Red Shed Frenchy Giveaway!!

The wonderful ladies at Red Shed Antiques are have a fabulous Frenchy Giveaway... Just back from a buying trip in Paris... they've got tons of wonderful treasures... drop buy and read about their trip, then leave a comment to win... and be sure to tell them that "Dixie sent ya"!

We adore all thing French... down here in French Lique!

French Lessons... or Leçons françaises... oui?

Want to learn to read and write French? Join A la parisienne each Friday for French Lesson Friday by linking HERE...

Soon we'll all be able to read those French comments at Prof. Debbie's ...

My French DNA or How Dixie dresses French...

I've been doing some catch-up reading on a blog I really enjoy. Corey's Tongue in Cheek blog... Corey, a California gal who married a Frenchman, writes and photographs a beautiful journal of her life in the South of France. I just love reading her every word...

Today I read something she had written back in August 2006, titled French Dressing , and how to dress like a French woman... to my surprise... I realized my French heritage is alive and well within me...

How Dixie dresses like a French woman... based upon Corey's post... down here in French Lique...

1. Own one of everything in black... and have the fashion color of the season in your wardrobe... Okay.. this one was entirely too easy.. I wear black nearly every day.. black slacks, black tops, black sweaters, black stockings, black shoes... well, you get the photo... and the color of the season... I have a scarf in just about every color and combination of pattern to cover this one...

2. Dare to wear red gloves... well... here are my gloves... the same gloves I've worn for 7 or 8 years... soft red leather...
3. Smoke without shame... hehehe... I failed this one miserably... unless you count smoking a Texas brisket... 4. Wear matching sexy basic white undergarments... let's just say that I've passed this one with uh... flying colorlessness..

5. Ditch tennis shoes & socks... ah-haaaa... well, most of the time, in the summer, I wear leather sandals that are about 20 years old... in the winter... boots... I do have tennis shoes.. but I seldom wear them except on the treadmill... or if Ricky makes me walk a really long way... 6. Have a day & evening perfume and make it your calling card... I love this one... and have done it for years... my "day" use to be Cristalle by Chanel, but for the past 12-years it's been Dazzling Silver by Estee Lauder... now, "evening" use to be Tuscany per donna by Estee Lauder... but for the past year, I choose Mademoiselle by Coco Chanel... (see how those flipped-flopped?)

7. Dress for the occasion... Corey recommends wearing leather pants to the grocery store... but Corey doesn't live in south Texas!... however, I did wear a hot pink sweater and a beautiful pink silk scarf with my jeans to the grocery store this weekend... and always keep a bottle of champange in your refrigerator... yep... got that one...

8. Celebrate your feminity... show off your assets... I'm not so good at this one... I like to keep my assets for home shows...

9. Add a twist to ordinary jeans... add a lacy top or leopard skin high heels... don't be afraid of yourself... passed this one with flying colors too... I hate hum-drum every day clothing items...though I usually have to wear them for work. I love jeans, but I do love wearing them with the unexpected... lacy tops, scarves... and lots of vintage rhinestone pins... and how about a pair of snakeskin high heels... I'm fresh out of leopard...

10. The scarf thing... I wear them all the time... I did an entire post about scarves here... so.. nuff said about that one...

and then my favorite..

11. Sit straight, hold your head up, guard your tongue and admire other women.. how easy is that! Have you picked up your Cowgirl Up! award?

Having a sweet little French great-grandmother who taught me all things French... I guess French is in my DNA... some things you cannot learn... some things you just know.

This is my great-grandmother, Evie Lena, on her 89th birthday in 1970. She passed away just a month short of her 90th birthday in March, 1971. Please notice her little pink scarf... I adored this sweet lady...

I hope you will visit Corey's wonderful blog... if you're French (or half French), if you love France... if you love things French... or if you just want to read some beautiful writing and see some beautiful photos... you will love visiting Tongue in Cheek...

En désirant ardemment pour visiter la campagne française, mais en appréciant ma vie ici, en français léchez.

Scarves....

I love my scarves... I wear them all the time... usually with a pretty rhinestone pin on my lapel... I found a beautiful new blog at à la parisienne and it's proprietor is having a little "join in and post your scarves...", so I thought I'd take a photo of my favorite scarf and how I wear it... I wear it quite often you know... and so here I go... "join in..."

Here's the scarf.. it's 38" x 38" square... and it's silk... very soft, light weight silk... yummy..

So, besides the scarf... there's a brushed cotton jacket (that looks suede), a yellow open knit cardigan, a brown tank top, a tightly pleated skirt and 2 rhinestone pins...

I probably most often start the day like this... simple wrap around the jacket and softly tied in the front... but sometimes, it gets hot during the day (I am 54 you know!), so I lose the jacket and just throw one end of the scarf over my shoulder... see my little frog pin? and here's what it looks like from the back... pretty huh? of course some days, it starts out a little on the warm side... so instead of the jacket, I have a cute little Sigrid Olsen sweater that I love and wear instead ... and sometimes I tuck the scarf inside of the sweater for a different look... or, just throw it over my shoulders in a very casual way... but you can always go back to the simple casual tie the scarf in the front look... If I want to dress it up a little (and cooler weather permitting...) I do the front to back to front tie... it looks very sophisticated don't you think?... and very east coast... sometimes I wear more than one pin... if I'm feeling festive... Or... if it's a little warmer outside... I may just wrap the scarf from back to front and tuck inside the tank front, for a more professional look...

and then I can put my little yellow sweater back on when a client comes in... and if I'm feeling really casual... and it's really getting warm... I can do the west coast - tie the sweather around the neck... but for that "French look", I tie my scarf along with the sweater... pretty... right?
but, as is often the case... most of the warm days... my scarf often ends up as a very chic purse ornament... I always get a "I love that!" comment from some sweet lady... but on windy, drizzley days like today... I often actually wear my scarf the way that it was originally intended... Now how French is that!

So... there you have it... all I know about being a Diva down here in French Lique..

Greetings from Amazon.com

I get emails from Amazon and Boarders a couple of times a week. They are so kind to keep me abreast of new offerings in print that I might enjoy. I like Amazon the best; their prices are better and you get free shipping for orders of $25 or more... so I never-ever pay shipping!

A week or so ago, my friends at Amazon sent me an email... "Hello Dixie, We thought you might enjoy these..." and they were right.

Yesterday my printed treasures arrived. I haven't had a chance to do anything but a quick flip through, but I'm so excited that they are here... I thought I'd share at least the covers with you today... more later on the inside...

oooooh-la-la... what inspiration may I find in here?!

I can hardly wait to have some time to see what I can create... wearable art... the best!

and this one... a Valentine from me to me... I LOVE reading LOVE Letters... I've already peeked, and I'm thinking... cozy chair, poodles, blankie, cup of tea... and thee...

The joy of new books being celebrated today, down here in French Lique...

When I decorate, I always seem to need an inspiration piece. I've already decided to decorate my office in black and cream with pale yellow walls. I've purchased Waverly Metro Draperies, a cream colored chenille chair cover for my side chair, dark coffee colored bookshelves and a creamy-white Flokati rug. I still needed some inspiration. I was searching "black toile" on eBay and ran across this wonderful throw pillow... Ahhhhhhhh Inspiration! I start my project Saturday. I can hardly wait to get my office organized and decorated... especially now that I've found my inspiration. (Bumble Bee with Laurel Leaves... How French!)

I love toile fabric! This is the back of the pillow, which is a Waverly toile.

This lovely pillow came from eBay seller treadleart*boutique.

On a decorating/organizing frenzy down here in French Lique...