crafts, Home Decor, Tablescapes

Share Your Style #381

Welcome everyone to this week’s Share Your Style #381! A little bunny fun to brighten our Easter month as we check out this week’s featured posts… 😉

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

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

Happy St. Patty’s Day to You! And a little leprechaun story for you. <3

And here are this week’s featured posts…

First up this week we have these super cute carrot pillows as part of Debbie-Dabble Blog’s post ~ Changing Seasons and Crafting. Fun!!!
Colorful Easter Table- Karins Kottage
Karin from Karin’s Cottage brings us this cheery Colorful Easter Vintage Tablescape. Love it!!!
Is Your Home Ready for a Refresh
Katherine from The Dedicated House brings us a little spring updating idea in her post ~ Is Your Home Ready for a Refresh? Review Ideas to Consider. Love this!!!
Homemade Mother's Day Treat Ideas
Claire Justine shared this beautiful tribute for all mothers as we approach the holiday soon ~ Homemade Mother’s Day Treat Ideas. Delicious!!
Penny from Penny’s Treasures shared her sweet entryway all decked out in spring decor ~ Simple Easter Entry & 1st Spring Blooms. Soooo pretty!!! (Love pinks…)
And doing a fun double-header, here is Penny’s massive storage solution for
How I Store My Spring & Easter Decor. I am totally impressed!! Question: How many bunnies do you think she has??? Love ’em all!!! 😉
Spring Porch Tour with Hydrangeas and Spring Containers-The Crowned Goat
CoCo from The Crowned Goat wows with this festive feast of florals in her post ~
Cottage Inspired Spring Porch Tour. Look at those hydrangeas!!!
7 Simple Steps to Invite Spring Inside
Niky from The House on Silverado shared her lovely home in this
Spring Tour 2023: 7 Simple Steps to Invite Spring Inside. Lovely!!
Meagan from Decorative Inspirations shares a how-to in this DIY post ~
New Life to an Antique China Cabinet. Beautiful job!!!

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.

Hoppy party, dear friends!

Barb 🙂

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crafts, DIY Projects, Fashion, Gardening, Home Decor, Recipes

Share Your Style #380

Welcome back, friends! This week’s Share Your Style #380 is back after a two week hiatus. The first week I can’t even remember why I missed (exhaustion?), and last Wednesday I was recovering from eye surgery in the morning. So, instead of my usual photo I am sharing “Pirate Barb” with the eye patch I had to wear the first day ~ all day and night. Then I only had to wear it at nighttime. 😉

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 apologize for not letting you all know I’d be off last week. I thought I’d feel good and be able to post that evening. I was home early enough from the surgery center, but I didn’t think about the effects of anesthesia on the body. I was sleeping pretty much all afternoon and evening as soon as I got home.

So, again, I apologize for not having SYS these past two weeks, but sometimes I just need some time off. 😉 And this evening, I was out planting veg in the garden and then critter-proofing the bin with lots of hardware cloth, chickenwire until 8:00p.m.

Better late than never! Let’s get this party started!! 🙂

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

Let’s Sew! Making a Balloon Curtain for the Kitchen ~ I’m back sewing for a bit! Feels good to get back to my roots. I’ll be back painting in the family and living rooms soon.

And here are this week’s featured posts…

First up this week is this beautiful tray post from Debra of Common Ground ~
Early Spring Garden Tray with Paperwhites. Love it!!!
leprechaun-centerpiece-supplies
Can you believe it’s already St. Patrick’s Day? OH! And Happy Ides of March today… 😉 Wasn’t a good day for Caesar, though… Debbee from Debbee’s Buzz shared this fun post ~
Quick and Easy Lucky Leprechaun Centerpiece. Soooo cute!
Ann from Apple Street Cottage brings us this pretty vignette of
Birdcages and Candles.Lovely…
Jennifer from Curated by Jennifer wears this fun outfit proudly in this post
It’s My Birthday!!!
IKEA shelving hack black and white dishes
Karin from Karin’s Cottage created this great shelf in her post ~ Ikea Shelving Hack. Great job!!!
Meagan from Decorative Inspirations shared this springtime post ~
The Best Spring Cleaning Practices for the Gardens, Yards and Patios. Great tips!!
MaryJo from Master”Pieces” of My Life shared this gorgeous tablescape in this post ~
Forced Spring Bulbs Tablescape. Love the green and pewter coloring!!!
DeeDee from Clover House shared Simple Spring Vignettes. Adorable!!
A DIY Dutch tulip crate filled with assorted Spring decor. A large bunny, wood beads, a wooden Easter egg in a clay pot, and a large vintage jug holding greenery.
Lastly for this week, we welcome Leanna from Pretty DIY Home who shared this sweet post ~
How to Make a Dutch Tulip Crate for Spring. Adorable bunny and look at those large plaid carrots!
So glad you made it over, Leanna. 🙂

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.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day and Ides of March, everyone!

Barb 🙂

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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.

Happy spring, y’all! Enjoy the party,

Barb 🙂

Recipes, Tablescapes

Share Your Style #379

Welcome to this week’s Share Your Style #379, dear friends! I’m so happy you are here!! As I write this to you, I am listening to a worship service my son played guitar with this past weekend. He plays there at his church in South Dakota most weeks. My heart is full! I hope you are blessed this week, too… 💜

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

No new posts from me this past week. I worked on painting in our kitchen and spent a lovely part of Sunday afternoon out in the garden! Such a blessing to work the soil, get a few things planted in the back flowerbeds and others into small pots to grow on, for later planting.

Yesterday evening, I was able to take some ranunculus corms and get them planted for pre-sprouting in a small recycled lettuce tray. As they grow into little plants I hope to get these 24 little plants tucked into flower pots around the garden!

We have a bunch of fun ideas for you to recreate in your own homes as spring cleaning and DIYing gets going!

Well, friends, let’s see what features we have this week…

And here are this week’s featured posts…

Lori from Dining Delight shares her lucky gold find in this post ~
St. Patrick’s Day Table for Two. Love the overflowing pots of gold and the little shamrock napkin rings!!!
Newcomer Iris who goes by Moumous, from her blog La Moumous, shared this fun fashion post on 15 Must-Have Wardrobe Staples in 2023. I personally love a nice shirt and jeans ~ timeless!! Isn’t that handbag so sleek? Perfect for spring. Welcome, Moumous!!

Debbie over at Debbie-Dabble Blog shared her friend and neighbor
Ann-Marie’s Winter Home Tour 2023. Fun seeing all the vintage decor! Thanks for sharing with us!!!
masquerade mask Mardi Gras table
MaryJo from Master “Pieces” of My Life brings us a little Cajun inspiration with a Fat Tuesday post ~ Masquerade Mask Mardi Gras Table. Love the colors and the gorgeous masks for favors!
It’s all about spring over with Debra from Common Ground in her post ~
Starting on Spring with Green Transferware. Love all the china pieces!
Niky from The House on Silverado shared this fun craft project ~
Upcycled Serving Tray. Love how it turned out!!!
Cabinet Installation on a Budget
Kathryn from The Dedicated House shared this DIY project post ~
Cabinet Installation on a Budget. The kitchen looks wonderful!! Great job!
Lynne over at Thrifting Wonderland shares an easy DIY for
What to Do with Valentine’s Day Flowers. So easy any of us can do this!

Oh my, I LOVE this armoire how it turned out! Check out this post from Tara at Stilettos & Shiplap ~ From Facebook Marketplace to French Beauty. Lovely and perfect on this wall!
Early Spring Decorating Ideas With Daffodils
Last up for this week we have Amber of Follow the Yellow Brick Home ~
Dreaming of Daffodils – Early Spring Decorating Ideas. Love the yellow…
So pretty!

Extra Bonus Recap:

old bed spring crafts - make a wreath
If you didn’t get to hop over to Wendy’s at WM Design House last week, do check out her totally crafty (and fun!) post ~ Spring Decor at It’s Best –
Sharing Over 20+ Ideas for Crafting. Love this spring wreath and all of her crafting ideas!!

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.

Enjoy your week as we head towards spring,

Barb 🙂

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crafts, DIY Projects, Tablescapes

Share Your Style #377

Welcome to this week’s Share Your Style #377, dear friends!! Oh my goodness! There are so many ideas for sharing with family & friends for Valentine’s Day… Let’s take a look!

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

As I finish up painting in our dining room, I wanted to thank all of you who shared your thoughts on how I should paint the lower wall and picture moulding below our chair rail. In the end, after going back and looking at pics from Versailles, I decided I really did love the Comet Dust grey wall color, so I carried it down below and used off-the-shelf Valspar Ultra-White on the mouldings. It’s looking good!

Since then, I’ve been dealing with sick dog… Lots of mopping in the kitchen and laundry room, carpet cleaning & laundry. He has had multiple baths, too. I think the extreme fluctuation in temps didn’t do him any good since he has to go outside to use the restroom. Plus I was painting indoors, where he is close to during the day… So, maybe that whole combination was the issue. He seems better now but I’ve held off finishing painting until later in the week, and only in small amounts. 🙂

So let’s look at this week’s features! I hope you will stop by and visit a few people while you are here. Everyone works soooo hard! 💜 

Have a great week!

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

An Inspiration Challenge ~ Styling a Vintage Valentine’s Cloche ~ This is a link party if you’d like to come aboard and add ONLY CLOCHE posts with VALENTINE’S DAY DECOR IN THE CLOCHE.
I’ve had to removed several posts which didn’t read the link up through. Thanks!!! 💜 

And here are this week’s featured posts…

How to style pink velvet pants multiple ways- Karins Kottage
Karin from Karin’s Cottage shared a blast-to-the-past with her post ~
How Do You Style Velvet Pants? Yep, I had a whole pantsuit outfit. 😉
Lynne of Thrifting Wonderland has us sighing over her entryway in Two Flower Vignettes. Love the sweet petals dripped along the table runner!
Dining Room Paint Refresh
Kathryn from The Dedicated House shared her Dining Room Paint Refresh.
Looks great! 💜 Been there AND still painting ours. 💜 
Sandy from Come to Dinner at Eight shares her beautiful table set ~ Greetings – The Birds of Winter. Love this pattern!!!
Debra of Common Ground shares this How to Make a Moss Covered Heart.
So pretty!!!
Lynn from Living Large in a Small House brings us her It’s Time to Start to Planning a Garden. Here is a sunflower from a previous garden year. Beautiful!!
DIY Valentines Mailbox-Painted Wood Mailbox with Letters-The Crowned Goat
CoCo from The Crowned Goat shared this fun DIY project ~
DIY Valentine’s Mailbox. Adorable!!!

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.

Happy Valentine’s month,

Barb 💜

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crafts, Holidays, Tablescapes

Share Your Style #376

Good evening, everyone! Welcome to this week’s Share Your Style #376. It’s officially February and all things Valentines is on repeat!! Since we have a third day off from school tomorrow, I may actually get a Valentine’s Day post out for 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

My mother-in-law made it safely home from a month in California. She has been for home for about 10 days now and we got together over the weekend. We even went to our favorite thrift shop on Saturday, but didn’t find anything. That same day, I made a crockpot full of turkey meatballs in organic tomato sauce paired with cheese raviolis, plenty of leftovers.. Turned into a wonderful dinner. Yum!!!

We did better at Lowe’s as we scored some wonderful plant starts. I’ll share a post on the the things I found soon, but for now… It is too cold to be out in the shed working on potting up plants! At least for me. 😉

Well, let’s check out this week’s features, shall we?

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

Our Laundry Room Paint Refresh ~ a new look for the new year!

And here are this week’s featured posts…

Lynne from Thrifting Wonderland brings us her yearly Valentine’s Day table rendition ~
Start With Flowers Tablescape. Lovely!
white dinner plates
Karin at Karin’s Kottage shared a sweet post ~ Pink & Red Valentine’s Day Table for Kids. Perfect for sharing with her grands!
Amber from Follow the Yellow Brick Home shared a beautiful post to inspire us ~ Easy Vintage Valentine’s Day Cloche Display. Love all the sewing goodies!!
Sandra from Dinner at Eight shared her lovely tablescape here in this post ~ Valentine’s Day — A Table Set for Tea. Gorgeous!!!
Jeanie from The Marmelade Gypsy shared her post ~ And January Goes On! ~ all about what’s been going on up in her neck of the woods in Michigan. Check out the poor deer and what happened to him… A wonderful ending! 💜
house hunting tips
Pam from An Artful Mom brings us this post for anyone looking to buy a home this year ~ Our House and Some House Hunting Tips. Great ideas!!!
Penny from Penny’s Treasures rounds out this week’s featured posts with this adorable “pocket pillow” in her post ~ Valentine Dining Room Decor, Pocket Pillow and Snow.
Love this decorating craft idea!!

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.

Happy linking, friends!

Barb 💜

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Holidays, Home Decor, Tablescapes

Share Your Style #375

Welcome to this week’s Share Your Style #375, dear friends! I’m excited to share all the cool features we have for you this week…

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

Can you believe we are coming to the end of January 2023 already? It was just New Year’s and now we are speeding towards Valentine’s Day! With that, I’ve chosen some wonderful Valentine ideas for you.

So let’s get to this week’s features!

***Quick update on Thursday morning: I fell fast asleep as I was writing this and putting together this week’s SYS features last evening, so… I’m finishing this morning and actually POSTING IT. Lol!

I took half a Benedryl yesterday around 11am because I guess I’m now allergic to Prednisone. Anyway, it knocks me out and so somewhere around 7:30p.m., I was out for the night. I did make it through the school day and the hives never fully erupted, but I still feel itchy…

Anyway, happy to get this Valentine’s-y post out for you! Plus a touch of football, too. <3

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

A Rosy Valentine’s Cake to Bake ~ part of this month’s Valentine’s recipes in our Pinterest Challenge.

And here are this week’s featured posts…

MaryJo of Master”Pieces” of My Life shared a bunch of beautiful tablescapes for inspiration at your own home in this post ~
Setting the Mood for a Valentine’s Day Tablescape. I loved this alfresco setting!
Penny from Penny’s Treasures shares this pretty in pink post ~ Vintage Valentines are the Stars of My Pink Valentine’s Tree. Love ’em!!! (I’m a sucker for pink!)
Lynne from Thrifting Wonderland shares winter whites in her winter cupboard ~ Winter Display in the Hutch. Love all the creamware!!!
Lynne from Thrifting Wonderland also brings us a couple of easy and fun crafts to make for Valentine’s Day. I can see this being so fun with kids!!! Our double feature for this week ~ Two Quick Valentine’s Crafts.
Chocolate Rice Krispies Treats are turned into Football Rice Krispie Treats for game day! They’re a chocolate treat base cut into football shapes then dipped in chocolate with white laces piped onto resemble footballs. This easy, no-bake dessert is perfect for tailgating, football parties, playoff games, and Superbowl parties. Game day desserts are the best part about game day foods so these are a must make dessert recipe! #gamedayfood #footballfood #ricekrispietreats #glutenfree #nobakedessert
Newcomer Shay from What the Fork shares this easy peasy recipe for
Football Rice Krispie Treats! Perfect for this weekend’s big Super Bowl Game!!!
20-valentines-day-ideas-table-crafts-decor
Debbee from Debbee’s Buzz shares her fun post (love all her tablescapes!) featuring
20 Sweet Valentine’s Day Ideas. Love it!!!
Hawaiian style pork spare ribs with pineapple served on a plate with fresh berries and yellow rice
Newcomer Arlene from Flour on My Face brings us her yummy recipe for
Sweet & Tangy Crock Pot Hawaiian BBQ Ribs. Seriously delicious!!!
Last up for this week we have Meagan from Decorative Inspirations with her sweet post ~ How to Make a Salt Dough Garland. Love it!!!

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.

Happy linking!

Barb 🙂

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Uncategorized

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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Christmas, Holidays, Home Decor, Tablescapes

Our Christmas Table, Our Christmas Hutch, and A Little Weather…*<:)

Merry Christmas, dear friends!!! No Share Your Style this week as I was just too busy prepping for the Arctic freeze on Tuesday and Wednesday, which blew in all over America. I hope you are faring well where you are and keeping warm!

We are enjoying a bit of relaxation with our daughter who drove in from Austin, Texas after work a couple of nights ago. Mr. Ethereal is off this week and next from work, as am I.

Later in this post, I will share our yard and how I used almost every spare brick we have to pin down sheets, blankets and frost blankets from the big box stores to keep our baby garden nice and warm, but…

Right now, I am sharing our table set for Christmas dinner!

What I used:

  • metal serving plates as placemats (link to the post where I painted them)
  • large Wedgwood Sarah’s Garden plates as chargers
  • Royal Doulton’s Old Country roses dinner plates, cup and saucer
  • white handled silverware found at Judith’s Christmas Sale last year
  • Old Country Roses Chintz pattern tea set on a thrifted silver serving tray (EEK!! I think I might croak at the price to replace this teapot! $399.00!!)
  • Christmas tree red checked tablecloth and napkins (found separately) at Home Goods
  • Christmas cactus as our centerpiece
  • Red & white striped fabric ornaments found at Hobby Lobby (much more affordable!)

* none of this is sponsored, but I thought you might like to know where you can shop for these goodies!

This was especially fun to set!

Just like over Thanksgiving, we actually used this tablescape for our Christmas dinner today for lunch.

I cooked Aunt Nellie’s pot roast with added carrots and red potatoes. YUM! ;)’

Aunt Nellie’s Pot Roast

“Use a rump roast or watermelon roast.” Ours was something else but turned out just fine. 🙂

“Put tenderizer on it, then poke it and rub tenderizer over it.”

I didn’t put on tenderizer (does anyone anymore?? I think it’s a health thing) to this roast (never liked it), but I did poke it all over with the carving set fork and then used an English Rub I picked up in Fort Worth at the Stockyards a couple of years ago. Turned out great with all the herbs and spices!

“Cook in a cast iron skillet, cook dry for 1 hour at 275 deg. F. After an hour, put in water (2 1/2 cups) and turn up the oven to 350 degrees. Cook about 1 1/2 hours more (3 lb. roast).”

I put in about 3 cups of water, or maybe a bit more, and the veggies added their own water so a lot was leftover in the pan to make gravy. 😀 When I added the water, that’s when I added the pre-cut potatoes and carrots. They cooked up absolutely perfectly! Soft but not over soft.

“Drippings should be almost dry (normally with 2 1/2 c. water used) and crusted to the pan so that you make the best gravy! Dark, dark brown gravy.”

This is what I wrote down over 30 year ago, literally… Funny to read it that way.

Our daughter has to leave Christmas afternoon to be ready for work on December 26th, so we had our dinner today. I am soooo thankful she was able to drive up!

Great Gramma Gini was gifted tickets by my nephew and sister-in-law to go out to Sacramento, California, to their home for Christmas. She was really happy to go as she misses all of her friends (and family!) there. <3 It would have been fun to sit down with Gramma and Granddaughter together… They keep missing each other!

upper left side of our china hutch

I’m sorry I haven’t posted hardly anything this fall! Part of me just wasn’t feeling like writing, though I have a number of unfinished drafts. It’s tougher with my MIL around all of the time. We were off on our own for 34 years so it has been a big change for me. I am used to seeing family only occasionally and not every weekend. A lot of my free time is taken up there and with work, in general, as you know how it is. We did a number of fundraisers here in the fall, too, with the Odd Fellows (IOOF) and Rebekahs. I cannot tell you just how much having these two weeks off from school means! I can finally rest…

Yoda is struggling to get around, too. He has accidents pretty much everyday, and with his doggie Alzheimers, he gets stuck under everything… I’ve spent many an evening carpet cleaning, and getting him out from behind furniture. He paces and I am constantly picking him up off the tile floor in the kitchen. Rest in the evening is rare until he is taken back to bed in our bedroom.

I tried taking him for a walk about two months ago, as it turned into fall around here in North Texas. He just turned his head and wanted to go back home… Sad for all of us, but he still loves his food and tonight he will have leftover roast mixed in. Usually I put in Little Caesar’s chicken and veggies into his Iams Senior kibble for smaller dogs, but today is feasting day!! Btw, he really enjoyed it!

A new glass Santa found on Black Friday at JC Penney for 1/2 price, I think. Middle right of the hutch.

Here is our china hutch

I know this is a mishmash-kind-of-a-post, but since I’ve hardly shared anything all fall, I wanted to at least share a little of what Christmas I did get put out. I didn’t even get all of the stuff cleared off of it. Real life! 🙂

There’s a fun picture frame waiting for tiny gold nails to nail the hanger on it, then I can hang it in the hallway. Some jelly jars for Gramma as she would like to make some peach jam next year. A little fallish gnome I found at Winco while grocery shopping one day….

That picture frame I picked up at a store with the kids when they were down last Christmas (our son, DIL and grandson from South Dakota), and we had gone shopping down by the racetrack.

Or maybe it was found at the mall in Garland… It was Garland.

We had taken Milo to see the aquarium there in the morning, then had lunch and shopping at the mall there. We went to a second outdoor mall down towards Fort Worth later in the late afternoon, then had dinner out before driving home.

Was a fun time that week before Christmas 2021!

centerpiece of the hutch ~ the angel door!

Here in the hutch, I really only swapped out the plates from fall for the brown winter Johnson Bros. set. I added in the seaside photograph I picked up in Grenoble, France, at the little thrift shop I found while out looking for antique stores the Saturday morning before my niece’s wedding.

La Vierge à l’Enfant avec Catherine et un berger, dite La Vierge au Lapin (detail) ~ Tiziano Vecellio dit Titien (vers 1488/1490 – 1576).

I still need to share that adventure. I need to share more from France, too. On the list! 😉

Meanwhile, out in the garden…

I finally finished planting everything except one small boxwood, so I put it in the shed until it warms up next week. When we knew that the freeze was finally coming in, I spent a good 6 hours on Tuesday raking leaves around all of the tender plants and putting mulch around many of them as I could.

On Wednesday morning, as the cold north winds were swirling in, I was busy tarping plants and putting the leaves back over them as I could. The bricks came in handy to hold things down. 🙂

Hubby has almost finished putting up the insulation along the roofline inside the shed, so I’ll share that in the next post, how that is looking. Even down to 9 degrees F/-12.77 Celsius, it stayed at 40 degrees with the little floor heater churning away.

All that insulation I put up a year ago, plus the wood panels over top, the shed is staying pretty warm and cozy. The plants inside all look good. I water them about once a week as they dry out quicker with the heater on full time. On nice days, I shut it off and open the door wide to let air and light inside.

One of my squirrel buddies! He likes walnuts and pecans but not those filberts.

Well, that’s about it, friends! I think I’ve caught you up other than saying I am enjoying working in the library at school. I could do this until I retire in a few years. 🙂

Here’s a little duck from my walk this afternoon… I posted more up in my Stories on Instagram.

Merry Christmas!

Barb 🙂

Christmas, Holidays

Share Your Style #371

Welcome to this week’s Share Your Style #371, dear friends! There are just under two weeks until Christmas, can you believe it? Well, we have many wonderful features for 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

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

Planting Up Pretty Paperwhites ~ A Quick How-To ~ just a short & sweet post trying these bulbs for the first time!

And here are this week’s featured posts…

Penny from Penny’s Treasures paints the town pink in her home this year for the season!
Check out the rest of her ~ Tour of Our Christmas Family Room. Such fun!!!
AWAY IN A MANGER #Jesus #manger #Christmas #StarOfBethlehem #Magi
Grammy Dee from Grammy’s Grid is back with her beautiful Away in a Manger and a song for you! Please stop by and check her very short post out.

Amy from A Day of Small Things shared a walk through A Look Back at Christmas Merry & Bright. Love all these memories!!!
Simple Swedish Meatballs & Shells
Oh my! Christmas time involves lots of special times eating, doesn’t it? Let’s check out this recipe from Estelle from Homemade on a Weeknight ~ Simple Swedish Meatballs & Shells (Pasta). YUM!!!
Debra from Common Ground brings us her shining French Country Christmas Dining Room Part 2. Love the Nativity theme… <3 I think this is my favorite post so far, friends… I love nativities, don’t you?
For a bit of fun… Debbie from Debbie Dabble Blog shared this sweet post ~
A Blue Christmas in the Powder Room, Home Tour 2022. Fun!!!
christmas tree made from mason jar lids
Emily from Hunny I’m Home DIY brings us this fun craft you can easily do with your kids ~ Mason Jar Lid Christmas Tree DIY. Love it!!!
Sparkly fun abounds in this sweet post from Maya at The Little Treasures ~ Decorating with Christmas Baubles. I am blessed to have my grandmother’s old Shiny Brite ornaments and they are fun to display, too! Great ideas!!!

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.

Big hugs to you all,

Barb 🙂

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter
Christmas, crafts, Holidays

Share Your Style #370

Welcome to this week’s Share Your Style #370, friends!! This is almost my 200th SYS, surprisingly, ho ho ho!!! We have lots of fun features for 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

Again, welcome! It’s our last couple of weeks in school for the year, and naturally, I am having trouble sleeping… So,tonight’s SYS is getting up rather late (I zonked out on the couch after dinner), but it’ll be up for you, yeah! I am writing my own posts, but nothing is finished…

I did finish painting our office/spare bedroom but need hubby to help put the bed together before I snap a couple of photos for you. Then that post will be done. It looks really nice and open with the new furniture arrangement!

And December feels like it is getting away from me… I have a very quick post I hope to share later this week, so please look for that, thank you!

Now let’s check out … sooooo many good features to share!!!

And here are this week’s featured posts…

No photo description available.
Oh my goodness! Michelle from K’Mich Wedding Events (she also writes a decor blog) shared these incredible Holiday Decorated Pies… Are you as amazed as I am? Wow…
Glittering and warm, Debra from Common Ground brings us a goose here with Christmas Beginnings on the Hearth… Love this!!!
Christmas-holiday-table-tree-napkin-fold-green-white-check
Debbee from Debbee’s Buzz shared this fun tablescape in her post
Bringing Home the Christmas Tree Holiday Table. Lovely!!!
Penny from Penny’s Treasures shared her beautiful all-whites and creams ~
Neutral Nativities. Stunning!!!
embroidered bell bottoms, boho style, print mixing, fall outfit, Shelbee on the Edge
Shelbee from Shelbee on the Edge is having fun with this stylish look ~ How Many Prints is Too Many? Part of her link party! Do link up if you love sharing your fashions!! 😀 Love this skirt!!!
reindeer candy made with pretzel sticks and peanut butter cups.
Sooooo cute!!! Lois from Walking on Sunshine Recipes shares the cutest reindeer in this post ~ Reindeer Candy!!! My kinda project!

This cranberry sauce recipe is delicious and so easy to make.

Alison from Organized Motherhood shares her recipe for The Easiest Cranberry Sauce You’ll Ever Make. YUMMY!!!

How to Organize Holiday Decorations
Newcomer Tracy Lynn from Declutter in Minutes brings a necessary post we can always use ~ How to Store Holiday Decoration. Yep, I need this! How about you? 😉
DIY mason jar christmas decor
Emily from Hunny I’m Home DIY shared an old favorite in her post ~ Easy DIY Mason Jar Decor. Totally cute and great for gift giving!!
A Very Merry and Bright Vintage Christmas Kitchen
Last up for this week, Amber from Follow the Yellow Brick Home shares her beautifully renovated kitchen (finished about a year ago now; you’ll have to check out what it used to look like!) all dressed for the season ~ A Very Merry & Bright Vintage Christmas Kitchen. Sooo cheerful!!!

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.

Happy holiday hugs to you,

Barb 🙂

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter