Heather Bullard

On Location

Well, I'm leaving on a jet plane heading to Oregon. I'm going to be shooting a house on the coast for the next issue of Flea Market Style and will be gone for the next week. I gave myself a few extra days to enjoy my trip and not make it all work, work, work. On the "fun" agenda will be a stop to see the boys of Barn House and do some shopping at their annual Flea Market.

Looking foward to catching up with everyone and can't wait to see all the fabulous displays from the great line up of vendors. Such incredible talent in this group. If you're in the area this is a not-to-be-missed event! Hope to see you there too!

The Breakfast Room

The breakfast room is one of my favorite rooms in the house. It has 5 large bay windows surrounding it which provide plenty of light and a view of the gardens. The brightly streaming sunshine is one of my favorite things about the room and because of it I like to keep the decor simple, serene and peaceful. For now, I will leave you with photos. I hope you enjoy your visit and find it as relaxing as I do.

  

 

Giveaway over at Flea Market Style!

Hi Everyone! Just wanted to let you know we're having a giveaway today on the Flea Market Style blog. The winner will receive this gorgeous Rhinestone Key Necklace. To enter your name in the hat simply Click Here! Thanks for playing along and Good Luck!

Simple Summer Meals

With the easy going nature of summer it seems that my meal planning has taken a back seat. Of course with the markets and gardens fully stocked with produce it makes the job almost effortless. Salads and grilling are a mainstay at our house for the warm months.

Last nights dinner was a combination of both. Grilled corn and zucchini mixed with spinach, romaine, roasted chicken, tomatos, cilantro and red onion. No recipe, just using what I had on hand. My favorite dressings is this Blush Wine Vinaigrette. I love the tang and sweetness of it but if I don't have it on hand I make an easy red wine vinaigrette with a little dijon mustard.

We eat a lot of watermelon around here. The Man could probably finish one in a day, easily. To mix things up sometimes I add a dressing of honey, lime juice and zest. It tastes very summery!

And most meals wouldn't be complete without our daily bread. Simple sourdough toast with spinach and artichoke spread. Hot, crisp bread with the cool creamy spread is so delicious!

After dinner I sat outside catching up on my reading while The Man worked in the garden a bit and Sweet Girl helped by clearing the dishes. All in all it was the perfect summer evening. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend enjoying all that summer has to offer!

Eggs! Eggs!

They're here! Our first two eggs from the girls! I went out to the coop yesterday afternoon to check (just in case) and surprise there they were! This might sound a little selfish but secretly I was glad to be the one who found them. I was so worried they would lay them while I was away on location.

Both eggs were laid in the same nesting box which makes me wonder if this will be the coop favorite for the rest of them? The beautiful shade of pale blue let us know they came from one of  the twins, Marshmallow or Souffle because all the other girls will lay shades of brown. Here's our sweet Easter Eggers...

I believe the eggs belong to the same little lady because their color was identical and I've read that egg color will vary slightly from hen to hen. For now I need to figure out which one gets extra treats for First Place!

It may seem silly but this has been absolutely thrilling to me. After all our hard work of designing & building the coop, learning everything we can about chickens & zoning ordinances, ordering the right hens for our family & nurturing their growth it is so rewarding to finally see the fruits of our labor. Ours and The Girls!

Sunday in LA

The PR company for the new LA Flea Market was kind enough to send me VIP Passes to their Grand Opening Event. The best part for me was that Sweet Girl came along for the fun. With our crazy schedules it's a rare treat that we get to spend an entire day together so I was really looking forward to it!

We arrived around 8am and most of the vendors were still setting up but the gourmet food trucks were in full swing. We thought the French crepe truck was the cutest and although we weren't hungry at the time it sure was tempting!

This flea market has a few upscales features such as valet parking, carrier service for your packages, and a VIP lounge with refreshments and private restrooms..."only in LA" as they say! We found a few great vintage vendors but noticed there seemed to be a majority of new items. Perhaps this will change as it grows. I ended up purchasing a bracelet and a watering can which could be my lightest shopping day ever!

After we left the flea we drove to Beverly Hills to visit one of our favorite French cafes, Le Pain Quotidien. Which translated means "daily bread". I love how all their cafes have outdoor seating. Si français! I ordered the Quiche Végétarienne and Sweet Girl had their Grilled Chicken and Smoked Mozzarella Tartine.  

And of course, we saved room for dessert because located directly across the street is this famous place...

 

And when you are that close to Sprinkles how can you resist?

We had so much fun chatting, laughing and singing old school rap songs in the car. A much needed mother-daughter day and I have to say one of the greatest treasures in parenting is having your child grow up to be your friend.

Bouquet Garni

  

One of the best things about herb gardening is being able to snip a few of your favorites to make a bouquet garni for your soups, stocks, roast chicken or fish. The traditional french bouquet garni is usually made up of parsley, thyme and bay leaf but they actually can include anything you like.

Personally, I never follow a set mixture of herbs. If I'm preparing chicken I might use rosemary, sage and thyme and add a few garlic cloves, lemon slices and a dash of sea salt before it goes into the oven.

I just wrap them up in a little bundle and tie with butchers twine. Occasionally I will cut a few extra and fill a couple drinking glasses to set on my kitchen counter or dinner table. Simple and very fragrant!

 

French thyme is one of my favorites. I love it's delicate flavor and petite size. It also grows very well in containers and will trail out over the edge of the garden pot...so lovely. Maybe one day I'll be adventurous in the kitchen and make one of those exotic sorbets with my lemon thyme. Perhaps I'll try this one or that one....both sound so refreshing for summer. Which gets me to thinking about throwing a Sorbet Soiree...now that sounds like a fun party to have!

The Girls of Chez Poulet

Here's a quick video of a few of The Girls and of course, The Chicken Whisperer. As you can see, everyone is still getting along well. Ruby seems to have taken over as "Lead Chicken". She even plays with Bella but almost in a taunting way and our sweet Bella doesn't even have the heart to bark at her. When I told The Man about the sibling rivalry and bully chick he said, "Do you want me to eat her"? Oh yes, dear. That will solve everything. 

Here's a reminder of how much they've grown in a few short months. Sorry for the fuzzy video, not sure why the focus is off. They were both taken with my Flip. Go figure.

On July 1st, the girls turned 4 months old and I've read that they start laying eggs anywhere between 4-6 months. I hope they don't lay them while I'm away on location. I have a very busy shooting schedule this summer and I don't want to miss the big event! Can. Not. Miss. It.