Assorted Happy Things

"Happiness is an attitude. 

We either make ourselves miserable, or happy and strong. 

The amount of work is the same." -- RL Bond

Happy August!  

There's my bookshelf where I keep my little treasures including these souvenirs from my Paris trip: a print of a painted letter by Édouard Manet to Isabelle Lemonnier from the special exhibit at the Musée d'Orsay, the snow globe I had to smuggle into the airport (seriously, did YOU know they were illegal in your carry-on?) and wooden spools with silk from the 1900s I bought at the lovely Parisian flea market we visited.  I'm searching for happiness now and I've heard the theories about finding it already there inside of you, but in the meantime here are some things that have made me smile recently.  Fortunately for me, it's a long list.

This is my favorite sculpture in the entire world: La Valse (The Waltz) by Camille Claudel in the Musée Rodin in Paris.  Camille was Auguste Rodin's much younger student, muse and then mistress.  When he left her she eventually destroyed many of her works and years later died alone in a psychiatric hospital.  A tragic story, but such a beautiful piece, I really feel the tenderness in the pose.  I found the replica below on Amazon and even though I prefer the more rustic quality of the original I want to keep this near because to me it captures what love should feel like.

And Suzanne sent me an inspiration for what love should be.

[print from Vintage Art Posters]

Here's a glimpse of the Patisserie Pain de Sucre on rue Rambuteau, now my favorite bakery ever.  From the tart with the tiny fraises des bois, the millefeuille, sables, crystallized cilantro and more, we loved everything we tried and went back several times.

More incredible sweets at Ladurée, which gets my award for best packaging ever.  So lovely and so many things to choose from that I'm thrilled that the 1st US location is opening in NYC on Madison Avenue. Does anyone know if the doors are open yet?  Let me know and I'll meet you there immediately.

For my Mom's birthday I brought her some hydrangeas in variegated blues (her favorite color) and a chocolate cake with homemade strawberry jam and cream cheese frosting.

Mila, oh, Mila...she's pretty, but feisty.  I think we're still getting to understand each other, but here was a precious, calm moment.

Tiger, one of the resident cats at the flower market on 28th Street cracked me up with his size and general Garfield-esque demeanor:

and I laughed even harder when I saw this picture of his summer makeover on the Facebook page of G. Page Flowers.

[photo by G. Page Flowers]

There were plenty of sour cherries at the Fulton Stall Market one pretty Sunday morning

for my Sour Cherry Preserves from Canning for a New Generation by Liana Krissoff.  

And I got some tasty pickled strawberries from Anarchy in a Jar at the Smorgasburg the same week my friend Eric brought me Raspberry Red Chile Jam from Heidi's Raspberry Farm in New Mexico.  Yum yum...

And even more yumminess!  Thomas Haas chocolates from Vancouver from Louise.  What great, tasty friends!

And Louise wasn't done, she surprised me one sad day with pretty perfume samples from Bond no. 9, don't they look like little candies?

I love giving presents and it's time to return the favors, so I bought a little kit of Meri Meri baking gift labels from The Brooklyn Kitchen. Don't worry, Eric, I didn't head there without you, they just had a small booth at the Smorgasburg, but not enough canning supplies, so we have to head to the real store soon.

And here's the beginnings of a surprise present: a beautiful Liberty of London craft kit from Purl Soho...oh what will it be...?

I kinda liked the shout-out I did for my July birthday post, so I just want to say thanks to friends who've reminded me to feel extra special lately when I've needed it.  So, hugs to Rachael, Louise, Eric, Aimee, Suzanne, Lee, Seth, Jenny, Meredith, Liz (x 2!), Kerry, and I'm so excited about new friends too!  Vivian, Lisa, Carol (& Carole!), Donna, Stacey & Bill, so nice to meet you all and looking forward to next time.  Most of all, thanks to my Mom for her HOURS of listening to me, supporting me and even staying with me for the past two days, you're amazing and I love you.

Smells Good

Smell is a potent wizard that transports you 

across thousands of miles and all the years you have lived. 

-- Helen Keller

Can't sleep, I guess there's been a lot going on.  I'm thinking a lot about memories lately, how they can come up when you least expect it.  You can pass someone on the street and be thrown back into your past, catching the scent of maybe something your mother baked when you were little, or of a perfume worn by someone who used to love you.  These perfumes all bring memories back to me, at least for a little while.  I took the pics on a warm summer Saturday morning when anything was possible, or at least seemed more so than now in the dead of winter.

Fleur de Citronnier by Serge Lutens: a floral breeze

ELLE by Yves Saint Laurent: pink berries, lychee, peony, vetiver

 Fiori di Capri by Carthusia: carnation, lily of the valley, oak, amber

24, Faubourg by Hermes: floral amber, sun-drenched, glowing, sensual, light 

IF by Apothia: citrus, exotic flowers, clean pacific musk

Maitresse by Agent Provocateur: lotus, ylang ylang, osmanthus, jasmin sambac

Celestial Maracuja by Molton Brown: tuberose, jasmine, amber

White Patchouli by Tom Ford: citrus, coriander, jasmine, rose, sandalwood

Euphoria by Calvin Klein: luminescent, delicate, sheer, sensual

STELLANUDE by Stella McCartney: rose petals

Eau Parfumée Au Thé Blanc by Bvlgari: artemisia, white pepper, musk, amber

Kim Kardashian: bright, sweet, pale wood, vanilla musk

Flowerbomb by Viktor & Rolf: an explosive mix of a thousand flowers

Infusion de Tubereuse by Prada: petigrain bigararde, blood orange, dynamone

Chance by Chanel: sweet sensual floral

Crafty Weekend Plans

Happy Friday!  It's the first full Spring weekend (since it officially started last Saturday @1:32 p.m. EST) and even though the weather's reverting a bit to wintry in NYC I'm going to try to stay positive.  These lovely orchids are from the beautiful L'Olivier Floral Atelier on 14th Street.  I visited this week and was inspired by their beautiful arrangements and backyard garden.

So, here are some springy, crafty things to do this weekend if you're in my area...

- Time Out New York lists this CRAFTernoon event with designer Janet Kim of the clothing line Graey and her friend Diana Huang teaching reverse applique with free cupcakes! (and a suggested donation benefiting The Father's Heart Ministries)

- Daily Candy lists this pop-up indie craft fair in Soho and this perfume class with Le Labo Fragrances, the beautiful boutique that custom-mixes raw fragrances while you wait.  The classes will benefit the Humanity Perfume Fountain Project, very cool.

- and when I googled Crafternoon I also found this site and blog from Maura Madden who does crafty events at The New York Public Library.  I'm sorry I missed this one last weekend with felt designer Kata Golda since I've been admiring her work sold at Kate's Paperie.

- And then googling all of that I found this Etsy Lab in Brooklyn where they have monthly Craft Meetings, wow!

So much to do...happy weekend ;-)

Valentine's Wrapup

Hope everyone had a lovely Valentine's.  Just a few pics of mine from a happy, pink day...

Making cards,

cutting out strawberry marshmallow hearts for Ghirardelli hazelnut hot chocolate,

eating pretty m&m's,

and receiving homemade gifts from the boyfriend: a card,

Korean food,

and a yummy pink cake from scratch,

and Stella McCartney perfume with notes of Moroccan Rose, Grapefruit, White Peony, Pink Pepper, Precious Vanilla, Grey Amber and Musk.