For Bastille Day: Let Your Inner French Woman Out
By Tania Teschke
Not going to France this summer? Celebrate Bastille Day on July 14th at home by bringing France into your home! Here are some tips and tricks to appease your Francophile dreams. It’s all about attitude and approach, as I have learned, having had to put off a trip to France a little longer myself.
It’s Starts in the Kitchen
Get yourself a cast iron Dutch oven in a color you love, for example a red Staub or a turquoise Le Creuset in a size that is big enough for a large stew, roast, or soup for your family or a group of friends. Decorate your kitchen with colorful cotton Jacquard or silkscreened dish towels. Look these up on Etsy or Amazon and you will find lots of beautiful, affordable options.
Déco
Framed photos from past trips to France, bright art deco posters, lithographs of rosemary and sage plants, a vase of lavender, or a bowl of fragrant lavender buds you brought back from the Cote d’Azur all help to keep the atmosphere French and reminiscent. Lavender soap, a lovely soap dish from Provence, and lavender essential oil won’t go unnoticed
Wine
As a rule, online and local wine shops carry French wines. You can even specify if you would like organic, “natural,” or biodynamic French wines. Toast to Bastille Day with friends and family over a nice cheese board and some of these French wines I’ve suggested for the summer. Or take yourself on a Wine Tour de France or a Cheese Tour de France to celebrate your love of France and all things French.
Linens
We have a bedspread made locally in the Southwest of France that I bought while we lived in Bordeaux. It’s a lovely blue that reminds me of the colors of the region. Lavender, yellow, and blue table linens and napkins create a festive Provençale look for a table. Special striped bath towels from the Basque country are little reminders of the places you dream of as you move through your day.
Dishware
Terra cotta baking pans and serving dishes, earth-colored plates, and colorful bowls, handmade in the French Southwest, brighten each meal. Opinel and Laguiole knives with wooden handles dress up the table on top of the linen napkins and table cloths.
Herbs
A live herb garden containing lavender, rosemary, sage, thyme, basil, chives, mint, oregano, or marjoram provides you with the fresh tastes and scents of French cooking everyday. Breathe it in.
When Not In Rome
Bringing France into your home can help to assure you that France will always be there, whenever you are ready for it!
