Beautiful Renovation Number 2: Salvagnac

The second renovated house we saw this weekend was in the little village of Salvagnac, where the boulangerie likes to skimp on the butter in its pain au chocolat, the butcher waxes her legs in her meat-truck, and there's a parade of antique roadsters every Sunday morning. Audrey and Fab bought a tall, three-storey house that sits at the entrance to town, overlooking wide valleys of wheat and green mountains beyond. The story of their house is pretty incredible, because they did the whole damn thing themselves. A 2 year+ project. I don't think I'd have the patience for that. Fab is pretty genius and taught himself all of the electrical engineering, installed the pipes in the kitchen, just about everything. They take such pride in the house, and showed us every little detail. The bathroom is like a spa, with huge jacuzzi and separate shower. Of course meals with them are picture-perfect also. They make it look effortless. While I'm slurping my second glass of Muscat aperitif, a salad with sauteed shrimp and garlic magically appears on the table. And the next morning, the table is already set for breakfast outside in the sunshine, coffee steaming in the pot. (Pierre and I made the run up the hill to the boulangerie, and basked in the Sunday morning commotion of the village- folks in the street, the long line for baguettes, vendors selling huge bundles of white asparagus...)