le french freak out.

ici

bonjour tout le monde! i am going un petit peu crazy trying to plan our trip to Europe next week (eep!). basically, i want an authentic city by city or region by region experience via hotels or airbnb every place i visit- is that too much to ask? i feel that if you go to Paris for instance, you should stay in a place that has a spiral staircase or an old wooden & iron gated lift, gorgeous chevron hardwood floors and a big, old, skeleton key to get in: like this dream Parisian apartment. likewise, if you were to stay by the beach in Sydney, you should get an array of colourful beach towels at your disposal, a hills hoist out the back and maybe a pair of complimentary 'thongs' (flip flops) for your stay. it's a mystery to me that most hotels are still so bland and run of the mill.

i have been desperate to find a lovely lavender filled place of perfection somewhere in Provence and stumbled upon this incredible place: D'une Ile. unfortunately it is in Normandy, so will have to wait for another time, but the owner was helpful enough to put me onto this incredible website, which i am now subscribed to and outright obsessed with. you choose which region in France you wish to stay in and what type of experience you are after, i.e. cuisine, tradition & crafts, wine, etc. i could not be happier; everything is coming up lavender!

the making of my dream home: kitchen.

next up is the dream home kitchen. it will have an old wood burning stove, pops of colour, great floors, pots that hang from the ceiling, a beautiful sink area and tiles for sure. thank you, pinterest.

daydreaming of: the south of france.

we are headed to le Côte d'Azur in may…

ici et la

the making of my dream home: exterior.

so, i reached 10,000 followers on pinterest sometime last month and have been too busy to shout out a little 'yippee' for it and let you all know. i am constantly on there searching for inspiration (i find it really relaxing) and day dreaming about my future home…amongst other things i.e. awesome outfits, crafts for a rainy day, etc. i thought i would celebrate this mini milestone by building my dream home, pinterest style. let's start with the exterior. i'm thinking it will either end up being an awesome cabin style place with lots of wood…in the woods…or a creamy, colourful, old european style house somewhere along a cobblestone road. it might also be an old farmhouse somewhere or a converted barn. it will definitely be earthy, bohemian, cute and full of character.

all in the family; homestead.

my uncle grew up in a beautiful old wooden farm house in the middle of the saskatchewan prairies. there was no indoor heating and he said he would sometimes wake up with frost on his face in the morning. one day, his father moved the family to a new home just a couple of kilometres away. they left most of their large possessions behind; mattresses, curtains, a sewing machine and organ are all exactly where they left them. my uncle still lives in the family house they moved into now, with my aunt and two cousins. they took me to see the old place while i was home this winter; where pigeons have now made their home in this dilapidated nest, there is no glass on any of the windows and everything was covered in snow. this was pure magic, you can't make a story like this up.

pretty picture of the day.

this is my favourite shot from home.

follow me: @little_nicki_

walking in a winter wonderland.

my trip home, at a glance: