The Button and the Bean

I bought the fabric for Aurelie's tattered dress at my secret source in Perigord. This particular brocante is my favorite place to be, although I must admit I am a little intimidated by the proprietress. She is an incredible character, always immaculately turned out - hair in a chignon, jewels around her neck and dangling from her ears, faux fur coats, long sweeping skirts and dainty little ballet shoes. I wouldn't like to hazzard a guess at her age, but let's just say the bottle of rose wine sitting on the side and the ever presence of a cigarette between her fingers seem to be keeping her going! I'm utterly facinated with her and wish my French was good enough to converse with her properly. We do talk, but there are so many questions I want to ask her that alas, will always remain a mystery. Perhaps it's better that way.
So, when I ironed this fabric, all the amazing scents from Madame's brocante rose up, transporting me straight back to my favorite place on earth and leaving me with a bit of a lump in my throat. I can smell the cigarette smoke, the wine, the chocolate truffles she offers us whenever we visit. I remember her feeding the ducklings in the river opposite her shop posh biscuits, crushing them, (the biscuits! Not the ducklings), under her ballet slipper.
So, here is Aurelie, a little hommage to Nadine.