Reading matter....

A while ago Claudia Strasser of The Paris Apartment posted a wishlist of books she'd found on Amazon, including the above book French Country Hideaways. I instantly fell in love with the cover and title and immediately added it to my wishlist.

Anyhoo, the other day I was driving back from our holiday house, on the freeway, when a massive storm hit, including hail. I thought it was best if I turned off and found undercover till the storm passed. I found a local shopping centre/mall and decided to go for a wander. I'd never been to this shopping centre before and they had so many delightful stores I'd never seen before. One of these stores was a simply sublime garden and homewares store called Veranda.

Walking inside was like stepping into utopia. The soft trickling sounds of the water features and the sweet chirping and whistling of the canaries in the biggest and most beautiful iron bird cages I'd ever seen. The theme is mostly French and Italian style. Stunning marble and stone dining tables, a large array of iron furniture. Water fountains, glassware, pet accessories........I wanted to buy the whole shop lol.

Needless to say, I found my book in this shop ever so unexpectdly. I was thrilled to see it there cause it's a book I had not found in any store (including Borders), and I figured I was going to have to pay the hefty Amazon shipping prices.

It's truly the most enchanting book, filled with Chateau's and stone farmhouses that almost brought a tear to my eye ;( lol. I have only started reading it but it seems to mostly focus on Local French families who have owned these estates for generations, and details their facinating history. Fortunately Starbucks was nextdoor and I couldn't wait to get comfy with my mocha and dive right in :)

Thank god for Sydney summer storms or I would never have found this marvelous book, shop and mall lol.

After reading Joni from Cote de Texas's post about the latest issue of Veranda magazine and myself blogging about the Veranda store in Sydney, I decided to quickly post some pics of my favourite issue of this splendid magazine.

March/April 2006 featured a cover story about a designer I had not heard of, by the name of Ginny Magher. Her home in Atlanta took my breath away as it's modelled on true Parisian architecture. The interior is equally exquisite. I adore her colour schemes. Her style is opulent, but to me, not over the top. She is such an inspiration. This is probably my favourite magazine article ever.

(please click for an extra large view)

http://www.veranda.com.au/index.asp

http://cotedetexas.blogspot.com/2008/02/veranda-magazine.html