Parisian Chic

How to get your Parisian Chic on,

or Why do French women keep messing with our self-esteem?

First it was "French Women Don't Get Fat," and now we have "Paris Street Style:  A Guide to Effortless Chic," "Stuff Parisians Like: Discovering the Quoi in the Je Ne Sais Quoi," "Forever Chic, French Women's Secrets for Timeless Beauty, Style and Substance,"  "Parisian Chic, A Style Guide," and "Lessons from Madame Chic: 20 Stylish Secrets I Learned While Living in Paris." 

It's bad enough that we are thought to be the most obese nation on earth (which the French loathe, being obese, not America - but I could be wrong), but that our style is also crap...It's just too much, or should I say, "C'est trop?!

But if you feel you need to look like a French woman, I feel it's my mission to help you get your Parisian chic on, so I will give you the short and to the point versions of each: 

Naturally she was a French exchange student in the U.S. and, quelle horreur, she got fat and had to go back to France to get skinny again. In the end, nothing really new.  Willpower, small portions, and keep a food diary.  Been there, done that. 

Rosy the Reviewer says...The only real "miracle food" here is the wine.

Here is the breakdown of essential elements for your wardrobe, Parisian style and what not to wear as in quilted jackets and Converse sneakers after the age of 26. 

Funny, when I was in Paris, saw nothing BUT quilted jackets.  Those people couldn't have all been Americans, could they?  No surprises - yes to the LBD and yes to adding vintage items.  No to polyester.  Just not too much - moderation, moderation, moderation.  

French actress and singer Emmanuelle Seigner is quoted: “American women are pulled together perfectly from the moment they wake up in the morning: perfect hair, varnished nails, high heels ... as if they were bound for a cocktail party or some red-carpet affair. French women don’t bother their heads so much.” 

Rosy the Reviewer says...Huh?  She should see me when I wake up.  Bed hair, bitten nails, broken toe that won't fit in high heels...I guess I must be more French than I thought.

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings...

Just kidding, those aren't things Parisians like. 

They actually like baguettes, the word putain and saying Americans are stupid.  This is a sort of a send up...or is it?

Rosy the Reviewer says...je ne sais quoi is French for WTF

Finally, one for women of a certain age. 

Did you know we are considered "alluring, mysterious, and seductive?" 

In France, anyway.

Rosy the Reviewer says...One of the pieces of advice: use your Hermes scarf as a cumberbund.  My who, what?

The author is a Chanel model from the 1980's. 

I wish she talked a bit more about what a woman of her age would wear to be chic but here is her "Magnificent Seven:"

The Magnificent Seven:

1. A Man’s Blazer
2. The Trench
3. The Navy (cashmere) Sweater
4. The Tank

5. The Little Black Dress  (there's that LBD again)

6. The Perfect Jeans
7. The Leather Jacket

Rosy the Reviewer says...What?  No mention of a scarf?

French Madame (not THAT kind of madam) straightens out her American exchange student and teaches her the way of the French. 

I had a hard time getting past the chapter "Look Presentable Always," which basically says, if we run around in Uggs and droopy sweatpants, we don't respect ourselves enough to wear the feminine and beautiful things we were meant to wear at all times and heaven forbid we should set foot in Paris.

Rosy the Reviewer says...This is like a new version of "Gigi."

Moi -  Paris 2013

Rosy the Reviewer says...Bottom Line for French Fashion and Lifestyle:  Stop eating so damn much, take the stairs and wear a scarf!

Now on to

The Week in Reviews 

Enough Said (2013)

Eva, a divorced masseuse facing an empty nest meets Albert, also divorced and in a similar situation. 

Never much of a fan of Julia Louis-Dreyfus or James Gandolfini and have always thought Catherine Keener was over-rated but this film helped change my mind.  The acting and screenplay were all first-rate, though I saw where the film was going early on (I was surprised that some of the other people in the audience gasped when they realized the plot twist).  The characters were charming and affecting, though Louis-Dreyfus' character was clueless and verged a bit too close to Elaine at times, but she pulled back just enough to reel me in and I found her acting natural and easy-going.  Gandolfini showed a softer side and seeing him in this film made me sad that his life was cut off before he could mine that side of his talent.  I found the film very touching.

Rosy the Reviewer says...A smart, affecting romantic comedy for the discerning filmgoer.  However, it could use a better title.

Before Midnight (2013)

It started 18 years ago with Before Sunrise when Jesse and Celine met on a train bound for Vienna.  Their instant attraction led them to spend the night together talking, never to meet again.  But another nine years later, they do meet again in Paris in Before Sunset and their romance is rekindled.  And now they are together another nine years later with twins and we spend another day with them, a bit more contentiously than in the past. 

All three films consist of long, smart and funny conversations between Jesse and Celine, this time as they end a summer vacation in Greece.  Using long uninterrupted camera shots as they walk and talk in beautiful surroundings, Jesse and Celine explore the nature of their relationship. Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy share writing credits with Director Richard Linklater, which is apparent in the almost improvisational nature of their dialogue.  Critics likened this trilogy to Michael Apted's Up series (that has followed 14 British children every seven years since 1964).  That's a stretch, but director Linklater has been similarly faithful every nine years since 1995 and created a trilogy that captures the reality of meeting, falling in love and what it takes to stay in love.

Rosy the Reviewer says...if you like reality, here it is.  Love is not a fairy tale.  It can be messy.  Smart and beautiful film-making.




The East (2013)

An Eco group is attacking major corporations and our heroine infiltrates, only to be highly affected by the zealous group.

The last time I saw Brit Marling (who co-wrote this screenplay), she was starring in another film she had written, Another Earth (2011), a wonderful little indie film about a planet that is the mirror of earth (recommended). 

Rosy the Reviewer says...A fun diversion, but Brit Marling is the main reason to watch.



Olympus has Fallen (2013)

Another siege upon the White House. 

Butler is a badass as he tries to save the President.  I also liked that the woman Secretary of Defense was a brave badass as well.

Rosy the Reviewer says...very violent, the usual stuff,  but exciting nevertheless.  I wonder what it would have been like in 3-D.

***TV***

Last Tango in Halifax

A delightful British TV series where a couple of senior citizens reunite after years apart. 

Many of my fave British actors are here and it's just a lovely story that will appeal to all of us other senior citizens especially.  Playing on PBS but also Available on Netflix now in Season 3.

Rosy the Reviewer says...Derek Jacobi (remember him in the Cadfael series?) is just a wonderful actor.  His nuances here are a thing to behold.  Highly recommended.

  

That's it for this week. 

This weekend, you can go to the movies, rent a DVD, check out your local music scene or go through your closet and get totally depressed because you are not French!

  

See you Tuesday for my blog

"Rock & Roll Will Never Die!"

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The Week in Reviews: Movie Reviews, DVDs You Might Have Missed, Food and Fashion Tips and More

[I review the movies "Gravity," "Captain Phillips," "Unfinished Story," "The Reluctant Fundamentalist," "Step Up to the Plate," "Cosmopolis," "Henry's Crime" and a bio on Princess Kate as well as doling out tips on food and fashion.]


But First

As you have probably already gathered, I am a huge movie fan. 
It's always been a passion of mine ever since I saw "Gone with the Wind" when I was five.

When I was younger, it was nothing for me to go see several movies per week.  I would make lists of the soon-to-be-released films and plot in my mind how I would get to see them all.  Even when my children were infants, I would find a way to get to the movies.

In those days, if you didn't see the film in the theatre, it was gone forever.

But now, I tend to do most of my movie watching via DVDs.  With movies coming out on DVD within months of their theatrical release, why brave the crowds, the kid kicking your seat, the candy wrapper rustling, teens running up and down the aisles and talkative seat mates when you can watch a movie on the relatively big screen in the relative tranquility of your own home? 

But hey, jolt from the past.

Just went to a matinee with a friend and realized I missed the big-screen experience and being the first to see the latest flick, not to mention my recent foray into IMAX 3-D.

So I now plan to add a "going out to a movie solo" day to my weekly retirement repertoire (which is rapidly filling up - blog day, project day, going out to the movies day, do nothing day...).  And why not?  I am now "one of those people," people you see wandering about on weekdays and you wonder why they aren't at work.

So I am now adding to my blog my new feature...

***In Theatres Now***

Gravity (2013)

Wow. 

When Sandra Bullock says "I hate space" you really, really get it.  Director Cuaron has created a very, very intense space thriller and it is enhanced by IMAX-3-D.  In fact, 3-D is my new favorite thing.  And George Clooney?  Well, he's George Clooney.

Rosy the Reviewer says...

Ring, Ring, Ms. Bullock, Oscar calling.

Ring, Ring, Mr. Cuaron, Oscar calling.

See it in IMAX if you can.

Captain Phillips (2013)

True life enactment of Somali pirates taking a ship's captain hostage. 
Directed by Paul Greengrass and starring Tom Hanks, this is an edge of your seat thriller reminiscent  of "Argo" in that you know how it ends, but it's still excruciatingly intense.  Greengrass directed "United 93," the depiction of the heroes of 9/11 who perished on United flight 93.  I remember seeing the preview for that movie and people booing because it was "too soon."  Boo to them because that movie was an homage to heroes and he told it in a thrilling, yet respectful way. If you haven't seen that one, it's a must.  Greengrass does the same thing here.  Phillips is a man caught by circumstance who manages to not give up.  Greengrass is unflinching and clear in his storytelling which lends itself well to these true life dramas.  Hanks is a good actor but he goes to greatness at the end of this film.  Watch for it.


Rosy the Reviewer says...
Ring, Ring.  Mr. Hanks, Oscar calling. 
Ring, Ring, Mr. Greengrass, Oscar calling. 

It's going to be a horse race for the Oscar between these two films.

You heard it here first, folks.

***DVDS***
Some Movies You Might Have Missed
(And some you will be glad you did)

Unfinished Song (2012)

This is the story of British pensioners singing rock music in a chorus - it's a bit "Glee," a bit "Amour" and a bit "Young at Heart," the latter being a documentary about just such a group. 

I am a sucker for British films and this one has many of my favorite British actors, both famous and faces - Vanessa Redgrave, Terence Stamp (who is aging well, I might add), Christopher Eccleston (an ex-Dr. Who), etc.   Redgrave is dying, her husband (Stamp) is a crusty old fart who doesn't approve of the chorus.  You can probably guess how it all goes, but it's still fun, touching, shows the redemptive power of music and is well done as the Brits always do.

Rosy the Reviewer says...you will cry.







The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2012)

Young Pakistani man attends Princeton, gets high-powered, high paying American job only to be radicalized because of profiling and discrimination after 9/11.

It begs the question: what do you expect when an educated Pakistani on the fast track in the financial world is suddenly a person of interest, strip searched, profiled and constantly humiliated because of how he looks? 

Rosy the Reviewer says...if you like a thriller with a message, you will like this.   The main character says, "What was soft inside me fell away and was harder."








Step up to the Plate  (Entre les Bras) (2012)

Documentary about French 3-star Michelin chef Michel Bras passing the baton to his son, Sebastien. 

If you are not a foodie, you might not be interested in all of the foraging and plating.  But if you wonder what it takes to be a 3-star Michelin chef, here it is.  Personally, I can relate as Mr. Bras leaves his profession and passes his restaurant to his son.  I retired from my profession as a librarian at the same time my daughter is entering it.  It is an interesting feeling to turn the reins over to the younger generation and come to grips with your own mortality.

Rosy the Reviewer says...If you liked Jiro Dreams of Sushi, you will like this, though it's not quite as riveting...or if you are a foodie, tres interessant!







Cosmopolis (2012)

Director Cronenberg had me with "The Fly," scarred me for life with "Dead Ringers," and lost me forever with this piece based on the Don DeLilo novel. 

Eric Packer (Robert Pattinson), a financial magnate, is in his stretch limo on the way across town to get a haircut.  Most of the action, if you can call it that, takes place in the limo as it slowly makes its difficult way across town.  It's Kafka in a stretch limo.  

Some critics thought the ride was worth it.

Rosy the Reviewer says...it wasn't.

 

 

 

Henry's Crime (2010)

There is an expression:  Don't do the crime if you can't do the time. 

I

n this film it's the other way around. Hapless Henry goes to jail for a crime he didn't commit but when he gets out he decides if he did the time, he might as well do the crime!  Fun to see James Caan again and Vera Farmiga is great but Keanu Reeves is the king of underplaying.  Never seen anything like it.  Love the Chekov references.

Rosy the Reviewer says...worth it just to see James Caan show his fellow inmates how he gets to stay in prison by acting like a madman to the parole board.  Prison is home.  A fun little gem.

 

***BOOKS***

 

 

 

Kate, A biography by Marcia Moody (2013)

Some insight into the person who will be the future Queen of England. 

Also a fun look at the early lives and courtship of William and Kate. 

Am I a Royal watcher?  Duh.

Rosy the Reviewer says...a must for Royal watchers.

***FOOD***

Recipes: I love to collect recipes out of magazines. 

I read "Cooking Light," "Taste of Home," "Everyday with Rachael Ray" and the Food Network Magazine.  But now I have this huge folder of recipes I want to try.  It's getting the better of me, so I have decided that I will just blindly choose one out of the folder and no matter what it is, I will make it that day.  So far I have made a wonderful Thai Steak Salad and Maple-Glazed Chicken Wings.

Rosy the Reviewer says... Create your own cookbook. My mother kept a little recipe box with index cards of recipes.  I use a photo album and cut out the recipes and stick them under the plastic page. Voila.  A cookbook by Rosy.




Restaurants:  I hate big menus. 

Gordon Ramsay is right.  A restaurant with a 4-page menu cannot possibly cook everything well.  Besides, I can never decide what to order and when I do finally order, it's always the wrong thing!  I like a small menu with about 10-15 things on it, all seasonal and local. 

And when they ask you how you want your meat or fish prepared, say whatever the chef feels is best.  Then you know you are a foodie.

Rosy the Reviewer says...for the best restaurant experience look for small menus and defer to the chef.

***FASHION***

Black and white is always in fashion, especially this fall. 

You will look instantly put together and it's easy to pull off.  See?

Rosy the Reviewer says...If you are scared of print and pattern mixing, which is all the rage this fall, try your pattern and print mixing with black and white and it's almost a gimme (not shown here but a black and white striped shirt would look just as good).

That's it for this week. 

Catch me on Tuesday

when I will be lamenting the

"Lost Art of Correspondence."

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The Week in Reviews: Films, Books, Food and Meditation

[I review movies "Iron Man," "This is the End," "John Dies at the End," "Stuck in Love" plus a great foodie book and dole out some cooking tips.]

 

 

***Films***

Iron Man 3 (2013)

 

Yet another installment in the Superhero franchise.  I already have expressed that I don't like films with precocious kids.  Well, I also don't like films with smart ass superheroes, either.  I much preferred Robert Downey Jr. when he played losers like Julian in Less Than Zero. (And remember when James Spader was hunky)?  I know this was well-reviewed but I thought everyone in it was annoying.

 

 

Rosy the Reviewer says...I am starting to think I don't like the big adventure movies anymore.  First "World War Z" was a disappointment and now this.  Not a fan.

This is the End (2013)

While attending a party at James Franco's house, he and his other celebrity guests must face the end of the world together.  All of the stars play themselves.

Rosy the Reviewer says...Now this was a funny movie.  See it!





John Dies at the End (2012)

 

Slackers John and Dave consume some special "soy sauce" and find themselves with otherworldly abilities.  This is Harold and Kumar meet "Ghostbusters" meet Quentin Tarantino.

 

Rosy the Reviewer says...this is either the most original comedy horror film ever made or the worst.   Could end up a cult classic but mostly I say...what the...?

 

Stuck in Love (2012)

An acclaimed novelist hasn't been able to write since his wife left him and he is not above peeking in her window to see what she is up to while his teen-age children are having their own angst.

Rosy the Reviewer says...why, at my age, am I always so drawn to films about teens and twenty-somethings? 
Because of little gems like this one.  It might be a bit predictable in its outcome, but it's a charming rom com with some complexity in its message and I am always a pushover for anything literary.  Lily Collins (Phil's daughter) is a delightful up-and-comer. Give it a try.

 

 

 

***Books***

Blue Plate Special: An Autobiography of My Appetites by Kate Christensen (2013)

Frances Mayes started it all with her book "Under the Tuscan Sun" - memoir and recipes (which should not in any way be confused with the movie) and there have been many since.  Here Christensen, in the tradition of Ruth Reichl (another favorite), combines her memories of a chaotic life growing up in the 1960's with the recipes that gave her comfort.  Food sustains her as she matures and comes to grips with love, broken hearts, pain and joy.

 

 

 

 

Rosy the Reviewer says...This is my new favorite book. 

A sharp non-self-pitying story of loneliness growing up in the 1960's punctuated by the food memories that helped her cope.  It has inspired my next blog.

***Food***

Knife Skills

Took my first cooking class this week and it was all about knife skills.  And I discovered I have been doing everything wrong for years.  It's a wonder I haven't cut off a finger.

Here are some tips I learned that could help you with your cutting, slicing and dicing:

• First don't cut yourself...This may make you say duh but you would be surprised.  Don't leave a knife in soapy water (so you can't see it - been there done that), when it falls get out of the way (our instinct is to try to catch things that fall) and don't carry it around like you are going to cut someone and scare your family.  All good common sense.  Actually I discovered I didn't really have to worry about much of this because my knives are all so dull. 

• A safe knife is a sharp knife. While you are sawing away on an apple with your dull knife, the apple could roll around, the knife could fall, you would try to catch it (see tip above) and you are down one finger.  So sharpen those knives.  You are supposed to hone everyday (you know, that long skinny thing in your knife set you didn't know what to do with?) and get professionally sharpened twice per year (that is, if you have been honing every day and you don't want to get a whetstone and do it yourself which takes hours).

• To avoid round items from rolling around while you are trying to cut them...Make a small cut on one side so that one side is flat enough to lie still on the cutting board. This really works and is a revelation.

• To cut an onion, don't cut it through it's equator but north and south from one little hairy end to the other. Then make cuts just enough through the onion so that when you slice it the other way lovely little chopped onions appear. 

       This probably explains it a bit better.
        How to chop an onion.

• Likewise, slicing an apple or orange.  Cut it north to south rather than around the center, slice it and, splay them out and you can easily cut off the core and ends and you have lovely slices and especially easy to peel the orange at that point.

This varies slightly from what we learned in class but is very close.  Bottom line, cut through the core, not through the center.

Those are just some of the tips but it was very helpful. 

Rosy the Reviewer says...Cooking classes rock!
Now I am looking forward to my next class, "Simply Seafood," to see what else I have been doing wrong all of these years!

***Meditation***

 

Om...

 

By George, I think I've finally got (sic) it!

 

After doing Oprah's 21 Day Meditation Challenge, I purchased the set of CD's. 

I know, I know, that was the point, I get it.  But it has been a good thing for me.  I have completed the first 21 day series - "Miraculous Relationships" - and am working on "Perfect Health."  Then it's on to "Creating Abundance (does that mean I am going to finally win the lottery?). 

Each session is about 15 minutes long starting with a pep talk from Oprah about the topic of the day, followed by Deepak giving me the "centering thought" for the day and the mantra.  And then I meditate for about 10 minutes listening to New Agey tinkling music.  All very serene.  But you know, I find it has helped me.  What can possibly be wrong with a soothing voice telling you how to be kinder, healthier and richer?  Hubby says he can sense a difference which makes me wonder if he was saying I was a bitch before.  

But I am not going to go there.  Om....

 

Rosy the Reviewer says...Namaste.

 

 

If you have movies, books or knife skills tips to share I would love to hear from you. 

And are you meditating?

 

Catch me on Tuesday when I will be sharing Baby Boomer memories and recipes from my Mother's kitchen circa 1950.

 

 

 

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