My French Country Home Subscription Box and Magazine

If you are a Francophile like me, chances are you have friends, and loved ones who are too. Here is a short list in no particular order, of online websites and shopping for great gift ideas from France that I follow, frequent, and recommend. A few are new to me, which I thought you might like too.

1) French General, owner Karri Meng, has a fabulous old-fashioned general mercantile of French fabrics, trimmings, craft kits, notions, and brocante finds. She also hosts “French General GetAways” each summer in the Toulouse, France area.

2) My French Country Home Gift Box, Boutique, and Magazine. Owner, Sharon Santoni does a magnificent job of promoting France, french products, French artisans, and more to Francophiles.

3) The Simply Luxurious Life, Shannon Ables has a terrific blog and podcast on cultivating the extraordinary in your everyday. Check out her Simply Luxurious Life Francophile Finds

4) Chateau Sonoma, I call owner, Sarah Anderson, the unofficial ambassador of Sonoma County. She promotes flower farmers, antique dealers, artisan farmers, artists, chefs, etc. with her French flea markets, events, music concerts, and Friday Cocktail Instagram hour. Chateau Sonoma is a retail shop on Sonoma Plaza in Sonoma, California, as well as a great website specializing in French antiques and gifts. Chateau Sonoma just celebrated 20 years!

5) Rabbit Hill Lifestyle, owner, Cat Bude lives with her family on a beautiful farm in Normandy, France. She offers a fun and lively pop-up shop for 24 hours usually the first or second Saturday of the month. She specializes in copper pieces, as well as brocante and lifestyle treasures. Worth checking out.

6) Vivi et Margot, named after her two daughters, Charlotte Reiss offers “A French Life To Live” with her online store for Traditional French housewares. She and her family live in Southwest France, and soon will be moving to Provence. She is fun to follow on Instagram at vivietmargot.

7) The Cook’s Atelier, Expats Mother/Daughter duo, Marjorie Taylor and Kendall Smith Franchini are based in Burgundy, France with their fabulous cooking school and culinary boutique. I have experience their kitchen and shop, which is a stunning. Online they offer many antique, kitchen, and culinary boutique items which are very special.

8) Elsie Green, Elsie Green is a small family run business out of Northern California. The team travels the world to find special pieces. One visit to their website, and you will be inspired.

9) Francaise Shop, A new shop for me to explore, that I have heard about in Coronado, California that specializes in modern French contemporary for the home, kitchen, and boutique clothing. It is on my list to visit, and it is local.

10) Le Panier Français, Also new to me, an online French marketplace out of Illinois specializing in imported French food items. A great online website to find special French foods and ingredients. It is fun to browse all of their items available.

Please share your favorite websites for Francophiles too. I always love to hear! Happy Shopping!

Bon Appétit et Bon Weekend….Bonnie

Sweet Peas On New Trellis

I always love making seasonal garden bouquets for my home, and maybe some to share. It means so much that they come from my garden, grown with love and care, but also the beauty and happiness they resonate. They also are such a big part of seasonal living which I love!

I recently started a project close to my potager. I created a dedicated trellis row for growing more flowers, and perhaps a few other things like extra tomato plants. It is a more focused attention to growing flowers for cutting, which can be rotated season to season. Think planting sweet peas and ranunculus in the fall, sunflowers in the spring, pumpkins and gourds in the summer.

Impromptu Winter Garden Bouquet, Narcissus and Viburnum ‘Spring Bouquet’

I really owe this to the talented flower farmers, floral designers, garden stylemakers, and garden enthusiasts that share their flower passion online and on social media. There are so many, and it seems everyday a new person pops up. Here are a few of some that I follow and in no particular order. Some have their own websites, and most are on Instagram.

Slow Flowers Society. Founded by Debra Prinzing in 2013, after writing her book Slow Flowers. A Who’s Who of American Floral Farmers, Slow Flower Florists and a branding platform that promotes, connects consumers with farmers, florists, designers and retailers.

Floret Flowers Erin Benzakein heads up her family run flower farm and seed company that specializes in unique, uncommon and heirloom flowers.

Menagerie Flower Felicia Alvarez with her beloved garden rose production farm offers bare root and potted roses, and educational workshops. She has a new book rose book coming out, Growing Wonder, for all rose lovers.

Willow Crossley Willow Crossley is a fabulous UK floral designer who offers floral design, and much more, including online floral workshops.

B-Side Farm Lennie Larkin is an incredible Sonoma flower farmer and florist with great entrepreneurial spirit.

Claus Dalby. A mild-mannered Danish gardener, photographer, broadcaster, and YouTuber who is simply amazing. On Instagram.

My French Country Home Sharon Santoni in Normandy, France, gives you glimpses of fantastic gardens all over France, as well as her flowers, floral bouquets, and potager from her own garden.

Potted Vintage Container with Purple Pansies and Ornamental Cabbage

I haven’t even touched on flowers and vintage container design you can create at home like the simple design I did above. That merits a whole category on its own!

Bon Appétit, Bon Weekend, et Happy Valentine’s Day…..Bonnie

Cover of Miss Maggie’s Kitchen

Just when I think there couldn’t be another great French Country cookbook, I am introduced to, Miss Maggie’s Kitchen , by Héloïse Brion. I first learned about her and some of her recipes in an article in My French Country Home, March/April 2021 issue. It is another beautiful story about a very talented woman reinventing herself, and pursuing her dreams. After fifteen years in the fashion industry in France, Brion and her husband purchased an old hunting lodge in Normandy, calling it “Miss Maggie.” This beautiful property and home inspired her to pursue her passion for cooking, developing recipes, and self-publishing her recipe journals full time. Now, her first cookbook.

Wait, there is a bit more to the story, she grew up between two countries: the United States and France. She spent most of the year in Florida with her family and in school, and spent idyllic summers in the family’s old mountain farmhouse in the Pyrenees. Could you ask for anything more growing up? I do believe something magical happens when you are exposed to other cultures, foods, people, and landscapes other than your native land. So, yes, her cookbook, recipes and social media are effortlessly published in English as well as French. Yes, there is a bit of “Ying” and “Yang” to her cooking and relaxing style which must come from the best of both her worlds.

Héloïse Brion’s style is relaxed, and comes from the heart. She cooks seasonally, which I absolutely love, and encourages you upfront to make substitutions for ingredients in her recipes, which I also love. See the Winter Salad recipe below.

Miss Maggie’s Kitchen Tasty Winter Salad

The first time I made and tasted this Winter Salad, there was an explosion of flavors and textures which were so delightful. I think sautéing fresh shallots with a pinch of fleur de sel, and then adding pecan and almond pieces to toast is genius. Further adding sliced pears and burrata cheese is heaven. I did substitute right off the bat, baby spinach for mâche and radicchio for red endives. Mâche, also called Lamb’s Lettuce or Corn Salad, is a small annual plant, with a nutty flavor, dark green, and served as salad greens. I think next year I will grow it, as I couldn’t find it at our Farmers Markets or grocery stores in the produce section.

As we move more into spring now, I will continue to make this salad, and substitute seasonal spring ingredients. I have made this salad with goat cheese which is also very tasty. Enjoy!

Winter Salad

Lovingly Adapted from Héloïse Brion, Miss Maggie’s Kitchen

Published in My French Country Home magazine, March/April 2021

Serves 4, Preparation time 10 minutes, Cooking time 10 minutes

Ingredients:

5 cups mâche or other salad green

2 red endives

2 pears

1 burrata cheese

1 handful of pecan pieces

1 handful of sliced almonds

2 shallots

Olive oil

1 organic lemon

1 tablespoon honey

Salt & pepper

Directions:

1) Peel and thinly slice the shallots. Place 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan and sauté the shallots with a pinch of fleur de sel. Place the pecans and almonds in the pan with the shallots over low heat for a few minutes.

2) Cut the endives and rinse with the mâche or your substitute salad greens. Drain, dry and arrange them on a dish. Place the shallot-nut mixture on top.

3) Slice the pears, cut the burrata into pieces and add both to the arrangement. In a small bowl, mix the juice of a lemon with the honey.

4) Season with pepper and salt to taste, sprinkling over the salad. Serve immediately.

Bon Appétit and 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

I heard distant rumblings about Sharon Santoni from her first book, My Stylish French Girlfriends, then she was featured in the May/June 2018 Victoria Magazine, sharing with us her just-released second book, My French Country Home, and her gracious taste in French country living in Normandy, France, and I was hooked. 

Sharon Santoni grew up in England, fell in love, married a Frenchman, raised their four children in a rural dream home and cultivated garden, and embraced her French life. Soon to be an empty nester, Santoni got the idea to start a blog, My French Country Home, sharing her daily life in rural France and all that it offers.

Fast forward, her blog is now read by thousands all over the world, two beautiful books under her belt, and an accidental entrepreneur with her quarterly subscription mail order Stylish French Box. From spark to fire, sometimes life is like that! She muses frequently  about reinventing oneself, lessons we can all learn from her.

If that is not enough, Santoni loves to troll nearby brocante flea markets for unique treasures for her home, garden, and entertaining. She is my kind of girlfriend!

Victoria Magazine, May/June 2018