Pop-Up Sale! 1 Day only!

SALE!!  1 Day only!!!    Today marks the 220th anniversary date of Marie Antoinette's execution.

To honor her memory I am offering a beautiful golden antique locket necklace filled with photographs that I personally took of her bedroom ceiling at Chateau Fountainebleau on my last trip to France.  

Gorgeous painted angels and cherubs that Marie's eyes once gazed upon, grace this beautiful one of a kind antique necklace.  

This one of a kind necklace is on sale for 20% off with FREE shipping too.  Click HERE to come shop and save.

Merci mon amies - Vive la Reine!   ~ xoxo ~ Joy




 

Paris Photo Collage Project

Last weekend my hubby and I worked on a wall collage project.   I converted some of our favorite photos from Paris into black & white images and framed them in simple silver frames that I found on sale at Michaels.

It looks like a simple project but it took nearly 3 hours for us to hang 12 pictures...LOL...there was math involved...there were rulers and level bars involved.....there were templates cut to use as guiding placement layouts....it took FOREVER to make sure everything lined up straight.   We tried our best to avoid ending up with 1,000 holes in the wall trying to hang these.....

 

But we like the results.  It looks like a mini-gallery now.

 

 

 

 

Whenever we walk through this room now, we are reminded of our special trip and all the beauty we saw in Paris,  We also get a kick out of the fact that these are photographs that we both took.  Neither one of us are professional photographers, but thanks to Photoshop, we do an OK job.  

 

 

 

 

This area is located in the dining room of our new home that we just finished renovating.  For those interested in the details:  the wall color is Sherwin Williams Urban Putty and our new wood floors are Mohawk Hardwood Flooring in Soft Scraped Maple Cognac.   The buffet is a $60 vintage find and is one of my DIY makeover projects that I painted using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old White and then glazed with Annie Sloan Clear and Dark Wax.  The Louis chairs are new reproductions that I purchased from Matter Brothers Furniture and they were my biggest splurge for the room, but I LOVE them!  The Mercury Glass lamps and carved & gilded wood box are from Home Goods.  The Venetian Glass mirror is from Bassett Mirror Company.

 

Slow and steady, our projects are coming together and we are starting to feel like we are home.

 

xoxo ~ Joy

LOVE LOVE LOVE working with these antique Edwardian era paste rhinestone lockets! This beauty was found in an antique shop in London and is now looking for a new home. ~ xo Joy

Just Listed!!!

New jewels are being added to the website!

Stop by to see what's new.  Click HERE to come visit.  ~ xoxo Joy

The Paris Memories Continue...

It rains in Paris.  A LOT.  During our 2 weeks there, we only had 1 day of sunshine.  It rained every other single day.  But Paris in the rain is still beautiful. 

One of the first things we did before leaving the airport was to purchase Museum Passes.  Ours were good for 7 days and you could see as many museums as you wish.  They also get you quick entrance so you don't have to stand in long lines at the museum ticket office.  We could use the express lane!  The Louvre for one, is notorious for lines that take hours to get through.  If you go to Paris, get a museum pass!

One very beautiful museum is the Musee des Arts Decoratifs.  It is located at the end of the Louvre and it is dedicated to all things interior design wise...especially 18th century. The wonderful thing about museums in Paris is that you can walk around rooms like you were a guest in a private home.  Every museum we visited allowed photos, with the exception of the D'Orsay.  You just can't use your flash.  I was in heaven.....

An 18th century salon....

...a royal jewelry box.....

.....18th century perfume bottles......

.....a display of chairs owned by royalty........

....an original chair that belonged to Marie Antoinette......

......china that belonged to Madame Du Barry......

Another 18th century devoted museum is Musee Carnavalet.....once a private home now a museum filled with treasures.....

Notice the worn stone stairway.  You can see the wear from ancient footsteps that have worn the stone smooth over centuries of use.......

It took everything I had not to crawl into this gorgeous bed for a quick power nap.......

Hallways were filled with paintings by my favorite French artists....Francois Boucher and Jean Honore Fragonard....

.....and this delightful treasure......a small sculpture of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette that was a gift given to the royal couple.

Thanks for your visit....hope you enjoyed a small sample of some of the beauty Paris has to offer.  Merci mon amies ~ xoxo ~ Joy

 

 



 

 

Remembering Paris....

It was just a year ago this weekend that my hubby and I boarded an Air France jet for Paris.  We were reminiscing all weekend long saying to each other...."this exact time last year we were....." 

In honor of the anniversary, this weekend we enjoyed croissants, French beer and wine, and Sunday night dinner was Paris Chicken.  We also enjoyed looking over our photo albums and I thought I would share some of my favorite photos with you.

We stayed for 2 weeks in this charming apartment located just a block and a half from the Louvre on Rue Saint Honore.  We booked our apartment thru HERE and their services were great and I will use them for our next trip.

Our apartment was located above a Boulangerie & Patisserie and every morning around 5:00 am we would be awaken by the delicious smells of fresh bread and pastries being baked in the shop below.   It was a memorable and delicious way to start our day!

We made a beeline for the Eiffel Tower.  My long held dream has been to go to the top of the tower, kiss my husband and drink champagne.  Check.

Then off to photograph the most beautiful city in the world.  I was packing my big girl camera!

For our first full day in Paris, we blocked a whole day for the Louvre.  Exploring every nook and cranny that we could find....and there are lots!  You can't see the Louvre in a day....but we did our best. 

The famous glass pyramid is really an entrance.....this is what you see from below.....

The art is jaw dropping in beauty and scale....

....and the ceilings are every bit as beautiful as the art hanging on the walls.....

Everyone makes a run for the Mona Lisa first.  I found taking a photo of those trying to get close and take a photo of Mona more interesting.......

....then everyone runs for Winged Victory.  It is stunning to see her in all her glory.

Personally, I found some of the interior stairways to be the most beautiful and peaceful places inside the Louvre.....

....and after walking miles and miles that day, even a marble bed looks like a comfortable place to take a rest!

Every little thing your eyes take in is beautiful in detail and photo worthy....some of my favorite photos were the ones I took looking outside thru centuries old windows and glass panes....

On the way back to our apartment, we enjoyed a stroll through the Tuileries gardens.  I have read about these gardens for so many years and to finally be able to take in the beauty of this special place was a dream come true.  Day One in Paris - done!!!

Although we were there just a year ago, sometimes it seems like just yesterday and other times it seems like a lifetime ago.  Paris is enchanting and she gets under your skin.  I know that I will visit her again, it may not be soon, but someday I will return.  Until then, I have my photos and sweet memories and thank you for allowing me to share these with you here in my little corner of blogland.   More photos to come over the next week or so :)   ~ Mercie mon amies ~ xoxo Joy

New for Fall!

....adding some new pretties to the website today!   xoxo ~ Joy