What's THAT Smell?

I have spent the last 10-20 minutes trying to pinpoint the offender of the most ripe odor, not-so-secretly ashamed of my as-of-late poor housekeeping due to my ridiculous work schedule. (In all honesty it's not that untidy around here but vacuum hasn't met carpet in many moons.)

Perched atop a large pile of books and papers on my oh-so-neatly-organized vertical filing system on my desk in my home office was the culprit: this evening's dinner. A lovely late-night plat du fromage. Already forgotten about and discarded to clear up some space. How can something so smelly be sooo tasty? I wonder what would have happened if it had been left there for days? Actually, I don't even want to think about it.

In The Mood For L'Amour and a Strong Antiperspirant

So here's an Americanized Frenchy commercial I can get into:



Maybe it's just the tune by Claire Denamur but I won't change the channel when this ad comes on. I may not switch to Degree antiperspirant but I have downloaded Claire's album. J'adore Le Prince Charmant et Ah Les Hommes (...ils sont merveilleux)... sing it, girl.

Tar-Zhay and Other Annoying Frenchified Things

I know that the reason we "French" stuff up is to add a level of perceived class or value to an otherwise everyday something-or-other but it's getting on my nerves. Years and years ago I thought it was cute to say "Tar-Zhay" instead of Target but now that McDonald's is in on the act and Glade spawned those annoying Glawd-ay commercials, I am putting my foot down. My fear is that before we know it, saying that something is "French" or "Parisian" or what-have-you, will imply that it's a piece-of-crap product trying to insinuate itself into the luxury class hierarchy. "I love your handbag!" "Oh, this piece-of-crap? It's French." No. Way. We need to back out of this "freedom fries" nightmare toute de suite and save the French descriptors for the truly French.

McDonald's Cubiclé commercials are possibly the biggest offender. Why do they feel the need to market their coffee that way? They would have gotten my attention with the simpler ad (which is actually quite good) and may have persuaded me to take a break from Starbucks to check out the competition. Now...not a chance. Not a chancé.

Decide for yourself: the good ad is on the top and the Cubiclé add is below it. To be honest, I bet either one tastes like jus de chaussettes regardless of the marketing. Ugh.

Strike a Pose

Google images is hosting a fabulous LIFE pictorial series. You can sift through millions of photos from the days of yore through current day - political photos, nature pics, sports history, etc. But who needs all that jazz? I went straight for "Paris" + "Fashion" followed by "Paris" + "Hats" of course! (Some of the photos have never been seen by anyone other than the photographer and a [probably] grumpy editor.) Aside from being an amazing glimpse into Parisian history chock full of candids of Bettina Ballard (right, standing) of Paris VOGUE fame, searching is great because none of the riff raff comes up in searches that one usually finds in the google images fishing net - it's all pulled from the LIFE images source.

My beloved Grandmother had an evening gown by American designer Jean Desses similar to the one shown below, though all black, and she always 'posed' for pictures as if she was about to hit the stands. Maybe it had more to do with the dress - if I had something this fabulous, I'd be working it, too. And can you just imagine? An American designer in Paris!?! Oh, the scandal!

This candid was taken at a Christian Dior show - wonder what they're saying? I imagine whatever is French for "Gee, you look swell!"

And, finally, though fit for court at Versailles, these lovely ladies are modeling the latest in Parisian Ball Gowns in February, 1951 for the upcoming Spring Season. *Sigh*

Would have been great to experience that time period in Paris - thank goodness for movies!

Get a Clouseau

If you want to get in the spirit for the upcoming historic inauguration or if you just like to turn stuff into Shepard Fairey-inspired pop art, take a little trip to www.obamicon.me and upload a photo or two. I did - here is my favorite creation:

We'll always have bangles.

I just discovered these adorable bangles. Too bad they have an adorable price tag as well. I'm not usually one for items with cute phrases plastered all over but these beauties are too cute to scoff at. Southern ladies love anything with little bon mots on them like "It's 5 o'clock Somewhere", etc. as well as anything with hot pink polka dots and monograms. I have to admit, I'm a fan of the monogram myself.

Anyhoo, how I wish I had a Valentine to give me one of these precious bracelets! Maurice Chevalier would probably endorse the companion bangle: Que serait le monde sans les filles?

Not an exact translation of the famous song from the musical Gigi but a similar sentiment, nevertheless.

La vie en....bleu?

I saw the bluest sky yesterday even though it's freezing, gloomy and we've had a predominantly grey, overcast horizon for weeks and weeks. So blue that blue isn't good enough - cerulean, azure, sapphire maybe? Anyway, it reminded me of these photos my Grandpa took in Paris in February, 1960.

Blue is a popular color for January. Home decor magazines typically do Blue & White issues, cruise wear (collection croisière) is also ubiquitously blue and white, my favorite Frenchy blogger recognizes the blue doors of Paris and many the world over are feeling blue with Seasonal-Affective-Disorder. I think I will go make some blueberry pancakes.

Look at this adorable doormat I found!!! Fits perfectly into my Bleu theme and I bet it would look great with all of those blue doors in Paris.