Her name is Rosanna-Jazz

4 Oct

And I’m her proud godmother, or, as Gary the grandfather rightly put it, I’m the guard mother.

Rosanna-Jazz, 3 weeks old on this planet, is beautiful. She is my best friend Daisy’s daughter and her first baby.

I held Rosa on my chest and she fell asleep. It lasted about 2 hours and I did not move an inch to keep her from waking up.  There were no other places on earth I wish I would have been in at that point. It was such a great moment, to feel useful and protective of  her, and to allow Daisy for a break. 

Rosanna-Jazz carries a bit of her grandmother Anna in her name and a bit of her aunt Sacha Rose in Québec. And she could not escape Jazz because her mom Daisy is a dance choregrapher.

It was lovely to stop by La Coume, have lunch with all the family and hang out by the river with Rosa-Jazz. It was October 2nd and it felt like Summer, the sunlight on rocky mountains and green valleys of Les Corbières reflected the joy and happiness we had to share some time together. Ohhh Paris, I did not miss you a sec. Simplicity is all I need.

     

Walking in Paris is worth a thousands history books

24 Sep

 

LE MARCHE DES ENFANTS ROUGES

The name literally means “ Market of the Red Children” and according to Eye prefer Paris blog, the name comes from a nearby 17th century orphanage where the children wore red uniforms. ‘Le marché des enfants rouges’ is the oldest food market in Paris, built in 1615 and located in the Northern Marais. The picture above shows you one of the entrance, on Rue Charlot.

Hello, Northern Marais (métro Temple, metro line 3)

Le marché des enfants rouges is located in the northern part of historic district le Marais, and without a doubt, it’s my favorite area of the neighborhood. Le Marais means swamp and the district was originally exactly that on the right bank of the Seine river: it was a flooded area where vegetables were grown from the IX to the XII century.

It wasn’t until the 13th century that convents came to the area and it began to develop life and culture. Around 1650, the upper bourgeoisie invested and bought plots in le Marais to build sumptuous hôtels particuliers (mansions). The upper bourgeoisie later moved to Versailles and followed the King. A new bread of people came to the neighborhood and commerce developed. In 2008, reality TV show ‘Star Academy’, the French equivalent to ‘American Idol’, was filmed in one of them, hôtel Brossier on Rue Charlot. Renting cost: 50.000 euros a month. Needless to say, Le Marais is known as one of the most expensive neighborhood to live in Paris.

Walk up to 35 rue Charlot and you will stumble upon street arts ‘postures-themed’: it’s a wall fully covered by photographs with vintage-like  majorette pictures (a majorette is a cheerleader à la Française) and underneath it, random people dressed up as cheerleader. We have to thank Fabien Breuvard for bringing back the majorette swing at the forefront of wandering minds in Paris.   

 

NOW LET’S GET INSIDE THE MARKET OF THE RED CHILDREN.

I’d never explored this market, what a great found! It was packed and it smelled delicious exotic foods.

    

You can order prepared food at the stands and eat ‘sur place’ as there are many tables spread out through the market. The smell of tajine past the Moroccan stand placed le marché des enfants rouges on top of my ‘try-it-out’ list in Paris.

On the way out, walking southbound on Rue Charlot, I saw a huge and adorable labrador retriever quietly resting by the entrance doors of a museum. I stared at the dog completely enamoured. The click of my camera did not disturb the dog who did not move an inch. Precious napping-time! 

 

To summarize:

If you plan on visiting Paris:

1- make sure you bring a comfortable pair of shoe

2- make sure you go to le Marais (many boutiques, bars, cafés, galleries are opened on Sunday)

3- make sure you walk as much as you can

I guarantee that you’ll always find something that will pick your interest and amaze you. Paris is a fantastic ‘walkable’ city.

If you’re a bike lover, there are many options for you too:

Paris à vélo was started by a girl from Amsterdam who fell in love with the city: http://parisavelo.fr/

The figaro, a french newspaper/magazine- has a couple more options.

http://www.lefigaro.fr/sortir-paris/2011/05/03/03013-20110503ARTFIG00496-le-guide-malin-du-velo-a-paris.php

In a later post, I’ll explore the Southern Marais: the historic Jewish neighbhorood on Rue des Rosiers and the dazzling Place des Vosges where Victor Hugo lived for a while.

In the meantime, contact me if I can be of any help with your itinerary/Paris tour!

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Japanese bento meets French bio

11 Sep

Great brunch at Nanashi today.

Location: 57 Rue Charlot in le Marais, Paris.

If you can see what's Juice doing, I'll make you a camembert bento

If you plan on going to this great Japanese/French organic canteen,  it might be a good idea to call ahead of time and secure a table, especially on the week-ends.

Zoe and Michelle from London, Roberto and Juice. Fun crowd!

If you have not booked a table, come a little bit before noon (like we did) and you should be fine.

Cantine-like, long corridor, daily seasonal fares

 
 

Fish bento = Yummy. Cocktail du jour = a blend of fruits, pears/apples/red berries

Unfortunately, my picture does not do justice to the food. I ordered the fish (trout) bento. The ingredients and vegetables were all very fresh, the grated carrots very sweet, the roasted pumpkins added great texture and flavor to the baby green salad.

My cocktail du jour- a mix of pears, apples, red berries, was a killer. TROP BON!
 
We were very satisfied with our lunch so we missed desert, but FYI- Nanashi pastry chef comes every morning and today she had prepared fig tarts, panacotta/black sesame, cheesecakes, cake matcha (green tea), fruit salads and carrot cakes. I have a thing for carrot cake so I tried the sample: I wonder whether people heard me cry (yes, it was very good). 
 
There are many other food options, all very healthy and tasty: soups, salads, spring rolls…
 
Next time, I will try the tofu burger bento (week-end only).
 

  But where is Juice?
 
 
And to finish, here is the interesting view from Nanashi.

‘Get out of romanticism and manure’.

Located right next to a pastry/tart shop. Tasteful, no?

 

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Chez Sarah, la perle rare des Puces de St Ouen

7 Sep

Je suis encore sous le choc. Tant de beauté Chez Sarah…

Dimanche, mon ami Juice m’a emmené aux Puces de St Ouen. Il était temps que j’y aille…une promenade incontournable à Paris!

Pour commencer, un brunch à la brasserie Paul Bert, au coeur des Puces. Pour la petite histoire, Paul Bert est un des pères fondateurs de l’école gratuite en France avec Jules Ferry.

          

Les Puces de Paris St Ouen c’est le plus grand marché d’antiquité au monde qui s’étend sur 7 hectares et qui remonte aux années 1880-1890.

Plus de 11 millions de flâneurs venus du monde entier arpentent les Puces de St Ouen, des réalisateurs de cinéma viennent tourner quelques scènes de leurs films- dernier en date Midnight in Paris de Woody Allen.

Vous l’aurez compris, les Puces de St Ouen, c’est l’endroit où se perdre, perdre la tête, rêver, faire craquer le portefeuille (il y en a pour tous les prix), et manger une bonne omelette aux cèpes tout en écoutant le son de l’accordéon…Une sacrée expérience à ne rater sous aucun prétexte.

Chez Sarah. Et là, c’est le drame

En chemin, nous nous arrêtons au Passage Lecuyer et je découvre Chez Sarah. J’allais passer bientôt 2 heures à essayer des robes sous la direction de mon perfect fashion conseiller Juice.

Je regardais défiler sous mes yeux l’histoire de l’évolution des modes vestimentaires. Le vrai musée de la mode, il est ici, Chez Sarah!

La boutique a la particularité d’être étroite et de s’étendre sur la longueur. Plus qu’une boutique, il s’agit d’une galerie de vêtements et d’accessoires qui débute aux années 1900 et se termine à la mode des années 60-70.

Chez Sarah c’est aussi une histoire de famille: Sa grand-mère était un ‘chiffonnier’, c’est à dire les pionniers des puces qui récupéraient des tissues et objets pour les revendre sur le marché. Puis sa mère reprend la boutique et aujourd’hui c’est la fille, Sarah qui gère la boutique.

J’ai eu un vrai coup de coeur pour Chez Sarah. C’est le lieu qui vous fait oublier votre parole car ici les vêtements ont la vedette et ce sont eux qui vous parlent. Vous allez vous arrêter le long de la galerie car une pièce plutôt qu’une autre va attirer votre sensibilité, votre curiosité. Et vous allez marcher le long de la galerie pour un voyage dans le temps de l’habit. Il y en a pour tous les goûts.

 

Le dénominateur commun entre tous les vêtements de Chez Sarah?

Générosité. Tous ces vêtements sont en attente d’un ou d’une propriétaire, mais pas seulement: ils sont une source d’inspiration et s’offrent à vous sans demander quoi que ce soit en retour. Ils sont le réceptacle vivant de la mémoire et des modes de vie d’une époque.

Toutes les pièces de chez Sarah sont des pièces à conviction. Et par définition, une pièce à conviction donne des éléments sur l’arme du crime: dans ce cas précis, l’arme du crime c’est l’habit qui va nous donner des indications sur l’époque, le tissu, la griffe et le contexte de la création, de la fabrication.

Si il y a un endroit où vous devez vous arrêter la prochaine fois que vous êtes à Paris? Sans aucune hésitation, en avant toute Les Puces de St Ouen Chez Sarah.

27 rue Lecuyer, 93400 Saint-Ouen.
Passage Lecuyer,
Puces de Saint-Ouen.

Repartie à la maison. Quels sont les dommages?

Je suis repartie de Chez Sarah avec…quelques petites robes des années 60 (3 robes au total dans le style Courrèges, Lanvin et sexy dentelle)…de chez Babellou, autre boutique vintage de St Ouen dirigée par Isabelle Klein avec un petit sac vintage…(mon premier Chanel que je n’aurai jamais pu acheter sans ma super marraine Fanette. Merci!)

Et les intérets?

Le renouveau du vintage. L’appréciation de la philosophie/ de l’esprit du vintage, de la mode et de l’accessoire ancien. Garder et conserver plutôt que jeter et consommer. Quand je pense que ce sont des pièces datant des années 60, le tissu n’a que très peu bougé, voire pas du tout. Le cuir du sac est quasiment intact et le toucher est incroyable. J’aime beaucoup aller faire mes courses chez Promod, mais c’est toujours un peu énervant quand les boutons de la veste se perdent deux mois après l’achat ou que l’ourlet du pantalon se défait dans le mois.

Crédit photo: Juice Instagram Iphone

http://mode.blogs.france24.com/article/2009/11/13/mode-special-vintage-0

http://www.lexpress.fr/styles/mode-beaute/mode/a-la-decouverte-des-puces-de-saint-ouen_784263.html

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Ooh la la: French Art of Seduction, myth or reality?

3 Sep

For those of you who are not aware, Aubade is a French lingerie company (bought by Swiss Calida in 05) which became famous in the early 90′s after the launch of the ‘Aubade Lessons’. ‘Aubade Lessons’ became  one of the most popular advertising campaign in French history. The campaign idea was simple: Women wearing Aubade lingerie give other women a lesson on how to drive their lovers crazy.

Black and white rigorous photographic style à la Harcourt studio magnifies the body and the delicate lingerie.

                                   

Lesson 33: Provoke him                 Lesson 35: Pretend you are shy

75 lessons can be found here in English. All the lessons in French here, toutes les lessons Aubade en Français ici

Design and advertising agency Mademoiselle Noi produced Aubade experiential website ‘The French Art Of Loving’ (sweet, the website is written in both French and English) and for the launch/ promotion reinvented the fantasy of the girl’s next door for 10 days in Paris during Winter season.

  

On the website, you can learn how to master the art of séduction à la Française, how to arouse your boyfriend appetite and how to sets the scene so you can get him up… off the sofa. There is even a test ‘Are you crazy enough?’

According to French Lingerie Brand, to be a killer seductress, you may need in your arsenal:

- Strip tease/play with lighting/stand in front of the window

- Remember stockings

- Glossy lip balm (red, pink…)

- Essential oils

- Pretty dance moves

- Cahsmere sweater and webcam to flirt long distance (ah…modern world!)

And much more…So, do you think you’ve got some work to do? Do you need to amp-up your séduction à la Française?

For my part, I’m just enjoying my lazy saturday in my un-sexy, cheap and colorful yet comfy pyjamas, that’s all that matters. I’m another version of the French girl, relaxed-casual-natural. And do not make a mistake: relaxed-casual-natural is very trendy. And it’s easy, too.

If there is a lesson, for me it would be: as much as you may appreciate sophistication and enjoy beautiful things/objects, do not live by the rules of ‘what you need to be/look perfect’. Live by ‘what makes you feel good’ and ‘what makes you be a better person’. And it might be a gorgeous Aubade bra as much as a trip to India, a week-end with your best friends or a dance class. The options are opened.

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30! That’s it!

2 Sep

I made it! Turned 30!

What a great birthday party last night!!!

A HUGE shoutout to Japanese Chef and Friend Masami: she was our chef for the evening and with her 2 assistants, she cooked a fantastic menu for a crowd of 10 people at my appartment. It was amazing! Stay tuned on Japanese Chef Masami: Born and raised in San Francisco from Japanese parents, Masami now lives in the bustling Parisian district Rue de Lévis and she is setting up her private business, providing at home Japanese food cooking.

She writes @ http://sushisafran.wordpress.com/

      

   

Thank you to all the peeps from work! I’m honoured you all came! Spending time outside of work together is really cool! I loved the dress and the tee, merci :) I cannot believe I do not have a picture with you all guys, so I am putting one from Amanda’s going away party!

And of course, my BEST friend, colorful, unique, priceless, entier, real, partner in crime de toujours, Juice, sweetheart of my life. Juice, I’m so darn grateful to have you in Paris, my twin brother, we were separated at birth as Lauren says. Having you in Paris means comfort, and piece of mind, it’s a reassurance. Being your friend is a privilege and a chance so I thought it would be wise to subscribe to a friendship life insurance to make sure we’re protected life-long against les intempéries de l’amitié! The black and white picture of me from your 30, je l’adore ce clin d’oeil, cette photo avec les canards est ma préférée. Culte. J’arrivais à peine à Paris après 5 ans à Chicago. Et tu allais à Tokyo pour la première fois pour tes 30 ans quelques jours plus tard, atterrissage dans la cabine Air France. Love You.

 

And last but not least, newcomer friend, Benjamin- who brought me a pair of purple sleepers that I can use to dust-clean my floor and also, la vedette de la soirée: la pate à rire, idéale pour pêter de rire as the label says. Basically, the pate à rire is like play-doh, but when you put your hand in the clay, it farts. We loved it. It was playful and inspired the picture below. Benjamin knew I ‘m a manga fan so he also got me a great mystery manga. Just so you know Benjamin is not just crazy but a great person attentive to his friends’ hobbies.

Loving life

xoxo

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Hi, I’m your Godmother Caro

2 Sep

Age cheating. I still look like 22 but I’m not. On August 28, I turned 30.

I headed South and spent a couple of days with my friend Daisy in beautiful ‘les Corbières’ before joining my family in hometown Béziers.

Daisy teaching Dance in SF

My friendship with Daisy goes back 15 years, we were young teens. Both of us loved Dance and studied at the same Dance school but because we were on different class schedules we never had a chance to connect. In the meantime, we observed each others a lot. Her presence was remarkable, she had very curly hair, she looked like a Russian doll. When her father was picking her up, they would speak English. I thought ‘this girl definitely got something‘ un je ne sais quoi that made her stood out from the rest of the crowd. What I did not know is that Daisy was intrigued by me, too. It’s only a year later that we met in high school. Daisy and I have been friends since then.

Today, Daisy is expecting her first child. When she arrived at the train station, she looked tanned, healthy, happy and she had brought 2 delicious chocolate croissants for me. Sweet!

She took me to a fantastic restaurant behind les Halles de Narbonne. The restaurant had earned the reputation of serving the best locally grown vegetables and locally sourced meat and fish products. The chef is also ’un maître chocolatier’ and prepares delicious ganache. It had been a while since last time I was ecstatic about eating vegetables. As you can see on our plates, the food was heavenly and we had no choices but to clean our plates. MIAM MIAM!

Half-way into lunch, I noticed Daisy is getting a bit anxious. She hands me over a beautiful card.

I thought ‘oh, nice postcard. Who are you going to send it to?’

It is for you, she replies.

Now, I’m the one getting all fired-up.

Daisy excels at creating surprises. She sets up the perfect plot and finds the right timing to execute the idea. I opened the card and read: Caroline, fée des papillons (fairy of the butterflies), would you like to be my godmother? Accepterais-tu d’être ma marraine? Entoure la bonne réponse (circle the answer)

I had 2 options: YES or NO. Daisy’s sister suggested to add 3rd option MAYBE but Daisy would not tolerate any ambiguity :)

I felt deeply touched by Daisy’s choice, that she could think I could be a good godmother for her first baby child was very humbling to me.

I was honored to accept and circled the YES answer.

Daisy, la Reine des surprises et du suspense, tu m’as fait un magnifique cadeau d’anniversaire pour un si bel âge.

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