Friday, April 29, 2011

Have a great weekend!!!





Hope you all have a fantastic weekend. Perhaps enjoy a Kir Royale in celebration of the royal wedding? Or why not go all out and bake one of my favorite desserts, a Queen Elizabeth Cake?

Whatever you do, hope you'll have a regal time! I'm doing some spring cleaning and furniture and decor re-arranging, and the house smells like lavender, yum!

Isabelle xo




(Kate Spade, It's all about fashion, Matchbook, Fashionologie)

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Fascinating, isn't it?


 As previously mentioned, I am doing research for my next novel that will touch upon the issue of counterfeiting. It's a fascinating subject, that has been in the news lately thanks to New York City politics. I was thrilled to be invited to Harper's Bazaar Annual Summit and learned a tremendous amount of valuable information...



 Here's a table of fake products, to show how difficult it can be to identify them. Did you know that 80% of fakes are now sold online and some consumers are seriously being duped as some knock off sites look just like the designer's own website.


A picture of Valerie Salembier, Bazaar's Publisher showing a journalist how to spot a fake. A shocking piece of information: most fake perfumes contain urine and antifreeze!



The keynote speaker was Frank Abagnale, the subject of the movie and Broadway show Catch Me if You Can. He's been working  for the FBI for 35 years now in the fraud division. I hope you find this subject of interest, because it's the main topic of my next book!



 I couldn't help taking a shot of these gorgeous blooms in Greenacre Park...Hydrangeas are my favorite at this time of year...



A picture of the windows at the Heart Tower: vintage pages pf Bazaar magazine.


And I ended my NY trip with a pit stop at Anthropologie where I picked up a few items, including a lovely mug with my initial on it, perfect for writing days ahead. Now I need to get back to work!



Wednesday, April 27, 2011

NYC Interlude



I had such a lovely day yesterday; I met lots of fascinating people at the Harper's Bazaar Conference and learned lots of interesting things that will be helpful in my research. Diane Von Furstenberg was in attendance as well as members of the fashion community. (I will share a few pictures tomorrow, as soon as I get home!)

I enjoyed a fabulous fig & ginger martini with Dawn of the Alternative Wife blog and we had a fantastic time at the Gramercy Park Hotel's Rose Bar.

Having a quick lunch with a friend before flying back.

A bientôt!!


(Image via Marie-Claire)

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Harper's Bazaar Anti-Counterfeiting Summit




I'm very excited about attending the Anti-Counterfeiting Summit today hosted by Harper's Bazaar as the fight against counterfeiting will be the subject of my next novel, a sequel to the first. The keynote speaker is Frank Abagnale, the subject of the hit movie Catch Me If You Can! I'm sure he'll have some pointers on how to detect a fraud!

I will be diligently taking notes and I look forward to meeting some knowledgeable people in the industry. I have already learned so much about this subject, it's fascinating!

 Afterwards, I am having cocktails with fellow blogger Dawn of the Alternative Wife. What a day!!



(image via FGR)



Monday, April 25, 2011

Happy Monday!!!




On my way to the airport to catch a flight to New York. Will report back shortly! Have a fantastic week!




(Images via Vogue+Coffee)

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Happy Easter!!










I'm packing for an exciting trip to New York as I've been invited to attend the annual Anti-Counterfeiting Summit hosted by Harper's Bazaar Magazine. I will share more details next week as the keynote speaker should be quite entertaining. Happy Easter to all of you dear readers!






(Images via Bakerella, French Frosting)

Friday, April 22, 2011

Happy Friday!!!






Happy Friday! Hope you'll enjoy the long weekend  with friends and family. It's sunny today, looking forward to running a few errands and picking up a few books for some research & inspiration.

I went to see the movie Les Petits Mouchoirs (Little White Lies) with Marion Cotillard last night, it was fantastic! A feel good movie about friendship, love and those little lies we tell ourselves.  



(images via makingmagique.com and here)

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Book of the week: Signs of Life


I came across this book while browsing at Borders last Sunday and it has caught my interest ( perhaps thanks to its lovely cover):
 

Twenty-four-year-old Natalie Taylor was leading a charmed life. At the age of twenty four, she had a fulfilling job as a high school English teacher, a wonderful husband, a new house and a baby on the way.  Then, while visiting her sister, she gets the news that Josh has died in a freak accident.  Four months before the birth of her son, Natalie is leveled by loss. 

What follows is an incredibly powerful emotional journey, as Natalie calls upon resources she didn’t even know she had in order to re-imagine and re-build a life for her and her son. In vivid and immediate detail, Natalie documents her life from the day of Josh’s death through the birth their son, Kai, as she struggles in her role as a new mother where everyone is watching her for signs of impending collapse.  With honesty, raw pain, and most surprising, a wicked sense of humor, Natalie recounts the agonies and unexpected joys of her new life.  There is the frustration of holidays, navigating the relationship with her in-laws, the comfort she finds and unlikely friendship she forges in support groups and the utterly breathtaking, but often overwhelming new motherhood.   When she returns to the classroom, she finds that little is more healing than the honesty and egocentricity of teenagers. 

Drawing on lessons from beloved books like The Color Purple and The Catcher in the Rye and the talk shows she suddenly can’t get enough of, from the strength of her family and friends, and from a rich fantasy life—including a saucy fairy godmother who guides her grieving—Natalie embarks on the ultimate journey of self-discovery and realizes you can sometimes find the best in yourself during the worst life has to offer.  And she delivers these lessons, in way that feels like she’s right beside you in her bathrobe and with a glass of wine--the cool, funny girlfriend you love to stay up all night with. 
 


I think I might just order a copy...

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Need a little lift?





The weather is so sad today in Montreal that I decided to post lots of color to cheer myself upI hope it will do the same for you!

I just found out an interesting piece of fashion news:
The worn-in purse, which Birkin decorated with stickers and talismans from her travels, fetched £100,100 on eBay this weekend—or about $162,840 at the current exchange rate, and all of the proceeds will go to the Red Cross.

 Who knew a bag was worth so much?




(Images via we heart it Tinywhitedaisies and Furla)

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Dior Exhibit in Paris: Le Bon Marché

















I just realized that I have many pictures of my recent trip to Paris that were never posted on this blog! Going back, I found these photos taken at a sublime exhibit about la Maison Dior at the gorgeous Le Bon Marché in the 6ième arrondissement. The exhibit was a successful mix of old & new, past collections created by Mr. Dior himself with more modern ones with an interesting mix of technology and film.

One interesting fact: Dior admits, in a short film, that he would have enjoyed being an architect. As a result, he "constructs" dresses with extreme precision. "The dress", said Dior, "is an ephemeral piece of architecture designed to enhance the proportions of the female body."

My visit was very timely since I refer to Dior in my second novel. (It was so inspiring, that I went back three times!) This exhibit also prompted a short scene in my book. Hope you will enjoy!




Monday, April 18, 2011

Happy Monday!!!







Happy Monday! I hope you had a fabulous weekend! I enjoyed a lovey dinner with friends on Saturday night and a fun day in Burlington Vermont that included brunch, shopping and a movie. I was pleased to see that the local Borders was still open as it's one of my favorite places to browse on Church Street.

Have a great week!



(Images Think Runway and Just be Splendid)