Valentines Day menu for Russian Tea Room

I spent most of January Desperately seeking ❤️ Valentines ideas for THE RUSSIAN TEA ROOM menu cover.

The usual tearing of hair...

I studied RTR's Valentine menu. Yum.

Do I paint RTR scallops?

I looked at old PB Valentines posts. 

I went out looking for ideas and inspiration trying not to eat🍫😳

Look at this adorable et pas cher china at Monoprix❤️

RTR suggested something with roses🌹 Hmm...

Finally 6-7 heart/roses❤️🌹sketches. Ta Da The response: No, we don't like those and no, we don't have any suggestions but we know you will come up with something wonderful😳

Maybe the RTR facade like you did before(yoo hoo this was 10+ years ago). Wha'? More hair tearing.

Where Did I find  this photo of❤️ balloons in Milan and who did it?

Ta Da. We LOVE ❤️it. YAY But the boss isn't sure about the taxi🚖.

I did a poll on Instagram. The Taxi won🚖 YES! Isn't the creative process wonderful? If you go to the RUSSIAN TEA ROOM for St Valentines say "Parisbreakfast sent me" Maybe you'll get an extra glass of Champagne 🥂🍾🙏🏻Thanks for reading Parisbreakfast. Please share with a friend. Get a taste of Paris letters and watercolors in your mailbox 📮HAPPY VALENTINES DAY PBersxxx❤️Carolg🐻Bear  

Le Bon Marché Paris - Noël 2019

Yesterday I finally stopped hibernatng and dragged myself out of the studio to go sketch Christmas shoppers at BON MARCHE for the next Russian Tea Room menu. 

Their theme this year is 'Rois des Forets' (king of the forests). 

Lighted, hanging Christmas trees are just glorious. 

But shoppers are wearing all-black including the illustrations in Bon March's catalog by wonderful NY artist, AMBER VITTORIA. Black tights, leggings + high black boots, black bags with black coats and long hair required. 

I was not dressed appropriately - the only person in jeans 😳 Leçon learned. Luckily I found the single chair in Bon Marche, sat down and sketched the black-garbed parade for future reference. 

If your dog is black bring it to Bon Marché. Otherwise forgetaboutit. 

Its not all monochrome inside. There are plenty of colorful products instore. 

If you buy a HERMÉS perfume 

You will be gifted a charming watercolor which you can easily re-gift. 

Louis Vuitton has rainbow-colored displays. 

A great relief from the all-noir dressed shoppers. 

In next door Grand Epicerie you can buy a lolly-pop style waffle with multi-colored toppings like framboise confiture, Chantilly or chocolate sauce. Watch a VIDEO of the 2019 Noël windows, put on some black and head on over. They are open on Sunday till 8pm. Thank you for reading PB. Gift yourself and friends Parisbreakfast letters, maps and watercolors in my Etsy shop. Xxx❤️Bear 🐻 is going swimming 🏊‍♀️ today by hook or by crook. Enough hibernating! 

A Russian Tea Room Thanksgiving

A while back I did illustrated menus for the RUSSIAN TEA ROOM. 

Recently I received a teaser for their new Thanksgiving menu. On the spur of the moment I emailed a message back, 'Isn't it time for some new bears?' Shortly after I heard from an unfamiliar email, 'Send us some sketches'! 

The conversation ensued. 

Sketches went back and forth. 

Please put the waiters in Cossack outfits. Can one be playing the balalaika? I responded, What about dancing bears instead? 

I watch dancers doing KAZATSKAS on Youtube. 

I even tried a few steps myself with arms folded 

You have to get into the spirit of things after all. Maybe eating some caviar is a better idea? 

Please run over to The Russian Tea Room at 150 West 57th street and have some caviar and Champagne 🍾 on me. Tell them I sent you. No problem. Udachi 👍🏻Das Vedanya. I hope you enjoy your turkey. Keep Bear in Paris with letter subscriptions from my Etsy shop. FYI 🐻 More news tomorrow on Bear's Thanksgiving dinner at Benoit.

Faberge Easter eggs, Russian Tea Room, Rouge at Grand Palais

I'm not ready to drop the eggs yet. And Easter is still 11 days away.

This is the "Imperial Hen" (1885) made by PETER CARL FABERGE for Czar Alexander to give to the Czarina as a surprise Easter gift. Inside the hen was a replica crown and small ruby egg, both lost.

Paris is full of enormous chocolate hens at the moment. No rubies within but full of miniature chocolate fish and foil eggs. France may be the only country I know that has goodies inside their Easter chocolate molds. Tell me if I'm wrong. 

Shake any French chocolate egg of any size (this giant is from FOUCHER on 13 rue du Bac) and it will rattle.

The jeweled "Imperial Coronation Easter egg" is rather small comparatively made in 1897. The crossed pattern referenced the robe worn by the czarina at her coronation.These delicate FABERGE eggs could take up to a year to create.

Its covered with diamond and rubies. Inside an exact replica of the coach the czarina rode in. It was sold to publisher Malcolm Forbes in 1979 for around 2 million dollars. The Forbes collection of 9 Faberge eggs, rare toys, and motorcycles etc. was displayed in a town house on 5th Avenue and West 13th street. I lived a few blocks away and often stopped in for a look at the rotating exhibitions.

Later I did menu art for the Russian Tea Room. They had their own collection of Faberge-styled eggs like this tree in the ballroom. So I seem to be joined at the hip to Faberge. Especially after eating all the  Lindt chocolate bunnies. And one of their small Lindor eggs (I just gobbled down the last egg) has a Faberge-style pattern on the blue foil. FYI its dark chocolate ganache inside.

Forbes amassed a huge collection of Faberge pieces, not just 12 imperial eggs. His goal; to own more Faberge than the Soviet government. After his death his family put the collection up for auction at Christies in 2004. Russian billionaire oligarch, Victor Vekselberg swooped in and bought everything pre-auction for the presumed sum of $100,000,000. They are now on view in the St. Petersburg Armour museum, quite far from 13th street in Greenwich Village.

On right now an exposition ROUGE,GRAND PALAIS a collection of Soviet artworks made during the revolution. Desperate for money to support the new regime, the Bolsheviks sold off priceless artworks belonging to the imperial art collections. Armand Hammer was used as a middleman and brought over artifacts to sell in New York department stores. 

What a long convoluted story! All from eating chocolate Easter bunnies.Thank you for reading and sharing Paris breakfasts. Subscription letters 💌 maps and watercolors are in my Etsy shop. 

From 🇫🇷Paris 💋with love ❤️Xxx🐻