Bon dimanche!
It's been a very rainy past few days. I woke up this morning to the soft rumble of thunder and then the skies opened once again drenching the gardens with some very much needed rain. Although my hydrangeas would say otherwise.
Overall it has been another busy week editing our stuff. I've been working on the guest room getting all the bits on my checklist done like giving the walls & trim a fresh coat of paint, finally painting the ceiling, adding some trim pieces, hemming the curtains and we will finally finish out the closet & laundry area. Even though we are in the process of "moving" we still want the cottage to be move in ready & get top dollar for our home. So I am getting every little last detail finished in here before the house goes on the market.
Also have a few little bits that need to be worked on for the pop-up next weekend but those are easy to-do's. If you're local, I'll be at the Mount Hope Farmers Market on Saturday June 29th at 9am. I'll have French soaps & market baskets, vintage finds, fresh flowers and some furniture makeovers including a few from the cottage.
Our cottage in France has been getting booked like crazy! This year we only rent it from May to September but next year it will be available year round. Here are the current dates available for this year:
August 9-15th
Sept 1-10th
20% off when you book 7 or more days. Click here to reserve your stay.
Hope you enjoy what I have pulled together this week for you: house hunting in France & my go to salad when it's too hot to cook. Plus my Sunday Saves. xo- Jenna
la maison de chasse
And so it begins….
To update and my new followers, we have made the decision to pack up our lives here in the US and officially move to France. We currently have a holiday home there which we bought 2 years ago but this time we are looking for a more permanent place to call home. We are in the visa application process right now but that shouldn’t deter us from looking to see what’s available in the areas that we want to be. Our wish list isn’t that long:
at least 2 bedrooms/2 bathrooms preferred
doesn’t need a lot of updating
on a good size plot of land
one with a rental property or potential rental on the property
within 20-30 minutes of the current cottage
lastly and most importantly: within our budget
So in our preferred area there are many houses for sale and they range from pristine and pricey to complete gut job. Obviously those are not on our wish list LOL. Our goal is to narrow it down to about 5-6 options that I can go and view in September and then when the hubby is there in October he sees the final ones we have narrowed them down to so we can make an offer.
For first time foreign home owners in France, the process is long and a bit complicated so having a real good realtor to assist you through the process is incredibly helpful. For example in Normandy there are several English speaking realtors because that area of France sees so many UK citizens buying holiday homes there.
Luckily for us we already own a home there so the process should be somewhat easier. we already have a French bank account (this can be a challenge for foreigners), we have an established EDF account (French Energy- this believe it or not is a sign of good credit in France), and we’ve paid all our taxes on time to both the French government & the municipality. In other words, we have a history there.
Things to know when house hunting in France
sometimes they sell the house with everything inside but if you say you don’t want any of the furniture that includes all your appliances so be prepared to buy a new stove & fridge when you say you want the home empty.
all of your paperwork will be in French. None of it will be in English. You you need to be prepared to translate over 300+ pages of information. And there is ALOT from the property assessment to a geological survey of the land.
most things are done old school aka paper trail. We did very few things online when it came to buying our current cottage. So when I say snail mail…. yep it comes via the post office. No FedEx or DHL used here.
you need a bank account with an IBAN number to own a home in France. You cannot pay your bills or taxes via an American bank account. There are too many issues via the American banks that the French don’t like to deal with. Your EDF (electric de France) account is on auto-pay. Actually all utilities are on auto-pay. So make sure you research your area for a bank that will accept foreign residents. We were able to find only one bank in all of Normandy (Credit Agricole) that would assist us. That alone took 3 weeks. So you might want to establish this first before your house hunt.
The price of the house includes realtor fees. However, there are additional notaire fees that can range from 3-10% of the selling price. The notaire is a government-appointed lawyer whose role is essential for all real estate transactions: if property is bought, sold, donated or inherited, a notaire will draft the act, record it, levy the appropriate taxes (such as inheritance taxes), and deliver the deeds of property.
So far we have found a few houses that meet our criteria- 2 we really like. One of the ones we found has already had an offer accepted so that came off the list. Now some of these may not be available when I head there in September which is why every week we look to see if anything new has become available. Hopefully we will know by August 1st if our visa application gets approved and we can start to really get down to the nitty gritty of the home search. And yes… the house in the pic above is one we are looking at.
Salade Nicoise
It’s been HOT & HUMID and I haven’t felt like cooking much. So tonight's dinner is a French classic: salad niçoise.
Originally created in the 19th century in Nice, France it was considered "simple food for poor people". It started as a combination of tomatoes, anchovies & olive oil and then gradually grew from there sometimes including artichokes, red peppers, & black olives but excluded tuna & lettuce. ingredients for this recipe were meant to be crisp , fresh & local and many people in Nice are very particular about what goes into a niçoise.
My version is based on French Michelin-starred chef, Hélène Darroze's recipe. She got a lot of slack by the "niçoise purists" for her version & was warned that it is "dangerous to innovate". I say ...Soyez créatif et amusez-vous! (Be creative and have fun!)
Salade Niçoise (serves 2-4)
- 1 can of tuna in water, drained
- 1 cup of black kalamata olives, pitted
- 2 plum tomatoes, cut in quarters & halved
- 4 hard boiled eggs, cut in half
- 1 handful of french green beans, steamed & chilled
- 8-10 petite yellow potatoes, boiled & chilled
- fresh salad mix ( I use locally grown green mixes)
- 2 tsp good dijon mustard preferably Maille
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
- 2 tsp local honey
- salt & pepper
Fill a pot with potatoes & water. Bring to a boil then simmer for about 15-20min or until fork tender. Drain & place in a bowl in the fridge to cool. Next, use an egg steamer to cook eggs to hard boiled stage. Once cooked, place in cool water to stop the cooking process. Peel eggs and place in bowl in the fridge to cool. Next add a bit of water to a pot and bring to a simmer. Then add a handful of green beans to the pot and cook for about 3-5 min. Drain and place in a bowl in the fridge to cool. While all items are cooling, you can mix the salad dressing. In a bowl add mustard, honey, vinegar, olive oil, salt & pepper. Whisk until thick & blended. Set aside.
Time to assemble the salad. I like to use a large serving platter. First place the lettuce across the bottom. Then start to add the toppings in sections: tomatoes, olives, drained tuna, green beans. Cut the hard boiled eggs in half and add to the plate. For the potatoes, chop some fresh parsley and add it to the bowl with the potatoes. Add the lemon zest and drizzle with olive oil. Stir and then add to the platter. Season entire platter with salt & pepper. Serve dressing on the side.
This is my favorite egg steamer. Cooks them perfectly every time! *
Sunday Saves
Hope you enjoy what I have gathered for you this week!
Have you ever heard of the “Chelsea Chop”? This is a gardening technique in the UK for certain plants to promote repeat blooming. My phlox is about to get chopped today. Here’s 11 plants that benefit from the Chelsea Chop.
Diptyque has just released their limited edition “City Candle Collection”. Mais bien sur the Paris one is my favorite! * FYI…they are only available for 1 week!
Bienvenue L’ete! (Welcome Summer!) Here’s How Summer Solstice Is Celebrated Around the World
How to Avoid Dressing Like a Tourist in Paris via VogueWorld
5 Herb Combinations That Should Never Be Planted Together (good to know if you are container gardening)
This neck fan was the best thing I bought last year. * On those really hot & humid days I stayed nice and cool on the farm. It’s a USB charge so I plug it in when I get home and it’s ready for the next day.
I have been living in this comfy drawstring pants so far this summer. I have them in both beige and navy. *
Our kitchen will be getting a refresh too and I am loving the simplicity of this inspiration kitchen from DeVol kitchens. Have you ever watched their series on HBOMax? Love it! So inspiring.
Some of you have asked about the guest room updates. I am painting the walls & trim in Pure White from Jolie Paints. Eggshell for the walls and semi-gloss for the trim and door. I love their paint because it costs the same as SW or BM ut the low voc makes it so we can be in the room right away. The beautiful wallpaper feature wall from Serena & Lily is staying. Did you know it now comes in peel & stick? * and it’s ON SALE!
*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