some days
i just want some eye candy
today
i'm craving the french kind
it's so
tres chic
no?
(sorry
that's about the limit
of my un petit french vocabulary)
what is it about french bistro sets?
or about france itself
that is so lovely
tactile
romantic?
i could
(and have)
just sit and stare idly
at this composition
the colors alone
are mouth watering
i was browsing the other day
surfing
french properties
for sale
or
to let
not because
i'm going on holiday anytime soon
especially to europe
(did you like how i said
'on holiday'
not
'on vacation'?
just setting the mood)
once i started looking
i couldn't stop
until i was
bleary eyed
headachy
seeing double
but really
can you blame me
when you see pictures like this?
or
what is it
about stone dwellings
old
hoary
vined
pretty
ah
the requisite red geraniums
more properly called
pelargoniums
accross the pond
one of the elements i admire
of traditional, european style
is the simplicity
timelessness
beautiful usefullness
of everyday things
how many meals
have been cooked on this blackened hearth
consumed
around a simple pine table
covered in gingham oilcloth
and though i promise
i wasn't even looking for it
there's my aga
cream coloured (grin)
massive
gorgeous
wooden beds
white linens
stone walls
fine netting
sigh
a girl could dream
happy dreams
napping in this simple room
the first time i ever set eyes
on european style
was back in high school
when i became friends
with a girl named
sophie
whose family was
very french
when her parents emigrated to america
a decade earlier
they brought many pieces of fine old furniture
and keepsakes with them
in 1988
when every home one went to
was smothered
in country pink and blue
watermelons
ruffles
hearts
sophie's was
simply
elegantly
furnished
with low sofas
huge old armoires
(which were useful
for storing the television
stereo
clutter)
faded rugs
market stall oil paintings
mixed with lots of fat candles
silver framed photos
pale walls and floors
in the bedrooms
featherbeds
white duvets
cut glass bottles of scent
a mirrored table
all so totally
different
than anything i'd ever seen
while i might never be
fluent in the language
i did learn a few lessons in design
from my frenchy friend
simplicity
elegance
comfort
usefulness
beauty
can all coexist quite happily together
i'm still learning
au revoir!
