"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed." ~Albert Einstein There are so many things about life that are mysterious to me! So many things to learn and discover. We are constantly growing up. I learn something new about myself everyday! Something about the things I like, about the way I approach situations, about my feelings, thoughts, and those of everyone around me. We are all so mysterious, and so beautiful. To take a very small example from my life at the moment - My sister is getting married and I am having the WORST time trying to figure out what to give her! You would think I would know her taste having lived with her for the last twenty odd years, but I am learning new things everyday. When people walk into the antique store looking for something to add to their collections I am almost always surprised by what they collect. One lady I remember had nearly a thousand teacups, another collected salt and pepper shakers, one gentleman had an enormous collection of antique and vintage eyewash cups, and our store once purchased a collection of saucers from a lady who owned 18,000. They covered every wall, door, and cupboard in her home! Collections are important and exciting. When I was growing up I collected dolls (among other things). I only have one of those dolls today - the very first I was ever given. Her name is Cecelia Sue. My Mum's collections have greatly influenced my own evolving style over the years. Her treasures have become as precious to me as they are to her, perhaps mostly because they are hers, and they represent a part of her that I love very much. I have taken some pictures of small collections of things in my home for you to see and maybe you will tell me a little about what you love to collect! Also included is a brand new picture I drew recently. Enjoy! I am linking up with: Show and Tell Friday Feathered Nest Friday Pink Saturday Drawing by Jennelise

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Situata nel piccolo villaggio di Uzège (Provenza - Francia), questa casa circondata da un parco lussureggiante e con un panorama mozzafiato sulla campagna circostante, ci immerge in un mondo privato che mescola sapientemente modernità e passato, tra tetti di coppi antichi, mura di pietra, verde inon

A blog about Interior Design with focus on French style and other Old World aesthetics.

¡Buenos días! Después de otro lunes festivo (seguido un martes también festivo para los que vivís en Madrid), hoy estrenamos una nueva semana y nuevo mes

Au détour d'une rue pittoresque de la jolie ville d'Arles l'Hôtel Particulier surgit derrière une imposante porte. Au fond d'un jardin luxuriant la bâtisse

All photographs by Lisa Romerein from Patina Farm by Brooke Giannetti and Steve Giannetti, reprinted by permission of Gibbs Smith. You, of course, know my friend Brooke Giannetti, the gifted interior designer behind Velvet & Linen fame and her uber-talented husband, architect Steve Giannetti. Yes, of course you do, how could you not?!! I found Brooke's blog Velvet & Linen right after I found Joni at Cote de Texas when I first discovered design blogs back in 2008! In fact, it is because of Brooke and a post she did on my blog on Velvet & Linen right after I started writing about our renovation of the farmhouse that I first developed a following of readers, which in turn encouraged me to continue writing about our journey. So, in essence Brooke is the reason you are here reading my blog! She gave me my blog-wings and I can not thank her enough for that. Both Brooke and Steve were so generous and gracious with helping me figure out several very important details around the house during our renovation and for that I will be forever grateful. They are both such lovely, kind people. I can honestly say that the only home that I have ever seen (that could make me walk away from the farmhouse;) where I could walk right in, not change a single element or piece of furniture and live happily ever after (with Dan and the girls of course;) is Brook and Steve's Ojai home! The house and property is pure magic. Watching their progress over the last several years... from selling their gorgeous home in Santa Monica, (which was the subject of their first book Patina Style HERE) to buying land in Ojai, to breaking ground on the house, to Brooke discussing all the design elements, to watching every detail of the landscaping and viewing Steve's renderings of what they wanted the property and house to be has been a riveting journey for their love of a house. That they created a home and property that looks like it has been there for 100 years is nothing short of amazing. Brooke and Steve's new book, Patina Farm is a beautiful collaboration of the duo's love, passion and talent to create "home." I have savored every moment of reading the book; taking in the story of the decisions, the design elements, the choices made and why they made them makes the book a wonderful, informative read. This is a book I will use over and over again for inspiration. Take a look at some of the magic for yourself.... ...pure magic! This book is a must-have for any design library. I have a signed book (which I love); you can get your own signed copy at Giannetti Home HERE. or to get an unsigned copy HERE Now, for the giveaway... I have a copy (unsigned) of Patina Farm to give away!! Simply leave a comment below (don't forget to include your name and email contact:) telling me why you'd love to have this book! Giveaway closes Friday, April 15 at 10 p.m. EST The winner will be chosen by electronic, random selection and I'll contact the winner on Saturday! Good luck!! You will love this book! UPDATE: I wish I could send each and everyone of you this gorgeous book:) Congratulations to Lauren in New Orleans!!!

Une célébration de la beauté de la nature et de la nature avec une touche colorée et originale supplémentaire, ce kit comprend tout le nécessaire (sauf des ciseaux !) Pour fabriquer un nichoir couvert de fleurs et deux oiseaux heureux. Ce kit comprend un feutre en mélange de laine douce, une aiguille, du fil à broder DMC, un rembourrage pour jouet, un ruban et des instructions, des modèles et un guide de point.

Everything you need to know and do before buying, selling or renting a home. Find tips, research and step-by-step guides to build confidence around your next move.

We are ecstatic to be celebrating the first anniversary of our blog. We posted our first entry last year on November 24. I had begun to follow several blogs and was intrigued by their power as a source of inspiration. I could see how some of the bloggers were really dedicated and paid attention to detail. They took pride in what they delivered. One of my favorite blogs was Trouvais by Trish.Here To my surprise, she blogged about us one day. It turns out she had seen Trinidad selling at the Alameda here and later she came to one of our container sales and again blogged about it. Here Meeting her really prompted me to work on creating our own blog. We also discovered that Christina from Greige had included some of our photos in one of her postings.Here and here Jardiniéres here Ma Petite Maison d'Hotes here Our first posting was about our "garden house." here. I had cleared out the shed we normally used as storage and created a sort of garden house. I staged it with the items we had just brought in our most recent container, took some photos and posted them. My goal was to create a blog that would cover the different styles of merchandise we offer to our clients, which we bring from Europe. I wanted to create vignettes of items to combine and integrate in interior as well as exterior environments. I also wanted to post about vacation spots, other businesses, our travels and our experiences hunting for antiques and other treasures in the markets of France and throughout Europe. I had all this in my mind but the truth was I did not feel equipped with the writing skills to do it. My first postings had but a few descriptive sentences of the content. We also didn't get but a couple of comments. Johan Ile de Ré here and here En Route here When Johan started blogging for Atelier de Campagne I was mildly curious, but was still not sure of how blogging would support the growth and development of our business. I am a self-admitted technophobe and was definitely not interested in blogging or even following blogs. Johan tried to get me excited about it, but I wasn't buying it. Teasingly, I told him he just wanted an excuse to "play house" which is what I used to call the time he'd spend on creating vignettes and taking photos even before he started blogging. "Johan, did you spend all day playing house?" I'd ask him when I'd get home and he'd have some area staged in a special way. Even though I teased him about it, I recognized his talent and the importance of experimenting with design. He'd always do a great job at our store, and at the fairs and gift shows. Top left Aging with Grace and Beauty here Tor right Creations D'Ambiance here One day, while selling at an antique show, a customer approached me and said, "Trinidad, what is going on? I am following your blog, but you guys have not blogged in a few weeks." I didn't know what to say, so naturally I blamed Johan. LOL! I said, "You know, Johan has been busy and he is just learning." "Well," he said, "I think he is doing great and he needs to do it more often." I remember calling Johan that night and saying playfully, "Johan, your fans are clamoring for more postings! "Some guy came up to me and was somewhat upset you haven't posted lately." Johan followed the humor and said, "What? Fame at last!" I said, "Seriously Johan, people who read the blog will expect more constancy." He laughed and said, "People who read the blog? Trinidad, I barely write a sentence or two. You should write it, you are so good with words and your writing is more engaging" I did not want to give in because I was still working as a consultant and teacher educator and flying all over the country. Then a few other people blogged about us and I started getting excited. Style Industriel here Aging with Grace and Beauty here Baskets here I remember Andie from Divine Theater here posting about us with a sentence, "I cannot believe this site has only a handful of followers?" here I decided to write one of the postings with the condition that Johan would still be in charge of the photo selection and the technical part. My first post was in February and I wrote about baskets.Here. I was thrilled that I got eight comments! Well, Johan and I started sharing the task of writing and selecting topics and photos. We started getting a few more followers and then a few other people blogged about us. Glenda from The Paper Mulberry here & here and others started to include us in their blog rolls. It was exciting to know more people were finding us and that they liked what we were doing. The Sign of the Time here Sometimes, it's hard sharing the task of blogging with Johan living in Belgium, and the difference in time. I am getting ready for bed when Johan is waking up and vice-versa so we have to find the right time to get it all together. Tonight, we have already talked a few times on the phone. We are not always in agreement as to which photos to use and how much text to include. Even though I have always enjoyed writing, I was timid about sharing my writing publicly. Not that I now think of myself as a "professional" writer, blogging seemed casual enough as to not feel intimidated to make my musings public, and you are all so forgiving. Rassembler les Tresors here Bring France to Our Garden here It has certainly been an enjoyable process and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you who follow us, especially to all of you who comment and give us feedback. Our gratitude to our fellow bloggers who have taught us so much, and to all the folks who have given us more visibility by blogging about us. We are so indebted to so many folks! We are looking forward to another year and plan to include more topics. This first year we tried to establish ourselves and focused mostly on ourselves: our merchandise, events, etc. Our plan now is to be more inclusive of others, but continue to share about our work and of course images of the treasures we find for you. Trinidad Bezier, Avignon, and a bit of Isle Sur La Sorgue here I normally don't have a role in the writing of the blog and have just recently joined Team Atelier, but I have been able to see how this blog has developed. Sometimes I get to hear these two (Johan and Trinidad) argue about the topic or the photos or whether the posting will be done by a certain time or when to post, but I have also listened to the joy when they read the comments, and enjoy when customers approach us at the fairs and exclaim,"I follow your blog! I love it!" As we traveled on our buying trip through Europe last summer, which was a first for me, we would all take photos and Trinidad and Johan posted along the way.Here. It was cool to read comments of people who said the photos and writing made them feel as though they were traveling along with us. The trip was an amazing experience and it was also gratifying that we could share it with others via this medium of blogging. Martin GIVE AWAY We'd like to celebrate this first year and this Thanksgiving holiday by giving away a copy of the French Atmospheres book to one of our regular followers, and a holiday issue of Jeanne d'Arc Living magazine to a new follower. If you are a new follower, please introduce yourself, and make a comment telling us about something you feel grateful for this year. We will select one of the entries or comments of a new follower and one of the names of our frequent visitors. You will be notified on our following posting if you are a winner. We also invite our new and old followers to peruse through or archived posts and give us some feedback. We always appreciate your comments. Trinidad, Martin, Johan