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

JOYEUX SAINT VALENTIN!

Tonight, my Valentine (adorable French man with the bluest eyes, most infectious smile and contagious laugh - you know him) and I will be celebrating this most amorous holiday with friends. We've been so busy with shows, trips, holidays and work that we haven't been out on the town in a while. We're having dinner at a tapas restaurant and then we'll dance the night away...Lolo loves to dance!

  For those of you looking to enjoy a night in with your Valentine, Lolo and I have several Valentine's Day films we recommend. Valentine’s Day remains a day to celebrate love and love can be found regardless of one’s relationship status as long as you let it. So grab your Valentine or a glass of wine and take a look at some of our favorites. 

Some Like It Hot

Synopsis: A 1959 American comedy directed by Billy Wilder with Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon in drag, hiding out from the mob in an all-girl band after they witnessed the St. Valentine's Day massacre.  Marilyn Monroe stars as the dizzy blonde singer who continues to get "the fuzzy end of the lollipop." The screenplay by Wilder and I. A. L. Diamond was based on a 1935 French film, Fanfare d'Amour. 

Reasons To Watch: Who doesn't want a Valentine's Day appearance by Marilyn Monroe? This classic screwball comedy was listed as the greatest American comedy film of all time by the American Film Institute in 2000. 

The Artist

Synopsis: A clever, joyous film with delightful performances and visual style. The Artist is a heartfelt and entertaining valentine to the early days of cinema. It stars Jean Dujardin as George Valentin, a matinee idol in Hollywood before the dawn of talkies. His marriage is far from perfect, and one day he meets ambitious chorus girl Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo) and is smitten. Shortly thereafter, sound comes to movies, and George sinks all his money into one last epic silent film, while Peppy becomes a star in the new era. 

Reasons To Watch: Set in 1927 Hollywood during the twilight of its silent era, this exquisite story about love and friendship makes The Artist one of the most original, feel good films of our time. A charming sejour from the day to day grind, it's a tribute to the magic of silent cinema and definitely calls for a warm fire and a glass of your favorite French wine or bubbly.

Amélie ( Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain)

Synopsis: 2001 romantic comedy directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet. This totally charming film stars Audrey Tatou as a shy waitress who spends her time making other people's lives better, while struggling with her own romantic dilemmas. Amélie is a whimsical depiction of contemporary Parisian life, set in Montmartre. 

Reasons To Watch: This heart-warming movie will leave you smiling for days because of its originality, romance and joie de vivre.

Love Me If You Dare (Jeux d'enfants)

Synopsis: Part romantic comedy and part black comedy, director Yann Samuell's 2003 feature film starring Marion Cotillard and Guillaume Canet, follows the exploits of two young would-be lovers from childhood as their game of dare becomes more and more reckless and passionate through to adulthood. Julien and Sophie first meet at the age of eight when both are undergoing great trauma: Julien is watching his mother die and Sophie has become the focus of intense hazing at the hands of fellow schoolmates. Always too proud to lose out on the game, the friends keep missing opportunities to be together until a rather surreal but inventive and romantic finale.

Reasons To Watch: This 2003 film features the lead stars at the height of their talent. The song La Vie en Rose permeates the film and dominates much of the soundtrack.

There's still time to enter Lolo's Valentine Giveaway! The drawing isn't until tonight!

Joyeux Saint Valentin!

Lolo & Mimi

LOLO'S VALENTINE GIVEAWAY!

In celebration of Valentine's Day, Lolo's decided to share the love. And if there is one thing he loves, it's a crusty French baguette. So...he's giving away an antique French baguette basket.

These baskets, also known as bannetons, were used in boulangeries throughout France by French bakers. The baskets, usually made from willow, provided structure for sourdough breads and wicked moisture from the crust during proofing. Bannetons typically have a linen lining sewn with twine that prevented the dough from sticking to the sides. The cloth was often left unwashed to let the yeast and flour collect, aiding in the proofing process. After the dough had risen, it was removed from the basket to bake and then put back in the basket to cool. Bakers used these baskets until they were literally ready to fall apart, so many of the antique ones have a heavily worn appearance.

This basket will look beautiful displayed in your kitchen...as a centerpiece with dried flowers, fruits or vegetables or use it to hold a row of votives on your table. Line it with an antique French towel and use it to serve a warm baguette. It will be a wonderful French Country accent for your home. 

GIVEAWAY RULES

The drawing will be Friday, February 14th, Valentine's Day.  To enter the giveaway, you must be a US resident and subscribed as a follower of this blog. Enter to win by following these rules:

1. Like us on Facebook here.

2. Sign up for Lolo's Newsletter here.

3. Scroll to the top of the page and subscribe with your email address to Lolo's French Bloguette in the box that says "Follow by Email."

4. Leave a comment below.
5. For additional entries, share the love! Post the giveaway on your blog, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc., with a link to our blog and just copy the link into your comment on this post so that we can see it.

Good Luck! 

Á Bientôt!

Lolo & Mimi