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French Subscription Box June Edition – Opened and Revealed

June French Subscription Box Gifts Revealed

This first box is a very special one that was created just for our lovely customers during this extraordinary time of isolation and uncertainty when it's been important to stay at home when we can, keep ourselves healthy and find activities that relax us. That’s why we themed it ‘Rejuvenate & Take Care’.

So now that all our ladies have received their box and opened it, I'm delighted to reveal the items included in the June box and share a bit of the story behind the designers, company owners and French background of each of the products.

Ritz Hotel Paris and A French Afternoon Tea

Ritz Hotel Paris

Imagine feasting on a luxurious and delicious afternoon tea taken in surroundings reminiscent of the Belle Epoque period and in one of the most famous of all Parisian hotels. Sound wonderful? Well, read on about the Ritz Hotel Paris and their special "French-style teatime".

French-teatime is typically a teatime with petite cakes and bite sized morsels enjoyed late in the afternoon and in the company of friends and is associated with a genteel style of living so you can understand why the Ritz offers their own special French-teatime.

Baked Camembert Cheese with Rosemary Recipe

Baked Camembert Cheese with Rosemary

France produces so many cheeses, 246 counted at one stage, and as famously quoted by Charles de Gaulle "How can anyone govern a nation that has 246 different kinds of cheese", it is even a symbol of France and the country's cultural diversity.

Cheese is an easy entertainer and sometimes we like to offer baked cheese as part of our dinner menu to guests, or enjoy a hot, oozy baked cheese as a late night snack ourselves.

Baking cheese is so quick and easy and by adding a spring of rosemary or lavender you can create an elegant and fragrant snack, addition to your cheese platter or delicious side dish.

Marie Antoinette Estate and Queen’s Hamlet, Versailles – A Visitor’s Guide

Marie Antoinette Estate and Queen's Hamlet at Versailles

Marie Antoinette is the only queen who imposed her personal tastes on Versailles and the Trianon Estate, which her husband Louis XVI gave to her in 1774. She escaped the rigours of court etiquette in her private Petite Trianon and its surrounding gardens, theatre and in her own fairytale hamlet, where no one could enter without her personal invitation.

Wishing for a simpler life away from the pomp and political turmoil of the times she escaped to the Trianon Estate, which while only a thirty minute or so walk away from the palace, was worlds away in terms of appearance and ambiance. This Estate is truly my favourite area of Versailles and is always much less populated by the massive crowds that visit Chateau Versailles. Sometimes you have the paths around the gardens almost to yourself, and it doesn't take much imagination to understand why the young queen loved her Estate so much.

Josselin – 5 Top Things to See and Do

Josselin is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France and is classified as a Petite Cité de Caractère (small town of character). The town is absolutely charming with a huge stone walled château, half timbered buildings, pretty river with boats to hire and great cafes and boutiques to explore. Josselin welcomes thousands of visitors every year and it’s easy to see why.

Exploring Josselin on a warm summer’s day with friends is one of my happy memories and in this post I’ll share what I think are the top 5 things to do and see in Josselin and why this town qualifies as a Petite Cité de Caractère of Brittany. I loved Château de Josselin, the Musée de Poupées (museum of dolls), walking along the river and eating lunch in the town square.

Marche Saint-Ouen (les Puces), Paris – The Largest Antique Market in the World

Marché aux Puces de Saint-Ouen or Les Puces, Paris

Antiques and vintage your thing? Then you’ll love Marché aux Puces de Saint-Ouen, or Les Puces de Saint-Ouen. This huge market, which the Parisians simply call Les Puces is the collection of a numerous smaller markets made of many stallholders. If you hear the market referred to as les Puces de Clignancourt by the locals, that's because they are referring to the Métro stop and périphérique entrance/exit here. The first time I went I really only scratched the surface of what was available, but my subsequent visits have made up for that and I have spent many happy hours finding items for my French house.

Fête des Voisins or Neighbours Day

Fête des Voisins or Neighbour’s Day - A French Tradition

How well do you know your neighbours? Maybe not as well as you would like? Possibly you leave early each morning and don't return till later in the dark? Then let's take a leaf out of the traditional celebration calendar of the French and celebrate Fête des Voisins. This annual festival is a great chance to spend time with your neighbours and get to really know the people that live around you.

Fête des Voisins, literally means neighbour’s day and is celebrated on the last Friday of May each year. The idea was created in France and is now observed around the world.

Essential Elements of French Country Cottage Style Decorating

Decorating your home in a French country cottage style is very popular and while there are essential elements to achieving this style there is also plenty of scope to customise and personalise your home in the look of a French country cottage style.

French Country Cottage Style Decorating is Easy

Before we look at the essential elements of this style, let’s consider what the mountain chalets of Alsace, country homes of Normandy, coastal apartments of Cote d’Azur and family chateaux throughout France all have in common?

Well, they’re all someone’s home where they live, love, entertain and maybe work from, just the same as your home and mine. We fill our homes with the necessary, the precious and the sentimental to create our very own living space. Creating a home, even if following a particular style, should always be about what feels you with joy and works for your family’s needs. (Read more about my home in France)

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