Category Archives: Pretty!

Springtime in Paris

Posted in American in Paris, City of Paris, Expat, Outdoors, Paris, Parks and gardens, photography, Pretty!, tourist by

Spring time in Paris 2014 I literally wrote “Sprintemps” in the title before correcting it to “Springtime”. I think my franglais has gotten a little out of hand. But that isn’t the subject of this post. Or is it….

If you listen closely in the beginning of Springtime in Paris, you can almost hear a collective sigh.. Aaaaaaaaahhhh! The light comes back and we all feel a release of pressure as we emerge from under the gray skies.

I wanted to illustrate Paris this Spring; not that it needs doing… for Pete’s sake, every blogger and their brother is posting pretty blossoming photos of Paris these days. But really, it cannot be helped when you live here. This isn’t to say that living in Paris is all cherry blossoms and pink sunsets…far from it. Paris also includes in the package : tired legs, aching feet, angry fellow metro passengers, (enjoy this funny parody about an “incident” on the metro), pushy people on buses, pushy people everywhere, umbrella wars when in rains, unreliable transportation, interminable lines at any public service office, insurmountable amounts of paperwork in order to get anything done… oh people, I could go on for at least 100 more of these… but that’s not the purpose of this blog post. Or is it…. Continue reading →

Pretty Paris Pictures : Opera House Details

Posted in City of Paris, Culture, Monument, Paris, photography, Pretty!, Uncategorized by

Opera Garnier façade detail If you have been following this blog for some time, you most likely know that my FAVORITE Paris monument is the Opéra Garnier. I can’t pass by it without snapping an instagram at the very least.

It’s makes frequent appearances on this blog, as you can see here, here here and here and also here…oh yeah and here too.

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Sweet Spring Fashion Inspiration

Posted in City of Paris, fashion, Paris, Pretty!, Shoes, shopping, Style, Stylist, trendy by

I LOVE PARIS IN APRIL

April in Paris

 

Is it Spring yet?!?

Posted in fashion, Luxe, Paris, parisian, Pretty!, Style, Stylist, trendy by
Is it Spring yet?!?

Spring keeps teasing us here in Paris. We’ll get a really brilliant sunny day in between several cold and gray ones. It’s almost like you can hear a communal “Aaaaaaah!” throughout Pairs when the random gorgeous day glitters down upon us. and then a disappointed chorus of “Boooooo.” when we wake up the next day and see the drizzle or feel the chill. It was a couple Sundays ago, I think we all returned to work on Monday with a light pinkish hue on our fresh faces. Just about all of Paris was out lounging along the river banks of the Seine. I even ran into Sylvia of Finding Noon.

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Pretty Paris Pictures : Night Seine

Posted in Charming, City of Paris, nightlife, Outdoors, Paris, photography, Pretty! by

Night Seine Eiffel Tower
Again out on an evening stroll along the Seine, I once more found myself armed with my camera, and free to capture as many shots as my greedy eyes so desired. I have said it before, and I’ll repeat myself over and over, Paris is beautiful during the day (especially when the sun is going at full blast), but NOTHING beats Paris at night. A special glow falls upon her just after the sunset.

I frame all my shots, and take them WITHOUT a tripod. I don’t even edit them, except for a tiny bit of cropping occasionally if my framing is a tad off, but that’s it. I like to keep my images pretty “au naturel” and not doctor them up with a lot of image editing. (Plus that’s time consuming), so I take great care in each shot, I do a lot of breath holding to keep my camera from jiggling when I press the trigger, and I use the functions on my camera do add or subtract light.

Taking pictures (although I do NOT claim to be that good) and my subject (Paris) are two of my favorite things, and when I put them together, I feel giddy with delight. I hope you like them… Continue reading →

Viktor & Rolf #StreetStyle at #PFW #AW14

Posted in fashion, Paris, Paris Fashion Week, photography, Pretty!, Style, trendy by

#StreetStyle #PFW Viktor&Rolf #AW14
So the street fashion and people watching was great at Issey Miyake, but Viktor & Rolf was fabulous!
Again on a lunch break I trotted over there, camera in hand and ready to shoot. I arrived at the edge of the Tuileries garden at the same time as Anna Del Russo. The slew of photographers all move around in a clump-like choreography just in front of their lenses’ subject. And the subject stops, smiles, poses and preens. Continue reading →

Paris Street Style #PFW #AW2014 Issey Miyake

Posted in Blogs, City of Paris, fashion, Paris, Paris Fashion Week, photography, Pretty!, Style, trendy by

Issey Miyake Street Style #PFW #AW14  … I skipped over to the Tuileries fashion week tent on my lunch the other day to snap some street style shots outside of the Issey Miyake show. There was a slew of photographers and bloggers all waiting for the fashion people to pour out of the venue so they could snap quick pics to toss up on the web.

Like so many have started saying, fashion week now happens just as much OUTSIDE of the shows as it does inside. Continue reading →

Serge Lutens’ Magic Perfume

Posted in Luxe, Paris, parisian, Perfume, photography, Pretty! by

Referring to the title of this post, I was already a believer in the power of Serge Lutens’ creations, and no this new scent that was presented to a small group of Paris bloggers, is not in actuality “magic”…but… it could be, almost. It has incredible powers of transformation, and sparks vibrant images of my imagination.

Serge Lutens Paris boutique, stairs

Photo by Prête-Moi Paris

The boutique at Palais Royal where we were invited after hours, is a place I have indulgently and luxuriously become opulently used to, although it never ceases to onvoke awe and appreciation in me and heighten my creative senses. It is such an intriguing place. Soulaimane, who hosts these soirées, is the ever gracious and elegant host as well as a passionate believer (or converter) in the scents of the magician Lutens. He offers us champagne refreshments and little cakelettes to make us feel at ease and welcomed. And then he launches into in-depth explanations of all the scents that come about in conversation, as they are on display atop the table in front of us. He allows the conversation to ease its way around the different perfumes and olfactive opinions that are invoked by each of us present. And once we have been gently cradled into the atmosphere and universe of Serge Lutens perfumes, then he comes about with his explanation of the origins of the new creation.
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Oscar Carvallo Haute Couture Spring 2014 Collection

Posted in couture, fashion, Luxe, Paris, Paris Fashion Week, parisian, Pretty!, Style, Uncategorized, Video by
OscarCarvalloVC2014_06

Oscar Carvallo SS14 “Voyage Cinétique II” image from official Oscar Carvallo site.

Color and movement dominated the Oscar Carvallo SS14 collection, shown on January 21st at the Paris haute couture fashion week. The collection is an inspiration and collaboration of two artists, Oscar Carvallo the designer and Carlos Cruz-Diez, the painter. Cruz-Diez create six tableaux (see here and here) for the collection and Carvallo’s creations were all directly inspired from them using fabrics and textiles, prints and construction of the different pieces to illustrate the works of art and bring them to life via the moment of the female body. Continue reading →

Pretty Paris Pictures : Night Lights

Posted in City of Paris, Outdoors, Paris, photography, Pretty!, romantic by

I have been braving the cold and dreary weather lately, with my camera in tow, trying to capture some of those beautiful moments that flicker across my life in this amazing city… And if course I do all that so I can share it with you! Sometimes I end up walking waaaay farther than I originally intend to, all for the sake of getting more great shots. Some of my night shots come out rather yellowish, I wonder if it’s the lights here, or is it my camera? I don’t do any image altering or filtering on my pictures that I post here. I would, if I had the time, but I am just to busy to bother. So I end up taking quite a handful of clichés for each frame, in order to get the perfect picture that won’t need modifications.

Paris a-glow Continue reading →