Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Rachel Ashwell's Shabby Chic designs

Seen on the street in Paris

Color me beautiful

Splenderosa's beautiful handmade jewelry and headbands

Oh, so pretty from Splenderosa's Gems and Glamour blog

Come into my parlour

Splendid Dining

Dreaming of Portofino

Portofino hotels are largely located along the waterfront in this upscale resort town on the Italian Riviera. Portofino has earned a reputation over the years as an upscale vacation spot that was at one time a haunt for the biggest Hollywood celebrities. It still draws Hollywood elite as well as travelers from around the world to its quaint harbor, pastel villas, and elegant hotels.

Monday, January 9, 2012

Pink Champagne - the color of the month

“No longer relegated to baby nurseries, today’s Pink Champagne is a whisper of a color, fast becoming a new neutral. Rich when paired with black, camel, or metallics in particular — Pink Champagne is an unexpected and utterly lovely choice for the revelry of January.” —Marianne Canada, HGTV Home Studio

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Marie-Antoinette’s English Inspired Garden and Rustic Faux Village

*
On the grounds of Versailles stands Marie-Antoinette’s English garden and Petit Hameau. This picturesque, thatched-roofed village, inspired by Hubert Robert’s paintings, was created by palace architect Richard Mique in 1783 – 1785.
"Everyone had heard of her private retreat at Trianon, and of the little hamlet she was having her architect construct there. It seemed a perverse extravagance, for the Queen to create a village for her own amusement while in many parts of France real peasants in real villages were in dire want. In her make-believe village stood eight small thatch-roofed cottages, their plaster walls cleverly painted with cracks to make them look weathered, their gardens full of vegetables and fruit trees. Nearby were barns, a poultry yard, and a mill. A farmer named Valy was brought in to live in the farmhouse and look after the livestock. Cows were pastured in a small field, and milked into porcelain tubs in an exquisite little dairy. The Queen had her own cows, named Brunette and Blanchette, and white goats and white lambs, rabbits and cooing pigeons and clucking hens. There was a note of pathos at the miniature hamlet, amid the abundant charm; it represented an almost childlike vision of a simpler, happier world. But the Queen’s critics saw nothing of this. To them the village was one more in a long list of frivolous purchases. They called it “Little Vienna,” and made fun of Antoinette indulging in her rustic pleasures."

Leisure and Landscape: Marie Antoinette The Landscape Garden in France The Gardens of Versailles: An Interview Le Petit Trianon: Histoire et Description (French, Kyoto University Library) PBS Marie Antoinette: Petit Trianon and Le Petit Hameau (Both with filmed visuals)

http://janeaustensworld.wordpress.com/

My dreams about fairies

De zachte aanraking van een zuchtje wind op een windstille dag,
de glinstering van dauwdruppels op een spinnenrag.
Een elf vloog hier net voorbij om neer te strijken in"My Dreams About Fairies".
http://mydreamsaboutfairies.blogspot.com/
Magical one of a sort, handmadec fairies

Soft and dreamy

Soft, romantic images from Castles and Crowns.

Winter, my favorite season

When the air is fresh and crisp
When there's snow on the ground, I like to pretend I'm walking on clouds.
Takayuki Ikkaku, Arisa Hosaka and Toshihiro Kawabata,
Animal Crossing: Wild World, 2005

Happy New Year

Don't forget to dream
oh darling, let’s be adventurers by fife du vie