France or bust!!!!!

When I stayed in what my friend Corey described as "the most beautiful place in Provence" ~ and she was so right ~ I fell in love with everything in Nathalie's amazing house. Her little hallway with the black walls and beautiful accessories, including the bust of a lady, became a decorating project in my home when I returned after staying at La Madone in Provence.

Nathalie's hallway at La Madone, Provence ~ October 2008

I do have the dark walls ~ paint color is Valspar's Graphite ~ a mirror, table and small crystal candelabra, but I'm still hoping to find a lady as lovely as Nathalie's.
All of these above are at Market Imports, however they are too large for my little table so I'm still hunting.

Bolts of Blue

Have you ever come across one of those 'chintzy' decorative fabric outlets? You walk in, stop in your tracks, sigh, and think good grief where did they dig up these awful prints and unrealistic colors! The first rows of fabrics displayed on horizontal racks seem to be from an era not even vintage, more a time warp, '80's and early '90's when we all seemed obsessed with mauve ribbons winding through teal colored roses.......on our drapes, sofas and beds!

But don't turn and leave. Walk on to the rows in the back. Here you will find the vertical bolts stacked precariously, three, four deep................and above them a wonderful sign displaying the bargain price of some truly gorgeous fabrics. Plain colors, linens, velvets, damasks, canvas, quilted, textures...........with affordable prices whether you need 12 yards to slipcover a sofa, or half a yard for a gorgeous pillow to toss on a chair.

Dining room makeover ~ February 2009
My French decorating projects now seem to revolve around gray-blue or blue-gray. Understandably I followed the handwritten sign stuck on the wall which said BLUE.......every shade of blue imaginable. Before long I was in BLUE HEAVEN!

It was one hundred degrees in the parking lot on Saturday! After stopping at a thankfully air conditioned antiques market mall for a quick hunt through several booths, I saw the sign for this store across the street.

If you sew, you collect fabric. Well you do, don't you? You have a fabric stash. A yard or two of this, a length of that, perhaps even a bolt of your own, propped up against a wall, awaiting inspiration and a sewing machine. No matter how many yards or metres you have squirreled away, for some reason you always find something lovelier and you have to buy at least one yard. A little voice in your head whispers "I'll make a pillow with it if nothing else, it's just too pretty to pass up".

Also, a great selection of trimmings of tassels, braids, gimp, fringe, cording etc. languished on shelves, and the prices were great.

A vintage mannequin awaits a gown in a watery shade of blue. Perhaps the palest blue linen for a hot southern Summer's day. Often, decorative fabrics are perfect for clothing also ~ the linens and cottons come in wide widths and can make attractive inexpensive garments.

Mannequin offered at Market Imports.

Do you have bargain fabric stores near you? If you're a sewer check them out, you may be surprised at what could be hiding in the back!

Heavenly Gates

Love is the master key which opens the gates of happiness.

~ Oliver Wendell Holmes

Happiness is like those palaces in fairy tales whose gates are guarded by dragons: we must fight in order to conquer it.

~ Alexandre Dumas Pere

Sunsets are so beautiful that they almost seem as if we were looking through the gates of Heaven.

~ John Lubbock

Blue hued gates to where? Doors of mystery. Step through them into a garden green. Swing them open, place your bare feet on the cool tiles of an atrium or courtyard. Press the door bell. Or lift the heavy iron door knocker. Will it open for you? As you wait patiently, run your hand across the carvings. Feel the iron nail heads worn smooth by time and weather. These are entryways with stories to tell.

All images taken at Market Imports, Raleigh, NC ~ June 2009

Imported treasures.........

More on my visit to Market Imports .....................................

I have a collection of English stone jugs such as these......thanks to sweet Susie at SuzAnna's Antiques. Mine are cracked, crazed and chipped, one even bottomless, such character, and they came home with me for just pennies, some even less! These beauties at the import store are rather expensive.

The leaded mica stars are truly lovely ~ their colors muted but glowing when hit by light. Doesn't everyone love star shapes?

Vintage glass jars with oxidized tin lids are easy to find, usually American Ball brand canning jars....................but look how splendid these French apothecary jars are with their original labels. Rather pricey though.

Several old iron scales reminded me of ones still used at the French outdoor markets I frequented in Provence last Autumn.

Heavy cloches in shapes and sizes for all tastes ~ the bubbled glass with a gentle green tinge. These were on sale so I couldn't resist buying one.

More from this great shopping venue coming soon..................are you looking for a special door? A grand entry could be in your future.

Yearn for an urn?

A couple of days ago I stopped by a favorite place, Market Imports, located at the city's large State Farmers' Market. Here you will find two acres of imports including antique European furniture, and vintage and reproduction garden and architectural elements for home and garden from around the world including England, France, India, Mexico, Belgium, Indonesia and China.

My first stop was in the vast outdoor area to spend an hour drooling over the many beautiful iron urns and containers for the garden, in colors from deep rust and creamy white, to French gray, verdigris green and even combinations..........

..........such as rusty French gray!

I felt I'd died and gone to heaven when I saw these above ~ look at that delightful embossed swag decoration!

These above and below also had that French garden look ~ I could see them filled with lavender and purple blooming rosemary.

Strolling along the long rows of empty urns on a very hot, sultry afternoon made one wish for green plants to plant, butterflies to fill the air with colored gossamer wings, bumble bees, and trickling water....oh yes, gallons of water!

Rust is a hot color, literally, but with a slim green conifer centered, creamy variegated ivy, hot yellow lantana and purple petunias draping over the sides, wouldn't these urns look stunning?

I enjoy many urns around my home and garden, see here, and would just love to add some of these beauties one day.

I'll take a short break here while pondering how I might need to hire a forklift and large truck to get this urn to my garden..........this is NOT one of those lightweight resin knock offs, this is the real iron thing! If we're ready to risk a heart attack moving one, how about making it a pair for the front entryway. Oops, forgot, I live in a cottage, not a castle!

Will be back soon to show you many more fabulous treasures, iron, wood, glass, tin, some huge, some small, from Market Imports. You will love everything.

Clovelly ~ a unique place

What other village has no cars and no individually-owned houses? Clovelly, on the North coast of Devon, is owned by one family (one of only three since the Norman Conquest). Here you can discover a timeless village where the steep, cobbled street tumbles down past pretty cottages to the tiny, deep blue harbor.

The street is too steep for motor vehicles, so for centuries donkeys were the main form of transport. I remember riding a donkey here when visiting as a child. Although they are no longer used for heavy loads, Clovelly still has its resident donkeys, and children can enjoy rides in the Summer. All goods are now transported by sleds - from groceries to furniture and building materials.

Visitors such as us, and we were a group of eleven, slowly made our way down the hill...............................

..............viewing galleries, small gift shops, and cottages of note including one where author Charles Kingsley resided while writing 'Westward Ho!'. The village also inspired him to write 'The Water Babies'. He lived in the village as a child and often returned as an adult.

Clovelly was once a bustling fishing port, famed for herring and mackerel. Although fishing has declined, it's still a part of village life......this was a delicious prawn and crab sandwich made as I watched, the seafood caught early that morning!

In past centuries this coastline was rife with smuggling, wrecking and piracy.

Clovelly's impressive quay dates back to the 14th century, as do many of the cottages.

The oldest village cottage, built right on the beach, is 'Crazy Kate's' named after a fisherman's widow.

The large white building on the quay is a hotel. Several cottages along the famous cobbled street do B&B. The street, known as 'Up-along' or 'Down-along', depending in which direction you're headed, was built from pebbles hauled from the beach.

Caring for this amazing village is a costly business, especially as all the buildings are repaired with traditional materials, therefore the admission fees help with the maintenance of the village and play a vital role in keeping Clovelly so special.

A beautiful spot to visit if you get to North Devon. By the way, if you can't make it back up the long, very steep cobbled hillside on foot, there is a Land Rover service which, for a small fee, will drive you up a cliffside road to the top. Can you guess what I did?