Mlle Magpie

Wild Still Life

 

 

 

On the table at our farmhouse. A little bit of wildlife that I found while hunting for vintage treasures a week ago...

 

Mlle Magpie

l'Atelier de Colette

 

 

 

While in Toronto a couple of weeks ago, I was fortunate to be able to squeeze in a quick visit to artist/teacher/friend Colette Copeland's wonderful atelier. It was so lovely to see her and walk around in her creating space - really, her studio reminded me of an atelier in Paris! Even the coffee she made me reminded me of a Parisian cafe.

 

 

 

 

Colette is SO talented. She is a regular contributor to the Stampington publications such as Somerset Life. It was such a pleasure to actually look around and see all of her interesting and beautiful creations scattered about her studio. I have already collected several of her creations over the past year from her Etsy shoppe and had actually planned to choose one of her paintings to bring back home with me. I ended up getting two (!) paintings which I adore. Not only that, Colette gifted me with a few special little creations of hers to take home too - lucky me!

 

Since it's been so crazy busy at work and at home lately, I haven't had a chance to figure out where to hang my treasures from Colette but I do look forward to sharing them with you in the future...

 

Mlle Magpie

 

Anniversary Roses

 

 

 

We are back from our long weekend visit to my parents' home. These are some of the 50 creamy white roses that I bought for my parents' 50th wedding anniversary. They opened up beautifully over the weekend. I'm hoping they will end up drying out nicely so that they can be kept as a keepsake...

 

Mlle Magpie

Wedding Anniversary

 

 

 

Whew, somehow I survived the ultra busyness of September. It's been just crazy at work and at home with the kids. Fortunately we will get a bit of a break as this is the Thanksgiving long weekend in Canada and we will be off tomorrow to visit my family in Toronto.

 

 

 

We'll be celebrating my parents' 50th Wedding Anniversary en famille.

 

 

(vintage wedding cake toppers from my collection)

 

 

Being married for 50 years is quite the accomplishment in this day and age...

 

 

Mlle Magpie

 

Ballet Class Day

 

Fridays are my ballet class day. I had my first class a week ago and it took me several days to recover from that - my whole body was sore for several days. I just had my second class today and again, my other classmates did not show up so I had private lessons with Madame. Madame teaches the Russian method. With no one else in the big studio, I really have no where to hide :) It is intense, but very good.

 

 

 

 

Here is a peek at the change room of the ballet studio I go to. Worn out pointe shoe hanging from a vintage locker. Only the advanced students get lockers, so no locker for me.

 

 

 

 

 

I had to peek inside one of the lockers.

 

 

 

 

 

Love it!

 

 

Mlle Magpie

 

Never Too Old

 

(vintage photo, source unknown)

 

 

In a couple of days I will be attending my first ballet class in the studio where my two daughters have been taking ballet for the last several years.

 

I took ballet for a couple of years when I was young, but it is now about 35 years later and at the age of 47, I will be restarting ballet again. For many years I thought it was too late, but I've changed my mind :)  I will tell you how it goes...

 

Mlle Magpie

Where We Relax

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is where we relax. We came to our farmhouse for the labour day weekend, last weekend. After husband grills our food on the fire in the firepit, we eat here and then relax. Maybe a little more wine. And the sunset sky never disappoints...

 

Mlle Magpie

Aging is a Good Thing

 

I love flowers and think that one can never have enough of them. I had bought this book of Redoute reproductions when it was on super sale at a bookstore near my workplace a couple of years ago. 

 

 

 

There are about 30 or so floral images inside the book and I had always planned on ripping out my favourites to either frame or just hang up on a wall. Especially in the winter time when fresh flowers are very expensive, I thought hanging up a grouping of these would be a wonderful idea. However, the pages inside the book were all a bright white and just didn't seem right to me. 

 

 

 

 

Nothing a little distress ink couldn't fix, though.

 

 

 

 

So I gathered all my favourite images and away I went to give these new images the vintage look and feel that I though they should have. 

 

 

 

 

Such a fast and easy improvement and now they just look right to me.

 

 

 

 

Mlle Magpie

Wildflower World

 

 

At the farmhouse I used to have a patch that was my cutting flower garden. Since we're at our city house more than we are at our farmhouse, it has become a bit too high maintenance for it to work out well with respect to the watering and the weeding. This year I sowed wildflower seeds over the entire patch and I think it really is the best solution all things considered. 

 

Husband is away on a big business trip but I'm hoping to get away to the farmhouse for a bit this weekend with my girls and the dog (son working at neighbourhood organic food shop) to get some fresh air, see how things are going in the garden and take a spin on our bicycles...

 

Mlle Magpie

Serendipity and Sibella Court

 

 

Actually, I think I would have to say that my favourite find while in London was "Etcetera", Sibella Court's incredibly inspirational book. This book is no where to be found in Canada and I had sort of given up on getting what may be considered a cult classic tome on living with vintage finds and personal collections. So it was serendipity when I saw it on the shelf of a bookstore that I was browsing in while in London. I was over the moon when I pulled it down from the bookshelf! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sibella particularly speaks to the vintage loving former biologist/scientist in me.

 

 

 

 

But I think you would find it inspirational too!

 

 

Mlle Magpie