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!!

Happy Friday - Snails Anyone?

image; escargots menetrel by rudd, c.1930; stephan t for galmont

There must be something in the wierd weather, because a week after Lexi posted this little story about Tiny, my own Petit one asked me if people eat the shells when they eat snails, as he held one big empty snail shell spectacularly close to his mouth...

Happy Friday folks - wishing you a lovely weekend.

A Little Audrey....

image; vogue living, september/october 2009

image; four walls and a roof

.....goes a long way!

My Place and Your's - Bedside

yes, they're my slippers underneath, always kept in the same place...I have winter ones and summer ones, both gifts from rellies who know how much I adore them, i'd wear them to galmont if i could.

it's imperative i have a neat and tidy bedside, waking up to a bedside mess puts me in a cranky mood. the tivoli clock radio was my gift to l'homme for an extra special birthday, which has sat on my side since petit-petit arrived.

a close up of my 'shelley' dish, part of a wider collection and my love for miscellaneous colourful vases - all ebay finds - continues, the rest of her little friends are on a sideboard in the same room
all images; shelley t

Ooo, this is a bit intimate, don't you think?! The latest theme for Pip's meme chosen by lovely Lexi over at Potty Mouth Mama. So here's mine, the usual mish-mash of books, lamp, clock radio and little dish full of change and lip balm. I looked for a side table for about seven years, the perfect wooden cube (I really wanted one on wheels) and it was Ikea that came through for only $40.00 - gotta love that!

Happy Friday - Eiffel Tower is 120 years old!

image; via sfgirlbybay - alicia bock's enchanting paris

Congratulations, you beautiful thing, you're just getting better with age!

Galerie Montmartre's Community Bookshelf

galmont's community bookcase in action

setting up - ready.....

..... get set.....

.....go!!

the sign says 'please feel free to browse and take a book home - replace or swap it with a pre-loved book of your own when you can'.

I am soooooooo excited about this! As a result of reading this post by Holly over at the inspirational Decor 8, I knew that a community bookshelf would completely work at Galmont. Fitzroy is a diverse, energetic, inner-city hub think East Village if in NYC or Surry Hills if you know Sydney - a little bit grimey and proud of it! I knew that this idea would be simple to start up and add to our 3065 postcode at the same time. Thanks to the gorgeous Philip Graham for the shoerack/bookcase.

Within minutes of putting it all together, a young student came by elated that he didn't have to buy a literature text, Ibsen, was waiting just for him. Someone else asked L'Homme if he had read the Faulkner book, because she had heard it was a beauty. And we were greeted by the squeals of a very excited woman on Sunday who had finally found a text she had been looking for all her adult life! I could sit and watch people interacting with that bookcase all day.

Good one, Fitzroy, I knew you could do it!

I'm going to speak to a few more Fitzroy lovely creatives in the future to see if they want to jump on the Community Bookshelf wagon and make our little 'burb the book swapping capital of Australia!

On the Shelf - My place and Your's

petit-petit's shelf with my some of my original enid blyton's and 'toot-toot' (owl softie)

this shelf is actually twice as long as what is shown, it came out of a hardware store, perfect for petit-petit's bits and pieces. Here's a close up of top shelves incl. artwork (i drew the bird pic as a 3yr old, my mum saved it and gave it to me as a gift); family photos (that's l'homme front left and me front right), the little dolls top left were also mine, the spools were found at a flea market and have graced many shelves!

close up of petit's shelf, we have the full collection of miffy books (a first bday gift) which were in fabulous condition until petit-petit came along and decided that book bindings were part of his diet; football cards still yet to be sorted; that's a container of shells under the bird finger puppets

we paid $20 for this shelf in nyc 26th st flea markets a gazillion years ago, the woman couldn't believe someone was actually buying it, we couldn't believe we'd found a cute shelf with l'homme's name emblazoned across the top! i think it's called a win-win. this shelf has lived all around the place, but has found it's final resting place in petit's room.

I think I am about to break a promise here. You see, I've been doing a bit of - in the words of styling guru, Megan Morton - 'house-whispering' lately. I decided that the shelves that were in the Garcon's rooms needed shifting around. A simple, but very affective decision, I must say, both the little guys have noticed and are loving it. Petit is able to curate his current obsessions (ie. his personal art work, shells and AFL (footy) cards - we do live in Melbourne after all, that damn game never seems to go away!!) and Petit-Petit can reach the things he loves the most (ie. wooden animals and books - neither seen in these photos).

So then Pip comes up with an idea that we all have some blogging fun by becoming part of the meme series 'My place and your's'. The first topic - 'On the Shelf' - which is where the broken promise bit comes in, cause I'm sure a few posts back I promised to never harp about Chez Trbuhovich again....please forgive me. I really should never say never!

PS. If you want to join in the fun, then go here.

PPS. Speaking of On the Shelf, Thursday's post is extremely fitting, cannot wait to share it!!

Kat Macleod Joy!

image; kat macleod via jacky winter

I went along to the first night of 'Slight Inclusions' tonight to get a glimpse of Kat Macleod's gorgeous illustrations. Ohhhhh, so much to enjoy!

I really enjoy the 'simplicity' of the mediums used - pencil, collage and watercolours, it is so joyous. Almost like sophisticated child-play, and I mean that with the deepest respect, it just makes me smile so much! In fact, I noticed smiles on the those who were there; stepping in closer to take in the hint of sequins or pleating of paper or examining the expression on the lovely women's faces. The place was packed and I walked away with a sassy little piece just for me - my feminine addition to testosterone filled Chez Trbuhovich - simply called 'Undress'. Will reveal all when I bring her home in November. So joyful!

Slight Inclusions by Kat Macleod - October 16th to November 15th
Lamington Drive, 89 George St. Fitzroy, 3065

In a word...

image; stephan t for galmont

I noticed that Pip and Lexi are playing, and I hate missing out on the fun, so I've decided to join them in this one word challenge - ie. a challenge for a chatter-box like me, anyway;

1. Where is your mobile phone? front

2. Your hair? up

3. Your mother? gorgeous

4. Your father? witty

5. Your favourite food? chocolate

6. Your dream last night? strange

7. Your favourite drink? champagne

8. Your dream/goal? french

9. What room are you in? living

10. Your hobby? interiors

11. Your fear? stagnating

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? loved

13. Where were you last night? home

14. Something that you aren’t? quiet

15. Muffins? nah

16. Wish list item? decking

17. Where did you grow up? suburbia

18. Last thing you did? mothered

19. What are you wearing? comfort

20. Your TV? old

21. Your pet? dogs

22. Friends? always

23. Your life? charmed

24. Your mood? content

25. Missing someone? nanna

26. Vehicle? works

27. Something you’re not wearing? fur

28. Your favorite store? galmont!

29. Your favorite color? grey

30. When was the last time you laughed? minute

31. Last time you cried? daily

32. Your best friend? l'homme

33. One place that I go to over and over? laundry

34. One person who emails me regularly? cousin

35. Favorite place to eat? marios

*that was fun! if you choose to play too, please let me know, as i would love to read your words. x

Monday's Mail

images; shelley t for galmont - how cool is the typography on the dubonnet advertisement? how pretty are the tea towels, although have just noticed the political incorrectness of one of them - no doubt a sign of the times they were printed in? how cute are the stamps?

I love a mail delivery, especially when it is from France and especially when it is this pretty! I mean, even the stamps are gorgeous - so gorgeous, in fact that I grabbed the nearest camera and took some pics for you lovely people.

I cannot wait to do my dishes with these glorious little tea towels. Really!

Happy Friday - Advertising for Beginners

image; lagrive vins fins, guy georget, c195; taken by michelle for galmont

We got this spunky new poster in Galmont last week, on first appearances it might look like a cute image of a bird carrying some wine. And it is. But the other thing we've learnt is that this bird is actually a thrush. This particular bird comes in many varieties in France, which is exactly why Georget chose to use it to represent that Lagrive have many types of wines. Unless you are a budding ornithologist or a wine buff, I have a feeling you wouldn't have known that!!

Lesson over - school's out - happy weekend!

Let's hear it for...

all images; issues 7, 5 & 17 covers courtesy of dumbofeather

After a delightful day with Ms. G and then attempting to draft an important document back at Galmont, I returned to Chez Trbuhovich a little low on energy. However, that quickly changed when I noticed the latest issue of Dumbofeather waiting on the doorstep in all it's recycled glory!

I love a story, particularly in relation to lovely creatives; I'm interested in what makes people tick, where they come from, where they're going, what's important to them, the development of their area of interest - with Dumbofeather, I meet five people who give me a good yarn. It may be an artist, a midwife, a charity worker, an entrepreneur, a teacher; I don't care, I just love their stories!

I am grateful to Kate James for switching me onto this publication, after reading my first copy cover to cover, I immediately back-ordered the 15 odd 'mooks' (is it a magazine? is it a book?) I had missed. I try to read a story every couple of days, as I find it's like a little battery charger for the soul. So, dear ones, it is time for me to immerse myself in Issue Twenty-one - Ahhhh!

PS. Of course, The Design Files has interviewed Kate Bezar, Dumbofeather's founder, check it out here.

PPS. Have just noticed that Deb's blog (for Real Living) has also posted about Kate Bezar here.

Weekend Weblog Wanderings (5) - The Sartorialist

garance dore
images; the sartorialist

...righto, that's it, I'm off to get myself some brogues this season...check out more style here.

Books Galore!

personal library; coffee table books galore with vintage posters as the topic du jour

....and more....

books and vintage posters, enought to make this girl swoon!

We love books at Galmont, we have an extensive personal library and lots of goodies for the people who come to our retail space. I thought I'd take a few photos of the books we have hanging around after being inspired by the work of Victoria Reichelt on the Inside Out blog this week - check it out here.

(....and the community bookshelf is nearly ready....stay tuned!)