my stylish french girlfriends - Marie-Laure

Another talented and stylish girlfriend has been kind enough to endure my camera and questionnaire - where would I be without them?! 

Marie-Laure lives along our valley in a beautiful house with her husband and four gorgeous children.  The house is typical of the valley, shutters, stone walls, a barn.  Sweetly she apologised that being at the start of winter,  the garden didn't look more spectacular,  I thought it looked great!

 Besides caring for her family she also creates!  Marie-Laure is handy with a jig saw and a paintbrush and turns out beautiful items that sell like hot cakes on the net and in private sales around here!

I asked her a few questions ...

Thank you for inviting us into your home Marie Laure, a real family home.  I know you like to hunt for brocante like me, and you use brocante pieces in your house.  What are your favourite items?

 Thank you for inviting me over Sharon,  Yes, I love discovering things that have their own history, and just need a little attention to give them a second lease of life.   I think my two favourite pieces are the 'meuble de metier' (the large chest of tradesman drawers), and the Hermes silk scarf that I framed.

 Your workshop is at home, where does your inspiration come from for the pieces you create?  And where do you sell your goods?

At the moment I am inspired by natural elements, birds, deer.  They are motifs I use a lot.  I also specialise in portrait silhouettes which are very popular.

I sell on the net at Decoclico, the shop 123 famille in Paris and Versailles and soon I hope to sell via my new blog.

How do you manage to find the right balance between work, family your home and your children?

It takes a lot of self discipline, and it's not always easy, especially at this time of year when I am making things for Christmas.   I generally work while the children are at school but sometimes I have to creep into my studio over the weekend too.

With four children you must do a lot of cooking!  Do you enjoy cooking typically French food?

Ooh la!  They eat so much, especially the boys who are growing fast!   I cook more at the weekend, and a blanquette de veau is a family favourite, but we also eat a lot of italian food, risottos and pasta.  I love sitting down together for family meals.

We are lucky to have a good selection of local food shops, even locally made macarons!

You live in the country in a tiny village, but you dress very stylishly.  Where do you like to shop for clothes?  

Thank you!  Actually I wear jeans and a jumper a lot of the time, but to go out I'll always make an effort.  I hardly ever wear all black, I love to use bright colours, in particular burnt orange.  It's easy to shop in Paris from here, but I also like Rouen, it's such a pretty city.

Thank you Marie-Laure for letting us be so indiscreet and good luck with your business!

I hope you are enjoying my series, I aim to bring you one more before Christmas,
I'm just waiting for her to put up her tree!!

Thank you for reading, à demain!

Read More

Peter Rejoices over the Destruction of Romanism

*Note: I love the dear Catholic people. I have some very good friends who are Catholic. I even have a priest friend. I hold absolutely nothing against these good folks. Many were born into their religion and have never even considered anything else. Having said that...

Rev 18:20 Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.

When religious Babylon is utterly destroyed by God for her martyrdom of 50 million of His saints, the holy apostles and prophets will rejoice.

Babylon, that mixture of Nimrod, Semiramis, the “queen of heaven,” the son god, Popes, cardinals and bishops is well deserving of what is coming. She daily mocks Christ by introducing the death cookie as the actual body of Christ to her billion plus adherents. She persecutes the gospel throughout Latin America and elsewhere. She makes merchandise of souls by selling masses, high and low, to say prayers for the dead, hoping to deliver them from purgatory. She sells indulgences in hopes of absolution for sins. She compels and corrupts her little children at their first confession (and each subsequent one) by bearing every wicked thought and deed to a priest in the confessional. She encourages prayers to the dead, to angels and to idols. She claims that she is the only repository of salvation and there is no redemption outside of her auspices. She asserts that her leader speaks ex cathedra, as the infallible voice of God. Such are the doctrines and practices of Romanism.

But her day of destruction is coming in which her fine linen and purple, her gold, precious stones and pearls will come to nothing in one hour.

God calls unto Babylon's citizens, "Come out of her!" (vs 4) They who answer that call will escape the plagues coming upon her.

Peter was a humble apostle of Christ who preached the true gospel of faith in Jesus Christ alone. He was not the vicar of the Roman church as they falsely claim.

Read More

Is Moving House Worth Your Sanity?

Moving house is a pain in the neck, but with the right forward thinking you can reduce the amount of pain and get it over and done with as quickly as possible.

Be sure that everything that you plan to move is ready to be put away as soon as you get to the new space. Try to have as much of your laundry clean and folded to be put directly into drawers when you get to your new space so that it's not sitting out taking up space on the floor. If you can find large mover's rubber bands, you can strap them across desks and cabinets so that you don't have to unpack individual drawers only to re-pack them when you get to your new space.

Be careful! Glass that is not securely wrapped in bubble wrap or paper may shatter, and items that are not tightly packed may be knocked around when moving. Also, as heavy as a desk or a shelf may be, it is heavier when the drawers and cabinets have not been emptied.

This leads to the next moving tip: be sure you have all of the necessary moving tools ready for the big day! If you hire a moving company, they will likely have hand trucks and floor carts for moving furniture and larger items. However, if you are moving yourself with little or no help, have your moving tools ready! Running to the hardware store the day of the move to get things you forgot to plan for takes time away from the ultimate goal: getting moved.

A good strategy is to start packing as early as possible, putting away your possessions that you do not immediately need or do not plan to use before you move. As you get closer to the moving day and you use items in your home, pack them as you decide whether they are ready to be moved or not. Keep a list of things you think of to pack, check, buy before moving, and other odds and ends that inevitably come up during moving.

Be sure to have plenty of garbage bags handy the day of the move as you will likely find yourself deciding whether or not it is worth bringing something to your new space. Be sure to check with your local ordinances about where it is legal to discard furniture and other appliances.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6707181

Read More