Al fresco luncheon

Good morning!

Today I have photos of the wonderful al fresco luncheon I attended this past Saturday at the 3 French Hens Market!

This lovely girl worked very hard to set a beautiful table and make the whole atmosphere pretty for those of us attending the luncheon...

Traci also styles weddings, and is very talented at what she does!

Both Traci and Monica have shops in Morris, IL that I LOVE and run the monthly 3 French Hens Market.  This summer they have coordinated a series of al fresco dining events as well!

The luncheon, featured Traci Thorson and Anne Marie Klaske from the book Pieography!  Plus we made a fresh floral arrangement with the gorgeous roses you see in the buckets above.

So many lovely details!  The little packet of moss below was part of our supplies to make our fresh floral arrangements...

The luncheon was set in the shade of a large tree, right next to the flea market, so you could shop before or after the luncheon!  I will have photos of the market to share soon as well!!

Even the food was pretty :)

This watermelon gazpacho was delicious!

...and I love how the salad was served...

Anne Marie baked all of the seriously yummy pies that we had for dessert...

The next luncheon event will be in July...Grilling with Herbs!

For more information or to sign up, you can email Traci@whimsydecor.com

There is also a Farm to Table {al fresco} event on August 10th that sounds amazing...with the best farmers market produce prepared by local chefs and complimented by wine from local vendors!!!

You can find 3 French Hens on Facebook too

********************

I wanted to also let you know about a new magazine that has just come out...Inspiration Vintage Magazine

Doesn't it look gorgeous??!!  Melinda has worked very hard on this and I can't wait to get my copy in the mail!!!  There are so many talented bloggers that I truly admire contributing to this magazine, so it is sure to be a treat when it gets here :))

Go *HERE* to order your digital or print copy

********************

Lastly, just wanted to let you know that the July issue of Jeanne d' Arc Living Magazine is in the shop for pre-order and will be out July 1st!

Hope you have a fabulous weekend!

Tracey

lilacs, faux milk glass, and French laundry labels

Hello! 

 I have a couple of quick photos to share of my mantel from last week when my lilacs were {finally} in full bloom and at their peak!  We have had A LOT of rain and not much sunshine lately...so I was only able to take a few photos, as the sun was shining in this room for maybe 20 minutes the whole week {where is summer??}.

I spray painted a few of the {many} old glass bottles that I have, making them look like milk glass bottles.  I have wanted to do this ever since Sweet Paul did something similar for his "Norwegian Winter Light" feature for Better Homes and Gardens a few years ago.

I chose to use Krylon's semi-gloss white spray paint for my bottles. I was quite happy with how they turned out and have already come up with a few ideas on how I'd like to use these again at Christmas time :)

I also tossed a bit of my vintage French laundry labels into the mix...I love using these as ribbon because they are just so pretty!

********************

My friend, Jeanne, has recently added a few new bags to her SHOP.  I own MANY Jeanne Oliver bags and always receive such lovely compliments on them!  Jeanne is extremely talented at choosing fabrics and designing unique bags!!!

I LOVE her new Mia Camera Bag and wound up buying one for myself...

{photo courtesy of Jeanne Oliver Designs}

********************

I also wanted to let you know about the wonderful Santos/Cage Doll online course that my friend, Jennifer Rizzo is teaching.  It started last week, but there is still plenty of time to jump in and catch up on the fun...

Click *HERE* to find out more information!

Hope you have a great weekend!!!  I will be back next week with photos from the 3 French Hens luncheon and flea market!

Tracey

Macro Photography and the 3 French Hens Event

Hello!  Hope you all are having a lovely week!

Today I have a sampling of some of the pictures I have taken recently with my new macro lens.  I have wanted the 100mm f2.8L Macro lens from Canon for 2 years now and finally bought it a few months ago.  I LOVE it!  But I have to admit that it is a little tricky for me to get the hang of, being new to macro photography...the focus point is VERY precise with this lens, so you have to be very careful when taking your photo or it just turns out all wrong {I still haven't quite got it, but I am working on getting better!}.

I used this lens for quite a few of my product shots after our last trip to France...

I've also just played around with items from around the house for practice :))

This last one is of my 5 year old at Easter...

********************

I also wanted to tell you about a wonderful upcoming event that I am attending and thought that maybe some of you in the Chicagoland area would be interested in as well...

The 3 French Hens Ladies Luncheon

Traci and Anne Marie will be there signing their new book!!!!!!!!!!  And I am really looking forward to the 3 French Hens Flea Market after the luncheon, as I have always really enjoyed it! Hope some of you can make it!

Contact Traci@WhimsyDecor.com for more information or to purchase tickets to the luncheon.

Happy rest of your week ~

Tracey

More lily of the valley in the house...

Good morning!

I'm back with a few more images of the lily of the valley bunches that I have tucked around our home.  They smell so heavenly, that I thought the entryway would be the perfect place to keep some of these...so that anyone entering our home, could enjoy their lovely fragrance!

This large, vintage mirror is the first thing people see when they enter our home.  I bought it 10 years ago and still LOVE it!  You can see the armoire we brought down from Caighton's room reflected in the mirror.  It now sits next to the front door and houses all of the kids shoes, backpacks, and coats.  We are working on a new "closet" for Caighton.

I decided to display my vintage Ball jar collection on top of the armoire for now.  All of the blue Ball jars I have are from my in-laws...they saved them for many years from their own parents and then passed them on to Steve and I a few years ago.  They are very special to me!

I currently have my vintage French dry sink planted with lavender and taking the place of the usual farm table in the family room.  Whole Foods had the most gorgeous French lavender plants when I went there recently and I just couldn't resist buying one...so the house is just brimming with good smells right now!! :))

********************

We will be watching this little cutie over the weekend...my niece, Sophie.

I took these photos a few weeks ago for her 2 year old "photo shoot."  She is a little pistol to try and get a smile out of for the camera!!   So like my own kids!

We are excited to have Sophie stay with us for a few days :)

Hope you all have a fabulous holiday weekend!!!

Tracey

lily of the valley

Happy Thursday!

I picked about 200 sprigs of lily of the valley from my garden the other day and have dispersed their loveliness around the house!  So I thought I would share some photos of where I tucked them with you today.

Lily of the valley reminds me of my childhood, as we always had them on the north side of the house growing up, and the plants that I started with here at my own home were from my parent's garden...it has taken a few years for them to multiply, but this year I had a lot of blooms :)

These photos were taken in my daughter Halena's room.

The vintage French perfume bottles are a favorite of mine from Maria's beautiful shop, Dreamy Whites.

I will be back tomorrow with more photos from around my home with these sweet little flowers.

Enjoy your day ~

Tracey