French Food Friday...cafe frappé

This is the original frappé, once a centre piece of the French brasserie's coffee and dessert repertoires.

The name comes from the French verb frapper, which, though it means "to hit" or "to strike" (maybe like a frappé in a blender), indicates "iced" or "cold" in a beverage context.

The classic frappé is in most instances thinner than an American milkshake, which, confusingly, is called a "frappe" (pronounced "frap," not "fra-PAY") in Boston. In Italy a frappè al caffè is a blend of espresso, sugar or syrup, crushed ice, and sometimes vanilla extract. Feel free to add your favourite flavoured syrup or liqueur, as the brasserie mixologist certainly would.

Makes 1 serving
15g ground coffee (fine grind for espresso, medium-coarse grind for cafetiere)
175ml cup water (if using a cafetiere)
125ml sweetened condensed milk
1 small scoop vanilla ice cream
A few drops of vanilla extract, optional
3 ice cubes, crushed

If using espresso, warm up the espresso machine. Put the coffee in the double-sized filter basket of the portafilter, tamp down with a tamper, and secure the portafilter in the brew head. Place a brew pitcher or other receptacle directly under the brew head, turn on the brew switch, and brew for 22 to 28 seconds to yield about 100ml of espresso.

If using a cafetiere, heat water to a boil, let stand for about a minute to let the water cool to 90-95C, pour over the coffee, stir, and cover. Let steep for 4 minutes, then carefully push the plunger down to the bottom of the cylinder, making sure to keep it level.

Combine the condensed milk, ice cream, vanilla and ice in a blender or drink mixer, top with brewed espresso or coffee, and blitz under smooth. Pour immediately into a glass and serve with a straw.

 

Mes amis(es) je vous souhaite à toutes et à tous, une très agréable journée de vendredi, Leeann x 

I collect these.....

I have an ever growing collection of perfume bottles includes a few Chanel No. 5 bottles along with a few others......

I keep them in this ex gun cabinet in apartment un which I have painted with annie sloan paint and covered the shelves with wall paper.....a much better use, I think but I am not sure that the local chasseurs would agree with me.

What do you collect and where do you keep your collections?

Leeann x

new place to sit....

The new chair that I ordered for the bedroom in apartment un has finally arrived.

I adore the colour and texture of the fabric as it has a suede like feel to it.

The perfect place to sit or if you are anything like me, place clothes.......which reminds me that I need to tidy my room as the chair in my rtoom resembles the leaning tower of Pisa.....enough said!

I am hoping that there are others of you out there in blogland who are just like me or am I the only one with this bad habit?

...dites-moi svp, Leeann x

made me smile...

Bonjour mes belles,

It has been a non-stop weekend and I am feeling a little weary hence I think it will be an early night for me.

I could not resist sharing an old cover of a french magazine aptly called "les sourire" the smile in French as it really did make me smile!

Bonne soirée a tous, Leeann

the reason.....

photo from here

.......that people all over the world including the French, love Ralph Lauren is because he always delivers, collection after collection and his AW 2013 collection is fabulous.

For lot of lovely inspiration, click here.

à demain, Leeann x

Fabulous smell in "ma maison"....

A package arrived in the mail this week. When I opened the box a delicious smell of exotic spices wafted out.

Inside the box was this very stylish looking sachet....

along with two chic looking black boxes.............

inside each of the boxes was a very chic and gorgeous smelling sachet, the first had a stunning liberty ribbon....

The 2nd sachet was  wrapped with raphia and decorated with star anise and a cinnamon stick ....

These lovely sachets are made in France by a company called Mi-Septembre – pronounced "Mee-Septombre.

The company was founded in 1994 by fashion and costume designer Olivia Graffeuille, the Mi-Septembre brand was immediately noticed at the Paris "Maison & Objets" show.

Olivia was awarded the "Prix Découverte" at this major international design event for her first collections of home scents and linens. Among her creations, her sachets stood out for the originality and grace of the Mi-Septembre scent and for the masterful combination of shapes, materials and colours.

Paris, New York, Tokyo......
Mi-Septembre sachets were first carried by the Paris boutiques La Paresse en Douce and Catherine Memmi, before being discovered by the international press, leading to points of sale in New York at Barney's and in Tokyo at Printemps Ginza.

I particulary love them as they would make a perfect gift for male or female and you could use them in a variety of places including the kitchen, study, dressing area or lounge as the smell is a natural yet warm fragrance......for me they compliment Ralph Lauren's AW collection and I think that this is how the collection would "smell".

To view the stunning mi-septembre website please click here.

Back to my lovely smelling kitchen I go...

tres bon weekend à tous, Leeann x

French Food Friday...Salade de Fraises et Tomates Cerises

Bonjour mes belles,

This post is a bit later than normal but as they say better late than never.....

If you have never tried tomatoes mixed with strawberries I think that you are in for a nice surprise as they really do taste great together......

SALADE DE FRAISES ET TOMATOES CERISES

 

(Strawberry and Cherry Tomato Salad)

500 grams strawberries
250 grams cherry tomatoes
1 orange
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
3 stalks basil
Fresh ground pepper

1. Squeeze  the orange.
2. W ash the strawberries, remove the stalks and slice.
3. Wash the tomatoes and cut in half.
4. Mix the strawberrirs, tomatoes and orange juice together.
5. Mix the balsamic vinegar and the oile oil together, add some fresh ground pepper.
6. Cut or rip the basil leaves into smallish pieces.
7. Lastly add the vinegar mixture to the strawberry/tomato mixture and serve immediately.

Bon appetit à tous, Leeann x

Buying a French bed in France....

all photos from here

You would think that it would be easier to buy a French style bed in France than in any other country in the world.

If you are looking for a smallish 140 cms wide, antique French bed, it is not a problem as there are hundreds to chosse from as from a size prospective, everyone is upsizing to a bigger bed.

But and I stress the but, if you are looking for a brand new antique copy style there are not a lot to choose from as for some reason the French are that interested in buying French style beds and prefer other styles. Where as us foreigners love French style beds, and cannot get enough of them especially when we buy houses in their fabulous country.

So you can imagine how shocked/happy/relieved I was when I found lots of fabulous large and very French styled beds.......

this particular bed has stolen my heart and all I need to do is transport it from the UK to France......it makes me smile having to buy a French style bed outside of France and then ship to France.

I love the detail on it and the taupe linen with the distressed stone colour patine colour is perfect........

It is a choice between this one which I adore or this antique style gilt bed with fabulous grey silk covering which is a little bit more bling bling but I really like it and have just the chandelier and a fabulous extra large antique mirror to go with it......but you already knew that didn't you?

The good new is for those of you that live in the UK delivery is free, so you can count yourselves lucky that it is easier for you than it is for me to find a fabulous French bed.

For these and lots more fabulous French style beds visit the sueno website.

As for me it is back to work as I need to earn some money to pay for my new bed.

à demain mes belles, Leeann x

free bottle of champagne.....

....for all apartment resevations in October 2012 for stays of 3 nights duration and longer @ maison no.20.

Come and get cosy with us...think luxurious fur throws, feather duvets, romantic candlelit suppers and you are "getting warmer"....

Leeann x

repurposed doorstop ...

She started life as a Chenet de Cheminée or fire dog as they are called in English.

I think that she makes a fabulous door stop and a very practical one as she is heavy, to say the least.


She came with 2 friends....a rather handsome looking fellow...

and a very pretty woman...

They also would make fabulous lamps as you can see from the photo below...

Love the lamps and think that they look extra special with the lamp shades made from vintage monogrammed napkins.....repurposing at it's best.

You could also use them as bookends......now i am wishing that I had a few more!

amities from a still very HOT SW France, Leeann x

interior addict...

When I saw the name "interior addict" I thought wow what a fabulous name for a website and those of us who adore interior design.

I started browsing and was happy to find many of the items that I adore and even a few, that I used when decorating an apartment in London that we used to own.

The apartment was situated in a converted historic building which has  views of the river Thames and the houses of parliament so I chose a contemporary modern theme when decorating.

The first item that we purchased was this fabulous Le Corbusier Chaise Lounge which was popular with visiting friends and it was always a battle to remove them from it.

Writing this post has just made me realise that even when living in London I was already becoming a lover of French items but did not realise this at the time.

The second item that we bought for the lounge area was a noguchi style coffee table which was a case of love at first sight and it does not need adorning to look fabulous.

When I look at these photos I cannot believe how minamalist and clutter free my life was....

To complete the look in the living/dining area we had a large black leather couch and a large painting on the wall which featured abstract flowers painted in a very bright fuschia with a black bathroom.

The dining table was modern with glass top and we had Arne Jacobsen chairs similar to those that you see in the photo below but in white ....

I think that a website concentrating on design classics is a fabulous idea and what a great investment these pieces are, as they do not date.

I think that it is worth mentioning at this point, they we sold the apartment complete with all the furniture and fittings and that it was sold within a couple of weeks of listing it.

Browsing the interior addict website has renewed my interest in design classics hence I now have on my wish list the la corbusier chaise lounge in pony hide....

I love the concept of the this website and am sure that for lovers of the design classics plus pieces that will, one day become classics, this is the first port of call.

 amicalement from a "minimalist thinking" Leeann x 

sunday morning treasures...

Bonjour from a VERY hot SW France,

The heatwave is continuing and it is not expected to leave until next Friday so we are preparing ourselves for another week of extreme temperatures.

We managed a quick trip to a local vide grenier where I picked up lots of vintage rolls of ribbon or ruban as it is called in French.

The colours themselves are stunning but the thing I like most is the old style labels with their fabulous style of font and the way that each layer of ribbon is separated by a layer of paper.

Love them and just wish  that the vendor had more as I bought all that she had as I adore ribbon and not only will the rolls look great when used as part of a display, they alwyas come in handy as I found out this morning when I wanted to make a quick change to my sun hat so that it co-ordinated with the rest of my outfit......it is a girl thing but French boy friend agreed that it looked better with a touch of black ribbon.

After treasure hunting we stopped quickly for a cafe and a macaron and I wished that I had my camera with me as there were no small macarons left and the only macarons on offer with rose flavoured and filled with fresh rasberries and a light cream........forgot to menetion that they were the large size so I shared it with FBF.  It was delicious and not too sweet and the rasberries were firm but melted in your mouth......my idea of heaven.......treasure hunting and macarons.....what more could a girl want......oh yes a French boyfriend.....la vie est vraiment belle en France!

trés bon dimanche à tous et à demain mes belles, Leeann x

bon week-end à tous...

photo from figaro.fr

Love this photo of Innes de la Fressange and I was happy to see that she has a shopping basket the same as mine. I would be lost without mine and use it most days and am pleased that I bought this model with the two lengths of straps. 

It is going to be another hot day here today, 42 degrees has been forecast hence I think that an outfit similar to that of Innes is wearing is a good idea.....love white trousers!

tres bon week-end à tous, Leeann x

French Food Friday...Mousse 3 chocolats

recipe and photo from cotemaison.fr

I think that there is nothing in the world that compares to a chocolate fix and this recipe containing 3 different types of chocolate certainly does it for me....

Mousse 3 chocolats, fromage blanc, grenade

INGREDIENTS

• 100 g dark chocolate
• 100 g white chocolate
• 100 g chocolate praline
• 50 mls cream
• 200 g cream cheese 20% fat
• 1 pomegranate
• 30 g of sugar

PREPARATION
- Cut the pomegranate in half, reserve some seeds and press it with a juicer like an orange.

 - Collect the juice (about 80 g = 8o mls), boil for 2 minutes with the sugar and let cool.

 -  Break the 3 types of chocolate into pieces, place into 3 individual 3 containers. Boil 300 mls of cream and pour 1/3 into each of the containers containing the 3 different chocolates.


- Stir with a whisk to smooth preparations.


- Whip the remaining cream  and then add to the 3 containers containing the chocolate mixture  and mix with a whisk.


- Place the chocolate mixture into glasses, then add the white and praline.


- Mix the pomegranate syrup with the fromage blanc then place on top of the chocolate mixture in each glass.


- Garnish with a few pomegranate seeds and place in the fridge until you are ready to eat.

 Tip:
 You can replace the pomegranate juice with passionfruit juice.

Bon appetit à tous, Leeann x

 

Original version of the recipe appears below....

INGREDIENTS

• 100 g de chocolat noir
• 100 g de chocolat blanc
• 100 g de chocolat praliné
• 50 cl de crème fleurette
• 200 g de fromage blanc à 20 %
• 1 grenade
• 30 g de sucre

PREPARATION

Pour la recette de la mousse 3 chocolats, fromage blanc, grenade :

- Coupez la grenade en deux, réservez quelques graines et pressez-la avec un presse-agrume comme pour une orange.

- Recueillez le jus (environ 80 g = 8 cs), faites-le bouillir 2 min avec le sucre et laissez refroidir.

- Mettez les trois chocolats cassés en morceaux dans 3 récipients, faites bouillir 30 cl de crème et versez-en 1/3 sur chaque chocolat.

- Remuez au fouet pour lissez les préparations.

- Fouettez les 20 cl de crème restante en chantilly et mélangez-la aux trois préparations de la même façon.

- Répartis-sez le chocolat noir dans des verres, ajoutez le blanc, puis le praliné.

- Mélangez le sirop de grenade et le fromageblanc et nappez-en chaque verre.

- Décorez de quelques graines de grenade et réservez au frais.

Mon conseil :

Vous pouvez remplacer le jus de grenade par du jus de fruits de la passion.

A quiet corner...

Chez moi, Maison No.20

I have started to create a "quiet" corner and think that the butterflies meet the definition of quiet. As you know I adore them but know that they are not every one's cup of tea.

It is nice and quiet in Eymet, note it is the calm before the storm as it is market day here so I am making the best of a cooler morning and have all the windows open and there is a nice breeze wafting through the house.

cordialement from a quiet? Eymet, Leeann x

vintage French napkins galore...

As you already know part of Sundays treasure included lots of lovely vintage French napkins, which I finally got around to laundering yesterday.....


The first set of 6 has an art deco style monogramme with the letters "E M".

The damask is stunning as you can see from the following photos....please click on the photo to see the detail close up.

The other set are also a set of 6 and feature a lovely "R L" monogramme.

Note for those  of you interested I also have a lovely antique silver plated soup ladle featuring the same initials  and the large knife and fork set which really are stunning and the knife and fork set are in their original box that they came in.

They really are stunning with a fabulous ribbon and flower border around the monogramme.

The damask is high quality and they are in fabulous condition as you can tell from the photos below....





A pleasure to wash and iron, they simply do not make them like this any more.



I am now heading off to update the shop and have a few other goodies which I will list at the same time.

Amities, Leeann x

a starck idea...

fab photo from the new Philippe Starck Restaurant Atrego

Love the idea of placing mirror on mirror as seen in the new Philippe Starck restaurant, it looks fabulous.

For more photos of this fabulous restaurant, click on the above link or here.

Still busy at this end and I have not had a chance to photograph the items that we found on Sunday but will try tomorrow if I get a spare minute but need to wash and iron a lot of the linen hence it is looking very much like a chinese laundry here at Fab French "headquarters".

amicalement from a very hot SW France, Leeann x

Sneak peak....my new house

I was hoping to have time to take photos of  the items that we bought yesterday but I have been busy with orders etc, but wanted to show you the dolls house that I found yesterday at a local vide grenier so I quickly took this photo.

The interior is not finished so I have a blank canvas to play with.......I am thinking along the lines of mini chandeliers, french couch, fabulous bed etc......along with some farrow and ball paint!

I cannot wait to start decorating but I am realistic so think that it will be a winter project. I am hoping that you will give me a hand re finding/making the pieces I need to make my maison de poupee fabulously french!

à demain mes belles, Leeann x  

sunday treasure...

It was an early start for us this morning and the stakes were high as it was a local vide grenier not far from us and we knew that there would be lots of dealers all hunting for the same kind of objects as us.

Fortunately luck was on our side and we returned with a few tresors including the fabulous mirror that you see pictured above along with a large antique mirror with fabulous fronton, more fabulous table napkins with monogramme, two matching prints and a dolls house that I simply adore.

Will take some photos tomorrow and think that you will all love the dolls house. The trouble is that it is empty so I may need your help sourcing furniture for it......call it my winter project!

Alas mes belles, it has been a long day and I am now off to soak in the bath as my limbs are weary....

à demain, Leeann x

Bon week-end à tous...

This cheeky pair of puppets made me smile when I was taking their photo. I am sure that once night falls they come alive and play havoc in my wee boutique......

Wishing you all a weekend full of fun....Leeann x

Arrived today...there are two of them!

I have just listed this pair of candelabras on the Fabulously French online shop.

They really are stunning and although they are not very old (circa 1960's) they are Louis XV in style featuring fabulous flower detail around the base of each candle holder and also around the base of the candelabra itself.

Fabulous and very French, they would look great on a mantle, dresser or dining table.....infact they would look great anywhere in the maison.

For more details please click here.

à tres bientot, Leeann x



French Food Friday..Fraises à la grenade-grenadine

recipe and photo from here

It has been really hot these past couple of days and the hot weather is set to continue hence the need for eating something cold and refreshing.....

Fraises à la grenade-grenadine

INGREDIENTS

• Pour cette recette de fraises à la grenade-grenadine :
• 500 g de fraises
• 1 grenade
• 3 cuil. à soupe de sirop de grenadine
• 1 branche de menthe

PREPARATION

1. Dans un saladier, versez le sirop de grenadine.

2. Lavez les fraises et coupez-les en petits dés.

3. Versez-les dans le saladier.

4. Épluchez la grenade, prélevez les graines de la membrane.

5. Ajoutez-les aux fraises.

6. Mélangez bien et réservez au frais.

7. Répartissez dans 6 verrines.

8. Décorez de feuilles de menthe.

INGREDIENTS  

 • 500 g strawberries 

 • 1 pomegranate

 • 3 tbsp.  grenadine syrup 

 • 1 sprig of mint 

PREPARATION

1. In a bowl, pour the grenadine.

2. Wash the strawberries and cut them into small cubes.

3.  Peel the pomegranate, draw the seeds of the membrane.

4. Place in the bowl containing the grenadine.

5. Add the strawberries.

6. Mix well and set aside to cool.

7. Divide into 6 glasses.

8. Garnish with mint leaves.

Bon appetit à tous, Leeann x

Fabulous and very French...

photo from here

Bonjour mes belles,

I am supposed to be working but am taking a petit? break  hence I could not resist sharing this fabulous photo with you. In my eyes it is very French and fabulous in the fact there is not a car in sight.....for some reason cars  always scare the living daylights out of me when I am out riding my bike whereas French Boyfriend rides his bike in the typical french way....it is as if he was born riding it!

à demain Leeann x

love my new bird....

I could not resist sharing a photo of  a recent purchase. This lovely bird is made from porcelain and is oh so fine.

He/she looks fabulous either perched on a lanpshade or even hanging on the side of a pot or a vase.

So decorative, don't you think?

à demain, Leeann x

I have lots and lots of Burlap Sacks....

Bonjour,

Hope that you all had a good weekend. Ours was another busy one and yesterday was a long and wet day for us........let's just say we forgot to pack the umbrella before we set off on our journey.

We drove over 400 kms, got wet through but returned with a boot load full of fabulous burlap sacks; some of the designs I have never seen before in France.

One of my favourites is the one that you see pictured above, I think that the  lady and the washing machine is adorable and it would look great framed and hanging in a laundry room.
Note we only have one of these available.

This one is French Boyfriend's favourite as it has an industrial feel to it which he likes, there are 3 of this particular design only.

There are two of the "Poitiers" sacks available and I think that these would be great when used to cover Louis Style Chairs or framed and hanging in the kitchen.

This is another "one only" and she really is a beauty....love the silhouette in red.

We have lots of beautiful stork sacks and although they all have the same theme, some of the emblems feature light or dark blue and the stork differs in design as you can see from the following photos...  

As you can see from the three photos, there are slight differences in the style/colours used on the body of the stork.

I will try and update the shop later but if I run out of time tonight as I need to get dinner on the go, it will be first thing tomorrow morning.

 à demain mes belles, Leeann x