St Remy de Provence is my closest village and the place where I do most of my day to day shopping. It is a very quaint and pretty town with plenty of home wares shops and galleries to browse in.
This week, as I was getting myself organized for the arrival of some Australian friends, I decided to take a wander around the village and see what is new this summer in the boutiques. Summer is the busiest season in St Remy (for me and the town) and other than the Wednesday market for food shopping I never seem to find the time to visit my favourite spots.
Saint Remy is the home of gorgeous quilts or 'boutis' as they are called here and I find them quite impossible to resist. I use them as bedspreads, picnic rugs or tablecloths - even stacked up in a corner or layered on an open shelf they look wonderful. The market is a fantastic place to find them as they are fairly inexpensive and they come in a multitude of colours, sizes and designs. There are several shops that also sell these 'boutis' in the village - my favourite being N.M Deco. This shop is stocked full of not only table wares and linens but also beautiful glassware and painted furniture. The window display and the presentation of the goodies inside is superb -loads of inspiration to be found.
These are my latest finds from N.M Deco- the best thing is that they are reversible and just as pretty on either side. I normally go for a more simple style but somehow I succumbed to a dose of prettiness - I set the table with the two pink ones and used the smaller 'blue roses' on a side table, it looked wonderful, especially with vases of white roses from the garden.
The other shop I have re- fallen in love with is 'Olives Huiles du Monde'. This shop, tucked away in a courtyard on the circumference of the village, specializes in products to do with olive oil - they sell many local brands, different bottles and pourers for use at home and all sorts of skin care and beauty items that are made with olive oil. In another part of the shop they have a range of food items, tapenades, jams and syrups plus a small area devoted specifically to truffles. They also stock a range of bath soaps, gels and interior sprays called Place de Lice which are heaven - I can't wait to run the bath and start splashing. These soaps are packed in fine muslin bags - almost too pretty to open and I couldn't stop inhaling the sweet perfume of the oval bars. These particular soaps were a mixture of citrus and melon scents - very fresh and a little tangy.
The other brand of bathroom goodies I found in the village , also delicious, are the Cote Bastide products - my personal picks are the 'fleur d'oranger' and the 'figuer'. This is a widely known brand and I think already exported all over the world but it is still one of the most delightful. Their packaging is very old fashioned and the scents make them seem almost edible.
I love the beaded strings that tie the bath salts and the bath gels that almost look like old fashioned medicine bottles.
I managed to wander around all afternoon browsing and buying the things I needed and those that I didn't - it felt like the greatest luxury to meander around this cute little village and completely lose track of the time . xv
No comments:
Post a Comment