After-Holiday Sale, New Years at Estoublon

Holiday decor is now 50% off and clothing is discounted 30% at the Christmas Market at the Chateau d’Estoublon, a magnificent 16th-century estate near Fontvieille where wines and olive oils are produced. This is the one market my friends and I never miss; each year the selection of food, decor, toys and tableware grows more elegant, eclectic and whimsical too. The items for sale come from all

I Love Paris When It....

Isn't this great? This Paris Snow Globe print by artist Clare Owen is $20 plus shipping from her shop on Etsy. For more about Clare, see her website  and blog.

Can You Ear Me Now?

Now you can dress up your cell phone and all your other electronic devices with reproductions of classic paintings such as Van Gogh’s Starry Night. (And none too soon, I might add.) Van Gogh painted Starry Night (and close to 150 other oils) while hospitalized in St. Remy in 1889, following the cutting-off-of-the-ear incident in nearby Arles. (By the way, two German art historians recently said

For Your Favorite Dirty Francophile

How cute are these soaps? So sweet and pretty, in fact, that I'd find it hard to use them. Based in Clarksville, Tennessee, Kasey Hachler makes these goats milk macaron soaps by hand, scenting and coloring them in Brown (Chocolate Cream Cheese Cupcake), Yellow (Pineapple), Pink (Black Raspberry and Vanilla), Blue (Blueberry Delight) and Green (Almond). The 3-oz. soaps are packaged in a

Macaroons: The New Cupcakes?

Remember how, a couple years back, cupcakes became the new new thing? Just last month, in fact, I spent $5.25 on one in a tiny and very posh cupcake boutique called More in Chicago because I just had to know what a bacon-and-maple-syrup cupcake would taste like (answer: good).

But now, in terms of foodie lust and adulation, I'm seeing cupcakes being nudged aside by macaroons. Have you noticed?

Postcards from Provence

If, like I am, you're a fan of the work of Provence-based artist Julian Merrow-Smith, you can now own a lovely 160-page book containing 140 full-color plates of his paintings.

Merrow-Smith is a British artist based in Bedoin (near Avignon), whose still- life paintings are inspired by objets trouvés, pottery and seasonal produce from local markets. His landscapes, meanwhile, represent scenes