battling the elements
bonjour dear friends! it’s my last day in paris although i fought and lamented the bitter cold, eventually i fell under the spell of the snow that dusted the city.
i spent the day visiting my favorite museum, musee carnavalet which is just down the street from the apartment. it draws me in every single time i’m in town.
it’s one of those places that’s pure soul food, full of inspiration. i must have shot 600 pics!
but what stood out in the edits today were not the interiors (i’ll share them tomorrow) but instead, the snowy shots. it seems to be a rare and disarming occurrence according to taxi drivers, locals, weather reports and airports.
and once i got into it, saw that it did cast a magical spell on just about everyone and everything.
looking through the paintings it’s obvious that a little snowfall never stopped this city from celebrating grandeur even on the bleakest and most overcast and snowy days.
painters were inspired to capture the elements and capture the moments of silent, white winter streets
i march through the city slush and sometimes take for granted what it took to build and protect it
before photography the painters were the historians, giving us a glimpse into a difficult but marvelous time
somehow without heat, running water and electricity the women were still able to look chic
and even bundled up were the essence of sophistication
i honestly don’t know how they did it, i couldn’t have made it without my uggs
i guess that’s why paris has always been the benchmark for elegance despite the weather
now it’s all about the right gear; duck boots, down jackets, hoodies and hand warmers
but the eternal beauty of the city will never fade and that’s the magic of paris i guess! well, see you on the other side, sweet dreams and stay warm!
redefining the art of conversation
hi guys, happy sunday! i’m kicking back finally going through stacks of mags and mail and happy to find my article on the salon hostesses of paris in romantic homes’ april issue.
it’s a subject that just fascinates me. the idea that people would gather with no intention other than to converse. not that talking is so odd of course, but that in an era so abundant (the age of enlightenement)! with beauty, science and fine arts, society would place conversation above it all, regarding the spoken word as the highest art form, even though there was nothing recorded, in fact nothing retained at all except memories of those witness to it.
guess i wish i could have been there. i always visit the salon hostesses’ homes in paris. i never get tired of them and there seems to be another to discover around each corner.
these are some of the random shots taken in my travels. it’s incredible passing through the rooms, imagining the guests, their clothes, their wit and brilliance. wishing those walls could talk! maybe someday archaeology will include recording sound waves from walls. but i digress!
seems like we only gather face to face now if it’s for a reason. but we do have salons if we consider blogging an offshoot. and twitter is an ongoing conversation too. maybe it makes us be more thoughtful about what we say when it’s just a one liner or a bi weekly post. anyway, i’m glad we have our little corners of the world with each other. your comments are wonderful conversation, hopefully recorded for a good long time. but it’s just ether so guess that’s fleeting too! oh well lets enjoy it while we have it!
by the by romantic homes has a new forum set up to become more interactive with their readers:
also, if you want to submit an article or your creative work, the editors are dolls! here’s the contact info:
Jickie Torres
Senior Editor
Romantic Homes
265 S. Anita Dr. Suite 120
Orange, CA 92868
and if you’re fascinated by the salons too, these were some of my resources:
http://www.oup.com/us/brochure/0195104307/salons.pdf
http://www.bdavetian.com/salonhistory.html
florine stettheimer painting
endicott-studio.com/rdrm/formsmr.html
and some of my old posts about salons and writing this article. i can’t believe it took a year of working on this before it actually happened! anyway enjoy your night and hope your weekend was wonderful!
a little off the top
off the desktop that is!
hi guys, can i just take a moment and tell you how much i adore you? without you it just wouldn’t be any fun at all! thankfully you are here and please know i’ll be there to visit too, i really fell behind with the holidays and am back at cruising speed, at least for tonite.
and thank you mom and dad for all you do. i know i’m a lot of daughter. =]
i got these images with about 30 others from the manhattan picture library when i was there for the holidays. i had a big article due and my dad scanned them all perfectly somewhere between chopping wood and making the feasts. these are two i had a hard time parting with. they weren’t originals but they were really old and hand colored, really small and detailled like tiny blueprints. these pics don’t do them justice, but the scans do!
the picture library is amazing. it’s across from the main branch on 5th ave and is a goldmine for illustrations and pics from every area of life. and you can borrow them for 3 weeks! i just mailed mine back today, i loved having them around but they were due last week so i bid farewell. i can’t post any more cause they’re for an article i always wanted to write and finally finished. my editor pushed me and i bucked but am glad it’s in the can as they say! (i have a hard time finishing anything)! anyway it’s on a subject i just adore, the french salon hostesses.
these sketches weren’t salons but i imagine it did look a lot like it…this artist probably frequented a few himself
i think one’s a wedding and would love to know exactly what they say. melanie? dad? traduisez sil vous plait ;)
well i better get back to it, blogging i love but a site i must build…what with my big mouth and all. but guess that’s what it might take to finish it, just like the article! i’m leaving for san fran on thursday for the fancy food show and to see my college roomie, mb so it’s now or never with a second shift from 6 to midnite! bon nuit and sending you love, c
la vie cherie
bonsoir à tout le monde! where do the days go? it’s friday night and i have a second (nano) before i have to get ready to go for dinner but just wanted to say hi cause it’s gonna be a busy weekend.
first i’d like to thank two wonderful ladies who designed yet another beautiful blog, La vie cherie. it’s a sort of modern salon/forum for the fashion challenges we all face with clothing and decor. i love the new wave of blogs that are really multi-dimensional. go on ladies and thank you so much, i’m sorry it took this long to tell you!
which brings me to my task for the weekend, finishing (starting?) my article for RH about the salon hostesses, something i’ve wanted to sink my teeth into for so long. yet these images have been sitting on my desktop for weeks
as i didn’t do it day after day… i’m also working on the site, and the line
surfing suppliers’ sites is so much fun
of course this is the tip of that iceberg
but i should do something with this hair…
so more to come! have a great weekend!! xoc
memoirs of the court of louis xiv
the memoirs are just one of a thousand things i came across tonite working on a new project, i couldn’t resist sharing some of them so, if you’ve got the time,
these are the places
i don’t want you to fall into the abyss and blame me so that’s all pour maintenant! (plus we found a kitten today and she’s on my lap and i’m typing with one finger. bon nuit!
float like a butterfly
dirty but pretty.
this is from hotel carnavalet in paris. i don’t know if they know. i was dying to use this on the homepage of my site but thought better of it. but i hope my blog buds appreciate it. as soon as this show is over i’m gonna start on working on the rendezvous to paris in may. these salons are a trip all their own.
this is from another salon in paris, hotel soubise, an amazing home with the prince and princess’ suites still intact. it looks imposing from the outside but it’s got drop dead interiors. don’t get me started on the walls!
i satisfied my shopping/fleamarketing/weekend and overall tune out and found these at the ny flea’s garage. i love it there. always something inspiring.
we’re going to blow these up. they’ll be on canvas so you can hang or lean them.
more on the flat stuff: we’ll have it for sale at the show and on the site.
i think this would be great for girls too, minus the black sheets!
here it is in creme
this is another flat headboard. the detail is amazing.
anyway, that was my happy distraction for tonite. now back to the grind. sent my guy off to florida and have ny to myself. now i’ve really got no excuses! i usually wing stuff like this but i’ve been asked for the layout. who can predict that? oh well, luckily there’s an art store across the street so here goes nothing!
omg i did it thanks to a friend who clued me in to the scale thing! i’m going to bed!!
