Life Lately

It's no surprise that so many of my original blog friends bid farewell to blogging (at least for now). It's more or less what I've done as well despite many half-hearted attempts and promises. The reality is that life is full and gorgeous, and although there are aspects of blogging that I miss (like the friends and connections!), it's just not the right time for me right now. That being said, I'm going to write now because I feel so compelled, and perhaps I'll drop by time to time (or maybe I won't).

Unlike my last summer in the city, this summer has been a blur. A chaotic, fun and somewhat exhausting mix of brunches, dinners, museum visits, long walks, old friends, new friends, a busy new job, jury duty (yes, I got picked!), oodles of reading, countless visits to Laduree, rooftop bar soirees and the like. Tonight was my first night off in awhile, and it was much needed and deserved. I came home and promptly fell asleep for an hour and a half. Since then I've been lazing about, enjoying having the apartment to myself, reading blogs, listening to Birdy's album (obsessed) and doing laundry. And since I have a little time to breathe, I want to fill you in on my latest loves, passions and pursuits...

Paris, je t'aime
I've been a self-declared francophile for quite some time, but after reading Amy Thomas' Paris, My Sweet, my love for this city is reignited and has pretty much consumed me. Since reading inhaling her delightful memoir, I've been to Laduree at least four times and visited places like La Maison du Chocolat (ridiculously expensive chocolate; heavenly and better-priced eclairs), Levain Bakery (insanely good chocolate chip walnut cookie) and Lady M (famous for their Mille Crepe cake) for some sweet treats of my own. I've also dined at Cafe Cluny (absolutely adorable - the wait staff all wear striped Saint James tees, and the french fries and ice cream are to-die-for) and Cedric (ah-mazing gem in Harlem - merci, Tiffani!) in the hopes of recreating a little Parisien bistro magique in the City That Never Sleeps.

I've also been going through Amy's blog archives, and by doing so, discovered the British delight that is Rachel Khoo. I've no idea how I've never heard of her until now, but I am in love (and full on stalker-mode). I've watched all her episodes of The Little Paris Kitchen and can't wait until her book is published in the States.

And I'm going to sign up for a French language course at alliance francaise this Fall.

AND I'm planning a trip to Paris and London for Spring 2013. :)

Art
I've always enjoyed museums and have made the requisite trips to the Louvre while in Paris, the Galleria delgli Uffizi in Florence and the Tate Modern in London. But since moving to the city and particularly in the last six months, I've been having a bit of a love affair with museums. The Frick, the Met, the MoMA... j'adore them all. Last Friday I got out of jury duty early, so I hopped on the subway and headed uptown to spend some time with my favorite European artists at The Met. I spent hours wandering around the galleries, spending quality one-on-one time with Manet, Monet, Degas, Renoir, Mucha, Vuillard and of course, my favorite Bonnard.

Tomorrow I'm visiting the Neue Galerie to see the Klimt exhibit and dine on some Viennese delights at the gorgeous Cafe Sebarsky. Still on the list? The Guggenheim, the Whitney, the numerous Chelsea galleries and a trip to the Bronx to see a recreation of Monet's Garden at the NY Botanical Gardens.

After reading Object of Beauty (a tres interesting book on the art world in NYC by Steve Martin (yes, that one), I've been more inspired than ever to take a course on art history. Regrettably I never took one in college and am hoping to find a continuing education course here in the city, one that actually works with my schedule.


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It's not all Monet and macarons though. In other news...


- I've also recently developed a rather unhealthy obsession with The Vampire Diaries and all things Stefan/Paul Wesley. I mean, with a jaw like that, how can you not?


- My poor white craptastic macbook is on its last leg. I think a shiny new macbook pro is going to be my birthday present to moi this August.


- I have a new roommate, and I'm not a big fan. Our little friend (read: MOUSE) absolutely refuses to eat the delicious peanut butter in the fancy new traps I purchased and instead enjoys making random appearances in the kitchen and in the hallway (only, of course, when I'm looking) causing me to scream, shout, jump on the bed and generally act like a crazy person. Le sigh.


- I actually have another new roommate whom I adore who's subletting for the summer. She's a wicked smart Harvard and Oxford grad who is currently getting her MBA at Wharton, interning at Godiva. She's lived in London and Mexico City, is from the Bay Area and loves good food as much as I do. We have a date at the esteemed Gramercy Tavern in July, and I cannot wait. 

Gros bisous, mes amies. I hope life is good.




 

PARISIENNE Picnic

From le blog:

"PARISIENNE is the essence of a woman who knows how to love and how to live. At the heart of YSL’s DNA is the empowerment of women, and true to this we believe that any woman, anywhere, can adopt the values of being a PARISIENNE. To celebrate the launch of PARISIENNE, and to encourage women to find their “inner PARISIENNE”, we have created www.ExperienceParisienne.com, where the essence of a woman and her PARISIENNE experience is shared with other women.

In this spirit, YSL is sending five renowned bloggers on a journey around the country to discover and reveal their very own PARISIENNE experiences in New York City, Miami, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Yves Saint Laurent has chosen an ensemble of women with passions for beauty, art, design, music, fashion and food to create a travel diary of their trip. Stay tuned here to read articles, see photos and follow the women on their journey"

How fun is that?? The first post I stumbled across involved a delicious mini French picnic on... an airplane! That's right!! Personally, I abhor flying, especially now that I am forced to take off my shoes (even flip-flops!) at security. Ew. Also? I get uber motion sickness-y and usually have to down several dramamine which make me pass out as soon as i get on the plane (not a bad thing). Anyway, most of all, i hate the food. I hate airplane food and I have airport food (although Austin-Bergstrom has some pretty decent local options). In honor of Julia Child and PARISIENNE, perhaps I'll whip myself a delicious snack to take on the plane? PB + honey? Baguette + goat cheese? What do you eat on airplanes?

{Image from Experience PARISIENNE}

Dear Paris

Dear Paris,

I miss you. Like, a lot. I'm not sure when we'll meet again, ma cherie, but I hope it's soon. Until then, don't forget me. Don't forget me and my love for your wondrous streets, cheap falafel, gorgeous patisseries, famous flea markets, charming hommes, and oh yes, your insanely delicious bread.



{Photos: Sofia Coppola's Paris}

The Sharper Your Knife, The Less You Cry

Book Review: The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry by Kathleen Flinn

I started this book long, long ago. Maybe back in October of 2008? Sad, yes. But since one of my June goals was to finish 2 books of the many books i had started, i brought this gem along with me to Little Rock and spent Saturday morning in bed DEVOURING it. Yes, it was that good.

The premise - a thirty-something woman who, after getting laid off from her corporate gig, moves to Paris to attend the famous Le Cordon Bleu cooking school. In the book, Kathleen documents her journeys through Basic, Intermediate and Superior Cuisine all the while sprinkling in bits and pieces about her relationship with her beau, Mike, and stories of travel, Paris, life and love. What's not to like? I must confess it took me awhile to get into the "i don't want to put this down" phase (hence my inability to finish it back in '08). Still, if you love food and Paris, i highly recommend this one.

But, um, a note about the food. I once harbored ridiculous fantasies about attending cooking school in Paris. After reading Kathleen's story? No more. Meat stuffed with more meat? 32,000 pounds of TRIPE?? (if you don't know what tripe is, google it.) The French's insistence on using every single part of the animal is, although efficient and economical, rather disgusting at times. *shudders* It reminds me of my BAR trip and the couple nights we stayed in Lyon. Every SINGLE menu in Lyon had a dish avec tripe. Moi? Not a fan. I much preferred the cuisine in the Cote d'Azur - oodles of fresh seafood (delicious mussels + fries, incredible pasta avec langoustine), thin crust pizzas, and light wines. I guess i'm not as adventurous of an eater as i thought...

P.S. Coming next? Revisiting my June Goals... can we say FAIL?

Humpity Hump Day!

Bon matin, mes amies! It's a gorgeous Wednesday morning here in Austin, and i'm currently enjoying a (free!) breakfast taco courtesy of the firm. (I find that free food is the best kind of food, n'est ce pas?) I'm in a pretty good mood despite ignoring my alarm's persistent beeping this morning and sleeping in just a touch too late. Oops... Couldn't get my morning pages in, but will definitely catch up tomorrow as i'm working from home in the morning due to another dentist appointment. :-)

ALSO in a great mood b/c i'm getting a pedicure during my lunch break @ the lovely milk + honey spa and guess which color i'm getting? NARS Schiap!! Named InStyle's Best Pink, this shade really is the most perfect hot pink i've ever seen! I haven't gotten a pedi since my sister's visit many, MANY weeks ago (that's the thing about getting $50 pedicures - they last FOREVER) so i'm really excited about this little mid-week indulgence. ;-)

Speaking of PINK, if you're like me and aren't blessed with naturally pink lips, and you start resembling something of a corpse midday when your morning lipstick/gloss has worn off, then i highly suggest getting one of Covergirl's new Outlast Lipstain sticks. (i have it in Everbloom Kiss and adore it!) I was really skeptical b/c not only are my lips completely void of any color, but they are also extremely dry and prone to chapping/flaking/all-of-the-above. But this lipstain really doesn't start to look dry and crackly and for that reason, i'm considering getting ALL the colors. :-) (haha j/k... Mom if you're reading this, i'm JUST KIDDING... sort of)

In other exciting non-pink related news, next Wednesday, April 22, is Earth Day, and i'm beyond excited about going to see the Disneynature Earth special playing in theaters beginning that very day! I think it's basically a condensed version of Planet Earth. I bet it'll be awesome on the big screen so if you haven't seen Planet Earth or you have and loved it, i highly suggest checking your local theaters for this flick.

ABOUT KINDLE vs. BOOKS - I completely agree with y'all. I'm a self-proclaimed bibliophile and love love LOVE collecting books. I think I'd use the Kindle more as a supplement, if that makes any sense. There are some books (usually the latest fiction craze) that i can definitely live without a copy of... you know? I also read extremely fast which can present a problem on trips. On my BAR Trip, for example, I brought something like 10 books and left the majority of them there. So maybe in the end getting the Kindle wouldn't save me any money, but it would save me some space! And i think i'd read more... HOWEVER, i still refuse to shell out that kind of $$ for it so maybe i'll ask for it for my birthday or something. :-)

Last, but not least, if you adore French women and in particular, Garance Dore, as much as i do then i highly suggest you check out her Style feature on Refinery 29 (i bet most of you have probably already seen it). It's so nice to finally see pictures of her and her rockin' sense of style, and i think it's too cute that her boyfriend, Scott of The Sartorialist, took them. Le sigh... what is it about French women?? Oh, how i'd love to be one, just for a day...


Photo courtesy of Garance Dore

Btw - what does "sartorialist" mean??

Oh Carine

Confession: As much as i adore fashion, i'm not particularly into the really haute couture/ridiculous-names-i-can't-pronounce world. I don't know all the designers, the fashion houses, the editors, the photographers, the models... i'm much more into street style because duh, that's all i can afford. That being said, one of the fun parts of reading fashion/style blogs is that you get to learn all kinds of things about the fashion world and the people in it. One name i've seen over and over again is Carine Roitfeld - the Editor-in-Chief at Vogue Paris. And wow, i noticed, people are OBSESSED with her. They absolutely adore/worship her. Out of curiosity, i decided to do a little investigating and stumbled across her recently aired CNN interview/documentary...

Well.

Now i COMPLETELY understand. She's the quintessential chic French woman that all American girls secretly want to be. And on top of that? She seems genuinely genuine. Down-to-earth, maternal, all the things that you know a certain other E.I.C. is not. Anyway, i've got to run but if you haven't already, you must check out the CNN special which can be seen here. Enjoy and bonsoir!

xoxo,
C