Summer issue of Romantic Country caught me by Surprise!

Hello there!

 What a surprise I had yesterday when I opened the summer issue of Romantic Country while standing at a magazine stand!  As I flipped through the pages, I came to a purple pillow that looked very much like the one I have on my bed...hmmmm.  It took a few seconds to register and then I realized.. hey that IS my pillow AND my bed!

Even though the cottage as been featured a couple of other times here and here, it is still exciting!

Jeanne d'Arc Living magazine has certainly influenced my style this time around with a lot of white and gray.  I repainted every ivory surface WHITE leading up to the shoot last summer and was finally ready when Fifi called me for the second time.

You'll see my awesome bottle collection in the article; of which three sun purple ones came from Fifi as a gift.  When we started

our dialogue about the photo shoot I asked her where I could find some and voila, three appeared in the mail.  So sweet of her.

Gotta love these two colors together to bring the whites and gray to life!

They have since been moved to the found driftwood shelf in the living room above the t.v. (which is on the white buffet in the top picture). 

What you won't see in the feature but is mentioned is my original weathered street sign.

When you pick up the issue, look for the article on Vintageweave Interiors in southern CA too.  A really great shop for treasures from Paris.

I hope you'll look for a surprise in your day today!

xoRoberta

shoot! the pink peonies were left out of the shoot!

Hello Everyone ~  I finally met sweet Fifi and had such a great day with her and Mark as they shared interesting stories about their ramblings across the USA together shooting for various magazines and Fifi's new book. 

 As Mark invited me to examine the 'captures' on the computer screen after each shot, I learned a few tricks while shadowing him!  Fifi is a living doll with her charming French accent as she humbly goes about her styling and I so enjoyed sitting and chatting with her while Mark honed in on the vignettes.

We were off to a late start as they encountered horrible weather the day before but when they arrived, it was beautiful!  Too bad we didn't start outside on the deck because as time wore on, the sun hid behind the clouds and when it began to rain, we hurriedly brought the curtains, linens and vintage wine basket with my garden peonies in to the bedroom.  And there it sat as we continued on with the day.... 

At one point Fifi was looking for something tall for the desktop as the perfect vintage wine basket with the beautiful pink peonies sat forgotten on the bedroom floor.

Of course I shot dozens of pics soon after they drove away and more again today.  Preparing for a photo shoot is hard work and as much as one prepares there is always something you would have done differently.  Oh well. What I'm looking forward to is seeing Fifi and Mark's work in print.  I know it will be fabulous and I'll have no regrets!

  Thanks so much Fifi! I enjoyed every minute of it!

                                xoRoberta

Lilacs and the photo shoot

Hello Everyone!
 My lilacs have finally bloomed!  I planted this bush outside the kitchen window three years ago and I can finally see the starburst blooms while washing dishes!  Why did I wait so long?  It's been so cool and rainy lately that I haven't been tempted to open the window for a whiff of their lovely scent though.

Instead, I'm very happy to cut my first blooms for the coffee table.  What a difference fresh flowers make! 

The sparkling crushed shells make a nice base to place some pretty things on. Very beachy and I love the texture.  I found it at JoAnne's Fabrics.

I need to find a bigger candle for the glass holder before the photo shoot with Fifi & Mark in June. Just working on some last minute things now.  One more piece of furniture to paint, a chandelier to hang and the search is on for the perfect pair of panels for the bedroom door. A great opportunity to get some things done that I've been wanting to accomplish for a while now!

Tracey from French Larkspur just had her photo shoot with Fifi.  Can't wait to see her beautiful home in an upcoming Jeanne d'Arc magazine!   AND, I'll be featuring Tracey's mantel for June so be sure to stop by for that next week.

Hope you have a great Memorial Day weekend!  I'll post some pics of my trip to Bountiful in Venice, CA soon.

Roberta