La Cressonniere

Text and photos by Gabrielle.

On Sunday, a few of us decided to take a late winter walk as the sun was setting. We walked down the road to see how high the water was in the little creek, and say hello to the sheep that live across the way. We also wanted to scout out signs of spring.

And I remembered to bring the camera! (Instagram has me out of the habit of carrying my DSLR.) So I thought I’d share a few photos from our walk with you.

I can’t believe how much I enjoy seeing the little lambs…

Lots more photos ahead.

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lacress_summer02

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This morning I took a walk and happened upon a very yellow, very fall leaf. It was only one, but it reminded me that fall will be here in a few short weeks. Before it arrives, I thought I should make a visual record of what La Cressonnière looks like in the peak of summer.

Fruit is everywhere. Apples and walnuts have weighed down the tree branches — they’re so low they almost touch the ground. Flowers aren’t quite as plentiful as they were in the spring, but the roses made a second appearance after disappearing in July. Lavender and honeysuckle scent every path of the garden. The apples will be ripe in a few weeks and we have one small pumpkin. The grapes look glorious even though they’re far from ready — I hope they’ll be delicious.

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lacress_oscarbetty08

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Ben Blair’s sister, Lisa, and our nephew, David, are here visiting. And we’ve been having the best time with them today! When guests come, we usually have them stay in Oscar and Betty’s room. It’s a beautiful bedroom and has lots of space, so it’s easy to bring in luggage, or a travel crib, and feel like you can spread out.

As I was changing the sheets and straightening the room yesterday, I realized I hadn’t shared a photo tour yet. I hope you enjoy it!

Betty sleeps in the big double bed. Oscar sleeps in the twin. Their clothes are kept in the dresser and the armoire stores bed linens and extra blankets for all the beds in the house. One of my favorite details in the room is a painted stripe on the ceiling. So elegant!

P.S. — Remember when Betty took a photo of her bed?

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A few months ago, I gave you a photo tour of the exterior of the farmhouse. But as you can imagine, Spring has totally transformed it. So I thought I’d show some of my favorite images of La Cressonnière in bloom. These were all taken over the last 2 months.

There are more rose bushes than I can count. Huge peony bushes too. It hasn’t rained much this year, but thankfully, that hasn’t stopped the flowers from showing their pretty faces.

Click here to see more images of La Cressonnière in Spring.

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Would you like to see what Ralph’s bedroom here in France looks like? I’ve got lots of photos to share!

When you come in the room, the first thing you see is his bed. It’s a beautiful antique piece with turned wooden spindles. The side folds down so that you can climb in easily. It’s actually intended to be for a child in the 5 to 11 range — much bigger than a crib, but a bit shorter than a twin. Ralph isn’t the tallest kid his age, so he actually fits just fine. Although. He’s totally had a growth spurt since we arrived here — his pants are floods all of a sudden! So I think he may need to move out of this bed soon. : )

The second thing you see is the desk. It’s in a quiet corner next to some bookshelves. A great place to study his French conjugations. : )

Click here to see more of Ralph’s bedroom.

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photos by Paul Ferney

Remember when I wondered if we could buy eggs from our neighbor? Well it turns out that yes, we most certainly can. And it’s an errand my kids are always delighted to volunteer for.

We start with an empty basket.

Click here to see what happens next.

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Today, I’ve got a little photo tour of Maude’s bedroom to share with you. It’s one of the funnest rooms at La Cressonnière. When we’re not living here, it belongs to the owner’s daughter. She happens to be the same age as Maude (which is a fun coincidence!) — and if I was guessing, I would say she likes animals.

The centerpiece of the room is a beautiful bed, upholstered in colorful monkey-filled fabric.

Click here to see the rest of Maude’s bedroom.

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I thought it would be fun to start this week with a tour of the studio (sometimes we call it the atelier) at La Cressonnière. Just outside the half bath, at the bottom of the staircase, is the entry way to the studio. Here is the door:

I’m sitting in this room as I type. It is where I spend a good chunk of my day. And when the kids are home from school, if it’s not warm enough to be outside, they are in here too. It’s a wonderful room. The light is gorgeous. I can hear the birds outside and there’s plenty of room to spread out, even if I’m working on a big project. I love being in here.

Come on in!

Click here to see the rest of the the studio.

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Today I thought I’d share a photo tour of some of my favorite details in the living room here at La Cressonnière. Starting with the floor to ceiling mantel and fireplace. Amazing, no?

Here’s a closeup of one of the little carving details.

Click here to see the rest of the living room tour.

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It’s officially Spring! I thought it would be fun to commemorate the day with a photo tour of the exterior (and some of the landscaping) here at La Cressonnière. It’s gorgeous now and I’m imagining it will look even more lovely in just a few short weeks as all the greenery fills in.

This is the oldest part of the house. Two of those pretty dormer windows are attached to bedrooms. The little window in the middle is above a big clawfoot tub in the bathroom.

This door goes to the kitchen. During the winter, it’s blocked up and curtained off to help keep the house warm. But as the weather heats up, we’ll open it for easy access from the kitchen to the outside.

Every single fixture is interesting to me.

This section of the house was built about a century after the first. The atelier and study/TV room are on the bottom floor of this section. And there are 3 bedrooms on the top floor. In France, all shutters are working shutters.

Click here to see the rest of the photo tour.

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Ready for another little installment of La Cressonniére house tour? Here goes.

As you leave the living room toward the studio, you come upon a grand staircase. Across from the bottom of the staircase hangs a big mirror with a gorgeous frame. It’s one of my favorite things in the whole house.

Click here to find the rest of the tour.

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As promised, here is a post telling you a little bit about the artist (actually, it’s two artists) who work in the studio at La Cressonnière when the Famille Blair aren’t living here. The studio belongs to les Frères Sineux, or the Sineux Brothers. Hugues and Jean-François. The sign announcing their atelier hangs outside one of the barns.

The two brothers have worked together for 25 years. Jean-François is still working here in town while Hugues is away. It must be difficult to be temporarily separated after so many years of working near each other.

This photograph hangs in the office. I believe it’s the two brothers as teenagers in their mother’s kitchen. What a great shot! When Ben Blair came to check out the house last December, he was able to see them both — they were building a beautiful console table made only from found materials in the area.

Click here to read more about the artists and see some of their work.

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Curious about the kitchen at La Cressonnière? Here’s a photo tour.

This is the view you see when you enter the kitchen.

And here’s the same corner from a different angle.

On the counter behind the sink, the light is so pretty. I like to take pictures there.

We’ve kept a good-looking, metal citrus juicer on our counter almost our entire marriage, so it was fun to arrive here and see they had one too.

Click here for the rest of the kitchen tour.

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