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

Hello!

I will finally have some new products listed in the shop this weekend....

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....

We ended up taking a ferry that takes you around Alcatraz Island and under the Golden Gate Bridge....

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....

Alcatraz Island

Alcatraz

~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 Antiques and Artisan.

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....

You can read more about Bonnie Neiman here....

Enjoy the rest of your week!

Take Care,

Maria 

Dreamy Whites Shop

Facebook

Creatively Made Home Giveaway

Hello!

Have you heard of the Creatively Made Home E-course?

Jeanne Oliver came up with the idea for the e-course and brought together five talented women to teach the class. 

This is what Jeanne says you can expect to learn when taking the course....

* Each week you will have amazing truthful videos from not only the five teachers but other creative women.

* Each week we will take a room from one of YOU and all five women will give their suggestions telling you how they would transform the room with their style.

* There will be 50+ project videos.

These will be incredible videos that include everything from gardening, cooking, gift giving and decorating.

* There will be written tips from each woman telling you how she starts a room, picks paint, fabrics, etc.  You will learn where to start when putting your own home together.

* Tons of beautiful house photos from each of the five women.

* Videos that truly reflect what life is like in each of their homes.  The stuff that life is really about.  Believe me it has nothing to do with the perfect table setting.

* Each woman will share their own truthful journey about how they started making their home a reflection of their hearts.

* Each person registered will get an easy entertaining e-book to download.

It will contain go to recipes for beautiful and easy entertaining (they do go together), photos of table settings that take the stress out of having people over, favorite drinks and so much more (and their funniest entertaining story).

* There will be a private Facebook group to connect with other class members.

* There will be a once a week live discussion with one of the teachers!

* You will get printables and pdfs to keep and use again and again.

Class begins October 22, 2012

Kimberly Taylor is one of the teachers and has so kindly offered to giveaway the Creatively Made Home e-course to one lucky reader.....

All you have to do is leave a comment on this post....

 Kimberly Taylor shares her story of what home means to her~ 

"As a child we moved a lot.  Honestly, sometimes we only stayed in a city for a year or two- I think the longest we lived anywhere was four years.  The only place I ever felt like I was “going home” to was my Grandparents house in a small town in southern Minnesota.  It always smelled the same, it always looked the same, and my sweet grandparents were always there when I walked into their front porch.  I remember driving through the countryside that surrounded their little town seeing charming old farmhouses surrounded by land and animals.  I dreamed of one day having a home like that- a place that welcomed us the moment we turned into the drive.  A place that we would stay forever, raise our children, make our memories, and one day welcome all of our children and their families for holidays."

"I had a vision- a {picture} of what it would look like.  So I took what skills I had learned as a child in my parents house and I went about building a home of my own.  But the funny thing about building a home- it isn’t only about how it “looks” but how it really {feels}- and our home didn’t feel right.  You see, I put so much emphasis on having everything look pretty, on having everything perfectly positioned and sparkling clean that I didn’t realize all of the things that were missing.  You see, what really matters when your family comes home from a day at work or school, or your guests arrive to gather over a meal in your home is that they feel comfortable and welcome.  They don’t care that everything is perfect- they simply want to know that they are welcome and that you are as happy to have them in your home as they are to be there.  I will be honest- it has been a learning process for me my friends.  And, as a creature of habit, I have developed a few tried and true routines that make being relaxed a whole lot easier.  I can’t wait to share what I have learned with you!"

Thank you Kimberly!

You can read more about Kimberly Taylor here....

I also wanted to share a few links to some of my favorite posts from Kimberly's Blog....

I'm In France Today

Making Dumplings

Harvest

French Country

If you are interested in registering for the class, you can do so by clicking on the buy now button.....
The E-Course is 58.00

You also have a chance to win the e-course by just leaving a comment on this post.....

There will be one winner that will be chosen by random number.

The Giveaway will end August 31st.

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On another note....

Jeanne Oliver just launched her new summer line of handbags....

Emerson Handbag

Sophie Leather Messenger Bag

Laura Handbag

Be sure and check out Jeanne Oliver's new line if you haven't already....

I will be back on Tuesday with the winners of the Dreamy Whites Gift Card Giveaway....
I also have some pictures to share with you of our trip to San Francisco.

Enjoy your week!
Take Care,
Maria

Dreamy Whites Shop
Facebook

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....

Thank you Aimee : )

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....

(I posted my mom's cinnamon roll recipe here)

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....

It is Martha Stewart Gray Pearl from Lowe's,  I posted the the formula here...

On a final note...

There is still time to enter my giveaway....

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...

You can enter the giveaway by leaving a comment  on the giveaway post.......

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

Facebook

Dreamy Whites Shop

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! 

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

a vintage red striped grain sack runner......

aprons made from vintage European grain sacks.....

a vintage french apple basket...

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

vintage french bread baskets.....

 

vintage french bowling pins....

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....

1 Raw Materials Design french waiter apron.....

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

A jar of Savannah Bee Co. Grill Honey from Andrae's Bakery.

Sonoma Sea Salt from Andrae's Bakery

I had posted here about how I love using sea salt when baking....

Savannah Bee Co. Honey Comb from Andrae's Bakery

I posted here about Savannah Bee Co. Honey.

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

 $300.00 gift card to my shop.

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