Doorways to Paris

One thing I never tire of in Paris are its doors. From vivid cobalt and brilliant ruby red to whimsical robin's egg blue and sweet mint green, they come in every hue and shade you could imagine. 
They are old, massive wooden structures, sometimes adorned with scrollwork and the occasional yawning lion's head. Often they are the entrance to a private courtyard, glimpsed on the rare chance a door is left ajar. 
My continued treasure hunt for the most colorful examples has led to En Route's newest collection: Doorways to Paris, now available in the shoppe. If you have any other colors you'd like to see photographed, I'd love the challenge of seeking them out!

A Weekend in the Country

Scenes from the Riviera

En route from Paris to Nice via train

Roses in Valbonne

Speculos & banana, violet & fleur de lait at Fennochio's in Old Nice

The house of Christopher Columbus in Genova, Italy

Spremuta at an oceanside cafe in Nervi, Italy

A glimpse of the red carpet at Cannes

Hotel to the stars at Cannes

Antibes

An early birthday present -- original Tropeziennes from Atelier Rondini, St. Tropez

The docks at St. Tropez

Bidding adieu to Nice, with hopes to return again soon!

White Wednesday

Saturday Night Fièvre

Over the weekend I attended my second housewarming/costume party since coming to Paris (apparently this is a thing here). The hosts requested that we dress in "dance" wear -- anything from flamenco to hiphop. So at my insistence, Ben and I went in classical ballet gear (I am always looking for an excuse to wear thigh-high leg warmers).

I may have felt a teensy bit nekkid at first walking around in just a leotard, but when Monsieur Madonna showed up I was no longer the only one.

Wait, let me show you the full-length version...

(The man has great gams.)

In addition, there were hippie chicks,

cowgirls and disco/80's hybrids,

a flapper, a goth, a member of ABBA,

and, um, not exactly sure what this was, except that she looked AWESOME.

There was an endless stream of champagne, of which I partook... copiously.

And music and dancing until well into the early morning hours.

And if you've ever wondered how Parisian ladies get down, well, it's pretty much exactly like the rest of us do...

love list friday: 2.24.12

The first love list of the year, after an unintentional hiatus. Posting it a day early to make up for the long neglect. So here goes -- this week I'm feeling grateful for:

• French lessons with Paris as our classroom. I had my first session with my new tutor this week, and since it was sunny and only mildly freezing, we opted for sitting on a bench in Luxembourg Gardens and then strolling around the Latin Quarter while he pointed out interesting old buildings. If only high school French classes had been like this, I'm sure I'd have been fluent by now.
• The Carcassone app for my iphone -- a Valentine's gift from Benjamin. Perhaps it doesn't sound like a very romantic present, but you don't know my love/obsession for this game. 

• Sunshine! For an all-too-brief span of three days there were blue skies and milder temperatures in Paris this week. Having spent the past several years in Florida and California, I'd forgotten how gray winter can seep into your skin and slowly drain your energy and happiness (am tasting firsthand the effects of S.A.D. this year), so the sunlight was amazingly therapeutic.

• Green smoothies. Have you jumped on this bandwagon yet? With the aforementioned winter blues and a general feeling of non-optimum-health-ness pervading my days, I've been making the effort to get back into juicing fruits and veggies. I have noticed a subtle increase in energy, and possibly more clarity of mind since I started drinking them again. My current favorite concoction is a recipe given to me by friend and longtime juicer maura: orange, celery, inch of ginger, and kale (I substitute red leaf lettuce), to which I sometimes add a bit of avocado and almond milk.
• Having my photos professionally printed, framed, and hung on our walls. I love posting my photos here and elsewhere online, but there is something about making the images tangible and seeing them outside of the screen of my computer that makes me feel like I truly created something.

Bon weekend a tous!

xoxo,

Lilie

January Photo-a-Day Part 2

We've come to the end of January and it's time to share the second half of the instagram photo challenge. It's official -- I am an instagram addict and I need an intervention.
Speaking of addictions, one of the photo prompts was "guilty pleasure" and I have to confess mine is probably dairy. I don't drink milk, but every other dairy product is my weakness. I am convinced all those "healthy living" advisors who encourage people to give up dairy just don't have access to the good stuff like we do in France. Cheese is an artform here. And if eating heaping spoonfuls of unpasteurized double cream with strawberries is wreaking havoc on my health, I'm too enraptured to notice.
Do you have any addictions or guilty pleasures?

a. Light: repurposed xmas lights
b. Lunch: post-Sunday-market haul of breads, cheeses, eggs, + bacon

c. Where You Sleep: new cloud-like white sheets from BHV
d. Morning: the view from the bedroom

e. Something You Bought: books!
f. Sweet: tarte au pomme + cinnamon ice cream

g. Something You Made: my Paris photograph, looking all fancy in it's new matte + frame
h. Guilty Pleasure: all things dairy, including cheese, fromage blanc, creme fraiche, + petit suisse

Grand Opening: Paris Photography

As hinted at last week, a little project has been in the works for a while, and as of today it's finally up and running! I've had a lot of encouragement from friends and readers about my photos over the years, and decided that this year I would start offering a small, limited number of prints for sale.
I've kept the same online location and name En Route from my former jewelry line -- it seems even more applicable to my photography, which is often done while I'm literally en route to different locales in the city.
If you'd like to visit the shoppe and have a look around, I'd love to hear any feedback you have -- I think my regular readers here are more familiar with my pictures than anyone else, so your opinions mean a lot to me.

Bon weekend everyone!

xoxo,
Lilie

January Photo-a-Day Part 1

Somehow we are already two weeks into the new year and I'm just now composing my first post of 2012.  I've been a busy bee trying to organize myself -- every year I try to use January as a launching pad to embark on new projects with a fresh perspective, so this means making lists and journaling and hashing out my goals for the months ahead.

One of the things I've done for the past three years is choose one word to describe what I want out of the year; something that will inform my choices and keep me focused. Last year's word was LOVE, and if I say so myself, that turned out rather well for me! I'm keeping it close to my heart for now, but I'll be sure to let you know next January how well this year's word worked out.

What I can tell you is I'll be undertaking two large projects, one of which is revising the heck out of my gangly first-draft novel. The second is something I shall be revealing shortly -- hopefully next week? I'm pretty excited about it, and super eager to share it with you.

But for this week I have a little something else I've been playing around with to show you: my first half of the instagram-based Photo-a-Day challenge. Since Santa (a.k.a. Benjamin) brought me an iphone for xmas, I've been snapping photos with it like it's going out of fashion. I think the very first app I downloaded was for instagram, and I've been hooked ever since. 

I've been doing the daily prompts out of order and have skipped a few, but here is what I have so far:

a. Breakfast: fluffy yogurt + banana + maple syrup + cayenne

b. Something You Wore: my aqua polka-dot apron + sequined Moroccan slippers
c. Daily Routine: cooking dinner for two

d. Makes You Smile: neon pink

e. Something You're Reading: Parisian Chic by Ines de la Fressange

f. Close-up: my loyal coffee mug

g. Something You Adore: travel! (and travel photos) This is from our afternoon in Monte Carlo.

h. Favorite: the ocean (technically the Mediterranean is a sea, but close enough)

i. In Your Bag: Japanese coin purse, Ultra-man keychain (keeping my keys together since 1997!), Korres lip butter, fluorescent pink pen, handmade notebook, and iphone

Are any of you on instagram? And what are your goals for this new and shiny year, if any?

More soon!

xoxo

Lilie

Two Thousand and Heaven

2011: The year began in sunny southern California, and is now ending under the azure skies of Nice, France.
In between there was visiting, and then moving to Paris; trips to Ireland, Thailand, Switzerland, Florida, Germany, and as of this week, I can add Monaco to the list.
I moved in with my sweetheart, wrote my first ever full draft of a novel, and started learning French. A year of beginnings and adventure and love.
Can't wait to see what 2012 will bring...

Hope your New Year's is magical and full of promise!

xoxo,
Lilie