My Tiny Front Porch

There is a famous quote "Envy is the art of counting the other fellow's blessings instead of your own." It is bad to be envious, but I seriously have a porch envy coz my front porch is TINY! Measurement is probably 3 feet wide and under 18 feet long...short and narrow. It must be a California thing, front porches are almost non-existent, which kinda makes sense coz lots of Californians are not very inviting, not like the south.

Well, I on the other hand want to have an inviting porch so I did a bit of revamping recently. I did not take a photo of before, but the only thing that was there was a tiny white swing bench. This is how it looks now:

Right side of the entry door



Left side of the entry door



Found the black trellis screen at my fave consignment store. I will paint it white later to match the two trellises on each side of the porch, but I am leaving it black for now since it could be a good backdrop for Halloween.



As you can see, I went for a french bistro theme, perfect for breakfast. The french bistro chairs are old, but the table I just recently bought at the consignment store also.



Here's a close up of the tabletop (gently used for $20)



The "bonjour" wall pocket with the last few blooms of my hydrangea bushes. The table vignette shows an Eiffel Tower, a candle, a tea tray with espresso/teacups and teapots.




My old bistro sign




I found an all "bistro" collection for this tablescape



Le tray



Cups that can be used for either tea or coffee



A cafe teapot for one



The back side of my bistro teapot



And the cute front side



An essential part of our breakfast, chocolat chaud (hot cocoa) ala parisienne



Eh voila...our tiny front porch, french bistro style. Perfect for a tête-à-tête breakfast with mon cheri :-)



Linking this post for the first time with Cindy's Show and Tell Friday. Cindy is the author of a very famous blog My Romantic Home, where every post is simply the best.

I'm also linking to French Country Cottage's 2nd Feather Nest Friday linky party. She's got some inspiring fall decors to share with us this week.

Random Act of Whiteness

Just wanted to share some random old and new white elements around my house.


New white pumpkins inside the cloche



An eclectic collection of white, beige and blue



Vintage leather books and the buddha




The white ceramic with a handle and painted with gold fleur de lis all around is called a "silent butler". Back in the days, the servants carried this thing around the dining table after meal to collect ashes and crumbs.



My giant white fairytale pumpkin and mini white pumpkins as I get ready to decorate for Halloween and Fall.



More white pumpkins in my candelier



My chandelier in the bedroom...



And my bath which always reminds me of an upside down wedding cake.




New white shutters bought from a consignment store for $5








Stephanotis (madagascar jasmine) which smells so heavenly especially at night.



And finally my white hammock...



Where I love to cuddle with my white Coco Chanel poodle.



Linking this post with Faded Charm's White Wednesday. Yipee, I can see the weekend from here!

Tea with Marie Antoinette

I have finally completed my cake decorating classes at Wilton's! From my very first class, my goal is to make a real pretty cake...pretty enough to name it "Marie Antoinette". So here is my cake ala Marie Antoinette and to celebrate, it's time to bring out my french tea set from Limoge. Hmmm, the only missing element is my gown and jewels :)

J'adore this tea set!!!



It was a present from my dear father-in-law. He found it at a flea market a few years back and thought it's a perfect gift for me. Isn't he the sweetest guy for thinking of me.



I tried to take a photo of the Limoge print but this is as good as it gets - sorry







By the way, this cake stand is the inspiration for my Marie Antoinette cake. It's Shabby Chic brand that I got at Target about five years ago. I always find inspiration everywhere, even as inexpensive as this cake plate.










Oui oui...Que c'est beau la vie!



S'il vous plaît click HERE, HERE, and HERE for more cakes created at Marie's Maison.



Sharing this post with Terri and Martha's Teacup Tuesday party. Also linking to Pam and Wanda Lee's Teapot and Tea Things Tuesday party. Merci beaucoup ladies for hosting such fun parties. Happy Tuesday!

Mon Jardin in Autumn

Autumn has arrived, but in my side of the world, we are just finally getting the bright, sunny and hot climate that eluded us all summer long. I'm not kidding, it was seriously so gray, cold and gloomy that I'm so happy to be getting such a nice weather today. So of course I'm out here in mon jardin with my camera and taking photos of how everything looks.


These are the golden senna bushes we planted two years ago. They bloom about this time of the year and they literally produce the most amazing showers of vivid golden yellow flowers.







They also come with butterflies that are exactly the same color as the flowers (look closely)



And huge bumblebees








In the backyard, my avocado tree is full of fruit ready to be picked (yum!)



The branches are literally so close to the ground coz the avocados are getting so heavy (see little Maxx under my white bench)



It's his favorite hiding space



My hammock and the vines are finally full grown around it





Mon cheri very hard at work!












I just added these wall of shutters this morning in my garden. I found them for $5 each at a consignment store last week and I was stoked at how cheap they were, I bought all six of them.



The door is old (from my old closet prior to remodeling), the french sign is old as well.







Voila...a new outdoor room!



These stephanotis (madagascar jasmine) are finally blooming after two years. My dear mother has been giving it extra TLC. These are the jasmines that brides use as bouquets, their scent is pure heaven!







My guest cottage where dear mother lives...I call it "granny flat", previously posted about it here.




Grapevine stopped bearing grapes, but lots of foliage




I have one red hot chili pepper left in my potagerie, and that's pretty much what's left in the veggie garden



And some herbs



And a few...I mean very few rose blooms







Like I said, since today's weather is perfectly sunny, mon cheri et moi headed to the beach and did a little bit of fishing











Sharing this post for Show Off Your Cottage Monday with Cielo and her magical blog from House in the Roses