Growth

You might have glimpsed a bit of the balcony in my previous post, if so you might have seen a bit of this: 

 A few weeks ago while we were grocery shopping, just as spring was beginning to show its (guilty) face, Boyfriend and I came across these cute and cheap planters and though: why the hell not?? Let's have some flowers in our home! We bought 3 ready grown African Daisies (Bf's favourite) and two different types of bulbs: ranunculous and freesias (my favourite)

 I let Bf do the planting, can you tell? 

I can just imagine him standing on the other side of the terrace and throwing the bulbs into the planters. Oh well, so far they seem to be growing and that's all I care about. There's nothing more frustrating than planting things that never come up!

I'll show you more once we actually have flowers!

Oh and this is my miniature white rose bush that I got as a house warming present last year. I forgot to prune it in the spring. What do you think, will it flower? Should I cut it back now? I haven't got a clue...

Are you still waiting for my post about Strasbourg? So am I... hopefully tonight! If not it will just have to wait since I'm off to Barcelona for the weekend with my colleagues! Free weekend trips that don't involve work or team building but that DO involve Sangria? Yes please :) I've said it before but I'll say it again: I love my job!

Charlie

I was in such a rush to tell you about my surprise Eames rocker the other day that I didn't take the time to do him justice. So here are some better photos of my beautiful friend. 

As I said, this is just a temporary spot and he's sure to try out several more before finally settling down somewhere, but don't you think he would look good anywhere?

Flower power

How about a little series of randow flower arrangements? Yes? 

Here we go!

I'm always taking pictures of flowers thinking I'll post them eventually. Guess what! Eventually is today!

Dream(y) home

This is too lovely not to share

(more pics here)

and this lovely lady's shop

isn't it just perfect?

Busy bunny

Hello friends! I know I haven't posted much this week, things are hectic at the moment. I did figure out how to add a list of blogs down on the left there so you can take a look at my favourite reads! AND I added a button so you can follow me on Pinterest! Now isn't that something?
I promise next week will be more interesting since I've got a few fun posts lined up and lots more to come as I'll be spending the long weekend in Strasbourg! Also, summer is finally here!! Perfect conditions for a perfect Mother's day weekend! 

Broke aunts and rich uncles

No surprise weekend would have been complete without a surprise brocante. We stumbled across this one on saturday morning while hunting for breakfast and coffee in Saint Germain en Laye. It was held by the members of the Lion's club (hence the "rich uncles". Why are the members of this organisation always old and very wealthy looking?) and although it wasn't huge I did find two new friends:

My search for a bowl/plate/trinket box for my nightstand had been going on for too long, so when I spotted this little porcelain box for 2 Euro I was sold. It says "hand painted in Portugal" on the underneath. I like things that are well-travelled! 

Here it is from up close:

I'd like to add that I've started writing in my One line a day diary after being scared of it for a couple of months. What I haven't got anything to say about my day?  I suppose I could always talk about my blog stats!

This 1 Euro BAR B.Q. Sauce jar was so cheerful I just had to have it! When I got home and cleaned it I discovered a gross little brush glued to the inside of the lid... luckily it was easy to pull off. Remains of old dried up barbecue sauce anyone? I didn't think so.

Boyfriend has officially caught my thrifting fever and made his first purchase! Granted he made it in an antique shop and not on a flea market stall, but it could just as well have come from a "vide-grenier" (aka. "empty-out-your-attic", it looks like French people store their junk in the attic as opposed to their garages).

 At 15 Euro it was a bit expensive for a decoration but it is extremely clean and the label is in pretty good condition. You can even see the old price! I think he's itching to start a collection now. I wonder if I'll be allowed to use it as a vase now and again?

Surprise weekend

And the surprise destination was (drumroll).....

Saint Germain-en-laye! Also known as a very quaint parisian suburb. Actually it almost felt like a seaside town with its trendy little shops, friendly inhabitants and affordable restaurants, except there's no sea. BUT there is a forest that starts right in the Château gardens, so there's that.

I'll try to sum up the weekend in pictures. It seems to have involved lots of food:

breakfast

lunch

brunch (REAL English scones! yum!)

A bit of culture, thanks to a Debussy concert and the European Night of Museums which meant we had a wild saturday night visiting the Château-turned-archeology museum until 11PM (after dining on wine and cheese. Needless to say I was dragging myself around that château). On sunday we even tried out an organ concert and learned how organs work! Pretty complicated stuff...I may have nodded off for a minute...

And a healthy amount of shopping! Something that really got my attention in St Germain was the shop windows and how beautiful they were:

The sweetest tea shop (complete with grumpy old lady inside!)

The yummiest cheese shop

Cupcakes!!

               

This is a bakery/cooking school where lots of little children were learning how to bake macaroons. Un cliché s'il-vous-plaît !

We had to sample a mini cherry tart from the cooking school. Oh and some chocolate from a local artisan.

Add all this to the champagne in our hotel room and you've got yourself a recipe for a perfectly yummy (cloudy) weekend!

Next I'll tell you all about the flea market we came across and what we took home with us!

I wanna rock with you

The first surprise of my surprise weekend was this:

A real vintage Herman Miller rocker!!!

(sorry for the bad photo quality, Blackberry camera phones...)

I spotted an identical chair at a brocante in Paris last weekend but couldn't make up my mind whether or not to splurge (I'm very very slow about this kind of thing), so I took the seller's card and decided if the chair was still available on monday I would take it. Well Boyfriend took matters into his own hands and surprised me with it (insert collective "awwww")! I love the dark walnut legs and the fact that white of the seat hasn't turned yellow with time. It's different from all the other Eames chairs I've seen before and I love it even more since it came as a surprise AND as a present. 

Isn't it a beauty ? So friendly and inviting! Although Charlie (yes it has a name, no I'm not mad) is too low to be used as a deskchair on a permanent basis, this will be its spot for the next couple of weeks. It might go in the bedroom after that, or in the little reading nook in the dining room, who knows? One thing is for sure: Charlie is here to stay!!!

Pssst! I'm preparing a post on my surprise weekend getaway to the sweetest Parisian suburb so stay tuned!

The Plazza

The House Tour is online!! 

Feel free to check it out by clicking on the tab on the top left hand side of this section. 

As usual comments, specially nice ones, are welcome!

I'm leaving for the weekend tomorow morning, Boyfriend has a little surprise planned... I wonder what it will be! Back on monday, hopefully with a fun adventure to talk about!

XX, Caro

My hombre doesn't like ombre

Hello dear little followers!

First I'd like to say that I'm really happy when I check my blog stats everyday and I see that people actually read this stuff! It's a bit scary, but mainly it's really great and gives me a warm fuzzy feeling, kind of like sitting in a basket full of bunnies. House trained bunnies.

This post is all about ombre, and why I can't have any. Or maybe about the fact that making curtains from a scarf isn't a good idea. I don't know. I haven't quite given up on that yet. First, here are some pictures for inspiration:

First I saw this rug and I was floored (haha) by its beauty. I HAD to have it. Then I saw how much postage I would have to pay and I was floored again.Why aren't there any beautiful shops in France?

These have been all over the Pinternet for months and I had a mild obsession with them until I realised we can't actually hang traditional curtains on our French doors because of the roller blind casing above them. Boo-hoo. Any curtains would have to be "net" style, i.e. just a piece of fabric that is permanently "drawn", which I hate. I like to see outside, otherwise what's the point of having a big terrace, a cute garden and a funny cat always prowling around? This explains why we have no window treatment in the bedrooms.

Then I saw this bedding, more specifically the ombre pillowcase, and I thought, YES! Finally something beautiful available in a shop near me! Then I showed my boyfriend, who said: "Hmmm? Yes? What? Shopping? Sure, go ahead, fine by m......WHAT?? 36 Euros for 2 pillowcases?? Isn't that a little expensive?" (all this was said in French with many as expletives as French involves. I've left them out here, hope you don't mind). I don't think the price was that high, but I wasn't sure about the colour (the blue is much lighter than I would have liked) or the quality, so I let it go. For now.

When I came across this scarf the other day my first thought was "Make it into a rug!", then I thought "No silly, make it into curtains!!", but when I got home with it I realised it might be a bit hard to cut it in half without causing major damage to the whispy material. No actually that's what Boyfriend said, he might have been right, though he might also have been wrong. I would never admit it if he were right anyway (but I did get the impression that he isn't a big fan of the ombre movement). Given the price I don't want to buy a second one, plus if I did I would have two very wide curtains when all I really want is to add a little privacy (and style!) to my bedroom. Now I don't know what to do with it, but I know I want to use it in my bedroom. I'm sort of counting on my readers to make brilliant suggestions.

So: what would you do?

(As usual, the best suggestion wins a bunny)

What's mine is yours

I was doing some sorting out last weekend and I found this little Mexican rug/throw/poncho left behind by my friend Alex during our house warming party almost one year ago. Yes, that's how long it's been!! I actually saw him once for lunch since but forgot his blanket. Oh well, I've decided to put it to good use on my bed. Does it go with the neon vibe or not? I can't quite decide. 

  

 I'm starting off small so you don't get a shock (don't mind the slippers I pinched from the Windsor hotel in Rio, I like to throw on my bathrobe from time to time and pretend my flat is a posh hotel room. I also like to casually mention that I've been to Rio. For free. And that I shared a hotel with Prince Harry. And a pool on the 39th floor. Yep. Copacabanaaaaaaa! Gotta love my job)

  A little more...

 Almost there...

ARRRRIBAAAAA!

So? Can we keep it? Thoughts and opinions please :) 

Oh and Alex, if you're reading this, you have exactly 3 weeks left to come for your blanky. After that it will be one year and one day since you left it with me and according to French law, Blankino will be mine...

Erm, I just remembered my ombre promise...oh well, maybe tomorow!

Bag lady

I have entered the crazy and dangerous zone of bag envy.

No, really I've already splurged on one of these and left the zone with much less money and much more bag than I can probably handle. 

Can you guess which one I bought?

First, we have this one. On the plus side: it involves neon! But it's quite small and wouldn't carry much. Nice for an evening out, though.

This one spent about two weeks in my shopping cart, but I never took the plunge. I couldn't find ANY information on its size and I'm not a bit risk taker, so there.

This is a classic, but I didn't want a classic, I wanted something different and fun and classy.

 Did I mention that I am all over ombre? This one is nice and roomy but doesn't look quite right to me. I can imagine it losing its shape very easily.

THIS is the bag I have been coveting for over a year, only last year I didn't want to splurge and this year I do! (after looking for it all over the place, ordering a similar one only to be sent the wrong colour, sending it back, waiting 4 months for a replacement, never receiving it, asking for a refund which I am still waiting for...) Long story short, it was now or never! I wouldn't usually spend this much on a bag so lets hope the quality is amazing and it lasts me for years. 


All these bags were found here and here, just in case you feel like splurging too!

In my next post I will tell you all about my love for ombre and how I bought an ombre scarf to turn it into a curtain for my bedroom!