A WEEK OF PAMPERING

Before December's count down strikes, there's only ONE week left for us ,  let's be honest , I'm sure you'll see my point, there's One and Only week to take full care of You, and Only You : this coming week.

And a day at a SPA could seem like just the right thing to do.
Now, comes the big moment of choosing one, and by that, I mean, tonight, before it's booked solid  by all those goats out there,  till February.

This week  is due to be cold, no matter what you do, "switching on the air-conditionning hoping it will get hot outside", "getting all the fireplaces in your home bursting out with fake fires and fake flames", who do you think you could ever fool ?

Cold is cold.

First, why don't you make yourself a tasty coffee to think it over : in our busy life, we tend not to take enough time to think, but here, take it, it's worth it.

What are you dreaming of ?
What would be most pleasurable to You ?  What are you looking for when going to a spa ? Is it sensuality, pure pleasure, pampering, letting go, forgetting , serenity, tranquility , taking a break ? Once in a while it IS good to think it over.

So there are a few choices :

Heavenly Bali style ? Sounds nice enough.


 Or more urban outfit, Paris style ?

An in-between would do nicely too.

Maybe a heady and muscular body scrub would be a very good start to get all that virtual dirt out , but a mild scrub with candles burning will do as good.






Then , what about a divine, sensual and aromatic massage to let Heaven come as close to you as possible, that's better than ... you name it. For once, the choice is yours !

Sensuality, Pampering, Professional care is here at the Institut GUERLAIN who will meet your gold cravings ; the Spa is on the all gilt tasselled 1st floor. Enter the world of Guerlain Spa, where cutting-edge innovations unites with customisation, luxury, exotism and sensuality. Yield to the magic of the "Ultimate Experience" for 3 blissful hours.
Cocooning and tranquility with a revitalising body massage, manicure and pedicure: emerge replenished in a state of complete serenity; a whole new you.
http://www.guerlain.com/

Now you're ready for that .  I know, doesn't happen that often in Paris !

This is the week to get all your cashmere throws out on your sofa, on the arm of your most comfortable armchair, on your bed. This is the week when you light a large candle in every room of your home as soon as dark hits your windows, just to feel a little more cosy. This is the week to leave on all the night tables a small bouquet of white freesia for its delightful scent. This is the week to light a white candle also at breakfast time, on your table, to pour out a fresh orange juice for everyone in you most delicate crystal glasses.

Enjoy !

XMAS SPIRIT STARTS WITH SHANGRI-LA PARIS

Are you like me ?
Trying every minute to find a good excuse to have a great time ?
Well, there's a good enough one :  Xmas spirit starts NOW, right ?
So, how are we going to start that wonderful month of December ?
I think one of the best ways to start your wonderful Xmas time is by having the most elegant of drinks in one of the most elegant of Paris palaces .
Be kind enough to wait for the SHANGRI-LA PARIS to open its sumptious doors on December 17th, 2010. And as we are of the kind breed, we'll let them a few days to know how to take orders and to chill up the champagne !



No other palace is as highly and fabulously placed in Paris. Set on tip of the Butte de Chaillot, with breathtaking views on Paris and its spectacular monuments : the iron-clad  iconic tall lady, see who I'm talking about ?, the curvy little stream down the road, the heavy white meringue always on watch  over Paris far away in the distance of the 18th arrondissement, God's biggest headquarter all stone white on its little island of La Cité, and last but not least, the museums's treasure chests of the imposing Trocadero.

The SHANGRI-LA PARIS : East meets West in the most beautiful way : Asian hospitality meeting with French art de vivre. This is total elegance, total "raffinement". Can't get any better in this world.


Don't think for 1 second that I am the author of those charming drawings, because I'm not, unfortunately.

A few facts :
81 rooms, 27 suites, a 16 meters long pool on the roof , just like at home ! ( picture the view ?), and gastronomic restaurants : when the best of Cantonese cooking meets French cuisine . Both restaurants will open in 2011. You will be able to head to the Bar as well as La Bauhinia restaurant.

But "no worries" , the bar will be open ! Definitely so !
Don't forget to take your kids with you, 1st, the're human beings, 2nd, they might enjoy luxury as much as you do, you jerk, and 3dly, you'll enjoy being with them !

More good Xmas spirit tips to come but life too hectic right now; so give me a few days !

HAPPY THANKSGIVING !

Happy Thanksgiving to all !!



I still have in mind the terrible sight of me last year, same day, as I had ordered a turkey at my butcher's without really realizing the weight of the Beast !!! I remember myself carrying  that Enormously round and super heavy bird ( talk of a bird !!!) in my arms but I just Couldn't hold it in my arms ! I couldn't call anybody for help; I was in total loss , but I couldn't face either the fact that I was just a dumb piece of shit ! So I just stopped every 5 meters for breath . But I finally made it !

I "HAD" to invite a few more friends over so that that bloody turkey wouldn't feel ridiculous on the huge platter as big as my kitchen. All right, I do have a small kitchen... and small oven.

Remember Rowan Atkinson with HIS turkey; well I looked silly enough when I realized before my Frenchman of a husband that not only couldn't I get the weight right but couldn't get the Beast in the oven !!! I had to let the door open ! Does that look and sound very American ? No, for sure !

Never mind all those mishaps. We all enjoyed it, fully , as I had made a point of pouring the sauce over the body of that scoundrel every so often to make sure that it would melt under the  tongue. It did .

In fact, my address is not that bad for a Turkey. I mean the actual fowl, not me, Thank you !

Have a Wonderful Thanksgiving ! A very special Thanksgiving to my family in Maine ! We love them dearly !

26 .........

Rather suspect , that number out of nowhere. You're yet to be surprised.

26 is a concept :
- 26 rooms
- 26 letters
- 26 authors
- 26 texts.
We are talking about the 1st literary hotel in Paris : LE PAVILLON DES LETTRES.
In such a literary city, how come nobody  thought of it earlier  ?
Well, there it is.




Truly timeless, the Pavillon des Lettres combines the art of writing and the aesthetics of the decoration to pay homage to the known and hidden talents of both French and international literature.

In the image of the 26 letters of the alphabet, the rooms and suites of the Pavillon des Lettres reveal the beauty and poetry of the various authors.
Behind each door hides the spirit of a poet, a writer, an impassioned virtuoso, a genius, which will give a special atmosphere to the room, ( in case you have no imagination yourself !) So, no fear of getting bored with Darling husband. But oh ! God, you better like "words" ! There even on the walls.




And because sleep feeds on beautiful images, the guiding spirit of these texts seeks its source in the imaginary of the night, dreams and poetry. Better than the imagery of a cold super huge supermarket .

Didier Benderli, the unusual decorator, summarises his work as an alliance of the arts, combining literature, painting and sculpture to create a subtle dialogue . Interplay of colours and materials, the concept involves setting of raw materials against silky and sensual materials in order to create physical sensations that complement the intellectual pleasure of reading.



You can even settle down comfortably in the Salon and starts writing your own novel :
" Once upon a time blablabla." That's an interesting start !
http://www.pavillondeslettres.com/

Le Pavillon des Lettres
12, rue des Saussaies
75008 Paris
+ 33 (01) 49 24 26 26

CHARITY BAZAAR : THE BEST HAPPY PLAN FOR XMAS SHOPPING !

Be the First in the know ! It isn't that often that you get one of those great happy tips on Paris life !
This week-end, from Saturday November 27th to Sunday November 28th, from 10 o'clock to 7 rush to the BEST HAPPY plan for Xmas shopping !

The 1st edition of CHARITY BAZAAR is for you !

CHARITY BAZAAR will offer you a  great mix of young creations, fresh and lively, elegant and crazy, fun and Xmassy !

12 young and dedicated designers joined together to show you their new creations and have the generosity to give the profits  to "Les Ptits Cracks" , an association for little kids with cancer. So, not only will you spend a wonderful time discovering their sparkling items but you will also give plenty of happiness to les P'tits Cracks !

Men and women's prêt-à-porter with charming names as Lords and Ladies, responsable shoes with Faquo, divine scented candles from Quintessence, Wine-Sitting for our adored man, beautiful jewellery for us at Lux 55 and many more offers you won't be able to resist !

That's real and enjoyable Xmas shopping !As you can guess, My  Little Paris is on that super plan too !!

See you there Girls ! And 1st, have a look at the CHARITY BAZAAR blog !


GALERIE JOSEPH
7 rue Froissard
75003 PARIS

http://www.lesptitscracks.fr/
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=159029084132702

PARIS PHOTO : DON'T MISS HIM... JUST DON'T.

François-Régis DURAND ,49.

" Travelling means also knowing when to stop."
What the hell does he mean ? I bet this picture tells it all. A look. An emotion.



Don't you just melt with tenderness when looking at such a picture ?

That's François-Régis Durand's meaning behind " you meet people". I bet you do. I'd love to know what they said to each other , that kid and that French man. Did they talk about their lives ? "How are you doing at school ?"
 How on earth could that kid have any chance to go to school ?
In fact, behing every photograph of a person, there is an encounter.
François-Régis worked nightly for 20 bloody years in an industrial  photo laboratory so that he could live his passion by day. Isn't that commitment ?

It's never too late to live your passion. Remember that one. It works for everybody else.
François-Régis's story is also the one of a dream which took a little longer to come to life, a bit like a fairy tale: you never thought it would happen to you . One of his photographs was chosen for a prize and there you go, he's now one of the focus at PARIS PHOTO. Glad to hear it.



Young Sweetheart. No shoes my Darling, but such a beautiful hibiscus in your hands You Lovely !And such gentleness in your eyes....  Peace .

As you can gather, he didn't shoot Paris life but went quite far, as far as  Madagascar. These pictures reflect also a pause in Time. Heat, dust and peace right out of these people's hearts. I'm sure you feel it too.

This wonderful and so sensitive artist gives us such a valuable present : an emotion at a given time.

François-Régis would love us to feel that emotion through his technique. We're in the "feeling" of what he has lived, ' feeling" , nothing else.

That's precisely it. Just for that single reason , I will DASH to PARIS PHOTO.

RED : AN APOLOGY TO RED

What is RED to you ?

Sexy or Fatale ?

RED was this morning for me a long, scarlet, elegant and proud RED ROSE gently dipping  her long stemmed leg in crystal pure water in a long narrow vase in the middle of my coffe table. There was a little white note at its feet : " It's for you, from P.H."

It was " GOODNESS day " in France yesterday. The most generous and caring friends of mine had a dinner yesterday evening and they had scattered little goodness cards everywhere in their appartment; from the doorway to the coffee table, it came right out of their hearts, and they handed each lady a beautiful royal RED ROSE. Tha't really Goodness day as I love it !

Which woman can honestly say she has never worn any RED ?

RED is like a very neetly DESIGNED red mouth :

Sexy or Fatale ?

Be it on a blond or fiery brunette RED makes you happy straight away, for the wearer as to the person looking at you. RED is striking, it does make a statement; don't we like that ?
There should be a RED lipstick day. I'll subscribe !

"Red has guts, deep, strong, dramatic" that's the Rosso Valentino, a geranium red, a Goya red.

Red is decisive and intense : just like a Red Ferrari. You see, men like it too.

Even the Eiffel Tower wore red once, she played the Valentino girl : this extraordinary appearance happened in 2004 when for the 1st time, France decided to celebrate the Chinese New Year. No comment .

I prefer that charming picture. Looks like the Plaza Athénée's umbrellas... as if it could ever rain out of the Plaza ! Nonsense.

I am lucky enough to pass just right there every morning off to work and it is a heart beating moment to watch tourist faces when they come out the metro at Trocadéro : expectant and thriving faces, impatient attitude, bodies slightly bent forward, not knowing exactly where to look at , "where is she ?" ....

They step forward along the Palais de Chaillot, still not in view of the Grande Dame, and then SUDDENLY, a Huge shout, a Strong squeeze of each others hand, a Deep hawk, eyes Wide opened, in Total awe when their eyes HIT  the famous and long awaited view. Gives you goose pimples.  

Charming Plaza Athénée, " almost home, but Still better than home".

It's that kind of special place, it's as if the staff could read your mind; it's so perfect.

The Plaza Athénée's Chef Patissier Christophe Michalak has concocted for us a special for this Fall :

5 origins, 5 flavours, 5 shapes :

Pear, Chestnut, Chocolate, Mango and Coffee.

Sorry for that digression, but I couldn't help it.

Chestnut : a white meringue hedgehog made of baba au rhum with a vanilla Chantilly and chestnut bavaroise. 

Isn't that to die for ?

Café : a pine nuts airy dacquoise clad in a caramel fondant topped with a light Colombian coffee mousse.

Mango at it's best : an exotic fruit biscuit base with vanilla fluffy sabayon topped with a delicate banana, mango and other exotic fruit gelée.

See, it's for your sake that I had to squeeze those photos in. Imagine not knowing about that ? You'd kill me for it. 

Now that all my blogger friends are mouth watering over those images, you might as well plan your February escape or let's put it another way : the fast track to total well-being : the Murano Hotel in Marrakech all clad in RED ! 

The MURANO Hotel in Marrakech

Or if you're into a more urban-sea mood you might consider hopping to Miami to The Townhouse :

fun, flirty and flipped-out, it's a  high energy minimalist hotel with oversized poufs in the bedrooms, soundtracked with the latest Miami tunes on each floor and stocked with comics and magazines in the corridors.

The Townhouse in Miami designed by India MAHDAVI.

 The queen sized waterbeds on the rooftop terrace and the tower holding in its vault  a waterfall complete with soothing sounds makes the Townhouse one of the hottest and chilliest places to hang-out on Miami Beach.

Booked your trip ? Better be quick, now that everybody else just read my bla-bla.

I you HAVE to remain in PARIS, please note that there are some RED fatal attractions too, which might lighten up your sorrow : right there:

Wouldn't you kill  for the those smashing  red soles from Sweet buddy Christian Louboutin ?

TONIGHT'S MOOD OF MY OWN ; DON'T TAKE ME SERIOUSLY !

" I may be drunk, Miss, but in the morning, I will be sober and you will still be ugly."

I'm afraid it is a very important person who actually said such a thing.

I'd love to let you guess who ! But think : a very daring person, though dead by now.
Cigar in hand, a whisky "shaken, not stirred" ( kidding only and letting you slide towards a wrong answer !).

He could have been hanging out with Hemingway and the likes at the Ritz but rather in times of war .... that's what that man was interested in and what he was good at.

CHURCHILL of course ! Who else would have the guts to even utter such an unbecoming phrase to a lady ?!!!

But that English man also knew how to laugh at himself:

" I am prepared to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter."

ARTCURIAL AND THE GILLES & BOISSIER SUPER COUPLE

It's not because Patrick Gilles from Gilles & Boissier said of his now wife and partner that the 1st time he saw her he found her dispising,
it's not because Dorothée Boissier and Patrick Gilles  are a real couple with a darling young Félix in tow,
it's not because they are the Hermés of Interior Decoration,

It's because of their so talented  French Touch and simplicity of their own, their "away from trends" way of thinking that they are right now the HOT couple of Interior Decoration in France.

See their most recent works for you to judge:


La Villa on avenue de Friedland where a Steinway stands next to the bar, with tunes of Sinatra and Dean Martin playing. It is the epitome of Hollywood glamour in the 50's and 60's.

or



The extraordinary BUDDAKAN in New York that they composed with Christian LIAIGRE.



or the BACCARAT CRYSTAL ROOM in Moscow.






Their newest addition in PARIS : the MINI-PALAIS as above.



 

No need to rush to Rambouillet for a quick fix for your lungs ie  for a breath of green oxygen, you'll find it as close as the CAFE ARTCURIAL on the Rond-Point des Champs-Elysées ( a well placed headquarter after  the MONET exhibit at the Grand Palais). After seeing all those Rouen cathedrals, those Etretat pebble beaches and poppies fields you'll step into a strange forest of wild plants and turtuous trees with strange faces inspired from the latest Hermés china set " Les Maisons Enchantées" .




ARTCURIAL made headline news recently with their rich and eclectic exhibit from Top Interior Designers : Alberto Pinto, François Catroux, Olivia Putman and many more. ARTCURIAL made themselves a centerpiece with a real actual size Mirage in their front garden. A few months before they gave to all to see the nose of the "France".

The ARTCURIAL team is extremely dynamic and God it shows !

MONET, THE "ULTIMATE" INTERIOR DECORATOR

As far as colours, hues, tones, moods go, he's rather the King .

He would have been a stunning Interior Decorator, the ONE of all times !
I would have picked him as my own Interior Decorator for sure. As well as my Landscaping Decorator.

Monet had no idea of what he would be involved in when in winter of 1893, he decided to create a water garden which he turned from a muddle of trees and bushes into a pond with waterlilies and Japanese irises with a bridge across the stream for which he had to fight like a mad man with his neighbour who had no better idea to attack him for stealing the water.

 

No wonder private collectors from the world over ( New-Zealand, Australia, Argentina ..) were eager to lend their precious possessions for such a rich exhibit of more than 180 masterpieces; most of them never gone public before. It's once in a lifetime that one has the chance to see such a Collection. They'll be too soon back out of the country.

Don't mess up as the queue is miles long and get an on-line  "Coupe-fil" ticket . It's so cool to go right up the stairs right in front of everybody withour any queuing up !  The calendar is pretty busy so plan in advance as it will stop January 24th, 2011.

http://www.monet2010.com/

The website is fabulous with great pictures, if you have time to go through the whole video.

The pond is encased in greenery, the lilies spread over its surface.

MONET was also the king of landscape gardening for all we know.

MONET wanted to express fluidity, uncertainty and the subtle gradations of color which shows in his waters, his skies, his reflections of clouds and in the chaos of plant life.

" I planted them for pleasure and grew them without even thinking of painting them.One cannot absorb a landscape in a day." Between 1893 and 1897, 4 long years, he painted only 3 minor pictures of the pond!

Only then did he have a revelation  "a world of translucent greens and mauves, and blooms reflected in the peace and silence of still water. The tones will be vague and so exquisitely subtle as to be dreamlike".

 

While MONET was working like a horse, we have nowadays our great and fun David HOCKNEY who, so fed up of cleaning up his brushes, decided to go at the age of 80 into the new technology !!! Astounding !

David Hockney's iPad art

David Hockney explains why the iPhone and iPad inspire him.



By Martin Gayford 10:57AM BST 20 Oct 2010 in The Telegraph


One day last summer I got a text message from David Hockney. It read: “I’ll send you today’s dawn this afternoon, an absurd sentence I know, but you know what I mean.” Later on it duly arrived: pale pink, mauve and apricot clouds drifting over the Yorkshire coast in the first light of a summer’s day. It was as delicate as a Turner, luminous as stained glass and as hi-tech as any art being made in the world today. Hockney had drawn it on his iPhone.

 He first started using that Apple gadget in late 2008. Since then he has produced hundreds of drawings on his iPhone and – beginning last spring – on his iPad, too. Some of these are on show in an exhibition David Hockney: Fleurs Fraîches at the Fondation Pierre Bergé - Yves Saint Laurent, Paris (Oct 21 to Jan 30).
http://www.fondation-pb-ysl.net/
“I draw flowers every day on my iPhone, and send them to my friends, so they get fresh flowers every morning. And my flowers last. Not only can I draw them as if in a little sketchbook, I can also then send them to 15 or 20 people who then get them that morning when they wake up.”

 

The fun of it is that home in Yorkshire he is currently working on  gigantic size paintings which will be exposed at the Royal Academy in 18 months. How can he adjust from so small to so big ?

David HOCKNEY prefers "to smoke and discuss love of life" then dwelling on any political matter. And as he says: " I'm totally deaf and noise bothers me " there you go for any uninteresting snobbish stupid social life which he leaves to Londoners, 4 hours from home. 

HI ! HI ! HI !

It does happen that you can't help laughing when you're all alone in the Paris metro.
That's why:

I don't think I need to add any comment.

And that's another one of those :

Poor buddy, he's all into his sculpture. No heed to the breaking wave right behind him !

The saviour !