On bikes, bijoux & boho style

I haven't had a new bike since I was 12 years old (red ten speed, for my birthday, which I rode the hell out of). Well in Annecy, you pretty much have to have a bike as driving/parking is impossible in centre town and besideswhich, there are bike paths every where. So hubby took me out early this week and we bought one for me, including cute pink helmet (not pictured here) and basket. I really wanted pink streamers for the handlebars, but none were to be found, wah! That afternoon, we biked to a beach on the lake for a quick swim. Heaven! It's been 34 degrees C here all week so it's great to have an easy, quick option to get to the lake. I'm wearing new sundress I picked up in the old town for 15 Euros. The only thrifted item is my faux Fossil purse found at a charity shop in the UK!

Not to be outdone, hubby got a new bike too - his was old and breaking down. So now we can cycle to the lake every day and view the mountains as we bike along the bike path and then drop into the wonderful clear waters of Lac Annecy! If you ever come to Annecy, you can rent a bike in a shop in the old town for half a day for 10 Euros. There are bike paths around most of the lake, though there is a section on the east side that is only road. We cycle on the west side, where there's a bike path that links you up to hotels, bars & restos, and, of course, beaches.

Here's a pic of us at one such resto, which is actually a hotel with a resto overlooking the lake called Auberge de Letraz. Not sure what the hotel was like, but our meal was lovely, as was the service (we were lucky to get in without reservations). Not cheap, but then you tend to pay for lake-side dinners in Annecy! I'm wearing a dress I bought at Macy's  in the USA for my best friend's wedding just over two years ago - it's not the same dress I met hubby in, but I did meet him on that trip! The shoes are Italian, thrifted, and the vintage necklace was a buck.

Other news: I've had some lovely new bling-y additions to my wardrobe of late. My husband found me this handmade ring while he was away, and he scored bigtime. He perfectly knows my love for sparkly stuff on the one hand, and for rough-hewn pieces on the other. Love!

He also bought me the bracelet on the bottom, a handmade filigree beaut with carnelian, possibly coral stones?

The blue one is another recent gift, this time from gal pal Diane who visited me a few weeks ago. She bought a similar one for herself so we're now bracelet buds. They're fabric bracelets with pretty charms attached to them, made by a young third-generation jeweller who has just recently set up shop in Annecy. A more stylish version of a friendship bracelet, I'd say!

The third one up I bought recently from a young lady who has also just opened a shop in the old town. I actually saw a similar one online and thought, "I could make that." But finding florescent ribbon and a brass bracelet in Annecy hasn't been so easy, so I bought this one pour moi.

The top bracelet I have shown here before; it was bought in a Toronto, Canada thrift shop last Fall, for maybe $30 CAD. Expensive for the GQ but it was so unique and in such good condition that I had to have it.

This pic is a bit blurry (still training hubby) but I wanted to show you what I call the "nightie" dress. I bought it (along with a bunch more, which I still have to show you) at the weekly market for 5 Euros. Yes, it's made in China and yes, it's not finished all that well (had to sew up a few seams before wearing it). But it's no different from the frocks in the old town I'd pay triple the price for, and truth be told, all you want to wear in Annecy in the summer is a simple pull-over-your-head sundress. I love the hippie style, one that's perfectly at home in bohemian-esque Annecy. I'm wearing it with Clarks sandals thrifted in the UK, and a 1970s "Jontue" perfume  disc necklace (with solid perfume intact, inside the disc!) with a teeny turquoise-hued stone in the centre. Bracelet was a two-pound find from a UK auction house.

On a final note, I had to show you a spider's home, woven into the grate of our bedroom window, which I snapped the other day. (Do I have too much time on my hands? Yes, but it's glorious). I wonder how long it took the little guy to make? I haven't actually seen a spider inhabiting it, so perhaps he's relocated to less sunny climes. Or maybe he's the one who's been hanging from one of the corners of our bedroom for the past few weeks? Regardless, I won't disturb either.

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On castles, magic & mystery in Annecy

I've been MIA the past few weeks as we've had friends and family visiting us in gorgeous Annecy. It's been a busy, fun and often magical time. Aside from popping my head out of Medieval castle turrets (at the Chateau Montrottier near Annecy), here's what I've been up to of late (looking forward to slowly catching up with all of you too):

I've had a lovely little reunion with my longtime cat babies, Dag and Dinky, from whom I've been separated about six months. They made the journey from Canada in the plane's cabin with my fam and weathered the stress pretty well thanks to some natural calming pills. Now they're settling into their new French home!

I've basked in the middle of Lac Annecy in a rented boat. Lac Annecy is a spring-fed (and mountain-fed) lake that's super clear and clean. I wonder how much a second-hand boat would cost? All I want to do now is hang out on the lake. I'm wearing a swimsuit bought on sale at Monoprix, a French department store, and a hat picked up in the Old Town.

I've also explored a river gorge (Gorges di Fier) sporting a dress I found at the Annecy market for 8 Euros - I bought FIVE dresses from the same vendor for the same price. Lesson learned: look for rips and tears along the seams as none are finished that well - hopefully they won't fall off me as I wear them!

I've watched an amazing 70-minute firework display unfurl over Lac Annecy for its annual Fete du Lac on August 4th, an event that's been happening since Napoleon's time. It was set to music and was as awe-inspiring as the lake and the mountains....

Aside from visiting with and touring around the area with family, I also had the chance to catch up with a  Canadian gal pal I've known since I was a little girl. We went out every night and toured Annecy's sights my day - and also treated ourselves to French Champagne (can be pricey but a 20 Euros bottle, the cheapest in the store, was recommended to us by a local and it was just fine), meringues and raspberry pastries. Decadence!

We toured Annecy's famous prison, which has been around since 1325 and perhaps even earlier and has served various functions over time, including an old-folks' home and a mint. Today it is part art gallery, part museum.

It was a cool day so we went to the Chateau in Annecy, another Medieval gem which overlooks the lake and entire town and houses an avante-garde art museum as well as a museum about the lakes in the region.

I'm wearing my fave 7 for all Mankind jeans found in a UK charity shop, an American Apparel "Flashdance" sweatshirt, a thrifted scarf and pendant and my fave NEW shoes/sandals bought for half off in Annecy (loved them so much I bought a grey pair too, for shame!). I've been wearing second-hand shoes for so long that it felt good to indulge in some new ones, which of course have that chic French look to them.

This castle was so amazing. I wish they had more information on how people lived in these mammoth places.

We went back the next day to finish touring the castle and stood in fireplaces big enough to be small rooms by today's standards. I'm wearing espadrilles thrifted in Canada and my recent Etsy purchase, a lovely vintage Ikat purse. Orange looks crappy on me so I tend to be drawn to pumpkin-hued accessories.

We marveled over drawings on the castle walls (a partially-obscured gentleman wearing a feather-plumed hat and a lady walking behind him), which no one could tell us about, alas.

We also were astonished to see the bones of "sirens du Lac", or mermaids, found in Lac Annecy, and preserved under glass. There were extensive photos of the excavation site as well. I still need to investigate the full story here as the placards were all in French and we couldn't understand the explanation, other than that the bones were found in the lake exactly like this. Mmm.

This is the view from the front of the castle, which is accessible to the public only if you pay the few Euros admission. It's well worth it, if only to gasp at the lake and the rest of Annecy sprawling out from under the castle. I plan on coming back often. Wonder if they have a rate for locals who want to visit all the time?

I'm wearing: a vintage Tudor rose pendant by English maked "Miracle", thrifted at a Canadian Goodwill for a few bucks. Dress is a cheapie new one picked up in a tourist shop in the Old Town - perfect for the easy breezy summer style of Annecy!

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Amateur blogger pics & a second-hand purchase in France!

Sorry for the blurry pic - I need to train dear hubby on blog photog-ing! We went out for dinner last night, and, in spite of having this 70s shawl for seven or so years (I showed it to you a while back), I took said shawl out for its first public outing ever last night. The days are gloriously warm here but the evenings are deliciously cool ... perfect for shawls and scarves. I also took the vintage purse I bought at auction in the UK out for its first dinner date.

I snapped the remaining pics in my hallway to give hubby a break - so sorry, you get to see the 'ole blogger-with-camera-showing-in-the-mirror thing. But seriously, we have these great big long and well-lighted hallways in our place, and all these closets with sliding mirrored doors - they were just screaming "amateur blogging photoshoot" to me!!

I'm also showing you never-seen-before Grunge Queen content, namely, this MEXX dress I thrifted at Goodwill years ago in Canada for $6.99 if memory serves, which I've worn only twice! I love the high-waist, pleats and girly flounce - this dress would rock on so many body types.

I bought this brass and wood (?) necklace, whose era I can't quite place (1940s?) at a Toronto garage sale for $25 a few years ago. It was a lot of cash for a garage sale find, but I've worn it heaps, and I just love it. I can glam it up with a dress, or rock it out with jeans and a stylish top.

I look cross-eyed here - maybe I'm just mesmerized by my "new" sandals, which are second-hand and actually purchased in France, yay! I found another vintage shop in the Old Town, which also sells accessories and home items made by local artists. They weren't cheap (49 Euros), but then again, nothing's cheap in Annecy, and besides which, they're in mint condition: black suede Ugg cork wedgie sandals, super super comfy, with the added bonus of being stylish AND having enough coverage to protect my poor little mashed up toes on my right foot, which I keep dislocating and which now look like wee French sausages as they're perpetually swollen! 

Enough toe woes. I'm getting silly here, and wreaking the image of the glamourous fashion blogger that you must have of me! Time to get out there in the glorious sunshine and do some serious summer frolicking around the lake. Hope you all have a great day! Next time you see me, I will have hopefully learned how to do the auto-shoot on my hubby's camera!

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Blue girl & watery daydreams

You've already seen this charity shop dress, but I haven't shown you this jacket for a long time - an Escada denim jacket with distressed puffs - that I picked up for TWO DOLLARS at the $2 Clothing Sale in Toronto. I just love wearing dresses with cropped denim jackets, and I've been seeing the look on some of your blogs. It's so easy-breezy simple. Nowhere is that easy-breeziness more applicable than where I live now in France, land of the clear, clean lake, mountains and blue blue skies. Which may explain why I am wearing a lot of blue these days. The marine look is all over Monoprix, the department store you see over my shoulder: white capris, striped tops and marine blue cable-knit sweaters.

This water is so inspirational. I'm used to the dingy, opaque canal in Ottawa, Canada. The canal here, which feeds into the lake, is wonderfully clear. They say Lac Annecy is the cleanest lake in all of Europe. No murky, mysterious depths to worry over!

I'm still trying to find out what I'm going to do here work-wise and to keep me busy, when I'm not exploring with hubby - but, with scenery such as this, I'm going to try not to worry about it. I haven't worked in 8 months, and I'm surprisingly not freaked out. Leaving the hustle bustle has been good for my soul, methinks.

Maybe I'll take up photography and produce semi-artsy shots like this one? I loved this boat along the canal - I thought it was very Grunge Queen, with the leaking water, old umbrella and tire, and semi-mangy flowers. It's the kind of boat I'd feel right at home in!

I've been dreaming about tip-toeing out in the wee hours and sliding into this calm, pool-like subsidiary of the canal. I love how it just seems to stop at the edge of the running waters of the canal, and how the trees drip over it and make it even more private. I found it on a quiet pathway along the canal, and I almost slipped into it with my dress on as there was no one around. Maybe I would have transformed into a water nymph and lived there forever!

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What to buy in the Annecy Markets

I promised to show you the two markets that take place under our window every week - here's a view of the food market, which happens three times a week. Here we buy mostly local fruit and veg, cheese, sausage and so on - the local repas du jour is cheese, bread and sausage and it's a wonder people aren't grossly overweight with that kind of eating ... but in fact every one is lithe and fit. We fit right in, haha.

I snapped a pic of the market when it wasn't busy - by 11 a.m. or noon the streets are teeming with people and you can hardly move. I buy my fruit and veggies from a gent named Verdi and his two brothers. They usually throw in a few free peaches grown in the mountains - a nice perk. If you visit, you simply must buy the (cured, pork) sausage, or as the French say, les saucissons - I'm pluralizing as you can't just get one - they are too delish (and this coming from a gal who doesn't do a lot of meat). The more you buy, the cheaper the price gets (five Euros for one, 15 Euros for five) - and you can get every flavour. Our fave so far: the one with the mushrooms inside. You can also buy a large tub of seasoned olives of every kind (sweet or hot) for between 7-10 Euros, and it lasts for weeks.

The antique market, meanwhile, is the last Saturday of every month. It goes on from around 8 a.m. to 5 or 6p.m., so there's plenty of time to rummage. There's a little bit of everything, though I'd say the vintage clothing, accessories and jewellery pickings are sparse - perhaps a good thing for a lover of beautiful things like moi.

What jewellery there was, wasn't really my style - a bit old-fashioned.

But my eagle-eye landed upon this substantial 1970s gold-tone and faux turquoise necklace - for only eight Euros! A screaming deal for Annecy, my friends. And it just so happens to go with my blue-green dress that I bought in the old town (pictured below).

Plenty of cowbells here, folks (at least I think that's what they are). There's an annual festival in town in October that's called Retour des Alpages - part of an old tradition marking the return of the the cows (whose milk is used for cheese) from the mountains, where they've been grazing all summer. Apparently they parade the cows through the streets of the old town before they put them in their fall and winter digs inside, and there's a whole day's festivities associated with big event. Love it.

We're surrounded by the French Alps, so there's no shortage of skis, sleds and other rustic wooden implements and furniture. Another great local find are lakeside or mountain paintings, like the ones you see propped against the canal railing. I spied some beautiful tiny paintings of the lake, but some were as pricy as 150 Euro. I would love to have a work of art depicting local scenery in our place, but will hold out spending that kind of cash until we see one we both love and can't live without.

Another thing I saw a lot of: ornate tin boxes, most of them larger and more rustic looking than the one pictured above. I really loved this one (but didn't buy it as it was 40 Euros!) as it was so folky looking. Maybe next time.

This was the least rustic Alpine booth of all so I thought I'd show it to you: I call it the Mod corner.

We need a chair in our apartment - and wouldn't you know, I found this one right under my window! You know my penchant for green velvet upholstered furniture. (I left a chair and a loveseat on the sidewalk in Toronto when I moved, as I couldn't get any charity to pick them up, wah). This one was comfy, slightly worn (my preference, always), with a strong wooden frame. Price: 135 Euros, but we could have talked the guy down, I bet. Mon mari wasn't convinced that it would show beautifully in our lovely pad, but I know I'm right: let me work on him for three weeks until the next market. If it's still there, we wouldn't have to try too hard to get it into our apartment!

We did come home with this beaut of a rug, old, worn and featuring an almost Peacock blue that is rare in rugs of this kind. What started off as 50 Euros went down to 30 Euros the longer we stood there and hemmed and hawed (thought of course I knew it would work, and ultimately darling hubby deferred to my decor authority). And it does indeed look grand in our huge living room, and actually complements the one old Persian rug I did bring with me.

All in all, in spite of a few freaky-scary dolls, it was a fun day . The next market is July 28, and I'll be there!

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Annecy the beautiful, and a marche under my window

Hello my friends, I hope you're all well and happy and wearing lovely thrifty outfits. I've been MIA as we've been settling into our new home, having now been in the lovely Annecy for two weeks. This is the view from a cafe in the old town around the corner from where we live, overlooking the canal that leads to the lake. So gorg!

This is me our first night in Annecy, on my B-day, wearing my "Wonderful Wife" pin and sucking back the vino along with a huge pot of hot cheese and a loaf of bread bigger than my head - the meal du jour for tourists is cheese fondue, btw.

If you ever visit Annecy be forewarned: things aren't cheap here, especially in the old town where we live, which is a tourist haven. A bottle of coke will run you almost 5 Euro in the cafes - only slightly less than a beer or verre du vin - so it's almost better to drink booze! The Haute Savoie region is known for its white wines because of the climate (which is similar to Canada, come to think of it, just not as cold in the winter).

And Lac Annecy? Well what can I say? With the mountains behind it, it's glorious - and the water is clear and clean. On hot days such as this, people are swimming, boating, water skiiing and paddling on the lake. Every one here is slim and fit and tanned and healthy looking - hopefully we'll soon be looking like the locals instead of like tourists!

It's been so hot here - and I wanted to tan my fish-belly white legs - so I bought a short sundress that matched the colour of the lake in the sun - for only 15 Euro, a steal for the old town! I know you're dying to hear of the shopping - only one second-hand store that I've found, but more on that at another time as I have to tell you about the markets! The bag is a fake Fossil found at a charity shop, as are the leather Clarks sandals.

Not only do we have a fresh produce market outside our window three times a week where we buy local cheeses, fruit and veggies, and sausage (the fondue was a one-off as we're eating so healthily we're losing weight) ... but we also have a marche au brocante (basically a second-hand market) once a month in the same place! This is the view from our window. I have so many pics to show you that I will dedicate the next post to the market ... and what we bought! Bye for now. xo

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