no telling any fibs this weekend....

I always loved the tale of naughty Pinocchio and his ever growing nose so when I saw this particular 'boy' in Milan I just had to take his photograph.

Have a very happy weekend, wherever you are in the world.

xv

image - me

i am not the only one who loves macaroni and cheese....

Ou Ravi Provencau restaurant in the village of Maussane les Alpilles makes the best macaroni and cheese. I know that sounds like a strange dish for a place like this but believe me there is nothing but foodie heaven after this taste sensation. I am sure the chef Jean Francois Richard would prefer that I write lyrically of his boeuf en daube, his home wood-fired jambon or his fois gras with petit radis and cornichons but I am a woman with simple tastes and sometimes macaroni cheese just hits the spot. Let me clarify ....the macaroni cheese is an accompaniment to his Provencal cooking but I wouldn't be all together truthful if I didn't admit to sometimes ordering for this side dish alone.

Ou Ravi has the prettiest decor imaginable - in the French country way - Pierre Deux meets Souleiado with a touch of Anthropologie thrown in. The fabrics are colourful, richly patterned and in abundance on the tables, chairs, banquettes and in the heavy curtains that keep the chill at bay on winter evenings. The china, pretty as a picture with floral motifs, changes for each course - I always want to throw my simple whites away after eating here; there is something so cosy and so comforting about old-style Provencal decor. I often think I prefer Ou Ravi in the winter, when we are tucked up inside with the log fire burning and the velvet curtains pulled tight against the night. A balmy summer evening sitting in the courtyard out back with flickering candlelight and I am not so sure.... All I know is that the macaroni and cheese tastes pretty good whatever the temperature.....

....The wall of photos is in the entrance hall....and it would appear that many famous folk have enjoyed the mac and cheese too....xv

Ou Ravi Provencau

34, av Vallee des Baux

13520 Maussane les Alpilles

+33 4 90 54 31 11 

www.ouravi.net

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the french market and hats... hats and more hats...

Each summer I find something that I 'can't live' without that is sold in the weekly markets. Last year it was a particular basket, the year before it was patterned quilts (they have become my tablecloth of choice) and this year....it is hats. Panamas and straws are in every market in the greatest shapes. I have taken a liking to the cute style that covers low over the forehead and flips up jauntily at the back. 

My little routine, to justify my growing hat obsession, goes something like this ....I leave the house for the market and conveniently forget to take my hat which means I must buy another one to protect myself from the sun. Last year same routine...forgot the basket....and the collection expanded in no time. It was so much more difficult the year before to rationalise the growing number of quilts .......Besides, whenever has too many of anything been a valid excuse for not buying more.... Click HERE for the market days in Provence.

So this year, hats it is .........xv

image - me

the french way to...bubble, bubble toil and ....

Not too much trouble.....

Apricots are at their best in Provence this very moment and I am finding every opportunity I can to enjoy them. Like all fruits - fresh is best - but if you feel like indulging in a little caramelised fantasy of mine...

wash, split and de-stone the apricots (allow about 4 per person)

slice each half into four lengthways

into a pan melt a good chunk of butter (any amount will do - the more the richer - but always enough so they don't stick to the bottom of the pan)

add the apricots and mix well

into the bubbling brew pour copious amounts of brown sugar to taste

let simmer away for about ten minutes and then turn off

just before serving....

re-heat and reduce the apricots so they are good and syrupy

serve a generous spoonful over a scoop of vanilla ice-cream
and

 a baby meringue for an accompaniment ...
 always a good idea....

xv

image - me

la vierge marie in the garden...

When we first found our farm in St Remy de Provence there wasn't much to call a garden. There were some established trees, an orchard of abandoned fruit trees, a few gnarly old olives and a whole lot of broken down buildings. There was nothing of value and everything of value. Amongst these ruins were two magnificent pine trees that soared above everything else and between these two specimens was a grotto. The limestone grotto was shabby and poorly built with a broken terracotta statue of the Virgin Mary sitting on a pedestal in the middle. 

My first instinct was to remove her as the statue offended my aesthetic sensibilities; she was in a poor state and the stone surrounds were in disrepair. In those days I longed for perfection in workmanship. I didn't understand how sentiment could change the way I think and how in time my emotions would filter what I see. In my mind, la Vierge Marie, didn't belong here and I had visions of contemporary sculpture in pride of place. Marie's removal wasn't a priority so she stayed put. It would be years before I could clear and landscape that part of the garden. Ten years on, Marie is still sitting there, unchanged and untouched. She is part of the garden and will stay that way. She will never look perfect but that doesn't matter, she belongs.

Why did I change my mind? How did I manage to leave something that is not necessarily pleasing to my eye alone? I came to realise that she meant a great deal to a secret visitor. Over the years as we renovated the property I would find floral tributes left by Marie's side - pretty posies, single blooms and sometimes even a vase filled with flowers. The visits and the tributes would coincide with religious festivals and holidays. I never saw who left the flowers and now that the renovations are over the visits have stopped. Living in France has made me sentimental, I just couldn't bring myself to move her...

Marie is part of my life and today it is me who is leaving the floral tributes and decorating her for holidays, xv.

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ten years on and the dream is well and truly alive....

My gorgeous friend Carla is celebrating. It is ten years ago that she swapped her corporate life in Sydney for the joy of living in Italy, finding true love and learning the art of photography. In her first book, Italian Joy, she writes of her dreams, her search for new beginnings and the happiness she ultimately found in Florence. It is a 'must read' for all of us romantics who dream of change and of faraway travel. 

Carla and I have been friends for what seems like forever. To say best friends sounds so corny and so childlike, but she is a best friend to me in the truest sense of the word. She is the best. We understand each other, we resonate to the same beat and we live and breath aesthetics. We both grew up in Australia and we both moved to Europe to pursue our dreams - hers Italian, mine French. Click here to read the introduction to Italian Joy and the chance to win one of her beautiful books. 

Follow your dreams....I think that's the simple message, xv

image of Eliza - carla

the french macaron rule....

I have a little rule about macarons and the eating of them..... It is a simple rule, just for me and one I try to follow. It is very easy to do....I say NO.  That is my rule, no macarons...not even my very, very, very favourite caramel with salted butter macaron is allowed to make me break. I know that sounds too tough but if you love macarons like I love macarons then rules need to apply. I can't stop at one or two or three or four...it's all or nothing, so I have had to apply a little tough love and self-impose this mean macaron embargo. I can't say, 'just another little one because I am on holiday' or, 'I won't be able to buy them next week so I must have one more'...These excuses don't work when the most delectable macarons for the tasting are only five minutes away in St Remy de Provence.

Les Gourmandises de To

39 boulevard Marceau

13210 Saint Remy de Provence

France

+33 4 90 90 55 34

Some rules are just made to be broken....that is the great thing about rules.... xv

image - me

what you can find in france when you aren't even looking...

I love an antique shop, adore a market and can spend countless hours riffling through brocantes and vide greniers - the French version of an open air antique market and a car boot sale. I am also a devoted visitor to L' Isle sur la Sorgue, a town that specialises in all things old, antique and everything in between. I venture out with an open mind; I don't have expectations for fabulous finds, but if I see something that grabs my attention then that is even better.

Last weekend I found these bell jars, covered in dirt and soot. Apparently they had been rescued from a house fire in good time and then scooped up by some clever antique dealer. I wasn't looking for these and nor did I have a place in mind for them....I am like that... a very impetuous shopper when it comes to old wares....

I bought them, managed to get them home without breaking or chipping the glass and spent several hours washing and rinsing them in white vinegar. For the moment they are on the glass coffee tables in the sitting room with some hydrangea blooms.....next week, they could be on the move....I can't help changing things around...I think that must come with the impetuous nature....

If I can't resist the impulse to move these beauties...what should I do with my new fabulous finds? I would love to know how you would arrange them....xv

image - me