French Flea & Tea

Bonjour! It is Tuesday and this week, I wanted to share a teacup find from a flea market in Paris...mais oui :) Back in December 2007, I was in bliss when mon cher agreed that we could spend Christmas in Paris with our daughter and niece. Bien sur, one of my not to miss visit is le Marché aux Puces in St-Ouen de Clignancourt. It is very easy to find this flea market just take the metro from Paris center and voila, flea market heaven!


This teacup and saucer is so dainty and called a demitasse. I paid 4.95 euros and was all smiles when it was being wrapped in a Paris newspaper :)



This french tea set was a Christmas gift from my daughter. Unbeknownst to me, she purchased it and surprised me on Christmas morning.



These teacups are used all the time. They look good with one of my favorite found object, an antique chest with the name of the previous owner. The tag is still attached as well. I always picture a very stylish Kathy Sousa.



The ivory and brass door knob is another Anthropologie find :)











By the way, as follow-up from last week's tea post, this is how my final fondant cake looked like. My teacher really liked it, and so did I. Speaking of my teacher...I would like to thank her for being so patient with me, coz I really thought I was a hopeless case. She was great and wonderful to me and to all the other students. Merci beaucoup Ms. Terri from Wilton Cake Class at the Michael's in Oceanside :)






Linking this post with two of my favorite parteas:

Pam and Wanda Lee's Teapot and Tea Things Tuesday. Their blogs are total eye candies!

Teacup Tuesday party hosted by Terri and Martha. They have the prettiest collection of teacups and so do all the participants of this party.

Mix and Match Teacups

Happy Tuesday all! Here's my tea set collection I want to share this week. Mixing and matching is my very personal style, I'm quite eclectic that way. So as you can see, here is the overall setup I put together...pairing up the old with new pieces.





This turquoise birdcage is a jewelry holder that I bought last week at Marshall's for $12. I thought I'd repurpose and use it to put my demi-cups and saucers.





As you can see, the cups that are hanging do not all match. The Paris bistro cups and saucers are also my favorite.





This turquoise cup and saucer is a favorite find. It's actually new, meaning it's from Anthropologie which I got about two years ago.




These set however is vintage. I found them in an "paper shop" that also sells old and new collectible items.




I think it's called a tea sandwich set. I fell in love with the shape of the plate, almost like a seashell and liked how dainty they look. Totally perfect for ladies getting together for high tea.




This set is also new, not vintage. I like the height of the cups and that it reminds me of "Russian Tea".




Here's one of my fave tea which I sip after a rich and heavy meal. It's called Thé Vert ala Vanille (Vanilla flavored Green Tea) from Palais des Thes in Paris. Lucky me, I can find it in a nearby teashop.





Finally, here are some cake decorations I made from fondant. I'm letting them air dry and will be using for my final cake decorating class tonight. It's a baby themed cake. Wish me luck to pull off a nice looking cake.




Linking this post with Teacup Tuesday party hosted by Terri and Martha. They have the prettiest collection of teacups and so do all the participants of this party.

Also linking this post with Pam and Wanda Lee's Teapot and Tea Things Tuesday. Their blogs are total eye candies!

From Trash to Treasure

It was a busy weekend for me as I did some rearranging in my back patio. The main reason for this redecorating is because I have a neighbor who has been doing a huge remodeling job. So when I saw a few items that he was about to throw away, I immediately asked if I can have them instead. Lucky me...it's like winning a huge giveaway!

As you will see, the patio space off my master suite is tiny but with a little bit of work, I made it charming. The french doors is the entry to the master bedroom from the backyard. I like how in just a few steps, I can get into the hammock, listen to the birds, the water from the fountain, and instantly relax.

















This old white bookcase and a pair of old white windows were my neighbor's trash. I salvaged them and immediately knew what to do with them. What's that saying...one person's junk is another person's treasure?




All the accessories are mine...on clearance at Armstrong Gardens and Michael's Arts and Crafts.









This is my white french birdcage that Mon Cher got for me as a present from Anthropologie a few years ago. Yes, there are birds in that cage. The white door is also old...it was an old closet door, and there is the other old window.










Here they are, my sweet little finches...Napoleon and Josephine. They make the cutest sounds, but they are also quite messy :)



Linking this post with Faded Charm's White Wednesday. This is turning to be one of my favorite blogs and blog party.

Linking this post with Cielo from Show Off Your Cottage Monday. Please check out her blog A House in the Roses if you want to be enchanted!

Charming Beach House

This charming beach house, located in a charming town in Newport Beach, California, is about 1000 square feet or so. Although small in size, it is huge in character! This is the happiest, brightest, most vibrant and cheerful home I have ever seen. It was featured in House Beautiful recently, but I remember seeing this house in real time once, during a visit at this quaint town. J'adore everything about this house most especially how the bold and colorful styles are put together so well, but does not look cluttery at all!




































Who says you have to live in a big house to exude great style? The house above proves otherwise...and so does mon petite beach cottage. It's only 1400 sq ft but it sure gets lots of compliment!



On a different note, I would like to thank deux of the sweetest bloggers in blogtown for giving me these awesome awards. Je vous remercie YSL Guy and Nita, it's a great honor to receive them from you!

From the skincare guru YSL guy of Let them Eat Cupcakes

From the talented artist Nita of Mod Vintage Life

YOU make my HEART sing!

How About a New Camera?

Sometimes I ask myself "how dare I" have a blog when oftentimes I cannot even take a decent photo worth sharing. No, I do not claim to be a photographer, nor it is a hobby of mine to take pictures. So what gives??? What's the secret to capturing good photos for someone like me who is clueless? Well...how about a better camera? Duh!

I borrowed my brother's camera...it's a Canon Rebel with one of those telephoto (telescopic?) lens and has a great feature...aperture and depth of field. I then went to one of my fave garden center and just started clicking away.

Here are a few outdoor shots I took using the aperture


























Gotta save up and get a better camera. Makes a huge difference!


Anyway, here are other outdoor shots (not taken by me) with super charming white styles.





















Lastly, I just had to share these photos I took using my Canon Point and Shoot. While at my routine walk at the beach, I can't help but notice this clever little squirrel. Someone had left bread crumbs on the rocks, and he just couldn't decide whether it's a trap or a treat for him. I was there for five minutes watching him and he did not even take one piece...I could sure learn a lesson from this one cautious squirrel.






Linking this post with Susan's Outdoor Wednesday and Kathleen's White Wednesday.