A Gift and a Giveaway

                                  

Valentines Day is only 2 days away.

Are you ready???

Me neither but that’s ok it will be wonderful because I will be spending it

with my friends at Evi’s houses.

You may remember me talking about it

Here.

I missed it last year because of jury duty and Laura wasn’t able to be there either.

Laura has been in Florida but is coming home earlier then planned so….

YAY she’ll be there too.

With the holiday of Love just around the corner

I wanted to share with you one of my dearest friends

 Julie of Being Ruby.

We met quite early in our blogging life. I immediately liked her and

we have grown closer throughout the years….gosh how long has it been?

Feels like I’ve known her all my life.

That’s a good feeling.

To think, we have never met face to face or talked on the phone but there isn’t a

day that I don’t think of her.

We may write everyday, sometimes not for weeks or months but she knows how much she means to me.

That’s when you know you have a good friend….you can catch up right where you left off  like

no time has passed.

Last month I received from Julie this sweetest little box.

It must have been made for someone dear.

It looks handmade.

A picture of a little girl holding an umbrella, though maybe more to

shade oneself from the sun then protect from the rain.

It comes from a brocante in France.

Inside a small delicate piece of lace and sewing needle.

I started playing around with some of my own sewing goods.

A small spool of thread, buttons, and sequined applique that

I bought at the flea market not too long ago.

On the other side of the cover a lovely print of a

 dove and  French saying.

I still speak some French but

my French reading shhhhheee….

how you say...?

not so good.

so Google came in to help.

WHITE DOVE, UNDER YOUR WING BRING TO THOSE

WHO HAVE MORE

FAITH, HOPE,

CHARITY AND SUBLIME VIRTUES.

isn’t that wonderful?

I wonder if it’s a common saying in France?

maybe we in the US should borrow it.

Thank you Julie I will treasure it forever!!!!

So in the same spirit of giving and to thank all of you that

come here and leave comments of encouragement and love,

I would like to have another giveaway.

The last one was so much fun.

                                                                            


                                                                

Yes the next issue of Jeanne d’Arc Living.

All you need to do is

1. leave a comment for one chance.

2. blog about it for another chance

3. become a follower on linky since google friends connect will be ending sooner and let me know for another chance.
(anyone who has already commented and have followed the old way will still be counted)

Just because I’m lazy  let me know how many times to enter you and

you only need to comment once.

Winner will be picked on Sunday  2:00 pm February 19th.

Bonne Chance!!!!

and Happy Valentines Day!

Carole

At Last……and a Winner

You know when you find someone really talented,

……and you just love everything they make?

You just can’t decide what you want to buy?

Well Tanya is that talented someone.

        

Tanya is bead woman extraordinaire. I am in awe of her work.

Who wouldn’t be?

     

A few months ago she was getting ready for a show in her area.

She had the tin types picked out for the necklaces 

but they weren’t completed yet.

Before they were made and brought to the show she

asked me which one I had my eye on.

It was a hard decision but I zeroed in on one.

        

I wanted her to invoice me but Tanya said we would 

talk about that later.

Well you guessed it …..

she gifted it to me.

Isn’t that so sweet and generous of her.

I tell ya the love out there in blogland is BIG!!!

It came enclosed in a beautiful black box with her gorgeous card.

Even her cards are exquisite…….lovely 19th century ladies spending time together

working on their needlepoint.

Enjoying each others company……

just like we do virtually now.

                       

She added one of her friend Heather’s beads made with a unique

firing technique that brings out different colors.

I wish I could have you see it in person.

             

Embellished with antique buttons and beads.

I wore it a lot during the Christmas season in the shop and I got so

many compliments on it.

They all wanted to know more about it.

Tanya just added some lovely pieces to her Etsy shop recently

HERE

If I were you I would run right over.

Now in the same spirit of giving.

The winner of the Jeanne d”Arc Living Magazine

is

Lynn of Cottage and Creek

I want to thank everyone who entered. I know many of you had trouble leaving comments ( me too)

so I appreciate your efforts to get through.

Happy weekend to you all,

I play this song for you

Etta James

Rest in Peace

we’ll miss you.

That’s the Yeast of it!

I’m really enjoying having this Giveaway that you can still enter. 

It’s been great to hear from my blog friends and to meet some new ones

There have been some new bloggers that I hope to share with you in the future

I found a great easy bread recipe in

Lisa’s blog from La Dolce Villa

She called the post the Fear of Yeast!

I found that amusing because I find too that people DO fear making bread with yeast

and you don’t need to.

(get it?…… knead too…haha)

I know that was bad.

We have made so many different kinds of breads and followed a ton of recipes but most of them

have been super simple and fast.

This one is much like one we have made before except that it allows you

to keep the dough in the fridge for 2 weeks.

We love bread so it won’t be in the fridge for 2 weeks

I hadn’t taken these photos thinking I was going to show them here just wanted to remember my first bread of 2012.

I would have styled it better :-)

We baked them on my parents old pizza pan.

A pizza restaurant was the first business they owned after we moved from France.

Did they know the pizza business or even speak much English?

No but that didn’t matter.

They worked hard and

like my father used to like to say

The only words I need to know is Pizza, Grinder and Money.

My dad was a tough Frenchmen.

Well, they never made a lot of money but we got by.

I covered this bread with sesame seeds.

Love them!!!

This was the kind we used to make ….

big huh? I think this one was the no-knead bread that we saw on Martha Stewart.

I like everything about making bread.

The simplicity, the easy access of ingredients, the fact that people have been eating

it for centuries.

It’s a staple in every household.

The best part is I know what’s in it…..

and no preservatives.

Just yeast, water, flour and salt.

Ok sometimes I get fancy and add….

Olive Oil.

Yum

So are you going to try it?

Now don’t forget go

Here and watch the video and the recipe that Lisa provided

and say hi while you’re there.

Then come back and enter the giveaway

HERE

I'm going home and having some warm bread that George was making tonight.

Jeanne d’Arc Living Giveaway

                                        

It just occurred to me the other day that I need to do a giveaway to celebrate the New Year.

I know we’re  already 1/2 way through the first month.

No matter…..

it’s the thought that counts right?

It's a little token to thank everyone that comes here to visit,

leaving comments of encouragement, emailing me so we can really get to know each other,

and to thank the lurkers….the kind people that don’t have blogs

but stop by to see what’s going on in our life.

I say “our” life because as much as George would rather I keep him out

of it……I just keep pulling him back in.

What can I say….he’s more interesting then me.

I know the kitties are for sure but they like the press....haha

The last couple of years I have been lucky enough to have met some of the people that read my blog.

When they say

“ I read your blog”

“Oh my gosh you do???”

that’s not really what I say…. just what I say in my head.

I don’t even know what I actually say, I’m usually so shocked.

Keeps me on my toes…..

and to tell you the truth scares me a little when I’m about to hit that

Publish button.

I guess we all do that on occasion.

Helps me to think I’m writing to a friend…..

and  I am.

I knew I loved blogs before I had one of my own and thought it would be fun but never imagined

it would bring me such great friends.

Women who love all the same things I love too.

I'm so thankful for that.

OK back to the giveaway!

As you may have guessed the Giveaway is the current issue of

Jeanne d’Arc Living magazine.

All you need to do is leave a comment here and let me know what you

like about the Nordic French look of Jeanne d”Arc Living.

Spread the word  by blogging it or leaving a link on your sidebar for a second chance.

No need to follow but if you’d like to then,

 Welcome , 

and I will give you a third chance.

You don’t need to leave separate comments to tell me so,
just how many entries.

Giveaway is open to anyone.

For anyone that has already ordered this issue from me and wins I will send you issue #2.
Giveaway will end on Saturday Jan. 21st at noon eastern time.

Thank you for entering and good luck!

Hugs

Carole


1/21/12
Winner has been picked.
go Here and see the winner.

Giveaway at Z’s

Do you know my friend Z?

Actually Suzan ( with a Z) of Old Grey Mare

Well not only are you in for a treat when you see her humungo giveaway

but you will fall in love her and her blog.

We met around 2 yrs ago when we were doing White Wednesday.

Back in the day when there was no linky.

Remember that?…ok not all that long ago.

I knew from a few emails back and forth that this was someone special.

Ok I could write a whole post about how I feel about her but I’ll stop gushing because I

really want you to go to her blog and win some of these lovely gifts that these very talented and generous

gals have offered up for grabs.

My contribution is a Jeanne d’Arc Living Magazine.

Amongst all these other wonderful handmade goodies it may not seem to measure up

but for those of you that know this publication you know how beautiful and inspiring it is…… for the others,

you have no idea what you are missing.

This magazine has had a amazing effect on my decorating style and many others.

About half of my home has reflected this style for a long time yet the other half

has been a mish mash of different identities.

It’s been since I learned that my niece from France was coming for a visit this Fall ( hi Vanessa)  that I have

finally decided to tackle some of those projects that have been on my mind for 2 years now

( ok much longer then that)

The guest/sewing room has been a disaster for years now. Disaster is too strong a word.

Well, ok sometimes it was hard to walk around in there without injuring yourself…but

I knew where everything was….and I certainly knew where the pillows were.

EVERYWHERE!

and not all pretty ones either….just ones that I thought I’d recover …..someday.

You know in my spare time while working 7 days a week….ok I digress.

Today I finally finished another piece of furniture.

Whoo hoo!

and I have my friend Z to thank for it.

Yep between her and Martha I made my own chalk paint.

A book from Annie Sloan that hubby bought me yrs ago also convinced me I was on the right track.

At the time I had no idea who Annie Sloan was and that I had one of her books.

Imagine my surprise when the woman’s name that everyone has been talking about was staring right at me.

Well it was exciting for me : ) Doesn’t take much.

Also pays off to clean and organize.

I started with this:

 

No Photoshopping done just to give you the real deal.

If I did I would Photoshop a railing for our deck.

I won’t go there.

You can see it had some damage to the finish but that was a plus. I did no sanding just a slightly damp cloth to clean.

I had taken a photo of it after I painted and sanded but I had it on Manual setting from the day before.

It was overexposed and forgot to look to see if it came out.

I blame it on not having my morning coffee yet.

This is after it was waxed with Butchers wax.

Not sure what all the different waxes make.

I had Butchers so that’s what I used.

I’m  a big believer in using what you have.

It just gives it a finished look and along with antiquing it gives it a mellow effect.

You can see how the damaged grooves helped the look somewhat.

I’m rather happy with how it came out.

This post is getting a bit long…..

are you still there? lol

So I’ll be back with how I accomplished  it and the one I did with talc.

Now don’t forget to enter Suzan’s giveaway

HERE

GOOD LUCK

Oh yeah almost forgot,

joining Kathleen at Faded Charm for

White Wednesday

Thanks for visiting