The Romantics

I am honored once again to be featured in Romantic Homes Magazine, for February 2011. The cover is clean and crisp and so pretty; we are billed there as “Annual roundup of women who inspire”~

Each woman has a page, and we were asked to show photos and write about the things that inspire us and what "Romantic" means to us; here is my page~

The chicken pic top left is from the Carousel in Beaune. You can sit at a cafe on the Place Carnot and watch it go ‘round. Burgundy is big-time chicken country, home of the Bresse Chicken, and I love the whimsy of a poulet on the carousel…

The paper lanterns are from the 21st Birthday party I hosted in Laguna for my niece Nicole last spring, followed one day later by a 20th birthday party for my niece Erin. The parties were at night, under the lighted lanterns, and VERY pretty, very feminine, totally fun.

The bottom left shows detail of a necklace I love to wear for special parties; it is a 1920’s belt that was refitted by a wonderful NYC artist.

I am a cross between a Pragmatist and a Romantic, though if I had a choice, I would of course abandon myself to the Romantic life, spending my days gazing at 18th and 19thC paintings, imagining a truly Romantic life, ruled by passion and fantasie, with no cares to the mundane aspects of life~

I would spend my days walking the streets of Beaune, a town which I love dearly; arm in arm with R, with no care to time and when the financial markets will open or close, watching the duckies at the exit of the small stream which runs under the center of town and provides humidite to the caves and feeds the large pond at Parc Bouzes near our home. Beaune is another life; it is calm, it is free of the demands of our families and jobs; it is a tremendous source of inspiration and replenishment for me~

Alas, work keeps me here more than there, for now, and so I have to indulge in Romantic things like sherbert-colored paper lanterns under the loggia in Laguna~

I have so many inspirations and loves, it was hard to narrow it down for this narrative. However busy we are, I hope everyone has some time for whimsy, for dreaming, for fantasy. It is essential for the soul.

The issue is on newsstands now; pick up a copy if you don’t subscribe….

Encore, merci mille fois a Jacqueline et cie.