Paper weights

I love paper weights. Serious picks would be crystal domes by John Derian.

Alternatively, I like using Schleich plastic animals and dinosaurs, they are large and heavy and their quality and level of details are great.

Acceptable cars II (Paris)

I must add the Simca 1000 to the list of acceptable cars as I have just purchased this particular one. It's in mint condition even thought it first hit the road in 1967.

Labour and Wait

London-based Labour and Wait shop sells nice "hamish style" house products and delivers worldwide, including the Savon Noir Mou (see below), and the same Dual Pencil Sharpener I had as a kid.

Bag lady

I want a shoulder bag from Chapman's hand crafted English bags (in chocolate brown).

Art & Commerce

If you are fed up with the all automated banks we have nowadays, where answering services have replaced humans; If you are fed up with outrageous fees charged on every operation on your account; If you are fed up of waiting in line to deposit your check with other gloomy looking individuals; Then open an account with the Banque Vincent Bergerat! It's probably the very last privately owned bank in the world. The BVB promises to use your money well and in amusing ways. The BVB has no hotline, no monthly statements, no account numbers, no offices or agency (oh and your money can never be redeemed)! The perfect bank.
(For further details, please visit the link Vincent Bergerat)

Our view at 9:58 pm

I remember reading once that, when hiring someone to join his large staff at his Berlin studio, the artist Olafur Eliasson asked the candidate questions such as "how do light and weather affect you?". His studio employs people specially dedicated to observing and recording the sky, the changes in lights, as well as professional meteorologists. It's rare to find individuals who will attach such importance to light and weather, usually considered a shallow conversation topic. When you live in a large city, light is extremely important. It is to me, I've been nicknamed "weather girl" quite frequently. But it's like any mood sustaining drug, it has to remain private in order not to bore people. In any case, I couldn't do without the large piece of sky I see from my appartment, like a fourth wall. June through September, mornings and before sunsets, dozens of swifts fly at a crazy pace above the square in front of my place, screeching with pleasure when the sky is clear. It's quite a show.

Interiors

If I didn't have all these silly wall moldings representing flowers and fruits in my appartement, I would love to paint a room the "David Hicks way", blue with black bordering. I don't know what I like best, his interior design or the 70s deco photos!
(photos David Hicks archives)

Espadrilles

Hu, I know I've spoken about them before, but now is the time to wear espadrilles. (and you won't necessarily look like you've mistakenly put your sister's shoes on...)

Ode à la Seine

My father is a Parisian from birth and he never lived anywhere else. He despised people with "résidence secondaire" and was positive that living further than 5 kilometers from the Jeu de Paume and La Hune bookstore would drive him to a state of mental and intellectual meltdown. He revised his stance when he found an amazing piece of heaven in the Vexin Français. He didn't really cheat himself either because his garden basically ends on the bank of the river Seine where he goes cruising on a small wood boat, equiped with an new electric engine to ensure quiet spying on birds and animals.

Blenheim Bouquet

Blenheim Bouquet by Penhaligon's has been my perfume for years. I didn't even know it was a men's scent until recently because it was handed over to me from my stepmom (the Original Picky Freak) who started wearing it after decades of marriage to Guerlain's Shalimar.
Blenheim Bouquet was created in 1902 and takes its name from Blenheim Palace, the seat of the Dukes of Marlborough.
The best part is the advertizing done by Penhaligon's, which claims (I love it!!!):
"There comes a time in every man's life when he should choose something to be faithful to. A look. A lover. A fragrance. Blenheim Bouquet should be that fragrance. It is the scented equivalent of an exquisitely cut heirloom suit. Hand-stitched, tailored to perfection, beautifully structured and fitted flawlessly to the masculine body. Unique to ever generation that has worn it".

(photo: Charles, 9th Duke of Marlborough, by John Singer Sargent)

Pilates

If you really want to have Joseph Pilates' body at 82, you need to be extra picky about who teaches you. After years of practice, I'm only starting to fully get the idea behind it and realized that you can easily think you had the postures right when you didn't. The main thing is, your teacher must constantly correct you until the posture is perfect, even if you spend 20 minutes on getting it right, because once you do, the move always feels right and smooth and easy. If not, you got it wrong.