Just Add Pink...(or better yet, Magenta)

I don't know about you, but I am constantly trying to revitalize my wardrobe.  At times, I get tired of the of the clothes I see hanging in my closet, but then I'll have an "ah-ha!" moment where I create a fresh look by just fashioning new combinations. That's what I did yesterday morning with this simple gray dress. 

I added a bold, feminine magenta scarf and belt.

That's why I keep accessories in all colors on hand (and rarely get rid of any of them) 

and that's why I have my accessories color coordinated.

 (And, no, I am not one of those hyper organized people--trust me:)

If I grab a pink belt, there's also a handful of pink accessories right beside it for possible pairings.

*The simple gray dress is from Ann Taylor Loft--one of my favorite clothing chains.

*The vintage magenta belt came from my Granny's closet. She let me sift through her vintage accessory stash a few years ago, and this magenta belt was one of my prizes. Most likely she bought it at Goodwill. My Granny and Goodwill are the best of friends.

*The vintage magenta and gray scarf is a flea market find, which cost me 25 cents.

Nothing expensive. No major brand names. Just a couple of colorful accessories. But I like the way the outfit came together, and it made me feel pretty. (That's is the point isn't it??)

That's just how pink makes me feel.

_{image by à la parisienne}

Pink Vows-Wedding Centerpiece & Winners

Here's a little wedding centerpiece inspiration for you, which will conclude my series of pink inspiration-at least for a while.

The lucky winners are listed at the bottom of this post.

The most important part of a wedding are the vows-the promise of life-long commitment between a man and a woman.

This centerpiece is composed of the simplest of elements: an antique glass compote, water, Scrabble letters, and a single floating pink peony. I layered this look with the same vintage floral platter as used in my previous pink tide post.

Okay, now for the winners of my first giveaway by color-PINK:

1st place winner:

#76 Jojo

2nd place winner:

#18 CJ

Please email me at alaparisiennedesigns@gmail.com to claim your prizes.
un grand merci to all who entered. I appreciate all of your sweet comments and support. Also, thank you Divinagioielli for participating in this giveaway with your gorgeous vintage-inspired earrings. {I also love the pair I bought for myself.}
There will be another giveaway by color soon, so stay tuned!

_{images by à la parisienne}

Pink Tide~~~Romantic Fête Inspiration

Who says seaside-inspired celebrations such as weddings and parties have to be blue or white?Words, textures, and objects can all evoke the rhythm of the tides no matter the color.
I felt inspired to photograph of few of my ideas and wanted to share them with you.

Seashell pink, one of nature's most beautiful colors makes a beautiful color palette for a seaside party. Alone they are beautiful, but how about tucking in a few peonies? or even a few ruffled chiffon flowers or vintage millinery buds?

And layering the centerpiece with a vintage rose adorned platter offers added charm and romance.

Have a beautiful week and Happy July 4th to my American readers!

GIVEWAY:

Just a couple of days before the romantique pink giveaway winners will be randomly selected.

Click here to enter.

_{images by à la parisienne}

Romantique Giveaway by Color: PINK

I have no doubt that many of you love pink just as much as I do, so in celebration of my favorite color and one of my favorite bands-Pink Martini, I am offering a romantique giveaway in honor of the color pink:

1st place winner will receive:

*one CD by Pink Martini {winner's choice}

*one pink Parisienne Petal flower pin/hair clip from my Etsy {winner's choice}. Select from pink chiffon, satin, or silk flowers in the above image.

_{perfect for clipping in your hair or for pinning to your favorite summer blouse or dress.}

*one pair of romantique vintage-inspired earrings by
divinagioielli, one of my favorite vintage-inspired jewelry stores on Etsy.

_{1st place winner chooses one of Pink Martini's albums.}

Click here to listen to Pink Martini's romantique, international-styled music.

_{Pair of beautiful vintage-inspired clear rhinestone and blush beaded earrings by Divinagoioelli.}
2nd place winner will receive:
*one pink Parisienne Petal flower pin/hair clip {winner's choice}

*one set of I Will Always Love Pink Parisienne Correspondance cards {set of 4 cards with envelopes} by à la parisienne.

_{Parisienne Correspondance No. 5 - "I Will Always Love Pink"}
How to enter:
* Leave a comment below.

Increase your chances of winning by:

*Becoming a follower of my blog

*Sharing this romantique pink giveaway by clicking here and liking my giveaway on Facebook.

*Share this giveaway with your blog friends in a blog post or on your sidebar.

Be sure to leave a separate comment for each entry so that all of your chances to win are recorded.

Giveaway is open to all readers.

Deadline to enter will be midnight CST on Tuesday, July 5th.

The winning numbers will be randomly selected and announced on Wednesday, July 6th.

A big thank you to Divinagioielli for participating in my romantique giveaway. Visit her beautiful shop here.

This giveaway is closed.

_{image #1 à la parisienne; #2 via PinkMartini.com; #3 via divanagioielli; #4 à la parisienne}

Spring, Please Check Your Inbox

Dear, Spring,
It has been a year since we've seen one another. Why must our time together be so transient? You are welcome to arrive early this year, as I am anxiously awaiting your warm embrace, refreshing showers, and anticipating the smiles donned by the fields, meadows, and flowers as they bring forth new life upon your return. The back yard, swing, and neighborhood cats long for Amelia's frequent visits and resounding laughter. My garden feels forlorn as the icy winter's touch has made me to stay indoors. Please hasten.

I am prepared for your arrival:

*I am making preparations for a garden makeover with many beautiful plans in mind. (Thanks to Parisienne Farmgirl's Potager classes.) I think that you shall find it pleasing.

*I have done my spring homework- Spring cleaning and declutter.

*I have already begun planning Amelia's 3rd birthday party, so the month of May shall not find me ill-prepared.

*And I am wearing my newest shade of pink lipstick.

Printemps, tu me manques terriblement. {Spring, I miss you terribly.}

And I am sure I am not the only one.

_{images by à la parisienne}

Gris et rose ~ le meilleur "mix"

My dresses, blouses, costume jewelry, and business cards all herald my love for pink and gray.

If you've been a reader of my blog for any length of time, you are probably sure of a couple of things:
{besides my love for God, my sweet family, and church}


I love pink. I love gray.
{j'aime le rose. j'aime le gris.}

I love Paris. I love French. I love fashion. I love anything romantic and feminine.
{j'aime Paris. j'aime le français. j'aime la mode. j'aime toutes les choses romantiques et féminines.}


Lizzie Carney's beautiful home had me at gray walls, pink silk curtains, and tufted pink headboard. Her lovely home was featured in Country Living Magazine's October 2010 issue, and I had to add these gorgeous images to my blog's dossier, and, of course, share them with you!


The gray walls offer a sophisticated backdrop to her trendy, funky British flag rug and open clothing racks.


The guilded mirror offers a bit of opulence among the rustic wine racks and burlap chairs. Oh, and notice the bust on the table-very Paris Apartment.



Lizzy has a very unique sense of style as she combines the unexpected: black leather couch, rustic coffee table, unfinished wood shutters, and a regal bust.

I especially like the painted dove gray floors.


The hip vintage turquoise frigo adorned with gracefully stuffed peacock, oversized romantic chandelier, and modern shelving and chairs bring a unique persona to the kitchen which matches the rest of her creatively beautiful home-definitely one of a kind!

_{images via Country Living}

I Will Always Love Pink

Yes, when I was in the 5th grade my best friend's mom painted her room pink. Katie's room was always so enchanting...

*Miniature ballet slippers hanging from a vintage painting of Peter Rabbit

*An immaculately built Barbie doll house made by her father complete with handmade drapes and linoleum floors, decorated by her very creative and resourceful mother

*vintage handpainted tea sets for little girls gracefully placed upon shelves that lined two walls of her room just a foot below the ceiling...

Yes, Katie's pink room was magical...
And I always looked forward to playing at her house, especially in her room.

One autumn day, after exiting the musty school bus that dropped me off at the end of my driveway, I entered the house, and instead of seeing my mother at the stove cooking dinner, she was standing in the livingroom waiting for me.

"I have a surprise for you," she said as her eyes flicked over my shoulder in the direction of my bedroom.

I threw my backpack to the livingroom floor and dashed to my room...

My bedroom walls had been transformed to a pale shade of pink...

That day during school, my parents painted my room pink...just.for.me.

My bedroom walls remained pink throughout my awkward junior high years, my busy high school years, and some time in the midst of my time away in college, they were changed back to their original shade of white...

Although my pink bedroom walls in my parent's house have been "erased," I managed to carry pink with me to my adult home-my home.

Yes, there is even a little pink in my bedroom now.

Someday...maybe soon, I will show you.

_{Image #1 This Is Glamorous; Image #2 Daily Bits of Beauty; Image #3 Daily Bits of Beauty}

Blush from Floor to Ceiling

I hope you are all having a fresh start to the spring season! Spring is my favorite time of year because I LOVE flowers, gardening, the mild temperatures, and the COLORS!

This spring I look forward to a soft color palette-blush, pale aqua, beige/nude, crisp white, and, of course, dove gray.

Recently, I was fortunate to find these very gorgeous and feminine images via

{This is Glamorous}.

I don't normally fill a post with all of my images from the same place, but as I began to put this post together, that's where they all came from. Obviously...because these images are all very glamorous indeed.

If I ever remodel another home or build a new home, I really would like to have an eggshell painted wood floor. I love how the light reflects thoughout this heavenly bathroom. Oh, and the tall french doors...

Why not throw them in, too?!

I seem to gravitate toward silk curtains, especially floor length silk curtains.

The body of the fabric just makes for such beautiful puddling and poofing. It's like dressing your room in a ballgown!

I hope you are all doing well.

I have so many post ideas fluttering around in my mind...Now, I just need to find the time to share them with all of you!

Ruffles + Blush = Valentine Inspiration

Valentine's Day is just 10 days away! I just love all of the romantic colors and textures associated with Valentine's Day, especially the color blush and ruffles!

This gorgeous dress featured in Harper's Bazaar is so frothy and beautiful.

This is my newest romantique Parisienne Petal fashioned with blush satin, tulle, vintage dusty pink millinery plumes and a vintage velvet millinery flower topped with tiny gray beads.

A sweet little token for any valentine.

_{Image #1 Harper's Bazaar; Image #2 à la parisienne}

French Lesson No 7- La couleur Rose

un tutu = a tutu:)

Salut, tout le monde! This lesson will not only be fun, but you are going to learn all kinds of vocabulary for your blog posts, journaling, crafting, etc!

Today's French lesson is all about PINK!

Objective's

*French words for some common PINK items
*French words for different shades of PINK
*Putting it all together - describing PINK objects in *FrenchIntermediate/Advanced - using adjectives when describing two or more items
The color PINK in French is ROSE.

une verre = glass (a glass from which you drink or eat-must be made of glass!)

un maillot de bain = swimsuit

le chewing gum = chewing gum:)

un petit-gâteau = a cupcake


une pivoine = a peony

les pivoines = peonies

une bicyclette = bicycle OR

un vélo = bike

Different shades of PINK:

Bright pink = rose vif

Baby pink = rose tendre
Light pink = rose clair

Pale pink = rose pâle

Coral pink = rose corail

Magenta = magenta

Dark pink = rose foncé

Putting it all together
In the French language most adjectives go AFTER the noun. So when you want to describe an object using a color, the color goes AFTER the object.

See examples below (under each image).
une maison rose = a pink house

(Yes, I realize this is indeed a café in Paris named La Maison Rose)

un bâteau rose pâle = a pale pink boat

une porte rose vif = a bright pink door une salle à manger rose corail = a coral pink dining room une robe rose clair = a light pink dress

Blog Uses

You can easily use these colors in some of your titles. French titles just sound more fun, n'est-ce pas?

Examples-

"A Woman Who Wears Pink" = Une femme qui porte du rose"

"A Little Bit of Pink" = Un peu de rose

"Why Not Pink?" = Pourquoi pas rose?

"Marie Antoinette's Pink Shoe" = La Chaussure rose de Marie Antoinette (This one is for Noel @ Fanciful Designs!)

"Romantic Pink" = Rose romantique

I am sure that you can come up with all kinds of variations!

Intermediate/Advanced

When describing more than one object:

Remember that if your object is plural then so should be your adjective modifying the noun.

ExampleS

deux bâteaux roses = two pink boats

deux portes roses vif = two bright pink doors

(vif modifies the color pink not the house so it does not need an added s)

_{Images #1. Flickr-Life in a Venti Cup; #2. A la parisienne #3 A la parisienne}

#4. A la parisienne; #5. Flickr- cakejournal; #6. Flickr- Oh Merci; #7. Flickr- Ioran Denim's; #8. Flickr; #9. See image;

#10 Flickr -Gorgeoux #11. Marie Claire Maison; #12. Vanity Fair