Thursday, May 04, 2017

The New Project

A Few Questions Answered


Instead of my "month outtakes", I decided to answer a few questions that have been asked a lot in last month's posts. While you read (or don't) my explanations, I thought you'd enjoy admiring some charming inspiration pictures.

1.
Au lieu de mon petit résumé du mois précédent habituel, j'ai décidé en ce début de mai de répondre à certaines questions qui n'ont cessé de revenir dans les commentaires. Pendant que vous lisez (ou pas) mes explications, j'ai pensé qu'il vous serait agréable d'admirer quelques photos charmantes.

2.

1. Who was that little boy who spent a few days at Cottage last month?
He is a childhood friend's son. If you've been reading The Little White House On The Seaside for a while, you already know that friend as I did a post about her wedding. If you've missed it, you can read it here.

3.

1. Qui est ce petit garçon qui est venu passer quelques jours au Cottage ?
C'est le fils d'une amie d'enfance. Si vous lisez ce blog depuis longtemps, vous vous souvenez peut-être de l'article que j'avais écrit à propos de son mariage. Si vous mourrez d'envie de revoir des photos de mariage, rendez-vous ici.

4.
 
2. When is school over for the summer in France?
Teachers will be released on July 7th... So  there's still a little more than two months before I can tackle any big project. And these will be two very long months as my work really isn't easy this year.

5.
 2. Quand l'école se termine-t-elle cette année ?
Cette question me vient évidemment surtout de lecteurs qui n'habitent pas en France.  Pas de vacances avant le 7 juillet... Il reste donc un peu plus de deux mois avant que je puisse m'attaquer aux grands projets de l'année au Cottage. Et ces deux mois ne vont pas être faciles car cette année je travaille dans une école particulièrement "hostile".

6.
 
3. How on earth did I crack my rib?
I didn't fall and I wasn't in any accident. But I had been working a lot - changing pieces of furniture  to new places, only to put them back later - trying to weed the  kitchen garden when the soil was very, very dry and as solid as steel - and then as one day the gate wouldn't close, I gave a graceful push ad felt a sharp pain to the left side. I thought it was only muscle linked, so I didn't stop working and only got things worse.

7.

3. Mais comment ai-je fait mon compte pour me fêler une côte ?
Honnêtement, je suis innocente ! Je ne suis pas tombée, je n'ai pas eu d'accident. J'ai juste fait beaucoup d'efforts répétés ces derniers temps, déplaçant des meubles, retournant la terre du potager, portant mon lourd sac de cours de salle en salle. Et un soir comme le portail refusait de fermer, j'ai donné un gracieux coup d'épaule et j'ai ressenti une violente douleur sur le côté. J'ai évidemment pensé que c'était musculaire et j'ai donc continué à travailler, ne faisant qu'empirer les choses.

8.

4. Did my soil bags ever make it to the kitchen garden?
They stayed in my trunk for a few days and then I finally saw one of my neighbours, who will call Lucky Luke, in his garden and I asked him to help me.  So next week end, I plan to work on the kitchen garden, sitting directly in it, in order not to hurt my rib again.

9.

4. Les sacs d'amendement sont-ils arrivés au potager ?
Ils sont restés plusieurs jours dans mon coffre et ont donc vu du pays... Ils m'ont accompagnés au supermarché, au collège... Et puis, un soir, j'ai décidé d'avaler ma fierté et d'aller demander de l'aide à mon voisin - que nous surnommerons Lucky Luke. Maintenant que les sacs sont déposés au bon endroit, j'espère pouvoir m'occuper du potager ce week-end, en m'asseyant directement dedans pour ne pas risquer de tirer sur ma côte.

10.

5. When will I show the upstairs?
Very, very soon, which is something I hadn't planned at all. My idea for this year was to work on the living-room. I did work on that a little, finding the perfect-for-me-and-the-cats sofa. But the living-room is a huge project that I intended to tackle during the summer break.

11.

5. Quand est-ce que je montre l'étage ?
Eh bien, tout bientôt, ce que je n'avais pas du tout prévu. Mon idée était de m'occuper d'abord du salon. Mais c'est un gros projet, pas quelque chose que l'on peut entreprendre quand on a seulement vingt minutes de libre le week-end. C'est un projet de vacances d'été.

12.

The problem is that one of the schools I work in this year is rather nightmarish and therefore I don't enjoy preparing lessons as much as I usually do. Sometimes I come back home so agravated that I need to do something to clear my mind.

13.
Seulement, cette année, comme je l'ai écrit, une des écoles dans laquelle je travaille est très difficile. Je ne m'amuse donc pas autant que d'habitude à préparer des cours et parfois je rentre à la maison tellement énervée que j'ai besoin de faire quelque chose de manuel pour me détendre.

14.
 So, earlier that year, I arrived at Cottage one wednesday afternoon in such a state that I knew I had only two choices: painting something or turning mad.  But of course in a winter afternoon, there was no time for such a project as painting the living-room, so I decided to start a small project... upstairs!


15.
Donc un peu plus tôt dans l'année, je suis arrivée au Cottage un mercredi après-midi dans un tel état de furie que je savais que je n'avais que deux possibilités : peindre quelque chose ou devenir folle. Mais un après-midi d'hiver, il était inenvisageable de se mettre à peindre le salon et j'ai donc à l'impromptu commencé un projet à l'étage !

16.
I didn't say anything about it on the blog as I wanted it to be a surprise for my parents when they'd visit. Now that they've seen it (more about their reaction next time), you're perfectly allowed to see it yourself.

Je n'en ai rien dit sur le blog car je voulais que ce soit une surprise pour mes parents lorsqu'ils viendraient. Maintenant qu'ils ont eu la primeur (je vous parlerai de cette visite une prochaine fois), vous voilà autorisé à voir ce nouveau projet.

17.

Now, I hope you've enjoyed my inspiration pictures which I carefully chose from my Pinterest board "Bathrooms" (click on the link if you want - need - more). Do feel free to tell me your favourite(s) in the comment to see if we agree on this point.

J'espère que vous vous êtes régalé avec mes photos d'inspiration que j'ai choisies avec soin sur mon dossier Pinterest "Bathrooms" (cliquez sur le lien si vous en voulez plus). Dites-moi dans les commentaires quelle est votre photo préférée que je puisse voir si on est sur la même longueur d'onde.

And you know how evil I am? The pictures are here to mislead you. The new secret project is not the bathroom... But is there a link between the new project and those pictures? Maybe, maybe not. What do you think? (It's my turn to ask a question).

Et vous savez combien je suis taquine ? Les photos ne sont là que pour vous embrouiller. Le nouveau projet secret n'est pas la salle-de-bains... Mais y a-t-il un lien entre le projet et les photos ? Peut-être, peut-être pas... Qu'en pensez-vous ? (Oui, c'est à moi de poser une question.)

See you next time,

A la prochaine fois, 

Hasta la proxima,



PS: I'm sharing my inspiration with




48 comments:

  1. Perfect inspiration, Magali! And my husband is drawing inspiration from a television series we are watching: SHETLAND. The white painted brick cottages are giving him the inspiration to paint our brick house white! And I am all for it. The brick on our home is nice but it's a very common brick used here. If it was STONE for example, I would disagree, but this brick we have as a lot of orange in it that I don't care for. SO.....white washed brick may be in our future. All from inspiration. GOOD LUCK!

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  2. I was so excited to find you again! I haven't been doing any blogging for a while and have lost track of blogs I loved to visit. I've often thought about your darling cottage & your incredible sense of style & decor & thought about your "I can do anything" spirit. You are amazing! I really enjoyed the bathroom images & ideas. My favorite is the old chippy yellow dresser & mirror used as the sink base. And of course the beadboard. We are going to start redecorating our kitchen in our condo soon and we are going to use beadboard as our backsplash. The bottom cabinets are going to be painted charcoal black (chalk paint) and the top cabinets will be dark red. I think the beadboard will be painted the ivory our walls are painted in kitchen to give it the lightness it will need. It's so fun to dig in and create a new look for a space! I look forward to see your decorating adventures now that I have found you again!

    Blessings, Sherry (formerly Edie Marie's Attic also Creations by Marie Antoinette & Edie Marie blogs)

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    1. Hi Sherry!
      I'm so glad you found your way back to The Little White House On The Seaside. Thank you so much for all your kind words.

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  3. They all seemed to have bead-board or wall boards and trim, which is my favorite part of all of them, so I'm guessing you did something like that in one of your rooms.

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    1. I love beadboard and I hope to add a little more to Cottage, but it's difficult as it's not traditionnal in France.

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  4. 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 10, 11 are fantastic and all the rest are great!! I have to tell you I am so excited about my first trip to France ever. This summer I will be at Plum Village in Duras for a week and another week traveling around on way back to Paris, then next March I will be in Normandy and Paris for a week. Thank you sooooo much for your travel photos that have inspired me to visit France!!! Do take care of yourself and mend that rib!!!

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    1. Oh, I can't tell you how happy it makes me that my humble posts inspired you to visit France. Have fun during your trip and if you have any question (of which you think I can have the answer) feel free to send me a private email.

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  5. Hello Magali,
    I was thinking too, bead board or baton and board. Sometimes working in the garden or projects can put you in a reflective mood, clear the mind. I'm hoping next school year will be much better, one school and a nice environment:).
    Kathleen in Az

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    1. Working on the garden or on Cottage has somehow saved me this year!

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  6. #9 is my favorite. Love the tub and blue walls.

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  7. I think your bathroom has a deep well window. You'll probably have beadboard somewhere and obviously there's a tub. Beyond that, I won't making any guesses. But I know whatever you're doing, it's wonderful. Take care of yourself. xo

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  8. Love your bathroom inspirations, particularly some of the paint choices, that soft, soft blue/green is beautiful.

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  9. Love all of these Magali. I am running things through my head for my new bathroom redo in the new cottage. So loving all this inspiration. Love that claw tub with the stone wall. Ahhhhhh just beautiful. Hoping you are feeling better with your rib. Happy Thursday.
    Kris

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  10. I hope your rib is healing. These inspiration photos are all wonderful. Thanks so much for sharing. Can't wait to see your surprise. xo Laura

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    1. Thanks, Laura... As you know, my projects always take a long time to be completed...

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  11. I think my favorites are numbers 10 and 13. Can't wait to see your surprise, you are very mean teasing us like that!! :)

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  12. I love all these bathrooms, as they are cheerful and cottage-y!
    Brenda

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  13. Beautiful, gorgeous, inspirational...you name it, I love them all. And yes, beadboard has my vote.

    xxx

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  14. Hi...great answers..if i was remodeling my bathroom..i'd be doing picture #8..an by the way..your parents were there some time ago =^)
    i hope your students don't get any worse as summer break draws near..also hope if you're there next school yr..there's a better bunch of kids to work with..or..i hope you can get back in the other school..an Please take care of that rib.!!
    look forward to seeing what you did with the bathroom.

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  15. Ton collège difficile a l'air de vraiment te peser, c'est terrible que des gamins arrivent à nous pourrir la vie.Je me souviens du temps où j'allais en classe et où il fallait marcher droit sinon on se prenait le reste à la maison et on avait le respect des professeurs.
    Il a fallu en plus une loi pour interdire la fessée , mais où va-t-on, je vais peut-être soulever des protestations mais j'assume et je crois que ma ligne de vie est bien plus rigoureuse que certains autres...............c'était ma minute ""chieuse"" (pardonne-moi l'expression).
    Sinon pour les photos, je dois dire que vraiment je ne suis pas fane des toilettes dans une salle de bains même si j'ai dû en mettre à la montagne parce que c'est tellement difficile de faire des évacuations trop dispersées dans de vieux planchers, donc ma photo préférée sera la 17 parce que le petit meuble supportant la vasque me fait craquer.
    Caresses aux minous. Bises. Babette

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  16. Magali! Hello! It's been a while since I've left a comment, but I just wanted to let you know I'm still here and enjoy your blog! My blog had so many html issues and slowness of loading, that I started over with a new blog, but the same name--MinervasGarden.com. I will be doing more blog posts in the near future, and I've expanded what I'll write about so it more reflects me and where I'm at at the moment. I hope your rib feels better soon--that is so painful, and be careful with it while doing garden work. I had back surgery last September, and while I am healed now, I still will always need to be careful of my back, especially with gardening, as I can no long do any heavy lifting or risk re-injury. So, I am doing the garden over, to make it lower maintenance but still beautiful, and working on container gardening to make it lovely and low-maintenance this summer as well, as we will likely be doing summer outdoor theatre again--this year a French classic--
    Tartuffe! I'm up for either Elmire or Doreen, so both wonderful parts, and my husband is up for several roles and will do music again. It's a lot of fun, but very time consuming. I got tired of being stressed out about how much I couldn't get done in the garden, never had enough time for all the maintenance, so I'm changing a lot of it up to make it more "me" now! I love your bathroom inspiration pictures, and I am sure whatever inspires you will make for a lovely new bothroom in Cottage! Say hello to the kitties from our 3 cats and one small Chihuahua dog!

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    1. I'm so glad to hear from you! I'll be checking your new blog of course!

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  17. Fun post! Answering a lot of questions that have crossed our minds... Bead boards and slanted ceilings... I don't know... xoxo Su

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  18. Beautiful pictures... hope you are feeling well..

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  19. You must be feeling better, a little devilish I might add :) I have no idea what you ar up to but I'm sure it will be gorgeous. Glad you have cottage to come home to, I'm sure he doesn't mind your projects to help reduce school stress. France sure goes late for the school year, when do you return? Loved all the inspiration...........

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  20. Great post and I like all the bathrooms. I know you will pick a pretty one. Now don't get crazy this weekend working in your garden and re-injure your ribs - take care. Have a wonderful weekend.

    Mary

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  21. Love all these bathrooms! SO pretty. The hubby and I will be doing a master bedroom and bathroom renovation soon so I am always looking for ideas. Can't wait to see what you've been up to. Have a lovely weekend.

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  22. Magali, I'd be happy with any of those bathrooms. Looking forward to seeing your project. And I'd love to hear what about the school is nightmarish. Teachers have such challenges these days.

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    1. The new project will be up soon. Part of the nightmare at school this year included for example a pupil threatening to burn my car - something that had never happened to me before!

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  23. le jardin de Cottage ne dispose pas d'un petit coin "compost" pour éviter l'achat d'amendement ?
    que de jolies salles de bains aménagées dans les combles... oooh la jolie fenêtre des photos n° 1 et 4 !!! et tous ces lambris sont chics et chaleureux !!! sur la n°3 l'étagère en bout de baignoire doit être quotidiennement mouillée... je suis certaine que la salle de bains de Cottage est belle et fonctionnelle - mais puisque le prochaine publication ne parlera pas de salle de bains, peut-être de parlera-t-elle de parquet... comme ceux couleur miel des premières photos - quel suspens !!! bon week-end ! monique59

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  26. Bathroom number 7 is my absolute favorite. It's all about the color, I LOVE that rich warm reddish elegant wood that seems to have a bit of texture the color is so rich contrasted with those cool, dreamy ocean toned walls that are trimmed with clean bright white. That job they did on the walls is just amazing, I do not know how they get that effect but it looks so dreamy and seaside and like you are in the clouds or in the sea. The color is just perfect. I also like the simplicity of it, which is odd for me because normally I like a lot of stuff about. However, I do worry about the lack of a bath tub in that one. Bit of a problem bathing in the sink.
    I also love number 16 because of that amazing texture chippy rustic vanity contrasted with the very elegant and refined and graceful mirror. I love that the two of them are drawn together by the tone and color of them, and the rest of the bathroom is just clean elegant white to set them off. Delightful.
    I love all the old fashioned bathtubs in many of these bathrooms. I wish I had one. I did have one, but had to move away and I was forced to leave it behind in the bathroom at the old house. It seemed the new owners wanted to be able to take a bath! Anyway, I love the bathtubs.
    I like number five, I think because of the colors again, but it also looks cozy and comfortable.
    I see a lot of these bathtubs have surrounds, I like a free standing roll top myself, but these surrounds are very nice. I also like number 14. The beams are magnificent and I love the hexi tiles and the tub. Plus, love the high ceiling.
    No idea what the theme is though, or how it might relate to the project! I am terrible at puzzles!

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  27. Oh my goodness - those bathrooms!

    Take care of your body and hang in there until July 7.

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  28. I went back to the link of the wedding. It was nice to see that post and also see a bit of you Magali in photos Magali! Cracked rib must be very painful! Lovely photos of beautiful bathrooms. I love the colors they have on them. Thank you for your visit to my blog Magali!! Ate a proxima!

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  29. I love bathrooms 2, 5, 7, 8, and 13. They do seem similar. I love the wood and colors used.

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  30. C'est haletant cette attente !
    Quel suspense !!!
    Merci pour ces belles photos et tout ce long message (comme d'hab' d'ailleurs) et c'est tjrs plaisant à lire.

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    1. Une partie du suspens devrait s'arrêter un peu plus tard dans la semaine...

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  31. Being a teacher is so hard these days! Nothing like what it used to be when most students were respectful of their teachers and the parents cooperative. It will be exciting to see what you're doing with the upstairs! I like every single one of the bathroom photos you posted. Too overwhelming to choose just one or two!

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  32. You're a tease! lol I can't wait to see what you've done. In the mean time those bathrooms are lovely.

    I hope your rib is better!

    xo,
    rue

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  33. Oh, you evil lady you! lol You totally threw me off. My favorite it is the chippy yellow cabinet. Of course I love all chippy furniture. Just had to pin this one. Being single we tend to do more lifting and pushing around than we should, believe me I know. Be careful!
    xoxo Jo

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  34. You devil you....I loved all the bathrooms and they reminded me of our since ours is under a gable. I'm married an movie too much heavy furniture myself..since I hate waiting for hubs to do it!

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  35. I do hope your rib is slowly healing.
    Loved seeing all the inspirational photos, I'm sure your surprise project will be good.

    All the best Jan

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  36. Hmmmm, I'm clueless about the secret project. I wouldn't mind taking a bath in any of those you've shown, but my favorite is #16 - that yellow vanity is amazing! Runner-up is # 8 - I love bead board. Thanks for sharing at Best of the Weekend, Magali! I'd love to re-do our master bath, but that's not going to happen!

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  37. Sooo hard to chose !! But nr 11 is my favourite, though they are all wonderful. Take good care <3 Greetz, Marie from Belgium

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