Happy New Year

“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, martini in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming woo hoo, what a ride!’

I don’t know who to give credit for the above quote, but in the spirit of the Paris Market, we highly recommend your favorite spirit and the above words of wisdom to welcome in the New Year. So turn off the TV, put down that newspaper, resist the daily doom and gloom and celebrate with style. Go out with a bang, the gym membership can wait one more week.

Spread Happiness

It’s official; happiness is contagious. A remarkable study published by the British Medical Journal last month, concluded “people’s happiness depends on the happiness of others with whom they are connected.” It further stated that happiness, like health, should be viewed as a collective phenomenon.

How wonderful is that? Finally a contagion that is actually good to spread around.
In the coming winter months, let’s all go out and get infected. Become totally sick with happiness, and then spread it to all our family and friends, so they to can become ill with this delightful infliction.

Seek happiness, embrace happiness, and finally, spread happiness. We wish you a wonderful holiday and a happy and safe New Year. Remember to check us out next year. A whole new look is coming to the Paris Market and Brocante.

Just A Few Of Our Favorite Things

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things.

Cream colored ponies and crisp apple streudels
Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings
These are a few of my favorite things.

Now that we have you in the spirit, here are a few more of our favorite things for your favorite person.

1. Low Country Luxe Savannah Candle
2. Chapon Chocolatier Crème de Praline
3. Absinthe Decanter with perfect sugar cubes
4. Heather Moore Charm
5. Aesop Primrose Hydrating Masque
6. Santa Maria Novella Pomegranate Bath Soaps
7. John Derian Paperweight
8. Moustache Bomber Chair
9. Denise Disharoon geometric silver necklace
10. Elliot Erwitt coffee table book.

(Photo taken 11/25/08 by JAY W. FILTER of Milwaukee, WI)

Thanksgiving

The leaves are changing to a burnt orange and reddish brown, the sun hangs lower in the sky, the air is fresh and crisp on the nose, and one can begin to sense the holiday spirit in the air. This time of year the home seems to become more of a nest. The urge to curl up in a thick blanket with a cup of steaming hot cocoa is stronger than ever.

Nothing beats the doom and gloom of the daily news more than pulling out the old family heirloom decorations, adding some new treasures, and sprucing up the home with joyful warmth. Our goal this season is to bring both delight and contentment. We want to enhance your happiness quotient. Our store is brimming with the latest must-have products, holiday gifts, and decorating ideas. Already exhausted from the hectic pace? Visit our patisserie, rest your weary feet and try our newest indulgence Les Confitures a l'Ancienne Powdered Hot Chocolate while taking in the spectacle and listening to holiday classics.

Be thankful this season. Call your friends, call your family, kiss your spouse, hug your pets, smile, do something good anonymously, be humble, and give to the less fortunate. We only have one life and one world, make it wonderful.

It takes a village

After another incredibly busy quarter, my husband and I have finally had a chance to sit down, reflect and regroup. Fall in Savannah is chock full of social events, parties, and festivals. Friends and relatives tag-team visits to take advantage of the perfect weather. By the end of the season, we usually slump exhausted on the couch and discuss our upcoming holiday plans.

As retailers, the holiday season usually begins sometime in October and stretches through January. A four month riotous extravaganza of frenetic, intense hyperactivity. Needless to say, this is most often preceded by feelings of trepidation, excitement and contempt all rolled into a joyful angst.

This year, things have not felt as chaotic. For some reason the path seems easier. After some further reflection we both arrived at the same conclusion. Our staff. From our initial embryo of a store with our first employee, now to our constantly overwhelming business with 13, we couldn’t do without them. Our staff has grown and evolved into a cohesive team, facilitating every aspect of the business. From coffee bar to website, from warehouse to window display, our orchestra now plays a symphony.

So, thank you everybody, we love and appreciate our little village. Let us all have a great holiday season.

Caldrea: Luxury Cleaning at last!

You always need the right tool for the job, and with Caldrea Cleaning Tools now you have them. Whether you are looking for the perfect caddy to keep your cleaning supplies organized, or a brush to help you dust your book collection, we carry a variety of specialized cleaning tools to help you care for your home – luxuriously.

Caldrea creates luxurious, exclusive fragrances for cleaning your entire home. They use only the finest plant-derived ingredients and essential oils to provide natural freshness and natural cleaning potency. All of the products are earth friendly and are not tested on animals. Stop by the store to get yours or visit us online at the Paris Market in the kitchen section.

Shop til you drop

New York has perhaps the best shopping in the world. From the Upper East Side to Tribeca, this city has it all. The latest couture, one-off’s, knock-off’s, and more litter the main streets and side streets in an orgy of fashion, furnishings, and fillers. I can’t understand how all these stores survive, but as the weakest perish, new ones blossom into the light.

So, we can begin with the fabulous trifecta: Bergdorf’s, Barney’s, and Bendel’s. With no preset spending limit these three will handily defeat your budget and keep you wanting more. Find your latest and greatest here and then descend the streets of 5th Ave to peak your pleasure center to exhaustion.

Once you have trolled the usual suspects, South Manhattan beckons. Chelsea and the meatpacking district (smelly, but ultrachic), Greenwich Village (don’t forget the west and east), Soho, Noho, Nolita, the Bowery and Tribeca. The names like Prince, Spring, and Canal are emblazoned into our subconscious. Overload, overload, so much shopping, so little time.

Anyway, here is a list, in no particular order, of some of our favorite New York shops.
De Vera
ABC Carpet and Home
John Derian
Fish’s Eddy
Urban Archeology
Pearl River Market
Dean and Deluca
Freeman’s Sporting Club
Paula Rubenstein’s
Old Good Things

The New York Diet

The title is a misnomer. Dieting is probably the dumbest thing to do in New York unless you were suddenly considering stopping shopping. My husband and I have sometimes planned a whole vacation around a series of restaurant openings. Sure, we love the Vegas-on-the-Hudson offerings of Battali, Colicchio, Robuchon, and the like, but what we really like are the more hidden neighborhood offerings scattered profusely around the city. A blog about the great restaurants of New York could go on forever, so here is a brief compilation of some of our favorites.

First, our perennial favorites Balthazar and Pastis: The perfect brunch or dinner in the coziest atmosphere possible (Dorothy, am I in Paris?). Then almost any Danny Meyer restaurant (don’t miss Gramercy Tavern or the Modern). For the food orgy of your life try Per Se (Thomas Keller’s French Laundry for the Big City) – bring your American express and wait as your taste buds explode in happiness. Feeling hip and on your game then try the Waverly Inn. Need to call on your best contacts for this place, but the mac and cheese and chicken pot pie really are that good. My husband likes a shave at the Sporting Club followed by dinner at Freeman’s Alley. He says in a town geared to the exultation of everything woman, it is nice to find a small corner in the Bowery for men to be men.

Feeling the need for a great steak – head to Quality Meats (wins for best interior). Hate to chase the mainstream media, but Chef Gordon Ramsey’s London is exquisite.
Gabrielle Hamilton (Anthony Bourdain’s favorite) still continues to amaze at Prune. For a perfect taste of Korea nothing beats the Momofuku trio (Ssam Bar, Noodle Bar, and Ko).

Anyway, now I’m hungry. So bring your appetite, don’t just order a salad, always try at least one desert and never go home hungry

Zen in New York

After the frenetic first few days of New York market week, we have discovered our own private Shibumi. Trevanian would be proud. We have therefore decided, after spending numerous hours reliving other people’s best of New York lists (and usually being sorely disappointed), we would prescibe a few of our own favorite old and new haunts to the greatest American city.

First the rest, rejuvenation, and solace of the perfect nights sleep. One can go for the soaring classical neo-metropolis of the Four Seasons (Cary Grant should be your bar mate), the picture perfect Central Park-side Ritz-Carlton (would you like a carriage ride with your croissant?), Gramercy Park’s dark lux glam (a private key to the park, for your pleasure), ultra-mod gravity defying Mandarin Oriental (coolest thing in the world swimming a mile up in the sky), or the brooding hypercool of the Bowery (remember to step over the derelict bum, while sidestepping the paparazzi).
Our current residence is the Greenwich Hotel in Tribeca. Thus to the zen of the title. Built of reclaimed lumber, handmade brick and furnished like your favorite apartment, this hotel could truly be called your home away from home. Even the pool is housed in a painstakingly hand wrought ancient Japanese barn – no nails to be seen. Floating on water in this lantern lit room is as close to heaven as I wish to venture.

Too expensive you say? Ah, but this is New York, still a steal compared to the other great worldly cities like Paris, London, Moscow, and Rome. So next time, pull out the plastic, rack up some frequent flyer miles and plop yourself into a little slice of the big apple.

Argentina: A Few Of Our Favorite Things

Well, it’s been a week back in reality. We leave you with a selection of our favorites.

New world hip latin cool with classic old world European elegance.
Steaming hot empanadas (San Juanino).
Tender pampas-fed beef (La Cabana).
The best meal ever (La Bourgogne).
Exquisite cheap malbec (Catena).
Magnificent awe-inspiring Iguazu falls.
Alvear Palace’s grand hotel and graciously accommodating staff.
Shopping antiques (Defensa street, San Telmo).
Shopping cool (Honduras street, Palermo Soho).
Hand stitched Polo and leather goods (Arandu).
One site not to miss: Recoleta Cemetery.