Chenonceau

I'm three posts in to an Austin-centric blog & here I am posting about...France. I can't help myself. Our family is just back from two lovely weeks in France & the trip was just as lovely as can be.

On the design front, the big winner of the trip was the chateau  Chenonceau. There was such a beautiful simplicity to it's design, especially when compared to other more ornate, castle-like chateaus. Chenonceau is known for being one of the first chateaus designed with pleasing aesthetics in mind, instead of protection. It was built for  Diane de Poitiers the king's mistress, who was later booted out by the king's wife, Catherine de Medici. The feminine influence is apparent here, this is no hunting lodge. The gallery, pictured below was so lovely & has inspired some ideas for my someday dining room re-do (stay tuned.)

My Deep Eddy Summer

I would love to say that my Deep Eddy summer is all about being active with the family & cooling off in the lovely Deep Eddy swimming pool. If you can carve out some time to do that this summer, I highly recommend it. If you are like me, though, & traveling/working/parenting, you might only have that luxury a time or two this summer. If that's case, you can still call this your Deep Eddy Summer by indulging in the out-of-this- world Deep Eddy Grapefruit Vodka. Lots of ice, your favorite tonic (make mine Fever Tree!) a squeeze of lime & there you have it. Your Deep Eddy Summer.

*this post was not brought to you by Deep Eddy Vodka, but if you're reading, D.E.V. I would joyfully accept your sponsorship :)

The Lovely Josephine House

 

Josephine House Restaurant is the little Clarksville cottage of my dreams. I particularly love the white horizontal paneling, white marble, great lightning (will need to see if I can find out their source) & navy-ish exterior. I've almost never met a french door I didn't love & the fresh flowers were elegant yet undone enough to feel at home in Austin. While I (obviously) love the aesthetic, what I loved the most was my server's response to my beverage indecisiveness. When I asked, "Is it too early for a Paloma?" he responded "Noon?! On a Thursday?! No way!" 

I met my client & new friend, Lisa, for lunch & catching up time. She has only just moved to Austin & our family is just back from a blissful two weeks in France (more on that later), so we had lots to talk about. Josephine House is a great place for that type of lunch.

So nevermind that it was 11:40am on a Wednesday, that Paloma was delicious.