Les volets...

 While browsing the Internet the other day,  I stumbled upon a picture over at House of Turquoise of a house in the South of France. Anything that says 'South of France' peaks my curiosity to see if it is anywhere close to where we are. Come to find out, it is over near Monaco, not too far but not close enough to do a drive-by either. However, this is the house...

Source: houseofturquoise.com via Nikki on Pinterest

The first things I noticed were the the swimming pool, the entertaining area, the perfectly manicured grass and how I would die for an outdoor space like that with out bugs...uhhh hummm Atlanta. Then I scrolled down to the comments to see if anyone knew exactly what street this house was on. Might not make a trip just for the house but the next time we are in Monaco, I want to be prepared. While I got a pretty good idea of the vicinity of the house, I couldn't help but noticing the many comments on the shutters ( or les volets). So I scrolled back up and gave the shutters a second look since they didn't resonate with me the first time. And I'll be damned, those are some pretty fabulous shutters. Then I got to thinking.... why did something as pretty as that breeze right by me?  Then it hit me, shutters like that are a dime a dozen here. I'm not saying that in a 'they're nothing to look at' kind of way, I am saying it in a 'I am immune to that stuff since we see it every day' kind of way. Sad huh? Kind of reminds me of visiting my mom in San Diego and eating outside overlooking the harbor and downtown. For many, that is a once in a lifetime view. But for my mom, it is a Wednesday afternoon. Or when we are up at Cape Cod visiting Shaun's family, and every house (including the Feins') has the most unbelievably beautiful hydrangeas in every color you can imagine, but for them, it is nothing out of the ordinary. We kind of become immune to the things that we see or do everyday, and so that leads me back to the shutters. I decided today to take a walk around our neighborhood and 'attempt' to look at things from a visitors point of view, to see them as if I don't see them everyday driving to the grocery store, taking the trashcan down to the bottom of the street or on my usual run route. And I have to admit, it was pretty cool. I took my camera with me to snap some of our shutters here in Toulon. As you will see, they come in all shapes, colors and sizes. The one thing they all have in common: they are fully functioning shutters. These aren't your plastic Home Depot ones where you permanently drill them to the exterior of your house for decoration....cause I wouldn't know anything about that now, would I?  Enjoy...and if you want to see the rest of the Monaco house (interior etc.), click here.

Last but not least, the shutters on our back doors that lead out to the patio/backyard