Flea Market Fancy

Time goes by so fast, so so fast!

I look at when my last post was and I think it has only been a couple of days … but it has been more than 2 weeks.  It is summer holidays here and it is hot.  We have had a heat wave and there is another one coming.  Maybe the heat is getting to me?

I have bought some lovely fabric recently.  I have been wanting Flea Market Fancy by Denyse Schmidt for a while but have never got around to getting it!  I need to get a bit more so I had better get on and order it!  I have a lot of the grey colourways but need more of the blue/red/green.

I just love it, don't you?

From Menton, France to Ascot, Australia

We have moved … to the other side of the world!

It has been a mission to get the house in order.  We have bought a beautiful Queenslander with a large overgrown tropical garden.  It is going to take a while to get it all under control!

I have managed to get the children settled into school without tears and the youngest will start prep at the end of January.

The children are very excited having their second big summer break for the year - me less so.  I do enjoy having them home and not having to worry about times and homework but only 12 weeks school in 7 months is a bit much!

I look forward to getting back to craft, quilting and baking when things calm down a bit!

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!

Opportunities

We have been so lucky to have had many opportunities to experience.  Here are some of many...

The beautiful Med.

Eating at restaurants in Italy ... just across the border.

Being a chorister at the Monaco Boys Choir at the Monaco Cathedral for Seb.

The ice skating world champs



An Easter visit to Genova

and visiting the Aquarium in Genova.

Eating a lot of delicious food in Genova.

The boys visited a submarine in the old port

and Masserano.

Going to the Monaco tennis masters ... although Federer wasn't playing (sad)

The Monaco Grand Prix front row seats on our friends' balcony

Molly was more interested in drawing and the cars were very loud!!!

and a weekend to Cotignac with the FAR.

and lots of trips to London and with every trip an obligatory visit to Ottolenghi :) Yum yum!

... and this was only some of them in the first year...

The markets - Les marchés

Our daily routine consists of going to the market.  The small market in the Carei next to our house we with fruit and vegetables as well as many other things depending on the day such as olives, cooked chickens, flowers, bread, oils, eggs and stalls of growers.  

The municipal market in town has been there since 1898.  Here can be found Seb's anchovies, the woman who sells beignets de fleur de courgettes as well as our 'Italian man Gianpiero' with parmesan, parma ham, fresh pasta and gnocchi, fresh ricotta and gorgonzola as well as many more stalls including the famous Russian boulangerie.

The market in Ventimilgia is one of our favourites and every Friday the trains are full of locals and tourists for the big Friday market.  The covered municipal market is open daily and is a wonderful vibrant place to watch and buy.  

La belle époque

We are so lucky to be staying at our friends' place for the month before we leave the south of France.  One of the things that has endeared us to Menton is the beautiful architecture of mentonnaise houses and the belle époque palaces.  

Eeek!  Yes that is the house we are staying in!

The children are loving the after school swims.  They are going back to school for 3 weeks before we leave - they need that little bit extra of French to keep us going in the months (and years) ahead.

... and the lovely belle époque palace 'le mont fleuri' next door...

Look at that beautiful vielle ville.  Isn't this just one of the most beautiful places in the world?! 

We have been so blessed to have been able to live here for more than 2 years and it is going to be so difficult to say goodbye but I am sure that exciting things are in store for us on the other side of the globe.

Goodbyes

... and here I go!

This has been a long time coming - actually it's probably been at least 5 years or more but it has just not happened.  I have lost count of the time.   I have been reading other people's crafty quilting blogs for years and I just adore them!  I will willingly spend all my limited spare time reading them.  They give me so much inspiration and make me feel panicky and giddy to get on and create.

Now, as we leave to move over to the other side of the world I feel compelled to start.  Quite a strange time but I am going with it.

Off I go...