Finding Energy and Fashion for la Rentrée

Posted in fashion, Paris, Paris Fashion Week, Style, Stylist, trendy by

Summer vacation is over, but it has instilled in my a new energy which will hopefully carry me through the next 11 months. With that new energy I am determined to dedicate myself to taking more care of my body. Weather it’s exercise or yoga or dance, I’m going to do something to keep healthy. I much prefer new year resolutions in September rather than January. January is too cold and so not motivating!

But, of course I like to look good as well as feel good. So it’s time to invest in some trendy workout gear. Here’s how I see myself feeling motivated to go out and make some laps or do some downward dog poses. Comfy in some Andrew Marc Performance wear, (45$ sweatshirt and 55$ yoga pants) and chic with a Kasia Dietz tote, rive droite of course!

And what am I going to do with all this new found energy?!? Why, I am going to take Paris by storm. And in Style. What else! The Fall season is the ultimate fashion season. All the best collections come out in the shop window displays and the hustle and bustle of the fashion weeks around the world make everyone  just nearly crazy. It takes a lot of stamina for those that skip from one major city’s shows to another. I stick to just Paris thank you. But it still requires a lot of my attention, time, and again…that word, energy. So with my new workout regime, I should have it in plethora!

I’m thinking this year should have a rocker/Art Deco theme to it. With sharp and harmonious energetic lines and angles. Gone are the lazy days of Summer! A sleek and broody Marc New York by Andrew Marc dress (138$), with a Gaultier shrug (110€),  Nicholas Kirkwood flats, a Lanvin cuff and some ultra defiant black shades (60$) should make the perfect Paris fall disguise for Fashion week this September… Who’s with me!?!

Paris Cola – Made in France

Posted in boutique, French, Paris, shopping, tourist by

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Paris Cola delivered some of their tasty beverages to my door the other day. It’s delicious and refreshing. I thought it would make a good compagnion with me at the parc de Monceau one lovely day in July. I had brought along my French novel to read, but I ended up just working on my blog with my smartphone.

So the company that makes this lovely beverage, Fonbelle, run by two young guys, invented a first version in 2007. But although the response was great they didn’t find the time to really develop and launch the product until 2012. Typical multi-taskers of our day and age I am sure.

Once the recipe was perfected they come up with the packaging concept. And now we can enjoy their sweet and zesty beverage as much as we want!

The two guys behind this all, Yves Guilloux and Rodolphe Grosset, wanted to offer a quality product, made in France. But Paris Cola can boast that even the sugar used in the recipe comes from the Île-de-France. So really, it’s as Parisian as you can get for a sparkling beverage!

And they don’t just offer cola… Continue reading →

La Vierge de Fer by Serge Lutens

Posted in Paris, parisian, Perfume by

Most of you readers who come here often, know how much of a fan I am of the god of perfume, Serge Lutens. Well…

Photo courtesy of Serge Lutens Press Relations

Photo courtesy of Serge Lutens PR

I recently received a press release, one of the most stunning and intriguing press releases I have ever received, for his new scent which is coming out this month of September. It consists of a text, a poem really, written by the-artist-of-all-things that is Mr. Lutens. And an image, of the perfume bottle. I haven’t even smelled it yet, but I know I will find it completely enthralling. Why… Because it inspired this breath-taking piece by the master of sensation and scents : Continue reading →

Why Visit Paris in September

Posted in activity, bon plan, City of Paris, Concert, Culture, fashion, Foodie, inexpensive, low cost, mode, movie, Music, nightlife, Outdoors, Paris, parisian, Practical info, tourist, vintage by

Post by Jenny Bailey

With the weather cooling down and schools back in session, it’s fair to say that come September, Paris is in its prime. From some great gigs to go to, to a number of festivals to attend, here’s our round up of late-summer and early-Autumn events around the capital that are well worth stopping by if you’re in town.

ladies in Paris

ladies in Paris by Dennis AB, on Flickr

Continue reading →

Someone Once Told Me

Posted in American in Paris, Expat, Paris, travel by

Mario and MeMario of the blog/project : Someone Once Told Me, asked me to participate in his endeavor and met me earlier this Summer on the Pont Alexandre III. I offered him a phrase out of my expat life. One that means something to me. Check it out on the link just above.

Mario, He’s a very cool guy with many ideas and LOTS of energy. He’s…um traveling the world, yep, the world, with his concept.

Photo by SOTM - Mario Cacciotolo

Photo by SOTM – Mario Cacciotolo

Watch out! He may head to your city soon and ask you what someone once told you!

Lingerie Splurge in Paris

Posted in Charming, Luxe, Paris, romantic, shopping by

ChantalThomass4Continuing on the subject of Lily and I’s 24 hours of extravaganza and luxury, I absolutely MUST blog about the best lingerie store shopping experience ever. It was at the Chantal Thomass boutique on rue du Faubourg Saint Honoré.

Lily and I had stopped in first at Fifi Chachnil where we were delighted with the pink and frilly décorum, but were also melting from the heat and the store did not have air conditioning. I did pick up a darling little black lace lingerie pouch to put in a few essentials for travel.

So walking into Chantal Thomass was an instant délice as they has ample cool air, and didn’t mind us photographing, well, everything!

The two levels are a charming pink white and black boudoir boutique dream stocked to the brim with the famous brand’s plethora of garments and accessories. It oozes girliness fun inside this store.
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An Unexpected Guest – book review

Posted in American in Paris, Book Review, Paris by

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Anne Korkeakivi contacted me a few months ago and asked me if I would like to review her novel.
As I had just read and reviewed “Lessons in French” by Hillary Reyl I was eager to devour another novel based in Paris! And devour it I did. I had promised myself I would keep it for vacation reading but I just could not wait. And after I had read the first few pages I knew there was no way I was going to make myself be patient.
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Pampering my skin chez Carita

Posted in Uncategorized, Paris, massage, day spa, beauty, Luxe by

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After an exhausting year, no make that two years, I decided enough was enough. I needed a facial urgently. A few years ago my awesome mother-in-law (at the time Chéri and I were not yet married), gave me a Christmas gift of a facial at her favorite Carita spa in the 6th arrondissement. Since then I have been dreaming of going back. And these past couple of years I feel like my skin has aged far faster than usual. So I made that decision to stop putting it off and marched into the spa on Faubourg Saint Honoré and requested an appointment. Continue reading →

La Terrasse – Hôtel Raphael

Posted in Apéro, Charming, City of Paris, Engagement, Luxe, Outdoors, Paris, parisian, Pretty!, Restaurant, romantic, Terrace by

HotelRaphael_EiffelView2 I wrote about where Lily and I lunched recently, and I also feel compelled to share another place with you all, where we went for champagne. This must be the absolute best terrace in the entire city of Paris. At the hotel Raphael, they have a beautiful lofty terrace with the most stunning views in the city. On one side of the 7th floor terrace, you get an eyeful of the Arc de Triomphe and the Sacre Coeur, and on the other the Eiffel Tower glows at you from a short distance, and there is a delightful breeze that caresses you up at this height.

So as you can imagine, getting a table required a little bit of patience on this hot summer evening when the who’s who of French business and journalism sipped cooling cocktails while discussing business with partners, and ultra chic tourists and Parisians pouted and pursed over champagne.
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Vacation Inspiration – Summer Style

Posted in Accessories, fashion, Paris, Style, Stylist by

 

Paris Summer Style

August, the month of the “Aoûtiens” as the French call it. Meaning, those who take their vacation holiday in August. The “Juilletistes” are the ones who head out of town in July. I am an “Aoûtienne”. I like having my vacation end at the end of the final Summer month. (I consider September a Fall month even though Summer usually extends itself well into it). And so as I go from Parisian to vacationer… it seems only natural to express that metamorphosis in style. I get to shed the city clothes for a more relaxed wardrobe in which I intend to shed off the fatigue accumulated this past year. But, try as you might, you can’t remove the city girl style completely, even when on a Summer escapade with Chéri. Continue reading →