Gearing up for Beaune

R is in Beaune now, and we Skype daily to discuss our days and the house and projects. R is a man's man, but I love the way each call starts: Can you come over now? No. Can you come over next month? No. Can you come over a little earlier? No.

It's still my busy season, much as I would love to be in France. I know he is a little disappointed because we are saving up the work for the end of his visit and my short window. But that's the way it goes. I will leave the 10th of September, to go to this:And this:
I would love to take all 15 of my followers on a tour of the region. It's a little sad that I have only 15 followers to my blog, but I gotta start somewhere :) And I just added the Followers section to the blog today, so I hope that will increase. I have no idea how you 15 added your names without the Follow link, but you figured it out and I hope you come to France to stay with us.

I look forward to each trip to Beaune with great anticipation. Though we are busy there, it is a very relaxed time for me and for us. It is the space that R and I have created together, vs our US dwellings, but the house is really "me" as R has deferred to my French sensibilities on the furnishings.

The grapes will be full in early September and the weather will still be mild:
The vendange will be sometime late September or October, depending on Mother Nature; you know you can come volunteer to harvest the grapes; I have to post on that later.
The flowering bush on our little terrace is still happy in September:
though the wildflowers on the way to Meursault will be on the wane; spectacular a little earlier:
And then there are the projects. I showed this pic to Bob this weekend as we discussed our French house projects. He thought it was lovely, I think it is horrid. There is humidity in the cave and all of these boxes continue to break down. It's a mix of high/low; grocery store and high end. We need a racking system, but I think this might be a project for next spring.
I am going tomorrow to get a frame for the Cardinal Gonzaga. I can't over-frame it and took this pic to remind myself of the space. I will bring the sticks or the whole frame with me this trip; I have to get this up on the wall before anyone trips over him.
I will also get all of these B&W pics reframed here and carry them over. These all came from Patrick the brocanteur in Beaune, but some of them are so poorly framed, it was what he had on hand. I swear by a great frame, though I also do Aaron Brothers 1c sales.
Here is my fav, but see the white space around the edges; this needs to be redone and I love Gorman Framing, they will help me find the perfect fit for her:
The house is designed for guests. We drink a little coffee in the morning, but the rest of the day it is Kusmi Tea Anastasia; or wine or Badoit. The house has an ever-growing set of French NIII papier-mache trays in various sizes for guests to carry food and drinks around. I would love to have an egoiste verseuse in argent massif for each guest, but I have decided to go silver plate; this verseuse has the old style floral top; I'll wait to see what it really is but it was $40 and seems correct:

The best quality silver pots don't have silver handles, they get too hot; the French prefer wood handles. This verseuse is on the way, with the "ducks beak" mouth for pouring water to warm your tea. I would love sterling, but this plate looks fine to me:

I am also bothered by the dining table; need a new cloth:

I am crazy for the round table in Veranda this month, but I Ugh when I think about cleaning vintage linens on the table. We have a white damask cloth now; I want more contrast with the plates and whiteware yet something to blend with the tapestry and chairs. And something that I can machine wash. I am in love with Matteo linens and will consult with Cargo & Company Friday: I adore this:

or this, more simple:For the beds, I am bringing Matteo linens on this trip; we got Ikea stuff to start, but my wish is that each one of my guests will fall into a Matteo dressed bed after a day of shopping, walking, cooking and eating...ahhhhh

I am going to bring Tat Euro shams:

A scroll coverlet for the chambre jardin:

Cluny flat sheets and shams, which I use in Laguna, for where-ever; if you sleep on Matteo sheets once, you will be hooked.
this is putting me in the mood for sleep!