Parapluies au Potager {Umbrellas in the Garden}

Just thought I'd share an idea on how to add a little panache to your potager.

Add umbrellas!

I added these umbrellas to my garden to provide a little bit of shelter for my transplated seedlings (the ones I started indoors but was too impatient to harden up little by little.)

I simply poked the umbrella handle down into the soil right above the seedlings that needed protection. (Since I have raised beds, the soil is soft enough to easily adjust the height of the umbrellas.) These green bean seedlings were actually sown straight into the raised bed and don't need any help from the umbrella, but I wanted to give you a visual.


A view of my potager from the outside: happy, vintage parapluies gracing the garden

Lavender basking under the canopy of a vintage peach umbrella---the life!!!

Now I'm searching for a beautiful sunbrella to put in the potager. I would love to have a beautiful sunbrella made from vintage white linens with touches of lace. I have the frame, so all I need is the fabric covering. If you know where I can find something like this or someone who specializes in making beautiful sunbrellas, please share. Wouldn't that be such a romantic touch to a garden? Sitting under it, sipping coffee, reading a book, working a puzzle (mosty likely a child's puzzle), dining alfresco...

_{images by à la parisienne}

Lilac, Violet, & Lavender~ Un peu d'inspiration

Upon the beginning of every new season, I spend a little bit of time switching the closet around-moving out-of-season clothing to the back (or to another closet) and bringing the current season to the forefront.

I also force myself to do a little purging and a bit of reorganizing as well.

In the process, I always notice a trend in my color palette for each season, and for spring, one of my color mainstays is gray and shades of purples-

pale lilacs, orchids, and touches of lavender.

Perhaps I lean toward purples since they compliment my hair and eye color...

or perhaps it's because I just like cool colors.

Either way, I felt inclined to share my purples with you.

I also felt inspired to play a bit with Polyvore again.

I have an affinity for floral prints, and a floral scarf is a beautiful way to incorporate florals into an outfit without the design becoming dated or overpowering.

I revolved this entire ensemble around this lavender, orchid and gray floral scarf.

So, here's a bit of casual and dressy spring fashion inspiration for you. I, personally, would wear a pair of metallic gray pointed flats with the white tee and jeans and the gray dress, but I couldn't find a good pair that I liked on Polyvore.

I figured everyone has a simple white tee and a favorite pair of jeans, so use this board as a starting point.

If purples aren't your passion, what colors do you gravitate toward during the spring season??

Violets, Lilac, and Dove Gray by alaparisienne featuring leather shoes

_{images #1 & #2 by à la parisienne; image #3 created by à la parisienne on Polyvore}

Le Romantisme du Printemps

Alors, le printemps est officiellement arrivé {So, spring has officially arrived} and we have been busy working on spring projects- le potager {kitchen garden} and a new venture-(Hopefully, I can share the details soon!)

And we have been enjoying spring happenings- parades, carnivals, fun homeschool activities, cycling, and garden club meetings. Springtime is such a joyful time of year for my family, and I wish it would last all year long!

This year I decided to start all of my seedlings indoors and had the discipline to plant them mid-January. The results have been totally worth it since I have many beautiful plants to start adding to the garden.

I was so "ambitious" that I even started a few green bean seedlings indoors. My dad, a much more experienced gardener, explained to me, after the fact, that people generally don't start green beans indoors since they grow so rapidly...

Ahem...Okay, lesson learned.

I have green beans growing in ma salle de bains {bathroom}...sérieusement.

So, this weekend, there will be many tasks for the potager, including planting my green beans outside.

Caring for a garden has been the most soul-gratifying hobby I've ever experienced.

Stresses completely vanish while working in the garden and my family is rewarded with healthy food to eat, which I count such a privilege.

_{canteloupe leaves trailing down in front of a gold mirror-great juxstaposition of nature and glamour.}

_{And, yes, I planted Charentais canteloupe seeds indoors, too... I had the space and the seeds and I figured pourquoi pas??}

I hope you all are enjoying your spring and all of its special moments.

Bon week-end!

I'm off to go dig in the dirt!
_{images via à la parisienne}

Any Hour May Hold a New Adventure

I just needed something beautiful to look at, so I sifted through some older photographs and found this image that I took several months back of an upcycled alarm clock turned picture frame.

It's funny how we make plans and prepare ourselves for things not knowing our path ahead.

This was one of the last creations I offered in my Etsy shop when it was open.

I remember scouring flea markets and yard sales for old alarm clocks, hoping to create more of these...I have a couple put away in storage, never used, just sitting there...

I never really "planned" to put my Etsy on permanent vacation...

I never imagined that my drive for selling handmade flowers and upcycled vintage accessories would literally disappear overnight, but it did.

I just felt the desire to have less stress even if it meant no income, less spending money. I didn't care. I just wanted to be able to spend more time with my husband in the evenings rather than sitting under the lamp at my desk in our room cutting flower petals-oh how those flowers seemed to take forever to make!

I wanted to start homeschooling Amelia, and I knew that it would be hard to juggle both.

From time to time, I've felt inspired to talk with you about being an entrepreneur and the ebb and flow that's tied to running your own business:

The times of high enthusiasm and energy and the times of rest and lack of motivation.

Right now, I'm in between - graphic designing here and there, participating in something new and exciting, trying to "reinvent" myself. Nothing that consuming but somewhat important to me.

Who knows what lies ahead- My Etsy on an extended vacation, little jobs here and there, a new endeavor??? Je ne sais pas.

Either way, I'm happy.

_{image by à la parisienne}

mon alphabet français: Lettre A

For a couple of years, I've been wanting to design artistic, French educational "cards" or images to share with my blog followers.
And as all creative projects go with me, it's taken two years for me to bring this vision to fruition!

_{Apricot = l'abricot
l'abricot is a masculine noun in French, thus, the (m) on the card.}

So, I will be starting a new series called : mon alphabet français, where I hope to have a little fun styling, photographing, graphic designing, playing with the French language, and hopefully fashioning beautiful artful pictorals of the French language.

J'aime vraiment les abricots et ma confiture préférée est confiture d'abricot!

{I really like apricots and my favorite jam is apricot jam!}

Quand je pense aux abricots, je pense à ma tante Carol.

{When I think of apricots, I think of my Aunt Carol.}

Il y a quelques années, elle m'a donné un pot de confiture d'abricots faite maison.

{A few years ago, she gave me a jar of homemade apricot jam.}

Ce pot là, était son dernier pot de confiture d'abricots. Et son abricotier avait mort.

{That jar of apricot jam was her last jar, and her apricot tree had died.}

C'etait un cadeau très precieux.

{It was a very precious gift.}

_{Une questionne pour mes francophones: In the sentence, Ce pot là, était son dernier pot de confiture d'abricots. I wanted to say "That jar of apricot jam was her very last jar" for emphasis. Any suggestions on how to add that emphasis?}

Aimez-vous les abricots?

{Do you like apricots?}

(You can respond in English, bien sûr!)

_{images by à la parisienne}