Download Our Spring Menu Collection

This seasonal collection features 19 recipes, including starters, main courses, side dishes, and desserts. Featuring seasonal ingredients such as artichokes, asparagus, lamb, and strawberries. Download this PDF, which includes for recipes for entertaining at this time of the year.

 J. Christina

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J. Christina is the author and hobbyist photographer behind Scribbles and Smiles, writing a personal travel blog from the Midwest. Christina (Christie) is married to John, a.k.a. Mr. Christie. Where Mr. Christie is right on-board with their travel jaunts around the world; sharing in their blogging endeavors. He supports, encourages, handles gadgetry and embraces the role of the in-house editor - hence, their bespoke pen name, J. Christina.

J. Christina's blogging journey began before the word blog was trending, writing about European travel destinations on share-sites, forums and online journals. After many years of intrepid travel, they thoughtfully opened their treasure-trove of European travelogues, artfully sharing with a worldwide audience. Intentionally sharing the joie de vivre through their words and images, so others can travel vicariously. J. Christina believes smiling with your eyes is a beautiful thing.

You can read their most recent dispatches from aboard an elegant European river ship, sharing the allure of Europe’s great rivers and their capital cities. Or, follow them through serendipitous discoveries in the Cote d’Azur, where J. Christina captures the essence of a perched medieval village.

J. Christina's work has been featured on France Today, Bonjour Paris and The Good Life France.

Enjoy the Scribbles and Smiles stories

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Books on Provence · Carolyne Kauser-Abbott · Inspire

New Memoir, ‘A Year in French Life’ by Espinasse Co-authors – Our Book Review

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Kristin Espinasse, beloved for her evocative portraits of French living, invites readers back into her world with A Year in French Life, Volume 2. Kristin’s writing sparkles with sincerity, drawing us into the gentle rhythms and quiet surprises of everyday life in France. This year, her daughter Jacqueline joined the adventure, contributing her own voice …
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Books on Provence · Carolyne Kauser-Abbott · Inspire

Carol Drinkwater’s One Summer in Provence: Does It Mirror Life in the South of France?

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Last year, Carol Drinkwater delighted readers with her book One Summer in Provence, A Season of Surprises. The subtitle hints at surprises ahead, beginning with a damp evening in England in 1976 and shifting to a warm summer morning at Celia and Dominic Grey’s vineyard in the Provencal countryside. We wondered if the novel draws …
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Artists Inspired by Provence · Carolyne Kauser-Abbott · Inspire

Creative Inspiration in Provence: Visit an Artist’s Studio in the Alpilles

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