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 

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 got the idea from Kayce Hughes's blog.

I hadn't ever heard of grilling a sandwich with fresh strawberries before and wanted to give it a try...

(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....

Andrae's 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

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Dreamy Whites Shop

Antique French Doors and a New Favorite White Paint

Hello!

I hope you are all enjoying your week...

I wanted to share a few images of two antique french doors we refinished this spring...

I talked my husband into sanding these doors before the

Better Homes and Gardens team came for a visit in April...

They had so many layers of paint...I was having a hard time getting through the layers....

I have three of these antique french doors...

Each door has a side that I don't like...

 Thad sanded one side of each door.

I wasn't planning on leaving any of the doors natural, however I ended up loving how

this particular door turned out....

It made my husband happy that I loved it natural as well...

I debated on brushing an oil on the door to make the wood tone a little richer...

but decided to just keep it natural.

The other door I painted my new favorite shade of white....

Farrow & Ball's Estate Emulsion in Strong White

I have always wanted to try this paint and got lucky when I found it at Maison Reve on clearance.

I don't normally paint with a flat paint, I usually use semi gloss,

however Yasmine said I would be happy with the finish...and I do love the finish : )

(I snapped these pictures of the door before I applied a second coat of paint, I was just taking pictures to see if I even liked the two doors together... try to ignore the red string hanging from the door, I had previously had a wreath hanging from the string.)

I recently added another coat of paint and left it alone,

I don't ever distress my furniture after I apply a final coat of paint.

One of the main reasons is....

I do a terrible job of distressing furniture, it always ends up looking like I really did distress it.

 I have five kids and animals running through the house,

in about a months time things will become naturally distressed : )

I also think having a mix of paint finishes helps keep my home looking fresh...

Each door can still be used with it's original finish....

I used the other side of the door with the natural finish during Christmas time.....

The other side of the door I painted white looks like this....

I had posted here about decorating for fall with french farmhouse finds last year using the other side of the door....

For right now

I really just wanted to freshen this area up with doors that had clean surfaces...

I know I will later want to use the sides with chipping paint, so it is fun to be able to change the feeling in the room by just flipping the door around.

 On another note....

I wanted to share where I got these straw hats, I bought them at Gap for just a little over 10.00 for the girls.....

On a final note...

I wanted to share a few blogs with you...

Fig and Fauna

Jeremy & Alicia Brown Photography

Brittany Makes

Enjoy your week!

Take Care,

Maria

Dreamy Whites Shop

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Picking Blackberries

Hello!

I hope you are all enjoying your week!

We are lucky and have a lot of blackberry bushes here in Gold Country....

They grow like weeds...

We hadn't ever picked blackberries until we moved to Amador County...

We have a couple of large bushes on the ranch as well as on the two ranches that border us....

Every year we pick and pick blackberries while they are in season and make a lot of blackberry pies...

I thought I would share a few images I shot of the kids picking blackberries....

I tried to capture real moments...

You will see quite a few images of Rambo (our great dane mastiff cross, a.k.a. as a daniff)....

The kids were having him do tricks for berries.....

Rambo LOVES blackberries and will eat them right off the bush...

Not quite sure how he does it, if you have ever picked blackberries before then you know how prickly blackberry bushes are....

I had the boys put on their newsboy caps...

I think they look so cute in them....

The kids also wear cowboy boots when picking berries...

We have way too many rattle snakes around here...

Austin kind of helped pick berries : )

Rambo waiting patiently for his berry...

The kids have taught Rambo to speak for treats....

He was having a hard time not drooling....

Dustan had to safeguard the berries we had already picked from Rambo : )

Rambo sitting with a berry on his head....

Rambo shaking for berries....

Rambo jumping for berries....

On another note...

I recently shot these images of my blackberry and blueberry galettes for the summer issue of Souvenir...

I have made so many of these this summer...

They are a family favorite and honestly it is hard to not eat the entire galette...

You can find the recipe and more images in the summer issue of Souvenir,

I also shared a couple of other family favorite recipes in this issue...

If you have already purchased the magazine and decide to 

make the blueberry muffins.... You will also need 2 cups of flour...

Somehow I forgot to list that one important ingredient....

You can see a generous free preview below before deciding to purchase the digital version, which is only $3.95, it is filled with inspiration....

Souvenir Lifestyle Magazine

 Souvenir's facebook 

Thank you Heather Bullard!

Open publication - Free publishing - More souvenir

Enjoy!

Do you have a favorite blackberry recipe??

if so and the recipe is online please feel free to leave a link to your favorite recipe in the comment section...

Take Care,

Maria 

Dreamy Whites Online

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