L'Art de Vivre

Each year, Coté Sud - a French lifestyle magazine - transforms one of Bodhi's favorite parks (without his permission, mind you! This event freaks him out a bit because apparently the place sniffs out as familiar territory but whoa! -  this is not our regular romping ground when Coté Sud is in town...but I digress...) for a weekend of inspiration all dedicated to the art of living.

Though temperatures are mild for us this year, artful-livers wandering through the place will want to make sure they have one of these...

...or be lucky enough to be carried around like this.  Lucky dog!

The Parc Jourdan becomes a wonderland for people like myself:  characters with a strong dose of Libra in their astrological charts and appreciate beauty and fine living in equal measure.  I make it a point to pay the price of admission and take a wander through each year's offering.

Birds...

...and beasts alike...

...are added to the mix of artisans...

...and brocanteurs who are there to show off and sell their wares.

I happen to love feasting on the lovely table settings that are put together like theater settings.  From the sublime...

(...so inviting, isn't it?  Let's just sneak in here and sip glasses of rosé and catch up on our respective weekends, shall we?)

...to the ridiculous...

(Dinner with a mer-man anyone?)

The color palette offers something for everyone.  A splash of brights for summer fun...

...or do you find yourself, like me, drawn to the more neutral tones?

Did you happen to notice that last image?  Smack in the middle of the pond Bodhi likes to run along - when it's not being used as a fantasy island setting, that is!  Several tables are decked out as if waiting for a boat (or a plane - if we're keeping to the Fantasy Island theme) to drift over and drop off some lucky diners with a gentle splash.

Need some inspiration for some garden or patio lighting for your summers en plein air?  I've got just the fixtures for you!  How about wine bottles?

Now here's a little something that's just perfect for La Fourchette!  Don't you agree?

My favorite this year was an Alexia Carmona, an artist from Narbonne, in the Languedoc-Roussillon region.  She works with the wire used to tie up lanky vines in the local vineyards...and transforms this...

...into charming little pieces like these garden fireflies...

...and these adorable hanging lanterns.

Is it just me or are these just the thing for a summer evening in the garden?  Imagine laughing with friends over dinner as candlelight flickers from vineyard baskets...made from the wire that may well have tended the vines of the wine you are sharing?

I know, I know.  I'm such a romantic.  It's one of the reasons I'm here so I may as well call it like I live it!  Ms. Carmona does much, much more so if you'd like to see additional designs of recycled vineyard wire, check out her site here.

Well, dear readers, thanks for sharing this year's Coté Sud with me!  Hope you enjoyed it - and how lucky you were not to have to suffer too much from le soleil?

Don't forget to check back through the week for the second Fork It Over give-away at La Fourchette and a delicious - and spicy! - souris d'agneau recipe.  It just came out of the oven and my mouth is watering even as I type as the aroma wafts through the warm spring air chez moi. 

À bientôt!
Leslie

ps: I was feeling in a particularly artistic mood so I used my artsy-fartsy lens for all of these shots. You'll find the edges all softened...which I love.  It was fun.