Memories of Christmas Past

Mon cheri has been asking me what I wanted for Christmas this year. I had told him what I want is to go somewhere this Christmas. Unfortunately, we are unprepared and don't have the means to go anywhere this year so all I can do is reminisce and look at photos of our Christmas trip to France and Italy two years ago.

Around middle of December 2007, we flew from San Diego to Paris. From Paris, we rented a tiny car that fits four people (with my daughter and niece) and drove to Chamonix - Montblanc, France. It's a very quaint little town that is famous for skiing. We stayed at a chalet called Les Campanules-

When we got to Montblanc, the snow was literally as thick as this photo of the chalet and since we arrived there late, we had a hard time finding the chalet. But it was worth visiting since it is as charming as I imagined it would be.



Here's the town at night.



After staying in Montblanc, we crossed the border and headed to Italy.



I can still remember how cold it was, but was excited to get to Venice which was our next stop.



This Christmas tree made of colorful Venetian glass was an exhibit in one corner of St. Mark's Square.



After Venice, we visited Florence, Siena and Rome. The photo below was taken on the street of Via Veneto, one of the most expensive shopping places in Rome (sort of their Rodeo Drive, or 5th Avenue).



And this photo of the nativity was taken inside the Duomo in Florence.



After driving around parts of Italy, we took a side trip to Monaco. Here's the famous casino in Montecarlo. It's not as big as I thought it would be...actually it's a small casino compared to our casinos in Vegas, but really classy.






After Monaco, we drove back to Paris. It was my goal to attend midnight mass on Christmas eve in Notre Dame. The experience was quite heavenly to me.

Here's a Christmas tree in front of the Notre Dame.





And here's the choir who sang for a good three hours before the actual mass. I remember how we planned to get there early so we could get seats. We arrived at Notre Dame at 9 p.m., and to my surprise, there were hundreds of people who got there before us (duh)!



Of course, our Christmas experience is not complete without visiting the famous Galeries Lafayette on Blvd. Haussmann at the ninth arrondissement.










And on our last day in Paris, we were lucky enough to visit the Opera Garnier, which was as lavish as I expected it to be. Didn't see the Phantom though.



It will probably be a few more years before we can have a wonderful Christmas trip like this one, so here I am, enjoying the memories. Joyeux Noel everyone!

Granny Flat

I finally got a chance to take more photos of my 400 sq ft detached garage which I converted to a granny flat. I talked about it previously in this post. My Mom is now living in this space and she said she's loving it. The decoration is mostly hers with a little bit of help from moi.



Mon cheri built this awning over the front door and I added the sign from a piece of wood scrap I found.










When you first walk-in, looking to the right is her dining area. The divider screens and separates her dining and sleeping area




Here's her daybed with plenty of storage space.








My mother also luvs to collect plates. I revamped this old garage wall unit by decoupaging the inside shelves and replacing the pull-out knobs.



Here is another store bought storage cabinet but I replaced the knobs. Mom sewed the cushion cover.



Here's the kitchen in its current lived in state.






Her mailbox



And outdoor seating space.



I've already posted photos of her bathroom on this post. Her flat's tiny bedroom and closet still needs some sprucing up, so that will be posted next.


GARAGE BEFORE:



AFTER

Sparkly Christmas Decor

I've decorated my living/dining room a bit sparkly this year and added some bling-bling as they say. Last year after Christmas, I bought a bunch of sparkly ornaments with silvery sprinkles, mirrored balls, mercury glass, etc. They were all 75% off so I bought quite a few. This is the first time I've decorated in this style and I think I like it.

This is my white vintage Christmas tree. I've been using this tree for the last 12 years, and the placement of it moves around depending on whether I get a live tree or not.



Here are the ornaments I bought at 50-75% off at Michael's Arts and Crafts after xmas last year.




Here's my chandelier from Ikea which I decorate every Christmas.



And voila...my sparkly Christmas decor





(double-click on the photo above to enlarge for detailed image of the ornaments)

























Whew...that's it for my Christmas decorating project. Next...


P.S.
Merci beaucoup to Claudie from Bubblin' Over for having Marie's Maison as her "featured site of the week." Her blog is becoming one of my j'adore blogs!

Outdoor Christmas Decor

The weather was perfect yesterday. It was warm and sunny so I started to do some outdoor Christmas decorating. I kept it simple and didn't go crazy with the lights. Just added them to the garland around my picket fence and a few in the backyard.





I was stoked to find this ribbon that is almost the same color as Marie's Maison. Added a white poinsettia and voila!






















See those Christmas stocking planters on the steps? I bought them at an after Christmas sale last year for 99 cents each. I almost forgot to bring them out too coz they were way in the back of my shed. I think they're cute!






Here are the lights I put up in mon jardin.



And here they are at night








I'm quite content with my outdoor decor. I wanted to keep it simple and understated so this will do. Oh, and I finally painted my rusty old black mailbox. This is how it looks now.




Finally, I'm sharing this post with the wonderful host Susan from A Southern Daydreamer for Outdoor Wednesday. Please check out the other Outdoor Wednesday participants for inspiring ideas.