Beautiful Belle Inspiration!

a p p r o a c h  t o  t h e  h a m e a u

from the story  "L'Hameau de la Reine Marie Antoinette"

I am thrilled to have my photo story on Marie Antoinette's hameau featured in this month's issue of 

Belle Inspiration Magazine!

You can see the article here

from Belle Inspiration's Facebook page

And what a beautiful issue it is, filled with all things romantic, feminine, fun, and French!

I've found lots of new Etsy shops I need to visit, and also several new blogs I need to check out.  And at under $20 for not just one, but TWO subscriptions, it makes the perfect gift for yourself and a friend!

Thank you Mimi Bleu, for doing such a wonderful, creative job with your magazine!

**********

I haven't posted in two weeks because my internet has been down.  While that was sort of frustrating on one hand, on the other, it was just what I needed to get me off of Pinterest!!!


God's in charge, even with the internet!


So, while I had some time, I finished a 
Mixed Media art piece

played with BooBoo...

And I read a lot of French books...

Cleaned out one of my art storage closets in the mudroom, which looked like this

and now looks like this

except that the counter and sink are now gone, and tomorrow the darling Monsieur Master Carpenter who lives here will begin to transform this space into a new powder room.




I also switched out the stuffing in my globes de mariage, on the fireplace mantle, 

Oh, but I lost that tall one when the big picture frame to the right blew off the wall from the explosion in my fireplace...
I will not tell you about that, except to say


I AM NO LONGER ALLOWED AROUND FIRE!!!!


And I was also tagged by the ever-so-sweet Irina, and have to answer some probing [fun] questions, but that will take some thinking...


There is still room in our 
Photography Workshop in Paris and Normandy
July 6-11

scroll down  to see more samples of our photographic technique
and contact me for more details
iluvfrance@wildblue.net

au revoir,mes belles

dawne

!!Photography Workshop~~PARIS~~July 11-16!!

b o y  w i t h  r e d   b a l l

s i m p l e  b & w, o r...

t e x t u r e d...or...

t h e  "p a i n t e r l y"  p h o t o g r a p h

a n d  e v e n  i P h o n o g r a p h y

at versailles

Dean and I are leading a 
Photography Workshop 
in Paris and Normandy

 July 11-16

We would love to have you join us as we photograph the Eiffel Tower, the Seine, and the streets of Paris,

spend Bastille Day at Versaille,

travel to Monet's gardens at Giverny,

and sleep in a French Château!

All photographers are welcome, 

from beginner to expert.

For more details, please email Dawne at

iluvfrance@wildblue.net 

We Hope to see you HERE!!!

textures by French Kiss Textures and Boccacino

Let Zem Eat Cake!

marie antoinette's hameau at versaille
photo by my husband, romanced by me [ The photo.  Not my husband. Although that has been known to happen,too.]

When last I left you, chers lecteurs, we were headed for Versaille. I taught about Versaille in my Art History class for years from this BOOK, which I bought for the class in 1991. 
[ It really is the best book, and I think I'll buy it for myself.]  But seeing this palace in a book, and seeing it in real life, are very different things. It's mind-blowing, isn't it? We went for the first time in 1998, and we've been there several times since.  This time we didn't feel like going into the rooms, so we parted company with Marie and Christine, and headed for the"backyard".





Even in late autumn, in the rain, with no flowers in the beds, the gardens and grounds are breathtaking.

The original gardens were designed by Andre Le Notre


Now, I am always the navigator, because I always know where I'm going.  Except when I get lost.  And lost, I got.  I took a wrong turn, Zigged when I should have zagged, and we ended up in a place where



NO Man Has Ever Gone

or so it would appear, because as we followed this path

through this hedge, and into what is known as

The King's Garden


The most peaceful park, with color to rival Vermont, and huge, majestic trees,

...there wasn't a tourist to be seen.  Just a private place of touching beauty.  Do yourself a favor, and get lost over on the left side of the back yard and wander into this private garden.  I'll bet it's equally marvelous in the Spring.


After this we strolled back to the Petite Trianon and my favorite of all places on earth, the Hameau of Marie Antoinette. I won't write about the hameau here, as it opens a Pandora's Box of feelings about the rich, decadence and artificiality, and but do click on the link if you have an interest.

choux et poireaux

marlborough tower
m a r l b o r o u g h  t o w e rm a r l b o r o u g h  t o w e r
As for me, I'm just entranced with the fairytale feeling that this spot evokes.It's a photographer's dream.
And as for my title above, did Marie really say  "let them eat cake"?  Popular wisdom today says no, but who can say for sure?  Here's one take on the subject. Personally, I think I prefer this take on Marie and Her Cake from the oh-so-talented Wendy.
I have more pix of the hameau to work on, and tomorrow we'll go to Chartres.
Thank you so much for all your sweet comments on my last post!  We all love France, don't we!!!! 

A bientôt,mes douces!

dawne

The Book of Boo...

"...head for the trees, BooBoo!  I know those trees.  We're almost home!"

I've never been one for New Year's Resolutions. They don't don't seem to have a good reputation for working. Instead, from a young age, I would start off the New Year with a fresh calendar and I would choose a date sufficiently far into the year, and write what I hoped would have happened by then.  Like, at age 7 I might write on the Oct 13 square " I will have a pony by this day"  or when I was 13, "Mark will be my boyfriend by this day" or when I was 21, "I will be engaged by this day".  In the not so distant past, I have been known to write " I will weigh 107 by this day." [!!]

my yearly calendar

Sadly, I don't think any of those things ever happened by "that day", but yet, like Yonks, I'm decidedly optimistic about each and every year, even those "doomed" to be the end of all years!

I mean, I never actually got a pony, but I did end up with lots of horses.  And I never actually ever got engaged, but I eloped with the man of my dreams,
[and after 4 decades it seems to be working].

                                     John Upton
love struck hippies that we were


  
ANYWAY...


One of my favorite Bible verses is from Psalm 37

 via

The usual interpretation is that He will give you what you want.  That may be true.  But I also think it means, that He will "place within your heart" the right desires.


So, as my family sat down to put out into the air our hopes and aspirations for 2012, and after we had expressed our prayer for Peace on Earth, and prayers for physical and emotional healing for friends and family, we each gave one special, personal dream that we would desire for ourselves this year...  


and mine is,


[takes deep breath]


 that I might see my photographs published in a real, appearing-on-Amazon.com-and-in-my-local-bookstore- book. Photos like the one on the top, which is part of a children's story called "The Book of Boo".


I won't place that in a square on my calendar, but I will voice it here.  And I'll come back in a year and check to see what's happened.


Now if only I could find someone to write the words..


And speaking of books, maybe I've been inspired by this... have you ordered your copy?? 

And it is appearing on Amazon.com,here

Kristin's blog was the first one I ever read, back in 2005.  This book is based on the delightful stories from her blog, 
French-Word-a-Day
This book is a great read!

à plus tard, mes copines,

dawne

These three girls...

...were sitting out in front of my gazebo tonight...

[I don't do witches, but I DO do weird...]

I was so honored today to be the recipient of Irina's Blog Award  


[The award was actually for French at Heart, my strictly Photo blog.]

Click on the link to visit her wonderful blog, and then follow the links to see her other two.  They are all beautiful and inspiring.  And also please visit the other 4  lovely blogs! 


Thank you, Irina!!!

And when I get back from France I will play the game, tell you 5 things about myself, and choose 5 other blogs to give this award to. And I will dedicate a blog to Palomasea [Irina]:) 






Also, tonight, this photo was featured on RedBubble's Front Page
[ one of the young girls from my church]

n e v e r m o r e










So, there was more excitement around here today than just packing! I know I owe some blog stops, and I will try to do that from my iPhone in Paris! [ That should be interesting!! :O ]  




Have a fun night, and I'll see you when I return!

Boo!

dawne

Honfleur, la mer, et les amoureux

h o n f l e u r   i n   t h e   r a i n

La mer.  The seashore.  The Coast Of Normandy. A little French fishing village.  Those are phrases that have enticed me ever since I was a child.  And the next stop on our trip, the tiny coastal village of Honfleur, did not disappoint us.  It poured with rain while we were there, but, really, that only added to the charm.

o u r  b r o t h e r  b o b  a n d  h i s  n e w  u m b r e l l a

We ducked into a charming bookstore, and I could have stayed there all day looking at gorgeous books like this, the French version of 

The New 18th Century Home

[which I bought in English, as soon as I got home.  But not with this pretty cover:(]

haha!  I'm looking at this picture now and seeing the book under it:"365 Games to play on the Toilet!"  I did NOT buy that book!! But it does sound intriguing... :))

The rain did let up, eventually.

As we walked around the tiny bay I spied the sweetest couple, young lovers,les amoureux, sharing a delicious concoction of cream and fruit.

"Would you mind If I took your picture". I asked, in my best tourist Franglish. [Something like "Bonjour. Voulez vous permettez moi por takee votre picture, s'il vous plais?"

And, sweet things that they were,not only did they let me take their picture, in minutes we were playing iPhone games and becoming Facebook buddies.  In fact, the young man is using this very photo as his Fb profile picture right now!




Off to the next sweet seaside town of Trouville.  While it rained too hard to entice us to get out of the car at Deauville, it was quite lovely in Trouville. Wonderful shops there!

I would have loved to have taken everything in this shop home to Everafter Farm.  [Except for that adorable little French boy. I don't think his maman would part with him.]  Don't you just love that screen? 

 

There was a branch of the wonderful Parisian store, MERCI,


And across the way from that shop there was an  enchanting window display.  No store, actually.  Just this romantic scene.

Only in France!




Bisous, mes amies
dawne

Off to France!!

bicycle in front of le meurice, paris

took this in 2009, and I hope it's still here!

WE leave tomorrow!!!!

My darling husband, his brother Bob, and I are off to drive through Normandy, Brittany and a dip into the Loire Valley, ending up in Paris for a couple of days before we come home. I've been to the Apple genius to learn some more about my iPhone [ and I DO have Verizon, which does not work in Europe! But I can connect if I find WiFi], have a new gmail email addy, have downloaded my Facebook app, as well as downloaded my French TripLingo with 100 phrases!

Our first stop will be SENLIS, where scores of movies have been filmed [ just saw 

Séraphine  

SEE RANK

again last night. 

Then on to the precious village of Gerberoy,

 the former home of one of my favorite French painters, Henri le Sidaner .

We'll do Honfleur, Trouville, and Deauville, as well as the D-Day beaches, but not spending as much time as we'd like anywhere.  Then to Saint Malo...  

I took this also on our trip in 2009

And then to Mont-Saint-Michel, where we'll sleep on the rock! Can't wait to wake up in the morning and watch the sunrise from the ramparts!

In addition to all this beauty, I'll be meeting up with two of my beautiful artist friends that I met online!

I won't share our whole itinerary here, but I just have to leave you with one picture of the 

Chateau that has been in my head since last winter...

Chateau de la Verrerie

I started my obsession with French chateaux about two years ago, and have been on an internet hunt for one that just felt like "home".  This is it.

le Château de la Verrerie is the prettiest chateau I could find in the Loire valley, and our night there is our Anniversary present to each other.

There's a cool gallery of pix, and I hope you'll picture us walking in the garden at dusk.  We're in the Parma room, and Bob is in the Blue room.

I hope to come back with lots of scrumptious pictures, and will share them with you all.  But mainly, I just pray for a safe and joyful  trip. As one of my dear friends says " I pray the Lord will bubble-wrap you, there and back again!"  [ He always has :)]

Vive La France!!

Bisous, mes amies,

dawne