Whenever I need to smile, I head straight to Leonora’s shop, called Yellow Heart Art. It never fails. Her prints are quirky and the happiness in her art is so contagious. And she’s got some great posters for the little ones too! Make sure to go check out her store.
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For the ladies: I’ve had these little lace bowls by Hideminy on my mind for a while now. Aren’t they just lovely?!
For the little ones: This twill apron with crochet and lace detailing by The Measure is so adorable it could totally be worn as a summer dress.
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My friend Soazic snapped this picture of me last Sunday morning. Me, exhausted from the long hours of traveling to Bordeaux + 15 hours of picture taking at the wedding. Life has been busy these past couple of weeks. Heck, these past couple of years. I guess having two babies in less than two years will do that to you – never-ending tiredness! When we arrived on the warm sand of the Dune de Pylat, I crashed. It was so good, for a little while, to just relax and do absolutely nothing. I don’t do it nearly enough…I tend to overbook my schedule all the time and take on more projects than I can possibly complete in a day. I always HAVE to be doing something. Good thing that my little girls, hubby and friends remind me to slow down. Sometimes, really, less (being-a-busy-bee) is more (happiness).
None of the things on my shopping list today will make you or me more productive. And that’s a good thing, trust me.
1. Perfect little dress for the summer days! Julie cotton summerdress with sailboats by Keren Mualem.
2. Nothing like this polka dot giraffe in navy, gold hot pink and gold by The Good Machinery to add funk to your home.
3. Just in case you need a little reminder…“Keep calm and carry on” poster by Magalerie
4. There’s something so peaceful and relaxing about this blue birds print by Sugarloop.
5. Another great little summer dress. Out to sea dress by Fox Parse.
6. Lovely little beige ballet flat espadrilles by Tullerie
7. Love the wooden beads and tiny touches of color. Midnight necklace in cobalt blue and hot pink by My Grammar of Ornament.
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After going all black and white and minimalistic on you guys last week, I thought I’d show you a house on the other end of the spectrum. A house with no clear color palette. A house with collections of personal objects everywhere. A touch of fun here and there. A beautiful mess of a house – and I mean that in a very good way. The kind of place where design doesn’t define life, but life designs the design. And if you carefully look at the pictures, you will see that this space is small – yet it’s so homey and inviting.
And one beautiful recipe to go with this lovely home, a beautiful mess of a risotto by Aran of Cannelle et Vanille. Aran always comes up with the most unique flavor combinations, this recipe included: a blood orange and fennel risotto. I would have never thought of this combination, I’ll admit that much, but really, isn’t it the perfect combination for a fresh summer risotto?!
You can find the recipe for Aran’s blood orange and fennel risotto here – but make sure to also check out the rest of her beautiful blog.
Sources: 1) Home – photos by Brent Derby; styling by Ali Heath of Plum Lifestyle. Via DesignSponge. 2) Risotto: Photos and recipes by Aran of Cannelle et Vanille.
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I’m kicking myself right now. Really hard. Because it’s been years since I’ve used a camera strap and I’m so used to not using one….and then, I found these absolutely stunning camera straps by Bloom Theory. Aren’t they the perfect reason for me to start using a camera strap again?! Make sure to go check out their store, all of their creations are simply stunning and perfect for the camera-junky women who are bored of the plain black strap!
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Images: My friends Soazic and I robbed the bakery for the sweetest of breakfast. Photos by me.
This weekend I traveled to the region of Bordeaux (in the South West of France) as I was hired to photograph a wedding and brought along my best friend Soazic as my assistant. I was on the road all of Friday, and photographing all day on Saturday until late in the night. So when came Sunday morning we woke up and headed straight to the bakery to claim our sweet little reward for breakfast – a chocolate croissant, an almond croissant and an apple turnover. We ate all of that while sitting on the beach, our toes playing with the sand. Bliss!
It’s one of my favorite things when I come back to France: going to the bakery and looking their endless displays of fresh bread, cakes, pastries and croissants of all kinds. Ok, maybe looking isn’t the only thing I do. French people have a love affair with their bread. Every day they religiously go to the bakery to get fresh bread, so you can find great bakeries literally everywhere….and I’m not one to complain about that! 
Happy Monday everybody!
1. Hello embroidery hoop by The Merriweather Council. | 2. Honey and lavender shortbread cookies by Whimsy and Spice.| 3. Breakfast set in teal by Atelier Maria. | 4. Shiny morning print by Dazey Chic. | 5. Rustic wood serving tray by Gray Works Design. | 6. Sagaform retro teapot via Huset Shop. | 7. Ceramic mug with birds in teal by The Ross Lab.
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Image by Wilfrid B. via Flickr.
It’s been a hectic week, friends. I finally arrived to France with the girls yesterday after nearly 24h of traveling (and a delayed plane, missed train, sick baby, etc). My parents live in the French country side, it’s always a trek to come all the way out here and this time was no exception….But it is oh so worth it to be here now. It peaceful, and beautiful…and you can see the stars at night! I know that to you guys it may not seem like much, but when you live in New York City, you don’t get to see stars. Like, EVER. So that’s what I will be doing this weekend, friends. I’ll be enjoying a nice glass of wine with my best friend, and looking at the stars above my head. And who knows, maybe I’ll get to make a wish if I see one of their shooting friends 
1. Glow in the dark “you’re my star” poster by Eva Juliet. | 2. Birthday card by Poosac. | 3. Starlette crown in gold by Giant Dwarf. | 4. Constellations cheesecake tarts by Diamonds for Dessert.| 5. Deer in stars papercut card by Mimimi Cards. | 6. Tiny star bracelet by Petite Co.
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It all started because of this (rather awesome) girl, Jess Constable. A couple of weeks ago she decided that she had enough of the “perfect perfectness” that blogs are showing us left and right these days, and the disconnect between that and people’s real world. So she decided to write this (rather awesome) post. And it set the blogging world on fire. The good kind of fire, that is.
A bunch of bloggers decided to get together, thanks to Ez from Creature of Comfort, and started this little movement called “Things I am afraid to tell you” as a way to try and keep the online blogging world more in check with reality. Today I am joining that group, and here are the thing(s) that I am afraid to tell you….
It’s the first time I’m talking about this really, so hopefully I can explain myself clearly. But really, it comes down to one thing, one thing that’s had a huge impact on my life: I am a wanna-be-cool kid. Have always been. Will always be. I’ve had that in me for as long as I can remember. Even since I was little I’ve looked up at other people and always wished I could be as cool as them. No matter how great I am doing with my own life, I always end up comparing myself to “the cool kids”. But I am working on it.
High school and college years were probably my worst years in that aspect. I was always the awkward kid, or at least that’s how I felt. I always felt different, not as cool as others….sometimes I tried so hard to do things that would impress others, that I’d forget what was true and important to me. It’s like I was listening to everybody else’s opinion but my own. When I was 17, I overheard a conversation between my parents and my dad say “Ah Audrey…..she just doesn’t have enough ambition”. His words hurt me so badly. Granted, he was probably right that I wasn’t being ambitious enough with my life at the time…but the wanna-be-cool kid in me was hurt so bad that soon after I decided to enrolled in business school so I could prove my father wrong. The plan looked perfect at the time, really. After all, didn’t all cool kids go to business school?! And needless to say, my father was proud of my decision….oh, I don’t regret getting a business education, it has served me well in many ways, but looking back I wish I had listened to myself more than to what others thought was cool and good. Maybe go to design school. I’d always been the creative kid, getting myself lost for hours and hours in art projects – but dropped it all and forgot about that side of me for years so I could be the perfect business student.
And I did great there. Had some fantastic internships, and after college joined some great companies in the online advertising space. Perfect in many ways…But it never felt right, and this feeling of unhappiness starting getting bigger and bigger…until I couldn’t avoid dealing with it anymore. I’d wasted too many years trying to be someone I wasn’t…So with the support of my wonderful awesome husband, I started making some changes in my life…and I have been trying to focus on what is really important to me even since.
It’s not easy, because the “wanna-be-a-cool-kid” in me still wants to show up pretty much every day. I’ll look at what others are doing and wish I could be them…but I am working on it. I am working on appreciating what I have for exactly what it is. On appreciating who I am. I know all of this may sound strange to a lot of people who have been following my personal blog and think that I have a pretty awesome life. And really, I do have a great life – and I am so so thankful for it. But the thing is, that’s also because I choose not to talk about the crying kids, and the small fights with my husband, and the messy house, and the moments when I feel so lost and angry and disappointed in myself. But I choose not to talk about these things because it’s just not what I want to remember 20 years from now. Because it is not what is going to matter in 20 years.
If you’ve read everything and made it this far….WOW! thank you. Thanks for listening to my rambling! And I swear, this was not at all me complaining and feeling sorry for myself. Like I said, I am SO SO grateful for everything I have in my life. This post is just an effort to bring more honesty and candidness to the blogging world. If you want to read the candid words from other bloggers, please go here for a list of blogs that are participating in the “Things I am afraid to tell you” movement. I hope you will be inspired by them, and even maybe write your own post? If you do, please send me the link or leave it in a comment, I would love to read it!
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For the daddy: Rosemary-based wild man beard wash by Wild Rose Herbs.
For the little one: Viking hooded towel by Mono-no Avare
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Ralph Waldo Emerson
Oh how I want to grab that pretty little basket that she’s holding. I’ll put flowers in the basket and a big chunk of happiness in my little heart. Fields of flowers is probably the reason why Southern France is one of my very favorite places on earth. It’s seems like they have it all down there: purple fields of lavender, yellow fields of sunflowers, green fields of olive trees. Shall we take a trip to Southern France, you and I? We’ll run around these endless fields of flowers, and bring a big blanket so we can have a nice little picnic right in the middle of all that prettiness. Raise your hand if you’re in!
1. Pretty green bag by Jenny N Design. | 2. Make your own spring flower lollipops! By Sprinkle Bakes
3. Merci print card by Thevy’s Herbarium. | 4. Perfect to run in the fields! Lotte knot clog on Loeffler Randall. | 5. Exploded flowers by Qi Wei, via Sparrow and Spark.| 6. Purple beaded necklace by A Merry Mishap. | 7. Lovely embroidered initial necklaces by The Merriweather Council.
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