Flamant in the USA!

I was so excited to learn that Flamant, the beautiful housewares & furniture store, was now available in the United States through CopperStrawberry !

I fell in love with flamant while in Paris: both Heather and I bought quite a few 'souveniers' of our trip there. Above you can almost see the gorgeous crystal candlesticks I splurged on at Flamant.

See a tour of Flamant in Paris at my post HERE.

This was NOT a paid advertisement, just wanted to share the information with all of you!

Now on your Kindle!

Do you have a kindle? I have yet to get one but have heard glowing reviews from everyone who has one (it was even talked about on the skirted round table!). The benefits of space & environmental savings are obvious. Well, now blogs are available for subscription on the kindle and I've uploaded ArchitectDesign! It appears on the kindle similarly to reading a blog online: see last Saturday's post above.

The only complaints I've heard are that the kindle is still in b&w and most blogs (that I follow, including this one) are visual; color is important! Also, the larger sized device is both pricey and a little clunky. I'm still not sold completely on reading books on an electronic screen like this, I'm old school and LOVE books! I would love to hear what you think of it. Check out my blog on your kindle if you have one and let me know what you think!

John Derian's "stuff"

In the December 2009 issue of Vanity Fair (which smells really good this month, or am I crazy? Like the entire magazine is one big perfume ad), John Derian weighs in on his 'stuff' in the monthly column. I wrote about a visit I paid his beautiful store in Provincetown, Massachusetts HERE.Above is the decoupoge dish I purchased and holds my keys while home. Needless to say, I was so excited to read what his favorite products were as he has sold me some of mine!

I was happy to note he uses the same kiehl's products as me (I really love the amino acid shampoo seen above and highly recommend it) and he of course notes the Astier de Villatte products that he sells in his stores that I've grown addicted to myself.

I love that his 'stuff' seems very real, grounded and interesting (unlike lots of the celebrities who name-drop fancy companies and are probably paid to do so).

Also, two pages later (116) is an article about the fantastic new online magazine, Lonny.

Make sure to check out this issue of Vanity Fair -support the few magazines we have left!

Flamant

My favorite housewares store I have ever visited is Flamant - numerous locations throughout Paris.

I could move right in - literally! The entire store is set up as vignettes in a home.

I bought some amazing candlesticks here that I will share soon with a tablesetting :-)

The great thing about Europe - lit candles in stores! Everywhere! Shopping by candlelight -what could be more charming?

I loved this desk.

And a La Cornue stove -my dream!

Red and Grey, black and white tended to be the color schemes -with a lot of natural light woods and linen.

People just made themselves at home.

Which is better, the chair or the bookcase? I'll take both, please.

Loved these dark walls with the natural oak flooring.

Doesn't this look like someone's apartment?

I just loved this little desk back in the nook.

Heather will hate the comparison (I had one for every store we went into), but I think this store is like a much larger William Sonoma Home. I love that store too (and we need one in DC!)

They have the lighting down. It's all about the lighting.

See why I love it yet?

Visit Flamant if you ever get a chance. You won't walk away empty handed!

Quai Voltaire

The Quai Voltaire, facing the Louvre along the Seine, has long been where the famous (and infamous!) have hung their hats. The location, view and lovely buildings make it easy to see why!While just 2 blocks from our first hotel (which Heather talks about here), it's a far chicer address! My favorite building was the small townhouse nestled in between the larger apartment buildings. What a cute house!You can see it has balconies facing the Seine and the Louvre across it, seen below.I only wonder about the tourist boats with floodlights which crowd this area of the Seine late at night. If you live here have your black out blinds ready! Great examples of all different styles of Parisian architecture.

And of course, this area is full of AMAZING shops -this one in particular caught my eye.Why bother going to the Louvre across the bridge here when you can see amazing items like this in the shop window!These bike stops were all over Paris. This location is ideal to pick up a bike after a visit to the Louvre and the Quai Voltaire!

Paris Shopping

A trip to Paris isn't complete with a healthy dose of shopping. Parisians excel in this department for sure! All shops, even the most simple, are very beautiful and tasteful with a big imagination!

Something always has to draw you into the store though, catch your attention. Whether it be the architecture of the building, like this charming lingerie shop on the Rue du Faubourg St Honore (where much of our favorite fashionable shopping was)Or an eye-catching window display. This makeup shop (again along the Rue du Faubourg St Honore) had quite a crowd gathered in front of it. The makeup 'palatte' was made out of glitter that caught the afternoon sun beautifully. A lot of shops would have a speciality, such as this 'Orchideiste' -that was a new word for me! A charming hat shop.A shop of chic houseplants! Many shops would display their products along the street, such as this cute florist shop in St. Germaine, where a lot of the fun, more unusual shops are housed. Heather and I wondered how some of this stuff just didn't walk off' with would be customers!

This florist shop was next door to one of the most famous shops in Paris, Deyrolle. You know that was coming after I said 'unusual' right?
You all know I'm not always a fan of taxidermy but this shop was too fantastic to miss!Why go to the zoo? These animals are silent and won't bite! These small birds were SO charming -I could see one sitting very happily on my coffee table! I was so tempted to get a little canary! I contented myself with taking home some candles though.The shop is surprisingly bright filled with tons of natural light. An immense collection!Turkeys and butterflies cohabiting peacefully. I loved the wall color in here! One of the shops I was most looking forward to visiting did not disappoint. Cire Trudon in St. Germain was a fun stop with very 'historical' fragrances: warning -they're not all pleasant! However, I picked up a heavenly scented candle here, Proletaire.

A lot of the shops incorporate beautiful antiques and art into your experience. Roger Vivier had some outstanding antiques that were museum worthy. I wanted to take this ebony console with me, forget the shoes!

Of course Chanel was ever so chic, across from the Ritz as always!And why waste time in a museum when you have roman antiquities filling shop-fronts along the small streets of St. Germain?
Or check out the Chagall along the Rue St Honore?

I think Paris had the most beautiful floral shops. Aquarelle is particularly well known, around the corner from our first hotel in St. Germain.
The city is so gray, that these flowers really POP! Too beautiful for words....

This beautiful umbrella shop along the Boulevard St Germain reminded me of one of my favorite movies, the umbrellas of Cherbourg!Notice the metal umbrellas hanging outside? The shop front of Zuber was black to show off the colorful wares inside.Our favorite shopping haunts were definitely found walking around St. Germain back streets or along the Rue St. Honore. Avenue Montaigne had some AMAZING super high end clothing stores but was a bit intimidating to say the least! All of that shopping is EXHAUSTING! It was always a relief to go back to the hotel room, drop the bags off and have a snack from Laduree with a cup of tea.Photo at the top of the post is of the St. Germain Laduree store where we spent a small fortune DAILY.