The Real Villa Under the Tuscan Sun: Villa Laura

Have you had a chance to visit the beautiful table settings linked for yesterday's Tablescape Thursday? I had so much fun clicking on all the links yesterday. I wish I could leave a comment at every single blog and tablescape I visited, but unfortunately that would take about 12 hours. I'm afraid my comments would be the ravings of a crazy nut if I left comments for 12 hours. ;) But please know I do visit as many as I can each week, even if I don't get a chance to leave a comment.

A few weeks ago we toured the beautiful old villa used in the filming of the movie, Under the Tuscan Sun. (You can view that post HERE.) When I was doing a little research for that post, I discovered the villa in the movie wasn't the actual villa bought by the author of the book by the same title. Frances Mayes, the author who wrote the book upon which the movie was based, bought Bramasole pictured below.




The movie was actually filmed in another villa in Italy, Villa Laura.




In 2006 Villa Laura was sold and the new owners completed a full restoration of the property.




Let's take a look at how Villa Laura looks now after its restoration/renovation. It's still very beautiful.




It appears this beautiful arched doorway will take us into the living room...







I am guessing the above room is this room in the movie below. Look closely and you can see the floor is tiled in the movie, too.




The current kitchen in Villa Laura:




Beautiful!




Here's a view of the kitchen in the movie. Quite different isn't it? I believe I like the stove after the restoration a lot better. ;)




The current dining room in Villa Laura:




And here's a view into the dining room in the movie. At one point during the movie, while the restoration was going on, they were eating off a table made of lumber/boards.




Here's a little view of some of the bedrooms from the movie, Under the Tuscan Sun.







And here are two of the bedrooms in Villa Laura today. Aren't the terracotta floors beautiful?! According to the information at the Villa Laura website, all the tile was removed, cleaned and re-installed. Can you imagine? That's a true labor of love.




If you're traveling to Italy, you can actually stay in Villa Laura. It is 6,000 sq. ft. spanning over three floors. It will sleep ten. You'll find more information at this website, HERE.




This was the only bathroom we were able to see in the movie.




Here's a bathroom in Villa Laura today. I wonder if this is the same bath as the one pictured above. The window looks similar.




The photo below was also on the Villa Laura site. It is a view of a "neighboring castle" and you can see it from a window at Villa Laura. Now, how often do you get to look out a window and spy a "neighboring castle?" :) Love it!

Click HERE for a full tour of Villa Laura as it was in the movie, Under the Tuscan Sun.



All photos of the restored Villa Laura are from Villa Vacations, HERE.

You'll find additional Movie House Tours HERE OR click on any picture link below.

April Giveaway: Lomography Fisheye No. 2 Camera!

We're jumping back into the world of Lomography cameras this month with our little giveaway! Up for grabs is a slick and stylish Fisheye camera with viewfinder! Mike and I purchased one of these little guys several months ago and we've had so much fun playing with it. We still have tons of film to develop from it so I should take this as my cue to get on that! It's super easy to use and it makes for some really interesting prints! (My favorite is to play around with multiple exposures!)


Some interesting specs on this camera include:

• 170 degree fisheye lens
• On-Camera Flash
• Hot Shoe Mount for External Flash
• "Bulb" Setting for Long Exposures
• "Lock" setting so the shutter won't fire in your bag

All you have to do to enter is:
Be a follower of this blog with Google Friend Connect! (Click "Follow" in the upper nav bar and follow with Google/Blogger, Twitter, Yahoo, or Aim!) and then leave a comment with your email address! (This is just one entry!) You must do this entry first to be eligible for additional entries!

To gain additional entries, you can blog, tweet, update your status on Facebook with a link over to the giveaway or "Like" Little Chief Honeybee on Facebook! Just be sure to leave a separate comment for each entry and leave the link to each one! (You can tag @KaelahBee on Twitter and @Little Chief Honeybee on Facebook!) Overall that's FIVE ways to win!

A winner will be announced at the end of the month! Good luck! (Don't worry, there will still be other sponsored giveaways going on in the time being!)


Fisheye user photos courtesy of Lomo MicroSites.

Giveaway Winners Announced!

The winner of the Flip Cam Mino HD video camera giveaway is...

and the winner of the Shabby Apple Cortez dress giveaway is...

The winner have been contacted to claim their prizes so thanks to everyone who entered!

I'll have April's giveaway up in the a.m! (So much stuff given away on this blog! Yowza!)

PS; Still got a large slot or two available for April! If you'd like it, email me at kaelahbee@gmail.com! xo

Things I Love Thursday

Better late than never! (I mean, it's only 3pm, but still!) Check out this week's fresh crop of all things radical and fantastical (yeah, I said 'fantastical').

♥ this graphic! muppets = angry birds?! ♥

♥ this pretty pretty picture. ♥

♥ this incredible looking breakfast! yum! ♥

♥ this dress! (via danihampton & susannahbean) ♥

♥ this picture of bret & jemaine! ♥

*how many times has flight of the conchords made my tilt list?! love them!*

♥ this google search. they always crack me up. ♥

♥ these! fierce. ♥

♥ this interesting depiction of tumblr users. (what's your take?) ♥

♥ this pup. georgia's soul mate?!?! ♥

♥ this dress! (via emmawho) ♥

♥ this interesting ad campaign.. uhm... ♥

(yes, tattoo an ecko logo on yourself to get 20% off for life. wow..)

What are you loving this week?

meet corduroy

this little cutie was on ksl for $25. as soon as i held her i fell in love!!! she is the cutest little bunny ever! she's a mini-lop mix and she is the runt. i had to share. :)

23 Before 24...

This birthday has been spectacular, and nothing extravagant has even happened! I love the little things in life. They make everything totally worth the while! We signed the lease for the loft (hooray!) and we've spent the day picking out paint colors and patterns for our new little home. We are overjoyed. So now I'm going to share with you my 23 before 24 list of goals I'm hoping going to achieve by my next birthday!

click to see full size!

Mike's favorite is totally number 12! (/sarcasm) haha I know it's important to balance out tangible goals with the not so tangible, but these are 23 things I find to be important at the moment and I have a whole slew of other things to add to it! I'll probably need all of your help! Well, however helpful you can be through the internet!

Do you have a list of things you want to accomplish before you turn a year older? Share some of them with me! (Or link me over to your post!)

PS; Thank you all so much for the birthday wishes today! You've made it absolutely fantastic and the overwhelming love and support I have from y'all is amazing!

PPS; To clear up confusion about #21: I did graduate. Well, I finished college in December, but O'More doesn't have winter graduations so I have to wait until May to walk at graduation and to get my degree. :) haha It's a special day because graduation day is also my mom's birthday! Having your only child graduate college is a pretty rad birthday present right? So I don't have to buy anything?! *kidding* :P

A Beautiful Herend and Royal Copenhagen Tablescape: Welcome to the 136th Tablescape Thursday!

Rain, rain, go AWAY. Come again another day. On second thought, don't come back for a few weeks. We are water logged here in Georgia. How is it in your part of the country?

I am seriously craving some sunshine. Fortunately, my friend, Cornelia sent some all the way from Switzerland via a lovely table setting. :)


Welcome to Cornelia's beautiful dining room.




She has the table all ready for us.




You may sit wherever your heart desires.




The tablecloth Cornelia used for this table setting is custom made and is made from the same material as the lining of her draperies. The napkins are vintage.






The salad plate is by Herend/Osier.




The dinner plate is Saxon Flower by Royal Copenhagen. All the china is beautifully hand-painted.




The bread plate is by Nymphenburg.




The glasses are by Baccarat/France and the colored glasses are vintage and come from Bohemia.




The vintage glasses are all hand-cut crystal.

They truly are beautiful!




The cutlery is silver by Jezler/Switzerland. The pattern is called “La Reine” / The Queen.




The tulips are Parrot tulips and the vase is Meissen.




Sooo pretty! A little sunshine on this cloudy day. :)




The figurines are all hand-made and hand-painted and come from Germany/Erzgebirge.




They are called "Flower Children" and are a symbol for spring. How cute are they!




A little candle light for our dinner...




Cornelia, thanks so much for having us into your lovely home. Everything was just magical!




Looking forward to viewing your beautiful tablescapes!




Please Read:
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Let's try something fun today! Please visit the person who linked before you and after you...that way everyone will get some visits. Hope you'll visit more, of course. :-)


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