End of year,End of an Era.......

They say that all good things come to an end-this year has been no exception.

We apoligise for the lack of blogs recently but our lives have been consumed by sadness & dealing with it has taken up more of our time than we imagined.

Our dearly beloved friend sadly passed away after bravely fighting the after-effects of a Transplant operation & a week before that tragedy we also lost our dearly beloved Phoebe-our precious elderly old Lady Dobermann who was 11.7 yrs young.......

A more beautiful gentle creature you could never meet-we miss her so very much...

So unfortunately we have been consumed with sadness when Christmas Time should really be a Happy event.

As an obvious result,our enthusiasm for searching out treasure has been somewhat diminished and we have scaled-down accordingly to reflect,and to prepare for the next stage-the Festive Season.

Happily-a fabulous & reviving highlight for me was flying back to the UK for a few days to attend my princess Granddaughter Erin's 2nd Birthday Party-hard to believe she is two years old already! For regular followers of our blog you will remember me fighting through the heavy snow in Kent & only just making it back to France in the Snowstorms of  December 2010 - to be woken at 6am in the morning with a phonecall informing me she had made her entrance into the world 5 weeks early!

Well I made sure I didn't miss her 2nd party & was there in plenty of time to taste this divine Birthday Cake!-it was Gorgeous!! All sparkly & twinkly Pink & Lemon Icing-fitting for a little Princess-It was like a giant Cupcake!!

Her little face was an absolute picture as Mummy walked towards her with the candle lit & ready to blow out...........a joy to behold!

We will be having a huge clearout in the coming weeks and there will be multiple item listings & low starting prices for your perusal when you've watched all the festive TV you can digest and want some alternative entertainment-rather like a January Sale but without having to trudge round the shops or get trampled on in the processs! So keep your eyes peeled for some potential bargain buys on our Auction Site & we gladly combine postage costs to make it all the more attractive to shop till you DON'T drop!

So for now it is Merry Christmas to all our wonderful customers-thankyou for your support throughout 2012-it is so greatfully appreciated.

Hopefully 2013 will bring us all happier days,success & Good Fortune-and we will continue to strive to bring you the unique & unusual Chic Shabby Vintage Treasures you all love so much!

 So for now it is Joyeaux Noel!

and we share precious memories of our friend John-taken from us in his prime,gone too soon...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIcuFkQ4KUw&feature=youtu.be 

Roger The Lodger goes home..............

It's been a sad week for more than one reason. John took our Canine Lodger up to Paris on Tuesday morning for the long flight home to Indonesia from Charles de Gaulle Airport. He has been with us since August-so three months is a long time to care & grow fond of a wonderful Character with an exceptional  temperament who stole our hearts.You may remember he had been staying with friends of ours in Normandy as he had originally come to France for an operation which couldn't be done in his home country. 

During his stay our friend was taken seriously ill & rushed back to the UK for a transplant operation-which is why we took over the dog's care in the first place.We thought all was well when, during a very precarious touch & go period when everyone  thought a Liver would not be found in time (but thankfully was)- he made sufficient enough recovery to be allowed to go home. So everyone was very happy thinking in time he would be able to return to their beautiful house in France & all would be hunky dory again.....but Life is never that simple is it? Following a relapse he is now in a Critical condition due to contracting a Rare Fungal infection of the heart-we all Hope & Pray a cure can be found in time-we ask you all for your Positive thoughts for our dear Friend. As a result of this we apoligise for the lack of a Blog but I'm sure under the Circumstances you will all understand........

SO-Back to Business and the Brocantes are now very thin on the Ground-which of course we expect at this time of year but of course we have made sure we have accumilated plenty of stock for the coming Winter months to keep you all supplied in Chic & Shabby finds to satisfy your curiosity....meanwhile we are Loving the Autumn......the Bright Blue skies contrasting the Golden Leaves......and Dita is loving it even more.......

This picture above was a result of her wrapping herself around the tree in the background chasing a bird-she was on a 30 foot Flexi-Lead at the time so I took advantage of the ideal Photo opportunity with hands free-pulled my I-phone out of my pocket & clicked!

Needless to say she was less than impressed the bird got away......!

I have photographed quite a lot of items this week but havn't yet had the time to list them all as we are having a bit of work done and the house & garden is in a bit of a mess to say the least....

But in the meantime,-these are a few of my favourite things.....(isn't that a Line from a song?!)

-which are all available on our Auction site this week-Happy Browsing!

Paris, Poitiers & Proper Shattered....................!

John, & son James headed off to Paris last week to visit The Veterinary Hospital at Maison-Alfort in the big City as our beautiful Canine Roger the Lodger had a very important appointment with a Professor there.....for some X-rays and a small operation. Their Consultation Rendez-Vous  was on the Wednesday,Operation Thursday and Discharge on Friday so John & James made full use of a spare day waiting, and armed with new Camera went off exploring.......

I must admit I wish I could have gone with them but someone had to hold the Fort back at Base......!

I could NEVER have walked past Louis Vitton and not gone in.........!!! (or spent a few bob!)

 AND I wouldn't say no to this Rooftop appartment with Garden for the dogs!!....

HOW FAB!

But he DID bring me back this FANTASTIC piece of Advertising Memorabilia from the Famous L'oreal Empire-found in a Flea Market ......how RARE must this be?! The Vendor told him it Originated from a Department Store in the City-I have certainly never seen anything like her before or doubt I will again! Check it out on our site now-WOW! You see John DOES have an eye! (well he has two actually but there you go...)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121004542567?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

So after all the Journey and Excitement for a few days back they came home with said Roger the Lodger with a huge plastic Cone on his head for two weeks until he has his stitches out-I will be black & Blue by then as I have lost count of how many times he has crashed into my legs with the stupid contraption.

Sunday saw us tootling off to an International Two-day Championship Dog Show at Poitiers whilst James offered to stay at home with old Lady Phoebe and Roger "Conehead" the Lodger. It was exactly one year ago that Demon Dita-then just a 6 month old puppy attended her first show there and delighted us by winning Best Puppy in Breed. She has only been lightly shown due to our work commitments but she has steadily been consistently successful-this would be her first Intermediate class now she is 18 months....and guess what?-SHE WON IT!! 

Not only did she win but was awarded the RCACS & RCACIB-Reserve Best of Breed!!! Not to be outdone-little Baby Esto (well maybe not so little at 37 kgs @ 6mths old) won BEST PUPPY too!!!

Quite a Haul of Trophies & Awards wouldn't you say???!!!!

So now we are getting down to the Nitty-Gritty and getting listing with plenty of new delights this week-quite a lot of catching up to do....! We have a few bright and sunny days forecast so we will be clicking away with the cameras & bringing you more ideas to mull over...until then Bonsoir!

Family, Fun Days & Fair Weather.............

What a hectic week it's been! I can honestly say I've never felt so shattered-or so happy at the same time! My gorgeous son, his beautiful Fiancee and darling Granddaughter spent a week in the Charentes and we have been out & about most days with them trying to keep them occupied with the weather at this time of the year not guarantee'd but it gave a good account of itself especially on Friday when we all travelled down to La Rochelle for the day.

La Rochelle has to be one of my favourite-ever places,such stunning buildings,Architecture,shops,scenery-it has it all and the fact the temperature was in the 80's that day was just the icing on the cake.....Erin spent all day marvelling at the boats,the fishes swimming in the Harbour.....she was SUCH  good little girl-she certainly has more stamina than me!!

John had a field-day trying out his new Nikon Camera and all the Filters & Lenses.....he took some pretty good pics if I say so myself! He purposely took lots for me so I could use some for the Blog-I think be getting Paid for this by La Rochelle Council for doing their promotion work for them!.....

The only trouble was-he started becoming irritating following me around, I thought I'd got away without being seen munching the free piece of Handmade Nougat being offered to everyone out of a basket as they wandered past the shop.............apparently they'd all walked on ahead and had bets I couldn't resist....they know me SO well.....!

But hey-who cares when you're on holiday for the day!

The Hotel de Ville has been undergoing a Four-year renovation project...what stunning Features....

and still has another year to go-all I can say is Wow!

Would love to have taken this lot home with me!!!

Especially this ceiling!

or maybe this Staircase?!..

Meanwhile Erin and me-well, we just went strolling everywhere.......

 and when it got a bit tiring..........

Grandchildren are soooo Precious!

And so it was,that the wonderful day had to come to an end but it really WAS such a lovely time there-the sky really WAS that clear & Blue! (no-it wasn't a special Filter of John's!).We drove home,-stopping en-route to stock up with supplies and finished the Evening with a Fab Barbeque.

And then all little Angels have to get ready for bed.....with a nice warm bottle.....Aaaaaah!

And so back to reality-our Canine Lodger is still with us bless his little Paws,but the great news is that our friend is OUT of hospital.so that is Absolutely Fabulous news. Still a long way to go on the road to Recovery but Fabulous all the same.

Have you been Watching "The Paradise"?!-we have been Excitedly glued since it started, trying in ernest to spot any of our Antique Silk & Lace Bonnets but havn't seen them yet-the programme is well worth watching anyway-I just LOVE  period Dramas-don't you?!

And so after waving Farewell to the Family it was back to Business as usual-I simply havn't had TIME to list all these lovely finds from last week and before that yet, never MIND this weekend's haul-I'm going to disappear in that stockroom one of these days when it all Avalanches on top of me!

I have some really Fabulous Textiles coming up and plenty of items for every pocket and Taste from the Extra Large to the extra small.....I adore these Antique 19th Century Neyret Freres Silk Stevengraphs I found recently-they are so fascinating.......and so Superbly Woven..

 and the Huge Boutis is one of my Favourites-this would keep you SOOOO Warm on a Winter's Evening!

The Renaissance stylised Design is Magnificent.............

I am so tired now I will bring this to a close-but after Walking our legs off around five Brocantes in One day this weekend I'm not really that surprised with myself-I'm definitely not getting any younger! Yawn..........x

The Spy Who Loved Me.........................

Honestly-I go off on my merry little own down one aisle of the Brocante and my other half goes down the other end & proposes to meet at the Buffet  in half an hour for an Espresso.......little do I realise he's SPYING on me.......

(Spot the Blonde who's clutching those Antique Tiebacks VERY tightly before someone else gets their mawlers on  them)......THE CHEEK of it!

Well my friendly Brocanteuse turned up at the very same Village we visted this weekend-she specialises in Vintage Linens of all descriptions and was just unloading a Box of recent Chateau finds when I spotted them & literally dived on them plus a few more special Morceaux of Passementerie Trims...oooh I was in my Elements!

My other half thought it quite amusing how tightly I clutched them whilst being tempted by a million and one other things from her stall........I personally thought the guy standing behind me in the blue ankle socks was even MORE amusing...............!

Anyway-they are divine,all Shabby,Faded and full of Charm and are on site today-havn't come across any as nice for quite some time.I find the Faded Grandeur of what once might have been has so much more character than today's modern copies-don't you? Who wants perfect anyway??!!

As for the Passementerie Trim, such Ornate Gorgeousness is soooo scarce to find-these Metallic Threads are just Beautiful.....

Soooooo nice-it deserves just to be Admired-FAR too nice to use!.....

 and after we'd met for a Coffee I left my other hald AGAIN...and toddled off to discover the largest haul of Antique Textiles on another stall I have come across in YEARS.....I really don't know where I am going to find the time to list it all-suffice to say I cleared the poor woman out!!She'd almost got an empty stall by the time I'd phoned my darling SPY and asked him to meet me to carry it all back to the van.....he was muttering all the way as there WAS rather a lot! Lots of beautiful items will be coming your way as soon as I have the energy to list it all!

As for Roger the Lodger-he is still here bless him.....

making himself quite at home thankyou very much-he's adorable....

and the BEST news EVER is that our friend has had his Transplant and after a few scary weeks where it was touch and go,he's now on the road to recovery-we all know this because after making great progress from almost permanent sedation-he asked for a Banana Milkshake and a Big Mac!!!!

A Bientot my friends-have a lovely evening,see you soon!

I need more hours in a Day!

I must admit-I love the excitement of an early morning arrival at a Brocante.....but I'm just sooooo tired lately-I have so much to do in a day & there just doesn't seem to be enough hours! 

We're now fully paid up members of the "Torch" brigade...........well how else am I suppose to see anything at this unearthly hour of the morning?! Mine's Red (for Liverpool FC) and the other half has a Blue one (closest colour he could find for Leeds United)......UGH!-you won't catch me touching THAT!.....lol

The Buffet getting set up is always a Welcome sight........!

We usually toddle off-both in opposite directions to each other-and meet back for a Drink & a bite to eat!.....

We were parked up in a town the other day & whilst sitting in the van waiting for said other half to come back from the parking ticket machine I noticed this door....not a very unusual or decorative door at all..

But if you look more closely...........

What a lovely old handle!

Anyway-I havn't got much to say today because I am working off a different computer thismorning- busy getting prepared for when my Family arrives in a few weeks and all my new pictures are on the Laptop but I will sign in again soon with some delights for your perusal.

I love being a Nanny because I get to play with the things I buy for my little princess Granddaughter....meet Mrs.Potatoe Head....don't you just LURV her outfit....ha ha....

I'm particularly taken with her Sunvisor and matching earrings.....!

Erin loves anything to do with Toy Story or Disney-her favourite being Minnie Mouse so we've been busy searching for toys amongst other things...A  Bientot-see you very soon!