Sharon Santoni || My French Country Home
One of the things I love most about having this little blog and about social media is connecting with amazing people from different parts of the world and sharing in all the interests we have in common. This past weekend I met the inspired and lovely Sharon Santoni from My French Country Home.
Sharon's beautiful and inspiring blog is about her french country home and stunning gardens in Normandy. She is also author of two beautiful books- My French Country Home and her latest one My Stylish French Girlfriends. Her insight into authentic French country living is invigorating and of course daydreaming is sure to ensue (at least for me!) after a good dose of reading her blog. Her Instagram is also pretty dreamy (you can take a peek at a corner of my family room in her feed as we enjoyed tea together!). And because maintaining a countryside chateau and gardens and writing books and keeping a blog is not enough, Sharon recently launched a business called My Stylish French box, where she curates a selection of her favorite French items to bring a french touch to your home a few times a year. And I was lucky enough to get one of these delicate and beautiful boxes! This makes such a special gift! I couldn't wait to open my box....it was filled with beautiful and perfect items that are already adding warmth and splendor to my home. Since this was February's box I won't spoil the surprise by showing you what was inside and how perfectly it came wrapped!
My favorite new phrase!- Prendre le Temps - Take your Time....
The beautiful print is by the very talented Jeanne McKay Hartmann whom I love following on Instagram for one of the prettiest and happiest feeds around. Her watercolors are bewitching and take you on a mental vacation to all lovely places. All the boxes this year will have one of her prints, so you can collect them all! Want to know the degrees of separation and how I met Sharon? Well my sweet friend Elizabeth Moyer from Pretty Pink Tulips is good friends with Jeanne. So I naturally learned about Jeanne and her beautiful work. And it was through Jeanne that I met Sharon! In this case, social media worked well in connecting us. And I'm so glad of it. Thank you sweet Elizabeth and Jeanne.
And here are all my delicate and perfect French goodies together! From a special handmade porcelain cup, to the best smelling soaps from the house of Fragonard...what a perfect medley of little luxuries! For details on everything in my box you can read about it here. If you are intrigued by the concept and want to get yourself or a friend a A Stylish French Box you can do so here.
But what I really want to do is go on one (either one!) of Sharon's lovely tours in France. She has a two day floral tour complete with a trip to the Paris Floral Market, flower arranging classes and high tea at the George V Hotel in Paris. The second and longer tour is a Vintage Shopping tour in Northern France with trips to the Paris Flea Market and with entrance to Antique fairs. This one promises to be exhilarating if antiques are your thing. I would happily sing up for both!! To learn more about her tours go here.
Beautiful Sharon is worthy of admiration for so many reasons- her lovely character, her drive to reinvent herself, her fabulous taste, her charisma, her enthusiasm for one of the most beautiful culture's in the world...to name a few. I'm just glad I got to meet her and spend a little time with her.
[All photos by AC]