running away to Paris - a tale by my friend Martha

Have you every dreamt of packing up your life and making your way to Paris?  Have you wondered what it would be like to fall in love with a tall, handsome Frenchman?   Have you sighed at the thought of living in a pretty French house and filling it with beautiful antique furniture, and cooking delicious meals in your country kitchen? .....

I have a very dear friend called Martha who did just that.  She used to live down the valley from me, and we spent a lot of time together doing everyday things that girlfriends enjoy.

She lived in the sweetest house in the centre of the village.  Behind her blue shutters she created a charming home for her husband and daughters; her garden was beautiful; her cooking divine .....  we always had a lot to chat about!

Martha moved back to the States a few years ago, but we have stayed in touch.  It wasn't easy for her to leave France and start over.  She and her family recreated a new life for themselves and are living happy and successfully, but she has always felt nostalgic for her life here.

Today I am proud to tell you that she has published her story for Kindle.  She has a lovely easy to read style of writing that whisks me back to her kitchen table, chatting over a cup of tea.  

It is  a brave move to publish a memoir.  One's own life story.  Not only do you reveal your writing skills to the public, but also your life!  I admire her immensely for the candid and unpretentious way in which she has achieved this.

I enjoyed the book so much that I wanted to share it with you too.  She tells it like it is, just the way a good friend would.  Through her story you feel the thrills but also the difficulties in running away to a new life in a foreign country.

Of course I won't tell you the whole story, but let me say that this is a tale of love and delectation.  The tale of a young woman working out how to live her dream, and how to react when that dream takes some unexpected turns.

If you would like to download Martha's book, just click here ..... then find yourself a comfy chair, make a cup of tea, or pour a glass of wine, and let yourself get lost in her charming and touching tale.

Martha Alberti

Faith over Reason

all photos thanks to Martha

martha's shutters

Yesterday I shared with you some of my favourite shutter shots, and today as promised I want to tell you about a talented lady, a friend of mine, who repurposes old shutters for use inside the home, as well as creating other beautiful screens and bedheads.

Martha Alberti works from her Linen Flower Studios in Marietta, and uses her expertise in paint finishes to create and restore.   This beautiful fire screen is a new item to her store, don't you love the personalised monogram?

She also applies monograms to the bedheads she makes, and can supply the letters required by each client.

Martha is married to the French artist Fabrice Alberti, and although they lived near us  in France for many years, they are now based in Marietta, US.  Their home is witness to their incredible talent and sure eye.

Martha lives by the motto,  "Start where you are, Use what you have, Do what you can".  She loves to rescue old and unremarkable furntiure and transform it into something special.  In her own home she has painted her kitchen cabinets, tables, shelves as well as larger items such as armoires.

Clients bring her pieces of furniture that are too good to throw out, and that can be transformed by Martha into beautiful 'antiques' with real age and character.   She spends a lot of time, using a combination of paint and waxes to give real depth and patina to each piece she produces.

If you have an old pair of shutters at home that you would like to use as a bedhead, Martha will transform them for you, painting and distressing until they are perfectly shabby chic.

Hope you feel inspired, if you would like to contact Martha about her work, just check her out at Linen Flower Studio.

(PS  Don't forget about the Parisienne Farmgirl giveaway if you haven't entered yet, last day tomorrow!)

Fabrice Alberti - an artist and a friend

I am so lucky to have made some really gifted friends in my life.  I remain deeply impressed and moved  by artistic talent, be it musical or visual.    So it is with our friend Fabrice.  But to tell you this story I have to start from the beginning ..........

I actually met his wife Martha first.  Martha is American and she met and married Fabrice when she fulfilled a dream and came to live in France.  She used to live along the valley and we spent many fun moments together.

Now their lives have come full circle and they are living back in the States.  We miss them a lot. My tummy still does something strange each time I drive past their old house.

It is thanks to Martha that this blog exists.  When she returned to the States she started her own beautifully written blog telling of how she came to  live in France.  When she invited me to start reading her I didn't even know what a blog was!  She encouraged me to start a blog of my own..  She stopped her blog when she realised she had a story worth publishing, and I hope one day to see the book version - maybe under the name of her original blog: Martha from Normandy.

Now settled in Georgia, she forms a great team with her French husband Fabrice.  His work as an artist is what I want to show you today. 

Fabrice trained at Les Beaux Arts in Paris, and he is so talented that he can apply himself to any style of painting, any dimension.  Since they have been in America he has concentrated on decorative art for interiors, producing pieces for individual homes, and often painting to commission.  

His in depth knowledge of decorative styles and art history makes him capable of stunning restoration work.  Today he is often asked to apply European decorative finishes to beautiful American homes.

He paints screens such as this one used as a bed head and featured
in the Amercan magazine House Beautiful.

I love his subtle monochromatic paintings.  It's hard to believe they haven't been salvaged from a beautiful old French château.  If you visit his site, you'll see many more.

He also creates decorative objects that appear convincingly old.   I'd love to have one of these stunning lamp bases in my house.

So, for once on this blog, I can tell you about something amazing  - but geographically closer to many of you than to me.  If you drop by to see Fabrice and Martha, please give them a hug from me!

All photos thanks to Fabrice Alberti