Merci beaucoup!

It's starting to feel a little like Christmas in July around here. Charlotte Moss really did inspire Stefan of Architect Design and me to book our trip to Versailles. Since she is traveling she hasn't heard yet that we are actually going so before she left she sent out a little package to further inspire us. It contained a set of postcards that she took at Versailles for each of us! That was beyond thoughtful of her and we will both treasure them!

As you can see, Ms. Moss could have a second career as a photographer! The photos are beautiful and make me even more excited to see Versailles for myself! Merci!

After my Bon Appetit post, I heard from one of my favorite people, Katie Levine. You might remember Katie from Domino but now she is the publicist for Bon Appetit magazine! Turns out that the August 2009 issue of Bon Appetit has a wonderful feature in honor of Julia Child! August 15th would have been her 97th birthday so they have published a party perfect menu that people all of the country will make that night in her honor! How sweet is that?! Katie was kind enough to send me a copy of the magazine along with the Mastering the Art of French Cooking! I am even more excited to get cooking and will have to plan a meal to celebrate all of these wonderfully influential and inspiring women! Merci beaucoup!

Versailles à vélo

One of my readers recently emailed me about her bicycle trip through Versailles. It sounded fun but definitely not for this city mouse. All I could picture was falling and breaking my arm and ruining my trip. (Although, I could experience the supposedly superior French care system first hand.) But a few days later, as I was going through my old issues of Travel & Leisure, I came across an entire story devoted to riding through Versailles so maybe I'll give it a try. They say you never forget how to ride a bike! Just not sure I should try it while wearing Christian Louboutin flats so I might be forced to pack some practical shoes! Chic ones of course!

On a side note, the author of the Travel & Leisure article was Joan Juliet Buck, a contributing editor at Vogue. She plays Mme Brassart, the head of the Cordon Bleu, in the upcoming movie Julie & Julia! I really can't wait to see this movie and maybe check out the house that Julia Child lived in while in Paris! A bientot!

Bon Appetit!

A very sweet article about Julia Child in the new August issue of Vanity Fair inspired me to reread her wonderful book, My Life in France, which she wrote with her grand-nephew Alex Prud'homme. The book is really a love story...the love of her husband, food, cooking and France! It's also very inspiring. I mentioned before that Julia Child didn't even start cooking until she was 37 and her first book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, which she co-authored was published in 1961 when she was 49 years old and her television show, The French Chef, debuted on PBS the following year. She also inspired author Julie Powell to start cooking which she chronicled in her blog that later became a book and movie staring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams which will be released August 7th. I don't think I'll be mastering any French cooking any time soon but I can't wait to pick up some of her cookbooks next and see the film. Julia Child always reminds me that it's never too late to start something new! Bon Appetit!