Annie Sloan Paint in France

We are still in the process of trying to replace our furniture after making the decision to leave most of it behind when we sold our last house in 2014.

Point 1.....going out to buy furniture in France is not so much fun.......not a lot of choice unless you like everything lime green or purple!!

Point 2....its so much more expensive to buy good furniture

Point 3...you never seem to have the time to look properly when you are trying to renovate your house, create your veggie plot and go out to work at the same time

Point 4...you seem to run out of money before everything is replaced

As a result you tend to buy things second hand.....(Emmaus, Anglo-Info, Leboncoin Vide Greniers) In doing so, most of it needed the shabby chic treatment in an attempt to make it look anything other than shabby. I had brought a very large tin of Farrow and Ball Shaded white with us from the Uk but that didn't last long. There are outlets here that sell it but it is usually double the price!!
When I was looking at second hand furniture on ebay in the UK I noticed a lot were stating they were painted in Annie Sloane Chalk paint.
I began to look into it and discovered that this is soooo amazing. No preparation or sanding compared to other paints and usually only needs one coat. As well as that, the painted surface can then be waxed in a clear coating or with a darker one to give it a more distressed look.
I am probably already telling most of you what you already know but for me it was a great discovery.
Not only that....it was available locally and at a great price.

I tracked down Gary and Jayne who run couleursdevie.eu   This lovely couple who live in the most amazing house filled with lots of colour and character...

have put their heart and soul into their business. Their barn is filled with lots of painted pieces so that you can see how your paint will look and Gary even took the time to show us to how easy the paint and wax were to use.

I am now a total convert.

I bought these chairs from them with the intention of painting them a similar colour to our kitchen....Annie Sloanes Old White....however I quite like the different colours and will now try to incorporate those colours into my very conservative kitchen........what do you think???????

Lots of rain after the scorching weather and , lots of potatoes

The heat of the last 7 weeks has been draining.....its too hot to work but you still have to do it. The vegetables have really suffered and as my french neighbours said they are all "cuit" (cooked)
I had been hoping to leave the potatoes in the ground...the tops had just about burnt off...however on digging some up I found that some were starting to sprout.

As a result we dug them all them all up and our kitchen had a potato attack.. I dont have anywhere to store them which is cool and dark so several hours later of cooking, blanching and preparing ..on.NO FUN on a very hot day ...resulted in several bags of blanched potatoes, several bags of chips, several bags of mashed potatoes with cabbage and onion in,

Unfortunately....as I sometimes think we live in the middle of Siberia and only go shopping once a year....and my husband thinks Im planning for a siege...both of my freezers were filling up!!
Being part of the Ladies in France Network I put out a plea via our facebook site and thanks to Liz Nolan whoalso  lives in Verteuil I had a freezer on loan with two hours of asking!!! Now thats what I love about being part of this great group....there is always help at hand!!!
Now then...freezer number 3 is on its way to filling up....and hubby is saying we relly must start eating some of this food. However..., like the red squirrel who is busy digging holes ( or should i say more holes) in our lawn to bury all the nuts... I have this need to stash things away for the winter!!!!

I have used the last of the courgettes...thy reign no more in the garden!!....and made several quiches.
Tomatoes are in full flow and we are equally eating them and making  sauces for pasta.
The taste really is so much better than anything our of a jar or can!! Well worth the effort.
The aubergines have really flourished in the hot weather and in another week we will start harvesting them.

The rain has finally arrived.....plants as well as us are breathing a sigh of relief. The rain is the best excuse for not doing anything...well..in the garden at least. It has given  me a good chance to catch up on some inside work.
Ive had some material sitting about for...a while...to make some table mats for the sous sol kitchen. I thought these looked quite simple to do as, despite some of my ancestors being dressmakers, my skills in this area are something not to be talked about!!! Anyway, they do the job and look good from a distance! Much to the distaste of the hubby this kitchen is becoming a bit of a chicken shrine