Monday, July 30, 2012

What I Wear: Pastel Pink

Pastel Pink

Pastel Pink

Pastel Pink

Pastel Pink

Pastel Pink

Pastel Pink

Pastel Pink

Pastel Pink

Pastel Pink

Dress: Zara
High-heeled sandals: Zara
Bag: Moschino
Pearl earrings: Chanel
Sunglasses: Chanel
Rosé-gold watch: Michael Kors
Rings: Mango, H&M
Bracelets: salt-water pearls & silver chains
Nail polishes (from light to dark): Sephora; baby shower afternoon, Sephora; strip poker, Sephora; my first lipp kiss, Rimmel; stiletto red, Sephora; I want more.

Friday, July 27, 2012

Fabulous French Apartments - Guest Post

Bonjour!

Today Jo, the online editor from Hides & Co. will show you
some of France's best apartments interiors. Enjoy!



For as long as I can remember I’ve been fascinated with French culture and
design. I pine for a chic French apartment in a tony Paris neighborhood. For
now, I live vicariously through images of these lovely spaces and by reading
blogs such as French Madame’s. Below are some of my favorite French
apartments and a few comments about each. Which do you like best?




This very French apartment reminds me of a wedding cake with decorative
work on its walls and doors. Even though the space is formal, it is still
quite inviting.




Oh, such a wonderful space! So many pretty elements—the ornately carved
armoire, chevron wood floors, and books everywhere.




This is Christian Lacroix’s 17th century apartment in Paris’ Le Marais
neighborhood. Bright colors, eclectic art and funky furnishings create a space
with so much personality and character. I can picture a zebra print
cowhide rug
in this space with its black accents.




The owners of this elegant French apartment must love entertaining. Their
table for ten fits the modern space beautifully. The light fixtures mimic
paper lanterns.




Mid-century modern furnishings find a home in this very French apartment.
The vivid colors are a departure from many white or pastel decors you find in
similar spaces.




I would love to work from this home office with its chevron floors, tall
windows and white slip-covered furnishings.




This sleek modern kitchen will surely speak to all of you home chefs. I could
definitely see myself cooking up a French dish or two there.




Lots of gold gilding and silk dress this lavender bedroom. The decorative
molding and frieze above the door define the space beautifully.


Jo is the online editor for Hides & Co., a premiere
online source for Argentine cowhides. Their luxurious
cowhide rugs, cowhide pillows, and cowhide furnishings
come from Argentina, a country considered to produce the
finest cowhides in the world. Visit CowHidesRugs.com :)


Images: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Monday, July 23, 2012

Provence: More than Lavender Fields

Last post I made a promise to show you the sights I've been seeing.
Well, where to start?

Let's start with the sight that makes Provence so iconic.

Provence Lavender Fields

Provence Lavender Fields

Provence Lavender Fields


We had a gorgeous ride on our way to Sault, up the mountains and through
the lavender fields.

We also passed Mont Ventoux, the mountain that looks like you're on the moon
and is famous for the Tour du France race.

Mont Ventoux


We did some amazing antique shopping at the market in Isle sur la Sorgues.

Isle sur la Sorgues


Visited the Pont du Gard's iconic bridge.

Pont du Gard

Pont du Gard


Spend a day at the beach. Enjoying the turquoise Côte d'Azur.

Côte d'Azur

Côte d'Azur

Côte d'Azur

Côte d'Azur

And snacked on ice cream. Flavors: tarte Tatin & salted butter caramel. Miam!

We ended that day in Arles. We dined at the restaurant where
Vincent van Gogh painted his iconic 'cafe terrace at night'.

Vincent van Gogh's 'cafe terrace at night'

Looks familiar?

Vincent van Gogh


We also visited Avignon, Uzès, and Vaison la Romaine.

As for me, I experienced the deliciousness of the vino with all its
glorious vineyards.

Danielle Vineyards

Provence


And lastly, the stunning sunflower fields where we had to just stop in our car
to take a picture of.

Sunflower Fields


I hope you enjoyed this tour with me!

If you would like to see even more beautiful pictures of my Provence trip, click here.

And don't forget to follow me on Instagram to see what good (snif) I'm up to each day!
Instagram username: DanielleTdd


Bonne Journee!

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Provence: My Sweet!

Bonsoir!

Everyday since I've been here in Provence, meals have been a feast!

Le petit déjeuner is especially special; grapefruit juice, caramel tea,
baguette, pain au chocolat, croissants, pastries, and so forth.

The bread and pastries are fresh from the bakery each morning and
even for a bread-connoisseur, I'm marveled at how the crust from the
baguette feels so crisp while the center is doughy and dense.

Provence Pastries


The buttery croissants with all their layers have been a highlight as well.
Not to mention the brioche au sucre. I've never tasted a brioche so sweet.

At the local market I bought a Tarte Tropezienne.
A tarte tropezienne is a brioche filled with whipped or pastry cream.
A true Côte d'Azur specialty!

I've made Pierre Hermé's recipe of a Tarte Tropezienne once, see here,
but I've never actually eaten a pâtisserie-bought one before... It was delicieux!

Tarte Tropizienne

Provence Pastries
The rest include: an apricot turnover, raspberry macaron, chocolate éclair,
and a brioche au sucre.



We went to the pope-city Avignon, which is only an half hour drive
from the place we've rented, and I stopped and made an enormous cookie haul
at a sweet little epicurie shop called Autrefois. Anise sablés, fleur
d'oranger cookies, chocolate biscotti, cinnamon cookies, raspberry pinwheels.
You name it, I bought it.

Avignon

Avignon

Avignon

Avignon


At Sault, a village surrounded by lavender fields in the high mountains,
I came across this fine pâtisserie or Nougatier as it is named.

Sault

Sault


For lunch we've been snacking on various tarts...
Strawberry, lemon meringue and raspberry among others.

Provence Pastries

Provence Pastries


I haven't photographed everything yet. I still need to take pictures of the
kitchen (once it is cleaned and tidy again). It's such a lovely French countryside
kitchen filled with copper pans and such. Anyway, next post will be about
the gorgeous countryside views!

I'm relaxing and reading one of my favorite French foodie books, 'Paris: My Sweet'.
And I came across this excerpt which is so fitting for Frenchies and their food:

"Mealtime was sacred. Food was celebrated. It wasn't
forbidden or an enemy for which the French needed gym
memberships, cabbage soup diets, or magic powders and pills."


Mais oui!

Love, Daniëlle

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Provence: French Chic!

Bonjour mes amis!

As promised, I'm showing you the interior of the house I'm staying in here
in Provence. The whole house has has a modern yet rustic, French countryside feel to it.

The owner is a Dutch architect who designed and decorated the house.
She has an amazing sense of style as you can see.

And one of the perks is that the entire house is filled with interior
decoration magazines, which I love to read!


My bedroom:

Provence House Interior


The living room:

Provence House Interior

Provence House Interior

Provence House Interior


One of the larger suites:

Provence House Interior


I adore the tiles of the master bathroom:

Provence House Interior


The kids room:

Provence House


This little outside area is where I do my blogging
(and because it is one of the few places in the house where there's internet):

Provence House Interior


And what's a summer vacation without this?

Provence House Interior


To see more pictures of Provence you can browse my Flickr photostream here.

Next post: the FOOD!!!

Bonne Journée!