The British Invasion of Luxembourg..............!

Last weekend saw us pop over the French Border into Luxembourg to meet up with a large group of friends from the UK who had all  travelled over for the 28th Luxembourg Dobermann Trophy Show held at Gasperich. What a fantastic time we all had Showing our dogs in the daytime & wining and Dining together in the Evenings! Two Fantastic days of Sunshine, Laughter & wonderful Company-it was such a shame it had to end! Our friends who own Idol,the puppy we are looking after,came over for another bonding session and it all went very well-they cannot WAIT to finally collect him in another couple of weeks and take him home permanently to the UK...

He started singing at one point-we wondered if he was attempting to recite the French National Anthem......!

Our own babies did us proud as usual and we had some fantastic new Photographs done by friends as there were quite a few high-quality cameras floating about on the day......!

Our handsome Esto gets more good-looking by the Minute...

and our beautiful Dita more stunning.....

we came back with more Trophies which,whilst it was very exciting at first is now becoming a little bit of a chore as we are running out of room to store them not to mention the dusting etc!

The journey to Luxembourg was over 10 hours travelling so we made use of the fact we were travelling through different regions of France & the extremely early start to avoid the extreme temperatures which had been forecast with having the dogs in the van, and visited a few Brocantes en-route....I always love going somewhere different & finding new treasures!.....

like these Enamelled Church Seat Nameplates......

and this Fabulous Ticking & Hydrangea designed Linen.....

or these amazing Copper Measures......

As the temperatures started to rise-we cooled the dogs off in a brook....

but Pup Idol was having none of it.......

Actually he did go in eventually when he saw the other two splashing around but it took a good ten minutes of active persuasion!

This weekend saw us set off before Dawn southbound where the Brocante was held in the grounds of a Magnificent old Chateau......

wow-this must have been some Majestic Masterpiece once upon a time!..

I love arriving at these places so early & wandering around before the heat becomes too intense..

the grounds were immense and so many HUGE trees...I love trees,some of these must have been hundreds of years old...

and as the carpark started to fill....we left,coming away with a van full of treasure, all the best & unique pieces tucked safely away to tempt you with over the coming weeks,like these glorious Antique Chateau curtains........

A little Timeworn in places but an easy restoration job for a skilled sewing enthusiast!....absolutely Fabulously Handcrafted Macrame with Papillon-style motifs......wow!

Meanwhile,we came home,popped the kettle on for a well earned cuppa after the morning's treasure hunt & I popped my beloved Radley Bag on the table for two minutes whilst sorting out the cups......& Esto remodelled it.......

and on that note I will end the story-suffice to say Esto can do no wrong in his daddy's eyes-so a new bag is on the agenda for moi......!!

Disconnect,Eject,Proceed & Move on.......

The above quote just about sums up our recent experiences over the past few months-we rise above it because we are strong  & committed to what we do-therefore we become so very much stronger as a result.

Whilst it may sound like gobbeldy-gook to you all-suffice to say fake folk will never bring us down-life has a curious way or sorting the good from the bad...and what goes around comes around,some of which  certainly did last weekend and brought a well-deserved smile to our faces.......!!

And now onto some news about REAL Friends........

We recently enjoyed a fabulous few days with some fabulous friends form the UK who, like us,have been involved  in the Dobermann Breed forever & admired our own handsome boy so much they asked for our help in obtaining a male puppy from the same breeder here in France.It took months of stressful negotiation to arrange but eventually we all went together to choose the puppy who will carry these fantastic bloodlines into the UK & Hopefully improve the breed there-needless to say lots of fun and games were enjoyed whilst we spent days together in the glorious warm sunshine laughing,playing with puppies,then the serious business narrowing down the choice & choosing "the special one" & afterwards toasting the occasion with a lovely meal out on their last night here......and so here he is......residing with us until mid-August when his Pet Passport & innoculations are  completed for his journey to his new family and life in the UK-so meet IDOL-what a STUNNER!-Pictured here with his older half-brother our own handsome man Esto....who has become his foster carer.....and takes his duties very seriously...!!

We continue to tour the country and different areas of France searching for Chic & Shabby Treasures and recently spent a few days with our dear friend Lynn who lives in Normandy.....soon to return to Scotland following the excruciatingly sad & untimely loss of her husband and our dear friend John last year.We all stood a Brocante in a local Village and helped her ease some of the pressure of knowing what to do with all the things they'd accumilated together over the years they had lived in France-and of course made great use of searching for treasure at the same time!My idea of Heaven!

a Stunning Silk Top Hat from Paris-never even used..........!

Amazingly found in its' original Box still sitting in its; original protective tissue paper!......

Fabulous Paris Cahors Chapelier label....

just brush the dust away inside-and voila-ready to wear!.....

I never get tired of this wonderful job of mine........simply fascinating.

I love looking through fashions of yesteryear-I wish I could sew,I would be having a go at making my own......

These have come from a Grande Parisien Magazine Publication-TOUT LA MODE Circa.1922...

Fabulous!

Anyway-to Angie's mum-hope we can bring a smile to your face again now we're back blogging-I will try my best to keep up to date with our news...so Bon Weekend everyone and until next time..

Jumping for Joy................!

Yes,she's certainly full of the Joys of Spring is our Dita.....pictured here by a professional Photographer in the Showring at a Dobermann Club of France Breed speciality Show held in the stunning Rhone-Alpes recently where both our babies had considerable success,not least of all baby Esto (not so much a baby anymore @ 45 kgs!) who won Meilleur Jeune or Best Junior in Show!

We have been campaigning our Dogs throughout the length & breadth of France for the past 4 months & having a fantastic time searching out Chic & Shabby Treasures at Brocantes all over the place en route making our work all the more interesting from all aspects! Not only do we see beautiful new regions,but Gorgeous & different Vintage French Finds & the dogs get to sniff new ground & go for wonderful walks!!

My camera is working overtime as we wind our way through beautiful villages..........

Stunning scenery is everywhere here..........

My idea of heaven would be a Caravan.....I would never come home!

I've certainly never seen so many forests full of Pine Trees in my life!

So far we have been to Bordeaux  the "Pearl" of the Aquitaine Region, Niort here in the Poitou-Charentes, Moissonay near Paris where we passed this wonderful Chateau.....

Brains in the Pays de La Loire,Lyon,-Rhone Alpes, Marq en Baroeul in Lille,St.Dizier in the Champagne Ardenne region where Esto managed to win a bottle of Champagne amongst his other prizes......!

We need to look for a Trophy Cabinet as this is becoming a bit of a Habit!!

Here is Esto with proud Dad where they literally "cleaned up" @ Bordeaux International Show.......!

(I felt like I was carrying the F A Cup out of the ring & back to the van-it was HEAVY too!)

Meanwhile I have been snapping up items for myself aswell as to tempt all our lovely customers.....sorry but this was a little bulky to post so it's staying with ME......

Trouble is-WHERE'S the SUN??????!!!!

Inbetween all this I flew back to spend some quality time with my gorgeous Granddaughter who is now into Peppa Pig in a BIG way so I found her some sunglasses which she never took off the whole time I was there....come rain or shine.....

And so now I bid you goodbye whilst I sort through some Treasures to put on the site...until next time......Au Revoir mes Amis!................

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!