A Sunny Lunch at Le Plongeoir, Nice

We flew into Nice, France, and stayed a few days. Recent articles on Nice had mentioned that Nice was experiencing a renaissance since covid. It has been about 15 years since we were here last, and the time was right for another visit. We stayed in Vieux Nice, home for 20,000 people, and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We ate well, strolled the famed Promenade des Anglais along the water, and took in the Monday brocante (flea) market.

A few days later we drove and stayed at the picturesque port and small town of Cassis, along the Côte d’Azur. Enough time for an evening dinner along the port, and to take in the Wednesday market there. A quick stop at Domaine du Paternel for wine tasting. This area is known for gorgeous white wines.

Above Cassis is the start of the Route des Crètes, one of the most scenic routes along the highest cliffs in France which allows to you view the coastline and out to the Mediterranean sea. Breathtaking!

Picturesque Cassis Port

Market Day at Place Richelme in Aix-en-Provence

On to Aix-en-Provence for a day and night. A vibrant university town with magnificent architecture and a grand wide boulevard called Cours Mirabeau. We had one of our most memorable and delicious lunches at Les Vielles Canailles at this tiny little restaurant, know for the talented chef and extensive wine list.

Hiking at the Gardon du Gorges, A UNESCO Biosphere

After almost a week in France, we rolled into our village around Uzès. So happy to be here again, to further explore our area, work on our little mas, and search for decorating treasures from brocantes and flea markets.

It is not all work, we have taken time out for market days, long lunches, and one day we hiked part of the Gardon du Gorges. It is an incredible gorge carved over time by the Gardon River. Steep cliffs, rushing river water, and natural landscape have earned this protected pristine gorge a UNESCO World Heritage Biosphere site.

My New Wall Sconce, Upper Left, for the Living Room

Sharing with you the vintage sconce I found for our salon, living room, stone wall. Small, delicate, a perfect size. It is French, and pre-World War II. It cleaned up beautifully, and adds a touch of elegance to our rustic room.

Our Neighbor’s Beautiful Stone House

It is beautiful here in the autumn. My neighbor’s vine-covered stone house is a site to relish in the fall.

Bon Appétit et Bon Weekend from France…Bonnie

Our Home & Landscape in 1999, When We Bought The Property

This week, on May 7, 2024 to be precise, marked our 25th year here on the property we affectionately now call Domaine de Manion. At these junctions in life, one must take time to pause, reflect, and honor the journey. In our case the last 25 years.

When my husband John, and I found this property tucked away down a private easement, and set atop the highest hill and coastal ridge that overlooks the ocean and horizon, we were excited. On this hill you could experience morning pastel orange glowy sunrises and spectacular ocean horizon sunsets in the same day. Surrounded by working nursery properties with multiple greenhouses, it was a true rural setting. I suspect this property was at one time a working orchard property with remnants of sickly avocado trees, but thriving mature macadamia trees flanking the side perimeters.

This neglected property needed a lot of work, and the cute bungalow house, originally built in 1930 was charming, but badly needed an update and possibly a remodel. There was no real garden to speak of, just a bit of scruffy, tired landscape, nettle, and foxtail.

That didn’t matter, we were up for the adventure. We wanted to make this property beautiful, functional, and further enhance this natural setting. Creative ideas began flowing for the property, some that worked, and some that didn’t. Little by little, the property started evolving, and responding to tender loving care.

Back & Side Of Our Home in 1999

I knew I wanted to start gardening for the first time, and get my hands in the dirt. We were told our soil was sandy, yet very fertile from our surrounding nursery neighbors. I have been very fortunate to have had a long time gardener, worth his weight in gold, that has helped me put the garden together and bounce ideas off. In the beginning, he would roll his eyes when I shared with him a garden idea or garden experiment I had. Now, he only smiles, and says “let’s do it.”

Slowly, but surely, garden room by garden room, the garden and really the whole property started to evolve. Local and out-of-town garden clubs started asking to come for a tour. It has been a joy to share Domaine de Manion with others, as well as our family, and friends.

The Beginning Of The Boxwood Garden

A Children’s Playhouse On The Property Became Our Chicken Coop

I could write a book, or at least several chapters on the evolving of this property, but instead I thought to share a timeline with you. I can’t even begin to estimate over the years, how many miles John and I have walked on this property, or hours spent in creating it as it is today. Just that it has been a fun passion. “Life itself is the proper binge.”—Julia Child

Domaine de Manion Timeline:

May 1999, John & I Bought The Property.

Spring 1999, Began Planting First Boxwood Garden

August 2000, John & I Were Married On The Property

Spring 2003, Had Our First Flock Of Chickens. Started Composting & Using Rain Barrels

April 2006, Planted Our Syrah Vineyard With The Help Of Our Mira Costa College, Vineyard Management & Production Class. Gave The Property, Domaine de Manion Name.

Fall 2008, First Vineyard Harvest. Started Traveling To France & Gathering Ideas For Creating “Provence” At Domaine de Manion.

Fall 2009, First Vintage Bottling

2009-2010 Home Remodel and Building of Barn

Spring 2010, Creation of Secret White Garden

Spring 2013, Seeded Eco-Lawn In Back Of House And Front of Barn

Spring 2015, Created Enclosed Potager On North Side of Vineyard and Fountain Garden Parterre

January 2016, Recognized By Miracle-Gro & To Ride Their Rose Bowl Parade Float Representing California Home-Grown Gardeners With Four Others

May 2016, Planted Privacy Landscaping On North, West, South Property Perimeters

September 2016, Started Hosting Cooking Classes

March 2022, Build 12’ x 55’ Bocce Ball Court & Retaining Wall For Garden

Spring 2022, Created St. Francis Rose Garden

Fall 2022, Our Record Grape Harvest Yield Of 1400 Pounds

Summer 2023, Lost Entire Grape Harvest From Cool Spring, Rainy Summer, & Mild Fall

May 2024, In A Blink Of An Eye, It Is 25 Years Later.

Now a few photos of Domaine de Manion this Spring 2024, and a recent fun cooking class.

Yves Piaget Roses Greet You at Domaine de Manion

Fountain Garden & Bocce Ball Court

South Garden & Chicken Coop at Domaine de Manion

West Side of Barn at Domaine de Manion

Spring Syrah Vineyard at Domaine de Manion

All Smiles At The “Springtime Menu For Celebrations” Cooking Class

Bon Appétit et Bon Weekend…Bonnie

Finished Bocce Ball Court at Domaine de Manion

My husband, John, had a great idea to create a bocce ball court in our garden near our vineyard. I loved the idea because it would be a beautiful open space. They call it negative space in landscape design, where your eyes can rest for a moment. I loved the idea because there is so much else going on in the garden, and it would be close to our vineyard and social area where people gather.

Bocce ball is a great fun game for all ages. It is played throughout the world, in the category of boules sports, where players or teams play their balls towards a target ball. I see the game played a lot in Europe in the village squares. The French have a similar game called Pétanque.

The hard part was planning how to build a bocce ball court, using material which would fit in with the existing garden and property, and finding the right craftsmen to build it. We had our challenges—such as a substantial sloping grade to our property, where to put all of the displaced dirt to make a level court, an existing mature garden, and barely enough room to maneuver a bobcat loaded with rock. With skill, talent, lots of measuring, and luck, it was accomplished.

I thought it might be interesting to share with you the stages of how our bocce ball court was created. We had the 55’ long x 12’ wide space mapped out. Regulation bocce ball courts are 91’ long and 13’ wide. For backyard courts it usually comes down to how much space you have in your yard or property to dedicate to a bocce ball court. Our court size is moderately sized.

Beginning Open Space

First the space had to be leveled, and in the beginning it looked like we were creating a swimming pool with the north side cut so deep. The perimeter was measured and staked allowing for walking paths on the north, west, and south side. Serendipitously, the east side was created higher and became a natural retaining wall for the existing garden, and for players to sit on if they wished. Used concrete chunks were used for the perimeter wall foundation, as they wouldn’t be seen.

Laying Bocce Court Perimeter with Concrete Chunks

I had in my mind a stone perimeter bocce ball court to repeat the low stone wall in our courtyard and near our barn. The good folks at RCP Block & Brick in Leucadia, thought we were nuts. For me, stone is simply stunning, timeless, very European, and low maintenance.

Our skilled craftsmen patiently built each wall as if it were a jigsaw puzzle, carefully placing each stone in the right spot and at the right level. A labor of love.

Stone Walls of Bocce Ball Court Taking Shape

Next came the many layers that make up a bocce ball court. Leveling the court. Putting down gopher resistant 1/2” wire mesh. Installing dimmable side lights for playing the court at night. Adding a layer of weed cloth.

Installing Gopher Resistant Wire Mesh in Bocce Court

Installing French drains that drain into our vineyard for our rainy season. Grouting the stone walls with finish concrete.

Installing French Drains in Bocce Ball Court

Placing several layers of tiny stone, layer upon layer, packing each layer down, as the bocce court level rose higher. Adding a top finish layer of Black Pearl oyster shell dust from Earth Stone Rock for smooth rolling of the ball.

This whole process took a couple of months, with a few delays here and there. Please share if you play bocce ball or have a court in your backyard. It has gotten very popular, because it is a fun game, very social, and also a large space that requires no water.

Finished Top Layer of Oyster Shell Dust

Finishing touches like lining the pathways with walking bark and a few potted bougainvillea “Thai Delight’ create the finished look. The bocce ball court looks like it has always been here.

Finished Bocce Ball Court Looking South at Domaine de Manion

Now it is time to play and enjoy a glass of wine. Salut!

The Hard Work is Over, Time to Relax and Play Bocce Ball

Dear friends, I will be taking a summer break writing, and will resume this September. Merci always for all of your kind words, interest, and sharing!

Bon Appétit et Bon Weekend…Bonnie

My Powder Room, Photo by Shelley Metcalf

I am not sure Frenchness is a word, it was a thought that came to my mind. When I looked it up, it came up as a noun, and means the quality or characteristic of being French, according to Wiktionary. I define Frenchness as ”Joie de Vivre,” a zest for life, an underlying philosophy of quality simplistic everyday living with gratitude and lifestyle rising to elegance. The French are masters at this, and naturally live this philosophy so well, yet everyone can have Frenchness with this philosophy, cultivating their thoughts and lifestyle, where ever they live.

Here I share with you 25 easy ways to create Frenchness in your everyday life.

Beauty

1) Find that perfect lipstick shade that looks great on you, makes you smile, and gives you confidence. Try one a little bolder than what you normally wear. Perhaps a romantic pink or a Chanel red that compliments your skin tone.

“A smile is the best makeup any girl can wear.”

— Marilyn Monroe

2) A signature scent lends itself to an air of mystery. Try a French perfume for fun, if you don’t wear one now. I tend to wear French floral scents, but the classic muskish Chanel No. 5 is still one of the most popular perfumes ever created.

3) Explore some of the great French beauty skin care products, such as Caudalíe for their serum, and La Roche-Posay for their Face 50 Ultra Light Sunscreen Fluid (available at CVS). Read up on French beauty secrets, one of them being Ageless Beauty the French Way.

“ A Girl Should Be Two Things: Classy and Fabulous.” —Coco Chanel Paris Ritz

Style

4) Finish your outfit ensemble to complete your look. Use a scarf, broach, or that certain purse that ties it all together. Cloche hats are always flattering, especially for a special event. For gents wear a fedora or béret, and a scarf.

5) Buy a French striped sailor top with a bateau neck. Great with jeans, white pants, and ballerina flats.

6) Always have a “little black dress” handy in your closet.

7) Be a pearl person. Pearls never go out of style.

8) Flea Market vintage costume jewelry pieces are always fun to hunt for when you travel, and become special unique accessories with a story.

French Press Waiting for Some French Roast

Food & Drink

9) Drink rich, dark French Roast coffee from a vintage “café au lait bowl” or French porcelain mug, made in a French press each morning.

10) Seek out and frequent your favorite local bakery for buttery croissants, crusty country bread, and fresh crusty baguettes. To name a few I like, Wayfarer Bread in La Jolla, Prager Brothers in Carlsbad and Encinitas, and Isabelle Briens French Pastry Cafe in Encinitas.

11) Drink fabulous champagne, and don’t save it for special celebrations and occasions. Chateau Sonoma is now offering Chateau Sonoma Champagne Club. Check it out!

“Come quickly, I am tasting the stars!”

— Dom Pérignon (at the moment he discovered champagne)

12) Indulge in the Apéro hour, a little something to drink, a little something to snack on. Typically, nuts, olives, and savory crackers. A time in the day to relax with friends and loved ones, awaken your appetite and a prelude to dinner.

13) Use real French dijon mustard such as Maille or Edmond Fallon.

14) Substitute crème fraîche for sour cream. Crème fraîche is thicker, richer and less tangy than sour cream. It won’t curdle if you boil it, so it is great to use in soups and sauces.

15) In your recipe arsenal, keep your “tried and true” favorite Gougères, Roast Chicken, Steak au Poivre, Tart, and Vinaigrette recipes. Cook’s Atelier Gougère Recipe

The Cook’s Atelier, Kendall Smith Franchini, Serving Gougères

16) Cook with a few select copper pots. If you like them, expand your selection.

17) Use French sea salt or what is called fleur de sel in your cooking. It is a natural, pure salt, with no additives that is hand-harvested from the surface of the sea. Try Le Paludier Guérande Fleur de Sel from Brittany or Le Saunier de Camargue from Provence.

Cooking With Copper Pots is a Beautiful Thing

18) Grow ‘Provence’ Lavender, the best culinary lavender because of its low camphor level, with a nice floral scent and gentle lavender flavor. Keep “Provence Lavender Sugar” in your pantry to use in your baked goods. Simply add 1 Tablespoon dried culinary lavender buds, finely ground in a spice grinder, to 2 cups sugar. Transfer to a jar and cover tightly. Allow at least 3 days time before using.

Ready to Dry ‘Provence’ Lavender

19) Similar to finishing your ensemble to complete your look, use garnish to finish and complete your food dish for visual appearance and culinary appeal. If it looks great, it is going to taste great. Be imaginative, choose garnishes like lemon zest, toasted nuts, cracked pepper, spices, and edible flowers.

20) Choose quality over quantity, especially when it comes to really good dark chocolate and cheese. A fabulous cheese selection at Fromagerie by Franck is offered at the Saturday Little Italy and Vista Farmers Markets, and Sunday Rancho Santa Fe Farmers Market. Think Black Truffle Gouda, Comté, and authentic Camembert from Normandy.

Fabulous Fromagerie by Franck, at Sunday Rancho Santa Fe Farmers Market

“How can you govern a country which has 246 varieties of cheese?”

— Charles de Gaulle

Mood

21) Spritz lavender linen water on your clean pillow cases, roll up them up and rest them before ironing. Store and fold bedding with dried lavender sachets, either hand made or purchased. Your bedding will be left with a faint fragrance of lavender, and ideal for promoting a relaxing night of sleep. Look for relaxing pillow mist at L’Occitane or sometimes it can be found at HomeGoods.

22) Add essential Lavender Oil to your bubble bath. I pick up essential Lavender Oil at the markets in France. You can find lavender products online and at two local lavender farms, Purple Rain Lavender Farm in Fallbrook, California, and Keys Creek Lavender Farm in Valley Center, California.

23) Create a French library with cookbooks, décor style, lifestyle, novels, and travel. Subscribe to My French Country Home bimonthly magazine and/or MFCH quarterly gift box. Authentic France delivered to your home in the form of a beautiful magazine, or carefully curated French gifts for you and your home.

My French Country Home magazine

24) Program your music to French stations, for example on Pandora, with French Cooking Music Radio, Carla Bruni Radio, The French Cafe Radio, Maurice Chevalier Radio, Pink Martini Radio, Edith Piaf Radio, News in Slow French Podcast, etc.

25) Explore MHZ channel on Apple TV that features many subtitled French films and mini-series, as well as other European media.

This is a short list. I could recommend many, many more. Try adding some Frenchness into your daily life and enjoy Joie de Vivre!

Bon Appétit et Bon Weekend….Bonnie

More Related Links From My Blog:

The Cook’s Atelier

Paris, Provence, Patricia Wells

Plat du Jour by Susan Herrmann Loomis

Lavender Love

Follow the French

Toute de Sweet

Last fall at harvest time, our gifted architect, Bill Bocken  brought his partner, Paul Adams, a talented San Diego landscape designer, and his amazing photographer, Shelley Metcalf to photograph our home for the first time since the completion of our home remodel.

San Diego Magazine took notice and features Metcalf's photos, article written by Kimberly Cunningham in their January 2014 San Diego Magazine feature "Design: Living" article Accidental Winemakers.

This article features many indoor and outdoor photos depicting our home, property, and lifestyle. Cunningham cleverly added the feature "Get The Look" for resources and details that brought our design and style together.

I wrote extensively on our remodel progress as it was literally unfolding in a quick ten months. For more reading on our remodel, please go to Remodel Project.

What a great way to start 2014!

It was about this time last fall, give or take a month or two when my husband, John, and I embarked on our remodel project. Fast forward one year, a zillion decisions, a few surprises, ample changes, some upgrades, and our home remodel project is finished. I should say the construction is finished. There is still window treatments, landscaping, and more fun projects.

If you  recall, we remodeled our 1930's Spanish style 1,600 square foot home pushing out in two directions gingerly hugging around our mammoth Italian Stone Pine tree. We added approximately 1,000 square feet to our original home, with "night and day" improvement in livability, function, beauty, and views to our garden and horizon. Additionally, we built a new construction 20' x 40' two story barn. A simple gravel courtyard connects our home and barn. As seen in the above photo, we have a guest auto court and pedestrian gate to enter our courtyard.

John and I kept our basic Spanish-style home, upgrading materials and transitioning from a brown tile roof and beige stucco home,  to a traditional red tile roof, white stucco beauty. I was looking for a warm brown for an accent color for barn doors, barn shutters, and front gate and ironically stumbled across the color, "Wild Raisin" with a bit of wine color and life to it. Wild Raisin could easily become a name for one of our future wines out of our Domaine de Manion syrah vineyard.

Inside our home, the color theme is white "Cielo Blanco" walls with warm gray trim, accented by flat black lighting, railings, and door handles. Our floors are either hard wood or concrete terra cotta tile.

John and I appreciate immensely, all of the people and their talents who worked on our home remodel project. It was a real team effort, and a coming together of many, many people. We especially want to thank our architect Bill Bocken, William Bocken, Architecture Interior Design, (tel) (619) 260-1162 for his vision, and ability to be "right on" all the time when it comes to design, style, function, and color. We would be remiss if we didn't mention our savvy and energetic contractor, Robert McCarron, Robert McCarron Construction, (tel) (619) 726-6517, who orchestrated this entire project.

Other Key Components: Jim Gibson, Gibson and Gibson Antique Lighting. Custom Lighting. Vintage Timberworks, Vintage Timberworks. Recycled Wood & Flooring. Gary Henschel, Fixtures For Living. Appliances & Plumbing. Vintage Tub & Bath, Vintage Tub & Bath. Sinks. Ay's Designs in Iron, Ay's Designs In Iron. Custom Railing.

Please share if you have recently been through a home remodel. Please comment on your home remodel experience.

Quite by chance, on a general "clean up mission" in my front yard, one of the last strongholds of our remodel process, I happened upon an abandoned, cleverly engineered bird's nest. I intuitively knew this nest had served its purpose well. I sensed right away the symbolism it represented. It was an immediate "deja vu" and an incredibly great omen, as we finish up our home remodel and make plans to move in.

Ten years ago, just weeks away from moving into our present home (we are currently remodeling), I was jogging in our quaint village, Cardiff-by-the-Sea, and found this rather large intricate bird's nest near the road. Strong winds must have sent it sailing from its anchored spot in near by eucalyptus trees. My husband John, and I were soon moving into our new home, but 1930's vintage.

This property had been neglected and needed a lot of tender loving care. We knew this property was special, but could we really transform it. I took that new-found bird nest home and placed it in a nurturing spot above our fireplace hearth. I still have it, and cherish it to this day.

Fast forward ten years, and I'm no longer jogging,  but enjoying swimming, walking, and sweep rowing instead.  My husband and I created  soothing gardens, a potager, an orchard, and backyard vineyard. It was time to turn our attention to our home, hence, our ensuing remodel this past year. In actuality, it has been many years in the planning and decision-making to make this dream come true. Now, we are closing in on the last week of our ten-month remodel. Once again, I find an incredible bird's nest, "out of the blue." It is a great omen, for our remodel, and our lives moving forward.

This beautiful bird's nest is an engineering feat. It has twigs, leaves, cotton-like puffs, and even snail shells, woven meticulously together with tender loving maternal care. It is strong, yet delicate. It speaks to me as a symbol of many things. The birds and wildlife are so much a part of our life here. This beautiful bird's nest  is a "welcome home" message, a new chapter in our lives, and symbolic meaning of "home is where the heart is."  I couldn't have asked for a better gift at this time, than this beautiful bird's nest omen.

Please share if you have had an experience like an omen that is so grand, it thumps you on the head. Please comment on the bird's nests you have found.

If you have ever been through a home remodel, you may well know the pace picks up in a "fast and furious" way as the remodel end is in sight. Important decisions come faster. The layers of remodel continue to build on top of one another in a logical and methodical way. In the above photo, my husband John, and I, are "turning the corner" on our remodel, selecting our stucco color for our home, barn, and courtyard. We know we are on the home stretch towards completion and move-in day.

We eventually choose the bottom sample stucco color (after much "hemming and hawing") and are very happy with it. Now the tile roof can be laid. Our long ipe outside deck can begin. Our courtyard and sides can be graded. The list goes on.

Like an orchestra, whose pieces or ensemble sections make a whole. The conductor is our contractor, Robert McCarron. He keeps the time and rhythm of his different subcontractors in sync, and in seemingly effortlessly direction towards the grand finale. We have onsite paint contractors, stone contractors, concrete contractors, garage door contractors, tile contractors, plumbing contractor, and more. On a recent morning I counted fifteen cars and trucks parked on our easement and with permission, spilling over to my neighbor's drive way.

Our hands-on architect, Bill Bocken, William Bocken Architecture Interior Design, is never too far away from this gregarious ensemble, too. He has made sure we are in perfect pitch throughout this whole process. As homeowners we are there everyday involved with decisions, information, and our added two cents.

After eight months of this incredible transformation process, we are turning the corner, and coming down the home stretch of our remodel. Please comment on your own remodel experience.

VintageGardenGal Tidbit Thyme...

My good friend, Julie Mautner, from "The Provence Post" has written recently about Provence at the Chelsea Flower Show this year, Provence Prevails at Chelsea. It's fabulous.