My summer loves - music, films, books, food!

On replay everyday... We love this track, with the windows down & the wind in our hair. What an excellent album!

French cinema really does have some great gems, especially in the form of actor Gerard Lanvin. One of my favorite French actors, he shines again in Amitiés Sincères. I love this film, it's right up there with Les Petits Mouchoirs and Le Prénom, both my favorite french films.

I realise that French films in general may lack a 'climax' or action or even romance often found in Hollywood movies but the acting is serious and so natural... They sound just like people I know! The actors here really carried the film through. On top of that, a good part of the film was filmed in L'Île du Ré, a beautiful island off the western coast of France. I have been dreaming to go there ever since I watched this film.

We also caught the avant-première of Jeune et Jolie last month which takes us through teenage prostitution with the beautiful Marine Vacth.. A must-see when it opens later this month.. Marine Vacth is so sensual inside.

And for reading... the latest issue of Kinfolk as well as old favorites and new discoveries.

And the perfect food to accompany it all: Fresh strawberries & cream from the market.

And the scorching weather has made it almost compulsory to eat cold food everyday. When I can't be bothered to cook, I boil soba noodles and add easy condiments.

A rare spot of free time

Hope your week is off to a good start.... Mondays are always difficult! xx

You make me smile

Even with the lingering smell of rain in the air... my feet are glad to bask in the warm sunlight.

Hello kitty x Ladurée stickers.. they go on my phone, laptop, books... i'm 29 going on 12.

Vintage books with color illustrations are treasures that should never be thrown away.. In my own little way i try to save them.

I can imagine this Little Women, published in 1947, bringing joy to a child in post-war America & now, to me :)

Another one for the collection

When I hold a hundred-year old copy of one of my favourite books, I feel like a child getting a basket of candy. One day I'll have a library full of old classics where one can escape into another world x

excellent book

When I received this book for Christmas 2 days ago, I was a little taken aback. By the picture & the title: The house in which i died in the past.

After the death of her father, Sayaka, who ill-treats her child & has tried to commit suicide before, goes to find a house in the mountains according to a map left behind by him. She hopes the house will be the key to her troubled past, as she has no memories of her childhood. In the abandoned house, the door is sealed shut & all the clocks have been stopped at the same hour. A journal belonging to a little boy is found, and from there, the mystery unravels. What tragic events happened in this house & how do they concern her?

Last night I read the first few pages out of curiosity & my god, I couldnt put it down. I read till i fell asleep from sheer fatigue last night, & I camped on the sofa today with a big blanket until i finished it.

Unfortunately I couldnt find the English title anywhere so I'm not sure it has been translated yet. Apparently Keigo Higashino is well-known in Japan for his mystery & suspense novels especially The Secret, The Devotion of Suspect X so I'm gonna buy them all tomorrow! Have not touched anything resembling classic french literature for many days & not till I finish at least the next book. But I will read it in french so i think that counts towards studying for the exam hehe.. ლ(๏‿๏)

vintage Jane Eyre

Finally, after weeks of anxious waiting, my book arrived in the post.

Jane Eyre, 1943. I love the story so much... it moved me to tears while i was reading it on the train. I have been looking around for a while & chanced upon this copy. I like the smell of old books... i always had the habit since young to plunge nose first into a book.. it's very reassuring.

Just look at the binding... it's a dream to own it.

I cant help but hold it in my hands & sigh with contentment. :')

Recently...

 -lait et miel- purses & bags by Jasmine Ng is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Sewing little sets of purses & bags. The little one for coins, the not-so-little one for books & bread. But they kinda belong together dont you think?:)

The beautiful region of Provence is always my inspiration. ♥

Amazing book if u havent already read it. Tolstoy paints such a vivid picture of Russian society at the height of the French invasion, & his depictions of war had me at the edge of my seat. They were SO real u really thought u were there. I have an embarrassing knowledge of wars, so I was surprised that my fave parts of the whole book were actually the battle scenes.

It's been so hot & humid around here... best place to go is the pool to cool down. I love Missoni headbands & their bikinis... plus a good book, we're all set for the rest of summer. xx

PS. Got a date with Harry potter tonight.. cant wait to see how it will all end. :)

anna karenina

These few days being cooped up at home have left me feeling down.

Fortunately I have 2 of my most precious things with me to keep me going... One is a charm I carry everywhere, with a crystal given by a loved one & a blessed medal of the Virgin mary.

The other is an 1899 copy (Vols I & II) of one of my favorite books of Tolstoy. Everytime I walk past a secondhand bookshop, I make a detour to see if I can find Vol III from the same year. Sometimes there is joy in searching.

Finally today I'm off for some coffee, shopping, gossip & films! Have a good weekend xxx

//

A beautiful start to the year.

We spent the early winter afternoons walking around Paris with the promise of hot cafe cremes later. Everyone was bundled up rushing & rushing, but sometimes, we stopped to watch those around us & to guess their stories.

Latest addition to my bookshelf. The lives & Moroccan home of these 2 men are scattered in this gorgeous photo book.. including a very touching letter written by Yves saint laurent to Pierre berge. Very often, a relationship doesnt have to be justified or approved by the outside world for it to be real & precious.

Merci

Merci.

In the 3eme arrondissement of Paris lies a little gem of a charity store called Merci. Set up by the founders of Bonpoint, the charity helps needy women in Madagascar.

It is a bright airy space filled with used clothes, wooden beams & floors, tables, knick-knacks, stationery & lots of Parisians. They were having a collaboration with Liberty & everywhere you went, Liberty prints & fabrics were begging to be bought & used.

I loved the little corner where Merci & Annick goutal make perfumes. I got myself a lovely fresh jasmine scent.

But my favorite part of Merci... and the one reason i will keep coming back... is the used book cafe.

It is HEAVEN. Imagine having a cuppa while surrounded by floor-to-ceiling shelves of old books, sitting on old sofas & tables.. i was so happy!

Waiting for a table... the service was so good, food delicious, prices cheap, & all the books cost between 2-10 euros!

I ordered organic eggs with toast & Echire butter.. which is to me, the best butter you can find on earth.. plus a cafe creme... followed by another... it was utter bliss.

I left with an old children's book printed in 1877!! Definitely a treasure to keep.

If ever you are in Paris, please drop by the Merci used book cafe & say bonjour to the books... I cant wait to return again.