France + All Things French
Pretty pink geraniums cascading from balcony window flower boxes is a classic image of Brittany that many travellers to France dream of seeing for themselves when touring the northwest. Mass planted and overflowing window flower boxes are both charming and romantic.
Geraniums are a timeless choice for window boxes as they are versatile plants that can grow in almost any location, and they come in a multitude of colours.
French country kitchens are the centre of the home where family and friends gather and cooking rules! French country kitchen style is a rustic chic style which is loved around the world, and by following a few essential design and decor fundamentals, you can create a French country kitchen for yourself anywhere too.
If you can't get yourself to France to purchase French branded products or source antique market finds, then maybe sympathetically and locally sourced or online products (while keeping true to style), is the answer for you. After living part-time in France for 16 years, I've noticed how the French decorate and use their kitchens and how important a role this room plays in their everyday lives. Whether it's a huge kitchen in the lower part of a chateau or a smaller room in a village home, there are recurring colours, architectural features, classic furniture pieces and quintessential cooking and decor items.
Hanging a wreath on your front door is a traditional way of decorating your home at any time, but particularly at Christmas. In this post I share how to make a wreath from foraged greenery and easy-to-find garden flowers. I regularly hang a wreath on my front doors, both at my homes in France and Australia. (Photo above is the front door of my country home in France.) The wreaths differ a little at each of my homes and tell their own seasonal story, but all add a little charm and especially at Easter, they add a pop of colour.
In France I hand-make my wreaths with greenery I forage. This is a simple and fresh way to create a wreath instead of buying a pre-made wreath. Creating your own door décor is a wonderful way to impart your unique style and make the most of seasonal bounties. I love using hydrangeas at the peak of their summer brightness, and also as they turn colour during autumn. Bright yellows and the rich tones of oranges in ferns, heather and deciduous trees during autumn, also make colourful wreaths. Mistletoe and holly are traditional Christmas choices.
Easter in France, or Pâques, is an important holiday. It's religious, but also a great time for family gatherings, and of course time off work with a three day weekend. It's all about delicious food around the family table, egg hunting and relaxing on the long weekend.
Easter fun also means decorating your home and adding little personal touches to welcome family and friends around the dinner table, or to their guest bedrooms during the holiday. Hiding eggs for kids' egg hunts is one of the best parts of Easter I think. My children are older now so we don't have 'hunts', but I remember them well, especially on the occasions we invited their friends to join in on the hunt!
Today I thought I'd share some thoughts on how I'm preparing to live in France for an extended time and especially as my family will be remaining in Australia mostly while I'm away. Thinking this might be helpful for you in case you also have plans to one day live for some time in another country, these are my personal preparation plans and what's been happening over at my house for the last week or so.
Just for context, our family have a second home in a tiny farming village deep in the Brittany countryside that we have been visiting on and off over the last 12 years. We are now entering the next stage of our life with independent grown children and starting to make plans to see if we can create a life in France for ourselves on a more permanent basis. As with all major life changes, we are being flexible and taking it one step at a time.
At the time of writing this blog post we are almost about to say 'bonjour' to the month of February and I can't help thinking how my life has changed over the last twelve months. I am sure your life has changed dramatically also. While we all deal with our different situations I really believe it is not a time to judge others and what they are struggling with or missing from their life pre-Covid.
I'll share with you what I am struggling with at the moment and how I am keeping positive and busy while I'm in lockout from France.
Guest post by my friend Keith Van Sickle, part-time Frenchman and author of One Sip At A Time, a guide to learning to live in Provence…
My wife and I spend several months each year in Provence and it’s allowed us to learn the language and appreciate French culture. We knew before we moved there that food and wine are a big part of French life but we didn’t realise quite how big until our neighbour Fabienne gave us a “taste” of real French life…
It was Fabienne’s birthday and she was kind enough to invite us to her party. She and her husband Pierre had set up tables in their garden, with coloured tablecloths and umbrellas to keep the sun off our heads. I hoped my French would be good enough to get by.
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Are you dreaming of owning your own slice of rural heaven in France? If so, have you wondered how you would maintain a French house from afar? And is the reality as good as you may have dreamt?
I say the reality is even better than the dream and buying our holiday home in France has been one of the most satisfying and rewarding things we’ve ever done. Don’t be deceived though into thinking that means it has always been easy, it has had its challenges, but it has been wonderful and I cannot imagine my life’s book without its ‘French Chapter’.
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