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While the rest of us were eating hot dogs and watching fireworks this past weekend, Serena and Blair were painting the town red in Paris and by the looks of it, eating Ladurée macaroons! Gossip Girl has decamped to the City of Lights to shoot season 4 and I'm hoping the change of scenery will breathe new life into the series that seriously stalled in season 3. I'm also wondering who those boys are in the photos. They definitely don't look like Chuck or Nate to me! Oh la la!
My friend Jessica and I are excited that fashion is moving away from the awful eighties and back to the seductive seventies and Chloé is doing it better than anyone! They just launched their new fragrance Love, Chloé in Paris at the chic restaurant Apicius which they even redecorated with seventies furniture. The pièce de résistance though was model and face of the fragrance Raquel Zimmermann driving up to the party in a gold Mercedes convertible with Roman Coppola. He directed the ridiculously chic commercial that will start airing this fall in which Raquel drives the same convertible and prances around Paris looking like a modern day Lisa Taylor. You have to check out the party video online that gives you a glimpse. Chloé has already inspired me to start growing out my hair. Now all I need is that darn Mercedes!
I'm baaack! I actually wish I had stayed in Paris since I had to leave on the most gorgeous summer day and now I am in grey New York. Stefan and I had an amazing time! We walked all over the city and saw so many gorgeous sites. We shopped until we we felt like we were going to drop and then we stopped at cafes for tea and treats to revive ourselves. We ate the most delicious meals and many macaroons. Laduree is still my favorite! Maison et Objet was huge but not as huge and beautiful as Versailles. It was amazing to be walking the same halls as the kings and queens of France! Every street was filled with amazing architecture or a chic shop. We even got a peak into the archives at Pierre Frey! Sometimes my French was perfect and other times it was terrible! We often passed as French unless we were heard speaking English and most everyone was nice to us. Except for the waiter at Cafe Marly but as Stefan pointed out, when you are that handsome, you have the right to be rude! We made it to a lot on our lists and stumbled upon even more great things that were not. I am in the process of downloading my photos now and I can't wait to share our experiences with you! A plus tard!
I just wrestled my ginormous suitcase out of the closet and I'm about to start filling it. You really didn't think I was going to go to Paris for five and a half days with a carry on did you? I can barely pack everything for a short weekend in one! I really thought I could finish up all my work, get ready for my trip and blog everyday but that proved to be a ridiculous idea so you'll have to talk amongst yourselves while I finalize my outfits and make sure I don't forget anything. I'll check in tomorrow before I take off. Bonsoir!
I've worn the same two perfumes for years, Narciso Rodriguez in the winter and Calypso Mimosa in the summer. Recently, I felt like I needed a change and I knew just where to go, Le Labo. Every time I walked by their counter at Barneys I kept smelling the most delicious scents so I knew I would find something I loved and that no one else would be wearing. I chose Santal 26 which is actually one of their interior sprays. I joked with the salesman that if anyone came up to me said, "hey, you smell like my room spray," I was going to bring it back but he assured me that a lot of people buy them and wear them as perfume. 
My other favorite is Ambrette 9 which is a baby perfume that smells nothing like baby powder but is actually light and fresh. All of their scents have a mysterious and sexy quality, probably because they are French. They also make perfumes that are exclusive to certain cities and I can't wait to hit Colette in Paris and check out the Vanille 44. I think it might be coming home with me. I hear men respond well to vanilla and I need all the help I can get! Oh la la!
Stefan and I have less than two weeks until we will be strolling and shopping in Paris and one of the places that has shot to the top of my must visit list is the new store Merci! I've read about it in Town & Country, Australian Vogue Living, American Vogue and it's also been suggested by my readers who all rave about it. The shop was started by the couple who created Bonpoint and comprises three floors that sell discounted designer clothing and home goods with proceeds benefiting women in Madagascar. As one of my friend remarked, it's like the French version of Housing Works, albeit a much chicer version. Merci indeed!
I don't even remember what I was looking for when I came across the photo of Catherine Deneuve above but it stopped me in my tracks. It looks so timeless that it could have been taken yesterday. It's actually from the 1968 French film La Chamade (Heartbeat) that I can't believe I didn't know about before! I can already tell that I am going to love it! Yves Saint Laurent designed the wardrobe and as much as I love his designs in Belle du Jour, let's face it, it's a weird movie. La Chamade was written by Francoise Sagan and has Catherine Deneuve looking tres chic as she chooses between a life of wealth and privilege with an older man or a less than comfortable one with a poor but handsome younger man. We should all have such issues! I can't wait to see it! Bon weekend!
A few of you had some great shoe suggestions for Paris that I had never heard of so I thought I should ask if anyone has any off the beaten path restaurants or shops we should visit. Obviously we plan to visit all the sites and other usual suspects such as Deyrolle, Colette, R & Y Augustie, les puces, Laduree and Pierre Herme, etc. I keep joking with Stefan that I am going to have to taste test every macaroon in Paris. Good thing we'll be walking them off! But if anyone has any secret gems, we'd love to hear them!
I really never thought about what the home of Carine Roitfeld would like but now that I think about it, I don't know if I would have pictured it being this clean and modern. Carine is the uber sexy Editor and Chief of French Vogue who always wears extraordinary heels and whose hair always seems to be falling in her face. Her home is featured in New Paris Interiors from Taschen and on Fashion Week Daily. I do love the French mouldings and classical details but I'm not sure what that big piece of furniture is doing in the middle of the hallway in the last photo. If anyone has a guess, please let me know. 
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