Surprised by Joy

Laughter is divine and there are many things that make me chuckle or guffaw. My husband's dry, sarcastic humor and my students' creative and sweet spirits are among the precious strongholds that put a smile on my face. However, another venue to connect with the lighter side of life has been blogging. I always say that I need to work on my photography skills and think about creative ways to display my passion for art, home decorating, vintage wares and French life. I have however, found another treasure that outweighs all of the beauty of these passions and serves as a muse for the art of life: friendship. Kindred spirits come together by way of common interests and inspiration has come to me by many unique individuals. I would like to honor one particular blogger pal who I can always count on for a giggle. She is an angel with a comic wit and a writing style that hits me in the right spot. I have never heard her voice, but the tone of her writing draws me in to her farm style kitchen where generous doses of laughter are served up and shared around her abundantly garnered harvest table. I therefore present the March Angel Award to Joy from savvycityfarmer.blogspot.com and the must-visit cityfarmercooks.blogspot.com. If you like food, then the second site is for you; she offers down home cookin' with a French flair and elegance and a collage of mouth-watering photos. Visit her at either of these sites and she will draw you in with a twist of country music in FRENCH! She is a talented writer whose literary voice is honest and distinct. Thank you, Joy for the gift of laughter for "The joy of the Lord is my strength!" Isaiah 12:2. And now I share with you a collage of images that illustrate some of the other moments in life that make me smile.Smiling Angel
Provençal décor Nice, France 2002

My favorite: French bread - Antibes, France 2002

Meandering in the streets of my home away from home Eze, France 2002


Bumping into an apprentice boulanger first thing in the morning
Eze, France 2002


Traveling with my beloved in the South of France 2002

There are many more places, things and memories that are important to me but the greatest of all are the lives that have touched mine and to you my friends I say:

Cheer up my heart
and do not fear
The joy of Spring approaches near
Though Winter's threat intense may be
Take flight with my creativity
And now my soul I give to thee
A touch of His divinity
With prose and wit a spirit gives
From Joy whose gift within me lives. -Anita

Merci Joy! A la prochaine!

The Lady of Shalott by John William Waterhouse
All photographs, text and original poetry property of Castles Crowns and Cottages

"And he perceived that her little foot slid in without trouble." - Perrault

And so the story goes, "Cinderella was as good as she was beautiful..." It is striking that a delicate little glass shoe deemed the maiden fit for her destiny and that we are still charmed by the notion of being donned with such an honor. I am very flattered to say that I was recently dubbed "A Princess" TWICE with the Bubblin' Over Award by the very kind Deborah at www.picturespotspens.blogspot.com along with Vanessa of Vanilla Lavender and the magically gifted Dutchess from www.thegardenofthedutchess.blogspot.com. This award was started by Claudie from Bubblin' over and I so appreciate the honor! You are queens worthy of the Royal Treament! Then, to my great delight, I received the award again yesterday from my dear angel Sherry at Edie Marie's Attic! At this time, I would like to mention three people who are princesses in my book any day of the week for their exquisite talents, keen eye for beauty and their gentle spirits, the stuff that makes a woman "as good as she is beautiful." Therefore, "if the shoe fits wear it" title goes to:

Nancy from Fête et Fleur, cordonnière extraordinaire for her 'take your breathe away' photographs, gorgeous paper shoes and inspiration.

Julie from Gilded Moons for her professional flair, posh decorating style and cherished friendship.

Barb from French Elements for her thoughtful and enduring spirit.

May you wear this honor in peace ladies, and may your glass slipper take you down beautiful verdant paths unimagined!

I was fortunate to find the following golden Cinderella coach at Julie's little vintage shop one beautiful summer day. She had great finds from Europe and luscious ribbon of all colors and styles. I placed a glittered Barbie shoe and crown on the inside. Isn't it sweet?


Nancy from Fête et Fleur started fashioning paper shoes a while back and boldly went where I always wanted to go, and that is to become the Queen's cobbler! She took her nimble hands and has created a devoted following of her paper souliers. If you are not familiar with her work, please stop in her workshop and try on a pair! Unlike her medium of delicate papers, I have created a couple of pairs of Marie Antoinette "wannabes" out of vintage shoes. Nancy's art woke up my passion for shoes and here are three pairs that I transformed. The first pair on the left started as a black silk; I just painted them gold and attached a pink silk bow and buttons. The middle shoe is a cheap mule that I decorated with a French ribbon ruffle and the third vintage pair endured a layer of gold paint as well. Barb from French Elements has a marvelous shop for Francophiles and I picked up this great tea light crown that completes the royal treatment. Merci bien, Barb! The following photo is of a little "glass theatre" I created. I painted the wooden frame gold, cut out some text from an old French play appropriately entitled, La Mort de la Reine, and glued in a rhinestone crown pin and a pair of glittered china shoes. There are many more shoe creations around my little cottage, all inspired by artists such as Nancy, Julie and Barb. We leave a little bit of ourselves with others and I hold that dear. Thank you for your awards, friendship and shared love for creating and making us all feel like queens.

Divine Encounters of the Angelic Kind

Have you ever met an angel? In my life, I have had numerous encounters with these magnificent creatures. Whether it's a garden cherub, an antique religious relic or another divine objet d'art, these mysterious entities have enchanted my heart. However, in honor of the month of February when the ubiquitous cherub abounds and strikes lovers' hearts, I would like to honor a new friend who has been a real life angel for me. Sherry from Edie Marie's Attic has walked me through some of the many steps to enhance my blog. Merci mille fois mon amie, mon ange! She is a beautiful woman who will most definitely have a place among the angels for her amitié in this life to a complete stranger. Therefore I am bestowing upon her the prestigious Angel Award from Castles Crowns and Cottages for reaching out with acts of kindness and friendship! You shall receive a real crown that will not tarnish from the King of Kings! Please visit her gorgeous blog and get to know her wit and charm at ediemariesattic.blogspot.com.
Acts of kindness cannot be produced by a stone relic or artistic respresentation; charity is of flesh and blood and will resonate in our memories for a life time and continue into eternity. Art however, has attempted to freeze in time the beauty of angels, and here are some of my favorites.
The intense colors and textures of the subject and purity of the dove's white glow in Stillman's Love's Messenger (1885) recussitate an angel. Next, a series of magnificent home and garden angels take center stage at Que Sera, an opulent and elegant shop at the Galleria Mall.
A cast stone replica of an old provençal relief hovers over my tea cabinent and a happy little bronze cherub waits still in the wee hours of the morning. I've had another sweet encounter with an angel this valentines day in my own home; as I was standing in my front room, I caught a glimmer of light bouncing off my end table. As I studied the dance of colors piercing through the crystals, POOF....I was suddenly blinded by flashes of love and laughter. The next thing I saw was a golden crown...then I heard a faint symphony of heart strings and finally, la voilà! The most beautiful harp with a sitka spruce sound board and bronze crown was sitting there silently, ready for me to play. My own resident angel, Mr. B., ordered this back on Chrismas and had it built at Lyon and Healy in Chicago. Tu fais vibrer les cordes sensibles de mon coeur cheri! Therefore, I bestow upon the illustrious and generous Mr. B. the Angel Award for being le plus généreux mari du monde! I have a weakness for fine art, but these objects will never replace the people I love and admire. Merci. Please visit my side bar for more French lessons! A la prochaine!

His Love is Like a Red, Red Rose

It was Valentines Day 1980. The music had stopped playing and the atmosphere was bright. The small singing group had just finished the concert and we were young. Mingling in the after-glow of the crowd, I turned towards a young man from the quartet who was lingering around the piano; I asked, "Oh, do you play?" And the rest is history. From the first conversation to 29 years later, his sweet demeanor has never waned. Generous and genious, witty and wry, creative and caring, my husband has been the best companion any woman could ever want. On this post, I am again attempting to capture the beauty I see in objects of art, and I would like to share some of the precious things that my sweet valentine has given me through the years. However, my novice photography skills prevent me from displaying the luster and exquisite beauty of his gifts. His love for me however, is not dulled by my clumsiness with the camera or the finite nature of language to express my gratitude. Faithfulness, dedication and friendship in tough times, though they are untraceable to the eye of the camera, are more fluent tools of communication and this language of love will stay in my heart forever. In honor of the Valentine's day that we met 29 years ago, I want to say, Merci mon cher ami; je t'aime de tout mon coeur. The beautiful rose ribbon in the second photo displays several brooches that he surprised me with; the two crowns came from Chateau Chenonceau in the Loire Valley as well as the Fleur-de-lys. The onyx and marquisite antique pin and silver and pink stone pins come from a very special outing in Boston many years ago and the three stone Ruby ring was given to me on my 30th birthday. Please click to enlarge the pictures. Each of these gifts came from his heart, delivered to me in only the way my husband can present. Humor, surprise and true sincerity are priceless gifts. Also, every night when I come home from work, I see my favorite tea pot all ready to go. He prepares this special ritual for me faithfully, every night to help sooth and decompress the stresses of the outside world. Here at the Little House on the Northeast side of Town, tea time is of the utmost importance!

Please check out my sidebar for another French lesson! Perhaps you would like to add some French flair to a letter to a lover, friend, child or spouse; these expressions are words of politeness, kindness, respect and love. Enjoy. A la prochaine!