Pastry Sketch Crawl Returns!

Yesterday was major. I got my walking papers to venture back into the Big Apple (with a cane but I'm now allowed to climb the stairs alternate steps instead of one-step-at-a-time!)

YAHOO

A chance to return to the Pastry Sketch Crawl and where better than Café Petrossian.

With some reservations bien sur...

NO sitting for hours on end (that upended me in a sciatica episode)

Back to tres chic Cafe Petrossian.

Though Lord knows why I picked out exactly the SAME tarte as last fateful visit. I must have a deep hidden attraction to strawberries.

If not to pate brisee crust. I only stayed a half hour and sketched a bit. No point tempting the Gods of Sciatica again.

I returned home to paint in bed

This seems to be a lucky painting spot for me along with Nom de la Rose teas

Au Nom de la Rose Teas, watercolor, 9" x 11"

I could not resist a quick look in Bergdorf Goodman's windows.
At some 'tartie' shoes I may never venture out in again (not that I did in the past...ahem) Farewell M. Louboutin

BONJOUR PASTRY SKETCH CRAWL Encore!

Paris Carrousel

I was captured by this toy carousel in cafe Petrossians' window. It reminded me of the carrousel at Hotel de Ville.

Surely you've passed by at one time or another...

And given it a passing glance...

The end of the year made me pause.

To think about 2010.

The choices I made.

Whether to ride the rocking horse or sit on the stationary lion.

Some people are still trying to decide and checking the map one last time...

Did you remember to look up so you didn't miss all the glorious details?

Did you catch the 'brass ring' in 2010?

'The brass rings that were on the horses on the older carousels were present so that people could try to grab in order to get a free ride...Keep in mind that the best carousels were found in America, not Europe. The immigrant craftsmen wanted to make sure that their work reflected their dreams of what coming to America meant'. Who knew?

'Remembering the days of those incredible and decorative carousels, our minds revert back to our wonderful childhood memories.'

Of course there are no free rides...

Did you see the Mad Men clip on the carousel?
Don't miss it!

Sometimes I feel like this pup

I'm not ready for 2011!

STOP!

Life is like a Carousel!

Sometimes you're up and sometimes you're down

and sometimes you just go round and round.

Just remember to enjoy the ride!

All aboard!

BONJOUR CARROUSELS!

Bear Takes a 'Snow Day'!

BEAR is having his first 'Snow Day' in New York City.
Instead of 'Bright Lights....
'And Big City'
It's snow branches...
And 18 - 20 inches of snow
YAHOO!
We've been outside shoveling on THREE different occasions with little to show for in the end...
How we wish we had bought this nice chocolate buche de Noel in Cafe Petrossian's vitrine...
BONJOUR SNOW DAY!!!

Paris Breakfasts' Demise...

Baba su Rhum at Petrossian, original watercolor, 9" x 11"

Yesterday I ended with a shot of our "demised" tea ...

I love to record the "After" as well as the perfect "Before" table setting. This was a neighbor's tea at Angelina's, not mine. I have my limits of indulgence and one does have to save something for the next salon de the visit, both Euros and calories.

This was my petit dejeuner at Cafe de Flore. I wish it was my breakfast this morning.

 

I take full responsibility for this one too at Les Cafe Deux Magots. You'll notice I don't write much about dinner or restaurants. Because dinner is usually a take-away Salad Nicoise from Monoprix eaten in my hotel room. I have to paint sometime.

When I'm running around Paris, I love to grab a shot of someone else's demise. You wonder who sat there, what they said or did?

This was taken at Cafe Au Chai de l'Abbaye, 26, rue de Buci, a wonderful bistro specializing in cooking from the Auvergne.

The fateful l'addition (bill) signals the end of the demise.

Fini.

Time to depart.

 

Petrossian Cafe 2

Just one more diversion before returning to Provence. I fell in love with a tea pot on my first visit to the New York Petrossian Boutique.

Beautiful and silver-plated, this is the lone, real Petrossian tea pot in residence. It's got an embossed sailing ship riding the waves on it and is from Paris. Alexandre Petrossian, says the Sturgeon fishing boat logo was designed by his grandfather.

Though it's seen better days, it's hanging in there. I need this tea pot for my next still life...but there's no way I could bring it home to paint, so I took a some photos and went searching on Ebay.

Look at www.ebay.fr for théière ancienne, metal argente, métal blanc or chromée. I saw one recently with the marque "Moulin Rouges" for £9.99. Or look at www.ebay.co.uk under VINTAGE SILVER PLATED HOTELWARE. I got one from vintage-kitsch. Their delivery is super fast and they have lots of beautiful tableware.

These glossy, antique beauties are sitting on Bergdorf Goodman's 7th At Home floor. Perfectly refurbished, they average 4-5" high, weight 9 + ounces and can be from the 1930's - 40's. You'll also will see more silver tea pots in Paris at Ladurée . I have yet to paint my two from Ebay. They're on my "to-do" list.

Petrossian Cafe I

I'll return to Provence and Paris cafés shortly. First a small diversion. There are just 3 days left for my exhibit of café watercolors. It began with a cookie. Last summer I dropped into the Petrossian Boutique in New York and tried a chocolate cookie. I kept returning to visit that cookie. I noticed a small salon de thé in the back with a temporary exhibit of portraits. Hmmm...what a perfect place to hang my petit déjeuner paintings. When a French aquaintence came to town, I suggested we stop in for a snack after visiting the MOMA. Christian being Breton, ordered the Baba au rhum. He said the rum was M.I.A. but it was still quite delicious. I returned on my own several times to eat and make sketches. And this March my watercolors found a temporary home in the tea salon.The rest is history :)

Petrossian Boutique 911 Seventh Avenue NY NY 10019