for grandmas and my french famille~

Today was absolutely gorgeous. Stunning, really. As it hasn't been anything but crappage as of late, I enjoyed every. single. minute.

After spending time working on the property and enjoying a fabulous slow-cooked dinner (which cooked all day so that I could be out in the gardens for hours) the boys and I had a bonfire. We watched the sun slowly sink into the western sky, roasted marshmallows, and enjoyed s'mores.

While doing this, I thought of two things. First of all, with tomorrow being Mother's Day, I thought it would be fun to shoot some photos of the boys to send the Grandma's tomorrow.

Secondly, I thought of ma famille francaise. You see, while I was *living* with them, I introduced them to wonders of s'mores. Would you believe those poor children had NEVER had s'mores? Never! It was tragic, really. But fear not, auntie Kim fixed that little oversight and now, all is right with the world again~

~photos shamelessly stolen from french family...

Anyway, I thought it would be nice to share a few photos with them so that they could see where we make our s'mores here on the farm. And, maybe, tempt them to come visit and see for themselves... :)

I hope you all have a wonderful Mother's Day tomorrow ~ whether it is enjoyed with children of your own, or your mothers.

xx

(what are those fabulous actions on my photos you ask? check back tomorrow for more on that!)

~the winners!!!

Good Morning!

The winners of the ribbon/beads/craft supply give-away are~

Cat of writing out loud

Florence of essences of the past

Shelly of bungalow bling

If the three of you would be so kind as to email me your addresses I would love to send these little packages out to you!

mimicharmante@gmail.com

Congratulations!

France jour 4 - les filles head south~

Paris had to end, as there were trains to board and gorgeous southern french villages to visit!

We hugged Simone goodbye (yes, there were tears on my part - aren't there always?!?) and headed to Gare Lyon. While there was a strike on, many of the trains, ours included, were still running and on time. We grabbed a cafe and boarded our train. It flew through the French countryside, with beautiful homes, chateaus, and rolling hills. Before we knew it, we were pulling into the station in Avignon and leaving the train in search of our rental car. We signed on the dotted line and loaded up our luggage. We were off to St. Remy!

As neither of us had driven a stick shift in a number of years, it was decided that I would drive as I felt a bit more confident at that point. Kasey was the designated navigator and she was truly a pro when it came to navigating the round-abouts and spotting local patisseries! What else did we need?

We stopped for a snack and to ask directions in St. Remy and as we sat at our little table, in the sunshine - with our quiche, croque monsieur, and eclairs, we both looked at each other and sighed. We were HERE! We did it!

After we enjoyed our dejeuner, we hopped back into our car and headed for our French Mas. We were so excited to see it, and we were not disappointed. If you are ever in St. Remy de Provence, Mas de Carassins is the place to stay. It is fabulous! The mas itself is beautifully done, the grounds are amazing, and the food - honestly, divine.

~the gorgeous entry

~the beautiful courtyard where tea is served every afternoon

~the name of our room "magnaneraie"

~we *loved* our room!

~the sitting area of our room - complete with wine

~every afternoon was spent sitting next to the pool...

~the dining room was beautiful - we fell in love with the linens

~the menu the first night - it was superb!

~everything was so rustic, and this beautiful shade of grey - and goregous.

While there, Karine took such good care of us. She provided us with maps to the brocante, as well as endless information. We were however so. very. sad to have not had the chance to meet Pierre. We had many conversations prior to our trip about our beloved Pierre, as I had talked to him before the trip and oh, that lovely French accent... Next time Pierre - we will book our stay for when you are there!

Barracuda Taqueria - my new go-to joint for tex-mex!

Earlier this week, my brilliant friend Annie posted about this incredible Tex-Mex spot in downtown Seattle. Now, this girl is a connoisseur of Tex-Mex - she is the reason for this post.

So, she blogged about this little slice of heaven, and I considered venturing into the city to try it for myself. But before I even had the chance to figure out where they were, I noticed that the owner of said delicious joint had posted on another friend's facebook page. "How do you know him???" I quickly messaged. She explained that he was the boyfriend of a mutual friend. What?!? How did I now know this??? Me being me, I immediately added him as my friend, he accepted, and today, my girlfriend and I had a lunch date. At Barracuda Taqueria. And let me say - you NEED to go.

Located not far from the Space Needle, it is in a fabulous spot in downtown Seattle. Parking is no problem (for lunch at least).

We first met Brian - twin brother of Nathan (the owner of said incredible establishment) and the MOST HONEST man I have ever known. Truly. Honest.

Annie had mentioned the queso. - something that I (sorry Annie) had never tried. Until today. Dear lord. Divine.

We asked Nathan what he would suggest for lunch, and he said he would put together a mix of various tacos to try. We had a great mix of meat and fish, and, uhm, okay, he brought us a tongue taco. No, of course it doesn't say "tongue taco" on the menu. But come on, in the end, it is tongue. Aannddd... seeing that I have just been traveling *in France* and eating such worldly things, I thought hey - I can do this. And I tried. And it seems that when one is in their own city, trying new, different things just doesn't seem to "go down" as easily. Thus, after one. tiny. little. bite., I was done. But I tried. And I have heard that it is very popular - with the tongue crowd I would guess... The shrimp tacos were great though!

Finally, I had to share this sign - after my time in Paris, I found this quite funny~

501st post and the french collection is in the shop!

But first things first - this is my 501st post! How on earth that happened, I haven't a clue... I will be drawing the names for my give-away tomorrow night and announcing the winners on Wednesday. I will then be having another give-away later this week - one that I am REALLY excited about!

So, on to other news~

I have finally listed some of my Paris prints in the shop! Of course, there are a number of other prints from before *the dream trip*, and I hope to add more in the coming weeks as well.

bises,

xx

how to play in the mud as an adult...

~so clean before we left...

And she was hooked...

Honestly, who knew? It certainly was muddy - we are talking calf-deep mud puddles.

Having the perfect running partner is half the battle, for certain!

Now, the question is, how does one run on the streets after running through mucky, muddy, fabulous trails? Yes, it was much more difficult, but it reminded me so much of North Vancouver, or of my beloved Ange and her french countryside.

As tradition had been set two weeks ago, I had to indulge in a post-race celebratory bubbly. On the agenda this afternoon - a cooking session with lots of fabulous food and very comfy clothes. Have I mentioned my blisters...?

Next stop, half-marathon...?

Bisous~