Giveaway results and a little garden produce...

I’m coming to the conclusion that full-time working mums don’t blog – how can anyone find the time?  Work is fun but really busy, and taking the time to relax with the boys in the evenings, with Ben and the boys at the weekend, and to keep the house tidy-ish (lol, lol, lol) means that blogging is sadly very secondary at the moment.

 

I did manage to meet, and even work with, a blogger a few weeks ago – Dormouse came to our area for a weekend course, and spent the Sunday night (and Monday morning, in class) with me! It was a flying visit but it was lovely to meet her in person and to be able to help out with accommodation and transport, and, in return, be helped with some interesting role plays in class!

So now I’m really happy to take some time to announce the winner of my magazine giveaway – chosen randomly by Son 1, the winner is Healing Woman, who left a really positive message of encouragement (not the only one of course - it's so nice to find your comments and even to read your posts inspired by my own). So, Healing Woman, congratulations and please send me your address by email ASAP, so that I can post it to you while it’s still in date!

I’ve prepared several other posts in a spare moment (waiting for hours with Son 2 at the doctor’s, unfortunately…) and I’m going to schedule them for you, because I have so much to share, even though there’s little time to share it. So please do keep reading, and if you have time and thoughts, please do leave a comment. I read your blogs on my phone, which doesn’t allow me to comment, but I am keeping up to date with you in my limited kind of way…

C'est la Rentrée - Resolutions and a Giveaway!

Well, actually, it was the Rentrée, rather than is, but better late than never! We've been busy but I finally have the delightful chance to offer one of my readers this beautiful French magazine in a giveaway:

It's up for grabs because my kind local friend picked up a copy of Country Living for me when she was in the UK, so now I don't need to offer Campagne Décoration as an exchange (see post below). Therefore it's my now traditional C'est la Rentrée gift for one of you.

To enter, you don't have to be a follower or anything, although you are welcome to follow if you don't already! Just leave me a comment here to have a chance to win. - I'll post anywhere in the world. If you'd like to share any of your Rentrée Resolutions with us in the comment, feel free, but it's not essential.

Rentrée Resolutions are traditional in France, where Back to School means a really positive New Start for adults too - resolutions made in the sunshine and after a good rest tend to be a lot more active than the ones we make in the New Year! Ben and I have particular resolutions this year based on the fact that he's living away during the week while he studies for an MBA in Lyon.

So my Rentrée Resolutions this year are to keep up the good work on the exercise front but to add some further healthy penny-pinchers to our already wholesome, thrifty ways. (Lol- I can't say the word 'wholesome' seriously, you understand. It's just too, well, wholesome!) Here goes:

We have resolved to buy one bottle of wine for the weekend to share between the two of us - no alcohol to be consumed alone when the other one isn't there! When Ben announced his side of this resolution I felt miserable, and that worried me. I should be able to cope with evenings without a glass of wine. And indeed I can...

Take a packed lunch every day, instead of giving in to the occasional panic trip to a boulangerie - if you had access to lovely French bakers I bet you'd be happy to pop into them at lunch time too, so this is a harder one!

Make 'portion' desserts at home instead of buying yoghurts and cakes. I think this should be the subject of my next blog post!

So, please enter my giveaway and do tell if you have any resolutions - best of luck it all!

Red and White holiday... Red and White Giveaway!

I'm ready to draw the result of my Red and White Rentrée Giveaway - thank you so much for your entries, and particularly for your interesting comments and resolutions. Nothing wrong with any of them, although some of you feel they are rather humble! Humble ones are probably the most sensible, actually...

Anyway, I decided to look for some photos taken over the holidays, which are (more or less) in keeping with the red and white theme. Firstly, the hemp sheets are doing a wonderful job on our sofa - nothing clever in the way of stitching, just acting as a base for whatever crochet throw I put over it, and wonderfully forgiving of dog and boy maltreatment.

One of the guilty parties, photographed by another (her master)! She's getting old and slowing down a bit, but as adoring as ever...

The ancient red walls of Herculaneum.

Mosaic floors in the same town.

Wall paintings which have survived nearly 2000 years.

A Roman feast, cooked for us according to delicious ancient recipes, by Son 1!

And back nearer to home, a house near last weekend's Vide Grenier.

Finally, the winner of my Red and White Rentrée Giveaway is:

Magsmcc, from Fraise Lachrymose! Oh, well done, Mags! She's a French teacher, you know, so she will really know what she's doing with the recipe book! I suspect I already have your address, Mags, but could you just email it to me again, please...

Those cheery Willows who helped me through the Rentrée are now on their way to Australia - I'll put up a link to their arrival when they touchdown!

Red and White Rentrée Giveaway!

The boys are safely into the first weekend of the rentrée - Son 2 is sleeping over at a friend's, and Son 1 is taking some time out on his Lord of the Rings computer game (Saruman sounds angry...)! I've had a lesson cancellation so I'm taking the time to offer you the 2012 Rentrée Giveaway - a red and white collection of fabulous French fun:

We're looking at something old, something new, something thrifted and everything... RED, here! But before I tell you about each of the four items, I'm going to list my Rentrée Resolutions. In France people make more resolutions in September than in January. This is the time, after all, to take up a new hobby, with all the clubs re-starting.

My resolutions for this year are as follows:

Make more time for other people - get actively and consistently involved with friends, groups and wider family (more on this later).

Use my pedometer to make sure I walk at least 15,000 steps per day (easier on some days than on others, with teaching).

Continue to enjoy life to the full (last year's resolution - TBC...)

Continue to do those exercises (last year's resolution - really paying off!)

So, as you see, my giveaway gifts for you are the 'Cult Recipes' book for Bon Maman jam - you can work most of them out even if you don't read French, and you can use other jam if you make your own/buy other brands - the recipes really look fun and I think I might just pop back and buy a copy for myself!

The recipes prompted my colour theme, and in addition to this book, you'll have seen the postcard with the red and white stamp, the initials tape and the bridge-themed shelf-edging - all of them vintage French finds from Vide Greniers in the region. If you search for them on my blog you'll find the original posts about them!

These gifts are small and light, and I will post them anywhere in the world. To enter, please just leave a comment, and if you'd like to tell me about one of your own resolutions, I'd be really interested, but that's optional. Becoming a follower and putting a link to my giveaway on your own blog are also optional - please feel free, but it's not a requirement! I'll draw the giveaway next Friday, and very best of red and white luck to you all!

SORRY - THE GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED!

Blogging connections and a giveaway winner

Life is strangely busy here in the (slowly) melting snow. I'm popping in to draw the giveaway winner for this, but before I do I just want to tell you what else I'd like to share with you in the next two holidays weeks. I want to tell you how blogging led to Son 2 getting hooked on incredibly complex mazes, created by a young man on the other side of the world...

I want to share a recipe (especuially for Serenata) which originally came to me years ago from the lovely Sumea, who blogs when she can at Morikomiori.

I want to share my Thrill of What You Already Have photo - lots of people have already done their posts, and my collection is made, but not yet posted:

I want to tell you what Son 2 is cooking up for Valentine's Day!

But before I have time for any of that, I'll pick the giveaway winner. I just want to say that giveaways can be such a good way to meet friends - one year I got to know Kit, when she won a giveaway of mine (English roses, I think), and then I got to know her daughter, too, who also has a blog! I really enjoy following both of their mountain-living blogs now, and their lovely comments here. So now to the draw...

......................................................................................................................

Ooh - the winner is Gill, who made the second comment! Congratulations Gill - I will email you and I'll need to know your address so that I can post your parcel!

Looking Four-ward Giveaway!

Well, friends, it has been three years since my first blog post! However, I don't seem to feel interested in the number three: I am, rather, looking ahead to the fourth year, which begins today! That's why I've called this giveaway my Looking Four-ward post - can you forgive me?
With this in mind I want to give you the chance to win four sets of four sweet French collectables, all bundled up in a little surprise wrapper! The first collection is a set of four vintage children's handkerchiefs - they were given away free with 'Alsa' brand baking powder. I especially love the gypsy one, which is in green, but you may have other favourites!

The second set of four is antique French postcards: they have romantic pictures and poems on the front, and several have messages or addresses on the back too. They date from the early 20th century.


Now we come to four rather special, quite large, Mother of Pearl buttons from my collection. Actually, these might not all be French, because I've collected these for years and some could come from the UK.

And finally some French ephemera and kitchenalia - a match-box cover with a little proverb, the number 37 (probably from a police uniform?), a Notre Dame brooch and a little madeleine tin.I don't know what you'll do with these four collections, but I think you could have fun with them!To have the chance to win, please leave a comment here. I'd love it if you would publicise my giveaway, so if you take the first or the final photo here and put it into your blog with a link, please let me know in a second comment and that will give you a second chance to win. If you're new here and would like to come back, do feel free 'follow' and/or to browse through other events like The Thrill of What You Already Have and A Pause in Lent, which you'll find in my sidebar. It's been quite an incredible three years with you all - probably the most formative of my adult life, aside from university. I'm really looking forward to the Fourth!

THE GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED - I'm going to delete the non-entry comments so that I can count the draw fairly...

Resolutions, an answer, and a winner!

Thanks for all your entries to my Pick and Mix Book Giveaway - I've really enjoyed reading your comments, your thoughts about the books, and the resolutions that you've mentioned. Some have gone so far as to do their own resolutions post! Thanks for all your interest and involvement. I thought I'd give you a bit of a run-down on my resolutions so far - I like the fact that posting resolutions here means that I am accountable! Otherwise, I really do forget...

So, my first visit to the Library in a good long while has resulted in some good books:

I have three books in French - on Bastide towns (these are medieval planned checker-board towns and we live in one), on the pastel (or woad) trade in the area and one on birds of the region. There's also a rather lightweight book in English with pretty pictures of Toulouse and its heritage, but sometimes I just want the luxury of reading in English...

The news is becoming more accessible now that we have free digital TV. There are several French 24/7 news channels and Ben and I are both determined to watch a cycle of news per day. It makes a real difference instead of having to sit down too early (8pm) or too late (up to 11pm) for the terrestrial news channels. And I think it's really good to watch the French news, instead of just reading the BBC news website as I've done up until now. I feel more connected to France and the French when I follow the news from the national perspective. Possibly, if I listen to enough 'standard' French, I might even get rid of a bit of my local accent? Or possibly not...Here is just a peek at my two scrapbooks. I cannot tell you how much pleasure I am getting out of putting them together. They're just cuttings albums, the kind I used to keep when I was a child... and I think that might be part of the fun. A full post to follow...

And yes, you were right, it was the enamel coffee jug that was perjoratively labelled 'old'! It's true I wouldn't put coffee in it, but think of filling it with woodland treasures, as Betty the Wood Fairy suggested... It certainly has a future, as well as a past.

It cost me 1€, same as nearly everything else in Sunday's haul. The whole lot cost me 10€, and got me some good aerobic exercise into the bargain! (Steep hill up to the village.) The exercise resolution is coming on OK, BTW, but you really don't want photos... And enjoying life is indeed a habit to be learnt - I can see I'm making some progress there - you know I do such great things, and it's only a case of switching off the worry button in order to enjoy them fully...

... anyway, on to the winner! I'm just off to close down the giveaway and will come back with news of the winning comment...

Done!

The winner is Nikki, which is great as she is a self-professed bibliophile! I'm going to read more of her book blog, and have already enjoyed her wonderful photo-diary of walks and visits in her part of Northern Ireland. I do like the way that running giveaways gives you a chance to meet new bloggers! Nikki (who I guess found out about me through Serenata, as they have a fellow enthusiasm for Shasha dolls) has chosen Flea Market Style and How Green are my Wellies? as her two prizes. Congratulations Nikki - would you email me with your address, please?

C'est la Rentrée - Resolutions and a Giveaway - 2011

SORRY - GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED!

Hello blogging friends old and new, C'est la Rentrée! This means Back to School, but also so much more, here in France. Those who've been following my blog know about, and have even picked up the idea of, Rentrée Resolutions. The idea here in France is that a fresh start, a great new idea or a brave challenge, are things best started in September when the school year begins. It works for me and this will be the third year in a row that I've linked resolution-making to a giveaway. This year, I'm giving away copies of books that have been influential to me: But you have to make a choice! I'm offering two books, possibly new, possibly good-condition secondhand - that's very much in-keeping with my own thrifty ways, and I hope you'll see the environmental/cost advantages of getting the prizes secondhand too. The first set to chose from are all fairly frivolous, because where would we be without fun in our lives? I think resolutions should have fun in them too - I'll tell you mine later.

So, from the first set, you can choose from the following three books: Emily Chalmers and Ali Hanan write great books and work with a great photographer! This book was bought for me by my mum shortly after she came home from hospital a few years ago, and shortly before I started my blog for her. It's been influential to my style, but even more, has opened my eyes to possibilities... The style is not to everyone's liking, but it gives ideas...

This second book is a must if you ever go vintage shopping in France. It would also be good for someone who just wants to dream about the possibility, as the photos and descriptions are as lovely as the information is useful!

This third book is by a fellow blogger! I love 'murder lite' and I love Sharon's blog (she's The Queen of Fifty Cents - a must-read thrifting blog) and her book is also super - really good, friendly characters, dogs, antiques and an entertaining mystery. This one I would buy for you new, because the author is a blog-friend!

j

Now we come on to the second set. These are a bit less frivolous, but there's a light touch to all of them, too - easy to read and easy to take onboard the ideas.

If you haven't heard me mention this one, have you ever read my blog before? It was recommended to me by another fellow-blogger who had found it influential, and in my case it has been a blessing to read through the last few years - hard times have been easier to cope with, and easier to understand, whilst great times were better-enjoyed because of what I was reading and learning!

Of course another blogger put me in the direction of this one! I've given it to friends and family since - it's very unassuming and fun, and manages to look at green-living on a month-by-month basis without making it all seem like hard work.

And finally another blogger's book! The Happiness Project blog is a real biggie, not like mine or Sharon's, but reading the book and the blog you do get to feel you know, like and can learn from Gretchen Ruben. Like Anna Shepard's book it's divided into months and gives the writer's own thoughts and experiences as she attempts to appreciate her already-good life all the more. As that's pretty much the goal of my blog, I have found this book really helpful in clarifying how we either make the best of things or can, quite accidentally, get bogged down into letting a lot of the good stuff slip by us...

j

So now, for the rules. Leave a comment to enter, telling me which of the 'frivolous' books and which of the 'worthy' books you would like. If it just so happens that you already own all of these books, you could always just say, 'Surprise me!' and if you win I'll send you something else! But ideally, choose two and tell me what they are. Tell me why, if you like! If you'd like to copy the giveaway button at the top of the page and link to me from your blog that would be most appreciated, but I'm not doing the complicated 'two or three entries' thing. Anything for a quiet life! The same for becoming a follower - if you don't follow already, it would be lovely for you to join if you're intending to come back, but your entry doesn't require it.

j

And finally, what are my Rentrée Resolutions for this year?

Enjoy life to the full (I have a tendancy to plan ahead/worry ahead, instead of living in the moment). Actual examples of how I can do this (Ms Ruben says we need concrete resolutions!) are to spend time with the boys where all I do is have fun with them, instead of wondering what I'm going to cook for lunch later, and also to listen fully to Ben when he's talking to me, instead of planning either my own response or (a theme emerging here) lunch. And just to stop thinking that something bad is going to happen! Where does that weird little black cloud of dread come from, to spoil the happiest occasions? As you can see, I've already thought this one through. It's really an on-going resolution...

Watch the cable news once a day, as all my previous resolutions about keeping up with the news have proved flawed. Maybe this year we'll get it right!

j
Keep on going with my scrap books (magazine cuttings, not scrapbooking as such), but also don't feel bad when I don't keep up with the scrap books!

Keep going to the library! And maybe a bit more often...

Do a short session of toning exercises at least three times a week - I'm working more and have less time for the long bike rides I used to do regularly.

So that's it! If you'd like to tell me a resolution of your own, as part of your entry, I will very much appreciate reading it. But all you really have to do is leave a comment with your choice of two great books! Very best of luck to all of you. I'll close the giveaway and announce the winner in a week's time - Tuesday 13th September.

I'm now deleting any 'non-entry' comments just to make sure I enter the correct number of entries into the 'hat'...

Advent Winners, Advent Pause!

Hello everyone, and how lovely to have read your appreciation of the simple traditions of Advent on my last post. Before I draw the giveaway winners, I'm just going to show you Niki's lovely calendar page for November, and my response to it...

French fabric covered box from a Vide Grenier, vintage/antique books gathered over the years, rosebud jug from an Edinburgh charity shop and berries from the garden!

So, on to draw the winners! The winner of the traditional German Advent Calendar is Flossie and Tom! I'm delighted to find this lovely blogger back in action, and am really chuffed that she and her children will be opening these beautiful windows this Advent. And I share her grandmother's name...

And the person who will be burning the candle this Advent is the THIRD Sarah - don't get excited if you are the first or the second Sarah, please, ladies! This is the Sarah who wrote:

j

"I'm making my niece an advent calendar - it's her birthday at the end of November so we give her a series of small envelopes with different things in. This year she's four and now old enough to understand a bit more about what the season really means.
j
I'd love to be part of your giveaway for the beautiful candle. "
j

Well, I think that's rather lovely, and I'm glad she's won the draw, although I'm sorry that there couldn't have been more prizes for the rest of you deserving people.

Congratulations to both of you - please email me with your addresses and I will get posting.

Now, last year many of us joined together on Sundays or Mondays in Advent to post something that helped us to take a break in the rush towards Christmas. This is what I wrote at the beginning of last year's Advent Pause:

j
"The bloggers represent all sorts of countries (and now four continents, too, which pleases me for some reason). We are getting together to share thoughts, traditions, ideas, crafts and experiences relating to Advent and the preparation for Christmas. Some of us follow very old traditions or have very established beliefs, whilst many of us are combining the old with the new, learning and growing as we go along… "
j
If you would like to take part in a similarly open-ended Advent blogging event this year, please let me know by commenting here, and then please put the logo above onto your own blog, with a link back to this post! It was great last year, and I've been delighted that several blogging friends have already mentioned this year's. Advent begins on Sunday 28th November this year, so the first posts need to be on that day or on Monday 29th. Do join in - it's great to see what other people are doing and thinking, and good to take a break from what can become a very hectic time.