Cottage & Countryside Living
Bon dimanche!
Another week has come & gone here in the countryside. That old saying “Rome wasn't built in a day” has rung true as we have been unpacking our new home as well as trying to get the flower farm started. It's been an overwhelming week going through everything. The days are long here and it doesn't help that the sun doesn't set until 10:30. We keep the coffee flowing and the boxes get emptied.
Progress has been made on both parts just not as much as we hoped. When you move you think sometimes that just unpacking everything will make it just like the old house. But no…this a new house with a different layout, different storage, different windows, different everything.
So let's look at what did get done this week.With the house, the wallpaper is finally off all the walls and the tile baseboard taken off. I found the most AMAZING product to help me get that wallpaper off the walls but alas it's only available here. We had another snafu with our paint order (they sent the wrong color) so the floors are on hold for now. So now we can focus on wall repair and getting them primed. Originally we planned on doing Rolling Fog Light in the salon but after taking down the wallpaper and redoing the wall samples we decided to go just a bit lighter: Rolling Fog Pale (bottom color in picture above) which is the ceiling color at the cottage. It's going to keep this room light and bright during the day, yet cozy in the evening. But while we wait for the paint issue to be resolved, we had a few other things checked off the list: internet finally got installed and the flower farm land got tilled. Yay! We had like no signal on our phones so it was hard to get anything done. As for the flower farm field, we realized this was a task we needed to outsource. We didn't have the tools or the strength to tackle such a huge task.
It means I was finally able to start planting. And digging. And planting. And digging. Lots & lots of digging! Luckily I had started some of my dahlia tubers at the cottage in pots which means that some of them are on schedule. But most of the tubers were just planted this week. I'm probably about 3 to 4 weeks behind for the season but I am happy that at least they are all in the ground now. I planted over 400 dahlia tubers for my first year so I think(I hope) that we will have a successful harvest with that amount planted. I also started getting the seedlings in the ground & direct seeding things like zinnias and cosmos. There is still more to do…literally every day I'm in the field prepping beds for planting. Moving soil, building raised beds, digging up or relocating existing plants…it's been non-stop since we got here. I know this year will be the hardest, most labor intensive part of starting this business. But I know it will be worth it in the end. Plus I'm planning for the years to come: what shrubs & perennials need to be ordered, what flowers do I want to have for the season, where things will go- mapping the field, how will I advertise/drive business, etc. This is a long game…starting a new business, so I need to make sure I am making smart decisions, reaching out to people when I need counsel or advice, and believe in myself that I can do this for us.
So what's this week's agenda?
Continue planting in the field
Build more raised beds
Continue digging the potager beds in prep for planting
Finish planting the hedge in our main garden
Prime the walls in the salon
Propagate some hydrangeas
Laundry (lots of laundry)
Get the coop area ready for chickens
Amazon returns! Got get them boxed up and ready to go.
Reopen the Etsy shop ….with some new vintage finds added
Until next week!
Á bientôt
Sunday Saves
Things that caught my eye this week…
I ordered these mugs and these espresso cups from Anthropology. They are so adorable! Tres chic 💙
Cordelia de Castellane's French garden is an abundant haven of beautiful flowers. I am hoping to do some of these gorgeous ideas in our private garden which will be filled with blue/purple and white blooms.
Where should your living room TV go? Designers weigh in on the best spots. We were back and forth on adding a tv in the salon. But then realized it made sense to have one there. Just a smaller one that we can do artwork on the screen saver so it doesn't look like a big black hole.
For my birthday, the hubby treated me (well us) to the most amazing coffee machine for the new house. This was an investment but it is something we use multiple times a day. Now we just need to find our favorite beans.
The Difference Between Deadheading and Pruning (and Why You Should Do Both). I am in a never ending cycle of this at the farm between all the fruit & nut trees and all the flowering shrubs I want to keep.
“This May Be One of the Most Affordable Summers to Fly Internationally in Years,” Says Flight Deals Expert. And if you are looking for a place to stay in the French countryside, our little cottage is available to rent via Airbnb.
How to Get Rid of Flies Inside and Outside of Your House, According to Insect Experts. This one I've been looking up A LOT this week as flies are everywhere in the countryside. BTW…the coke bottle thing they suggested doesn't work. It works for wasps but not flies.
Lupin Part 4 Is Now in Production in Paris I am soooo excited about this! If you haven't watched this series about the “Gentleman thief” it's definitely worth a binge watch….plus it's a great way to learn some French.
Jo Malone (my favorite perfume company) has teamed up with Little Greene Paint Company (my new favorite paint brand) to create a limited edition candle collection. Of course the blue one is my favorite!
Recipe find: Blanquette de la mer Here in lower Normandy, Seafood is king! We are only 30 minutes to the coast where some of the freshest seafood is caught. For this recipe I used mussels (moules), shrimp (crevette) and scallops (coquilles saint-jacques). Serve with a crusty baguette and a salade verte.
Thanks for reading Cottage & Countryside Living! This post is public so feel free to share it by clicking the link below. Also if you enjoyed this week’s newsletter, show your support by clicking the heart or leaving a comment. This helps my newsletter reach more people on Substack (which btw is #26 in design blogs on Substack 🥰)Merci!