Violet lives in Nice with my dear friend Kate and her husband Michele. She may reside in France but, make no mistake, this feline was born in Italy. Kate and Michele rescued her from a feral existence when she was a kitten. Violet now fully embraces the beauty and luxury of her surroundings. And she adores flowers. (Please note that she does not eat them!) Kate started sending me photos of Violet among the weekly bouquets, and I kept asking for more. Not only is Violet photogenic, but the setting is romantic and mysterious. No surprise there: Kate is a fabulously talented artist with a unique eye. One which always delights me!! Plus, we share a deep and abiding love of enamelware. And Michele is the proprietor of Danda Productions (among other ventures), a twenty year old antiques business where you’ll find a consistently excellent collection of landscape, portrait and still life drawings and paintings.

How about that wacky Serge Gainsbourg head?

I am running late this morning, but here’s quick post of some nicely textured window grates in Nice. I like the gray paint color, as opposed to the black that we typically use here in NYC. A bit more friendly.

I physically cringe every time I see this photo in my files. Why? Because it is so very very wrong. Chaos prevails. Back in March, I went to visit my family in Nice, and stayed in an apartment nearby their own. This was the wiring and electrical hub for the doorbells in the building.

My affair with enamelware is well documented here. It is indestructible and wears the patina of age with both grace and quirkiness. The perforated spoon is my go-to utensil for poached eggs, which I eat quite often. Something about using it makes me happy and reinforces the pleasure of the cooking ritual. The best tools possess this quality. The middle image, of the two-armed octopi, are of some very old enamel hooks. One sunny morning, during my recent trip to Nice, I met my friend Kate (a dear friend from college who now lives full time in France) at the flea market. After I showed some hesitation at the price quoted by the dealer, Kate swooped in before I could stop her, and bought them as a gift. Thank you!! The sunny biscuit tins represent my hope for Spring. I could not resist their call. Plus, I needed a few little storage boxes.

Elle Décoration, the 25 year old French design publication, just launched their first issue of a new magazine called Elle Deco Lab. And, to my delight, they decided to include Mrs. Easton in a round up of design blogs that “will get you hooked!” The website packs in a lot of information and highlights many designs and designers that aren’t necessarily part of the familiar roster here in the United States. Well worth a look. I assume that the print publication will be available here in October. Usually arrives a month after it’s released in Europe. Oh, and in France, “je suis une blogueuse.” Merci Elle Deco Lab!