serge in da house

so yes, i am still sorting through my paris photos from back in january.  i have been waiting for these for quite some time because i texted them to lorenzo just a little before i lost my red purse with my phone in it and it has taken him this long to find them.  i'm so happy to have them saved now.  my pilgrimage to serge's house was number one on my tourist agenda so i would have been soooo bummed if we did not have these.  but alas, here is my visit with the ghost of serge gainsbourg.

serge's house is still pretty much as he left it and is owned by his daughter charlotte.  there have been rumors that she wants to turn it into a museum but my google searches did not find anything as to whether this is true or not.  could you imagine visiting his home?  i would die!  hopefully, in the future, it will be open to the public.  it looks pretty unassuming from the street, but being as though it is a parisian home, i'm sure a lot lies behind the gated entry.  here are a few pics for your pleasure.

i love photos of he and his family together.  what a great kitchen.

bath time with family and puppy.

serge in his library.

i hope to get more posts up soon.  things have calmed down a bit now so stay posted.  and for sure i will get more paris photos up as i can.  merci beaucoup for always remaining patient with my random posts!

sources: artsy time
              she was a bird

maison objet

so i was going through my photos yesterday looking for one in particular when i came across this photo that i had saved at some point a while back. i looked and looked wondering why it looked so familiar to me when it hit me that my coworkers and i dined here my last night in paris. it is just so weird how things like this happen!

i know i haven't posted about my trip yet and there are two reasons for that. one, i am still recovering from the events that took place while i was there and two, my friend that travelled with me has all of the photos and she hasn't given me a disc yet, so all in due time.

oh yeah, back to le procope. so it was the last day of maison objet. the show closes at 6 and then everyone stays and packs up their booths. my wonderful coworkers from sweden and norway and i were there until about 10 packing up and then headed back towards my hotel to get some dinner. it took 45 minutes to get back to the hotel from the show so we were tired and hungry. thank goodness most of the restaurants in paris stay open late. it was dreary and rainy that night and we were wondering down rue st andre des artes when we saw this restaurant and went in. let me tell you, we were not in good shape and drenched on top of it. we walked into the restaurant and immediately realized we may not be welcome there because our attire was seriously disheveled. well that was not the case. the people there were so welcoming and gracious (although they did put us in the back-probably a good idea) and took very good care of us. we started out with a celebratory glass of champagne then i had the foie gras and roast chicken. sofia had fish and gustaf had a delicious pot roast with mounds of pommes frites. dinner was delicious and we stumbled out at midnight drunken with great french food and wine.

so, while the trip was somewhat of a challenge, it was so nice to end our stay here in this wonderful quintessential parisian establishment. if you are ever in paris and cold, tired and hungry, stop in le procope and i promise they will take good care of you. and the restaurant has been there for like a hundred years so i'm sure it will still be there.


and here is just a sneak peek of my photos. this is our booth at maison objet. my job is to install our trade show booths and then i generally stay and work the shows and then make my rounds for buying for the store. i took this photo after we finished setting up but before the show started so everything wasn't quite done yet. what do you think? crazy right!

mon dieu!

oh my gosh! has it really been over two months since i checked in with you all? i can't believe that the time has flown by so quickly and now we are at the eve of christmas eve! things have been so busy in my life that i just have barely been getting everything done that i need to but it's also been really, really great.

well, i just want to let you know that we are all doing just fine in my household. lorenzo and the girl are fabulous as always and lucie, roy and the kitty cats are all doing great as well. work is going good, just keeping me very busy. in fact i have a little bit of news for you all...in eleven days i will be heading to paris for maison objet! yes, it's true, my work is sending me to paris and i couldn't be happier. however, between now and then, i have a lot of work to do. i will be setting up and working our booth at the show in paris and then fly directly to new york to do the same at the new york gift show. whew, i'm already tired!

so while preparing to go to paris, i was sure to get a hotel in my favorite neighborhood, the latin quarter, to be close to my beloved shakespeare and company. i was so sad to hear last week that george whitman passed away at the ripe old age of 98. i was hoping to see him one last time. perhaps i will light a candle in notre dame for the old codger.


i think the best thing about this whole situation is that he had a daughter he named sylvia beach who has taken over running the store for him so i can rest easy knowing that it is in good hands (and i'm sure he can too).


if you have never been to shakespeare and company in paris, the next time you are there, you must go. it is a magical little world all its own.


and i am so excited to be staying right around the corner from the bookshop at hotel le notre dame.


this cute 26 room hotel was designed by christian lacroix and it is going to be my home away from home for ten days while i'm there. oh my gosh, i DIE!

so i promise, promise, promise that i will be better about checking in with you all-- my wonderful devoted reader friends and i will take lots and lots of pictures for you.

happy christmas to everyone and i can't wait to talk to you again soon.
XO

dreaming of a paris christmas

today i'm working in the store and wrapping up my final christmas preparations. but in my mind, i'm in paris.

happy holidays from portland which is where i love to be if not in paris!


image courtesy of emilie wood


image courtesy of superstock


image courtesy of popoki photo

paris royalty

what would it be like to be part of paris royalty? one could only dream...


serge gainsbourg and jane birkin


serge and jane


la famille


charlotte gainsbourg


charlotte


charlotte


lou doillon


lou doillon

i am constantly inspired by these amazing people.