Thursday, August 30, 2012

French Farmhouse Products, Alcatraz, San Francisco, The Golden Gate Bridge, and Giveaway Winners


Hello!
This is an image I shot of a vintage french caddy I will be listing in the shop tonight ....

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Thank you to everyone who participated in my giveaway.....
I appreciate all of the kind comments and all of the support you have all given me over the past two years.....
The winners are...
1st place prize goes to Stacey of Down to Earth Digs...
2nd place prize goes to Lisa of Fern Creek Cottage
3rd place prize goes to Michele of Primp Junction.
Congratulations ladies!!!


On another note....
My oldest brother Merle and his family were here visiting from Montana and I wasn't sure where to take them when we went to San Francisco....
Thank you for all the suggestions you guys left on this post....
You start out from Fisherman's Warf....
I had wanted to tour Alcatraz Island, however those tickets were sold out...
Everyone enjoyed the ferry ride and we were all glad we did it.....
I thought I would share a few images from our day we spent together in San Francisco....







~my brother Merle and his wife Nancy~




The Golden Gate Bridge



My beautiful niece Amelia....

We didn't have a lot of time to tour the city of San Francisco....


We felt a little lost in the city,
However we did manage to figure out how to catch a bus in San Francisco....




The boys thought they were pretty cool riding the bus : )


I bribed them into wearing their newsboy caps in the city...
In the end I think they ended up loving their newsboy caps.....



We definitely had a fun memorable day together in the city.....


We made it to a viewing point that was north of the Golden Gate Bridge.





We also made a quick trip Napa Valley another day....
I will share a few of those images in my next post...

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I also wanted to share a blog and shop with you that I just discovered,
Bonnie Neiman's shop, Bonnie Neiman Antiques and Artisan is based out of New Jersey, Bonnie travels to Europe to bring back beautiful one of kind antiques to fill her shop and online shop...
You can visit Bonnie Neimans Shop here....
You can visit Bonnie Neiman's Blog here....

Enjoy the rest of your week!
Take Care,
Maria 



Saturday, August 18, 2012

Weekend Breakfast Inspiration



Hello!
I hope you are all enjoying your Friday!
Aimee from the Antique Gardener gave me the eggs and citrus that you will see in this post...
Aimee's mom raises chickens and her in laws have a citrus grove....
I shot these images last winter.....
I just wanted to share some breakfast inspiration for the weekend....
My brother and his family will be here visiting for a few days so I am trying to come up with a few fun meals while they are here....


Cinnamon Rolls....



Eggs...
Scrambled with sausage, sour cream, and cheese....
My Aunt Mickey got me started making our scrambled eggs this way.....


fresh squeezed orange juice... 

This is what my kids would love to have for breakfast everyday...
Reality is we eat a little too much cold and hot cereal for breakfast during the week....

What is your family's favorite breakfast menu?

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On another note....
I had received some emails asking what the wall color is in our living room after posting about the antique french doors....


On a final note...
1st Prize ~A 300.00 gift card to my online shop....
2nd Prize~ One of our french linen market totes filled with a few of my favorite things...
3rd Prize~ a dozen lavender pillows...
Three winners will be drawn...
Thank you to everyone that has participated in the giveaway and thank you for all of your kind words!

Enjoy your weekend!
Take Care,
Maria

p.s. We are taking my brother and his family to San Francisco this week, would anyone have suggestions on places we should visit? 
Thank you so much! 

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Vintage French Tolix Chairs in the Shop, a 300.00 Dreamy Whites Gift Card Giveaway along with a French Linen Tote and More....


Hello!
When I first started blogging, I had no idea what to expect...
I actually didn't have any expectations because I didn't know what blogging was, I thought only people like Martha Stewart had a blog.  I had no idea that it was this amazing community of women who love to support and encourage one another....
I was so nervous when I got my first 100 followers....
I actually had an anxiety attack....
I thought to myself what in the world will I share with them...
I honestly just started a blog to share with others that you don't have to live in a mansion or own your  home to create a home you love, and you can live with white even if you have a large family and live on a ranch with kids that love to swim in the muddy ponds : ) You don't have to live in an old french farmhouse in the south of France to live in a home that has a french farmhouse feel, we live in a newly built modular home (we do not own this home, although I wish we did : ) and have tried to add a little french farmhouse charm throughout the years....
Shortly after I started blogging
I decided to open a shop because readers were asking where I got some of the items in my home....
It took me a year to get my online shop opened...
I am still working on trying to achieve that vision that I have in my head.... Not sure if it will ever happen...
My shop has now been open for a little over a year and a half.....
I can't thank all of you enough for all of the support you have given me these past couple of years....
Your support and encouragement came at a time when I needed it most...
Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

 Today I wanted to giveaway three prizes to show how much I appreciate all the support and encouragement you guys have given me...
There will be three winners drawn...

Prize 1~ $300.00 gift card to my shop
Prize 2~A chic french linen tote filled with a few items from my favorite bakery and a Raw Materials Design French Waiter Apron
Prize 3~a dozen 6"x6" lavender pillows
Giveaway details will be at the bottom of the post....
First I just wanted to share a few images of new products in the shop....
I listed these items in my shop over a month ago, so some of the items are already sold, but I thought I would share the images anyway....


I had shot these images towards the beginning of July and already shared some of these images on facebook so sorry for the repeat images....

(It actually ended up being an expensive day....
Adele ended up with two foxtails in both of her ears : (...
So we had to make a quick trip to the vet....)


I found these vintage french tolix chairs at the Chateau Sonoma Flea Market and am so excited to be able to offer them in my shop.... 
I wanted to create a scene for the shoot that still had a farmhouse feel mixed with a little industrial.


I wish I had gotten a little more creative with the table setting, I kind of did the same as I always do...


I loaded the french carrier with European milk bottles, my hydrangeas, and some French lemonade from Safeway...


A few more images of french farmhouse items you will find in my shop....


vintage french tolix chairs






I love this little basket, I think it would make an adorable flower girl basket for a wedding...




 



Giveaway Details.....
Winner # 1 will receive a 300.00 gift card to my shop......


Winner # 2 will receive a french linen market tote filled with a Raw Materials Design apron and a few finds from my favorite Bakery, Andrae's Bakery........
I think everyone should get to experience shopping at Andrae's so I wanted to giveaway a couple of my favorite items from Andrae's Bakery....


I posted here about the sweet and talented Janna Lufkin and Raw Materials Design....




Sonoma Sea Salt from Andrae's Bakery





Winner #3 will receive a dozen 6"x6" lavender pillows made from a variety of red striped grain sacks and french linen.



Giveaway Rules!
Giveaway is open to my international readers as well : )
First winner drawn by random number will win a

Second winner drawn by random number will win
a chic french linen tote filled with a few items from my favorite bakery and a Raw Materials Design French Waiter Apron

The third winner drawn by random number will win a dozen 6"x6" lavender pillows.







1. All you have to do to be entered in the giveaway is leave a comment stating how you would use 
your 300.00 gift certificate to my online shop if you were to win....
Also please feel free to leave your website and blog address if you have one in the comment section....

OPTIONAL
If you would like to receive additional entries.....
(in order for additional entries to count please leave a separate comment for each additional entry)
2. Share the giveaway on your blog (optional)
3. Post the giveaway on facebook (optional)
4. Post about the giveaway on Twitter (optional)
5. Post about the giveaway on Pinterest (optional)


Giveaway ends August 25th at midnight.

I just want to thank you again for the continued support so many of you have given me these past couple of years....
Also a special thank you to Lori of White Flower Farmhouse, I wouldn't have ever started a blog if it wasn't for the kindness and encouragement you showed me one rainy day....
Take Care,
Maria 

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

A French Baguette


Hello!
I was hoping to have a giveaway ready for you this morning,  however I haven't had a chance to finish writing the post yet....
So I hope you will come back tomorrow for a fun giveaway...
On another note...
I wanted to share a fun sandwich with you that I shared on facebook last week...
(I love Kayce's blog, she is a mother of seven children and designs her own line of clothing for women and children. )



I bought some french baguettes from my favorite bakery....


All you need is....
french baguette
Pepper Jelly (or your favorite fruit spread)
Strawberries
Spinach
Avocado
Goat Cheese


You can grill the bread prior to making the sandwich, I happen to like it both ways...
My sister likes hers grilled.


Spread the goat cheese and pepper jelly on your baguette....
Layer a generous amount of strawberries, avocado, and spinach on your sandwich,
and you have a healthy sandwich : )


Enjoy the rest of your day!
Take Care,
Maria