what matters most
wow, the days just fly by! how can we accomplish everything? then again, what’s the rush? i have about a minute and just wanted to stop by and say hi. i’m posting the one thing that matters most, staying limber. nothing else goes right when we’re out of wack so i’m sharing my 30 second philosophy which is if you take those 30 seconds for yourself to just stretch in one or two positions your whole day gets better. what do you do at the minimum? there’s that knock at the door, more later, have a great friday!
what a difference a week makes
hi guys! how’s everything? i hope things are going well and your summer is offf to a great start. i feel like it’s been forever since i’ve been here. it was a whirlwind week going to nice and just getting back. my client and i shopped the flea markets to decorate her pretty little apartment overlooking the med. we had almost a week and had no internet. kind of a mind blower but then again maybe it was good cause we really focused without distractions. still i missed checking in and wanted you to see it all!
so much happened with lots to share but tonight i just wanted to let you know i hadn’t fallen off earth. i got home to working technology today and saw this post by vicki archer who met us for lunch at the flea market at cours saleya. there’s a lot going on in that region and i’ll be writing what i learned about the markets from cap ferrat to st. tropez. till then enjoy one of vicki’s gorgeous shots from the market. she captured what i couldn’t and i’m so happy the day was preserved. we were together when she took this, marveling over whose it was, the craftsmanship, the ritual of daily life!
well i do believe i’m be having a bit o jet lag so here’s to calling it a nuit. sweet dreams!
what remains unseen
morning guys and happy saturday. i hope this weekend is going to be one of celebration! i’m about to head out and wanted to post a couple things lurking on my desktop, total non sequiturs but what’s so great about sequiturs?
the first was a practice i’ve been reading about, of all things, breathing. something we do every moment from birth, but there are ways to get a lot out of it from calming to actual healing and restoring atoms and cells on a whole other level. this great book, science of breath, was written in 1903 and talks about ways to play with it for everything from cellular rejuvenation to downright enlightenment!
on another note, i’ve been holding onto these pics of microscopic grains of sand by Dr. Gary Greenberg . there’s no relation to breathing other that it’s something we don’t normally see or think about.
“To see a World in a Grain of Sand” William Blake, Auguries of Innocence
well have a great day. dads, this is your weekend, hope you get to do something fun!
what’s going on
good morning guys, hope you’re having a fantastic week! it’s finally quiet around here and i’ve come to the realization that the only way to work, blog or even work out, i have to be alone. otherwise someone always wants to do something fun, far away from the computer! i’m expecting liz any moment but wanted to stop by and say hey.
not posting about anything in particular, just getting what’s on the desktop before it gets filed or deleted, starting with nature’s colors. i’ve been saving these images for palettes and inspiration, and the links below them have an infinite selection of combos of mother nature’s astonishing creativity and great taste!
on another note, just thought i’d post a little of what i’ve been up to behind the scenes. i mentioned before that OKL asked me for lighting so being a bit of a literalist, i went and sourced from my favorite haunts and have been working on it for weeks.
i’ ve been in the vintage and antiques biz long enough to know how to fix up most anything but when you have 10-20 lamps in your life they start to get pretty needy.
it’s not just getting a cute lamp, but finding the shade (that’s perfect and trying to keep it that way), and every detail from the finial, to the harp, the spider, the socket and the wiring! doesn’t seem like a big deal but in a group it’s a pretty big task. and trying to keep them pristine and photographed…don’t get me started!
how do you feel about original wiring? i think it shows authenticity but maybe it’s best to rewire. i like the old. what about you? anyway they’re finally sitting quietly waiting to get wrapped and packed, the last of what’s left in my apartment as i have one foot in an the other out the door to make a move once the right apartment appears. (i didn’t get the one i wanted so back to hunting).
well i better get going. only a couple days left to put my trip together, i’m leaving on the 20th and have to get our itinerary settled. i’ll share it once it’s locked down. i’m looking forward to exploring the sud. ok, off to work. have a great thursday!
the pursuit of happiness
i just think it’s cool that happiness is part of our national constitution. hi all, happy saturday! the shot above made me happy and prompted a quick post. (hmmm, is that an oxymoron)?
well it would be quick but i just wanted to include something i’m into today that may interest you too. it doesn’t have to do with decor per se but it does have to do with design in a way. is there anything more intricate, mysterious and better designed than the human eye? and where would we be without them? a couple years ago i started noticing my 20/20 vision was getting blurry up close. years ago a teacher in yoga class mentioned ocular exercises in passing. i kept it in the back of my head and whenever i did them in the morning, my sight was better all day.
everyone i’ve ever discussed it with thinks i’m nuts but it really does work. not saying i don’t love my little red reading glasses but truth is i’d rather not have to hold my phone at a distance to text or enlarge my computer screen images. as of today i’m working on it diligently and hope that if you have any thoughts or have seen any articles or results will add your two cents. i came across a kabillion articles but figured it best to narrow it down and pass a long a little of it. hope it helps you if you’re squinting or blurry too. some of the movements are below. you can do them in bed, desk, at a red light etc.
and a little fyi info that could also be helpful: vitamin A is must for a normal eye sight. good sources of vitamin A are carrots, apricots, and squash. leutin, omega 3, vitamin E and C help too. there may be an imbalance in the liver, kidneys or gall bladder if your eyes are blurry and twisting from the waist while looking as far as you can from the corner of your eye helps.
try these:
1 Move the eyes from left to right along the horizon. Repeat 10 times.
2 Move the eyes from top to bottom. Repeat 10 times.
3 Move the eyes diagonally from bottom left to top right. Repeat 10 times.
4 Move the eyes diagonally from top left to bottom right. Repeat 10 times.
S Move the eyes around clockwise. Repeat 10 times.
6 Move the eye around counter-clockwise. Repeat 10 times.
well that’s it for now. i need to rest my eyes, haha! actually one article said that every 45 minutes you should step away from the computer. think i’ll go get that carrot juice. hope you have a happy, focused weekend!
jupiter aligned with mars
hey guys, happy thursday. what do you have planned for the weekend? i hope a whole lotta nada or major productivity, whichever you prefer! i’m about to have a full house so it will be hard to get back here much. these last couple hours of solitude are going way too quick! i had to come by, regroup and keep track of what’s happening.
it’s been a whirlwind putting the trip itinerary together. there are so many connections between all these incredible women that have happened in one split second. i want to remember the path as it’s wonderful circle of friends and i had no idea it existed.
over the past couple years i’ve met up with some of my blog buds and have always wanted to meet with others. sharon, for example. we briefly met at the bloggers’ cocktail party in paris but didn’t get to chat much. but we kept in touch a bit and i always loved her site. turns out she’a the local brocante expert and also knows melanie. check out her site, her life and photos are pure soul food!
is this even real? she gives brocante tours so keep her as a reference if you’re in the provence area. and that’s not all.
PHOTO: hipparis-normandy
turns out my girl erica from haven in paris has been antiquing with her in normandy and they had a ball:
mimi of belle inspiration (another blog bud turned hard core friend)! mimi has been giving my flea market tours when i’m not in paris and is my soldier on the ground.
ok well that’s officially full circle and would be enough but i’m sure it’s going to get even thicker!
this image was taken by dash who is in the region now. well, it’s getting late and i officially better jet. have a great rest of your night!
let’s get together
Provence_Alpes_Cote_dAzur/Mougins
morning guys, happy wednesday. i hope your week has been good so far.
the past couple days i’ve been putting the france trip together. there’s so much info it’s mind boggling. one country, one region, even one town can take a lifetime! since i’m going back in august i thought it would be fun to explore a bit more than i can do this month (it’s just a week), and thought maybe you’d like to go too if you’re free. i’m putting something together for somewhere between august 23 and sept 5th. more soon on that.
i took some of your great advice and will incorporate it into the itinerary. i’ll check out eze, beaulieu villefranche and st paul de-vence…anything else?
we’re meeting up with vicki monday, planning’s in the works with corey and melanie. ny friend kate married a frenchman and they live in nice. he happens to be an antiquing guru and she’s going to show us around the warehouses and haunts her hubby keeps under wraps. i also got in touch with another fantastic blogger who was at the roundup in paris about a year ago when we all met.
in the meantime i’m going through our shopping list. my client wants to keep it simple and live minimally here in her sweet retreat. below is the apartment:
and these were some of the images she sent for inspiration:
ok well it’s getting way late, not morning here anymore…have a great day!
french riviera antique & secondhand shops
i just liked the sound of that and figured it was a good time to stop by.
hi all, i hope you’re having a ball this june weekend. i spent the morning at the ocean and got my groove back. now i’m home, focused on researching my upcoming job in nice. i want to nail down our itinerary toute de suite. like today cause the trip is June 21. i’ll post what turns up!
french-riviera-antique-and-secondhand-shops
i just had to post a couple cute pics that jumped out first thing. this antique store is in grasse, apparently an ancient perfume-making town that inspired the book ‘perfume‘…
but i digress. first thing is getting the lay of the land. the region is officially called Provence-Alps-Côte D’Azur.
there are regions within regions. we’re looking at the 06 (although below it’s called by another name, guess it’s a french thing)
it’s such a dense country with so many villages, towns and history! this could take a lifetime to explore.
this may be sort of dull if you’re not going this year but if you ever decide to, hopefully this can be a reference. i want to get out of nice and up into the less traveled areas but there’s so much front and center!
in all today’s research the most obvious data is that the people of southern france, like parisians, enjoy a good brocante, vide grenier and their antique foires. call it what you will, they’ve been buying, selling and trading the same gems for 200 years.
googling around i stumbled on an article that gave a little backstory on the area:
‘As Gastou tells it, the mid-sixties, was the golden age of the French antiques business. “In those days a merchant could still buy, at one stroke, the entire contents of a château,” he recalls. “As a kid I was dazzled by getting into so many places and seeing such valuable things. In 1968 French priests lost the right to dispose of works of art, but before then provincial curés were permitted to sell them for certain purposes—to repair a church, for instance. Old charitable institutions and hospices, some dating back to Louis XIV, were emptying their attics and cellars.
The best antiques, like major pieces in the Louis styles, went to Paris—or perhaps to America—by the trainload. The next-best material went to the antiques dealers on the Côte d’Azur’. hmmmmm, so that’s a good sign…
anyway i have about a million notes and links to go through. i have a friend in nice who offered to take us around and all the girls (vicki, mel and corey) are on board too. whew!
well i hope you get some sunshine in these next few hours and enjoy the rest of your weekend! more soon~
nice is nice
hi gang, good morning! it’s actually getting close to noon. it’s turning into one of those days that goes by in a flash. the other day i told you i had some good news and can finally share it. i’m heading to Nice in a couple weeks to help decorate an apartment!
seems like every year since i can remember i’ve wanted to go to the south of france and explore the markets. it’s been ages since i’ve been there, once as a kid with my family and then again after college working on some ancient building restorations. but that was before i fell for the fleas and know nothing about them there!
we’ll have a van and a gps as well as our list which is everything from furniture and rugs to lights and accessories. we’re going to do the whole place start to finish in a week so being prepared is the first step.
of course google is the first place to search and i did get lost in what is obviously a magical region.
first checking out the major markets, working on the schedule and to do list.
lots of times towns have vide greniers and you never know what will turn up. researching that is its own project:
vide-greniers.org/flea-market-france
i can’t resist the old shots, this one is a flower market in nice. so easy to get distracted!
french-style-at-the-flea-market
to make sure we hit every nook and cranny i’m calling in my local expert gurus for advice. first is vicki archer of french essence who lives in provence and is an incredible wealth of knowledge. she’s renovated her home in provence and i bet knows just where the secrets stashes are!
next will be to check in with melanie aussandon who’s in marseille and has been a blog bud for years. she works with her family in their shop restoring pieces and upholstering them. her favorite pastime is shopping the brocantes.
and last but definitely not least is corey amaro, one of my favorite photographers. her esteemed opinion on the local markets and brocantes will be the cherry on top. each of these ladies is brilliant in her own right and i can’t wait to hear their words of wisdom and learn from them! if you have any tricks up your sleeve i’d love to hear your pearls too! i’ll have share mine along the way.
well, i’m going to have to sign off and will upload shots of the apartment and what’s been planned so far. my client has exquisite taste and wants to decorate with french silhouettes, meaning take the great shapes of french furniture but skip the curls and fancy stuff. so, more soon, my insatiable inbox awaits. have a fabulous friday!
