“J’ai aimé jusqu’à atteindre la folie. Ce que certains appellent la folie, mais ce qui pour moi, est la seule façon d’aimer.”

Françoise Sagan

There are countless blogs and books about seasonal ingredients; about regional lifestyles and about France. Although my book How To French Country touches on all of those subjects, they’re expressed with the somewhat unique perspective of the non-pedigreed observer. Although I sometimes buy chicken at the market and make Coq au Vin, I’m also equally likely to make plov, a biryani or a tagine. When I interview people for the Living Your Bliss posts, they might be a local duck farmer or they could be a textiles designer I met in Marrakesh. Although I’m respectfully renovating a French Chateau, I scatter the floors with kilims I bought from Turkmenistan, and dine alfresco on an Australian wool sheerer’s table. Ultimately, we are but a sum of parts.

One of the greatest things about being different is being able to look through life’s cracks; to find the extraordinary in the ordinary, and survive more on instinct than experience. It also brings with it infinite opportunities to laugh at yourself; something I find myself doing more than a few times every day.


Take one Aussie girl, a pinch of the Middle East, a spoonful of Africa and marinade in Russia. Roll in central Asia then allow to simmer slowly in South West France.

I grew up on the sandy shores of Sydney, Australia. Later l worked in the Middle East, before moving to South Africa to run a game lodge in the Timbervati Reserve. After returning to Australia to find a fetching husband and start a family, further travels led me through Asia, North Africa, South America and Europe, before moving to Russia and later Kazakhstan.

My work as a freelance writer and stylist has been published by Australia’s leading stable of Interiors magazines including Inside Out, Australian House & Garden, Australian Country Style, Home Beautiful and Real Living as well as regular contributions as an interiors expert on Australian radio.



About me:

Australian Country Style Magazine, Inside Out, Vogue Living, Belle, Australian House & Garden Magazine, The Sydney Morning Herald, Home Beautiful, The Australian Woman's Weekly, Real Living Magazine, Air Astana Tengri Magazine and more.

MY WORK HAS BEEN FEATURED IN

"Sara greets you with the captivating warmth of your newest best friend.
A Chateau Montfort experience will imprint on your memory, if not you altogether. Sara knows food, she knows the care of hostessing, the beauty of slow living and letting the world around her unfold at a comfortable, natural pace. This is the French country escape of your dreams."

SHONNA STEPPE – SAN DIEGO LE CORDON BLEU CHEF & NATUROPATHIC DOCTOR