National Croissant Day, Chandeleur, Lingerie Salon, February Paris Letter

While some of you are busy chopping onions for chili and popping corn for the big game, in Paris we're doing other things.

Who knew, for example, that January 30 (Friday) is National Croissant Day? Please raise your hands if you knew.

I did not know. There is a lot to keep up with in this town food-wise.

I do miss the days when I painted strictly from Japanese Re-Ment minaitures.

Totally calorie-free.

This was painted from...

This tiny teapot and cup were kindly sent to me by Japan blogger Kat sent me. Pretty swell no?

Yesterday I went out looking for croissants at a local no-name boulangerie and found adorable mini bakery tableaux.

Dreamy...

Their croissants look lovely but I did not celebrate.

Moving right along to Chandeleur (Jan 3-Feb 6), it is now time to eat crepes in Paris. A never ending feast here!

Please do not ask me how Parisians stay thin.
I am clueless.

I love that the Bretons, crepe creators, call these dentelles(lacy). I am meeting Swedish Solli today for crepes at lunch time. I hope we share.

Speaking of lace, I hit last day of the Salon International de la Lingerie on Monday.

Thank you Lise Charmel for the much-needed black fur ball key chain and tiny black lace-covered notebook tied with a black ribbon in my goodie bag. What every girl needs now! I just wish I could fit into your divine lingerie...This is always an inspiring show.

Very inspiring to get one's booty back into the pool again...where I'm headed once this post is up!!!

Chocolatier Patrick Roger has valentines in his window.

And I have a new February Valentine letter for subscribers.
Err...please do not be offended if a few lingerie souvenir postcards are amongst the recipe cards...

I've gone all rosey for the February letter.
Plus I've added your names into the artwork with watercolor.
*(I must contact Mathew and Howard to see if they want their names on a pink ribbon).
THANK YOU all PBers for making 2014 an absolutely wonderful year. The letter subscriptions started just a year ago last February, make it possible for me to stay on in Paris.
Nothing delights me more
♥♥♥♥
Enjoy your Super Bowl US PBers, while I munch on a crepe :) 

December Letter and Le Bon Marche Xmas

This month I'm pleased as egg nog punch to report I'm free as a bird regarding the December Paris Sketch Letter!
The letter, completed in late November (miracle of miracles!) is MAILED OUT! 
True, you haven't seen much of Carolg on PB of late. That's because I've been super busy tearing out my hair illustrating a mystery pastry map for J's new book coming out in the Spring.
There's always something...

The map was completed yesterday at long last. I headed over to see BON MARCHÉ'S divine Christmas decorations.

Can you find Carolg?

BEAR came along for the ride.

Bon Marche is enthralled with reindeer and so am I.

Lovely, light and cheerful. Not wildly extravagant but very effective.

Their tree decoration shop on the 2nd floor IS indeed extravagant.

And a joy to experience.

Their fabulous baubles but so worth it.

What is the smart Parisian wearing, browsing in Bon Marche? 
Paris temperatures being in the high 30s so a tad chilly.
*Note tam o'shanter hat, black leggings, backpack and scooter.

BEAR, permanently dressed in cashmere, is ready for Winter and not interested in Bon Marche's dress code. He'd rather gaze at chocolate-covered marshmallow bears. Miam

Outside Bon Marche's Grand Epicerie there's a faux chalet offering hot chocolate, mulled wine, kouglhof and pain d'epice (gingerbread). Free tastes too. Miam miam!

More reindeer in the windows busy working in Santa's Atelier(workshop) doing guess what?

Sorting MAIL!
Is this not a dream come true for someone who spends 1/3 her time at La Poste, 1/3 addressing envelopes and the other 1/3 tasting chocolates and buche de Noel!

They are jumping up and down on the bags of letters to pack them into Santa's bags.

They are checking addresses for mistakes.
Boy did this hit home. Where do I hire these reindeer?

Mailboxes in front so Parisian kids can drop off their wish lists to Santa. The store toy catalog has a tear-out letter plus lovely stickers of French reindeer.

Bon Marche has a Holiday Special on - order a bag and get it personalized with your name or your friend's name on it.

Paris Sketch Letters has a HOLIDAY SPECIAL on for the month of December.

Order a subscription on ETSY and get a watercolor print of a box of macarons with YOUR NAME ON IT!   It's not too late to receive the personalized macaron print in time for the holidays (Hanukkah and Kwanza included). Ready to ship out TODAY! If you want to personally give the 1st letter I can send it to you and the rest to the gift recipient. 

If you're in Paris and mad for reindeer, run to Bon Marche this Sunday at 3 PM. 

The reindeer will be singing Carols on the rez-de-chausee. 24, rue de Sevres 75007

Cheers Carolg

Jam Trouble - Les Confiture Letter

It's that time of the month again when I go through torture creating the newest Paris Letter.

Inspiration for October's letter came last Spring when Coco Jobard showed off her wonderful old Alsatian jam(confiture) dish towel. Jars of luscious fruity jam spell Fall to me. I'm crazy for the hand-written labels, the fluted glass jars. Jam on toast or a croissant plus tea and a good book is the best no?

But researching jam for 3+ weeks is maybe not the best kind of immersion for the easily tempted.

These jam hats (chapeau pot de confiture) made me swoon. You can find a wonderful variety of hats on Littlemarket.com.

Some of the best hats are worn on the best jam made in France by Alsatian Christine Ferber. She hand-ladles her heavenly jams into each pot to maintain quality. I dream of visiting her shop in Niedermorschwihr if I ever figure out how to pronounce it. These jams are in the new Galerie Lafayette's Food department, moved across the street from the main store.

Three glorious floors of food boutiques and mini restaurants and everything is clearly marked out. Le Grand Epicerie feels like a maze since they redid it. I forever get lost and can't find what I want.

Do come prepared and wear battle gear to browse the huge jam department at Galeries.

If you plan to make jam yourself you'll need a different kind of armor.

Head over to Librairie Gourmands on 92, rue Montmartre 75002 for the best selection of cookbooks in Paris, two floors of them. some are in English. All of them gorgeous.

Their windows right now are full of jam cookbooks. I bought this one though I'll never lift a wooden spoon or stir strawberries in a copper pot. Look for 'cuit au chaudron' (cooked in a caldron) on the labels. Traditional copper pots are great conductors of heat. You want to cook your fruit quickly and evenly.

They have adorable boxed preserves sets with all the essential  accoutrement for jam-making. So tempting.

Researching jam requires a visit to La Chambres au Confitures. There's a new branch in the Marais.

Inside it's wall-to-wall jam divided into seasonal flavors. You can sample every jam in the place and I almost did before deciding on fig. See my sampling spoons below.

If you're like me, you have 'impulse control issues'. Then its best to stick to collecting miniature jam jars. Once jam enters my house it's 'Gone Girl' in the blink of the eye.

Painting jam, on the other hand, is a perfectly safe endeavor for the jam-addicted. It is advisable to work from photographs not the real thing.

Frenchy script on jam jar labels (etiquettes) always intrigues me. My first banner for Parisbreakfast was a jam label. If you're mad for these little paper stickers the best source is BHV, second floor craft department.

I used mini jam jars to sketch from, to minimize the damage of wolfing down big jars of apricot jam in one fell swoop. Size matters.

Parisbreakfast readers often ask for old watercolor still lives so I made this Paris letter more washy.

Finally, after too much jam research, the October letter is done and on it's way to you.

You can see ALL of the October letter uncovered on Etsy. If you've been resisting subscribing here's an enticement. A jar of pear jam (an original watercolor 4" x 6") sent as a bonus if you subscribe to the Paris Sketch Letters. This is the perfect time of year for jam don't you think.