Pampilles...............

Last time I was in Venice I saw a stunning antique chandelier dripping with faceted lustres. Some of the glass pampilles had been backed with silk damask and the effect was divine. I was absolutely captivated by the look and have finally got round to finding out the old distressed ribbon and chandelier pieces I have saved to see what I could do and here are the results...........

I am going to try making some with morceaux of old toile I have stashed away............

My Christmas tree could be quite a display this year!

A la prochaine mes belles............

Thank you very much for asking.....

We are always very aware of the change in the seasons living on the marshes and Autumn has now well and truly arrived here in Normandie. But how the weather can change in just a few days. Gone are the long balmy luscious sun-filled days we enjoyed a week or or so ago to be replaced by lashing wind, rain and much lower temperatures.  It would be nice to hibernate until Spring but I can`t  - and what do I have to look forward to?

A cardio physical check up with my cardiologist where, if like the last consultation,  he will wire me up to a computer and ask me to peddle on an exercise bike, TOPLESS (!), for 10 minutes whilst he sits a few feet in front of me watching!

Excuse me ? Yes! Topless! Had I been 18 years old with a firm set of bouncing bazookas I wouldn`t have minded, but please;  I am well endowed with a splendid busom and now on the wrong side of 50. Believe me if that footage ends up on Youtube he will be sorry! I can see no reason not to hibernate with this experience to look forward to. Oh, to be a dormouse!

But then.......................I could light up 'Hercule' my treasured 1930s Belgian enamel stove. Named after Hercule Poirot (the only famous Belgian I know), he is possibly the best 'impulse' buy I ever made!

I bought him after seeing this photograph on the French online sales site www.leboncoin.fr . We trekked to the other side of Paris to collect him and, after having to wait for a local farmer with a tractor to lift him up the chateau steps, he was duly installed in the cuisine - and he is my best friend every winter.

He runs on coal and/or wood and he warms the whole place instantly. He can be a little temperamental but I know his little foibles and he knows mine!

So let it snow, rain, sleet, howl gales and a plague of locusts descend upon us -it`s okay- ........because you know where I am going on the 18th? You will find me sipping hot chocolat at Casanovas old haunt, the Cafe Florian in St Mark's Square, Venice.

Will it be cold? I do hope so but thank you very much for asking. Do you have a warm coat?, I hear you ask. Well yes, I do thank you very much again for asking. A divine heavy black velvet vintage swagger with a hood that I bought off the 'Etsy' website. A coat so luscious that I'm sure even casanova would swoon if I walked up to him wearing it

And what if Venice has a last minute heatwave? Well I shall still wear it and collapse with heatstroke - but thank you very much for asking!

You may already have gathered that I am addicted to Venice out of season! Its a very quick flight from Paris and I adore the place when there are fewer tourists about. 

Last year whilst sitting at a waterside cafe 'people watching' Mark asked me "Would you like a go on a goldolier?" to which I replied....." Yes please ...thank you very much for asking; I`ll have that big six footer over there please!"

I think he actually meant "Would you like a gondola ride?"......shame!

Finally blogger will not let me leave any comments on anyone elses blog.  I think I'm not the only one having this problem. Any suggestions?

Oh heavens give me strength.....................

Oh please!....dyslexic Frou-frou the gorgeous daughter has started a blog. Give me strength please! Honestly.....I am SURE that 24 years ago they gave me the wrong baby at the hospital!!
http://froufrous-paris.blogspot.com/

Coque-eye, the sailor man!

The vision in Mark`s left eye has been deteriorating for a number of years and he has taken some flak from us pointing out that it probably came from him using his telescope during his career as a naval officer - obviously intending to imitate and follow in the footsteps of Admiral Lord Nelson.

A few months ago, whilst having a routine eye test, the optician told us that the deterioration in his eye was due to cataracts - so an operation was duly booked to remove them.

So..arriving at 7.00am (yes, 7.00am!!) this morning  at the local hospital  Mark was soon wearing a chic paper gown and some very fetching paper " pantoufles"  on his feet ready for the short op. And short it was, too. A local anaesthetic and, 8 minutes later, it was all over.

It had all gone well - and he returned from the operating theatre with what looked like a small plastic colander taped over his eye. The nurse explained to us that it was called a "coque" - and she went on to say that he should use his "coque" every night to protect his eye when he went to bed! We looked at each other and had difficulty keeping a straight face. Well.. what could I say! Anyway...here is the said 'coque piece'......

I  think he resembles a fly......

or perhaps a (one-eyed) fighter pilot..........

but , with the "coque" and the link with his naval career, then perhaps..............

"Coque-eye the sailor man" seems much more appropriate!!

Let the performance begin................

I have spent all day photographing the first confections from the ballet......

I wore them all and danced................................in my mind of course!!!

Am I going to regret selling them?.........................

Probably!..................................Will I ever find anything similar again?....................

................Probably not!   

Do I feel proud to have handled them and found them new homes where I know they will be treasured?...............................

Absolutement!.........................OUI!

There is a wonderful video at the bottom of the page in the music box!

A pas de deux is a dialogue of love. How can there be conversation if one partner is dumb? -Rudolf Nureyev-

Dance is your pulse, your heartbeat, your breathing. It's the rhythm of your life. It’s the expression in time and movement, in happiness, joy, sadness and envy.
-Jacques d'Amboise-

Birds use their wings to fly, because they do not know how to dance. -Zeynep Okcu

Simply chateau will sell her ballet costumes - because she cannot keep them all and her armoires are already full - even though she would love to look good in pink tights and a tiara even in the supermarche!
-Shirley Wells.

The swan is preparing to fly home................

Heavens! My feet hardly seem to have touched the floor for the last week or so!

 Firstly the tale of how we found the ballet costumes from The Paris Opera Ballet. We had met up with Tartelette Amy from Oregon in Paris and we went to a huge early morning brocante. All bright eyes, bushy tailed and full of excitement at what the days finds would bring. In the early morning light the dealers began opening up their lorries and vans and spreading their wares on tables and floor cloths.

It is at this point you never know where to look, a delicious and very addictive gentle panic begins to rise and you have to try and find treasures emerging from a hundred places at once.

I rounded a corner into a huge pile of frothy ballet tutus, boxes of costume tiaras  and silk boddice and my heart leapt....soft pinks, blues, white, creams, sequins, beads, plumes..then my heart hit the floor as I saw a woman on her knees in the middle of it all gathering it all towards her.

Should I wait to buy what little morceaux she may discard? But if she has any sense she will surely take it all and I will stand here watching open mouthed and miss any other treasures being unpacked.

I resigned myself to walking away when my heart leapt out of my chest as I realised the woman on her knees was Tartelette!!! Can you believe that? A look of sheer joy on her face in the middle of it lost in her own world !

All she could say as she sat there grasping a pink tutu and a swan lake plumed costume was"Oh my goodness..............................Oh my goodness.....................Oh my goodness". She was so overwhelmed to try and choose what she wanted.

Other textile dealers were starting to gather so I quickly told her to shut up and grabbed it out of her hands and started to bag it up!!  Being "besties" good friends I can do that!!!  We got the whole lot bagged up and we agreed that we would sort out who wanted what later! I knew then it would be one for Tartelette and tutu for me!

Much later that day we sprawled it all out on the hotel lawn to see what we had and I do confess a few Demi Detourné, Pas de deux and Plié took place as we tried on the crowns and plumes!! Of course Tartelette had first choice from the haul ( I am not that mean.....she found the haul first!) and the difference is that she will keep her costumes to display and I will sell most of mine on!

I will not tell you too much about the treasured costumes Tartelette will take home with her as I know she will tell you that herself when she gets backs to the USA.

So as we speak, Tartelette is out on the chateau driveway packing her treasures to take the long flight home...............a little glimpse into those bags shows she has a wonderful haul!

All this after a trip to the local hospital with her yesterday after she fell ill......and whilst we were in the hospital all she could ask was "what time does the brocante close?". She has a serious addiction!

Finally the winner of the bag giveaway ( chosen by Tartelette)....there has to be two winners...Pop and Shabbily by the sea . So if you will send me your addresses to simplychateau@wanadoo.fr.  All I can say is that you folk are harbouring some dangerous brains!!

Hopefully this week some kind of normality will kick in but oooooh if you could see the haul of treasures I have to work my way through and get listed...it certainly will not be a chore!!

The Paris opera ballet.................

I have just got home from a wonderful truffling trip and as I was unloading this haul I simply had to hang them up to show you as I am so excited and haven`t shut up talking about it for days whilst we were on the road!!

These wonderful old costumes are all from The Paris opera ballet and date from the 1920s onwards.  I  have tutus,crowns, tiaras,corsage flowers and a wonderfuI  array of flowing dresses. I will tell you how I found them tomorrow and also announce the giveaway winner. I just couldn`t pack it all in bags until I had shown you all!!

There is one tiny tiny tutu and crown that I am convinced is for a performing poodle.......where is Digger when you need him?

There are also those amazing short tutus that stick out horizontally from the waist!

Click on the pics for a closer look! I know I am an addict but there is nothing like truffling in Paris searching for old treasures!!!

Simply-chateau giveaway............

After all the wonderful emails of support after the initial trials and tribulations but ultimately very sucessful online brocante,  I think a giveaway is in order  - and I think this  gorgeous shabby chic oil cloth shopper would be perfect !

A sweet little bag full of Paris panache perfect for La supermarche!

Talking of Paris I am off to to meet up with Tartelette there for a few days brocanting so whilst I am away simply tell me what you would like to find behind this door..........whatever your heart desires.....anything at all....let your imagination run riot!

I will choose a winner when I get home...hopefully laden with treasures!

I have left the online brocante open and there is a new direct link there on the top right of the page.

A bientot !

Okay.....I can now see the funny side!!!

Thank you all for your wonderful messages of support! Okay................okay....I can now finally see the funny side!  I have just spent a good hour on Paypal and phoned them too for a bit of a moan and I think I have finally cracked it!
Sooooooooooooooooo................madamoiselles........I still haven`t really made any impression in the huge piles of textiles & trims so I have posted a couple of new items and will continue to do just a few at a time over the next few days and hopefully, fingers crossed, legs crossed, eyes crossed, everything crossed, the Paypal links will work.

The simply- chateau brocante that was, then wasn`t , then was ......after a fashion and now might finally be working!!! Oh well, you know nothing is ever normal for me!

Tartellette arrives in Paris from Oregon today and she is going to do the Paris fleas this weekend before we meet up for some serious brocanting next week. I don`t know about you but I can feel some huge pairs of 19th century drapes coming on!!

There is a link to the brocante on the right hand side.
Have a wonderful weekend mes belles!

New link to the brocante !

New link to the right!

I have posted a new link to the online brocante on the right now. Thanks to all for being so patient with the huge blip!! I don`t feel quite so panicked this morning!!


Paypal..................Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!