My Place and Your's - My Collection

images; shelley t for galmont

This week's theme queen, Kate, chose 'My Collection' as the meme theme for this week. Being a collecting fiend I could've shown you my chairs which take up every spare space I have, but you've seen many of them; there was no point in showing you my little coloured vases either as you've seen pics of those too; my French barware is scattered all around the place; and to try and gather all my Shelley china collection (mostly gifts from friends and family....I'm lucky like that!) would've taken a bit of an effort; so I took the lazy way out and took a few pictures down at Galmont.

Ah yes, my collection of original vintage posters. Of course, it is a little bigger than it once was and many people come by and check them out and some people even buy them and take them away. But they will always be my true collecting love. And it is exciting to me that other people get a thrill from them too.

PS. If you are new to Femme de Montmartre (a very warm welcome!) check out any posts labelled Home Matters Series and you will see some of the other collections I have spoken about.

My Christmas - Tess McCabe

I like quiet achievers, you know the type, they just get on with things and don't blow their own trumpets, but are reliable and always come up with beautiful creations that deserve a bit of 'trumpet-blowing'. Well, Tess McCabe is one of those people, she has her own graphic design practice, her own fabric design company (just look at the gorgeous little number to the right!) and she heads up a wonderful group called Creative Women's Circle organising meetings and events for women here in Melbourne who have their own creative arts businesses.

This is Tess McCabe's Christmas;

Early childhood aside, I've never been a huge fan of Christmas. My family is neither large nor religious, and I spent my early 20s working in a suburban mall, which is probably the worst place to foster a healthy regard for general human kindness around Christmas time!

Currently, my siblings and I are hovering in the post-childhood, pre-parenthood ether, so Christmas for us these days is pretty low-key. But my favourite Christmas Day memories are from my tween/teen years, when The Treasure Hunt was a tradition.

Growing up, "Santa" would always bring us small gifts that would keep us amused early Christmas morning while our parents slept in until a respectable hour, after which the real gift-giving would begin. But come 11 or 12 years of age, in our stocking on Christmas morning we would find a short, handwritten piece of paper - our first 'clue'. From there my brothers and I would spend the next hour or so deciphering cryptic messages... which would lead us each to some place around the house or garden and the discovery of small gift, and our next clue. Sorting through desk drawers, upturning couch cushions, poking around potplants - this became our Christmas morning tradition.

One year, I spent a good half hour trying to figure out the location of a gift given the clue 'You would find this at a tiny beach'*. But it was all good fun, and definitely made the rewards so much better. To say my parents were pleased to have figured out a way to make their children really earn their sweets and other trinkets on Christmas morning was probably an understatement. I hope to carry on that tradition some day!

*A microwave, of course!

I love this memory - thanks so much, Tess! Oooohhh, I wonder which creative lovely will be next to share their Christmas with us?!

Weekend Weblog Wanderings 6

...there was one thought that ran through my head when I saw this post - 'Party-House'!

....Garance loves Barcelona (and Gaudi) too....that would be Parc Guell right there....

.....L'Homme's Christmas stocking is filling up!

images; 1. the selby 2. garance dore 3. inside out

Happy Friday - It's Beginning to Look Alot Like Christmas!

image; fabulously french

Oh yes it is, my friends and I love how it's looking! Especially in the land of Femme de Montmartre where a number of lovely creatives have agreed to let me know about their Christmas. So, starting next week 'My Christmas' featuring some inspiring women of the blogosphere. Please join me from Monday to see who will be gracing us with their presence.
Have a wonderful weekend, people. x

My Place and Your's - Through the Front Door

image; shelley t

This is what it is to walk through the front door of Chez Trbuhovich, probably not that remarkable to anyone else, but to me it is heaven.
All my favourite things are in this picture; the grey of the hallway, vintage posters - the first we ever bought many moons ago, a new delivery for Galmont(can you see the tiny glimpse of a tube in the bottom right foreground?), family photos and art work on the shelves to the right, vintage tram scroll, my gorgeous green (chartreuse, I mean!) Eames rocker - a family gift when Petit was born, a tiny little table and chairs and baskets and pots of crafty goodness for the Petits, a fabulous 1950's French enamel sign sitting in the window by a favourite poster artist, the beautiful lemon tree in the very background and the adorable Petit-Petit doing what he does best, lurching around in a very wobbly fashion!

Thanks again, Pip, for asking me to be Theme Queen. Hurrah! (That was my impersonation of you!!) I am really looking forward to seeing what the others have done. There's still time to join in, you have until Saturday - wanna play? Go here...

More Brogues

one very cool couple

garance dore

images; the sartorialist

Yep, I'll be getting some for sure. And I think a little of the attitude of those shown here wouldn't go astray either!
PS. Have been loving Scott's work for Burberry lately; go and check it out, it's gorgeous.

Something lovely happened over the weekend.

images; stephan t for galmont

So maybe the pictures aren't that pretty, but the sentiment is sooooo gorgeous.

L'Homme was met by this little scene as he got to Galmont on Sunday morning. It appears that a sweet cherub had read one of the books from our Community Bookshelf and returned it by leaning it against the door. (Or maybe they took a book from the bookshelf and were replacing it with a pre-loved book of their own.) Whatever the story, there it was waiting for us.

When I started this little project about a month ago, I never dreamed it would be the success it has been and these pictures symbolise that for me.

I feel so proud of the Fitzroy community.

Galerie Montmartre Community Bookshelf

Tues - Sun. 11 - 6pm.

197B Brunswick St. (enter via Moor st.)

Fitzoy, Vic. 3065

My Place and Your's - Theme Queen Decides!

image of front door -which sadly is not mine - found here

Hello! If you're anything like me, regardless of how good a time you've had or where you've been, you love coming home. Am I right? Do you?! Sure, there's plenty of work to be done, not sure how much longer our kitchen floor will last, for example, but it's my sanctuary and the people I live with are superb little (and big) beings!

So, my choice as honoured (and honourable?!!) Theme Queen for this week is - Through the Front Door. What is it you see when you enter your home? And how do you feel? Whatever happens when you walk through your front door, we want to know about it!

If you wanna play Pip's meme, then pop over here and add your name to the list, we'd love you to join us!

Room with a View

image; sydney harbour bridge by shelley t

I'm sure going to miss waking to this beautiful site, but it's time to get back to Melbourne; all being well, I'll be there by Thursday - take care, until then. x

Secret Weapon - My Place and Your's

san francisco alamo square - i was so fortunate to live in this city, image found here

i was also very fortunate to live in nyc...in a building very similar to the ones shown, image found here

This week's meme 'My Secret Weapon' has had me stumped - which is a great thing -thanks My Bricole . I've been racking my brains for material things that make me feel extra wonderful and puts a shimmy in my step. And in all honesty, I cannot think of a single thing that does that for me.....would a cheeky champagne pass?!

I keep coming back to one word...so, dear people, travel is my secret weapon!
I'm not just talking international experiences, I'm talking daytrips, walking excursions (yes, I actually stick the Petits in the pram not knowing where we'll head some days and just keep moving!) and little interstate sojourns. There is nothing that makes me feel as alive as travelling does. It opens my mind, expands my creativity and makes me think that anything is possible. I can have some sort of mind dilemma going on, a few hours/days/months/years away and clarity returns full throttle!

I will hold my overseas living and travels so close to my heart; those 7 years in the U.S taught me so much. When I realised that I had set up a life somewhere other than home where I had friends and places to go and things to do, I realised that the world was indeed my oyster. Without travel, there would be no Galmont, there's no way I would've had the confidence to just get in and have a go at creating and running my own business without my travelling experiences. And as for honing the old instincts, I have my friend travel to thank as often they're all you've got in a strange place!

But then again, I can think of many times closer to home, when life was a little wierd before my Petits came along - another story for another day - l'Homme would often put me in the car and drive, I'd silently sit in the passenger seat letting the tears flow until there were no more. And then the lull of travelling and being somewhere else for a couple of hours would strengthen my resolve and my self confidence and I'd return home with a renewed passion to make my dreams of Parenthood become a reality.

There is no doubt that travel is my secret weapon, it is my pick-me-up, my guide and my teacher. It is the thing I can 'go to in a pinch and it never lets me down'. I dream big on my travels and return feeling like Superwoman with a creative plan - or ten!


So what's your secret weapon? Pop on over to Pip's place, if you would like to join in the fun; it runs until Saturday (Nov. 14th) when the next Theme Queen (who I happen to know extremely, extremely well!!!!!) will announce the following week's theme.

'Sydney is so Beautiful!'...

image; sydney harbour bridge found here

...she says as she looks at the harbour views from every window of her rented apartment!! I love an impromptu trip away; L'Homme was here for work, the Petits and I were in desperate need of being somewhere else, my folks also needed a little downtime; so a few phonecalls and a two day car trip later (I love a roadtrip) and voila - Hello Harbour!


Balmain Art and Craft Fair
2 Eaton St.
Balmain, NSW. 2041
Sat 7th. 9 - 5pm. & Sun 8th. 10 - 4pm.

The Horse has Bolted!

pisa hippodrome, anonymous, c.1940

loterie nationale jockey, savignac, 1973

loterie nationale horse and bride, lefor openo, 1956
all images; stephan t for galerie montmartre

It's hard to believe that Melbournians think so highly of their sport that there is a public holiday to celebrate, but that's exactly what happens for the Melbourne Cup - an annual horse racing event held on the first Tuesday of November. I thought a few vintage horse posters might be a nice way to finish what was a very successful day pour moi! (ie. I came second and third in the family cup sweep!)

Blog Headquarters - My Place and Your's

Here it is, blog headquarters....I sit like Queen Muck on my throne (I bought this Phillipe Starck Louis Ghost chair at the last Space furniture sale - I have a thing for chairs in the way that many women have about shoes) and blog away...and sometimes Petit joins me while Petit-Petit has a nap. We are so fortunate to be surrounded by things that make us smile, our beloved vintage posters, the lamp was given to us by a second-hand dealing friend as a housewarming gift (soon to be stripped and painted gloss black, wabi-sabi style!), my magazines and coffee table books and our vintage radios and barware....and our featherstone. Is it me, or are they not the sexiest chair, ever?!

These memes are such fun, this theme was chosen by Ninon who makes gorgeous softies...

Hello Lyn Gardener!

image; lyn gardener, 2005 via the age

Okay, so there I was standing in line at the deli of my local supermarket and in she walked looking head to toe adorable, little sundress, just the right amount of make-up and those curls piled high adorned with a single silver clip. Since this post, we've actually communicated a little after she wrote me a beautiful email, since then she has also visited Galmont a few times - when I haven't been around. So we had not actually met in person. She seemed in a rush, I was in a rush and I also happened to look like something the cat dragged in. (I remember hoping I wouldn't run into anyone as I left home...why does that always happen?!!)

What the heck - "Lyn! Hello, it's Shelley T from Galerie Montmartre.", I say. Graciously she smiled, we chatted a teensy bit and then she said the thing that you hope all style making, entrepreneurial women with an awesome eye would say, "Oh Shelley, you have a gorgeous shop......a goooooorrrgeous shop!" And with that, Lyn Gardener disappeared into the vegie aisle and I grabbed my dips and took my Target jeaned, surfie t-shirted, canvas footed self to the checkout!!