pin it forward

today is my day to participate in sf girl by bay's pin it forward event. i'm so excited to have some new people over to my blog, rouge blanc noir, which is basically a place for me to share some of the things that inspire me most (which happen to be somewhat frenchie). a big thank you to victoria of sf girl and pinster for inviting me to participate.

this is a perfect post to work on today as yesterday i moved out of my city girl apartment of 8 years and in with my guy and his daughter. let me tell you, merging two households is a pretty daunting task and i'm just trying to figure out what home means to me in my new country place.

well here are a few things to begin with, then i'll just have to figure them out as i go along!


now home means to me family and seeing that we all are taken care of and happy. i'm so lucky to have found such amazing people who share their lives with me.


home means coming home to my little girl lucie, who has brought me much happiness and entertainment.


home means to me cooking big sunday night dinners for my friends and family and preferably dining al fresco if weather permits here in the northwest.


and a happy sunny kitchen to prepare these meals in.


after a long day of work, nothing makes me happier at home than settling in with a glass of wine to watch a french film.


home means being surrounded with books, which remind me of my childhood and make for lazy afternoons of reading and relaxing.

there are so many things that mean home to me, these are just a few that i wanted to share with you today. thank you for joining me here at rouge blanc noir. be sure to check out yesterdays's post over at the hidden list and tomorrow's over at hey lucy.

and be sure to check out my dear friend, brooke's post over at pretty and yummy. we have been figuring out this blogging thing together which has been a lot of fun and a great way to stay in touch with one another. thank's brooke for telling me about the pin it forward event.

and a great big shout out to my friend alissa for setting me up with a brand new banner for the event today.

i hope to see you all again soon!

movin on up!

i'm knee deep in boxes and newspaper and making my move out to the country to be with my guy, so posts may be a little iffy here in the next few days. here are some inspirational photos from marie claire maison to tide you over.

and be sure to check back next wednesday the 30th for my turn in sf girl by bay's pin it forward event. i can't wait to share with you what home means to me and my new rouge blanc noir makeover!


i'm loving this chalkboard backsplash from apartment therapy.


what a great turquoise bed and the red side tables are a perfect accent. decor8


this dining room reminds me of the countless hours studying at big long tables in the library. love the mismatched chairs. marie claire maison


isn't a pallet as a coffee table a great idea? easy diy! marie claire maison


here's a little retreat in the woods perfect for dining al fresco. marie claire maison


couldn't we all use a dressing room like this one? so spacious! design fling


and i would definitely love a soak in this great big tub. style files

so if i don't see you sooner, i'll see you next wednesday for sure. happy summer!

noooo reservations

a few years back, when i was still single and no longer working my crazy multiple job restaurant/retail schedule that i had done for so many years, i was at a bit of a loss as to how to occupy my time on the weekends. most of my friends either lived out of town, still worked nights so weren't up for early morning brunches, or were spending their weekends shuffling the family around.

during this time, i developed the habit of getting up early sunday mornings, making a pot of coffee and settling in to watch rick steves travel the world. i guess if i wasn't going anywhere exotic, at least he could transport me there.

this little routine served me well until i found a box set of no reservations at the video store and holed myself up in my apartment for one solid weekend watching every episode. sadly, rick steves was elementary school compared to the college aged debauchery of anthony bourdain.


oh watching the adventures of rick gallivant through austria yodeling up a storm was a far cry from the adventures anthony would take us on--drinking absinthe in paris and having hallucinations of oscar wilde--this was more my kind of trip.


i mean look at the way he opens a bottle. that is exactly the same way i do. kindred spirits? i think so!


and i'm so excited to be going to see him read from his latest book medium raw, tonight at the bagdad theater here in portland. beer and bourdain, you can't beat it.

p.s. i do still love rick, just in a different way.

i'm distracted today and all i can think about is...

oh la la

even though i can't be in paris right now, i can at least dress like paris thanks to naomi over at the rock star diaries who pointed out the fabulous on line shop shabby apple. shabby apples features only dresses (love it)and particularly dresses that require nothing else. no cardigan, no tank top, just a good old fashioned dress.

i have this secret personal goal of acquiring 365 dresses and i'm well on my way. that way i have a new dress to wear everyday of the year and i would only have to do minimal loads of laundry which i detest doing (thank you lorenzo for always helping me with mine). here are three that i would absolutely love to add to my collection.


the oh la la is my favorite.


but the tour eiffel is pretty darn cute too.


and i might as well take the artiste to complete the collection.

go check out the shabby apple sight and pick out your favorites from the paris collection and then go to naomi's blog and let her know which one you want and you might just win the give away. oh darn, now i just decreased my chances!

oh to be french

i'm not sure how or when this happened, but i have always been so fascinated by the french designer agnes b. i have never been in one of her shops and i don't think anyone here in portland carries her designs but i just love her simple yet funky take on the classic french style. today i was looking for an image of one of her simple striped tees but instead found these great fall looks. it must be that fact that it hasn't been above 60 degrees this week in portland that i am seriously looking at fall clothing in the middle of june!


i work for a company that makes a lot of plaids and tartans and i don't usually wear them because, well, i've seen about enough of it. however, i love the cut of this skirt and the thought to pair it with a tiny baby blue cardigan really shakes this look up a bit. i would never think to put baby blue with red and black but it looks great.


and this purse is so amazing! oh yes, as you can tell, i have a thing for red, white and black.


and this chocolate and red combo is sooo cute. this would make such a sweet holiday look wouldn't it?

and while i really hope the sun makes an appearance up here soon, the arrival of fall won't be so bad is i can find some of these looks.

summer reads

so i've been compiling my summer reading list and thanks to tina over at the english muse, i have two great books to look forward to. she suggested reading a time in rome by bloomsbury writer elizabeth bowen. when i got on line to order the book, i found the house in paris which sounds just perfect as well.


it's now been five years since my trip to italy and france so it's fitting that i should celebrate my time there by re-immersing myself in the way i felt when i returned home from that trip. it was such a wonderful accomplishment for me to take a trip like that on my own, one that i will never forget.


most of this summer i will be at home in still rainy portland getting situated in my new home but i can't wait for lazy weekends outside with a cool drink and one of these reads.

hot in the city

things are heating up between erin and olivia on the city. what do you think should happen? has olivia's insubordination finally gone too far? i'm dying to know if they will really replace olivia with the british journalist josie.

personally, i can't deal with olivia. she is a horrible role model for young people wanting to break in to the fashion industry. i don't care who you are, you can be replaced with someone smarter, better and more beautiful in a heartbeat. however, hard work most always pays off.

stay tuned!

it's that most glorious time...

oh world cup soccer. how i love thee! one glorious month of unadulterated soccer viewing.

can christiano ronaldo get his team portugal through the tough draw and into the finals? we will see, oh yes we will.

i know i could have given you a much beefier shot but let's leave a little something to the imagination--and something to look forward to. besides, i love him in a suit.

STELLA!

so yesterday i posted on some fall looks and now today i have come across an amazing spring 11 look courtesy of stella mccartney.

i am absolutely and completely in love with the dress second to the right. i love floral dresses and the cut and color of this one is sheer perfection.

oh i need to get my hands on one of these!

image from rdujour

good "yves"ning

i'm dying over the fall yves st. laurent look book found on rdujour. here are a few of my favorites.

oh my gosh, the dress, the feathers, the red gloves. i die!


i love, love this modern take of the classic suit and again, those red gloves and the great hat are tres fab.


what a beautiful silhouette of the billowy jacket with the pencil skirt. and the red shoes are the perfect hit of color.


oh midnight blue, the other black!


the plum trim on the lapel is perfection.


and i really love this modern holly golightly.


if this is what some of the fall trends are going to look like, i will be a very happy girl.

did someone say souffle?

while reading the english muse this morning, i discovered that the film breathless (a bout de souffle)has been remastered and is being re-released to celebrate it's 50th anniversary. this is one of my all time favorite french films and i can't wait to sit and enjoy it in my favorite portland theatre, cinema 21, when it hits portland in august.


and even cooler, is the fact that rodarte is recreating the famous new york herald tribune t-shirts jean seberg so casually rocks in the film. they will be available at barney's.

i MUST have one of those!

la belle lou

oh i was so excited today when i got on rdujour and found this article featuring my girl lou doillon at home. i already had a feeling that we would be great friend's if only we were to meet but now i am really convinced after seeing her pad. i mean, let me point out the similarities between lou and i.

we could share clothes 'cause you know how much i love the black and white combo (except that i'm not tall, skinny and leggy).


i have wallpaper in my dining room almost exactly like this so we could talk interior design.


lou has a little bulldog and i have a little boston terrier so our babies could have play dates.


our kitchens are decorated in the same haphazard way and my fridge has a collage of prints similar to these covering it. we could throw awesome cocktail parties out of our little kitchens.


i collect day of the dead memorabilia so we could compare our skull collections.


yes, i'm sure lou and i would have a great time together and if her actress/musician older sister charlotte wanted to stop by to hang, even better!

images courtesy of the french magazine l'officiel

new addiction

have you seen the new reality series nine by design on bravo? OMG i am so addicted to it now. i really want to run home and catch up on all of the past episodes.

their designs are amazing and those kids rock. i love that they include their kids in important business decisions. i have often thought as an adult that i wish my parents included me and my siblings in some of the more important decisions they made when we were younger. kids are very insightful, you know. of course these kids are uprooted on a regular basis due to their parents "flipping homes" habit but it is cool that they have a vacation home that they never want to sell because it has been the one stable residence in the kids lives.

hey, if my parents were this cool, i could sacrifice a move now and then for them!

the "nine" family




the glass facade of the manhattan highway home


their new book (you know i'm ordering this one)

has etiquette left the party?

hello my dears. i hope you had a wonderful long weekend. i know i did, i got in some relaxation, hang time with friends and family and some much needed bikram yoga...oh yeah, and i watched the latest sex and the city movie. and so for today's post, in true carrie bradshaw style, i need to ask, "has etiquette left the party?"

i bring up the subject of etiquette because in the past week, one of my closest friends has experienced the complete opposite of etiquette if you ask me. and i'm no etiquette police, believe me. i grew up in the west and now west coast and laid-back is definitely our style of living and i like it that way. but these latest occurences are so tacky that even i can't take any more.

offense #1 occurred after said friend attended a destination wedding for her east coast friends in the dominican republic. when this particular group of people were invited to the wedding, it was clearly stated that no showers or gifts were expected, only the presence of their dearest friends. well most people, my friend included, still opted to give a little something as a gift. however, one couple in particular, who had just recently gained a baby and lost an income chose not to give a gift as they had spent more than their fair share to attend the wedding. a few weeks after the wedding, the groom texted the guest asking if something was missing from their card. as i type this, i hear in my head a loud record scratching and somebody saying, "wait, go back..did you just say he asked what happened to his gift?". oh yes he did! is this what our generation has come to? i'm not saying we are all like this but come on, so not ok. if you expect guests to pay thousands of dollars to fly down in the middle of the year to attend your blessed day, not to mention tell them no gifts are necessary, then you by no means ask what happened to the money that should have been in their card. am i wrong here?

offense #2 followed up this latest offense to the very same friend when a girlfriend of hers emailed her to let her know a party was being thrown for her girlfriend's signicant others' 40th birthday. in this email, girlfriend stated that she would like various guests to bring food in which she assigned them a particular dish to bring based on the theme of the party. my friend's dish is taco rolls and her girlfriend included a link to the recipe and noted that there would be approximately 40 guests at the party so to be sure and double the recipe. are you kidding me? i have thrown many a party and i would never, ever dare to ask someone to bring a dish to feed 40 people!

is this what we have come down to? if you cannot deal with the consequences of the possibility that you may not a. receive a wedding gift or b. cater your own party, then perhaps you should rethink your plans. maybe i'm still a little old fashioned in that way.

image courtesy of mad men