Raymond Peynet – the Eternal Romantic
“Do you know what it’s like to love someone so much that you can’t see yourself without picturing her? Or what it’s like to touch someone, and feel like you’ve come home?” Jodi Picoult, The Pact Raymond Peynet knew, and expressed it exquisitely in his enchanting and often humorous drawings. You’ve seen his work here before in our romantic musings and New Year’s greetings. Delightfully innocent, and utterly charming, Peynet’s images captured the hearts of Parisians and romantics worldwide. (Note: this month we have a very special gift for you, so be sure to read to the...
Read MoreIndependence Day
It’s a star spangled holiday, ripe for celebration. The mood is festive as we conjure images of picnic hampers, deviled eggs and strawberry shortcake; of marching bands, sack races and yes, fireworks! This charming image on aged linen evokes all the innocence of childhood, excitement of the holiday, and anticipation of adventure. Ah fireworks! – vibrant but verboten, tempting but taboo. This duo in simple play clothes and sturdy shoes, remain clean and pressed, per mother’s orders, yet can’t help but experiment with the tantalizing pyrotechnics. We aren’t too worried, however, as...
Read MoreParisian Couture
“If you want to establish an international presence you can’t do so from New York. You need the consecration of Paris.” Oscar de la Renta Indeed, the word consecration does seem fitting, since you feel the urge to almost genuflect when entering a hallowed House of Couture. Centuries of couturiers, lace makers, cobblers, milliners, skilled seamstresses, tailors, button makers, crafters of velvet flowers, and those who bead and embroider onto gossamer and silks, can all be found in the ateliers and workshops of Paris. If you viewed the video in our sewing blog you witnessed the legions of...
Read MoreParisian Cuisine
“Lunch kills half of Paris, supper the other half.” Charles de Montesquieu A three hour lunch in Paris is not out of the ordinary. Perhaps not every day, but more often than you might expect. No, people don’t eat for hours. They commiserate, laugh, discuss, pontificate, negotiate, argue, teach, reflect, flirt, cajole, tease, write and read. They refresh, restore, renew, and enjoy themselves. Not once in the time I spent in Paris did I see a single individual eating ‘on the go’ as has become the standard practice in the U.S. Even when folks grabbed a croque monsieur and Orangina from a...
Read MoreParisian Landmarks
“…the whole of Paris is a vast university of Art, Literature and Music…it is worth anyone’s while to dally here for years. Paris is a seminar, a post-graduate course in Everything.” James Thurber, humorist & editor of The New Yorker Splendid, sublime… majestic, monumental…inconceivable, irreplaceable…trying to describe Paris is akin to trying to consume an elephant in one bite. Impossible. The best I can do is provide tasty nibbles around the edges of this most sumptuous feast in all the world. Last month we donned our tourista berets and skimmed the menu. This month, we’ll try to serve...
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