Un peu d'inspiration

I just wanted to drop a note and tell you all bonjour and fill you in on what I've been up to.

For the last couple of weeks my friend and I have been steadily working on preschool activities for our 3 year old children. While Amelia and I have been doing short lessons every morning since the beginning of the year, I have "officially" started to homeschool her. I never really planned to start this early, but it just naturally happened. I called up my friend, asked her if she wanted to collaborate on homeschooling activities, and boom we were meeting, making plans, and searching the web for ideas.

If any of you stay at home moms want to share ideas, I'd love to collaborate with you.

Once I get caught up on school planning and some other fun projects I've been working on, I hope to blog more, and, of course, do a little show and tell!

Until then, I thought that I would share with you this gorgeous image.

I am labeling this image "Dream home" as I would love to have a diningroom such as this.

The trailing tablecloth is also an excellent dramatic idea for a party or special event.

And the color palette is just parfait!

I hope all is well in your world!

À bientôt!

_{image via Pinterest}

Hal-le-lu-jah!

This time last week, I shared with you our desperate need for rain.
Well....early Saturday morning around 5:00AM I was awakened by roaring raindrops on our tin roof and cracking thunder.

I sat up in our bed, focused my sleepy mind on what I was hearing, raised my arms up, and fell back to the pillow smiling and mentally praising-Thank you LORD!!!!

In the twelve years that I have lived in this part of Texas, August has always been the driest month of the year. Rain in August is usually unheard of...and we got over 3.5 inches of rain in one day!!! HALLELUJAH!

So I want to thank all of you who prayed for us. I truly believe God heard and blesssed our collective prayers.

_{images via Pinterest}

Elie Saab- Of Sky, Sand, & Sea~~

Elie Saab's Fall 2011 Haute Couture Collection is reminiscent of the sirens of the sea.
His color scheme, echoing the wind and waves, includes pale ocean mist, creamy nudes like the sands of the beach,


and a rich deep sea blue.


His masterpieces continue to embrace feminity and soft weightlessless~~

like those of magical mermaids.


His enchanting dresses always captivate.



_{images via Elle.com}

Cheerful Giving~Romantic Bouquets

Like many of you, I love collecting things. I collect just about anything that is feminine and romantic-vintage jewelry, beautiful ribbons and fabrics, vintage saucers and bowls...the list could go on. To continue on with the subject of gratitude and being less selfish, I wanted to share with you a way that I use my love for collecting in a way that will uplift someone else.

In the corner of my kitchen on the highest shelf, are rows of vintage vases that I have been collecting/saving for several years. These vases are not intended for me to keep. I have purchased these vintage vases at flea markets and yard sales with the intent of giving.

I don't know much about flower arranging (I've never taken a class or read a book), but I have a hard time buying flower arrangements from a florist-the arrangments within my price range are quite boring. How many times do you see florists' arrangements with stock flowers placed into generic clear glass vases? You know the glass vases that you see stacks of at yard sales that no one can get rid of?

So, for years, I have been creating my own flower arrangements as gifts-for friends who have lost parents, for family who has been sick in the hospital, for friends suffering from terminal cancer. But I must say, that I haven't done this enough. Sadly, there have been so many times that I have felt led to do something to offer encouragement of comfort and I have failed to do so because I was selfish with my time and money and lazy.

I hope to change that.

Flowers from your garden would be the most thoughtful and unique, but sometimes that's not possible-your flowers may be out of season, you may not have enough blooms, or all of your rosebushes could be dead from a drought:(

Flowers from a local flower market would be beautiful, or if you live in a rural community flowers from a local grocery could suffice with a little love and creativity.

I made this arrangment for my husband's grandmother, who recently broke her hip due to a fall.

The hardest part of creating an arrangment at home is the lack of greenery. These beautiful pink roses were beautiful on their own, but I felt the arrangement had too many empty spaces.

So, I went out to my barren yard and clipped a few sprigs of what was still living-
rosemary and basil.
The soft rose fragrance infused with rosemary and basil was heavenly!
Using one of our champagne glasses from our wedding, I created a minature arrangement with the unused rose, basil, and rosemary. This small arrangment can be just as meaningful. Really as cliché as it sounds, a gift to someone hurting is simply in the thoughtfullness of the giver.

Grandmother's romantic flower arrangement cost about $10.00-

(dozen of pink roses - $8.99 and the vintage pink vase was $1.00).

By doing the work yourself and by using vintage vases, one may be able to afford to do this more often-to become a frequent cheerful giver-someone I hope to become.

I also want to thank each of you for the heartfelt comments you shared in my previous post. It is reassuring to know that I have friends out in the blogosphere that I can share my most personal feelings with-thank you.

_{images by à la parisienne}

A Humbled Heart

Preface: This post is somewhat long and contains no pictures but is weighted with meaning and I do hope that when you have a few spare minutes you will read its entirety.

So many things are going on in our world lately-natural disaster after natural disaster; dismal economic situations in many countries; and here in Texas we have been plagued with drought. I've had many tender thoughts about these issues for a while and have been wanting to share these thoughts with you for a while. This post is not about fancy chandeliers, haute couture, or pretty parties. It's about being brought to my knees and being shaken-brought to the reality of what is really important. I write this post because I want all of my readers to know one very important thing about me-really the most important thing about me that goes to the core of my being.

I love to write about pretty things. I love to make pretty things, but I know that my purpose in life is not about pretty things or the pursuit of them.

It's not about where I travel, what I accomplish, who I meet. If tradegy struck tomorrow and my life on earth met its closing, my lovingly decorated home, my dried up garden, my closet full of hand-selected clothes, and my small business on Etsy would be as nothing, for I cannot take any of it with me.

It is so easy to get distracted in life to find one's mind obsessing over such trivial things, and I would never want to impart to you, my friends, that these things or accomplishments are my top priority. I'd love to say that I always have a focused heart, but the truth is I can become very distracted with worldly treasures. {Matthew 6:19-21}

I want to share with you a very powerful song that I love to sing. Although I have sung it for years, it still brings tears to my eyes as the lyrics flood over me, and, today, these words hold more meaning than ever as I survey the parched earth in Texas and as I witness my country, the United States of America struggling with mounted debt, alongside many other foreign countries.

"Gratitude" by Nichole Nordeman

Send some rain, would You send some rain?
'Cause the earth is dry and needs to drink again
And the sun is high and we are sinking in the shade
Would You send a cloud, thunder long and loud?
Let the sky grow black and send some mercy down
Surely You can see that we are thirsty and afraid
But maybe not, not today
Maybe You'll provide in other ways
And if that's the case . . .

(Chorus)

We'll give thanks to You
With gratitude
For lessons learned in how to thirst for You
How to bless the very sun that warms our face
If You never send us rain

Daily bread, give us daily bread
Bless our bodies, keep our children fed
Fill our cups, then fill them up again tonight
Wrap us up and warm us through
Tucked away beneath our sturdy roofs
Let us slumber safe from danger's view this time
Or maybe not, not today
Maybe You'll provide in other ways
And if that's the case . . .

(Chorus)

We'll give thanks to You
With gratitude
A lesson learned to hunger after You
That a starry sky offers a better view if no roof is overhead

And if we never taste that bread

Oh, the differences that often are between
What we want and what we really need

So grant us peace, Jesus, grant us peace
Move our hearts to hear a single beat
Between alibis and enemies tonight
Or maybe not, not today
Peace might be another world away
And if that's the case . . .

(Chorus)

We'll give thanks to You
With gratitude
For lessons learned in how to trust in You
That we are blessed beyond what we could ever dream
In abundance or in need
And if You never grant us peace

But Jesus, would You please . . .

Sometimes it takes drought, disasters, and debt to open our eyes to help us realize that we have had our focus wrong for so long-that we have been selfish. Who and what are we living for? Don't get me wrong, hobbies and material things are a positive thing...in moderation. They renew, accomodate, and bring joy, but they can also destroy when they become our lives, when they become all we think about. We find ourselves wanting more-unquenched, unsatisfied, envious and bitter.

Troubled times remind us that we are not promised nor entitled to live lavishly and every single thing we have is a gift from God, and if all we have in our possession is water and bread we are blessed beyond what we deserve, a difficult concept to swallow for most of us who live in abundance.

I pray that I will remember these words throughout my life as I support my husband and mentor our daughter. For me, life is about who I know and in whom I have believed and that is Jesus Christ.

Lord, would you please forgive me and my country for living so selfishly? Would you please impart wisdom to our country's leaders? Would you please send down some rain and mercy?

We are thirsty and afraid. Amen.

The Beauty of Transparence

The beauty of lucite, or her acrylic counterpart, is in it's transparence. It is never too insecure to show its inner beauty, never too proud to have a wondering eye gaze through it and onto something else.
In an all white room, lucite becomes weightless as if suspended in the air with such graceful presence and form.

She flatters light as her smooth surfaces and curved lines happily reflect daylight, providing a truly ethereal effect.

Lucite never obstructs the view of her surroundings. Beautiful rugs and walls are never robbed of their proper attention.

And lucite can act as a peace-maker for the home as she can blend and harmonize many different decorating styles-Paris Apartment, contemporary, romantic, minimal, and industrial to name a few.

One of these days, I hope to have a lucite/acrylic piece in my home, perhaps as an office chair in my "parisienne boudoir."

Lucite/ acrylic furniture resources:

Paris Apartment Boutique {glamorous, unique lucite chairs, tables, and handles};

Plexi-craft.com {desks/vanities & trunks}
Amazon.com {budget friendly acrylic Louis ghostchairs};

_{image sources: # un; deux; trois; quatre; cinq}