THE FRENCH HUTCH

Monday, September 1, 2025

Tales of the Traveling Tote and A Giveaway

Miss Courtney's

Virtual Trip Across Europe and UK

Troyes, France

Cathedrale Saint-Pierre Saint-Paul

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Traveling Tote Adventures and a Giveaway September 1, 2025

Welcome to another adventure of Tales of the Traveling Tote. This is where my fellow Tales of the Traveling Tote friends and I share our latest travels, projects and our most current events. You will have an opportunity to visit other members at the end of this post and learn about our giveaway.

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Miss Courtney shared with me she would like an exciting trip to Europe or the United Kingdom. With no big trips planned anytime soon, I decided to take her along on some of our past adventures through a virtual journey.

Be warned, we got a little carried away while reminiscing, a lot of photos!

Italy

Leaning Tower of Pisa

Rome

Tudini's Trattoria

A favorite Trattoria in Rome where we frequent and enjoy the "welcome back" from the wait staff. The food is always as remembered, delicious!

Roman Colosseum

Trevi Fountain

Lunch in Roam

The Palatine Hill in Rome

I packed a picnic lunch earlier and after a long morning exploring we found the perfect spot to enjoy our lunch, a meadow with colorful wildflowers in bloom. The views were amazing not to mention so much history

Naples to Capri on the High-Speed Hydrofoil

Dinner in Capri

Jim, enjoying Pizza in Capri

While waiting in Capri for the ferry to take us to Sorrento, this local walked pasted. His face was so interesting and weathered, we thought he's a fisherman. I would have loved a chat with him!

After seeing the beautiful town of Sorrento we were off on the train to Pompeii

Ostia Ancient Port City

Theatrical Masks are architectural elements that adorned the building of the Ostia Theater

Venice

My Gondolier (Mamma Mia)

France

Paris

We are always thrilled seeing the historic sites, again and again!

Avignon - Palais des Papes

Orange, France

the coliseum now Theatre antique d'Orange

We had lunch seated outside with a fabulous view of the coliseum

Chenonceaux, France

Chateau de Chenonceau

My favorite Chateau out of all we've visited

Chateau de Chenonceau Kitchen
Throughout the chateau the fireplaces were burning and fresh floral arrangements were placed in every room and hallway. This was in December and you can imagine the beautiful festive arrangements

Triumphal Arch of Orange

We've always enjoyed backpacking, though it involves so much walking but lets us see sights that most tourists miss.

Nice, France

Our first trip to Nice, our hotel faced the Promenade des Angles

Monaco

Casino in Monte Carlo where I pulled a lever and beat the bank! We immediately left :)

Lunch on the terrace next to casino

Strassbourg

My birthday lunch. This restaurant is just across from the magnificent cathedral

England

York

Old Town

Salisbury
Salisbury Cathedral

London

Big Ben during the Christmas season

Windsor

Portsmouth

Scotland

This was the Christmas tree in Edinburgh Castle, a historic fortress

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A tote set off across the sea,

Full of hopes and dreams.

It came back home, a heavy sack,

With souvenirs, filling every crack. It held a charm from Paris streets,

And sweet Italian market treats.

A little treasure, soft and fine,

The happy story of a Traveling Tote.

Miss Courtney

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Miss Courtney and I thank you for your visit. We have so many photos it was hard for us to choose what to share. I think this post will keep her happy until she gets a trip of her own.

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Now for the Giveaway!

Sarah at "Hyacinths for the Soul" will be hosting the giveaway for a chance to win this cute tote from MacKenzie-Childs. Just leave a comment for her here. Thank you Sarah for hosting.

Tales of the Traveling Tote members would love for you to visit.

Debbie with Miss Aurora @ Mountain Breaths

Emily with Miss Courtney Childs@ The French Hutch

Patti with Miss Kenzie @ Pandora's Box

Linda P with Miss Lola @ Life and Linda

Rita with Miss Luna C @ Panoply

Sarah with Miss Merri Mac @ Hyacinths for the Soul

Jackie and Miss Madi K @ Purple Chocolat Home

Ricki Jill and Countess De Monet @ The Sketchy Reader

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Remember to join the TTT on December 1 for more fun adventures and another giveaway

Happy September!

Monday, August 11, 2025

CONVERTING A MUDROOM INTO A PANTRY ~ BEFORE AND AFTER

Mudroom Makeover

Before

The addition of shelving, doors and drawers were added for food storage

The garage hallway sees a lot of traffic, family and friends come and go from outside where another refrigerator holds water and beverages and stores my large food platters

It was an easy conversion using the existing built-in already in place

When our search for a new home began, one feature consistently topped my wishlist, a dedicated room for storing and displaying my dishes and dish collectibles, a "dish pantry nook." This house has the beds and baths I need, but the "nook" space was absent. I knew I would need to design a space where all my dishes could be stored and displayed. Click here if you missed or would like to read my "Food pantry to Dish Nook" post.

Previous pantry renovation for Dish Pantry Nook

After the dish nook drawing was finished, a good food storage plan was needed. I knew I would be using the existing open cabinet that was already in place in the garage entry mudroom. This could be turned into a built-in pantry with doors and shelves, providing a designated space for storing groceries. Additionally, I drew up a built-in pantry plan with shelves and doors to be installed in the adjacent laundry room. This would expand the overall food storage capacity and would solve my food storage problem. Although this would not be the walk-in pantry I enjoyed and began with, it does provide plenty of miscellaneous and food storage space with ease. Problem solved.

Shelves added in the upper section along with drawers below

After

For a clean, uncluttered aesthetic, two sets of double doors and the addition of drawers below conceal the pantry's contents

My wonderful craftsman cabinet builder Dwayne, he can build anything! Just need to get on the wait list

New Food Storage Built-in cabinet in Laundry Room

Our new laundry room built-in pantry

Completed Food Storage cabinet in garage entry hallway

And, the finished pantry is in good company in the back hallway!

The French Hutch

Despite some messy moments, (well actually a lot), and contractor delays that pushed the timeline, the completed pantry conversion was well worth it. The transformation from cluttered garage entry mudroom to organized, built-in storage space, made the entire renovation worthwhile.

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I hope everyone is enjoying these last glorious days of summer. Thank you dear friends for your visit if you are still here.

Sunday, June 1, 2025

TALES OF THE TRAVELING TOTE AND A GIVEAWAY ~BEACH BOUND

Traveling Tote Adventures and a Giveaway
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Beach Bound

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Tales of the Traveling Tote and a Giveaway

Beach Bound

Miss Molly enjoying lunch out and shopping

In the spring we look forward to our annual trip to the beach. Early May we packed and our bags and approximately three hundred miles south and five and half hours later we arrive at our favorite sugar sands beach.

My favorite place to be beachside is

somewhere, anywhere along scenic Highway 30A in the panhandle of Florida's emerald gulf coast. This year we enjoyed a weather perfect week with mild temperatures and lots of sunshine.

Trips here in the past find us in a beach house, townhouse or condo. This trip we were beachfront in a condo. We love to sit on the balcony and enjoy the view while sipping coffee in the morning or enjoying a drink in the early evening before going to dinner. Come along while I share some of my favorite places along this Florida coastal hideaway.

My sweet sister did a fun drawing of me, knowing how I still love my beach time!

I love the feel of feet in the sand

Breathtaking sunsets

And sunrise

Our favorite food to enjoy beachside is blackened grouper.

Served up at one of my favorite restaurants in
Seaside. Always a favorite!

And known for their key lime pie

Red Bar in Grayton Beach and

Louis Louis, Santa Rosa Beach. Same owners and same menu, always delicious....

And right next to Great Southern Cafe is my favorite beach bookstore
Sundog Books

I chose a few books from the shelves for beachside

Seaside

Rosemary Beach and a little shopping

Alys Beach

The striking architectural features of this town are traditional, Bermuda brilliant-white homes. Featured with pathways and courtyards only a short walk to the beach

Lunch

A break from seafood, pizza hit the spot for lunch

Miss Courtney enjoys walks on the beach

jSweet Beach Treats

And, a favorite nursery to find a few gifts and plants to take home

Clay Gardens and Gifts in Seagrove

Thank you for your visit. I hope you will leave a comment, it's the only way I know you stopped in.