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Retourner en France: Les Jardines de Versailles

The Gardens of Versailles – a very quick tour

I realized that as school began a year ago, I never finished sharing from out trip to France, so… Let’s return to France, shall we? My daughter and I visited the Château de Versailles, this quintessential French national treasure, on our very last day in France (a Tuesday, actually on 26 July 2022). We took a guided tour of some of the main rooms within Versailles then headed outdoors to see the gardens.

a view from inside the château

I had read online that the Latrona fountain (the central fountain) should have been going that that day, but it wasn’t. Maybe it is only turned on during weekends or only for certain events? We could see other fountains spraying plumes of water in the distance, so maybe it was under repair. If we had had another hour at Versailles, we could have walked down the pathways to see them (next time!).

A view left of the Latrona fountain…

Since we had walked miles already on this day (walking to Notre Dame in the morning and out to breakfast and then taking lunch back to our air b’n’b) and because we had been standing so much (and walking more miles!) the day before at the Louvre, Amy took time to just sit on the long steps and just enjoy the views while I ran off to shoot pics…

A view of a fountain and gardens to the very left as you exit the back of Versailles out into the garden. The boxwood were suffering from heat stress and maybe blight. Versailles seems to use a lot of xeriscape planting.
A view of the Latrona fountain as I walked by on my way to quickly see some of the other places…

It was about 6:00p.m. and we had to meet up with our driver at 6:30 to go back to our hotel in Paris, so Amy went to meet him after a bit while I scurried about snapping photos as fast as I could! We kept in contact by phone texts (international plan through Verizon).

I don’t know if these photos are in order from left to right as you’d be looking at the gardens but each area is interesting on its own! I love the clipped trees into very tall hedges!! I know in England yew and hornbeam are some of the trees which can be clipped this way.

Looking down from the tops of the steps to The Grand Canal… Isn’t this where the Founding Fathers of the United States got the idea for the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool? Perhaps so.

More from the Château de Versailles’ website:

André Le Nôtre’s design for the Grand Canal transformed the east-west perspective into a long open section filled with light and stretching as far as the eye can see. The work took 11 years to complete, from 1668 to 1679. The Grand Canal is 1,670 metres long and its banks have played host to legendary parties, such as in 1674 when it was lit up along its entire length with thousands of jars placed behind transparent decorations. From 1669 onwards Louis XIV sailed different kinds of boats here, including rowing boats, and in 1674 the Republic of Venice sent the king two gondolas and four gondoliers. The gondoliers were housed in a series of buildings at the end of the Canal which was thereafter referred to as Little Venice. During the summer the canal played host to the King’s fleet of vessels, while in winter the frozen surface was used for skating and sledding. The transversal branches of the canal granted access by boat to the Menagerie (to the south) or Trianon (to the north).”

The Grand Canal

The Royal Way or The Great Lawn

I started to head down to the long pool but turned left into the forest… Loved the statuary here! Thinking about how much I don’t remember, I looked up what each of these areas are called.

The Royal Way is also called the “Great Lawn”, because of the turf strip that runs along the middle. It measures 335 metres long by 40 metres wide. It was laid out under Louis XIII, but Le Nôtre had it broadened and added twelve statues and twelve vases, placed in symmetrical pairs.

Château de Versailles website
An entryway into a secret garden (my thought, anyway!). Love the latticework… This was directly ahead, left as you come down the stairs from the fountain, heading into the left-hand radial pathway.

It was 95 degrees F. that day and this area was lovely and shaded (a welcome respite as I was literally running to capture photos!), perfect for stopping and enjoying all the trees and birds singing… I wondered what people at court thought while wandering amongst these trees? Was it as shady 200-300 years ago?

I imagine not as these trees would have been babies, or perhaps these are even descendants of those original trees. Fun to think about though!

I think it was this photo which drew me to the restaurant… I thought, “What is that?” I do remember thinking what these fences were trying to hide, maybe some mechanical equipment?

You know how when you visit a theme park like Disneyland or when we went to the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park (it has a different name now and I never can remember it), there were glades like this and it was specifically for hiding elephant enclosures or air conditioning equipment.

Gotta make it beautiful, right? Maybe this was to keep little children (or curious adults) from getting lost in the forest. 😉

A restaurant in the forest

I can’t tell you what all these statues are but somewhere I saved a map from Versailles and I’ll see if I can tell you about this bosquet (forest). Wait! I found this photograph which puts more of this in order (yeah!).

There was this little restaurant in the middle of the forest, La Girandole, but it was closed for the day.

I think this photograph is really from the beginning of the day, but it may be to another part of the gardens within Versailles that we didn’t have on our tour. Maybe some of you know? If so, leave us a comment.

I thought that this was where we met our guide, which from the front of the palace would be outside the gates to the left as you face the castle, by the Starbucks (of all things!). I remember a Greek building like this there.

*I thought I’d leave my original thoughts in here so you could read them, although now I know that this was La Girandole restaurant. 😉

Here I was leaving the Bosquet de Girandole. This was one of the last photos in my folder. This tour, though really only 45 minutes long, was sooo enjoyable!

Heading back to catch our ride. A look at Le Château de Versailles from the rear… Magnifique!

Yep, running! Sorry it was blurry. I was literally running back to meet with Amy and our driver, who was kind and waited until 6:45 so I could get more photos and see more of what I could.

They oranges weren’t ripe yet but they were getting there!

I found this orange tree apparently after passing the restaurant along the way but we never made it down the Orangerie where lots of orange trees are in cute moveable crates.

I didn’t see any orange trees out in the upper gardens like we had seen at Le Jardin des Tuileries, behind the Louvre the day before (between the Louvre and Le Place de la Concorde.

I did see a short row of oranges along the left side of the staircases on my way out!

A different perspective as I had just run up the long steps heading to the exit. I would love to have had time to tour each of these garden areas and really see what was planted.

Maybe this is the Orangerie area normally?? Happy to see this little row of orange trees again!

Sweet lights!

A look at Versailles city surrounds

A gorgeous building at the exit of Versailles as I was walking out?? Maybe as we walked in? I wish I had finished this post last year when my memories were still fresh. I know you couldn’t get back inside the palace once your tour was concluded (which was a bummer!).

The gardens were open until like 8:00 or 9:00p.m. sp we could have picked up something to eat and stayed, rested and then toured down the far end of the gardens. if we’d only known we could have scheduled out driver to come at 8:30!! Oh, well. 😉

A look back across the street to the statue of King Louis XIV…

I enjoyed the hustle and bustle of the city’s rush hour traffic! The evening was just beginning to cool off, I remember that.

A last look at Versailles up close. Love the architecture and soooo many statues!

The main gate ~ a look back

Our driver took us through the main part of Versailles city and we saw more lovely buildings from the 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.

Thanks for stopping by today and taking a tour around what I could see of the gardens at the Château de Versailles! This has been fun to visit the gardens again with you, a year later.

Blessings to you all,

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Share Your Style #394

Welcome friends to this week’s Share Your Style #394!!!! I hope you all had a wonderful American Independence Day yesterday, July 4th! We had a quiet day and went to lunch with my mother-in-law at our local Braum’s Restaurant.

Mr. Ethereal hung up a coat rack bar in her laundry room and also fixed her internet which had stopped working the night before. We spent the three days previous working on her front yard sprinklers, pulling out bushes and starting to plant new bushes for her. It was a busy four day weekend for us! 😉

I am Barbara Chapman and I’d love it if you’d follow me here on my blog and on any of my other social media sites, too.  Thank you!💜 

French Ethereal: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest

So let’s jump right into this week’s features, shall we?

Here’s what I shared this past week at French Ethereal…

Just as the title says ~ Creating an Americana Look in the China Hutch.
Hope you will check it out. 🙂

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And here are this week’s featured posts…

Grilled Ravioli
Estelle from Homemade on a Weeknight shared this delicious summer grilling recipe ~
Grilled Ravioli Dinner #Blackstone. Yum!!!
Maya from The Little Treasures who creates beautiful crocheted clothing is back with this post Restoring a Vintage Crochet Blanket. Great work!
Our friend Jeanie from The Marmelade Gypsy shared a lot in this post ~ A Sale, a Farewell and a Garage Sale.
Penny from Penny’s Treasures brings out her best even in the New Mexico heat ~
Red, White and Blue Breakfast on the Porch. So sweet!!!
Debra from Common Ground has the cutest displays and her post this time definitely brings it ~ Summer Holiday Cupboard with Patriotic Flair. Awesome Americana!!!!
an image of a Blueberry Coconut Bundt Cake with cream cheese topping and decorated with blue berries
And our final feature for this week is this one from Esme from Esme Salon who shares this recipe for Blueberry Coconut Bundt Cake. Deliciousness!!!

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Thank You so much to everyone who linked up this past week. A special thank you to everyone for always promoting Share Your Style on your blog and on your social media channels! I do see it when I stop by and I appreciate the love. 💜

If you’d like to follow my Share Your Style board on Pinterest I’d appreciate it, thank you! I do post all of the featured posts from each week’s SYS there plus usually other photos from those posts to my boards. 💜  Thanks so much!!! If you are new to French Ethereal, I hope you will think about subscribing to my blog.

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Have a great week, everyone!

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Taking Two Weeks Off…

Hey, friends!! I should have said this in last week’s Share Your Style… I knew how tired I was and that I’ve needed a break with the school year closing down. Next Wednesday, I have my second eye surgery and I am a little nervous about it, but it should go smoothly. I definitely won’t be typing that evening! I won’t be able to see well enough, lol!, with the Pirate patch back. 😉

I have “ghosting”with the first eye, too, so after talking with the nurse at my opthamologist/surgeon’s office, she said to talk with the doctor at my post-op appointment late next week about it. I can’t focus my camera correctly which REALLY annoys me and is one of the things I demanded that I be able to do after this surgery. This second eye needs to have absolutely perfect sight, and I did see the little “hot air balloon” clearly in my right eye.

Hope that is a good sign!

I’m to ask him to take a look at the left eye and see if he sees scar tissue. He can laser the scar tissue that has formed, as it sounds like this is what has happened. I told the nurse about the pain I’d had until I felt something tear and now that has stopped hurting (first eye). I just don’t have perfect sight in that eye close up and enough time has passed for it to have recovered. Lasering is covered under our medical, woo hoo!

Anyway, I hope you all understand. 🙂 I love seeing all of your posts and it gives me a chance to visit new friends all of the time, and my more seasoned friends. 😉

Thanks again for coming over…

Love and hugs, and prayers,

Barb 🙂

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Valentine Beauty in the Hutch

Happy Valentine’s Day, dear friends! Today I thought I’d share our hutch all decorated for the holiday…💜

Going for Beauty

Decorating the hutch for Valentine’s Day this year, I looked for things in my stash which felt beautiful and ethereal. This small Japanese screen was something I had bought while in high school (for a dollhouse my father found for me) or it was a gift from my father brought back from one of his military TDY trips to Taiwan when I was a girl. I honestly forget now!

However it came into my stash, it was perfect for pairing with the French sweethearts in this cubby. Adding a handmade Valentine napkin and a vintage Limoges dessert plate finished this little vignette.

I love dollhouses and though I don’t have one right now, it’s fun to decorate small areas as if they are dollhouse rooms. 🙂

Originally, I had the hutch all decorated with winter plates and vintage Valentine cards, but I cannibalized the Valentines for the Valentine cloche I put together last week. Then, too, I decided to paint the dining room a couple of weeks ago following painting the laundry room.

So this sweet bird pair is my only Valentine in the whole redecorated hutch. I love these love birds in their rosy “birdhouse!!”

For the right side of the hutch’s lower shelf, I placed a 1990’s praying ceramic Cupid, a favorite teacup and saucer, one my size and one for little Cupid. This Villeroy & Boch Botanica coffee pot takes the place of a teapot here.

Teatime anyone?

Down on the buffet, I thought I’d set up a tea tray…

Pulling out one of my grandmother Rosa’s tatted antimacassars from the linen closet brightens the bottom of this tarnished silver tray.

A second smaller silver plate tray works great for raising the teapot.

Several of these antimacassars feature little boys on them and I wonder if Gramma Rosa didn’t think of my father as she created these!

This Royal Doulton chintz teapot, creamer and sugar are favorites of mine and pair well with the Old Country Roses china I have.

And here is the completed hutch! Dried hydrangeas nestle in the upper shelf with two teapots and a floral pitcher holding up a trio of vintage rose-strewn dinner plates. Just a nice soft look for Valentine’s Day…

Here you can see how the dining room walls are coming along. This is the only finished wall, so since the wall adjacent is still taped off, this photo is a little pinched in. 😉

I did ask y’all through my Instagram if I should go with either of two darker colors on the lower part below the chair rail. In the end, after looking through all of my Versailles travel photographs, I decided to just go with my original plan.

That plan was to paint the main wall in Comet Dust and off-the-shelf white. The lower wall naturally looks darker, which is pretty cool. 🙂

And that’s our Valentine’s hutch!

I think this will be a nice transition into spring and I might add in some greens for March but otherwise it is done for now. 💜

If you enjoyed this post, please consider subscribing. Thank you! 🙂

I hope you have a wonderful, treat-filled Valentine’s week! Enjoy!!!

Happy Valentine’s Day, y’all!

Barb 💜

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Sick at Home…

Sorry, gang! I am going to bow out of Share Your Style this evening as I am not feeling well. I have been cold at work all week, even with sweaters on. Bad head colds, Covid and flu are going around at school and in our community, so it is no surprise that finally something got me…

I hope you are all well and feeling peppy! I should be back to my usual self next week but will keep you posted.

Heading to bed…

Big hugs,

Barb 🙂

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Share Your Style #372

Welcome to this week’s Share Your Style #372, dear friends! Here we are coming up on New Year’s Eve… Boy, this year has flown by!

This link party is for home decor, DIY, crafts, recipes and the like, but you are more than welcome to share any of your family-friendly posts with us all. Please feel free to share this post too and join my small but loyal band of friends. I appreciate you! I appreciate your subscribing, also. As always, I am glad that you are here… 💜

I am Barbara Chapman and I’d love it if you’d follow me here on my blog and on any of my other social media sites, too.  Thank you!💜 

French Ethereal: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest

I sure have enjoyed visiting with you this year, and now here in my eighth year as a blogger, I think about what changes I should make for the upcoming year.

Do you do that?? I’d like to do more vlogging on my YouTube channel if I could learn how to string videos together and get myself in front of the camera. Talking to a camera doesn’t bother me, it’s all the technical stuff, lol! I used to sing for the kids at church a number of years ago and that got me over the fear of talking into a microphone. 😉

Well, let’s get to our party, shall we?

Here’s what I shared this past week at French Ethereal…

Our Christmas Table, Our Christmas Hutch and a Little Weather ~ I so enjoy having time off to really enjoy decorating for you! We sat down to a nice Christmas Eve dinner with our daughter.

And here are this week’s featured posts…

Chicken Sheet Pan Nachos
We start off this week with something yummy for your New Year’s Eve parties… Estelle from Homemade on a Weeknight shared these wonderful Chicken Sheet Pan Nachos. Yes!!!
3 Tips When Renovating Your Bathroom
Next we have Kathryn over at The Dedicated House sharing Creative Ideas for Bathroom Decor. Perfect for anyone looking to update theirs in 2023!!
Meagan from Decorative Inspirations shares this fun post ~ A Classy New Year’s Eve Table ~ inspiration for all of us who wish to “do it up” but can’t come up with anything fancy! (Me!)
Harking back to Christmas which was only just a few days ago now…
MaryJo from Master”Pieces” of My Life brings us sweet traditions in this post ~
A Christmas Tree Tradition Continues and Why It Is So Important. Love this!!!
Twas-night-before-Christmas-Eve-table-Johnson-Brothers-dinner-plate
Debbee from Debbee’s Buzz is back with a fun post we can store away for next season ~
Twas the Night Before Christmas Eve Table. I love all of Debbee’s table settings and this one is just adorable with the merry placemats!!!

I literally started some bibb lettuce, tomatoes and spinach in the shed/greenhouse today! It’s more of an experiment but the heating mat is underneath my domed seed tray, so… We shall see! I am getting my Monty Don on and hope to have tomatoes going year-round. ;)’

picture of seeds being started in black pods answering the question of when to start seeds
For us gardeners who really go nuts when we can’t play outside (yes, this is me!), newcomer Charlene of The Secret Life of Homesteaders shares this gardening post full of great information for indoor gardening ~ When to Start Seeds. Welcome, Charlene! Glad to have you as part of the French Ethereal community. <3
Arun from Jaipur Gardening brings us beautiful blooms from across the world in this post ~ Mild Winter in December. You’ll definitely want to check out this gorgeous post!
french toast croissant bake
Our second newcomer is Karla from The Happy Mustard Seed and she is sharing this scrumptious recipe for a Croissant French Toast Bake with Blueberries and Strawberries. Perfect for New Year’s morning!!!
30+ US Winter Hiking Ideas
Dave and Jamie from Photojeepers are back with something to help us get back in shape after snacking our way through the holidays ~ Best Winter Hiking in the US by Region. I love it!!! I have been itching to go camping, have you?
floral kimono, teal velvet boots, kimono style, thrifted fashion, Shelbee on the Edge
Shelbee from Shelbee on the Edge has THE CUTEST OUTFIT (and I love the teal boots!!!) in her post ~ It’s the End of the World as We Know It and I Teal Fine (+ Link Party #325). I love Shelbee’s fashion posts as they relate on so many levels!!! If you haven’t stopped by to check out Shelbee’s monthly “fashion follows art” posts, you should. A lot of fun and I always learn something new about an artist, a piece of artwork and about the hosts as well! Enjoy!!!

Thank You so much to everyone who linked up this past week. A special thank you to everyone for always promoting Share Your Style on your blog and on your social media channels! I do see it when I stop by and I appreciate the love. 💜

If you’d like to follow my Share Your Style board on Pinterest I’d appreciate it, thank you! I do post all of the featured posts from each week’s SYS there plus usually other photos from those posts to my boards. 💜  Thanks so much!!! If you are new to French Ethereal, I hope you will think about subscribing to my blog.

And that’s it for our last SYS of the year, ladies and gents!! I hope that your family is safe, healthy and doing well. We are truly blessed here in our North Texas home and have enjoyed a good year. Many blessings to you, my friends!!!

Happy New Year 2023 to y’all!

Barb 🙂

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Share Your Style #366

Welcome to this week’s Share Your Style #366, friends! We have lots of great features to share with you.

This link party is for home decor, DIY, crafts, recipes and the like, but you are more than welcome to share any of your family-friendly posts with us all. Please feel free to share this post too and join my small but loyal band of friends. I appreciate you! I appreciate your subscribing, also. As always, I am glad that you are here… 💜

I am Barbara Chapman and I’d love it if you’d follow me here on my blog and on any of my other social media sites, too.  Thank you!💜 

French Ethereal: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest

I am Barbara Chapman and I’d love it if you’d follow me here on my blog and on any of my other social media sites, too.  Thank you!💜 

French Ethereal: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest

Happy Wednesday, everyone! Sorry this is getting up later than usual; I sat down, ate dinner, then fell asleep right in the middle of writing. Does this ever happen to you? Work is fun with the students at school, but, man, I do get tired. 😉

Well, let’s check out his week’s features, shall we? I hope you had a lovely Halloween/All Souls Day weekend!!

Here’s what I shared this past week at French Ethereal…

Happy All Souls Day + Reeses Spider Recipe ~ just a fun little post for you!

And here are this week’s featured posts…

cranberry, orange, basil garland hanging on window
Cindy from County Road 407 shares How to Make an Easy Yet Impressive Autumn Garland with Cranberries. Soooo pretty and I can imagine its wonderful scent!!!
haunted-Halloween-owl-chandelier
Debbee from Debbee’s Buzz shares this cutie hoot-hooting about in this post ~ Spooky Spellbound Halloween Centerpiece & Table. Fun ideas to save for next year’s Halloween!
Debra from Common Ground brings out a taste of transition towards Thanksgiving in this pumpkin perfect display ~ French Cottage Kitchen Niche for Fall. Love it!!! I love the white with the orange…
Jeanie from The Marmelade Gypsy shares about her final trip for the season to the lake house and a trip to a local farmer’s market… Postcards from the Lake: A Fond Farewell and a Recipe. Come check out Jeanie’s baked squash recipe, yum!!!
And the first Christmas post of the season… from Penny of Penny’s Treasures! Penny shares a look at Creating Christmas in the Studio. This tree is soooo pretty (which is why I shared it so early!). Beautiful!!!
Oh my goodness, how cute?!!! Cheryl over at Sew Can Do brings us her two cuties in her post ~ Little Shepherd and Sheep Costumes, which includes patterns laid out on a cutting mat so you can create your own. Just perfect!!! Baby Jesus will love having these two boys attend his birth… <3
Halloween outfit, Corpse Bride meets Beetlejuice, little white dress, striped duster, Shelbee on the Edge
I am totally cracking up!!! Shelbee from Shelbee on the Edge brings out her zaniness in this fun dress-up post ~ We Heart Halloween (Tim Burton Style!) & Your Own Twist Link Up #49 (*a newer blog link party, in case you don’t know about it yet!). I love Shelbee’s fun style!!!

“Beetle, beetle something… Beetle breakfast? Beetle orange? Beetlejuice!!!”

outdoor fall tablescapes
Wendy from WM Design House brings us 10 Fall Tablescapes that are Easy and Beautiful. I would agree!! Gorgeous ways to decorate for all our fall soirées!
This image of a jack-o-lantern topped with a crow is the invitation to visit Halloween in the Baker's Rack. www.redshuttercottage.com
Newcomer Kristine from Red Shutter Cottage welcomes us to her home in this sweet and slightly spooky post ~ Halloween in the Baker’s Rack. Too cute!!! Welcome, Kristine to the French Ethereal family! <3
DeeDee over at Clover House shared her sweet chickens in this fun fall post ~ Farmhouse Thanksgiving Decor Ideas. Great ideas all!!!
Sandra from Dinner at Eight decks out her whole dining room table to share these fun ideas for Halloween in her post ~ A Tour of All-Hallows Village. It’s a spooking good time there! Love the dogs!!!

Thank You so much to everyone who linked up this past week. A special thank you to everyone for always promoting Share Your Style on your blog and on your social media channels! I do see it when I stop by and I appreciate the love. 💜

If you’d like to follow my Share Your Style board on Pinterest I’d appreciate it, thank you! I do post all of the featured posts from each week’s SYS there plus usually other photos from those posts to my boards. 💜  Thanks so much!!! If you are new to French Ethereal, I hope you will think about subscribing to my blog.

If you’d like to follow my Share Your Style board on Pinterest I’d appreciate it, thank you! I do post all of the featured posts from each week’s SYS there plus usually other photos from those posts to my boards. 💜  Thanks so much!!! If you are new to French Ethereal, I hope you will think about subscribing to my blog.

Happy beginning of November, everyone!

Barb 🙂

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Yoda isn’t well…

Hey everyone, I’m going to postpone Share Your Style until tomorrow. I came home to a third day of poop all over our kitchen.

Yoda just isn’t feeling well and perhaps it’s his time… Not sure but he still wants to eat and drink water. Maybe it’s the inability to process protein. His vet had been looking at that last month at his check up (proteins were elevated).

Anyway, I’ll be cleaning for a while yet. Thank you for understanding,

Hugs,

Barb 😏

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Share Your Style #359

Welcome to this week’s Share Your Style #359, friends! It’s going to be a quick one as I am helping run a statewide event for IOOF this weekend, so just a few features for this evening. 🙂

This link party is for home decor, DIY, crafts, recipes and the like, but you are more than welcome to share any of your family-friendly posts with us all. Please feel free to share this post too and join my small but loyal band of friends. I appreciate you! I appreciate your subscribing, also. As always, I am glad that you are here… 💜

I am Barbara Chapman and I’d love it if you’d follow me here on my blog and on any of my other social media sites, too.  Thank you!💜 

French Ethereal: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest

I am Barbara Chapman and I’d love it if you’d follow me here on my blog and on any of my other social media sites, too.  Thank you!💜 

French Ethereal: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest

One of the salons at Versailles… can you believe how ornate it is??

Nothing from me this week; however, here is a peek at the upcoming Versailles post I am working on… Hope this small teaser piques your interest! Happy linking, y’all!

And here are this week’s featured posts…

Starting this week off is Penny of Penny’s Treasures who adds a bit of color in her post ~ Brass Adds Warmth to My All-White Kitchen for Fall. Love it!!!
Steph from Steph Creates shared this adorable bench that you can recreate for your home! Mini Wood Fall Bench ~ perfect for putting pumpkins and all our seasonal decor around!
fall-alfresco-peacock-table-setting
Debbee of Debbee’s Buzz shared this lovely autumnal table decor in her post ~
Alfresco Brunch Peacock Table and Napkin Fold. Gorgeous!!!
Meagan over at Decorative Inspirations brings us a cute new pumpkin to craft ~
How to Make [an] Adorable White Dollar Store Pumpkin. Fun new idea!!!
Fall Wreaths & Autumn Inspired Door Décor: Hydrangea Wreath-The Crowned Goat
CoCo from The Crowned Goat shared this beautiful post ~ Fall Wreaths & Autumn Inspired Door Decor. Love them all!
Baked Beignets Recipe @ http://treatntrick.blogspot.com
And lastly for this week, Trick & Treat shared this tasty recipe for Baked Beignets. Yum!!!

Thank You so much to everyone who linked up this past week. A special thank you to everyone for always promoting Share Your Style on your blog and on your social media channels! I do see it when I stop by and I appreciate the love. 💜

If you’d like to follow my Share Your Style board on Pinterest I’d appreciate it, thank you! I do post all of the featured posts from each week’s SYS there plus usually other photos from those posts to my boards. 💜  Thanks so much!!! If you are new to French Ethereal, I hope you will think about subscribing to my blog.

If you’d like to follow my Share Your Style board on Pinterest I’d appreciate it, thank you! I do post all of the featured posts from each week’s SYS there plus usually other photos from those posts to my boards. 💜  Thanks so much!!! If you are new to French Ethereal, I hope you will think about subscribing to my blog.

Happy Wednesday and I look forward to seeing all your ideas!

Barb 🙂

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From Summer to Fall Hanging Basket

Happy Labor Day, y’all! Wasn’t it so nice to have an extra day off this weekend? Mr. Ethereal and I worked on several projects and did a little holiday sales shopping, too. Saturday morning, though, I worked on a little changeover in the shed with refreshing our hanging door basket…

I started with cleaning out this little wicker basket I’ve had since I was 16 years old. I got two of them from Cost-Plus (now World Market) when I was a new driver and was newly working. My daughter has the second one down at her apartment in Austin. They are great for holding hair things, brushes, anything!

I had put together a spring or summer bouquet about a year ago and decided it was time to clear it out. All the greenery got a nice rinse and dry, most was packed away into its tubs. But, then I thought about the hanging basket I’d made earlier this summer for the shed…

It still looked good but it is getting to be time for something for fall, so I pulled all of its florals out and gave them a good washing. I saved the little moss balls to reuse for this fall basket and tossed the now-really-falling-apart floral foam.

Got a spider bite in the process, too. 🙁 (The swelling went down by nightfall, so all is good!)

I reused the piece of scrunched-up chicken wire that I had placed last year into the little wicker basket (along with a piece of granite to keep that basket from falling over).

For this hanging basket, I loosened this chicken wire some to fit this basket better.

Then I tucked the chicken wire inside the wire basket and began adding the lime green moss balls back in between the two wire pieces. These little moss balls work great for hiding faux greenery wires behind it and add a nice pop of color to the overall basket!

Making an impromptu bouquet…

I chose some cream toned peony stems, even though technically they aren’t a fall flower. I like them for fall mainly because of their lovely, creamy color. Next, I added in some loose faux leaves for filler, then looked through the two tubs of florals for small sunflowers bunches and the one large sunflower I still have.

After having some of these stems for several years, the fuzz comes off of the sunflowers and new ones are needed from the dollar store or one of the craft stores.

I don’t know if I ever mentioned it, but I’ve been on a self-imposed No Spending on Craft Things or Thrift Shopping this year. The only time I broke that resolution was when I went browsing and found the little Colonial Patriotic Statuettes earlier this summer when my MIL was getting her Texas driver’s license.

The morning sunlight was beautiful for taking these early fall photographs, but I wanted to clean up the dead things in the pots outside of the shed before taking final photographs for you. 😉

A Labor Day evening photograph for you!

This weekend was perfect for cleaning out planters and pots and we had a 68 degree low this morning… WHAT change from the last two months of 100 degrees or more! This past week and weekend were wonderful weather for working in the garden and I took full advantage of playing with planting some of my potted roses, plus some of the new plants I will share soon.

And that’s all there is to creating a pretty fall hanging basket using florals already on hand!

I am pleased with how this turned out and I’ll swap out the peonies later in the season with faux orange leaves, berries and add a fall ribbon to take us to Thanksgiving.

Happy creating, friends!

Barb 🙂