lucky break

la blogotheque has been filming a series of impromptu concerts around paris called "take away shows." phoenix just did a few songs with them by the eiffel tower, trocadero, and along the seine. lucky tourists. earlier this year they also filmed bon iver singing down winding streets and in doorways, and on a balcony overlooking the city's rooftops. the music is lovely and imperfect, but i would watch all of the films on mute if i had to, just to see the intimate images of the city that i miss.

made to last

during the paris winter sales last year i found these beautiful deep coral studded gloves at the galeries lafayette. i carried them with me while i shopped, but in the end i brought them back to the accessories section because they were €100 and i thought they would have been an impulse buy. of course, a year later, i am still thinking about them. (1) yellow la crasia, (2) red carolina amato, (3) orange nina peter, (4) black 3.1 phillip lim, (5) violet saks, (6) tan nina peter, (7) aubergine portolano, (8) gold portolano, (9) black miu miu, (10) hot pink juicy, (11) jade urban, (12) grey juicy.

(top photo by: erin)

dog days

today is the first day of fall. i've seen it coming for a few weeks with the morning rain and the changing leaves, my melancholy mood with summer gone and winter on the way.

these next few months are what i look forward to. curling up in bed, reading, with the rain outside my window. big burly sweaters and rubber boots. hot tea and steamy baths. chimney smoke and sharpened pencils. it will only last for a second, one heavenly second, and then the snow will come and the mornings will be dark and i will be hungry for spring again.

(photos by: erin)

weird science

paris is known for its art museums, but there are other, more unconventional museums that are definitely worth checking out, including the gallery of palaeontology and comparative anatomy at the national museum of natural history. large windows boarder the main space sending dusty beams of light on the collection. a large herd of skeletons face the main entry surrounded by glass cases of different species and organs preserved in jars of liquids. the museum houses a public collection of the great expeditions of travelers and naturalists of the 18th and 19th centuries. the entire contents seems to remain untouched since the museum was formally founded in 1793. beautiful hand printed calligraphy labels mark the different classifications, yellowed from sun and age, and colorful wax seals preserve the freakish jars of brains, parasites, and 2-headed fetal pigs behind the glass shelves.

(photos by: erin + ben)

fresh paint

over the last 2 weeks, ben and i have been enduring the long lines wrapping around the museums, our bodies inching slowly in unison for a glimpse at some of the new exhibits around paris - warhol at the grand palais, kandinsky and calder at the pompidou. this past weekend we went to the musée de l’orangerie, in the tuileries garden, where contemporary painter didier paquignon was showing a selection of his work in the main gallery. we were unfamiliar with the artist and eager to see his work, especially on such a large scale. the exhibit encompassed his creations from over the last 20 years, including urban and industrial landscapes, female nudes, and still lifes. the bright colors and tremendous energy in his pieces was exciting to see.

(photos by: erin + ben)

true colors

the lookbook for erotokritos's spring/summer 2009 collection is something out of a dream, with bright blurred rooftops and the shadows of dignified stairways. the clothes are quintessential parisian elegance with a rush of pigment, in floral prints and color block. if you're in the marais, the store is located on rue vieille du temple, one of the best shopping streets in the 3rd.

ice cream - you scream

my sister, holding our berthillion ice cream cones (coconut + cassis and grapefruit + coconut). she picked a flavor that conveniently matched her new pink scarf. berthillion is located on ile saint louis in paris. if the line is around the block there are multiple stands that sell their ice cream on the island.

(photo by: erin)

paper cuts

on oscar wilde’s deathbed in the hotel d’alsace on the rue des beaux-arts in paris (today called l’hotel), he said “my wallpaper and i are fighting a duel to the death. one or the other of us has to go.” the wallpaper apparently outlived wilde by 100 years and has been recreated at l’hotel, where there is now a plaque to oscar, just above the front door. i imagine oscar, tired and lonely, hibernating under a stack of quilts on his bed, the antique lamp by his bedside, dusty and dim, shining a small beam of light on the wallpaper that eventually killed him.

i imagine this and i think of the wallpaper in the bathroom of our apartment. large printed oranges, lemons, grapefruits, and avocados on a creamy yellow backdrop, made to look like realist paintings with dots of color and condensation collecting on the fruits. the sheets clumsily placed with gaps between them, never quite lining up. i want to tear it down. rip the sheets free from the walls one afternoon. maybe there will be another pattern hiding behind it, or maybe there will be a clean white wall waiting for me. i would do this if i didn’t have to face daniel, the owner of the apartment. he is painfully proud of every detail in the sublet. it took him over an hour to check us in. he explained everything from the washing machine tablets and remote controls to the value of the hideous cobalt afghan in the bedroom and the cracks in the walls caused by the sinking foundation. he did this in quick description, smiling, pausing, and waiting for approval before moving on to his next point of interest. i'm sure the wallpaper was his decision.

every night the sky stays a little bit lighter—dragging on the blue twilight until you don’t even notice the night, just that it’s there. the moon, reflecting off the gray tin rooftops and rickety antennas, lighting up the cracks in the walls so deep and venous that you think they could be what’s holding the building up and not tearing it down.

(photos by: erin)

to the brim

through may 30, dutch designer hella jongerius is exhibiting her new collection "natural design magistra" at the galerie kreo in paris, which ben and i went to see this weekend. i have always admired her glass and ceramic vases with their smooth, curved shapes, and the combinations of materials that go in to creating them. her latest designs are just as impressive and have a sculptural and narrative quality - using artificial flowers and animal tables in her designs.

(photos by: erin)

macarons

in my opinion, the best macarons in paris. citrus, cherry + pistachio, elder flower, chocolate + praline, and burnt butter caramel from pain de sucre.

(photo by: erin)

a little peace

when i leave the apartment around noon i always notice an older man in the window across the courtyard, standing by the open glass, wearing a white shirt and apron, ironing. i watch him as i walk down the three sets of stairs in our 17th century building, my hand running along the polished wood banister, staring uneasily at the cracks progressing up the side of the wall and the heavy chandelier teetering above me, wondering when it will all give out. the man works in a calming way. long, slow strokes along the material.

when i iron, its always in short, frantic bursts, like i'm trying to work out a stain or scratch an itch.

by some miracle, i've started to adapt to the french contented life. i still get the urge to bust through the crowds of people inching along rue du bac on saturday morning as i'm trying to get to the bakery, or eat my lunch standing over the kitchen sink, but those impulses are rare. in paris, nothing is rushed. life is meant to be lived. that's probably my wide-eyed idealization of the way things are, but i think i'll keep it.

(photos by erin: a saturday game of petanque in the luxembourg gardens)

très chic

sandro boutiques are scattered all over paris, carrying the staples that make french women look so effortless. layers of tiered ruffles, slouchy shorts, suede ankle boots, and yes, even 21st century parachute pants - what more could a girl want? here are a few images from their spring/summer 2009 collection.

hello

lemon cake, brioche, and cafe au lait at coquelicot.

(photo by: erin)