Le Petit Marche

Friday, September 28, 2012

Blooming Flowers

Although it's autumn as the chilly evenings tell me along with all the leaves changing colors and falling from the trees there are still flowers in bloom in some of the gardens around town, even my geraniums on my balcony are holding up pretty well since we still have those warm sunny days.  Today is the last day for the ESN scavenger hunter theme on color and many of the hunters have many colorful items for offer for all the seasons of the year.  I'm still operating in summer time mode though so I chose a floral plate from Katzzs Kloset that is just bursting with colorful blooms. Please stop on by and visit all the fine merchants at Ecrater Stores Network for your fall, winter and holiday shopping needs, there's a bountiful mother lode of merchandise to choose from!


Monday, September 24, 2012

Bursting with Color

Autumn (commonly referred to as "fall") has commenced in Colorado and even down here in the low altitude (5,763 ft) the leaves are changing color and the brilliant yellows, reds,oranges and light greens are so vibrant.  The days are still warm but the nights are already cooler.  You really know it's fall when it's time for the annual elk rut (breeding season).  There is nothing quite like it and this year is no different.  Estes Park (7,522 ft) will be celebrating the 14th annual Elk Fest this week-end with Native Americans dancing, storytelling and to teach about the "wapiti" (native american word for elk).  Elk are everywhere in Estes Park, just watch out for the bulls, their antlers can be dangerous!  It's going to be a great week-end listening to the bulls with all their different sounds to get the females to notice them.  There might even be a few bull fights (head butting, entangling antlers, very LOUD and kind of scary too, I've seen a few).  Le Petit Marché doesn't have any elk stuff or other autumn colored things in the store but it still bursts with color with this cute colored floral top. I guess it's got some fall kind of colors.

Also bursting with vibrant colors for Christmas is the lovely sleigh.  Look at it overflowing with all it's colorful contents!  What a fun decorator piece for the holiday. Stop on by my store, Le Petit Marché, and see what other colorful clothing and Christmas items I have!


Friday, September 21, 2012

Audiobooks are Great!

Today is the last day of the ESN scavenger hunters theme on books.  There is nothing more rewarding than reading a good book.  And although today we have kindles, nooks, ipads and other e-readers out there, for me there is nothing like the feel of a book with actual paper pages that you can turn, there's just something about the feel of a "real" book that is comforting.  But audiobooks have their place too.  Especially for a road trip.  I remember some years ago a few friends and myself took a road trip up to Grand Forks, North Dakota to visit some friends.  We decided a good audiobook would help pass the time so we decided to listen to "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris, and actually he read it himself.  It is so hilarious, especially since he is reading it himself.  Reading the book yourself pales in comparison to him reading it on audiotape.  I can't remember how many CD's are in it now, but it sure helped to pass the time laughing hysterically all the way north! But if comedy is not for you, you might enjoy a mystery thriller audiobook from Sirocco's Curios.

Great to listen to while making dinner, doing laundry, or just relaxing.   For other fine books from cooking to crafting and everything in between come visit all the booksellers at Ecrater Stores Network to see what book might grab your imagination.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

So Many Books to Read - Wish I had the Time!

There are so many titles and volumes of books to read, where does one find the time?  I mostly read in bed for 30 minutes or so every night, so it takes me a while to get through a book, especially anything by Ken Follett or Leo Tolstoy (Anna Karenina being one of my faves!).  I was fortunate enough to read 6, yes, 6 books this summer on the job!  What stroke of luck was that?  Three were fiction, fun escapism and 3 were self-help.  I figure if I don't have the time to seek outside help I may as well try and help myself, right? :)  This weeks theme on ESN is books.  I don't have many books in my store but I have this one that is kind of cool. It's an art book, an American art book at that.  So if you don't like reading all that much and want to look at pictures then you may enjoy this one.  It does have bios and photos of the artists and is chock full of colorful paintings.  It's from the Northeastern Competition.  So stop on by Le Petit Marché to have a look at it or the other few books I have on offer.  And if art isn't for you, there are many booksellers at Ecrater Stores Network that have many different titles and genre's that might interest you.  


Sunday, September 16, 2012

Fruit, Real or Fake are Lovely in Decorative Bowls

I was pondering fruit bowls and was wondering why everyone all over the world likes them, whether they be filled with real fruit or handcrafted fruit items of many differing materials.  I couldn't find a definitive answer but I'm going to guess it's just like having vases of flowers around the house, to add charm, decoration and ambiance.  Of course, I suppose most of us would only put decorative fruit bowls in kitchens, dining rooms or living rooms.  Flowers of course can go in any room.  I myself, have a lovely handmade plate from Fez, Morocco on my counter in my kitchen that at this moment I have oranges, apples and an avocado in.  And as I look around my condo I realize I have dried lavender bunches hanging in my living room and both bedrooms.  Wrapping up this week's  scavenger hunter's theme of fruit at Ecrater Stores Network I chose a lovely bowl of agate fruit from Sirocco's Curios.  It does have a few eggs in the basket, not sure how eggs correlate to fruit, but I guess you always get a fruit garnish with your scrambled eggs at restaurants. 
So stop on by to check out this lovely assortment and visit all the other fine merchants at ESN who have fruit items that you may fancy.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

I Love Fruit! But I don't eat Bananas...

I do love fruit, almost all kinds of fruit.  The only fruit I can't eat "as is" is the lovely banana.  I can eat it in smoothies, breads, and of course a banana split (yummy!) but I can't just peel one and eat it, it makes the roof of my mouth itch so bad, and I then look like a dufus because I try to scratch the roof of my mouth with my tongue, so I therefore look very monkey like.  So I don't eat bananas.  But fruit is the theme of the week at Ecrater Stores Network and while I was rummaging around my store looking for something to write about I came across this lovely Pineapple Shape Wooden Bowl.  It's just a mini bowl, but perfect for a single size serving of just about any kind of fruit, or candy or mints, or potpourri, or... whatever you like!  So stop on by Le Petit Marché to look around and see what other household goods I have available. 

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Those Who Labor Over Their Handcrafted Wares

I've never been very good at crafting anything when it came to textiles and such.  I can barely put a photo album or scrapbook together.  I can, however, craft stellar meals of French and Moroccan cuisine (including the famous Moroccan mint tea, with the requisite elaborate pouring from the pot included!)  Spending fair amounts of time in both countries I have learned how to cook with labors of love.  The ESN theme of this week is Labor Day.  Well, I've already had my say about Labor Day and what it means to me on Monday.  So I'm just going to go ahead and feature two lovely ladies who are members of ESN who labor probably almost every day making their items for their stores.  There is Embroidery Fashions Boutique who specializes in embroidery on tee shirts, hats and other items.  Her stuff is pretty cool and I bet it takes a lot of labor to make all the things she does, not to mention to find the items to do this stuff on.  Here's a sample of her work.  Pretty cool for Halloween, eh?
Then there is Nancy's Doll Closet who designs beautiful American Girl Dolls dresses and accessories.   Both of these handcrafters deserve a Labor Day off!  Hope you did enjoy it girls.