A Deep South Home Tour & Pickled Shrimp

Well, hi y'all!

Purely by chance, last week I found myself in Augusta, Georgia on the very same day as the spectacular Summerville 34th Annual Tour of Homes. When my uncle said he needed to do a little work at the piano that Saturday afternoon, I leapt at the chance to wander through some of the most beautiful, original, hospitable, and eminently livable homes that ever graced this weary old world.

Here is a twin-gabled Dutch Colonial from 1911. Renovated over the years and now filled with an eclectic mix of contemporary art and antiques, the home resonates with a bold, fresh elegance inside, while the manicured grounds and the staid, traditional exterior of the home exude the old Southern order a la early 20th C. I was not prepared for the joy of discovering the lightness of mood and the treasures found as I wandered from room to room. A delightful home.

in the barrel-vaulted foyer looking left into the dining room; the

art on the right is Australian Aboriginal and the left is Miro

the traditional twin gabled exterior belies the eclectic and

energetic mix of furnishings and colors inside

a stroll around the backyard, anyone?

the living room features a Nordic farm chair circa 1800s, artwork by

Ricardo Azziz, David Silva, Salvador Dali, Roberto Matta and the

gorgeous circa 1700 Chinese carved cabinet

I love this painting; the artist I believe is Ricardo Azziz

beautiful marble fireplace flanked by brilliant blue wing chairs

creates a very welcoming scene in the library

artwork by Miro

a closer view of the pretty sofa in the living room

a Calder hangs happily over 18c English antique sideboard

in the dining room

the spectacular solarium features Aboriginal Australian art with

rattan furnishings and stunning tile floor overlooking the

back patio and gardens

the tile pattern on the front patio at the

entrance to the house; beautiful in its simplicity

the rear of the house seen from about halfway back in the gardens!

love love love the mossy old bricks of

this garden pathway!

***

And now for a truly delightful authentically Southern

recipe for your next party:

Gigi's Pickled Shrimp Recipe*

*(does not taste like pickles!!)

2lb Shrimp

Sauce:

2/3 cup Oil

1/3 cup Vinegar

21/2 T Catsup

1 T Mustard

2 T Heinz 57 sauce

2 t Tabasco sauce

1 T Worcestershire Sauce

2 cloves Garlic

1 small Onion, chopped

2 T Pickling Spice

Boil and Peel Shrimp

Place Shrimp into sauce and let stand in fridge for 2-3 days

in a large ziplock bag

Remove from sauce and serve

You can stick each shrimp onto a cabbage with a toothpick!

Old fashioned, Southern, and VERY delicious, we have been

serving this dish for many years in our family!

Champagne is good with this!

***

Thanks for stopping by! Kit

Over Lunch: Planning Provence Printemps 2012

May 2012 seems a long while away, but it is just around the corner when you are planning a week-long, inspiring Chic Provence Design Tour in the south of France! Yes, we are so excited to about our next tour! The team took a little time out this weekend from all our other busyness to sit down together and plan the wonderful things we are going to offer next spring. Of course, we had to do this over a little repas to keep our strength up and our brain cells optimized!

We set the table with... flea market finds from Provence, bien sur! We sharpened our pencils and got out the maps... and we have a fabulous tour planned for you. We listened to what our lovely participants last year said, and we have come up with an incredible journey for anyone who loves Provence, or would like to just find out once and for all if they do or not!

All the details will come soon along with the brochure, the dates, and you can start planning and dreaming about the trip of your lifetime!

vintage Minton china, old lace, lavender, rare pink

coral all inspire our planning session for our

next Chic Provence Design Tour in 2012!

***

these stunning French scenes are in the hotel La Mirande,

on the tour last year... a castle

built for the Cardinal when the Pope lived

in the Palace next door... in Avignon

circa 1309 AD

all photos by Kit Golson

using Nikon D70

***

thanks for visiting! ... Kit

The Breezy Chic Art of Regina Saura

She's from Spain, and grew up with a photographer father. Her art really thrills me. I love the brilliant use of color, composition and perspective. I always love to see written words incorporated into works of art.

These large format (some are over 60" x 48") works would be brilliant in many settings: starkly sleek and modern, of course, but also in rooms of all natural materials such as stone, tile and wood.

What do you think?

Regina Saura

@

CaldwellSnyder

1328 Main St.

St. Helena, CA 94574

***

merci pour la visite!... Kit

Shipment from l'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue Brocante Est Arrivee!!

Although it was a few weeks ago, I can still feel the excitement I felt when I uncrated my treasures when they arrived from Provence. When the shipper called (finally!.. I had been waiting for months!) I made quite sure to be home the day and appointed hour of the arrival of these huge shipping crates... and was as excited as I get at Christmastime!

Here are my wonderful brocante finds from l'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue... frankly, it's not a lot, but it is packed as if it were an art treasure from the Louvre!

here are all three jugs... aren't they beautiful? I love the

original pear shape, and the last one still has the vestiges

of the red wine that was stored in it... beautiful relics of

a long ago time in Provence

this incredible wine jug is one of three I bought and

shipped home... it's a huge, 26" tall hand-blown

vintage Provençal wine jug from between the

two world wars

yes, if you look closely, you will see that the tag is

still on the jug from the flea market... and yes, it

cost only 45 euros! or about $60... incredible price!

***

next box contained the 11 vintage Minton china luncheon plates I

found at the flea market; here they are wrapped and packed

within an inch of their lives!

these stunning plates (OK, I'm a plate-aholic:) are each with

a different pattern, and all exquisitely hand-painted... I really think

they are quite beautiful, and since I found them at the end

of the flea market, I was able to get them for 80 euros, instead of

the original 500 euros the vendor was asking!

Are they stupendous?

***

yep, this very large well-constructed crate carried

three glass jugs and 11 luncheon plates from France

to my backyard with nothing broken... the crates

have since been recycled for a local Woodside

production of South Pacific... perfect, non?

What do you think of my treasures?

Come with me next time... I'm

planning another trip in Spring 2012..

details to follow!

***

then, just to keep the fun coming, I received my order for these

beautiful, smooth white linen euro pillow covers from

my friend Tricia Rose at Rough Linen! look at her

artful packaging!

the cases are truly wonderfully linen, smooth and cool to

the touch; here I have them in one of our salles des amis

to be enjoyed by our next house guest!

I think I could just curl up right here with a good book

and let the world pass me by for a few hours... these

pillows are so sumptuous and inviting now!

You can order from Tricia these amazing all linen bedclothes:

duvets, pillow slips, sheets... as well as table cloths, curtains and napkins...

be sure to visit her wonderful website... you

will love whatever it is you order from her... I've seen it all!

PS Tricia was featured in Martha Stewart Living!

PPS Tricia lives right on the water (north San Francisco Bay inlet)

in a very charming cottage she has

decorated in an amazingly refreshing way... I will be doing a

blog post about her home soon!

***

Merci pour la visite!.... Kit

And the Lucky Winners of {Hidden in Paris} Are...

....Libby at An Eye For Detail and Karena at Art by Karena!!

Grand felicitations to both of you! Corine will contact you to personally send an autographed book to you. Be sure to let me know how much you like it!

***

merci pour la visite! Kit