Tartelette....... get out of that gondola immediately !!

Well... bonjour, mes belles! Look at you sitting there looking all gorgeous! Pardon?......Yes! I have had my hair coiffed thank you very much for asking; it`s not too short at the back is it?




Honestly-....this week has been so busy that my feet have hardly touched the ground. The renovation work here is back in full swing after the Christmas break and its getting very exciting;  I can see the salon sitting room really taking shape now and it's getting nearer the time to make some decisions about decor. Pale French grey and creamy white or pale Aubusson green?

I have a chandelier and matching sconces that I have been hiding from you ( the nerve of the woman!) and it is a decadent period fitting that came from a very borgeoise Paris apartment. It is covered with pale green and rose silk twisted coils with frothy  tassel droppers.Very, very camp but SO gorgeous. I am going to keep it hidden from you until it is in situ.



 I have been tied up supplying some props for a period drama being made in the UK and then - in the middle of all that - Tartelette rings from Oregon to say she is making plans to come over to Paris!! Here is Tartelette looking Paris chic!!!!

Even in winter there are brocantes and vide greniers every weekend in Paris but not much happens mid week, so we were trying to decide whether she should just hop on a train up here to the chateau or whether I should I go down to Paris for some macaroons and a bit of retail therapy.




But..................I made the mistake of looking at the price of the flights from Paris to Venice - then it all got rather exciting!! Ryanair flights were very cheap, hotels in Venice are far less expensive in January than in the high season - and it all got organised quite quickly. I told Tartelette that she was going to Venice for a few days with Mark and me. I really didn't give her a choice - and she was putty in my hands. When Frou Frou heard about the plans she, too, decided she had to come - and so Mark has to chaperone the three of us!! All I can say is 'poor Mark'.

Our hotel is close to St Mark's Square so we can enjoy regular hot chocolat in Casanova`s old haunt,  "Cafe Florian", if the weather is too cold. We have canal view rooms and Tartellette and Frou Frou - who are both "loose cannons" - are sharing a deluxe twin room...............can you imagine it?!


You know that I am obsessed with Venice as it is just like walking into a period film set and if I am not actually in Venice, I am frequently  thinking or reading about it. I also read this week that Johnny Depp recently paid 8.5 million dollars for a palazzo on the Grand Canal, so surely he will be there checking it out? He might  need help choosing the curtain fabric so I do of course NEED to be there! Here is his new home.....

 Perhaps this trip will finally cure me and I will be ready to explore somewhere else.


Tartelette tells me she has lost 40lbs............................HOW VERY DARES SHE!! I haven`t been able to see what she looks like as Skype is refusing to work between us but I`ll soon get that back on her with all that divine Italian icecream, pasta, pizza and chocolat with cream. I was wondering how I was going to stop all those amorous Italian men from pinching the derriere of the delectable Miss Frou Frou so do I now have another  pert derriere to worry about?

Charles in back to  his normal feline activities, with an endless number of mice being presented to us at the back door as 'cadeaux'. Diggers on the other hand is tucked up in bed sleeping - as usual. He is not a lazy dog; he is simply  studying for his doctorate in sleep -and of course, you have to put in the practise and undergo hours of sleep to do that!

And finally - an old school here that has been open since the early 1800s closed its doors last year and tomorrow there is an auction of the contents. The auction list includes armoires, desks, books, old cast iron radiators and much more.

 Who knows what we will find?


A la prochaine mes belles.....

xx