24 December 2013

Joyeux Noël From Our House to Yours!


To all my dear readers, friends and family... here is a little glimpse at our house ready now for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We are having a cozy family gathering tonight, then tomorrow will go across the San Francisco Bay to celebrate with Tante Lucile! I would love to see your Christmas pictures and hear about your plans for celebrating!


the angel watches over us all..

the tree is done in all gold and is in a zinc barrel with
gauzy gold wrap


the stockings are hung, the table is getting ready for the Christmas eve feast of
Dungeness crab and raclette, followed by Almond Cake

the wreath is hung...

the festive table cloth is ready...



the tulips and Minton plates are so pretty together...

the dessert buffet is filling up....


..with candies from Mexico and France...


we wait for evening to light candles, play music and begin our celebration...




Hope your Christmas is wonderful and warm
and full of good cheer
and peace for the weary earth, please!




lots of love and 



18 December 2013

Girlfriends, Curl Up With { Forever Chic } by Tish Jett!



"Life is a unique blend of realism and joie de vivre.
Life has its unavoidable
complications and challenges,
but that never precludes an
appreciation and celebration of the joys of life"



In this delicious book my very good friend Tish Jett imparts her hard won insight into a culture that celebrates women of all ages.. yes, the French! American born, she has lived near Paris for the last 25 years. Hers is the incredibly popular and very witty blog: A Femme d'une Certain Age (you MUST follow her blog, cherie!) which is full of insights and lots of pithy advice from the vantage point of life lived among the ever chic French women in her circle.

It will also give you... if "the last time YOU saw 40 was on the speedometer"..some deliciously practical advice to make the very most of yourself just as you are. 

A favorite new tip I learned from Tish's book Forever Chic... Frenchwomen's Secrets for Timeless Beauty, Style and Substance :  "I recommend, as do estheticians, that for an intensive post-pajama winter treatment, we sleep in a layer of the [argan or shea] butter."  That's right, slather it all over your body, don old sweats and t-shirt, and sleep while your skin luxuriates. She even has suggestions for how to handle the man in your life when you do these beauty treatments :) Guess what I will be sleeping in tonight?


This wonderful read will make you rethink age, beauty, well-being and style. Get it for your girlfriends... perfect holiday gift...they will love you for it!  My copy is already dog-eared and water-spotted from my soaking tub.

Thank you Tish for this lovely new book, and do join us in Provence in the spring, cherie!








***


My Chic Provence Design Tour is selling quickly! 
Come join me this spring!  This is the perfect
Christmas gift so begin hinting now, cherie!






see details and what happy guests have to say:
download registration forms here 




questions? 
skype me: kitgolson
call or text me:  650-302-6883








16 December 2013

{ Remodelista 2013 Holiday Market }: Well Made Things You Will Want, All in One Place


I spent the perfect Saturday afternoon in San Francisco...first, lunch with one of my very best buds at hipster-magnet Universal Cafe (cornmeal fried oyster sandwich on rustic bread with remoulade...with me so far?).. then a quick walk around the corner to the Heath Ceramics building to visit the Remodelista 2013 Holiday Market.

If you like beautiful, well made things that will last a lifetime, then this Market is for you. Thirty or so carefully chosen vendors and their wares are set up in a relaxing atmosphere in the wide open Heath warehouse which also houses a Blue Bottle (yes!) coffee bar and a couple of large lounges for .. well, lounging! The vibe is modern classics meet local artisans, and it is a wonderfully refreshing experience after so many flea markets recently visited by moi

Remodelista founder Julie Carlson's new book is out  Remodelista: A Manual for Considered Living... and if you have visited their blog (is there really anyone on this planet who has yet to visit it?) you will understand the incredible scope and depth of the collective efforts of the four contributing partners who apparently share the same design DNA... classic modern, pragmatic, well made, reused if possible, and very good looking. Bonus: the book was available at the Market for signing.  I snagged a copy and chatted briefly with the Julie herself, then strolled through the marketplace. Come along with me!


welcome to the Heath Ceramics factory and showroom for the
Remodelista Holiday Market 2013... that's Julie Carlson
in the middle of the last photo in this section


***



first stop for me... my good friend Tricia Rose's
Rough Linen stand... isn't she beautiful? and her linen
line is expanding greatly... wanted to grab one of those
pinafores and some more napkins... Tricia made the most

beautiful wide horizontal blue & white striped linen
curtains for our bedroom.. to be shown a later blog post!


***



the Shed is a Healdsburg, CA "market, cafe, and
community gathering place offering good food,
quality provisions, tried and true kitchen tools,
classes and workshops" ... and little lighted
olive trees too!



***




Jess Brown makes beautiful clothing: simply designed
gold-shot linen tops, gorgeous knitted alpaca sweaters...
and those little critters!


***


that's Michael Zimmerman giving me the "hollywood arms"pose
in front of his inimitable stack of vintage Louis Vuitton steamer
chests... he's the proprietor of Big Daddy's Antiques


***



the lovely Dagmar Daley designs these beautiful handmade children's
clothing line.. be sure to check out her online store


***



stunning pottery from Pope Valley Pottery.. that large bowl holds at least three gallons
I was told... I WANT that bowl, can't you see it filled with pomegranates and limes?

***




beautiful and useful braided bags by Llane Alexis,
a self-taught artist, "born and raised in a matriarchal
household of Havana, Cuba".. you have to visit
the website

***




more stunning pottery to covet... by Richard Carter Studio


***


Erica Tanov has a stunning clothing line.. as well as these cheeky, happy linen prints..


***


I was having so much fun checking out all the "traveler's notebooks,
Japanese wooden spoons and brass stencils" that I did not
get the name of this charming vendor of curated Japanese items



***




more stunning white pottery, this time from
Vandermolen Ceramics


***




I loved meeting Heidi Swanson of Quitokeeto... and author of
this cookbook... she is gorgeous and blogs at 101Cookbooks
(that's her on the right above)


***



these contemporary fine linens are from Huddleston..he uses
light Italian linen and screens original designs onto
table linens... absolutely beautiful things.. be sure to check out
his website for views of the linens in use! 


***


here is Heritage Culinary Artifacts... and if you love cooking,
you will love this site for its collection of nostalgic and
useful items for the culinarist in all of us!


***


and that concludes our little tour of the
Market... time to stop in for a 
cuppa
Blue Bottle and a stroll outside


Hope you have enjoyed this longer-than-usual blog post, I wanted to give you a really good feeling for being at this very fun market... if you are in San Francisco, look for future Remodelista Markets, also in Los Angeles and New York.

Be sure to click on the links for each vendor... you will love their gorgeous sites and beautiful, artisinal things.. maybe even do a little last minute Christmas shopping too!


***


My Chic Provence Design Tour is selling quickly! 
Come join me this spring!  This is the perfect
Christmas gift so begin hinting now, cherie!






see details and what happy guests have to say:
download registration forms here 




questions? 
skype me: kitgolson
call or text me:  650-302-6883




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