A touch of luxury.

It seems this blog is destined to have a continuing French flavour. Believe me, this is not a planned thing, despite it being called "The Little French Cupboard."

We had a few friends over for a bonfire this weekend and my dear cousins gave us this most gorgeous scent atomiser. It is just exquisite to hold, and definitely gives you a ooh la la feel when it's used.

Aren't the chocolates beautiful? Ashleigh bought them for me, and I have to say, they are amazing!!! I had already eaten one when I took this picture, as I couldn't resist the temptation. These are definitely designer chocolates. I am a chocolate die hard but seriously, just one of these little pieces of chocolate art really does satisfy the chocolate fix when it's required.

Introducing Squidgy!

With the looming of July 1st, which means no more Google reader, the night was spent switching over to Bloglovin. Caffeine was the call of the evening, as Ashleigh made the techno switch on my blogs behalf. While that was all happening, this little fur ball, made her way onto my china cabinet for a snooze! The enticement to being up there, from her perspective, (remember, need to think like a cat to follow this line of thought) is the fact she is sitting on a little quilt. It's just a stitchery I did years ago, but is technically a quilt. And boy, does she love quilts. Wadding inside, a back, front and hand finished with binding. It would be lucky if it's 12 inches square. I promise, I won't post Squidgy's antics very often on this blog, unless it's absolutely necessary!

Bloglovin!!

Switching to Bloglovin

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'Bon Appetit'!

Our 27th wedding anniversary was celebrated with family to an outing at Chez Olivier in Prahran. This was our families first time to a French restaurant and it didn't disappoint. From the moment we stepped in, we were greeted with 'Bon Soir' in a very beautiful French accent. Our family that joined us, said that it had a very authentic French atmosphere. Since they have been to France and I haven't, (as yet) that's good enough for me.

While the upstairs section was on the smaller side, it did have a great ambiance to it.

Our cousins, Paris and Esther had pre arranged ahead of time to have the table decorated in rose petals, with a single rose placed for myself. Over dinner conversation, they told us they had seen this done in France while there.

No French restaurant would be complete without snails on the menu. I did not try them, (not brave enough yet) but those that did, devoured them!

George had to have oysters. One of the ingredients in the bisque was champagne. Verdict- excellent!!!

My main was Duck a l' orange. Very very rich, but delicious. It was served on a pumpkin puree, and that was magnificent.

With French music playing, I felt like I had been whisked away to Paris for an evening.

I am ultimately a sweets person before savoury, so was looking forward to dessert before the entree's had been served. I chose Crepes Suzette. It was fabulous also.

While I didn't try these, they looked delicious. Tempted by my cousins dessert, I might just have to try the profiteroles next time.

The Little French Cupboard..

With a cupboard discarded by it's previous owners, Ashleigh, (my daughter) saw it's potential and had us bring it home. Having no before photo's, I can't show you how sad it was, but it was definitely calling out to be re-purposed back into a serviceable item. Let's just say, the graffiti inside it and it's multi coloured paintwork, were not going to give this little 'diamond in the rough,' any compliments.

So with a bit of elbow grease, George and I got to work. Sanding, painting and removing the timber from the door inserts, paved the way for some little touches that would in fact turn this ugly old wardrobe, into the Little French Cupboard. When I spotted these hooks at a local hardware store, they were a definite addition to the makeover. You can't get more French than having a Fleur de lis!!

With new door handles and tassels to complete the overall look, the Little French Cupboard is finally finished and ready to go back to Ashleigh's home, where it has a very useful life ahead of it.

Until next time!-Julie.

Bonjour!

Welcome, to The Little French Cupboard!

Here you will find the weekly happenings of all things creative, inspirational and sometimes even nostalgic that my other blog, Heritage Keepsakes, just cannot accommodate.

And what better way to start a new blog than with a little history.

The lady in the photo by her self is my Grandmother, Gertrude Louise. Now I never actually met her, as she passed away before I was born, but she is the person I have to thank for my love of sewing. I was fortunate enough to get that gene passed down from her. Part of the gene pool I am not so thrilled about is the love of chocolate I inherited from her as well. I eat way to much and unlike her, do suffer the consequences if I over indulge! The other lady and gent, are my Great Uncle and Aunt. For the life of me, I can't remember their names, (never met them either) but the lady is the sister to my Grandmother Gertrude.

And lastly, is there a Little French Cupboard? Yes there is, but you'll have to wait for a future blog post to catch a glimpse of it.

Julie.