Archive for 2011

Leaving Paris

Posted on August 8, 2011

Hi Everyone,

Well for me, in a way, the summer holiday is over. I started somewhat early, in June, when I came back to Paris for almost two months, and it has been wonderful, seeing friends, having my kids here, doing fun things, and travelling to Italy. And the lazy summer days end all too quickly. For the first time ever, many of my kids used Paris as a base this summer, and travelled from there to other places (Holland, Germany, etc.), and some stayed in Paris longer than others, and we all went on holiday in Italy together, at a hotel, and on a boat, on our  annual boat vacation with the 5 youngest  kids. Each one brings a friend or significant other on the boat trip, but their friends stay at the house too. And it’s lively and busy while they’re here. All together, they stayed with me in Paris longer than any other summer, and some were with me for the entire month, which was great, and now I’m sad that it’s over. » read more »

Filed Under Paris, Travel | 4 Comments

Roman Holiday

Posted on July 25, 2011

Every year, my 5 youngest children and I take a boat trip, we did it when I was married, and have done it in the ten years since, and although it’s a stretch and a splurge, it’s worth saving all year to do it!! I am addicted to boat vacations, because they give you so much freedom. It corrals everyone on the same dates (rather than people arriving late and leaving early at a rented house), and it gives you incredible freedom. If you don’t like where you are in the morning, you can go just a few miles away to a prettier place, or change locations and plans entirely. It’s like a movable house, and you can vacation in a bunch of places. And being on a boat is probably the only place that I really relax. It feels so removed from the pressures of real life, and is a wonderful way to spend time with my children every summer, and we all love it. » read more »

Filed Under Family, Travel | 5 Comments

Chocolate Lovers

Posted on July 5, 2011

I have had a serious chocolate habit all my life. I love dark, dark bittersweet chocolate, the darker the better. My current favorite is Scharffenberger chocolate, and I keep a couple of small bars in my handbag at all times, and stashed in my desk. I can never resist a chocolate dessert, and sometimes I use the ‘zip’ that chocolate gives me, to work late at night. Well, tonight I went to the ultimate chocolate lovers’ reunion. The Chocolate Eaters Club in Paris. Wow!!! » read more »

Filed Under Paris | 12 Comments

Paris Report

Posted on June 27, 2011

Hi Everyone, it would be very hard to top my blog about the White Dinner in Paris, which was an incredibly memorable experience and a visually gorgeous event, but I thought I should share some of the more mundane events while I’m here. And after all, let’s face it, how mundane can Paris be? Even after spending so much of my youth and childhood here, spending time here every year throughout my life, and now living here half the year for the past seven years,—-Paris never fails to take my breath away, just driving through the city, or to thrill me as I look at the sky, a sunset, the incredibly beautiful architecture and monuments, or just enjoy a Parisian moment walking down the street. It is a spectacular city, and even Parisians love their city and are never jaded to it. It is a beautiful place to visit or to live, with a quality of life that is irresistible. People in Europe really do stop and smell the roses more than Americans, with a sterner work ethic, and in Paris particularly. They work hard here, but they want to enjoy life too, which makes it wonderful to be here. » read more »

Filed Under Fashion, Paris, Shopping | 4 Comments

Paris Magic…..White Magic…..

Posted on June 20, 2011

I’ve just spent one of the most wonderful, incredible, and magical evenings of my life, and wanted to share it with you. Tonight I went to something called “The White Dinner” in Paris, I’ve heard about it for years, but never quite understood what it was. Some people I mentioned it to just brushed it off as some kind of weird outdoor summer event, others pooh-poohed it, and a few said it was great. But I didn’t really understand how it worked or what it was. And a good friend of mine in Paris has invited me to it for the last 2 years, and this year, in a spirit of adventure, I accepted and decided to go. He explained it as an evening where » read more »

Filed Under Paris | 17 Comments

Why Not?

Posted on June 13, 2011

In July, I have a new book coming out in hardcover called “Happy Birthday”. It started out with a funny theme, about three people tuning ‘landmark ages’ on the same day. A very glamorous, beautiful woman who has a boomingly successful career and TV show, as the arbiter of taste and style in the home—she’s gorgeous and successful, but turning 60, even if she doesn’t look it. On the same day, her daughter, who owns a restaurant and works like a slave and has no love life or partner—is turning 30. » read more »

Filed Under Age, Books, Relationships | 4 Comments

Bon Voyage!

Posted on June 6, 2011

I recently gave a dinner for friends in San Francisco whom I have known and loved for nearly twenty years. They are ‘grown up’ people, with adult children, surrounded by friends who admire and love them, and I think both of them have lived in San Francisco for about forty years, maybe longer. And they seemed solidly entrenched in their community and the life of the city. » read more »

Filed Under Retiring | 2 Comments

Art Fairs

Posted on May 31, 2011

After ten years of no longer having any art fair at all in San Francisco, we got our first one back last year, much to my delight. A fair of contemporary art. It’s a great opportunity to see what’s new in the art world, discover new artists, see work by familiar artists, and just enjoy a whole lot of art in one place. And this year, the theory of ‘more is better’ must have taken hold, and we had TWO art fairs in SF on the same weekend. And art-hog that I am, I went to both fairs on the (same) opening night. It was a bit of a race to get to both, but I couldn’t resist. Soooooo much art in one night!!! » read more »

Filed Under Art | 2 Comments

Oops….Shot My Mouth Off

Posted on May 23, 2011

Yup….I did…..shot my mouth off….I made one of those comments without thinking (to the press) that follow you for a lonnnnngggggggg time, and even though there’s some truth to it, I was being flip. Presidents do it, heads of State, diplomats, politicians, and just regular old people, you say something that seems clever at the time, that rolls off your tongue like a gumball falling out of a gumball machine, and pretty soon you’re sitting there with your foot in your mouth, sorry that you spoke so quickly. Oops!!! » read more »

Filed Under Current Events | 17 Comments

Great Expectations: “That was then. This is now.”

Posted on May 16, 2011

I recently had an interesting experience about motherhood, and really more about expectations, and what happens when we let them go.

One of my favorite holidays is Mother’s Day—because I get celebrated, get presents and don’t have to get a year older. Wow!  Talk about a great deal.  And my kids have always given me fabulous mother’s days, and having nine kids made that a pretty exciting day.  But kids grow up, mine live in three cities, all are busy with lives and careers, some have kids, and it’s not as easy anymore to get together for Mother’s Day. » read more »

Filed Under Holidays, Kids | 3 Comments

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