Paris

A little painting-sketching leçon today so you can draw like Eugene Boudin even if you can't make it over for the exhibit at Musée Jacquemart-Andréby July 22.The day I visited the Boudin exhibit the sun was shining brightly.. Today it's continuous Paris drizzle but never mind. This is perfect to get you in a 'Boudin' frame of mind.. If there was another 19th century outdoor painter so in love with umbrellas I'd love to to know about it. Is it only French rain that makes such nice shadow shapes? Probably. This one mirrors exactly The rough dog sketches of BoudinThat later turn up in a beach scene painting. *Note at least 2 umbrellas... Another rough preparatory sketch of Boudins that I copied above, first with tracing paper and then into watercolor. The iPad Mini makes a great little portable light box to trace from your photos or paintings. 1. Simply set up an album and pop just ONE picture into it. 2. Then go into your Settings, 3. Then Picture Frame 4. Choose - Show Each Photo For 20 seconds5. Turn off your iPad in the corner6. Press the 'flower' icon to start the slideshow (which will stay on that one picture so you can trace it wiggle-free). Voila! Another reason to love the iPad mini. No umbrellas in the finished painting but these are working class so...Another pencil sketch of beach loungers with their umbrellas and a good one to copy. Boudin loved to throw in just a touch of red to liven thing ups among all the neutral colors. Plus red paint was quite pricy back then so you had to be judicious with it...Boudin, himself sitting out on a dock. He was really the first to get everyone out of the studio and painting in 'plein aire' including his good chum Monet. Do note his umbrella of course...At the museum shop you can get a full painting outfit a bit more upscale than Boudin's supplied by the delightful left bank art shop Charvin. The museum shop does not have any Boudin umbrellas on offer but they do have this darling lampshade for about 69 euros. Why not just practice tracing Boudin sketches and in no time at all you can make your own?This is my watercolor set, in case you're interested from Amazon. I do use other colors from Winsor and Newton like Burnt Sienna and Permanent Rose, which tend to run a bit more. They didn't have Boudin's paintbox at the exhibit but it's still a terrific show and worth a visit if you're into 19th century anything.

Oz John Tekson Breaking up with someone you love is often a terrible experience. Breaking up with someone you love in what is supposed to be the City of Love can be a heart-wrenching emotional roller coaster. Kat… & catherineshyu Unfortunately, at the end of February, I found myself in this exact situation: ending a long-term relationship with a Parisian in Paris. At least by this point, Valentine’s Day had passed and I was no longer bombarded with images of happy couples in love, discounts on holiday-themed lingerie, and sickeningly sweet His & Her gift ideas on every street corner. Casse-Noisette & Clapagaré ! (Les chiquitos) Nevertheless, the first few weeks were incredibly difficult. Not only did I have to deal with the usual post-break-up challenges common to any city — cancelling all the plans and trips we’d made for the following months, packing up his things in my apartment – but I also had to walk down the same Parisian streets that we had strolled through hand in hand, eat the foods he had introduced me to, and hear the romantic lilt of his language everywhere. Making Magique The worst part? Being French, he had one of those first names that 1/5 of the French male population seems to share. Included amongst the many other Arnauds in my life were (in no particular order): four people at work, two personal friends of mine, the guy at the Bastille Sunday market where I buy my vegetables, and the man at my favourite boulangerie! MarioMancuso But what’s a newly single girl in Paris to do? Clearly you can’t hide from your baguette man forever! Or refuse to eat caramel au beurre salé simply because he introduced it to you.  And so after the first couple of weeks of skimming depression, I decided to pick myself up and find new pieces of light in my little world of Paris. Chris JL Discovering new parts of Paris First thing on my list was discovering new parts of the city. I had lived here for three years, but a lot of my memories had been made with Arnaud, so it was time to start carving out new territory just for myself. I noted down all the recently opened hip restaurants, cafés and bars that I had been meaning to hit up and enlisted my friends to check them out with me. I tallied up cool new exhibitions and made plans to go with a couple of art fiends. Sometimes I even went for walks by myself in neighborhoods I’d never explored before. Suddenly, my previously lonely days were filled with coffee dates at Coutume Café, drinks at Le Mary Celeste, and weekend strolls around the 11e. *nikita Meeting new people One of the difficult things with break-ups is that you often also have to break up with that significant other’s social circle. There would be no more ski holidays or concert dates with other couples he knew. But it also meant that I suddenly had all this free time (and social energy) to find other human beings who might inspire me. Making Magique I made an effort to reach out to new people, said yes to whatever invitations came my way, and re-launched my Diner des 3 Découvertes supper club. I signed up for bikram yoga and discovered a terrific health-conscious community, and started going salsa dancing to get back in touch with my Spanish side. Opening myself up to new people brought me wonderful new experiences during the past two months – including Carin Olsson’s Éclair Smackdown for HiP Paris and planning an impromptu girls’ trip to Corsica! Karigee Meeting new men I suppose the last step in any post-break-up process is being ready to put yourself out there again. Contrary to what many people believe, meeting new men can be as daunting a task in Paris as it is in anywhere else in the world. Upon my friends’ urging, I timidly and painfully subscribed to match.com – then immediately unsubscribed once I saw the results. I reluctantly agreed to a few dinners where couples were eager to introduce me to their single male friends. I even went to a cocktail bar to practice a few fun flirtation strategies wit

You see them all over Paris—the elegant femmes d’un certain age (women of a certain age.)  They may not look exactly young per se, but they definitely look beautiful, stylish, intriguing, and sexy.  That’s the trick, really.  These gorgeous women don’t care so much about looking young. They are much more interested in looking alluring, but in a very subtle, grown-up way. Read More...

Surfing the Paris menswear renaissance is this new French brand 13 Bonaparte. Their sleek HQ, including both shop and creative studio, faces the back of Candelaria, in the Upper Marais. The store is decorated with a neutral color palette and employs raw uncut materials such as iron, wood, zinc, hardwood floors and glass. The collection comprises classic style staples, making for a timeless, functional and versatile contemporary wardrobe, at affordable prices (count about 160€ for a shirt or pair of pants). The brand plays with workwear codes, creating basic pieces in various colors that can be layered, mixed and matched in order to create an impeccably designed contemporary urban look. 10.30am-7.30pm. Closed Sun. 2 bis rue de Normandie, 3rd. 13bonaparte.com/

Jeans: DL1961 "Amanda" | Sweater: 5 inch and up for Nelly Non stop rain, thats all we are getting at the moment, non stop rain and 13 degrees. This isn't Spring and I really hope you are having better luck than us here in Holland. FACEBOOK ? TWITTER ? BLOGLOVIN'

How could I pass this up? I'm still on the lookout for a rouge la Tour of my very own.

I dropped off my framed photos to the gallery on Tuesday afternoon and handed them to Laurie to hang. I didn’t know how they would be displayed but when I arrived on Thursday before the opening started, the photos were brilliantly integrated into the wall of flower paintings. It was hard to recognize the photos from the paintings, which I thought was perfect. At 6PM, people started coming and by 8:30 there were so many people in the gallery, they spilled over into the street. Many friends and acquaintances were there and I was so touched so many people came. Best of all some blog readers were there, which I was so thrilled and also some of my tour clients from that week showed up. In fact, three women who were my tour clients the day before were so sweet and brought a bottle of Champagne as a congratulations. By 9PM the festivities were mostly over and I had dinner with Vincent and a few friends to celebrate my big night. If you didn’t make it to the opening, the show runs till June 15. 14 rue Servandoni, 75006Gallery is open Tuesday to Saturday 2PM to 6:30PMMetro: St. Sulpice Here are images of all four photos from the exhibit. Each photo is a signed edition of 15. If you would like to buy a signed, unframed photo printed here and shipped to the U.S., the cost would be 125 euros plus 25 euros for shipping. If you would like an unsigned and unframed copy printed in the U.S. and shipped, the cost is $50. You may email me at r.nahem@gmail.com to order. Urn with Flowers in St. Germain Flowers in door at Montparnasse Cemetery Lily pad in Menton Garden Man with Green Umbrella among Red Flowers my fun tour clients I am pleased as punch to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I will personally be leading. The Eye Prefer Paris Tour includes many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes & food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks, and much more. Tours cost 210 euros for up to 3 people, and 70 euros for each additional person. I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you my insiders Paris.  Check it out at www.eyepreferparistours.com New! Eye Prefer Paris Cooking ClassesI am happy to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Cooking Classes. Come take an ethnic culinary journey with me and chef and caterer Charlotte Puckette, co-author of the bestseller The Ethnic Paris Cookbook (with Olivia Kiang-Snaije). First we will shop at a Paris green-market for the freshest ingredients and then return to Charlotte's professional kitchen near the Eiffel Tower to cook a three-course lunch. After, we will indulge in the delicious feast we prepared along with hand-selected wines. Cost: 185 euros per person (about $240)Time: 9:30AM- 2PM (approximately 4 1/2 hours) Location: We will meet by a metro station close to the marketClass days: Tuesday,Wednesday, Thursday,Friday, Saturday, and SundayMinimum of 2 students, maximum 6 students.Click here to sign up for the next class or for more info.   New Eye Prefer Paris Photos for Sale I am happy to announce the sale of a new set of prints of my Eye Prefer Paris Photos.  I am offering 20 of my most popular and iconic images for sale including my doors, architectural details, statues, and monuments. They will make great gifts for all your Francophile friends, relatives, and colleagues but don't forget to buy some for yourself. Click here to see photos and for full details including sizes, prices, and shipping. Here is a sample of some of the photos.  

You’ve heard of the proverbial woman with a past. Well, these jewelry pieces have a past. A jewelry designer in L.A. made the cuff bracelets from vintage French sequins and beads (among other materials). The person she bought the elements from told her the provenance was decades-old stage costumes from France. I love imagining what sort of settings these sparkly bits have inhabited. The dressing rooms…the smoky nightclubs…nouvelle vague films come to mind, though some of these beads are more than 100 years old than those early 1960s movies. My favorite beads are the ones that appear to be see-through orbs with pearls inside. It’s an optical illusion. They are glass that has been gold leafed on the inside–who knows how! The designer, Andrea Gutierrez, has her own French connection; she grew up in Switzerland and speaks francais. And her way of working–spending days on a single piece in her studio–seems very Gallic. Have a look at her other designs here.

                          Boulevard is a place we last came to some years ago and quite liked it so when we were told this is where my professional association's past-presidents luncheon was being held we considered it a lucky stroke of luck.  The menu was restricted as befits a special meal for 30 in their special room - L'Avenue - but was OK and there was no booze since we were considered to be working.  

If you were in Paris at the moment (maybe you are!) you'd hear people complain about the terrible weather, for sure... Today I had to go to the left bank to meet an old friend of PDP and, well, I passed by the Louvre and almost drowned the engine of my scooter there! Here is why! And this shot was not taken after a big storm, just the result of a non stop rain! There are worst things in life, but it's really getting my nerves! Time to go back to Miami?!