Second Saturdayz - not to be missed!

fabulous sale alert! fabulous sale alert!

This Saturday- June 12th- is the second Saturday of the month. Do you know what that means? If you love vintage, if you love chippy paint, if you love fabulous - you will love Second Saturdayz! We are so fortunate here in the Seattle area to have a new monthly sale to shop!

I was there last month for the first sale and honestly - it is a sale not to be missed.

The vendors are topnotch.

There are endless treasures to be found.

And it is the only one of it's kind in our area!

Second Saturdayz is held at Magnuson Park on Sandpoint Way in Seattle. The directions can be found here. Honestly, if you love vintage, old, chippy, rusty, eclectic, or fabulous, this is a sale you really don't want to miss. It is my favorite monthly show and if you go, I bet it will become yours~

a winner and thinking about father's day~

So, first of all, we have a WINNER!!! I could not have been more excited when I pulled this name out as I truly adore this blogging friend!

Debra has a beautiful blog called Lifescapes and honestly, she truly does the sweetest pieces of art - a perfect illustration of one's life. LOVE them!

She is also one of those incredibly supportive friends that truly touches your heart and makes you feel like no matter how far away she is, she is right there for you to lean on. Sometimes blogging simply stuns me with the kindness it brings about~

Miss Debra, could you please send me your mailing address, s'il vous plait?

~found

Secondly, I received an email this morning and while I have NEVER followed up on any sort of solicitation, something about this one made me smile. First of all, Father's Day is just around the corner and his post on ties touched home here on the farm. I found the post itself so creative, and the fact that he is a he - something you don't see as often as shes in my community of blogging - I thought it was important to encourage it. So, meet Matt. He has a blog about, well, neckties. It is interesting, it is amusing, and it is worth a stop by. Tell him I sent you if you leave a comment - I am sure he would love to hear from you!

I am off for a couple of days to see some of the loveliest ladies around. I will return with photos galore and some fabulous stories as well!

xx

I could use a give-away right about now...

Hello friends,

Sunday evening has somehow arrived already and I can't be sure but I think that the weekend only lasted about ten hours. It certainly felt like it. Maybe it was that yesterday was gorgeous here and seeing as we average about one *gorgeous* day for every 18 ugly ones, all of that joy made time fly.

Today was anything but gorgeous - on the weather front anyway. I was up at sunrise as today was the Seattle Race for the Cure - something that I was doing with some of my dearest friends. I was really looking forward to it because not only do I love these girls (and one very fabulous husband) but it was a short race and I knew it would be fun. Even with the POURING rain, the gray skies, and the cool temperatures, I was looking forward to it.

We met downtown, ready to go sign in and get our numbers, and had some time to talk on the way. I haven't had a lot of time to see these friends lately - life gets busy, kids, work, travel. But summer is coming and I know that time will slow down a bit, we will get together spontaneously more often over bbqs and bonfires, and I am so looking forward to that. After today, I am looking forward to it more than anything. You see, sometimes things come up that you aren't expecting - that you absolutely aren't ready for. You think life is rolling along and you learn that it isn't rolling quite as smoothly as you had thought. And it makes you appreciate your friends, and wish that you stopped more often to just *be* with them. Maybe though, it is what you need to make those changes. To really prioritize and possibly eliminate some of the excess odds and ends and put what really matters first. So maybe, when that rock comes out of left field and hits you square in the temple, the one that stunned you for a short while, it was really meant to help you - to help you see something that was right in front of you the entire time.

And with that, I need a pick-me-up. So, I am going to give away three of my 5x7 prints (the ones in this post) and a set of three cupcake cards~ You need only be a follower and leave a comment. If you want to tweet/post/facebook/email all of your friends - that would be fabulous. However, just being you - that is what I am needing right about now. I will draw a name Wednesday afternoon~

Thanks for always being present and sending such kindness my way. I truly appreciate each and every one of you~

xx

added to the shop

a few things new to the shop for the weekend~

add a little french to your life!

xx

blank cards in matte finish - perfect for any celebration!

petite moleskine notebooks with my french prints on the front!

making my own happiness

So, the weather here has been anything but lovely lately - rain. rain. and more rain.

It is gray and wet and most often cold. So be it.

So, today I shall stop fighting the weather and begin finding positive things about it. Okay, maybe not positive things about the awful winter weather in June, but at least things that make me happy or inspired.

And it is Friday - I simply can not complain about Friday. So, here goes~

~ I love how much I can get done inside when it is not nice enough to be outside gardening. There is baking, and working on my website, and doing proper correspondence with actual stationary and handwritten letters.

~ I love being able to sit with #4, my little sidekick, and really participate in what he is doing (which, as of late, seems to be a LOT of lego xbox games!). I love making a leisurely lunch for the two of us, sitting with him at the table talking about whatever a four year old wants to talk about, and just enjoying his company.

~ I love catching up on movies that I have had in my "instant queue" and not feeling guilty that I should be doing something else because, quite honestly, everything else is DONE! There have been so many of these wet, cold, dark days and I have pretty much caught up on 90% of what I have ever had on my "to do" list...

I also love being inspired by photography - seeing as I am still on my never-ending search to find "me" though my own photography. All of the photos in this post were found here.

Speaking of photography, I have been working with my web designer and we are getting close to having my photography site complete. I am so excited to finally have it up and running. Now if only I could find my username and password for the account...

I hope you all have a marvelous weekend doing whatever you have planned. I wish all of my friends who are at Farm Chicks a wonderful time visiting and shopping, eating and drinking! I do wish I was there with you~

Bon Weekend mes amies,

xx

France jour 6 - saying goodbye, and saying hello

The strangest part of online friendships is when the opportunity presents itself to actually meet someone you have "known" for some time. Maybe you have talked on the phone, exchanged endless emails, supported each other through difficult moments or joyful occasions. When that moment actually happens though - when you are face to face for the first time, at least for me, it is like looking at a long lost friend. I have experienced it many times. I tend to be emotional so when I connect with these friends, there are always huge hugs, lots of laughter, and even occasionally a few tears from me.

Such was the case in the south of France. You see, Chicago bestie and I were to part ways on Monday morning. We had had the MOST MAGICAL week together - a week that I will go back to time and again and feel such joy reliving. We drove our little car to the train station in the rain, listening to music - but nothing slow or sad - no way. We returned our car and walked up to the station to find our trains. I felt so sad knowing she was leaving. My heart was heavy as, even though we may travel together again, this really was a once in a lifetime trip. I should also mention that I don't do "goodbye" well. I nearly always cry, especially at airports or train stations. And of course, this time was no exception. I hated to see her go...

So, she had her ticket, but mine had been purchased the night before at the hotel so I needed to pick up my physical ticket when we arrived. I waited in line but had a sinking feeling as I watched people who seemed rather frustrated working with the women at the counters. When it was my turn, I learned that, thanks to the french belief in the right to strike, there would be no train to Toulouse that day. There would be no trains westward bound at all as a matter of fact. Hhmmm... Now what to do...

And this, my friends, is where the rubber meets the road. It is where the boys are separated from the men, where the cream rises to the top. It is where you learn who your true friends are - strike that - *family* is. Because in this moment of "I'm stranded in the train station in Avignon which isn't necessarily the worst place to be stranded but being stranded in general isn't a great thing to be" , my blogging friend became my french bestie. She DROVE all the way from Toulouse, on a moments notice, to PICK ME UP. FOUR hours - F-O-U-R. Each way. Honestly. And the moment she arrived, I threw my arms around her and that was it. Family.

I only have one photo from that day. We stopped to take one of Pont du Gard - an incredibly old, amazing aqueduct constructed by the Roman Empire - originally they thought it was built in the 19th century, but now think it may have been the middle of the first. Yikes! It is one of the Unesco world heritage sites and it really is amazing to see something that old and imagine the lives that have come in contact with it over the ages.

What I do have, if not lack of photos, are memories of talking for four hours straight about everything under the sun. We had no problem filling the drive back with all of the things we wanted to catch up on or share. It was fabulous. But not as fabulous as the moment we arrived at her home. Picture this~ French countryside, rolling hills, old French farmhouse, sun just setting. But wait - it gets better.

When we went inside, her husband (who from here on in will be referred to as "french husband" - not because he is her french husband, but because he is now also *my* french husband) and three children were sitting at the table having dinner. I sat down and was IMMEDIATELY a part of the family. Seriously. It was as if I had known the children forever when they greeted me with "we have heard so much about you". French husband poured us a glass of wine, and that was that. Really, I should have seen it was the beginning of the end for me - the end of thinking I didn't belong right there. Maybe not in french family's house, but in the french countryside. Because as wonderful and warm and fabulous as that first night was, it continued to get even better for the entire week I was there.

But that is a story for another day...