Showing posts with label Louis Philippe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Louis Philippe. Show all posts

Saturday, February 14, 2015

SWEET TREATS FOR OUR VALENTINES




Lolo French Antiques et More is serving up some delicious "sweet treats" this Valentine's Day! 
We have a fabulous selection of chocolates for your Valentine this year — like this "burled brittle infused with orange liqueur dusted with chestnut shavings"

French Louis Philippe Side Table

and this "caramel truffle with a milk chocolate ganache infusion of borbon vanilla and sea salt"

French Art Deco Leather Club Chair




 and especially this "dark chocolate praliné, coated with roasted and caramelized almonds, enrobed in dark chocolate."  

French St. Antoine de Padoue Statue
  
Chocolat, whether it's the color or the candy, is a great gift for your sweetheart on Valentine's Day.
 One of our favorite chocolate candies, the truffe au chocolat (chocolate truffle), is synonymous with luxury and decadent indulgence. 

Truffes au Chocolate, La Maison du Chocolat, Paris

The chocolate truffle is a chocolate confection created by a pâtissier named Louis Dufour in the picturesque, mountainous region of southeastern France known as the Savoiea. While preparing Christmas sweets in the city of Chambéry in 1895, the French chocolatier realized he was missing some basic ingredients. Too proud to purchase supplies from a competitor, Dufour decided to blend crème fraîche, vanilla and cocoa powder — creating what we now call ganache — the traditional center of a truffle. To make his creation more appealing, Dufour rolled small amounts of the ganache into balls, dipped them into melted chocolate, and then dusted them with more cocoa powder. The irregular shaped chocolate confections looked a lot like the fancy mushrooms known as truffles, hence the name truffle was used to describe them. They were an instant success! 

Today, truffles are filled with everything from ganache to caramel to liqueur, 
and decorated with everything from cocoa powder to sea salt to coconut.
We hope you and your Valentine indulge in some decadent chocolate today!

Bonne Saint Valentin!

Lolo & Mimi

Thursday, November 20, 2014

TO MARKET, TO MARKET

To market, to market...but not to buy a fat pig! Lolo was looking for buffets, bergerès and bonnetieres. 

Period Directoire Buffet
Period Empire Enfilade
Louis XV Buffet
Country French Buffet
Louis XIII Enfilade Buffet
Louis XV Bergère à Oreilles (with Ears)

No bonnetieres at this market, but baskets, benches and bedside tables were plenty.

Boulangerie Baskets
Louis XV Bench
Louis Philippe Chevet
Louis Philippe Chevet
Louis Philippe Chevet

And though he didn't buy a fat pig, it seems he did get the fat hog! 

Period Louis Philippe Bibliothèque

So it's home again, home again jiggety-jog!

À Bientôt!

Lolo & Mimi

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

A HARD DAY'S WORK

"Where do you buy your pieces?" is one of the first things customers ask when told Lolo is in France on a buying trip. They're always curious about how and where he shops. Many follow up with, "I would love to go with him!" They are under the assumption he stays in four star Parisian hotels and sips fine French wine while eating pâté and foie gras in between sights! Granted, his maman's house is worthy of four stars and he does eat delicious meals of crab, oyster, lobster and the likes while he's "home." 

Fresh Oysters
La Cotriade d'Armor (Breton Fish Stew)

But you won't find him strolling the banks of the Seine. He's too busy crisscrossing the French countryside in a 24 foot truck, lifting and loading furniture, heavy furniture.

Pair of Louis XV Bedside Tables
Drop Leaf Table
French Art Deco Period Coffee Table
Set of 6 Louis XV Cane Dining Chairs
Washed Oak Louis Philippe Buffet
Louis XV Music Stand
Louis XV Buffet
Louis XV Desk

And when he arrives home after a 16 hour day, everything has to be unloaded and put in storage before he starts out the next day. It's not glamorous and it's hard work. But it's his job, a job that he loves.

Louis XV Armoire
Set of 8 Louis XVI Dining Chairs
Inside of Warehouse

He loves the thrill of the hunt, never knowing what he'll find or who he'll meet. He loves having a laugh and a joke and maybe an occasional glass of wine with a stodgy old dealer. He loves stumbling across what many would consider a piece of junk, an armoire or buffet in such disrepair that nobody wants it, knowing he can restore it to its original beauty. He loves being able to spend time with his family in France. And ever so often he'll get lucky and fill his truck early and enjoy the afternoon visiting a beautiful botanical garden or 13th century abbey.  

Jardin des Plantes
Family Outing

His joie de vivre is most evident, though, when he arrives back home (Birmingham, AL) and animatedly tells a couple about the piece he stumbled across in the back corner of a little shop off the beaten path. He realizes, as they both begin smiling, that he found exactly what they were looking for, making all his hard work worth it. 

You can let Lolo do the hard work for you, also. Just "Let Lolo Know" and he'll find that Empire armoire or ten foot farm table you've been wanting. You'll be the one smiling then.

À Bientôt!

Lolo & Mimi

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

WEDNESDAY'S WORD OF THE WEEK: ENFILADE


ENFILADE 

en·fi·lade [en-fuh-leyd -lahd] 

noun [en-fuh-leyd -lahd]  

1.    Architecture. an interconnected group of rooms arranged usually in a row with each room opening into the next.

2.   Military. gunfire directed from a flanking position along the length of an enemy battle line.

verb (used with object), en·fi·lad·ed, en·fi·lad·ing.

1.    Military. to attack with an enfilade.

Origin: 
1695–1705; < French, from enfiler to thread on a string, pierce from end to end, enfilade, from Old French, to thread, from en- 'in, on' + fil 'thread'.

The French word enfilade in architecture refers to a series of "salons" or rooms, formally aligned with one another, that provide a sweeping view through the entire suite of rooms. The enfilade served to organize space and vision and is a common feature found in many of France's grand palaces from the Baroque period. It is often used in museums and art galleries to help move large numbers of people from one place to another.

Palace of Versaille; The Grand Trianon Interior 

An enfilade also refers to a piece of furniture, usually a buffet, in which the cabinet doors reveal connected compartments in a row. It is a long buffet and must have at least three or more cupboard doors. Enfilades add stature to a room with their length and the fact that many are tall. 

Louis XV Enfilade. Circa 1900's. Solid Oak. Two Center Drawers and Four Carved Doors 
with Carved Apron Over Short Raised Cabriole Legs. Original Hardware. 
Interior of Louis XV Enfilade
Antique Spanish Enfilade. Circa 1920. Solid Oak. Four Hand Carved Drawers Over Four Padded Leather Doors
with Nailhead Trim. Original Leather. Raised on Inverted Cup Legs.  
Louis Philippe Enfilade. Circa 1890. Solid Walnut.
Three Drawers and Three Doors. Paris, France

The French prefer the higher ones to the lower ones and think nothing of serving off one that is over forty inches high. It's all about the look...not ease of use!

Á Bientôt!

Lolo & Mimi

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

CURRENTLY WE ARE...

I spent most of this past weekend catching up on a whole bunch of blog-reading. I loved Shani Gilchrist's post "Currently I Am..." on her blog, Camille Maurice, and decided that spilling a few beans about what's going on right now with Lolo and me would be a fun thing to do. 

Listening...to Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. My son and his friends introduced us to this free-spirited band that's a little bit folk, gospel, country and rock'n'roll all-in-one. The infectious melody of their hit song "Home" and a recent rockin' country version of "I Saw Her Standing There," have us hooked on them also. Frontman Alex Ebert recently won a Golden Globe for Best Original Score for his work on Robert Redford's movie "All Is Lost."

My son and his friends with Jade and Alex of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.

Watching...French TV on HULU. Lolo and I love crime dramas. Our two favorite series are set in Paris...imagine that! One is a HULU Original Series called Braquo. It follows a squad of Parisian cops who blur the boundaries of the law. The other, Engrenages, follows the tangled lives of a prosecutor, a police captain, a judge and a lawyer. In the case of learning a foreign language, it seems watching TV is a useful activity. I find I'm actually picking up a few French words chilling on the couch with my honey.

Reading...The Paris Wife. A poignant story of ambition and betrayal, Paula McLain's novel captures the love affair between Ernest Hemingway and his first wife, Hadley Richardson. After they become the golden couple in Jazz Age Paris, their fast-living and free-loving way of life takes its toll on their relationship. I'm the one doing the reading...and asking Lolo a lot of questions about Paris in the 1920's. 


Eating...OUT.TOO.MUCH. Especially when Lolo is a trained chef! For those of you that don't know, he went to culinary school in France. And he does all the cooking! But dinner at The Optimist is definitely a treat!

Beignet Style Hushpuppies with Sugar Cane Butter.

Drinking...Hot Tea. SerendipiTea ZZZ. Organic Chamomile and Lavender.

Love this tea!

Wearing...Rosaries and Uggs. I'm wearing antique French rosaries and Lolo is wearing his Ugg slippers. He brings me a really unique rosary back from France each time he goes. 

Antique French Rosaries

Wanting...a French bulldog puppy named Louis, as in Louis Philippe or Louis XVI...

Louis Philippe Mirrors and Louis XVI Chair

Needing...some time off! A long vacation somewhere HOT+SUNNY!

BEACH

Thinking...of all the things we want to get done this year.

Feeling...thankful that we still hold hands, sit beside each other at restaurants and eskimo kiss!   

Á Bientôt!

Lolo & Mimi

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

LOLO IS ON A MISSION...DAY 2 FLEA FINDS

Brrrr....it's chilly in France, but Lolo is on a mission this trip. Neither wind nor rain, nor a cold blustery day could keep him from the vide-greniers, brocante and marché aux puces!

Local Marché aux Puces

After  a long day of hunting and haggling, Lolo definitely didn't walk away empty handed!

Farm Table and Benches
Drop Leaf Side Table
Henri II Buffet
Henri II Petite Armoire
Pair of Os de Mouton Chairs
Hand Carved Louis XIV Fauteuil
Ottoman
Country French Rush Seat Chairs
Corbeille Louis XV Painted and Upholstered Bed Frame
Louis XIII Armoire
Country French Louis XV Farm Table
French Flip Top Pantry Table
Pantry Table Fully Extended
Hinge Detail
Henri II Desk
Country French Buffet
Louis XV Buffet Deaux Corps
Louis Philippe Enfilade Buffet
Louis XVI Marble Top Buffet
Louis XVI Dessert Buffet

À Bientôt!

Lolo & Mimi