One Determined Cat and A Clean Mustache

When Cochino wants Greenies, she will stop at nothing to get them.  She gnawed right through the bag! Here she is inspecting her work.

And Mr. Mustache was hung out to dry today in anticipation of his upcoming trip to China.  Mr. Mustache is quite the world traveller.

Our neighbors must think we're so weird.

Antwerpen

Banana milkshake at Lombardia.  I want to eat everything there.

Jupilers, gummi bears, and some weird bolognese-flavored ring-shaped crackers on the midnight train home.
There was exuberance... and sleep.

Madame de Pompadour's Place

Had a meeting with a supplier in a fancy building last week.  Turns out it's the building where Madame de Pompadour used to live.

That's some moulding.

And I love the worn stone tiles and stairs.

I bet this building could tell some stories...

Street Scenes

Snaps from around town.

ABOVE
PALTROW

I have also seen the following:

Above
Murphy (for Eddie Murphy)

Above
Wahlberg (for Marky Mark)

I will keep you posted on who pops up next.

Here's a shot of the street cleaning system at work.  There are two sets of pipes below Paris, one carrying potable water and the other carrying water to clean the streets.  It all dates back to the Hausmann times.  Usually there is someone with a broom sweeping the rushing water away.  The act of sweeping water seems to be a very Parisian thing.  It's a weird concept for me, but it seems to work.

These guys must be friends.

Pretty-ness on my way to the Sentier.  I love that there is a fabric/garment district here and that it's walkable from my office.

Delicious!

This bugs me on so many levels.... but most glaring is that apostrophe.  Your pants are possessive???

Incroyable Hulk.
Cool.

If you ever wanted to know how to tell someone not to shake a baby in French.... you're welcome.  Apparently dumb white trash Americans aren't the only ones with this problem.

Yeah, you tell 'em Brussels!

Fashion Party

I think I could live my life in Das Racist lyrics.  I pretty much always have Rainbow in the Dark going through my head.  I'm serious.  It's a sickness.


Anyway....




Went to a fashion show the other night with Saundra.  It was actually called "Fashion Battle 2011".  Yes, it was.  I have a bracelet (which I was going to keep on indefinitely because I like the wording so but then I remembered that I really am getting too old for that sort of thing) to prove it.  There was a line to get in and a red carpet (they took our pic!) and then we got seated in the front row, right across from the judges' table.  (I sat up straight the whole time!)  


It was great fun, with tons of pictures being snapped and lights glaring and loud music.  And the 7 collections were all very diverse.  I thought there was a clear winner... one guy did a collection that Saundra hit dead-on when she said it was very "Final Fantasy." He had crazy dramatic music (from Requiem for a Dream) and the pacing was slow and dramatic... but the clothes were the most dramatic of all.  I got my camera out just before this guy's collection, but I was so taken with it all I forgot to take any pictures!  I really thought he was the clear winner, but they gave it to another designer (actually a 2-person team) who had some sort of architectural things going on... but they also had a few fit issues (I saw a crotch!)...  I mean, their work was good, but I was really pulling for the Final Fantasy guy. 

And then afterward, there was champagne.  You know I like that.

The scene out front.

 Saundra is smashing in vintage D&G.... look at that amazing fur collar!

Blursville strollin'.

Fashion battle, yo.

Hermes Day Out

B and I hit up the Hermes store on Rue de Sevres last weekend.


We were drawn in by the incredible window display:

You can't really see it here, but the wallpaper is by Philippe Dumas and looks a little something like this:

 LOVE.




Anyway, you walk in (the door is opened for you, of course) to a huge display of fresh flowers for sale.  This picture does not do it justice, there are tulips and lilies and roses and everything is long-stemmed and fresh and beautiful unless, of course, it's petite and classic and charming.

Imagine buying your fresh flowers at the Hermes store... how fancy would YOU be??

(I don't know what that weird shadow monster is lurking under the table.  That blurry lady better beware!)




And then the whole store opens up before you...

There is a cafe and balconies and these wooden structures to divide the space but yet keep it really open.





And then you see this!!!!
I want, I want, I WANT!

And you wander in and out of the wooden enclaves, looking at the towels and stuffed animals and books and baby rattles and shoes and plates and enameled jewelry and lots of other things you didn't even know Hermes blessed with its moniker.


And you think of how much scrill you could drop here.  And then you look around to make sure there are no celebrities in your midst.  But you realize that these people could all be royalty and you wouldn't even know it... but wait, is that Princess Stephanie trying on shoes?  You tell yourself that there are probably 50 Princess Stephanies in the store at any given time.

You stop to imagine actually buying your saddle and crop at Hermes.
The phrase "Must be nice" comes to mind.
Must be nice.

Honestly, I'm not one to get caught up in such fuss, but the sheer amount of luxury under this roof had me all atwitter.  Everything was of such a level of craftsmanship and beauty  Oh, it was nearly too much!

And then we went to the Bon Marche, where I was a big fan of the grey and yellow story displayed by animals:

I would love these guys to pile MY accessories on, wouldn't you?

Rugs for Lunch

Popped in on a show (and sale) of kilims in an old building on Rue des Archives during lunch last week.  Some were well over 100 years old... and cost upwards of 1800 euros.  Just looking, thanks!

Enjoy the magnificence here yourself.

Catch-Up

I don't like being a week behind.  Gone are the days when I could post something same-day.  I don't have internet in my new apartment, so I got a 3G plug-in thingy that worked the first time I used it (hence, an update from Paris!), but has been nothing but finicky and a source of frustration since.  (Don't even ask me about my new-ish French phone--the most simplistic, POS, 15-euro phone that continues to outwit me!  Ugh.)

I hope to master the 3G key soon so that I can be on-the-line more often, but until then, here come the updates of all the things in the past week or so from the J&B&C HQ in Brussels.

This, friends, is a cafe gourmand.   It was introduced to me by a fabulous lady from St. Louis who has been in Paris for years... and now whenever I see it on the menu, I encourage whoever I'm with to order it!  The cafe gourmand is a blissful combination of an espresso surrounded by mini versions of desserts.  Mini desserts, people!  Are you listening?!  I mean, peep that mini creme brulee!  It is nearly enough to get me drinking coffee again!  But let's be real, this is not about the coffee.

What the?

Roarrrrr.... in the Sentier.

This little bastard is a real blight on the city.

A new Repetto store for the Marais.  I meant to take a pic of it a week later;  now all of the shoes are down and it's tagged to high heaven.  Figures.

This guy gets around.

See!

Trying not to eat my hair.  Windy times.

I like this one.  B probably does not, but I think he looks cute.

Where I will be next weekend.
A cat-themed art show???  YES.

Thar' she blows!
Notre Dame.

The Notre Dame show.

 Yikes!  I saw another one of these in another part of town and it was equally creepy.

Au Mouton.

This is adorable and depressing at the same time.  And what's with all of the weird "water" stains on the pavement?

This dog looks sorta like June of Tigertree fame.  (NQ--get her a hat and a begging basket and she can earn you some scratch on the side!)

Scenes of St. Paul's...

In-seine-ly beautiful.
har har.

No, but really.  It's lovely.

My new neighbor.