NEW YEARS EVE IS HERE AGAIN

LE REVEILLON EST DE RETOUR

 A New Year's Eve à la Chanel Bombay.
A bejeweled Maharajah or a gauzy Maharani?
Decisions, decisions...


Whatever your mood, 
HAVE A GREAT NEW YEAR!

au revoir.

COZY MODERN

LE MODERN CHALEUREUX

Jacques Grange

au revoir.

SELF CONFIDENT PIZZAZZ!

LA CONFIANCE EN SOI!

image via desire to inspire

au revoir.

WHAT I NEED NOW...

J'AI BESOIN DE...

source unknown to me

...simplicity.

au revoir.

FRENCH EYE VIEW

 COUP D'OEIL

Just something that caught my eye.

image via indigoalison

Great art, great palette, a mix and match of straight lines and soft curves. I might add a little bit of relaxed clutter, however. That's all.

au revoir.

TO DO NOTHING....

NE RIEN FAIRE...

image archithing.net

shuuuut....

au revoir.

A TALENTED ARTIST'S CHRISTMAS CARD

LA CARTE DE NOEL D'UNE ARTISTE DE TALENT

When we lived in Tunisia, my parents surrounded themselves with a large group of fun loving friends. Many of the parties they attended were costumed and always had an extraordinary theme, like a Prévert party once - you were to dress as one of his poems...- and another where my father went as an egg. Yes, an egg! (But then again, this was a man who crossed the entire continent of Africa- Tunis to Capetown- in a Jeep he built himself from pieces left behind after WWII. And he did it twice.)

Among this very special group, one woman stood out even more; a talented artist, Marie-Constance, -she did not use her last name- a member of an old classic family who, having "married into" another old classic family, had decided to keep marching to her own drummer. Every year this wonderfully creative, generous and fun artist painted her own Christmas cards, each an original, each a mini masterpiece. My mother, the historian and art lover at heart kept a number of them. Thank you mother!

Where am I going with this tale? 

To this

Je vous souhaite à tous et à toutes de très 
Joyeuses Fêtes de Noël

*     *            *
  *

au revoir.

A VERY FRENCH SPECIALTY

UNE SPECIALITE TRES FRANCAISE

Our daughters arrived from Paris for Christmas bearing Marrons Glacés -candied chestnuts-. 

So nice. 

That they came. 

And bearing Marrons Glacés...

In the area of France where we spend time in the summer, the Ardèche, there are vast chestnut tree stands. Above the village, up where the roads start to really climb, one can see them everywhere. Hence, the specialty everywhere around our village: la Confiture de Marrons- chestnut jam-; 

The recipes vary from talented cook to talented cook, from family to family, from confiserie to confiserie- specialty candy shop-. Some add vanilla, some find that a CRIME. Whatever the formula, there is a number of delicious ways to incorporate chestnuts into some kind of confection or another... 

One can savor the plain Marrons Glacés- candied chestnuts, nature, soft and tender and glistening in their sugar syrup coating.

What about a mousse?

or a Marron Glacé Tiramisu?

And in the summer nothing is more delicious that une Glace à la Chataigne (a variety of chestnut), chestnut ice cream. 

(Well, maybe une Glace à la Lavande- a lavender sorbet?)

Let's not forget the inevitable staple of fine French confiserie, the saintly macaron! in its chestnut version. Un délice!

images chaidume, phamfatale, regionepiemonte, unzestedetoutencuisine, atelierdechefs, paperblog, experiencesgourmandes


Thank you girls.


au revoir.

TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE XMAS

LE REVEILLON DE NOEL

Valentino

What to wear to a dressy Christmas Eve dinner? This year I am all about velvet. It's rich but not showy, it's warm but not casual and you can make a grand entrance without piling on too many baubles, so to speak.

Mr.Valentino to the rescue. Problem solved.

But right there, the second question comes up: what shoes to opt for to complement this luxurious outfit. With velvet's smooth sheen nothing is more perfect than patent leather, I say.

Maybe heels 

With pants, short boots play the relaxed yet festive card

Burberry

Maybe flats.

I am lacking quite a few precious inches to boast being 6 feet tall, I know, but then again, I want to be super comfortable.

Maxmara

That part was easy, but now for the other accessories...

Well, let's see, let's go for broke; let's go Couture.

A pared down Chanel look with an armful of the house's bracelets à la Coco

Chanel

with large amethyst or ruby encrusted jewelry

Pomplou

long vintage earrings

YSL

 demure classic hammered gold

Loren

or I could go less matchy matchy for the ring 

Pomplou

a very simple bag will keep the whole thing discreetly elegant.

Chanel

Or maybe I'll opt for a slightly "YSL période Russe" look

with his stunning vintage cuffs...one on each wrist

YSL

worn with large but minimal graphic earrings 

Exotic India Art

or richer bejeweled ones

YSL

a dark ring full of mystery

Crescent City

and a spectacular bag directly inspired by tsarist aristocracy

Chanel

We're talking make believe here, so let's really splurge!

au revoir.

THE PROVENCAL DESSERTS OF CHRISTMAS

LES DESSERTS DE NOEL DE PROVENCE

www.cgourmand.fr

TREATS. Glorious XMAS TREATS.

Among the 13 Christmas desserts of Provence (12 for the Apostles and one for Jesus Christ) that are laid out on the table on Christmas day, a tradition dating only from the 1920's, there are candied fruit. (Others are figs, grapes, oranges, Calissons- marzipan based candy- Nougat, dates and a few more).
I do love Calissons from Aix-en-Povence and Nougat from Montelimar but I simply adore candied fruit, especially those made in Uzès in the Gard region of France, not far from our family home and sold in a very pretty shop called La Cure Gourmande. 
The process of crystalizing fruit is quite labor intensive as one has to boil the fruit in syrup several times over a period of up to 15 days, adding more sugar each day and keeping the fruit in the concentrated sugary liquid for all that time. The result however, is well worth the trouble. 

The trick now is to try my hand at this or better, find the right maker here in New York...

Or I could try Histoires Sucrées or Cgourmand online.

au revoir.

PROVENCAL DETAIL

UN DETAIL TRES PROVENÇAL

These are the Holidays version of the traditional Navettes de Lavandes from Provence. (how to make one here)They are just kicked up a notch and they are fabulous, don't you agree?

au revoir.

A VEGETAL XMAS

UN NOEL VEGETAL

If you are going for rich and natural for your Xmas decor, search no further than the vegetable stand at your market or the local nursery. A little ribbon here, a candle and a few branches there, with just a small amount of effort, you are done.

Oranges, a peeler and a few cloves

Plain unadorned pine cones, just a lot of them

Moss will soften any look

and those indestructible decorative cabbages; they don't even freeze outside...

images tete a modeler, country living, placesinthehome, myfrenchkitchen

tricia marshall, greenupgrader

au revoir.

I HAVE BEEN KINDLY INVITED

Une très aimable invitation

My dear blog-world friend Letitia Jett, the admirable author of A Femme d'Un Certain Age, asked if I could share a Holiday decor on her must-see, much more than fun, always amusing blog. 

So flattered!

I strongly suggest you quickly go visit her witty blog; I assure you- and I say this on the off chance you have not done so yet- one is never disappointed. 
At the same time you will be hitting 2 targets with one snowball (please note the seasonal imagery): you can peruse my winter Soirée d'Hiver ideas...

au revoir.

CHRISTMAS ALSO MEANS CHOCOLATE

NOEL, LA SAISON DU CHOCOLAT

Un Dimanche à Paris

Christmas, a time to give chocolates and a time to savor them. Here in New York and  across the ocean in Paris the choices are many. The best are melt-in-your-mouth richness and a feast for the eyes. Truffles,wreaths, Xmas tree/cones, and even a chocolate book!

Bespoke Chocolate,NYC

Pierre Marcolini, Paris

Dean and Deluca, NYC

Maison du Chocolat, NYC and Paris

Lenôtre, Paris

A non traditional bûche de noel at Lenôtre in Paris printed with a drawing by illustrator Sempé no less.

au revoir.