Bonjour!
It’s been another whirlwind week and time seems to be flying by. Never enough hours in the day to get every thing I need to get done. On the other hand, I also procrastinated on a few projects so only have myself to blame on that.
This week was my July pop-up at Mount Hope Farm. It was great to see so many of you and thank you all for supporting my little business. So many of you are excited for our journey to France and I can’t wait to take you all along for the ride.
So now my focus this week turns to our yard sale this Saturday. As we continue to go through MORE stuff, it is actually quite refreshing to do this purge. I don’t know why we as a society keep so much stuff in our homes especially things we don’t use or really love.
I am also working on photographing all my current available furniture pieces from the shop & from my home. Make sure you are following my Blanc & Bleu Instagram page- I will be posting them there along with measurements & pricing.
Things are also picking up at the flower farm as so much continues to bloom each day. We are getting closer and closer to the dahlias being in bloom and I can’t wait. In my own garden, things are starting to change as well. I’ve been working on the potager getting spent plants pulled out, amending the soil & starting to seed for Fall crops. Also I’ve been cleaning up & organizing for the next owners of the cottage.
Hope you all enjoy what bits I’ve pulled together for you this week!
xo- Jenna
Jeux Olympiques
Friday kicked off the opening ceremony from the beautiful city of lights-Paris. Mais bien sur- the French created an opening ceremony like no other. Instead of a traditional stadium that all the athletes enter, they used the city itself and the Seine River to bring all the athletes together below the other icon of Paris- le tour de Eiffel. There was music, can-can dancers, trapeze artists, ballet dancers, opera singers and so much more! There were some amazing performances (uh…Celine Dion OMG) and some performances many Americans I hate to say just didn’t get or found vulgar or blasphemous. For example and yes I am dipping my toe in the stream of controversary here, the drag queen performance at the table (to be honest I did not watch because I was loading the van for the pop-up at the time) has sparked HUGE controversary here in the US. Like every news station is STILL talking about it. However, if people dug a bit deeper, it was not a depiction of the Last Supper, but rather a nod to a Bacchanalia celebration which was a festival honoring Dionysus in Greek mythology. FYI… the Olympics originated in Greece. Not to mention, France is a Catholic country. A VERY Catholic country- I hardly think that they would do anything to insult a very holy scene such as the last supper on world wide television. France is more than croissants, baguettes and berets (yes I am talking to the stereotype minds) and I think the commentary on the opening ceremony from the American point of view was a bit bias. The culture, the history, the people of France….there is ALOT there and if we (Americans) took the time to learn more before jumping to conclusions or making assumptions we might learn a thing or two. I say that with any other culture. Not to mention the ceremony was art… some things you get, some things you don’t. It’s ok to love it, it’s also ok to not like it. But I feel it is important to know the facts, the history before jumping to conclusions.
Ok now on to some fun stuff about this years Olympics:
Everything to Know About the History-Making Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony via Time Magazine
Chateau Versailles is hosting several Olympic competitions on the grounds
18 Weird Facts About the Olympics Through the Years via Country Living Magazine
10 specialty drinks and French cocktails to toast the Paris Olympics
The 15 Most Iconic French Foods in Honor of the Summer Olympics
Project Progress
I am at that point where I feel like I have a billion different projects happening in the cottage at once. From furniture makeovers to sink installations, we have been going room by room, editing the items we can live without, finishing any to-do’s in that space and getting things ready for the move as well as when we need to list the cottage. Honestly, it’s a bit overwhelming as it seems like my list keeps getting longer & longer. For example, the bar cabinet has been a work in progress for weeks. This morning I installed the doors & hardware on the bar cabinet. Last Wednesday I installed the wallpaper inside, 2 weeks ago I painted it. 3 weeks ago I added the appliques & removed the top edging. 8 months ago I bought this piece on Facebook marketplace where it sat in the garage waiting for me to get my act together. I still have to finish antiquing it & seal it and then get a marble top made for it. All for a piece that I am unsure if I will keep & take it to France with us or if I will sell it. My goal is to have all our projects done by September so the clock is ticking. Can I get them all done by my deadline? Stay tuned to find out!
I ordered another set of the vichy check curtains for the dining room that we installed in the snug. This time I ordered the “save with used” option and to be honest I couldn’t tell the difference between them and new ones I bought and I saved myself a few dollars. *
The cabinet color is a custom blend of Jolie Paints French Grey & Gentleman’s Blue in equal parts. *
I love using these furniture rollers when I am painting or refinishing furniture. Makes it easy to move & paint the piece. They are great for moving furniture or appliances too! *
Patience is a virtue
The one thing I have learned with garden is patience. Now am I antsy from time to time…yes! But this hydrangea border taught me that not everything needs to be instant satisfaction. In 2020, we had the driveway repaved and expanded a bit. Which gave us a narrower section between us and the neighbors. I knew I wanted to do a border hedge but was torn on which shrub to do until saw Bre Doucette’s limelight border on Instagram. I got so excited that I immediately looked for hydrangea shrubs. I knew i wanted them smaller so that they would get solid & established but I wasn’t expecting the size of the hydrangeas when they arrived. they were 4’ pots from Jackson & Perkins and they looked so tiny for the price we paid. But my heart said trust the process with them. My hubby on the other hand was super disappointed & thought we got ripped off. So I planted them in October of 2020 and hoped for the best. Then in Spring we noticed they doubled in size. Hmmm we thought maybe they are ok. By the Fall they actually had a few blooms that I immediately cut off to encourage a stronger plant. The following year they leaped and were about 3 feet tall and filled with blooms that Fall. Here we are 4 years later and they are about 6 feet tall filled with blooms top to bottom and we added the lavender hedge below them. I know these will get even bigger in years to come and provide the new homeowners with lots of beautiful blooms. But all it took was a patience knowing that bigger beautiful things would come from these tiny little plants that we originally doubted. Even the hubby is amazed that he doubted that they would grow like that. Moral of the story…. have some faith it will all work out.
These are the hydrangeas we planted. Now these are 2-quart pots vs the 4 inch pots we had received but they are also established & more expensive. (They no longer sell the tiny ones we got) But when you buy in bulk they discount them and there is free shipping over $50.
Sunday Saves
Just a few things that caught my eye this week….
10 Calming Colors to Paint Your Walls, According to Interior Designers I thought this was a good read since I am painting the walls here at the cottage and will be painting once we move to France :)
I ordered these rain boots for the farm. They are really solid and comfortable and surprisingly under $30. *
I ordered these signs for our garage/yard sale. This way I can keep using them over and over. BTW.. our yard sale is this Saturday! Reply below to get address details
My favorite eye treatment oil from Farmaesthetics is now available on Amazon’s subscribe & save! I love this stuff!!! It’s not only an eye makeup remover but it helps with puffy eyes & wrinkles. This is a must have in your beauty bag and you support a small business too. *
How to Clean an Entire Bathroom Like a Cleaning Pro, So It Actually Stays Spotless Now that bathroom projects ae just about complete you know I am going to be doing every single step from this article
11 Affordable French Fashion Brands For Your Inner Parisienne
Looking for a good summer dessert? Try this: Alsatian Blueberry Tart
Still time for you to pre-order my friend Cat’s first cookbook: French Kitchen Lessons: Recipes & Stories from Normandy's Rabbit Hill Farm *
*Please note that some of the links are affiliate links including my Amazon shop where I do make a very small commission at no additional cost to you when you shop my links which helps me continue to provide this free weekly newsletter.
As always….Merci beaucoup for your patronage! xo- Jenna