“a book is a gift you can open again and again” -Garrison Keillor

bonjour friends, i hope you’re having a lovely sunday. i have to admit it’s been a lazy day but that seems to be the only way to take time to leaf through the pages of my favorite books. there are so many books and so little time as some wise soul once said. are you obsessed with beautiful books? for some of us they’re treasured friends, constant and reassuring, they transport us and show us something different each time we open them.

i started looking for a pretty book to add to my mom’s collection since she always has them displayed on her coffee table. i got lost in a world of volumes i’d love to have myself and still haven’t decided which will be best for her birthday. she’s a traditionalist but has a modern streak. her bold style still influences me to this day. anyway i couldn’t resist putting them all together even if it’s just in a virtual library via this blog post. if you have a fave or one i should look into let me know. till then i hope you enjoy this little collection and maybe get some inspiration for yourself. the one below is tempting me to try a saffron shade to contrast my one pink wall. click on the cover to see more images and what’s inside with a link to amazon. happy browsing!

“Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.”

Charles W. Eliot

“That’s the thing about books. They let you travel without moving your feet.”

Jhumpa Lahiri

“The most technologically efficient machine that man has ever invented is the book.”
Northrop Frye

“A book is a garden, an orchard, a storehouse, a party, a company by the way, a counselor, a multitude of counselors.”
Charles Baudelaire

“It is remarkable, the character of the pleasure we derive from the best books.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson

“I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library.”
Jane Austen

“A book is a dream you hold in your hands.”
Neil Gaiman

“No two persons ever read the same book.”
Edmund Wilson

“I never feel lonely if I’ve got a book – they’re like old friends. Even if you’re not reading them over and over again, you know they are there. And they’re part of your history. They sort of tell a story about your journey through life.”
Emilia Fox

May 23, 2021. Books, Decorating, Friends, Life. 3 comments.

there’s no place like bed

bonjour friends, ca va? after a year of not posting, here’s the second in one week…how come? well i wanted to do a post before mother’s day and it’s coming up quick so, here we are!

have you ever wanted a set of pink sheets? rose, blush, nude, what ever shade we gravitate toward, pink is a healing and soothing color. it’s tricky to decorate with since it’s so feminine but that’s why the bed is the perfect place to indulge in its comforting and alluring appeal. (photos via pinterest.theparisapartment.com)

many of us love pink in all its glorious shades but we’re also super picky…we don’t want bubble gum, others are too peach, others too pale or bright. each person’s pink is very specific.

it’s tricky nailing our perfect pink but when we hit on it there’s nothing else that compares when slipping between the sheets. it’s like a cocoon or as my friend described these sheets i’m about to share, it’s like sleeping on a rose petal.

i’ve always been a cotton purist, loving egyptian and indian cotton and just basically enjoyed how cotton wears and get softer with age. linen too, in fact all natural fibers on the bed has always been the first order of business when building the perfect bed.

vintage french cotton sheets and pillowcases will always be welcome accents but friends, i’m excited to tell you about my new discovery because it also inspired something else i’ve been wanting to share.

after staying at a friend’s place and having one of the best sleeps of my life on her sheets, i had to order a set for myself and was bursting at the seams when they arrived. i got a pink set and, as you can see from the top shot, neo loves them too!

so this is twofold…first of all the sheet set i ordered is called sheex first of all they are the most delicious shade of pink. secondly, they’re made from 100% Tencel Lyocell eucalyptus tree fibers, are eco-friendly. and…they’re naturally cooling. the company offers a few different products and i did order the wrong ones at first, so be sure they’re the ‘arctic aire’ if you’re going to test these out. as you may know, when photographing, pinks and reds can be really hard to capture. below are the sheets on my bed and next is a shot ofthem on amazon with what may be a truer color. but even then i find that they’re more of a neutral pink than the bright that they seem below. they really nailed the shade in my opinion but they have to be seen to be appreciated.

anyway the good news is that they come in a few colors and if you’re not into pink you get them in cream or white. either way, i highly recommend them for being beautifully made, super soft and guaranteed to be the perfect gift. beware tho, they’re also guaranteed to keep you in bed a little longer each morning!

click the pic below to see the details or purchase on amazon, or you can use this link: https://amzn.to/3uh9Gt1

last but not least i wanted to share that these sheets inspired me to get my amazon affiliate account back up and running. if you don’t know, you can sign up on amazon to recommend products you’re passionate about. when someone purchases, the affiliates receive a commission. it can be something like these sheets or books, movies, products, beauty items, candles, etc. i wanted to discuss it briefly since it’s something many of us can do that’s both fun and satisfying. if you’re interested in learning more about it, I finally cracked the code and although i’m no expert, believe we can all help each other to learn and grow in business and pleasure. let me know if you’re interested in the topic and if so, we can go further in depth.

et alors, c’est tout for today, sweet dreams mes amis!

May 5, 2021. Tags: amazon, bedding, Pink, sheex. Uncategorized. 7 comments.

the art of self care

bonjour dear friends, it’s been a while since I sat down to blog. In fact it’s been over a year which is really unbelievable since this used to be my favorite place to be. wordpress has a new format and now that i’m over the learning curve i can get back to doing what I love, being here!

so what’s changed in this past year? well, only everything. the outside world has shifted and that brought our homes more into focus. we began nesting, cleaning out closets and trimming the excess.

we created areas to work, relax and rest, inspired by our need for personal spaces, and we reignited our love for just being home.

we also found that self care would be come a priority. but with everyone home, it wasn’t always so easy to find.

i’ve always felt a vanity is the ultimate refuge; an intimately personal realm we don’t share. it’s a sacred space that is ours alone. they seem to come in and out of fashion but now more than ever, they’re an essential non negotiable. some may see it as excessive but i believe being self-ish in this way is like putting your oxygen mask on before helping someone else when on a plane. what good are we to anyone else when we haven’t replenished ourselves? i would argue that the vanity has the ability to restore, reset and revive us on many levels, from physical to mental and emotional.

vanities are nothing new, in fact they’ve been around for thousands of years, maybe more. so what is it exactly is the magic that a table, mirror and chair combo does for us? well, it’s a combination of eternal needs; a moment of me time, the ultimate luxury, full focus on you alone. it’s a timeless concept. in fact we see in early pompeii paintings like this one below (showcasing the age old dilemma of what looks to be a bad hair day) that this issue knows no time or bounds.

heck, even cleopatra had a vanity, which is no surprise really, they were already thousands of years old by her time. we tend to attribute the dressing table to the french but maybe it’s more that they just rebranded them. their innovative and lavish designs brought glamour into the 1700s.

so, if women through all of eternity have been setting up this private world all to themselves, why shouldn’t we enjoy this little indulgent tradition in the Age of Self Care? we should!

You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.
Buddah

alors then, what does it take to have a vanity or dressing table in a modern world? luckily for us we’re living in a minimalistic age where it really doesn’t take much. a table, a mirror, the perfect seat, and of course all the accoutrements that make it personal. but it’s only natural (and fun) to gather inspiration from the past, and who can resist the early designs and historical illustrations of daily life?

the designs were elaborate in the 1700s but still, many have gone with simplicity throughout the years

it’s hard to imagine life in the 1500s and 1600s but rain or shine, feeling well or not, they pulled it together and put their hair and faces on.

i get such a kick out of these old plates…pinterest is full of wonderful rabbit holes to go down and discover. in fact, all images were found there on my vanity board. pinterest.com/parisapartment/vanities

what is it about a woman looking into a mirror that is so alluring?

And lest we think the vanity belongs to women alone, take a look at these old illustrations from hundreds of years ago where men were no strangers to the importance of the vanity.

so dear friends, as we take this new era, to go with the flow of changes we’re all experiencing, it seems that the most important action we can do is one of being self-ish, and that’s a far cry from selfish. have a great weekend!