Fabulous Chic Provence Design Tour 2013 Giveaway from { Rough Linen }!

{ Enter Now to Win Fabulous Rough Linentm 
 a Pair of Pillow Slips & Flat Sheet 
worth over $250 }

deadline extended to January 31, 2013!!

that's Tricia herself (can you say Grace Kelly lookalike?) ... demonstrating on
her site just How to Make the Bed using Flat Linen Sheet for bottom sheet;
check out all her videos here 

Bonjour a tous! Hope you are enjoying these wonderful and relaxing holidays... don't you love the two four-day weekends we have this year... 

Today I'm excited to offer you a chance to win these stunning bed  linens from Rough Linen... just in time for those post-holiday long winter's naps! Let me tell you about this incredible Chic Provence Design Tour Printemps 2013 special giveaway worth over $250!

The talented and very lovely Tricia Rose of Rough Linen has teamed with me to offer her gorgeous pair of pillow slips and flat sheet in her signature natural linen for a Chic Provence readers' drawing! Her linens evoke the spirit of the south of France and are handmade from the oldest fiber known...incredibly durable, chic and smart, you will use these linens for generations. To receive fabric samples from Tricia, go here.  Find Rough Linen on Facebook  & Pinterest too.

This incredible giveaway is to promote our extremely popular Chic Provence Design Tour Printemps 2013, in Provence. Do join us, cherie! Download the brochure below and come with us!

***

All you have to do to earn ONE chance in the drawing:

• Be a follower and subscriber to Chic Provence
• Like Chic Provence on Facebook
• Follow Chic Provence on Twitter
• Follow my Pinterest boards
• Share this button/link on FB, Twitter, Pinterest and/or Blogger 
• Leave a comment here so I can place your name in the drawing!

To earn TWO chances in the drawing, do the above plus:

• Place our Tour Button on your blog right away and link it to http://chicprovence.blogspot.it/2012/12/announcing-our-chic-provence-design.html

Finally, to earn THREE chances in the drawing, do the above plus:

• Write a blog post about the Chic Provence Design Tour Printemps 2013 by January 10, 2013

download the brochure here

I'll post a link on my blog to everyone who posts about a Chic Provence Design Tour Printemps 2013 .

Note:  Be sure to register for our Tour before January 15 to get a $300 discount for early registration! Join us in l'Isle sur la Sorgue for an unforgettable journey in the heart of Provence, with a designer blogger as your guide and a very luxurious villa as your home!

The drawing will be January 31, 2013. 

Tricia Rose will work with the lucky winner directly 

to give you exactly the gorgeous linens 

that your heart desires and your bed requires!

{ Bonne Chance! }

Thank you for helping me spread the word about our  

Chic Provence Design Tour Printemps 2013! 

Provençal Kitchen and Potager

In Provence early last spring, this was our breakfast kitchen and little herb garden (le potager)... utterly charming, why would you want to be anywhere else? The cafes au lait, les croissants, le pain, le beurre, les yaourts et ses fruits...  everything tastes better in this little Provençal kitchen.

Why not come with us this year and see for yourself :)  You will come to love this little spot as much as I do. Join me on a Chic Provence Design Tour Printemps 2013.

The photos are grainy... I used my iPhone in low light.. but hope you will at least be able to absorb some of the charm of this cozy and delightful cuisine du petit dejeuner.

this magnificent sideboard was likely a butchers block originally... today it serves
to hold our breakfast and look completely charming!

I love the tall windows looking out onto one of the covered terrasses and 
le piscine... don't you love an antique crystal chandelier over 
your breakfast table?

stunning la Calanche stove, range hood, blackened
backsplash, wooden furniture used in the kitchen
and tomettes on the floor create wonderful
Provençal ambiance

of course no French kitchen is complete
without le coq... symbol of France!

hammered zinc tabletop, wrought iron and again
those wonderful tommettes

Steven and Lisa shop the bakeries early morning and bring us
the freshest breads and croissants imaginable!

a cheerful sight to awaken the senses

steps away on the other side of the villa is the kitchen garden... le potager...

and a clothesline for drying linens in the sunshine...

early spring in le potager and we have a little work to do!

or maybe we will sit on the bench and enjoy the views....

 le potager is beginning to shape up!

we might have a little lunch next to le potager 

or stop for a chat and un cafe next to le potager 

either way, it's a wonderful little spot for that perfect Provençal moment!

pretty geraniums are coming back to life

an iron garden gate as only found in the charming
Provençal countryside

You MUST come with us next time on the Chic Provence Tour!

download the brochure here  
download registration forms here 


We quickly sold last year so let me know right away 
if you want to join us for this incredible Chic Provence Tour!



questions? 

email me
skype me: kitgolson
call or text me:  650-302-6883

no Provence tour is complete without it...
can you smell the lavender yet?

Boxing Day

Some of you might know that one of my four brothers died on 12-12-12. I got the call that evening and was shocked beyond comprehension. Youngish, sturdy and strong, with a heart as big as Texas, Jeff succumbed to complications from a surgery that should have been routine. I miss him terribly; his gruff southern accent, his very amusing and philosophical views on the world, and the way we laughed to tears at jokes that only a brother and sister could think were funny!

My heart broken, I travelled home to bury him and to be with my family. I just returned two nights ago. Needless to say our Christmas celebrations have been almost nonexistent. 

But today our small west coast family gathered for Boxing Day and opening presents. I found great solace in taking a little time to create a small celebration, including a real southern menu for dinner and decorating the table with simple things like a manzanita branch and old family things. I just wish Jeff were here to celebrate with us; but I know that he is somewhere with a great big set of new angel wings growing out of his back, and will probably swoop down for a peek. He had no end of fascination with the way his sister fussed around with things. 

Simply done, and the best I could muster under the circumstances. The evening brought a measure of cheer and comfort to those of us mourning his loss. We had a quiet, peaceful time together.

simple bay leaves are pretty against the silver charger and shell plates;
different patterns of silverware and heirloom glass plates are
part of the simple holiday setting

that's a manzanita branch standing in for
extemporaneous centerpiece surrounded
by votives and some greenery from the garden

pretty vintage glass plates for bread and butter

the manzanita is topped by a Monrovian star that
my grandmother Amie brought back from her travels to
Turkey in the 1920's

the soft glow of candlelight is irresistible

the sideboard with angels marching across

hoping this season finds you happy and warm

 and in the heart of your family

 with love from Kit

between naps on the porch

Joyeux Noël!

To all my lovely readers, followers and dear friends, wishing for you a season of warmth, joy, peace and happiness as we all come to the end of another year and seek the renewal of new life...thank you for your many kindnesses this year!

with love from Kit

This Little Charmer...

...arrived yesterday from Betty Lou Phillips  (you know her for her amazing line up of French design books) by way of beloved blogger of A Femme d'un Certain Age fame, Tish Jett.. and what a captivating little story it is! Charmingly illustrated, this is the  haute stocking stuffer of the season!  You can buy it below for all your chic girlfriends this Christmas!

click here to buy!

click here to browse
Betty Lou Phillips'
iconic French
design books

thanks for stopping by!   Kit

Keeping it Real: Chemex Cozy from Felted Wool Sweater

Someone I love loves a Chemex  {a naked, chilly Chemex} to make his morning coffee. But in San Francisco, where it is always un peu chilly, one must take steps to keep one's coffee warm, non?

So the perfect Christmas gift for him, {using that which I already have around the house, kind of a thing this Christmas}, is a Chemex cozy. I am going to felt an old sweater and make the cutest little jacket for this glass Chemex that you ever did see!

What do you think? that's an old brown and white (from the 70's actually!) herringbone sweater, and I'll line it with the groovy brown/turquoise remnant....don't laugh, I'm really going to make this :) !   Now where is that old leather cording, and some cool beads?

When it's done I'll put up a picture here.. 

have a great day!   Kit

After the Storm

when we went walking after the big rainstorm yesterday, I found armloads of these
magnolia tree seedheads scattered all over the neighborhood...   
look at that gorgeous coral color! I love to find Christmas inpsiration in nature
and these little beauties might find their way onto a mantel or tablescape 

 pix by me with Nikon D70

have a great day!  Kit

Happy Thanksgiving!

This was quite possibly the best Thanksgiving ever. The weather cooperated beautifully so that we could set the table outside under the wisteria arbor. The company...family, friends, extended family...was brilliant, warm, funny and full of the spirit of the day. The wines... oh the wines they flowed... and the turkey, stuffing, potatoes, sweet potatoes in orange shells, even the broccoli... perfection this year. The dessert table overflowing with pies and confections of every kind.. 

Hoping your Thanksgiving was just as wonderful in every way!

the table was set using old French linen sheets covering the picnic tables...
one of our lovely guests created this casually elegant tabletop... using things found
in the garden and around the house...

no one enjoyed our Thanksgiving more than Scooter in the lead, then little Peanut,
followed in the rear by our Nicky!

I'm linking to Between Naps on the Porch Tablescape Thursday!

I wish for you the happiest of Thanksgivings!

thank you for visiting...   Kit