And Do You Lilith?

If you are in Provence, and drive southwest you will pass through the Carcassone and arrive in Spain. There, just over the border from France in the small town of Girona you will find this very chic atelier and gallery. Palau de Casavells sent me their opening notice, and I immediately fell for their beautifully austere space, with its spare antiques and fresh modern art collection.

one of the artists featured at Palau de Casavalls:

Bernat Daviu Quera

love the vintage finds: long bench, the Gustavian clock, and

this sassy little chair at Palau de Casavells

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chic outdoor designed by Palau de Casavells

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opened in March 2010, Palau de Casavells is housed

in a 19th C. building, but their aesthetic is

firmly rooted in the 21st C.

artist: Ramon Enrich

artist: Mirco Marchelli

artist: Ramon Enrich

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And if you do drive south into Spain to see this stunning atelier, would you wear something oh so chic from Lilith? For women who love to be different, who love to be comfortable and wear beautiful clothes...and are not slaves to fashion...the French designer's "collection d'ete" is inspired by the jazz era in the 20's, a la Josephine Baker. I love these images of a breezy vacation somewhere in the south of France that Lilith is showing on their website.

Lilith collaborated with Camper to

design these delightful shoes!

this image strongly evokes the long, lazy days of

a summer in the South of France

adorable little outfits for l'ete 2011

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And if you do get to drive south into Spain, that means you probably flew into Nice or Marseilles? I haven't read this yet, but am captivated by the sheer escapism it promises...a delicious tale of getting over a broken heart in Provence. Looks like a bit of fun fluff for a long flight, non?

buy it here

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thanks for visiting! ... Kit

Cuisine du Soleil: Provence Artichokes!

Just in time for the weekend, a recipe to try using those gorgeous spring artichokes we are seeing in all the markets right now! Be careful, though...artichokes make everything you taste after eating them a little sweet...including wine! So choose carefully the wine you will serve with them! You'll get lots of advice on CHOWHOUND!

Provence Style Artichokes with Bacon

4 large, bell-shaped artichokes

1/2 lemon

8 oz smoked bacon pieces

freshly ground black pepper (optional)

freshly grated nutmeg (optional)

1/2 cup dry white Provencal wine

4 fresh bay leaves

a handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Serves 4

Tear off and discard the two outer base layers of leaves from the artichokes. Trim or peel the stems. Slice about 2 inches off the pointed tops of the leaves. Cut each globe in half lengthwise.

Use a spoon or a melon baller to dig out the fluffy choke. discard this and the tiny leaves around it. Rub the lemon over all the cut surfaces. Prepare all the artichokes in the same way.

Heat a large, heavy-based saucepan or flameproof casserole dish until very hot. Sizzle the bacon until the fat runs: about 3 minutes.

Add some pepper and nutmeg (if using), the wine, and bay leaves. Put the artichokes in the pan, cut side down. Cover tightly and cook over high heat for 5 minutes. Rearrange the artichokes so that the top layer is now at the bottom. Cover and cook over a medium-low heat for 20-25 minutes more. Test the top layer: the artichoke flesh must be easy to pierce with a fork. Continue cooking if necessary. Top up with extra wine if it looks sparse.

Serve the artichokes hot or warm, sprinkled with luscious reduced sauce and some chopped parsley.

Note: Quarter the artichokes, if necessary, to fit them in the pan

From France Today, originally published in Flavors of Provence by Clare Ferguson. Ryland Peters & Small, $21.95,

buy it here!

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in 2010, it's:

Kit Golson Design

for elegant, sustainable and pragmatic

Chic Provence Interior Design

Mille Mercis for the Blog Awards!

Two fabulous awards have come my way and I couldn't be more delighted!! Thank you Pam of Red Ticking and Jeanne-Aelia of Through the French Eye of Design for the honor, I am deeply grateful for the kind recognition from two of my very favorite bloggers!

from the delightful Pam, I now bestow on:

le petite cabinet des curiosoties

chic & broc

fabulously french

from the elegant & chic Jeanne-Aelia, I now bestow on:

toile de jouy

beadboard upcountry

french kissed

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in 2010, it's:

Kit Golson Design

for elegant, sustainable and pragmatic

Chic Provence Interior Design

A little Smile for Your New Year :)

We went over to the sea early New Year's morning to take Ollie for a long, well-deserved walk. Hadn't he sat through interminable holiday dinners and fetes and brunches and presents and giggling and laughing and toasting with barely a scrap thrown his way for nearly two weeks?

So we took him to the sea...his, and our, favorite place to just get away, breath the sparkling Pacific air and be surrounded by the mists and waves and sounds so unlike our living room, or office, or streets.

This picture of Ollie makes me laugh out loud!

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in the New Year, it's :

Kit Golson Design

for elegant, sustainable and pragmatic

Chic Provence Interior Design

Pavlova? or the 13 Desserts of Noel?

I've been looking for a special a dessert for our Christmas Eve celebration that is beautiful (of course!), delicious, simple, and that warms the spirit....and I found it! It's perfect!

Pavlova!

This delightful dessert is a designer's dream! Egg whites whipped into a silken alabaster pouf, the meringue a crisp and delicate base, filled with whipped cream, (so far it's pristinely white) then topped with a gorgeous array of fruits: the tart green of kiwis, the ruby red of strawberries, the deep coral of raspberries, the indigo of blueberries, the tangerine of, well, tangerines!

Made in honor of the ballerina Anna Pavlova on her 1923 tour of New Zealand, it is the epitome of elegant ease. I think even the Provencales would forgive me not putting out the traditional 13 desserts* this Christmas Eve when they see this confection!

Pavlova it is!

the top view of luscious Pavlova, the perfect ending

to Christmas Eve dinner

what could be more inviting for dessert?

Thanks to House of Annie for the Pavlova recipe and photos! Or for the American version (easier to follow!) check out Ina Garten's recipe.

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* Les Treize Desserts de Noel:

At Christmastime in Provence, in the south of France, there’s a tradition of having a Christmas meal consisting largely of vegetables, followed by 13 desserts. 13 signifies the number of people at the last supper – Christ and his 12 apostles. The table should be decorated with 3 candlesticks, representing the Trinity. The meal and dessert are eaten before the family goes to midnight mass on Christmas.

1. Black Nougats – Symbolizing evil – Hard candy made with honey and almonds.

2. White Nougats – Symbolizing good – Soft candy made with sugar, eggs, pistachios, honey, and almonds.

These four are supposed to symbolize beggars, represented by four religious orders (Franciscans, Dominicans, Carmelite Nuns, Augustinians):

3. Dried Figs

4. Almonds

5. Hazelnuts or other nuts

6. Dried Grapes

The symbol of Mary and Jesus’ safe journey from the East:

7. Dates

Some of the other desserts eaten, depending on the region, are:

Oranges

Clementines

Apples

Pears

Grapes

Quince Paste

Melon

Calissons d’Aix (almond-paste pastry with sugar icing)

Oil Cake called Fougasse or Pompe à l’huile (made with Orange Flower Water and Olive Oil)

Finally with these desserts, one drinks cooked wine, representing Jesus himself.

One must have a taste of each dessert to have good luck for the whole year.

the thought of 13 desserts is altogether

too much to contemplate this simpler Christmas!

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Contact Me!

Kit Golson Design

for elegant, sustainable and pragmatic

Chic Provence Interior Design

The {Rustic Chic} Oranges of Christmas

A Christmas tradition from my southern childhood, creating pomander balls by sticking cloves into oranges (or, more quickly, into limes and lemons) then hanging by ribbons or piling into a silver bowl, is a soothing, low key way to spend the rare quiet evening during the hectic holidays. I spotted these yesterday at Emily Joubert in Woodside, one of my favorite go-to shops for rustic elegance and naturally decorative things.

Pile these lovely creations into a silver bowl for chic and thrifty

elegance...photo courtesy of Emily Joubert in Woodside

The word pomander comes from the French "pomme d'ambre, meaning apple of ambergris." The ambergris was placed in decorative cases of gold, silver, ivory, or wood and worn around the neck or waist to protect against evil spirits and to sweetly scent the wearer. They originated in 16th Century France. Today they are a stunning, thrifty and chic way to add fragrance and atmosphere to a citrus-inspired Christmas!

An antique silver pomander,

of spherical form on domed foot,
divided into six segments released
by a turning top,
the exterior depicting dense foliage and flowers,
the interior engraved with hatched floral motifs,
each segment numbered and with slide-off cover

The Low Countries,
circa 1640

courtesy Wartski

This little lemon is covered completely

with cloves, and thus, will last

for years, giving wonderful

scents to closets and drawers.

Should you wish to gather the family around a fire and good music, with perhaps a raclette and some Nouveau Beaujolais for sustenance while you create, Organic Made Easy has a post on just how to make scented pomander balls!

Raclette, yum!

Nouveau Beaujolais

Single pomander gracing silver branches

courtesy of Gail Bartel, That Artist Woman!

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Kit Golson Design

for elegant, sustainable and pragmatic

Chic Provence Interior Design