First Sunday of Spring

My favorite (I mean f.a.v.o.r.i.t.e!) tree in town is this one...

...and this is the first year I've managed to catch a photo of it in full bloom.  The display of white feathery blossoms usually arrives within the first few lovely days we have here as winter heads out of town...but it doesn't last long because our spring is tempermental.  As you can see by the grey skies in the background, this lovely burst is likely to be stripped in the next few days by winds or rains or both.  Yay, me!  I managed to catch it this time...albeit with a background of clouds.  Oh well.  There's always next year.

Bon dimanche...or what's left of it!
leslie

Saturday Morning Marché

Ahhh...spring at the flower market!

Bon weekend!

leslie

Jazz Hands - All Six of 'Em!

A little jazz concert for your Friday...

As spring shows up in the 'hood, so do traveling musicians to bring a little music back to our daily lives.  I always love this part of the season of awakening.

Yours in the front row,
leslie

Little World Views

Place Albertas in Aix...I never get tired of shooting here...

à demain!
leslie

Wednesday Window on Provence - Chez Moi

Is it spring yet?

Yours in a reverie about Katharine Hepburn...really I am....  ;}
leslie

Soggy World Views

A rainy night...and we soooo need this!

Yours in wet sneakers,
leslie

Little World Views

No longer winter but not quite spring...that's what we've got goin' on in this neck o' the woods...

Hope your week is off to a good start!

Yours ... rolling with the transitional season,
leslie

Bon Dimanche

I'll just round out the week and stick with my current abstract inspiration by playing just a bit more with...

...a little riff on the theme of the door to the Moroccan restaurant around the corner from me.

Fun, non?!

Have a lovely day!

leslie

Little World Views - Saturday at the Marché

I'm playing with a new little toy on my iPhone...in a system that was mysteriously deleted yesterday which had me in a fetal position in a corner before the kind folks at Apple and elsewhere held my hand and guided me into retrieving all that had been lost.  I may look all cutting edge and stuff...but really, I'm just playing.  When it gets tough, I freeze with no clue as to how to find my way back into play mode.  Oh well.  It doesn't happen often...knock on wood.  (Yes.  I do have to say that.)


Bon weekend!
leslie

The Day After...

Let me give you a peek into my little French life...

First, let me say how truly delighted I was to be a part of the SmartLife exposition in Toulon...yes, I was in attendance at the vernissage last evening.  After a day of work, I hopped onto a mini-bus to get to the gare routière where I boarded the navette (shuttle bus) to Marseille to catch the train.  The traffic into Marseille was exceptional due to construction at the exit from the autoroute, so we were backed up for several minutes trying to get into the city entrance and thus to the train station. 

Once there, I tried to get on my intended train (that was still on the track) but it was too late and I had to wait 30 minutes for the next one...which I did manage to catch, putting me into the train station in Toulon at around 8:30 pm. (The vernissage began at 6:30...but no worries, these things are loose, non?) 

As I don't know the the city at all (and even though I had mapped out an itinerary ahead of time), I wasn't sure about getting from the station to the gallery so I took a cab.  (It was less than a mile.)  I stepped out of the cab (like Cinderella from her pumpkin) and onto the sidewalk where a swarm of 20- and 30-somethings (which was totally expected - we're talking digital iPhone photography exhibit, after all!) dressed in black were all gathered to smoke as it is now illegal to smoke inside public buildings in France.  (Yay, France!) 

I stepped into the gallery as discretely as possible as I really only wanted to see my stuff on the wall - and besides, I now needed to make this a quick visit in order to catch a train back! 

I came, I saw, I conquered ...errr....I tried to be as invisible as possible.  I enjoyed looking at everyone's work and chatted briefly with the gallery owner before leaving to be able to catch my train back to Marseille, then the navette back to Aix, then walk the rest of the way home as the mini buses do not run at night.  About six hours in total for a 10 minute peek at my images hanging on the wall. 

This is life 1) without a car (which mostly I love) and 2) as an introvert (I'm often mistaken for a 'people person'...but really, no...not so much.  Stepping into unknown crowds and making small-talk...not really my cuppa.)

What a pleasure, though to see my images among the others in the showing.  The collection of everyone's images shows very nicely and I couldn't be more pleased to be a part of it.

As I write this, I'm between clients and the wall I've been racing toward at 100 miles an hour all week is looming large.  The image above was shot with the intention of bring an artistic spin to light and shadow...but it actually mirrors the state of my little introverted soul at the moment.  And as I didn't get any shots of last night's gig (yes, an introvert who is also rather shy in aforementioned crowds), this seemed just perfect. 

Thanks to all for your lovely comments yesterday!  I soaked up all of your congratulatory wishes and took them with me as I made my journey there.  Merci, mille fois!

Yours...spread just a little too thin...but artistically...
leslie

I've Got a Not-So-Secret

As if I have to tell you, I am totally over-the-moon about my iPhone camera(s)!  I should be their ambassador.  Contrary to this image, I have something for you to tell everyone you know!

Six of my images were requested to be included in an exposition at the NO/ID gallery in Toulon, France!

Croyez-vous encore que la caméra fait le photographe?
NO/ID* croit en la puissance créatrice du regard, une nouvelle façon de saisir l’instant : une vue, un angle, une idée. Cette forme d’expression, consiste à prendre des photos exclusivement avec un Smart Phone et de les traiter avec des applications…
Ce nouveau courant fait souffler un nouvel esprit créatif sur l’imagerie contemporaine, un langage artistique 2.0, impliquant un nombre croissant de créatifs de par le monde. Laissant tout un chacun des possibilités infinies puisque l’outil devient le prolongement de votre main …
La Galerie NO/ID* vous propose donc une exposition collective de ce nouveau courant créatif sous le nom : SMARTlife 2.0, à découvrir d’urgence à partir du jeudi 15 mars 2012.

Translation:

Do you still believe that the camera is the photographer? NO / * ID believes in the creative power of the gaze, a new way to capture the moment: a view, an angle, an idea. This form of expression, is to take pictures with only a smart phone and deal with applications ...

This new wave blows a new creative spirit of contemporary imagery, language arts 2.0, involving a growing number of creatives around the world. 

Leaving everyone endless opportunities as the tool becomes an extension of your hand ... The Gallery NO / * ID therefore proposes a group exhibition of this new creative power under the name: SmartLIFE 2.0, check it out here from Thursday, March 15, 2012.

GALERIE NO/ID*
18 RUE D ANTECHAUS HAUTE VILLE, 83000 Toulon, France

The vernissage is this evening.  I'll share details tomorrow.

Yours in iPhone ecstasy,
leslie

Wednesday Window on Provence

His royal highness, the good King Réné to bring a bit of majesty to your mid-week ...

Have a lovely Wednesday!

leslie

Little World Views

Spring has sprung...or at least it's trying!

Ciao,
leslie

Plein de Soleil

Full of sunshine. 

Enough of it for this adorable couple to have enjoyed ice cream as they soaked up the rays fountain-side yesterday. 

But note:  still chilly enough for our winter wear.  We only have to peel and replace coats and such as we move in and out of that lovely sunshine....or as it moves around the sky.

Seasonal transitions are like that, aren't they?

Hope you're all enjoying whatever this transitional time is bringing your way...and that your week is off to a great start!

Yours ... swamped in administrative Monday tasks,
leslie

ps:  her shoes?  purple!  see what i mean?!  'adorable'!!

Little (Really Little!) World Views - Of Macro Lenses and Bees Knees

I've wanted a macro lens for, like, evah!  And now I have one...for my iPhone, thank you very much. 

I've become an all iPhone girl and I've entered a whole new world!  For instance, from my new macro-world today we have this...

...and this...

...and speaking of this new lens being the 'bees knees'...am I the only one who missed third grade science and the fact that bees have fingerprint-like patterns on their gossamer wings?!?

All images shot during the Aix en Provence meeting of the Worldwide Instameet organized by Instagram.  Our Instameet group wandered around the fountains of Aix and stuck to that theme all day long.  More about this later but right now, I've got to tuck myself and my fluffly little dog in for the night and dream about bees lovely wings!

Yours ... in macro bliss,
leslie

Squeakin' in on Saturday

Whew!  Just barely time to show up to say I didn't forget.  My week flew by at 100 mph and by last night, I was fried.  Today was spent doing some much-needed quiet restoring and re-ordering my very introverted soul.

I'm sharing a splash of provençale color your way from sunset in the 'hood. 

Couvent des Augustins, Aix en Provence

Sometimes color is simply a must.

Hope you are all having a lovely Saturday!

Yours in recharge mode,
leslie

Little World Views - Through The Looking Glass

...from outside the window at the historic Les Deux Garçons...

Have a lovely Friday!

Yours on the other side of the looking glass,
leslie

A Little Night Music...

...for a moon dance...

...or a howl!  I was lucky enough to see a 'good moon rising' last evening...and it was exquisite.  Although veiled in mist and end-of-winter branches,  I had the sense that, like the good King Réné, that moon was hovering protectively over my shoulder, too.

Yours...basking in moonlight,
leslie

Kitchen Magic Series

A little preview of what will be available on the blog as well as at the lafourchette shop at Etsy tomorrow!

I thought it appropriate to begin in the kitchen since that's where it all began.

Choose from three matted and signed prints that illustrate a magical light in my little French kitchen...

...sprinkled with herbs de provence...

...and illuminated by la belle lumière that has brought artists to this region for ages...

One on its own would be lovely.  All three in a series would be quite the French touch in your own kitchen!  Each black and white image is printed on Hahnemühle watercolor paper and matted in white with a finished back.  Finished pieces measure  8 x 8 inches (20cm x 20cm) in total size - image measures about 4.5 x 4.5 inches (11.5 cm x 11.5 cm)*.  Signed in pencil by the artist, these prints are ready for framing individually or in a triptych.

Matted prints:  20€ (plus 5€ non-insured shipping) 
Non-matted prints:  10€ (plus 5€ non-insured shipping)

*Larger sizes available  

What a great deal!  Etsy orders can be paid with PayPal and credit card orders are easy. 

Great gifts for any occasion.  Place your order and have it sent directly to your intended recipient.

Order today!

Yours...in the atelier,
leslie

Little World Views - Kitchen Magic

I have a little surprise for you tomorrow.  (I've been full of surprises lately, non?!)

Here's a hint just for a bit of fun:  another image in the series of that magical light...

... in my little French kitchen.

Have a great day!

Yours in the kitchen,
leslie

The Bodhi Bonus

Bodhi's stopping in to wish a 'bonne nuit' à tous!

My 100th photo posted on instagram went up just this evening - and this was it. (Instagrammers can follow me at lafourchette, by the way. ) En plus, 'lafourchette' has been invited to participate in an art exposition taking place in Toulon next week.  Six of my images will be included in a showing at the NO/ID Galerie!  Wooohooo!  My little French life is getting interesting!

Now tell me, is this not one of the most adorable dogs on the planet?! 

Bonne nuit...from me, too,
leslie

Little World Views

I have a new lens that I'm playing with...as a result, something sweet to start your week...

Let me add a note of thanks and welcome to all of the new followers from Une Femme!  I'm happy you're here.

Have a lovely start to your week - wherever you may be!

Yours in the flower market with a new macro lens,
leslie

Little French Lessons: A Sunday Surprise

Growing up, I was always a glazed doughnut girl.  My lifelong favorites.  They're called beignets here and, as you probably know, there are no holes in a beignet.  But during this carnivale season, a few boulangeries around town offer a specialty of what we, in the US, know as doughnut holes.

They make their appearance on Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, the result of people getting rid of the flour, fat and sugar in their pantries to prepare for lent. 

Soft pillows of dough flavored with orange flower water are fried and given a roll in granulated sugar.   They're almost a taste of home.  

But there's a catch:  you have to know what to ask for because in French these little gems are called pets de nonnes (pronounced pay deuh known)...

...and the translation?  Nun's farts.  Yes, you read that correctly.

For all the politesse required here in France, there are some things that seem like such a disconnect from that very basic value.  I'm still trying to figure out this language...and the French, for that matter.   Perhaps they can get away with such things because everything sounds so much better in French.  Perhaps it's because nuns' farts actually *do* smell like orange blossoms.  I wouldn't know.  

It does begin to make the whole French idolization of Jerry Lewis make sense...but 'nuff said.

Class dismissed.  (And please refrain from teasing the nuns on your way out!)

Yours giggling away,
leslie

In Anticipation of a Sunday Surprise

I have a little surprise for you tomorrow!  Make sure to stop back in.

Come celebrate Sunday with a delicious little French lesson at La Fourchette.

Yours in anticipation,
leslie

Little World Views - Drenched...

 ... in sunshine, that is.

March came in like a lamb, looked around, put on a pair of shades and baaaaaahhhsked in the sun all day long.  (Sorry, I just couldn't pass that one up.)

We all took advantage of the gorgeous soleil...whether we were at a café or just bathing in our own pool of the stuff...like this fellow:

Have a fabulous Friday!

Yours in stocking feet, too,
leslie

Cards of the Month - March 2012

The March cards have arrived!

As always, each is individually signed (matching ivory envelope included) and a set of five is tied with a ribbon and a sprig of lavender from Provence before it's tucked into the envelope to be sent on its voyage to you.

This month celebrates the season in a variety of ways.  The temperatures are not quite warm enough to bring the birds home, so we're tempting them to find their way back with these charming porcelain characters (shot in Paris)...

...and although we are drenched in sunshine for the moment, this month often brings darker skies and showers to the 'hood...

...a tip of the hat to the March Hare and his attendance at a famous tea party...

...and finally, a petit àdieu to winter as it's probably time to put these away for now...

You can order these cards through La Fourchette right here.  And just a note, ask any number of 'card-holders' about the suitability of framing these lovelies.  (I've already heard from them so I know the answer:  they're definitely frame-able!)

By the way, March is coming in on little lamb's feet in this neck of the woods.  For you?

Yours - working away in the card atelier, 

leslie