Celebrating Summer in the best company ...

Just can't believe it's only a week ago we returned from our family holiday in the Provence.

Despite all our good intentions to slow down after our return, this past week was a busy one.

Unfortunately some things can't be ignored (read the daytime job 😉) 

But also busy with the pleasant ones, like our frequent visits to my dear mother-in-law

 and of course the Webshop 😊

Even during our break you've been so very generous with your orders, 

can't thank you enough for your constant support for our small business!

Blogging about our holiday sure is a way to remember and document the lovely time we've had.

You must agree with me that we were so very lucky with the luxurious accommodation we stayed in,

 Villa la Farigola

Two whole weeks of enjoying blue skies and Oleander

And clearly not the only one, because it was a coming and going of butterflies and bumblebees.

Being in the Provence, visiting a market is a real must (at least to me it is 😜)

So we went to the market in the lovely town Cotignac

In my opinion, you only find market stalls like this in France

For me another typical french thing is the taste of their melons.

 At least, I never have tasted them better than in France.

Before we left I found a very easy recipe for a salad including melon.

Here it is;

You will need:

- one package Serrano ham

- one ball mozzarella         

        - one bag of rocket salad           

        - a half ripe (cantaloupe) melon
- olive oil                           

- balsamic vinegar             

 - pepper and salt                 

Spread the rocket salad on a large bowl.

Then divide the mozzarella together with the Serrano ham 

into small pieces over the salad.

Drizzle the salad lightly with olive oil and balsamic 

vinegar (and some salt &pepper)

Bon Appetit!

        

After a stroll in town and having crepes on a lovely terrace accompanied by live music,
we continued our way to the village Tourtour

On our way me made two unexpected stops.
First one was this wonderful cascade near the village Sillans-la-Cascade
we encountered along our way.

We also passed the town Aups where we camped many years ago when
 our boys were still young, so we just had to stop and have a little walk.

Love this display as an entrance.

After lovely Aups we finally reached our destination Tourtour , with this wonderful view!

Such a privilege to have again two of our sons joining us during this holiday.  

Not only a fabulous view but also a very picturesque village

I finally had time to catch up with my embroidery 

Accompanied with a cuppa made by the husband who was 'in charge'

 for our daily one on this holiday.

Another outing on our list was going to Lac Sainte-Croix and

 hire a pedal boat to explore the Gorges du Verdon

Nature at its best

Afterwards we ended up in the lovely village Moustiers-Sainte-Marie 

Just can't beat facades like this (📷 my sister-in-law).

And again stunning views

After a day of rest we went to the village Cannet des Maurus to go to the 

Brocante Market I already visited a year ago. 

And also this time it was worth the visit, because I found these lovely Tureens

 you can find in our shop on here 

After that we continued our way to Aix en Provence 

A city that never disappoints, despite the fact that all the roads around the centre looked 

more like a building site, due to the construction of a new electric bus.

The villa were we stayed was surrounded by vineyards

Here is one of the stunning views driving to our villa at dusk

Still making (holiday) memories with two of our boys is such a blessing, 

the second town we explored this year was Marseille

Where we climbed a lot of stairs to reach the Notre-Dame de la Garde 

The stunning interior of the upper Church

On one of our last days we went to the town Vidauban

In love with the shutters, balcony ... well actually everything in this photo. 

Our main reason going there was to eat a real french delicatessen, Profiteroles!

I've so enjoyed spending time with this lovely lot and having serious
 intentions to go for a repeat next year. 

This home coming sure made up for missing blue skies and oleander every day, my Cafe au Lait 😍 

At the moment we're having a little Sale on our Website to make room for our new Autumn stock, 

which I'll share with you next time. 

Until then, have a peaceful Sunday all!

Anita

~xo~

A long friendship gathered around a spring table ....

About a week ago three dear friends came to dinner.
More than thirty-three years ago our friendship began as colleagues. Even though we have, for a long time now, all other jobs we always stayed in touch.

Over the years we shared so much together while we lead different lives. Some of us got married, two started a family, one is still happy single and one friend moved abroad, returned and will leave again this summer for a permanent stay with her husband in France. But these changes will not affect our friendship, the past years already taught us.

Just like our friendship we're very consistent in meeting each other. We meet four times a year at someones home and last week it was my turn to entertain.
Not only I really like to put a menu together but also styling the table is just as enjoyable.

Most of the times I'm inspired by my everyday surroundings as this time by .... the great spring weather we have and nature awakens, resulting in lots of flowering plants.
And believe it or not this cute napkin that I really had to buy the other day .... all signs for a Spring table.

 ,

Because I had bought a small (spring) gift (flower seeds) for everyone I made name cards which I also used as wrapping. To make them I used cotton rag paper , raffia and bits of the napkin ....

Here how it looked on the table ....

The nests I bought years ago at a garden centre now came in handy to create a real
springlike table setting ....

It was also a nice opportunity to try a new recipe and this croissant pastry with scrambled eggs and salmon as entree fitted well with the spring theme ....  

If you want to give it a try you need the following ingredients:

( for 4 people )

  100  gr smoked salmon

    25  gr of butter

     4  slices French pastry

     4  eggs

     4  tablespoons creme or demi creme fraiche

     1  tablespoon fresh chopped dill

     salt and pepper 

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Grease the cups with butter. Cover them with a thin layer of pastry.

Whisk the eggs with the cream, salt and pepper. Add the salmon (into small pieces) and dill to the egg mixture and pour on the pastry. About 15 minutes in the oven while occasionally stirring.

If you're going to try the recipe , enjoy your meal!

Have a lovely weekend .... happy Easter. 

Anita xo