Winner Of The Free Giveaway !!

                       Hello lovely friends ! 
I hope that you have all had a lovely relaxing weekend.

It's time to draw my FREE GIVEAWAY sponsored by my lovely friend at My French Laundry and also mwa !

All of the many names were popped into a hat and one lucky lady has won the prize !

                   CONGRATULATIONS
                               Michele @
                   The Nest At Finch Rest

Lucky girl Michele.....we are all drooling with envy because you have won a beautiful prize !!
Please make contact Michele with your details and  I'll pop your prize into the post.

My Extreme Crystal Obsession

Twenty two years ago I was handed my first piece of crystal.

My elderly Aunt gave it to me with a huge smile on her face.

Any other young 18 year old girl would more than likely curled her nose up and shirked at the gift. Me......I fell in love !

Crystal was one of my first early decorating loves. Both of my dear Grandmothers had a crystal dressing table set and as a child I would touch the pretty cut glass in awe of the little rainbows that shot out of it when the sun fell on it.

In my little mind I would sit and wait for fairies and other magical creatures to step out of the glass world that must surely live there.

So when my old Aunty handed me this beautiful big cut crystal vase I was as happy as a little piggy in mud !

When she saw how delighted I was, she went about her house gathering other pretty pieces of crystal for me. Tiny little bud vases, a rose bowl complete with the flower frog and my most favourite of all......a crystal clock !  It had ceased to work many, many years ago, it's hands were still and quiet....not a peep came out of it. I didn't care a bit, I adored that clock. I still have it today !  It moves from room to room as I fancy, keeping absolutely no time what-so-ever but I love it anyway !

Each season I pull out all of my crystal and give it all a nice warm bubble bath in the sink.  It is a massive job, but a necessity to keep it dust free and looking as glamorous as it should be. 

I decided to put it all in one big arrangement and could not believe the amount that I had accumulated over the years ! Oh my goodness !!!

It actually all wouldn't fit and I had to pop lots of it away in the cupboard again.

This is just some of the collection, stacked up to the hilt but looking pretty and waiting with baited breath for a pretty posy of flowers to fill up their void.

I just love these pretty ladies !

A little while ago my lovely Mother in law decided to clean out her cupboards and passed down to me all of her Mother's crystal !
                                      Lucky, lucky me !
Some pieces had yellowed with age but the sparkle warkle is still there when the sunshine hits and I am sure that somewhere inside there are tiny fairies dancing in a little rose hollow with frogs playing guitars and tea parties being served.
To me crystal is timeless and I am happy to say that it seems to be making a bit of a comeback.
I have noticed lots of crystal on top of cupboards in antique stores rather than hidden away and also the prices have risen quite dramatically as well. It makes my collection all that bit sweeter !

Well that's it for another week of
FRENCH BLUE AND PEACHY PINK
It has been a very busy week for me. I have decided to have a little sale here at our home selling all of the things that I make. It will be next weekend so I am as busy as a bee making, creating and having lots of fun in doing so.
It will only be a small gathering of friends but I am looking forward to it.  I will be sure to share with you all what I have made !
If there are any dear readers who happen to live over here in Australia and live close by then please contact me and you are most welcome to come along.

I am not selling on line at the moment but that's not to say that I will not in the future. From past experience much of my stock sells before I even get a chance to put it on line.

Enjoy your weekends !  I hope that you will all be doing something exciting and will get to enjoy some sunshine.

DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE GIVEAWAY BEING DRAWN ON MONDAY..........You can view the giveaway HERE !

                                     Good luck to you all
                                                    xo

Thursday Flowers at Fernwood High Tea

There is a little corner of the world that holds a very special place in my heart.

It is a place of beauty and charm and elegance but most importantly friendship.

It is the home of a very dear friend of mine, Maria Young who is the lovely proprietor of Fernwood High Tea.

Today just happens to be Maria's birthday and in honour of her I thought I would bring my regular 'Thursday Flowers' segment to her humble abode.

As well as gorgeously scrumptious high tea fare, Fernwood High Tea offers beautiful gardens to enjoy as you visit and sip away on your tea.

So without further ado.........I bring you the flowers of Fernwood High Tea !

and not all of the flowers at Fernwood High Tea are found in the garden.

Some precious little buds can be brewed and sipped out of pretty, dainty little tea cups.

This delicious rose tea is Fernwood High Tea's little treasure.

It is simply glorious !

and lets not forget about the flowers that you will find on top of the cupcakes !

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

dear Maria

May all of your days be as beautiful as you are !

Love Melanie

x

Free Giveaway for Mother's Day

I love a good giveaway !

and it was winning a fantastic giveaway from My French Laundry that led me to discover these absolutely beautiful products.

So now I would like to pass on the love and GIVE AWAY some of their beautiful products myself.

The lovely Glyn of My French Laundry has passed on some of her beautiful products for me to share with one of my readers. I know that you will adore these products as much as I do.

Prizes include

3 sachets of French body powder

1 sachet of French laundry powder (Freesia scent)

3 gorgeous gift tags

(all donated by My French Laundry)

and I have added some sweet Cath Kidston soaps and bath cubes to the pot and also one of my cards from my Mothers Day range.

To enter, simply leave a comment on this giveaway

or on the French Blue and Peachy Pink face book page. For an additional entry into the draw simply share this giveaway on your face book page (be sure to tell me that you have done so !)

Giveaway will be drawn THIS MONDAY 30TH APRIL so don't miss out ! 

This giveaway will be offered to all regardless of where you live in the world.

                                                GOOD LUCK !

Kitchen Displays....Changing Colour Scheme

When we recently painted our kitchen I was super keen to paint the walls a pretty grey/blue colour that we have used in other areas of our home. After being convinced by my Mum (yes you were right Mum !) to keep the walls neutral we decided to go with antique white instead. Mum knows how much I like to move things around and change my look so she was right.

Over the weekend when my silly computer felt like having a holiday and not cooperating I began to clean my cupboards out.
I have an embarrassing amount of china and crockery (and I am serious !).  Anyway, in my cleaning frenzy I came across some pretty jugs that had been locked away and gathering dust for quite some time.  They are now all sparkling clean and are happily sitting in my kitchen.  It's so nice to have some pretty new things to look at for a change.  I love the pale aquas and soft greens and they blend in well with my beloved Cornishware.

This little fishy jug was a pretty little find from years ago. I think I paid $1 for it if my memory serves me well.

This mug pictured above is a favourite of mine.

'Forget Me Not'

I paid $3 for it.....bargain !

and another little forgotten treasure. This pretty rose bowl is from Victorian times and picked up for a few dollars once again. It is missing it's metal ring around the top but I love it anyway.

I paid $40 for it many years ago now.

I don't believe in the old saying 'blue and green should never be seen'. I think that combiation can work really well together if you choose the right shade and neutralise it with a tiny amount of a coordinating colour (I have used lilac, found in the floral print of the china)

I love the new element of colour in my kitchen .

In a few weeks I am thinking of going all pink !

A change is as good as a holiday as they say !

JOIN ME TOMORROW FOR A LITTLE BIT OF BLOG LOVE

I am running a FREE GIVEAWAY

to celebrate Mothers Day

I have gorgeous gifts from My French Laundry

and some other pretty bits and pieces to give away to one lucky reader.

So please join me in all of the fun.

I hope to see you then

Melanie

x

Tea Cup Bargain Hunter

This morning I went strolling through a second hand/thrift store. I was searching through a stack of dusty old cups and saucers hoping to find a treasure or 2.

It's not very often these days that thrift stores seem to have any pretty old china. To their advantage the antique dealers have waltzed on in and made deals to have first dibs on the china that arrives in the donation boxes. Gone are the days when a $2 bargain of the century teacup set happens to be lying there.  Those days seem to be well and truly gone.  Even at the flea markets most people have wizened up to the fact that 'old stuff' genuinely is worth something.

If I am lucky enough to discover something gorgeous at a bargain price, I am almost terrified to turn the piece over to peer at the hallmark stamp in case the seller rethinks the price after seeing my look of delight !  Over the years I have discovered a little turn and hide manoeuvre to check the hallmark stamp. There is nothing worse then when you put your little find on the counter and go to pay and the seller declares that the price must be incorrect and they up it by 200% and you are left standing there with nothing !

So, my well used 'turn and hide manouvre' seems to hide my face that is smiling like a crazy woman and also keeps my bargain looking like it's going to remain a bargain ! 

 (It's amazing the strategies of a seasoned shopper)

I have picked up many a bargain in my time but nothing for a few months I'm afraid. One of the biggest bargains I have found is this pretty 'Royal Worcester' cup and saucer with the pretty green bow on it. I absolutely adore this cup and saucer. I found it in a bargain box for a couple of dollars in a market stall.  I could have squealed with delight when I did my 'turn and hide manoeuvre' !  Royal Worcester for $2.......are you kidding ????? YES PLEASE !

I quickly threw a $2 coin to the seller, refused any paper or bag just in case they spotted the bargain and then I almost skipped away into the sunset !

This morning to my displeasure I found not one single pretty cup and saucer to buy at the junk store.

Disappointment !

WHERE HAVE ALL THE BARGAINS GONE I ASK ?

There is something sweet about a hallmark stamp. I ALWAYS turn a piece over and look at them. Most of the time I couldn't care less what the piece is worth. The value means little to me. If my heart sings and it makes my heart go pitter pat, then that's my sign of a purchase.  If it happens to turn into a valuable piece then that's a positive obviously but it's not a prerequisite for me.

I would love to know what your biggest bargain find has been ?

See you all tomorrow !

Melanie

x

Thursday Flowers.......Buckets Of Love

Great BIG buckets of love.......
are what I found lots of, at the Sydney Flower Markets. 
Recently as many of you know I embarked on my first visit to the Sydney Flower Markets as part of my Floristry course that I am taking.
I have many different favourite flowers..........Peonies, Roses, Violets and Hydrangeas being up in the top 4

The roses were what I clapped eyes on first as I walked through the big doors. BIG BEAUTIFUL DAVID AUSTIN ROSES in fact were the first thing the my eyes took me to visit.

I literally stood there gobsmacked !  My friend was chattering away to me but I was long gone I am afraid.  My mind was going wild with opportunities and choice. I had blocked out any noise or voices and was internally jumping to great heights with excitement.  Everyone around me had busy, rushed faces and had some place important to go.

ME.........I stood in the middle of the corridor, closed my eyes and breathed in the beautiful scent.

                                    I TOOK TIME TO SMELL THE ROSES

The world passed by at a great speed..........but I would not move for anybody.........I was smelling the roses !

A sudden bump and a clang of a passing trolley brought me to my senses and soon enough I learnt the hard and fast rules of the Flower Markets. There was only one speed and it was FAST !  The first in were first served, there was no time for dreamers I'm afraid. 

Ok .......enough of the jabbering, I want you to take a peek at my photo's.  Pay close attention to the David Austin roses right below this blurb.........DIVINE !

It's a sea of gorgeous porgeous isn't it ? 
Could you imagine anything more spectacular ?
WOW.......I'm in heaven !

So there they are........and there I was.
Standing like an idiot with a lovey dovey look on my face
smelling the roses !

Somehow I managed to take photo's. A lot of them were blurry because I was balancing massive bunches of flowers in one arm, my trusty clunker of a camera around my neck and taking notes for an assignment with the other.
In a last minute decision of insanity I picked up an armful of branches of Pussy willow which I had been hoping so much to find for my Easter display.   I looked with dismay when I saw the size of the branches. I looked at my armload and shook my head in despair.
BUT the inner shopper in me, the warrior woman who wouldn't leave without her last sought out purchase screamed inside my head
                              DO IT !

Oh what the heck........I picked the branches up, tucked them under my arm and charged down the aisles like a crazy woman......................REWIND.......actually it was more like carrying bags of concrete up a hill on a hot day. It was sheer torture !  BUT  that Pussy willow was well worth the effort. My flowers are all long gone but that Pussy willow is still going strong.  Tiny tufts of white are beginning to poke their heads out of the buds. Each time I pass by the awkward bucket in my corridor and a branch pokes me in the eye, I am reminded of my wonderful day at the Sydney Flower Markets.

                              and I cannot wait to go back !



Madness really !  BUT SO MUCH FUN !!!!