Au Revoir et Bonjour!

Just want to say "au revoir" to Marie's Marché as I have moved to a new blog.



And say hello to mon nouvelle blogspot at Marie's Maison. Please stop by and say "Bonjour!"

Pardonnez Moi!

Pardon my dust everyone! I know, I know...it's been too long, and again forgive me for not being around but I'm still really super duper busy. I've started a huge remodel project this summer and it's just taking too long already.

You see, we've decided to convert our detached garage in the back to une petite guest cottage. So we, like the rest of the American families out there, have to move all the junk out of the garage and find storage for it.


Why lookie here...an open space!!!



So, I found this cute storage shed at Lowe's and thought...why, we could build that! Looks easy right?



Well, of course not...it came in a million little pieces like these!



But mon cheri and moi persevered and here it is...ta-dah!



In addition, we also used the space to build a veggie garden. (Yeah I know, mon cheri is just unbelievably becoming such the handyman!)



He built the two planter boxes from scratch. And...he planted all kinds of veggies for fall harvest!






And now, we're ready to start working on the garage conversion. When tackling huge projects like these, who do we call??? O C T A V I O!!! I've bragged about this super carpenter here before. He built our laundry/mudroom addition and remodeled our master bedroom/bath en suite.



So here's the before of the garage space taken 4 weeks ago.



And we're now past the framing stage.



But will probably take about 4 - 5 more weeks to final completion. I'm really excited though to show the finished look to everyone. So again, pardon my dust for not being around le blog world. Thanks for your patience and hope you stay tuned...

Au Revoir Summer!

Allô! C'est moi, Marie. It's been a few weeks since I've last posted and visited blog-o-sphere. It's also been a long hot summer, even here in coastal South 'O'. Life's been hectic both at my day job and house remodeling. But what remains constant is that I've been enjoying browsing through all my favorite blogs even if I haven't been leaving any comments. I know what everyone's been up to and all the creative things some of your brilliant minds have accomplished.

Another thing that has not changed is how I've been enjoying life here in our new hood...it'll be a year in three days since we've moved here, and mon cheri and I are still not bored. Aside from these mosquito suckers that's been nibbling my legs (ha!ha!), living here is like a vacation. We have the beach of course, Downtown Carlsbad Village, and recently discovered Buena Vista Lagoon which is home to ducks, amphibians, reptiles, and all kinds of birds. Mon cheri and moi still have to hike the trail, just when I get the courage that I might encounter some scary monster and not panic.

Depending where you are in our un petit globe, summer is ending where I am, so we've been trying to enjoy the 72 to 77 degree water temperature. Last night, around 6 pm, mon cheri and moi tried shore fishing for the first time.


Here are some photos of our sunset shore fishing:














My very first catch, a tree branch (what...where did that come from?)



Am proud of Mon cheri who caught a 5 pound seaweed (ha!ha!)



We tried till the sun went down, but no luck (btw, it's bad luck to say "goodluck" to a fellow fisherman...we just learned that last night).

Can you believe that bath water like temperature...seldom in the Pacific Ocean.

Lastly, I wanted to let you know that the International Coastal Clean Up Day is Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009. If you care about the ocean, sign up here. It will only take a little bit of your time, so volunteer...mon cheri et moi will be there!

Lazy Days of Summer

Cheerio! First of all, je suis désolé for not being a good blogger and follower this past few weeks. I've been enjoying summer too much (can't help it, I was born in the summer) that all I wanna do is bum around at the beach and be lazy. Someone told me I'm turning too "brown" already.

Anyhow, I'm still here, haven't abandoned my blog friends, just being carefree lately. But here are a few beachy inspirations in case you want to keep cool during the summer heat.

STAY COOL MES AMIS!

Before and After - French Inspired Little Girl's Bedroom

When I found out that my brother and his wife were going to have bébé numéro deux, I volunteered to redesign their guest bedroom and turn it to a little girl's boudoir, which I blogged about here. That project is finally completed and here are some before and after photos.



Before - This is the wall that you see when you first enter the room, that AC unit is just an eyesore isn't it?





After - I covered the AC unit with an open frame I bought at Aaron Brothers and painted it pink. I created a temporary inspirational collage, which my brother and my niece can replace later if they decide to paint a personal artwork together




Before - The guest bed





After - I accented the mint green wall by painting pink picket fence stripes. I applied the decal of "girl skywriter plane" (purchased at Etsy), which I thought was perfect because my niece's name happens to be Sky. Added the shooting stars, clouds, birds, etc.

Added a pair of glass beaded pink wall sconces




Here's little Miss Sky on her new daybed. The daybed has a trundle for future sleepovers. The bedding is also French toile.

Every room needs a seating area, so here's a mini club chair with ottoman in pink french toile fabric. This chair and ottoman was bought at Bellini Baby and was the inspiration for the room's theme.

Here she is reading



Before - another bland wall in the room




After - A pink Paris clock and a Paris map french memo board






Before - Sheer curtains covered this window





After - Pink stripes and toile window valance with a pair of pink drapes



Before - Wall with a 20 year old TV





After - A new 32" flat panel TV in white. My brother still has to install the white moulding to hide the cords.





Here are a few more changes/details to the room:


Replaced the ugly ceiling fan with dainty Pink beaded chandelier






Converted this tole painted chest...



To this pink toy chest. It reads "My treasure, the stars"




Here's a cute pink and green hamper also purchased from Bellini Baby

Converting this guest room to Sky's mini boudoir is definitely a family effort. Her parents, mon cheri, her grandparents, her little cousins, her aunties, and even she, contributed in every aspect of completing this project. It sure was fun, even though the weather in L.A.'s San Fernando Valley was 108 degrees. I hope this weekend is something she remembers for a long time, and most importantly persuades her to sleep in her very own room.

P.S. Here's a photo that my brother just sent me. Looking at this makes all my hard work absolutely worthwhile! It just melts my heart.

Midsummer's Fête

I'm hosting a midsummer's fête for my OW post today. Won't you come and join me, s'il vous plaît?

Bienvenue mes amis!

Let's go through this path so we can stop and smell the sweet scent of my summer roses

Have you seen my new garden bed? That bedspread is made of variegated alyssum.

And here's my recycled water fountain. The birds luv it!

Pardon the mess...a gardener's work is never done

Let's have an intimate chat over tea here in my garden shed...

Or maybe here?

Maybe you'd prefer a cold glass of lemonade and lounge on the patio instead?

Shoes are really not required here...let's just kick it!

Let's wait for a few more friends...they are free to sit anywhere, either at this romantic pastel table setting

Or under the bird nests

Maybe sit at this rustic green arrangement

We can also sit and wait with my lab Henri

Oh you said this shaded mediterranean setting is more your style?

Well, I'm more of a romantic myself




And after lunch, let's all gather here and enjoy each other's company! Girly gossip, anyone?

(all photos above courtesy of House to Home, BHG, and Country Living)

It's getting really hot, even here in the coast, so I've been delirious lately. But seriously, Susan and all OW participants, wouldn't it be nice if we could all meet up someday??? It would be a blast!!!

Cute Container Gardens

Who says you need a big backyard to have adorable garden spaces??? Just leave it to your imagination...the possibilities are endless! Happy gardening mes amis!


Photo source above unknown (pardon)

above 6 photos from Sunset Books

By the way, je m'excuse for my lack of posts and for missing out on commenting on blogs I follow. I've been a clutter brain lately...been enjoying le soleil and la mer too much so it's getting on my head.

Hope you are all enjoying your summer as much as I am!