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Showing posts with label vintage French. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vintage French. Show all posts
The October Sale!!!
Well, here we are in October. Can you believe it is holiday season already? I am going to get prepared for the holidays early this year. I spent three weeks last year trying to find non-LED lights in Paris for the Christmas tree. It was a bloody disaster, as you recall. A Halloween pumpkin in Paris? You will probably have to make do with a large squash. A Thanksgiving turkey? Don’t hold your breath.
However, I will say that Paris is chock full of the
accoutrements for the holidays and they do it better than anyone else.
Tablecloths, soup tureens, serving platters, monogrammed napkins, dessert
forks, crystal glasses… Everything you need for the holidays.
And that brings us to the theme of the October sale. The
fall holidays! So let’s get started…
The October sale starts this Friday, October 9th,
at 10 AM Pacific Standard Time.
As always, I have my favorites…
For the past 20 years, I have had a small obsession with
antique paisley. There is just something about the colors, the design and the
je ne sais quoi. I have a small collection of tablecloths, pillows etc. I share
this antique obsession with one of my favorite designers, Martin Lawrence
Bullard. Let’s take a look at the guestroom of his Hollywood Hills home…
Next up is a truly remarkable piece. A mustard yellow
Provençal antique soup tureen. I’m not sure if it gets better than this. Three words: Butternut Squash Soup. Take a
look...
Sticking with our autumnal color theme is a set of green
escargot plates. I almost had a heart attack when I saw these. Could not be
more charming and there is a set of five! My friend Adrienne thought these
would be great for deviled eggs as well and I have to agree. When not in use, I
would hang these on the walls of a kitchen.
The holidays are all about entertaining and I always get
excited about the holiday hors d’oeuvres. I love to put together a charcuterie
tray and cheese platter. My mother always taught me that presentation is as
important as the hors d’oeuvres themselves. So, I have found the greatest sets
of hors d’oeuvre forks and knives for the October sale. Take a look…
I am always on the lookout for interesting serving platters
and I was truly pleased when I saw this Ironstone oval fish platter. I just
love the shape and the size! It doesn’t just have to be for fish, I think it
would look great with holiday side dishes (cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes,
mashed potatoes, stuffing) as well. This might be one of my favorite pieces.
The October sale has other items that are fantastic as well.
I found one of the most charming paintings that I’ve ever seen. It incorporates
everything I like about life. White roses and Chinese blue and white pots. This
little painting really has a palpable wow factor.
I also have a very special cabbage ware tea/coffee set.
Cabbage ware was popular in the 1960s amongst the uber chic social butterflies…
Jackie Kennedy, C.Z. Guest, the Duchess of Windsor. Tory Burch has brought the
cabbage ware craze back to life with her Dodie Thayer cabbage ware line. And as
luck would have it, I found a vintage set of Portuguese cabbage ware! Take a
look…
So that’s a little sneak peek of Friday’s sale. There is a
lot more and yes I will always have a collection of chinoiserie on the sale.
How could I not? The sale starts promptly at 10 AM, Friday, October 9!
Happy shopping!
The Shop is Open!
The shop is open!
Go to the Have Some Decorum Home Shop (2nd icon on the right) that says, “Shop.”
-OR-
just click HERE.
Bon Week-end!
coucou! the august sale starts today...
The shop opens today, Wednesday, August 5, for my August
sale!
10 AM Pacific Standard Time!
These past few weeks have been a blast collecting new items.
There are 37 new pieces! Today on the blog I will give you a little preview of
my favorites.
This past Friday I had a little “incident.” Truth be told, I
nearly choked to death. With ALS, your muscles get weak and I guess my throat
muscles are getting a little weaker because it’s a tad bit difficult to swallow
and if I swallow incorrectly… All hell breaks loose. I have no muscles to cough
so blah blah blah. I managed to make it through the evening with the help of a
ridiculously expensive machine that we have to keep at the house called a Cough
Assist machine which I had to use at least 20 times that night. The good news
is that the machine worked and I didn’t die. Surprise, I’m still here. Don’t
worry, the story gets better, much better.
So, Saturday rolls around and I am just very nervous about
eating, swallowing… And surviving. So, what’s a girl to do? She takes an
emergency crazy pill and sleeps the day off because there’s really no other
alternative. Sunday morning my caregivers arrived to take me to the fleamarket
with my husband and I didn’t know if I really wanted to go. That was a first
for me. Was I too scared? What if I coughed/choked? What if I died? What if I
had a panic attack? I thought about it for about five minutes and then I
realized, “So what? So what if I choke? So what if I have a panic attack? So
what if I die? If any of this is going to happen it might as well be at a
Parisian fleamarket, right?” Yes, I have these little conversations with myself
all the time and I agreed with myself… If anything bad was going to happen it
might as well be at my happy place… The fleamarket. So, off we go.
We are halfway through the fleamarket and everything has
been easy peasy, thank God. Now, sometimes flea markets are good and sometimes
they are not so good. This particular fleamarket on Sunday was fantastic. I was
shopping up a storm. At one particular vendor, I spied with my little eyes, a
set of the most gorgeous crystal wine glasses. I said to my caregiver, “Oh my
God, those are gorgeous… Grab them!” As he was reaching to pick them up,
another hand reached to grab them as well! I had my hat on low, as usual, so I
could not see who it was grabbing for my glasses! The woman who had my glasses
in her hands said to me, “Yes, they are beautiful.” I said to her without
looking up, “Do you think they are very old?” She asked the vendor their
history and he said that they were 19th-century Sevres. The woman
said to me, “Ahh, they are Sevres. We have the same taste. Very good taste.” At
that point, after hearing her voice more, I thought to myself, “I know that
voice.” I decided that I would peek up from my hat to see if my suspicions were
correct. They were… That voice that was talking to me at the fleamarket about
the beautiful 19th-century Sevres crystal glasses that we shared a
love for was no other than… Catherine Deneuve!
I literally almost had a heart attack. And to answer all of
your questions, “No, I did not buy the glasses and no, I did not take a picture
with her.” I would never take away antique crystal glasses from France’s
national treasure and I did not want to draw any attention to her so I did not
ask for photo even though I wanted to. She had escaped being recognized thus
far at the fleamarket and I was not going to spoil her anonymity. Here she was
at a semi-crappy fleamarket in the 14th arrondissement of Paris on a
Sunday morning with her Sunday morning hair and Sunday morning sun dress. It
was obvious she did not expect to be recognized. Here’s the best part… As she
was holding two of the glasses in each of her hands, she had a lit cigarette
dangling from her lips… And was talking with the cigarette in her mouth! I
thought to myself, “You are the coolest thing I’ve ever laid eyes on in my
entire life.”
So, the moral to the story is: Overcome your fears and just
live your life as if nothing was wrong because you never know what’s on the
other side of that anxiety. I was scared to go to the fleamarket but I did it
and boy am I happy that I did!
Okay, now we need to talk sale! I am so excited for all of
you to see the new pieces. Once again, I have searched high and low all over
France to curate a special collection for you.
As usual, I have my favorites…
I think it’s quite obvious by now that I have a small
obsession with chinoiserie and this month is no exception. In fact, I even have
more this time! Chinoiserie boxes, trays, cups and even a very special
Chinoiserie match striker! Take a look…
Have you ever felt that you could love an inanimate object?
I have and it’s usually either furniture, dishes or paintings. This month I
have three extraordinary paintings for you that I actually got goosebumps over!
All from the 1920s France, the colors in the impasto are what make my heart
swoon. French blues, mustard yellows, mushroom, verdant countryside green,
burgundy, pink, Tuscan orange and red. All of the paintings depict a slice of
French everyday life. Take a look…
Speaking of painting, I have been searching for quite a while
to find antique and vintage painters pallets and finally I found some! Take a
look…
My other favorite items of this month’s sale are the French
faience platters from Rouen, France from the 1700s! I have been seeing these at
flea markets here and there but they are usually so expensive but I finally
found some that are reasonably priced… And I have two sets! In my opinion, I would
buy both sets and display them on a wall in the kitchen. Take a look…
Ever since I saw that kitchen at L’Hotel Particulier in the
south of France with those black tôle trays I have been on a mission to find
some. And I did! A huge black tray, a round red tray and a charming green tôle
tray with bumblebees! Take a look…
There is lots more including bamboo mirrors, an
extraordinary cobalt blue apothecary jar from a Parisian pharmacy, curtain
tiebacks, a minimalist match striker, café au lait bowls and more more more!
The shop opens today, Wednesday, August 5, 10 AM Pacific
Standard Time!
To shop the shop, click HERE at 10am PST!
I hope you like everything. XOXO
beep! beep! the shop is open!
I am one of “those” people. Those fleamarket people. It’s
like a little band of gypsies. Rising early, traveling to sometimes slightly
seedy destinations, usually a field, sometimes still dark outside, wearing a
uniform of jeans, T-shirt, warm sweater, usually a scarf, coffee in hand, extra
bags, rolling cart, extra newspapers for wrapping… It’s not exactly glamorous… Oh
but yet, it is.
Have you ever actually felt happiness? I have and it’s
usually at a fleamarket/brocante. It’s a very euphoric feeling to be the first
one at a fleamarket… The thrill of the hunt is intoxicating. For the past month
I have been going to every fleamarket and brocante that I can find. My new
favorite website is Vide-Greniers.org. The Vide-Greniers website gives you a list
of every fleamarket/brocante/vide-greniers in all of Europe. You just type in
your location and a list pops up. There is also a list of icons to tell you
what types of flea markets there are… I only go to brocantes or marche aux
puces. There is something called vide-greniers which basically translates to “empty
your attic “ which basically translates to “shit that you drag out of your
house that you don’t want any more onto the street to sell.” I don’t do these.
After a month of hunting, bargaining, negotiating, and searching
from Normandy, Provence, the French Alps and Paris… I have a new collection for
all of you on the shop!
I love all of the pieces equally but there are a couple that
really stand out as my favorites.
I don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned to all of you that I
have a slight obsession with obscure serving pieces. Sometimes, during my day,
I will research antique serving pieces on the Internet. I love to know what a
particular fork or spoon is used for, historically. Oysters server, bacon fork,
bonbon server, marrow scoop, tomato server… Pieces like these actually thrill
me. Imagine my delight when I came across a plump little Frenchwoman in the
French Alps who had the most beautiful collection of obscure serving pieces.
They were all so beautiful that my heart actually started racing. A macaroon
server? Yes, please! A Chantilly cream server? Yes, please!
I have a little love affair with French paintings… Not fancy
ones… Just unostentatious ones (except if you offered me a Delacroix, I
certainly wouldn’t refuse it.) Today I have two modest yet utterly charming
paintings for you…
A couple of old favorites? Yep, I found the partner to the
chinoiserie breakfast tray! What are the chances of that? I also found another
Provençal bull’s head. This one is from the 1970s and it’s wicker!
I have a great collection of vintage French enamelware also.
The salt cellars make my heart swoon. These are highly collectible items and I had
to run over like 10 people in my wheelchair to get these. It’s okay, I won.
Ever since I started design stalking my favorite decorator,
Dan Marty, I fell in love with antique bamboo furniture. Dan Marty always had
the best collection. From bamboo armoires to bamboo headboards, I love it all.
It feels English, French and Chinese all at the same time. It belongs in a
beach cottage as easily as it does in a Parisian apartment. Today I have two
different mirrors for you!
There is nothing better on a cold early morning than
wrapping your hands around a piping hot bowl of café au lait warming you body
and soul. The first set I have for you is porcelain with a gold decorative rim
and a secret surprise on the bottom… A peacock! The second café au lait bowl is
enamelware with a charming bird. I think this bowl would be great as a key/coin
dish or even a planter.
All this and lots, lots more!
All right, now that I have wet your whistle… Shop away! The
store is open! Click HERE!
Here we go…
First of all, my mother has been calling Gracie the dog’s
name.
Then, my mother explained to Gracie that she cannot
pronounce the word “Sephora” or the word “oxygen” no matter how hard she tries.
Next up, my mother said the following sentence to Gracie…
“Leonardo da Vinci bought a house in Palm Springs.” We are assuming she meant
Leonardo DiCaprio but who knows.
Lastly, for today, Gracie told me that my mother goes to the
gym every day to do her 100 miles on the treadmill and she listens to an
audiobook… That audiobook is the Bible.
How hard are all of you laughing? I’m laughing at it as I
write it! There are so many of these that I could write a book. Wait till I
tell you about the first time my mother traveled to Europe.
A toute!
