The start of an adventure

The day is finally here...in a few minutes I depart for Marseille airport to pick up our very first French Muse Experience guests.

'La Joie est dans chaque heure'.... 'Happiness & Joy is to be found in each hour'.

It seems only fitting that this antique sundial crowns the family bastide which we have chosen as the home for our upcoming May French Muse experience.

Corey and I are giddy with nerves and excitement and the schedule is so delicious that I can't wait to realise all the wonderful things planned, the meetings with creative people and the hidden collections we will pour over.

We have been busying ourselves to prepare the Luberon Bastide we will call home for the next week. We fell for the 'Vieille France' or old world charm of this family home. In the bedrooms are family 'armoires de mariage' filled with antique monogrammed linens, tufted Provencal boutis and beautiful hand knitted bed throws.

"According to French tradition, the wedding armoire was ordered by a father when his daughter was born. It was typically hand carved with symbols of wealth, prosperity and lovebirds, and given to a girl during adolescence. As the girl grew up, she would fill it with her trousseau, clothing for Sundays, everyday dresses, lingerie and embroidered linens that she had prepared with initials of her future family. She would take it with her to her new home after she was wed."

Family portraits on the walls, a personal entomology collection, vaisseliers filled with beautiful antique printware, Provencal pottery and crystal. Each piece lovely on its own but combined they weave a whisper of the last 100 years of family dinners shared in this wonderful family home.

Corey describes it so perfectly...

"The French Muse Experience is for anyone who would like to visit Provence by following their heart, by indulging their senses, and through experiencing first hand what we have lived for years. The old things found at flea markets, second hand shops and friend’s attics. The ever changing landscape dipped in color – that scents our table and dances throughout our lifestyles. We take pleasure in the day to day beauty which has helped us create our homes."