Personal Post: I Love Paris...Texas (Part1)

I Love Paris...Texas

 Circa: 2015

I spent last weekend in Paris....well, Paris, Texas that is! At the last minute, I had the opportunity to head home before the big rush at work this Spring and I took it. While I love our new home and the life we have built in one of the sweetest towns in Texas, it is always nice to get back to my roots and where my heart is... Paris!

My weekend started at my favorite place, Paris Bakery! It has all the charm and beauty of a hundred year old bakery tucked away on one of the many streets of France but or version includes a cowboys on the wall, paying tribute to our rough and tumble past! 

Everything they make is delicious, but I was lucky enough be there for my FAVORITE lunch, the oven-fried green tomatoes with monterey jack on cheddar scallion bread with a cup of chili! Words can't properly express how much I love this sandwich..and really fried green tomatoes in general. I even devoted a blog post to the subject that you can find here. Once again they did not disappoint! And if once wasn't enough I stopped in the next morning for breakfast. If you are ever in the Paris area Paris Bakery is a MUST! 

After a delicious lunch and shopping at some of my favorite stores in beautiful downtown Paris (coming in Part 2) I had to stop and take a few shots of these amazing murals right off the square. It is such a clever and beautiful way to offer a glimpse into the city's past while bringing life to some of the town's older buildings. It makes my heart happy to see how local artists are helping to revitalize and preserve our downtown. 

I personally adore this lovely lady with her bike! 

My next stop was to visit my sister and her husband on their gorgeous farm just outside of Paris. I can't wait for them to finish their guest bedroom so I can spend the night and wake up with the sunrise and have coffee with the cows. While I enjoy the conveniences of the city I love getting away to the country every now and then!   


Ever since I heard that they had a new, four-legged, addition to their family I was dying to meet her. This sweet girl was abandoned by her mother after her birth and my sister and her husband have been caring for her ever since. After a few close calls and long nights I am very happy to report that she seems to be on her way to a happy and healthy life. Who knew my sister's nursing skills would come in so handy on the farm? 

While I was there I took it upon myself to name her Little Miss Elly May Dejoux. I am not sure if the name stuck after I left but that is what she will always be to me. Since she is still a baby and nursing she tends to think anything and everything is a bottle ...including fingers. Someone please get that sweet girl a pacifier stat! Just Kidding! I am still debating on bringing her back to Houston with me sometime while she is still small enough to ride in my car. I think our backyard is big enough! Not kidding! 

After playtime and snuggles with Elly I couldn't wait to see my sister's home and her newly remodeled bathroom. It looked amazing and of course I forgot to take pictures! I am going to just have to talk her into coming on the blog occasionally as a guest writer because she has amazing decorating skills of her own, just with a rustic touch. When I reach for a silver tray or tea cup she grabs a piece of antique barn wood and a mason jar! 

We'll this is where the first part of "I Love Paris" ends and look for part two next week when I can't wait to share some of my favorite shopping spots with you! I hope that everyone has a a wonderful week! 

Decorating: A Cup of Flowers

          

A Cup of Flowers 

Circa: 2014

          I love having fresh flowers in our home, it just adds a touch of natural beauty and life to the space.  The surprising thing is that I rarely use vases, and actually only have a handful in the house. Oddly enough, this began at me wedding three years ago.  I knew that I didn’t want standard vases for my floral arrangement and I tried to find a vintage alternative. As I was going through my grandmother’s house I noticed that she had a beautiful flower arrangement in an old champagne bucket!  After that I was sold! We began collecting old silver pieces like mint julep cups (my personal favorite), tea pots, sugar bowls and more, and I haven’t looked back since! I wanted to pass on my love of vase alternatives to you today and instead of giving away all of my secrets at once, I thought that I would share a little at a time. So today I am sharing with you how to use items from your everyday tea cart.

             Whenever my husband or his family travels to London they always bring me back tea and biscuits from Harrods! I have a slight tea addiction; Early Grey is my favorite! The tea canisters are beautiful and I haven’t ever had the heart to throw them away.  While they are technically not “vintage” they have a lovely classic aesthetic. My only word of caution is to make sure that they don’t leak. I had a problem with the first canister I used and, unfortunately, it leaked all over one of my vintage books. Heartbreak: though it only damaged the cover and the interior pages remained dry. The purple canister looks so pretty with the beautiful white hydrangea. I love using hydrangeas because a little goes such a long way!

             The next items that I love to use if I need a small arrangement are vintage tea cups! Not only can they fit the smallest of flowers from your own backyard, they also take me back to when things were a little bit simpler.  Since I was in middle school I have collected vintage tea cups. I believe it started when I was a very small girl and I would take my coffee with cream and sugar in my great-grandmother’s tea cups.  And yes, I was very lucky to have daily afternoon coffee or tea in elementary school in a porcelain tea cup. It explains so much. Tea cups feel so dainty and lady like and they are a beautiful addition to a table. The tea cup pictured here belonged to my great grandmother. I love the rose pattern and soft pinks and greens.

             Finally, a tea pot can make a beautiful vase! While I have too many to name, I chose to highlight one of my more unique pieces, and the purple looked beautiful beside my canister. I have to give props to my mother who purchased this for me at an estate sale. The tea pot depicts the Boston Tea Party, which is rather ironic! While it is one of my favorite pieces, I also adore my silver tea pots as well! While they are not pictured, one of the other items I frequently turn to are my sugar bowls from my silver pieces to my beautifully green Depression glass bowl! The possibilities are really endless!

             As always, please be cautious on the pieces that you choose and handle them with care. If you have a treasured one-of-a-kind teapot from your great-great grandmother than  you may want to opt for a fantastic estate sale find instead! I hope that this inspires you in the future to put away the vase and turn to something a little different and vintage! I hope that you have a lovely weekend!

Holiday Decorating: Fourth of July

Decorating With Military Memories

Circa: 1776-2014

          The 4^th of July is just around the corner and I couldn't be more excited! It’s not only a day of celebration with friends and family and fireworks but a day of remembrance and celebrating our freedom and independence! Of course I also love any occasion to decorate and holidays are my favorite! For the 4th of July I decided to highlight some of our family's old military memorabilia. I know that many of us have our fathers, grandfathers or great-grandfather’s photographs, military papers, letters, medals, and more tucked away for safe keeping. Now don’t get me wrong, as a lover of history and antiques I strongly encourage preservation and handling this objects with care however, I also believe in displaying these treasured items in your everyday life or for special occasions.

          When I was preparing to decorate our house for the 4^th of July rather than run out to the store I first turned to what we had on hand at the house. My wallet and husband were happy!  I started off with the large objects that were scattered about such as my World War II Souvenir pillow, a framed copy of my grandfather’s naval class picture, a beautiful American flag scarf from a friend, my husband’s saber and hat from college and more! Next, I headed into my photo albums and trunk for family items from World War II. I found several pictures, postcards, medals, and even my great-grandmother’s ration book.  After I had picked out several items I began placing them around the house and they really added a more personal and meaningful touch to our holiday decorations.  

          Now, I know that the thought of displaying your grandfather’s military papers or letters scattered around the house for all to see and TOUCH can cause some concern! I completely understand, I am the person that cringes when I watch antique shows and someone is turning the pages of a 300 year old book with their bare hands! The solution is actually really simple:  quality photocopies.  For example, one of the things that I did for my wedding and continue to do today is make good quality, color copies of my more delicate items. At our wedding we wanted to display pictures of our family but we didn't want to risk having the originals misplaced or damaged so we made copies of all of the older pictures that we wanted to use. I still use those copies today in many of my decorations and if they are damaged there is no fear because the original is safe! So if you have any paper items or photographs that you don’t feel comfortable displaying simply make a copy and protect the original!

          I hope this inspires you to share some of your family treasures throughout the holiday season! Have a very Happy 4^th of July and thank you for stopping by!

P.S. The flag in the entry way was one of my favorite finds at an antique store in Paris, Texas. It is displayed all year round but it is perfect for the 4th of July! From the markings on the top we know it flew in the Pacific before World War II!