Flea markets of Paris...

When we visited Paris last month our goal, aside from eating and drinking everything in site was to shop.  I know it is terrible right!  We were in the process of trying to fill our first container to ship back to the States.  We started out in Paris at the flea markets and could have shopped there for days but as you know travel does not always allow for days and days of endless browsing and then going back to make final purchases and decisions.  Things move so fast it can be hard to know if you have made the right choices for weeks to come.  I know I should have bought the chairs that are shown below, I am kicking myself now for doubting my first inclination.  I love these chairs and I hope that they find a wonderful home somewhere in the world.. they are so amazing! 

Aside from that I tried not to pass up anything that spoke to me.   I finally had to realize that anything is possible with the right amount of determination and dare I say money behind it.  We did end up dragging dress forms and multiple goodies back with us on the metro, yep they looked at us like we were crazy but whatever, they did that every time we spoke to them in English after starting with "bonjour".  It was amazing to buy furnishings and accessories with the idea that we would be having them here in such a short time.  I am looking forward to getting all of our goodies and setting up for our first container sale!

 

 

We loved all of the displays, the talent in these flea markets blows away what we see here at home.  Although I must say that we have to remember these are permanent spaces not pop ups.

 

This space was amazing, I wanted every book!  I love the green blue!

 

This big guy was so cool and calm, he just wanted to chill not shop.

 

These two I did not manage to leave.  They are perfect and I love them.  I will also love them when they get home to me in my living room thank you very much!

 

I did pass this sweet little thing up.. I was tired and did not even ask the price - a mistake I know!

 

Gorgeous!

 

This vendor said this was a painting of his mother in law.  His booth was super cool!

 

(This picture is for Loi)

 

images by christina for greige

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Recovery...

 Just wanted to share a few of my favorite instagram pictures from the trip.  I promise to go through my photos over the holiday weekend and share a bit with you next week.  Every time I visit Paris I fall for it all over again even though she really makes you work for it!  I am exhausted when I return from these trips both physically and mentally!   This weekend I will do my best to fully recover!

I also want to extend a huge THANK YOU to the girls that were nice enough to guest post for us while I was away!  I could not have done it without you!  Thank you to Andrea, Si, and Shari!

 

 

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Design Traveler: Si from French By Design

Bonjour, I am Si from the FrenchByDesign blog. France is my home country, so it’s only natural that when sweet Christina asked me to guest post in her “Design Traveler” series, I chose a bed and breakfast located in Southern France. Ready? Pack your bags, we’re heading to the beautiful Cathare country, a few miles away form the gorgeous village of Carcassonne. 

Welcome to Camellas-Lloret, a culmination of a love affair with France and a desire by a couple, Annie and Colin, to share it.

Located in Montréal, a picturesque village, 15 minutes away from the gorgeous village of Carcassonne, and on the route of St Jacques de Compostelle, Camellas-Lloret is an 18th century family home fully renovated with two main focuses in mind: authenticity and comfort. Annie and Colin host this Maison d'Hôte [BnB] with brio: from morning croissants and café au lait, to evening drinks on the terrace, they will make everything they can to make you feel at home. Bon voyage!

All Photos Courtesy of Annie Moore and Camellas-Lloret ©

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Design Traveler: Andrea of The French Basketeer

Design Traveler Visits: Le Domaine de Chantilly, France
When thinking of Paris and châteaux, Versailles, Fontainebleau and perhaps the Loire Valley come to mind. But just a short distance from central Paris lies a gem of a château that has been carefully restored and offers some serious eye candy of paintings, decorative arts, gardens and equestrian displays.

The Domaine de Chantilly passed from different parts of the same family without ever being sold, from 1386 to 1897. The Château first opened to the public in 1898, less than a year after the death of the final owner, Henri d’Orleans, Duke of Aumale. As with the Louvre, the Château de Chantilly was improved, expanded, destroyed and rebuilt over the course of centuries. Its long history is complex, fascinating and, well…very French...

 
Chantilly was at its peak in the 17^th century, when André Le Nôtre (who would be later become the head gardener at Versailles) created a Grand Canal, water features and parterres. Chantilly came alive with grand balls and fireworks displays, visits from Louis XV and plays by Molière.

The fun came to a halt during the French Revolution, when the collections of the Château were seized and carted off to the Louvre and the Château served first as a prison, then was partially demolished. The Château regained its glory in the 19th century when Henri d'Orléans, the fifth son of King Louis-Philippe, inherited the property (and great wealth) in 1830 at the age of eight.

 
Today, a visit to the Domaine includes the Renaissance-style Château, with grand entry hall and hunt theme, intimate chapel, a generous painting gallery, library with over 1,300 manuscripts and 12,500 books, private apartments and gardens. The collections are presented today just as they were in the 19^th century as Henri d’Orleans had arranged them. The collection can be considered a mini-Louvre, with representation by many great French and Italian masters such as Raphael, Corot, Watteau, Poussin, Delacroix and Clouet.

The private apartments have been undergoing extensive renovation since 2005, and the details behind that work are interesting from a design standpoint. The largest expense of restoration work on the Château is gold leaf. Pure, 24 karat gold leaf is used, not paint, and there is a lot of it. The walls and relief are cleaned, to uncover the original colors, and not completely repainted. The paint is made especially for the Domaine with a base of what is called colle de peau, or animal glue, which holds well for centuries and has been used since ancient times.

The Domaine de Chantilly is a marvelous and carefully restored château with its collection of period decorative arts, paintings, book & manuscripts. In addition to being beautiful, it is also fascinating in that it is the personal collection of one man, Henri d’Orleans. If you have visited the Louvre or Versailles, you will love this Château, for the intimate portrait it paints of the tastes and life of one of France’s royal sons after the monarchy. In the spring and summer, the Domaine also presents a series of live horse shows and dressage demonstrations in the Grand Stables.

 
For more information on the Château de Chantilly, visit www.chateaudechantilly.com

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Andrea Drexelius is a devoted Francophile and divides her time between Laguna Beach and various destinations in France. In addition to importing classic French market baskets, she writes extensively on France. The first of her e-book series Rêve will focus on Paris (including Chantilly) and will be published imminently.  Information on Rêve and her blog can be found HERE.

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Design Traveler: Shari from Little Blue Deer

Greetings!  Shari from Little Blue Deer here!  I am so honored to have been asked by one of my very favorite clients, Christina, to guest post while she is in fabulous Paree!  I know she'll be chic'ing it up all over the 7th Arrondissement, while we're here slogging away stateside, right?! 

One of the many perks to my full-time job as a design blogger and blog and website designer to the stars (that's you guys!) is that I get to travel frequently.  All I need to work is my laptop and a wireless card, so I have the freedom to go wherever I want to when I want to.  It's a privilege and a luxury, and I try to make the most of it.  

The place I travel to most frequently is New York City.  As a former Manhattanite, I love to see all of my friends, and some of my favorite and best clients are there, so it's always fun to hook up face to face.  Since I go there so often, I wanted to share some of my fave NY picks with you!  

Hotels:  

Even though I usually stay with friends, that doesn't mean that I don't pay attention to what is hot and happenin'!  You can't go wrong with The Standard.  As far as I'm concerned, this hotel is the gold "standard" (get it?!)  in downtown accommodations (is this "Dirty"?  You be the judge.)

And the High Line location has floor to ceiling windows in every room, plus it's the home of the Standard Grill.  

If downtown hipster makes you turn up your nose, you can't go wrong with The Carlyle.   One of the Upper East Side's finest, last time I was there they served up Bulgari Green Tea-flavored toiletries, and I will be the first to say that I am not above stuffing a few of those babies in my bag!  

So, we've got the sleeping down, but a girl's gotta eat, right?!  Seriously, take the trip out to Sunnyside, Queens, and load up on Salt and Fat. 

For a quick lunch, grab the most fabulous grilled cheese you will ever experience at Little Muenster on Stanton Street.  Don't forget the tomato soup!

You guys thought I was going to talk about shopping, right?  While I DO love to shop while I'm in NYC, an even more fabulous, and longer-lasting, treat, is a haircut by the "dancing hairdresser" of the Lower East Side, Misin Shin.  I found Misin quite by accident, and what an amazing discovery.  One of his trims lasts for months, and honestly, my hair has never looked so, well, finnnne.  Also, uh, he dances.  Check it out.

Finally, one of my NY must-haves is my iTunes NYC playlist.  Load up with tunes by M83, LCD Soundsystem, CHVRCHES and Santigold and you'll retain your hipster street cred even while rocking Tory Burch. 

And...that's all, darlings!  Can't wait to hear all about Christina's fabulous trip, see you guys in NYC!

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Off...

 

I am off today, bound for Paris.. I am looking forward to sharing our adventures with you.  We are so excited to be going and bringing treasures back this time.  Keep your fingers crossed for us in hopes  that we find wonderful things!  

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Design Traveler: Trip planning

I don't know about you but I am a total trip planner..  I like to have an itinerary that notes just about everything (there is always a section for free time-but it is noted!)  I was at dinner with my Mom and Sister last week and my Sister said to me- "I don't like to travel with anyone else, you always have everything planned.  I don't have to worry about anything, I know our next move and what I am supposed to be doing when I get there."  Some people love this and let's face it some do not love it.  I am a planner, I have to have all of this in one place or I will never find it when I need it most, because on top of being a planner I am always a little bit late and a little bit frazzled!  This type of pre planning keeps the vacation moving for me and those with me or we would never make a decision. 

So I have been planning our trip for the past few weeks and I keep finding more things I would like to do.  I have been to Paris several times and there are so many wonderful parts, I want to see something new each and every time but I still want to visit my favorites for a second, third, fourth.. well you get the idea.  I have been stalking Paris blogs and I have fallen deeply for this one.. Paris in Four Months, mostly because she is living a dream and because her images are beautiful, but also because she is posting about sweets around Paris a lot!!! 

So now I have too many things on our list and I think we will be running from one musee to the next or I might have to eliminate something somewhere.. so sad! (But so exciting at the same time!) 

I would love to hear how you plan for your trips?  Do you make a list and do what you feel like when you arrive?  Do you plan every outfit for every occassion including accessories, like one of my best friends?  Do you fly by the seat of your pants?

image via (another group of beautiful paris pics)
 


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