushion cover with little tape ties and a length of pale blue and white toile de jouy.  A lovely old linen smock with cotton 3/4 sleeves, drawstring round the neckline and little MW monogram in red cross stitch at the centre front of the neck. Just scrumptious...

There is some lovely old passementerie trim a 3m length and a 4m length.  A lovely wide embroidered silk band with a black background with cornflowers and poppies embroidered down it's length, would look gorgeous down the side of some plain curtains maybe.  Then there was a pair of gilt metal curtain tie backs.

Whilst in the middle of all this buying my (BBQ) friend came up to me and asked if I had a large spare bag she could borrow as she was walking down to the bottom to collect something she had bought earlier and she was a little embarrassed to carry it up the hill again.  I only had bag I was using,  she said if I waited at the bar she'd show me and we'd have a coffee.  Her other half was already there waiting and she arrived and out of a black bin bag appeared a very cute nightdress case in the shape of a poodle sitting down, he was papier maché and covered with curly sheeps wool.  Very well made and with a very cute face and a slightly nodding head.  I don't know why she was embarrassed he was rather cute after all and her other half carried him back to their car proudly under his arm. 

 Sunday we were up again and off to one locally.  Set in the park of the small village chateau, it was great to have the shade of the trees on  such a hot day.  A couple of friends were selling there too, so Holly decided to stay with them and help while we went off to visit a couple of other vide greniers in the area.  We arrived back at lunchtime to find them all sitting round on garden chairs with a plate of chocolate cake in the centre.  We arrived just at the right time.  Very yummy chocolate brownies I must say.  It's a good job I do a fair bit of walking on weekends what with chocolate croissants and chocolate brownies this doesn't bode well for the figure....

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The two pierced metal vintage shades with their shabby chic paint finishes I thought would look great in a vintage kitchen and I just thought the little yellow painted hooks were adorable and couldn't leave those behind.


So all in all a good weekend, lots of walking, lots of wine and chocolate and time with friends.  Oh, and we managed to get Holly a racing bike in excellent condition at one of the V/G's so she was thrilled too.


Hope you all had a great weekend too, take care.
Nickyx

Fairytale Chateau, Fireworks and a weekend of hunting for treasures to look forward to....

Hi, Wednesday 14th, as you may now, was Bastille Day here in France and a public holiday.  The photo above is a little village across the border in the Dordogne about 10mins drive from us, it has the most gorgeous and enormous chateau a real fairytale castle.  Every 14th July a brocante/vide grenier is held in front of the chateau as you can see and also behind where I'm standing is a grassy area with trees which is full of stalls and lots of eager buyers.  We had a great morning, and I'll share my goodies with you next week, they're in the wash at the moment.  

In the evening we went to the Plan d'eau (lake) in town where they put on the most wonderful fireworks display.  It usually starts around 11pm and lasts about 1/2 an hour and they have a muscical theme, it is all very professional.  I can't tell you how stunning they were and the photos really don't do them justice.   It's a great social evening as hundreds of people go and sit on the grass with pic-nics and drink and settle down to enjoy themselves.  As we wander around we bump into friends and stop for a chat and a drink.

When the fireworks finish, there is live music and dancing if you wish to stay but we made our weary way home.

In this photo you can just see the viaduct in the background behind the fireworks and the lake in front of the people.

I hope you have a great weekend, I'm off to prepare new potatoes as we have some friends coming for a BBQ this evening, it won't be a late night though, we all have to be up early in the morning to go to the vide grenier.  Here's hoping there will be lots of lovely goodies to be found.


Take care.
Nickyx

Sunday's buys........

Morning Ladies, I hope this finds you all well.  I thought I'd show you some of the goodies I bought on Sunday....

 The box covered in an old tapestry fabric has a lift up lid, needs a little help but will look great in a vintage boudoir.  I love the old mannequin with it's turned wooden base which still has it's lovely soft grey paint finish.

 

This is a lovely lot of old dentelle along with a pair of little cream tassle tie backs which would look stunning holding back some vintage muslin curtains.  In the Galleries Lafayette envelope is a length of black ribbon lace.  These lengths of dentelle are ideal for a vintage sewing project.

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This is a scrumptious fabric covered glove box with a pretty paper lining.  So lovely to find in excellent condition.  Some lovely gold ecclesiastical tassles, these would make a lovely embellishment to a window display.

The piece of linen cloth behind the tassles has handwriting over it - Envoi de E. Mercier (Gardien de Batterie Fort de Peyras La Seyne (Var) and below that Madame Emile Mercier a Salviac (Lot), Poids 10kg Linge usage et utensiles de cuisine. I was really chuffed when I saw this, I was looking at something on a stall with 'N' when I spied this on the stall next door, he turned around and I'd gone, the next time he saw I was clutching this to my chest with excitement.

On top of the eiderdown on the box is one of my cushions made from linen and decorated with a monogram from a napkin (too damaged to use) and some vintage dentelle to finish it off.

If you're tempted by any of my treasures in any of the photos on my blog, please email me I'm always happy to help with a price or more photos..

Hope you enjoyed the little peep at my Sunday's treasures.  Enjoy the rest of your day.
I'm off to check on a sheet I've been soaking and then I have to dash I have a coffee date with Colin Firth, only joking, I should be so lucky....
Nickyx

Sunday morning = Get up Early - Visit the Brocante

Sunday morning saw us getting up at 4.45am, breakfast and leave by 5.15am.  On the way out of town we pass the local night club where they were all just leaving.  Quite normal here - start late and go right through the night.  I can think of nothing worse (i know i'm getting on a bit but heh I couldn't stay up all night - not even if Colin Firth was doing a personal appearance - hold on let me rethink that - ok maybe for Colin Firth but don't tell 'N'). 

We arrive at 6am and the dealers are beginning to stall out.  I really enjoy this market, it's our regular once a month market this goes on all through the year.  Here there are the dealers we visit regularly along with some friends who stall out and we have coffee and croissants with half way through the morning.  From the stall above top I bought a lovely pink, cream and green paisley eiderdown all freshly laundered, not as plump as it once was, but a good size and very clean, I just saw the corner of it peeping out from beneath something else as I was walking by.  The photo above is looking up one of the streets towards the cathedral which has lovely gardens.

This photo below is the where you can buy pain au chocolat (yum, yum!) and coffee.  Usually have to visit this stand at least once during the morning.

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I hope you can see the photo above ok and it's not too shady,  it was a beautiful and very hot sunny day yesterday so sometimes I was in the wrong place to take the photo.  This was a new stand, one of those stands which looked interesting, bits of linen, kitchenalia, etc, bit pricey though.


I had quite a good day buying yesterday, a batch of antique dentelle, some little curtain tassles,  a lovely advertising pocket with some ribboned lace in from aux Galeries Lafayette, Paris.  The eiderdown, a great 1920's fashion magazine with loads of lovely colour pictures - all the latest fashions.  A great mannequin with maker's stamp on the bottom and standing on a lovely turned wooden base still with it's original french grey paint - pinch me, it's just too good to be true!!!  It is a lady's bottom half and was used to display lingerie.  A sweet paisley fabric covered glove box, very pretty and in good condition.  I'll get some photos and share these with you later I promise, but we had a thunder storm and haven't had the best conditions for photo taking. 

This stand (above) I hadn't seen there before, it was full of lovely linens.  Gorgeous monogrammed sheets, cushions, toile du jouy and bundles of napkins and torchons.  They had dyed some of their linens, some of the tablecloths and napkins and some vintage smocks too either in the dark grey or dusty rosey pink you can see above.  It was all lovely, but again quite pricey.  They had a rack to the right of the stall just out of shot where the vintage clothes were hanging it looked lovely.  The lady running the stall told me that ladies buy the smocks from her to wear around the house instead of dressing gowns - great idea me thinks!

I'm going to leave you there and go and try and get some photos of my goodies, the sun is shining here again and hopefully I'll be able to get some good ones out in the garden.


Take care and speak to you soon.
Nickyx

Pots & Petunias!!

Hi, just a little peep outside our front door, pots of red petunias this summer.  Wishing you all a happy Sunday, I will be at the antiques market at 6am rummaging through boxes and looking for vintage goodies.

The little white bird next to the hydrangea is what 'my young one in training' bought on her own at the boot sale the other Sunday, he's very sweet don't you think and he looks just right sitting there - I may have to buy him off her!!

Hopefully I'll find lots of treasures to share with you.
Enjoy your Sunday.
Nickyx

Curtains from antique sheets & posies from friends....

Morning everyone.  It's going to be a lovely day again here today, it topped 40 degrees here yesterday.  I finally got the curtains hung yesterday morning.  I made them from two antique french monogrammed sheets.  I'm quite pleased with them - I'm sorry I couldn't get a slightly better photo.    They have a red embroidered monogram PD.  I kept them very simple and just flipped over the top edge so the monogram showed and then stitched on the heading tape and 'voila'.  I didn't hem the sides or bottom and because of the weight of the fabric they hang very well.

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I was reading a post by 'fabulously french' this morning and thought I'd share a photo of a lovely posy of garden flowers my good friend gave me yesterday.  They're so pretty don't you think?  She lives in a gorgeous huge old house in town with a lovely garden.


J'espere que vous avez un tres bon Vendredi.
A bientot.  (sorry when I post it won't let me put in the accents etc..)
Bisous
Nickyx

School Hols, Hayfever & Lillies!!!

Hi, I hope you all had a great weekend.  Holly broke up for the summer hols on Friday evening so two months off - whoopeeeeee!!!!   It'll be lovely.  She is an antique dealer in training and loves the vide greniers.  She goes with her pocket money and buys some nice little bits which she then sells in my friend's shop.  

It has been very hot here, 30 in the shade and really really hot in full sun.  We left at 5.30 Sat morning to go to a vide grenier and the thermometer in the car was reading 50???

I think it had gone a bit doolally after sitting outside school in the full sun on Friday evening.  

These are some of the lillies in our garden.  We have a very 'rustic' garden.  I get terrible hay fever and in the summer I just have to leave it to it's own devices.  I go out to try and weed a bit and end up suffering for the rest of the evening.  Tomato plants are the worst I've only got to look at one and it sets me off.

I do love lillies though, I think they're my favourite, I love the colours and smell.  I love the white ones especially, unfortunately they're not in flower in yet.

I've been making curtains this afternoon for the doors at the front of the barn.  I'm waiting for the curtain hooks to arrive so I can hang them.  I had to buy the hooks off ebay because the ones here are too thick to go through the old brass rings I've got.  'N' never ceases to amaze me.  I mentioned to him the other day I wanted to put some curtains up (finally) at our large doors which are 3meters wide and was talking about a pole.  He dislikes anything new, either vintage or antique it has to be.  

He disappeared into one of his store rooms and re-appeared with an old brass pole and 40 old brass rings which I must have known he'd bought at one point many moons ago, but had forgotten about.  Brilliant, just what it needed. 

I'll share what I bought at the weekend later.


Take care. Nicky x

A shabby chic vintage trinket box....

Hi everyone, I just thought I'd show you this sweet little vintage trinket box I found the other day.  In gilt metal with gorgeous shabby chic flowers on top and old red fabric lining.....so pretty!  What do you think?

Nicky x