European Door Knobs!

 

On a trip through the villages of southern Europe this week, I noticed these wonderfully creative door knobs 

on the village homes.

 

European Coffee Has Such a History!

If you drink coffee, you are apt to be one who sighs at the mention of a steamy espresso in a Parisian or Tuscan sidewalk cafe. Yes.... it is usually as delightful as it seems.

The cup, tiny by American standards, often has a whimsical design. Always with a saucer and tiny spoon. A cube of sugar and a square of dark chocolate usually come along with it. Such elegance, such panache, and such flavor!

European espresso is rich and thick. It ripples in the cup when the breeze blows. The aroma can stop the most interesting conversation for a moment. The taste of a good espresso fills the palate and seems to literally waken the senses.

I made a startling find in Peypin d'Aigues early this morning. The vide grenier was just beginning and as I approached a table, a local woman was setting out the things from her kitchen that she wished to sell. There to one side I saw a curious little two-spouted thing. It turned out to be an Italian espresso maker from the 1950s. Made of heavy aluminum, it is meant to sit atop a gas flame which boils the water and sends the steam upward into the filter where the coffee waits, then the fresh rich brew drips down into a heated cup. Sound decadent?   

Surprised as I was to find that adorable little coffee maker, I was stopped dead in my tracks to see the original, vintage Vesuviana maker sitting right next to it! As much as I adore french coffee, Italy truly is the original home of espresso and the espresso maker. And the Vesuviana coffee maker is one of the original Italian machines (designed, apparently, by a machinist rather than a coffee vendor). The principal strategy for making espresso has remained largely unchanged since the mid-late 1800s, but the equipment has kept up with technology, as you surely know.

So to find these early models was a real treat for me. I wasted no time making a deal, nearly paying her asking price, and turning for home with a grin on my face.

Create Your Own Boudoir!

Boudoir is a French word for a woman’s private bedroom, sitting room, or dressing room. Today, it can also be a small area within a bedroom or bathroom where a lady keeps the things that make her feel most feminine.  I am planning to bring you wonderful things from Provence to fill your own boudoir.


 There is really no American word that translates well, so we seem happy to use this French word, pronounced "booed wah".

In a lady’s boudoir, one might find such things as perfume bottles, a candle holder, a bud case, a jewelry box, pill boxes, special soaps and soft facial cloths, a small time piece, or an especially precious photo. 




Whatever you keep in your boudoir, there are many delightful pieces that can bring the joy of Provence into your little corner of the world. 


I plan to find these precious things and bring them to you right here, so that you can bring them into your own home.  Write a comment below to let me know what YOU would love to see in your own boudoir..... 

Antique Provence Pharmacy Boxes hold just the right medicine!

If only the medicine to cure today’s ills came to us in such lovely containers! Imagine getting your prescription filled at a pharmacy that uses delightful boxes like these. 

Made of parchment-like cardboard and wrapped in brocades and ribbons of the most lovely colors, these boxes also serve to advertise the pharmacy itself. This one happens to come from a pharmacy that existed in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s in the town of Beziers France, not far from the south-western border between France and Spain. Beziers is best known as a center for brocante and antique shops. The village hosts markets and faires and events throughout the year. 

I was lucky enough to find a woman selling a box full of these containers in several colors. I use them to hold fresh lavender seeds, jewelry, or even—imagine--pills at my bedside!  

Then of course there are the more 'common' pill boxes with lovely, whimsical, or elegant designs made of everything from porcelain to brass and ivory.