A New Look

Was time for Ma Petite Coquette to get an update~!! And thanks to my friend Robin Vila at http://www.boutiquemama.com/ ~ it is awesome~!!

The website is currently being updated and just waiting for some pictures to add to the front page...only a temporary one there now...but if you want to take a sneak peak check it out at http://www.mapetitecoquette.com/. I am looking for pictures of little ones ~ and big ones too ~ with Ma Petite Coquette or Coquette items. So if you have any, please send them to me and I will add to the new gallery on the website.

I have added an esty store also. Esty seems to be the place to be for vintage and handmade items. So those of you that know me know that I needed to be there too~!!

Am a firm believer that when one door closes another opens and I feel the French Doors opening wide~!!

Will keep you updated on our new look~!!

Fabulous Fall Side Trip

Rogers Gardens in Newport Beach is just one of my all time favorite places to visit and due to the distance, just don't get there often enough. Convinced my husband to make a stop on our way back from San Diego last weekend and it was totally worth it~! If you have not been there, it is worth the trip and plan on spending some time strolling their beautiful nursery and the amazing gift shops....yes, shops...there are at least 3. Unfortuneately, the main gift shop was mostly closed in preparation for Christmas decor, which is amazingly done there.

Here are a few of my favorite things:

To find something similar a little closer to home in Bakersfield, try Pay It Forward on 20th and H Streets downtown. Kim has a great touch with plants and her floral arrangements are to die for.

Under Her Charm

Wanted to let my Blog Followers/Twitter/facebook friends to be the first to know about this great new line we are carrying~!

Vintage Family Album opens and has 4 pages which can be engraved

Just love this amazing line of specialized custom hip jewelry. The sterling pieces are made from nice thick sterling silver and 14k gold fill that won't bend or warp. I am so excited to be carrying Under Her Charm designs on our website and in our store CHARISMA in Bakersfield. What perfect  gifts for new moms, wedding couples, wedding parties, toddlers and girls, and not to mention the upcoming Holidays.....or a little something for yourself just because you deserve it~!

Here are a few of my personal favorites from the collection, but please take a look at the link for the CHARISMA website for more beautiful items. Also, the new Ma Petite Coquette website ~ launching next week ~ will carry it also~!!

http://charisma-boutique.com/category_54/Under-Her-Charm.htm

Vintage Script 1" Disk

Samples are on their way to the store if you are local in Bakersfield, or you can order on-line.

Email me with any questions.

Charms are available individually and swarovski or pearl drops can be added.

Sweet Katie's Birthday

Had a great time
celebrating Katie's birthday in San Diego this weekend~! She is a sweet little one year old that really knows how to wow the crowd eating your cupcake and not miss a single crumb~!
(scroll down)

It was priceless~!! She knew just what to do with it...

And applauded her adoring crowd when she was done~!

Some Girls prefer frosting....like big sister, Anna Marie~!

And then there were some ladybugs....


Amatxi Kathie and Anna Marie



Tanta (Aunt) Jenny and Otto (Uncle) Jesse

Genious of Memory

This quote of the day hits WAY too close to home on many days:

"The charm, one might say the genious of memory, is that it is choosy, chancy, and tempermental." ~Elizabeth Bowen

Whatever You Give a Woman...

This is my new mantra....love, love, love this and wish I knew who said or wrote it...but HAD to be a Woman~!

'Whatever you give a woman, she will make greater. If you give her sperm, she'll give you a baby. If you give her a house, she'll give you a home. If you give her groceries, she'll give you a meal. If you give her a smile, she'll give you her heart. She multiplies and enlarges what is given to her. So, if you give her any crap, be ready to receive a ton of shit.'

Adult Baby Blankets

Minkee Blankets and Throws are not just for kids...these magnificent throws are so cozy to cuddle up with~!! Once I began making baby blankets and blankies out of the wonder fabric Minkee...it dawned on me rather quickly that "I" wanted one too~! So my first Adult Baby Blanket was born~!! As my friends saw and got the feel of the luxurious fabric...everyone wanted one. Even last year my husband even admitted he wanted one too~!!

Minkee comes in the most amazing range of colors and patterns, which can be done in so many awesome combinations ~ with or without fringe. Without fringe, they are totally machine washable and just tumble dry. With fringe, they need to be dry cleaned. But normally I only have to do it at the end of the cold season.

My favorite selling point is that I made and sent one with my son to college, when he came back so did the throw...still in great shape~!! I even asked him if he had used it much. He answered, "Oh yeah, mom, everyone who crashed on our couch used it." I proceeded to walk to the washing machine, drop it in with a bit of extra detergent, then through the dryer and it was a good as new. It even endured his frat house lifestyle...now that is saying something~!!

For more information, check it out at my etsy store http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=30820789&ref=sr_list_2&&ga_search_query=minkee%20throw&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_page=&order=date_desc&includes%5B%5D=tags&includes%5B%5D=title

Counting

Love this quote, wish I knew who wrote it...we all should do this more~!!

"Count your Blessings instead of your crosses. Count your Gains instead of your losses. Count your Joys instead of your woes. Count your Friends instead of your foes." ~Unknown author

Nine Eleven

The images today have brought back so many memories. I was having coffee and watching the Today show and could not believe my eyes. My husband and I huddled around the TV and watched in horror. Called my son and made sure he was OK, even though I knew he was on the West Coast...just had to make sure and talk to him.

The feeling that day is something that we as Americans should never forget and the images of all the loved ones of those who had lost their lives that day holding photos and hoping against hope is something that I think about to this day.

Like so many I paid my respects to the site where those magnificent towers once stood in NYC while visiting about two years later. It was such a moving experience and am so glad to have been able to go there and pay my respects.

It's always a bit chilling for me seeing them in an old movie or TV show and makes me think that is the way things should have been forever~!

Friends Don't Let Friends Shop Alone

Today is my buddy Stella's last day here on site with us...and I'm really gonna miss her. She is going on to a great new position and thankfully not too far away. But our lunchtime shopping trips have become legendary around here. Stella and I can get more done in an hour than anyone...well sometimes an hour and a half~!!

So yesterday we took her to lunch and had to give her one of the Girl Talk "friends don't let friends shop alone" platters with a couple of gals that look pretty much like us~!!

Gonna miss you girl~!! But we will always have the weekends~!!

PS Frosting Ink cupcakes were yummy too~!!

Quote for Today

"I like breakfast-time better than any other moment in the day. No dust has settled on one's mind then, and it presents a clean mirror to the rays of things." ~Alice Kahn

Cherises a la Coquette

Sometimes a fabric just takes me back to a place and time or a great memory...and that is what this one did for me~!! Love, love, love the cherry print fabric and it totally reminds me of picking cherries on my cousins farm in France when I was a teenager with my sister, Kathie. We had gone to France for the summer with our father ~ the entire summer 10 weeks~!! There was a bit of homesickness, but once that past...so much fun~!! Made so many friends that summer we still are close to today...and wonderful memories of fun times, family, fetes...it's a summer neither of us will ever forget~!!

The oilcloth is so much a part of eating outside and the Toile handles...well how much more French can you get than Toile~!!

Bon journee~!!

Quote for today: "I try to take one day at a time...but sometimes several days attack me at once." ~Jennifer Yane

Had a fabulous weekend...but am tired today and wish I was taking a nap instead of sitting at my desk~!!

Sunday Lunch

I love Sunday lunch in the backyard with some good friends. Setting the table with fun summer linens, plates, silverware, wine glasses and with a nice bottle of wine or two...it is a totally wonderful experience. Eating off real dishes outside adds to the entire experience. And really, instead of throwing everything away...you run the dishwasher...big deal~!

One of the things that I like to add is an herb bouquet instead of doing flowers. This one is made from Basil and Chive that have gone to flower, with just a touch of Thyme. You can pick it from your own garden, if you have one, or just use what's left over from what you may have purchased. Honestly, it would be so inexpensive to just buy some herb bunches and make the bouquet. This one has been sitting on the patio for a week...still looks pretty good...even though my cell phone pic is a bit blurry...but then again sometimes so am I. The thyme is a bit dried...but it adds a bit of character. So easy, looks fabulous and smells wonderful too~!!

Try it & Enjoy~!!!