I can hardly believe the decade is almost over. The past ten years have produced some amazing films and I have decided to celebrate by counting down my ten favorite films of the past decade, connoisseur style. We start with number 10…

Intimate Strangers, or Confidences Trop Intime, is a French film released in 2004 starring Fabrice Luchini and Sandrine Bonnaire. It is the story of a woman named Anna (Bonnaire) who one day walks into the office of William (Luchini). William is an introverted tax attorney, bored with his life- frustrated. His world changes when Anna mistakes his office (and him) for that of her new psychologist. William wants to tell Anna that she is in the wrong office, but he is so intrigued by her- so beguiled that he allows her to talk and unfold her darkest secrets… and thus, the games begin...

What unfolds is a tale of erotic subtlety- one that explores the longings of the imagination and the heart. This movie is not overt in any sense of the word- its subtlety is rapturous and leaves the audience with a sense of passion and a longing for more...



I hope you'll stay tuned for my number 9 pick...

Sandrine Bonnaire is pictured above in Intimate Strangers

In my ongoing effort to support the arts and keep myself culturally active, I have been upping my game by attending more films, museums, art galleries, and live theatre. There is a certain feeling that I get when I take part in any of the aforementioned activities. Each occasion allows for a certain specialness- dressing for the occasion, socializing with close friends (or spending some quality alone time) and being fully in the present moment- immersing myself in the art at hand.

Going to the theatre is one of my absolute favorite activities. Theatre is one of the subjects I studied at University and I hold a soft spot of appreciation for it in my heart. There is a lot of great independent theatre in Los Angeles and over the past three weeks I have taken full advantage. I attended: Mother at the Imagined Life Theatre, The Dig at The Doheny Memorial Library of U.S.C., Ruby, Tragically Rotund at the Los Angeles Theatre Center and Meadowmount- an original one act play at the SIPA Performance Space.

The plays were each original pieces- unique in their own right. Their topics ranged from: mother-daughter relationships, to a Jewish archaeologist looking for love, to an overweight Filipino beauty queen seeking acceptance, to a true story of murder, sexuality and intrigue in the military.

While the subjects were largely diverse there was one common denominator at each performance- the audience. That special gathering of people, the excited murmur amongst friends before the curtain goes up, the hushed delight shared when a sacred moment is explored on stage, the joy of shared laughter and the special experience of being moved- even if just a little- by the collaborative effort of everyone involved.

Such, for me, is the specialness of the theatre…

Have you seen any good plays lately?


I am pictured above (left) at the Los Angeles Theatre Center with Fran de Leon (center), one of the stars of Ruby, Tragically Rotund, and Newton Kaneshiro (right), theatre artist and director of Meadowmount.

Dear Readers,

I have a very exciting charity announcement... If you love tennis and will be in the Los Angeles Area on November 14th, please check out the amazing charity event called: Ojakian Tennis Celebrity Pro-Am to End MS. This event will take place at the Jack Kramer Club and is geared at raising money for people affected by Multiple Sclerosis.

Ojakian Tennis will host celebrities, professional tennis players and tennis enthusiasts from around the country. This exciting event begins with junior and adult tennis clinics, followed by the official Celebrity Pro-Am tournament. The day wraps with a fantastic cocktail party, silent and live auctions, and an awards ceremony.

For tickets, please visit www.ojakiantennis.com.

~

**Technical Issues Update** The technical issues on The Daily Connoisseur seem to have been sorted out. Google Friend Connect was down for a period of over 24 hours and this seems to be the culprit. Thank you!

For those of you that are not a regular on Blogger, I have recently added a new feature whereby you can subscribe via email and receive new posts from The Daily Connoisseur in your email inbox. Simply enter your email address in the space provided (see top right) and then confirm your subscription by checking your email and clicking on the provided link.

**Book Update**

I have finished the second draft of my mystery novel today **celebrations!!** And will commence with the third draft, final changes and finishing touches tomorrow.

And finally, thank you so much for joining me on this journey. I so greatly appreciate your reading, following, commenting and subscribing on The Daily Connoisseur... you keep me inspired.

Bisous,

Jennifer xx

This is the view from our dining room table. The month of October is particularly special at my house because the large tree out front produces these gorgeous pink flowers.
If I am ever feeling less than grateful, I sit at my dining room table and take in this magical tree with its thorny trunk and pink blooms and reflect about how truly lucky I am to live in Santa Monica and have a room with a view…

One brisk Monday morning in Paris I was running errands with Madame Chic. We were on our way to pick up a few fresh items for that evening’s meal. Madame Chic and I spent a lot of time together. I would help her with the cooking (she always refused my help but I insisted! I wanted to learn to cook comme les Français). We talked a lot and my French was slowly getting better. Our relationship was lovely, but still very formal.

So I was shocked when that morning she told me rather bluntly. “That sweater does not look good on you.”

I looked down at my spring green twinset from Banana Republic. It had been a gift from someone back home (Who? I can’t remember). “Really?” I had asked, “But it’s silk/ cashmere blend!”

“No it’s not the quality that disturbs me,” Madame Chic said, eyeing my sweater with concern, “It’s the color. It doesn’t suit you at all. It washes you out. You look sallow.”

Great. I looked sallow. The sensitive American in me was shocked that Madame Chic had been so blunt with me. In America we tell each other we look good no matter what. And if someone looks really bad? We usually just don’t say anything at all. Mon Dieu, I must have looked horrible if Madame Chic actually told me so!

She could see the crestfallen look that overtook my face. “Don’t be upset!” she said, “It’s just an observation. As a woman you must know what colors look the best on you and how are you to know if no one tells you?”

This was true.

I asked her tentatively, “What colors do you think I would look good in? Not green obviously.”

“Pas du tout!” she exclaimed, “You would look ravishing in emerald green, in deep aubergine, royal blue, ruby red… black, bien sûr.” She advised that I stay away from yellow and spring green. I went home and looked in the mirror with new eyes. Dear God she was right. The color had washed me out. I think I instinctively knew this but because I received the twinset as a gift- I just wore it without questioning whether or not it worked for me.

“French women pay very close attention to what enhances their beauty and what doesn’t enhance their beauty,” Madame Chic had said.

This turned out to be a lesson I would never forget.

I would love to know… what colors work best for you?

My last post on Makeup- Comme les Français received a great response- merci! It seems that a lot of women (French or not) love 'le no makeup look’ and from the few male comments I received- men seem to prefer it on us too!

Below I am sharing with you the basic products in my makeup bag that give me the best no makeup look. Please keep in mind I am a brunette with medium tan skin tone. (Although I think a lot of these shades are universally flattering).

Foundation: Bare Minerals Matte in medium beige

Bronzer: Bare Minerals in warmth

Blush: NARS in Orgasm / Benetint / Lorac in Plum or Bare Minerals in Laughter

Eyebrows: Mac eye shadow in Orb

Eyeliner: Chanel in Ambre

Lip Color: Bobbi Brown cream lipstick in Heather Mauve or Christian Dior Ultra Gloss Reflect in beige or Guerlain Terra Cotta Baume au Coeur in Coeur Caramel

Highlight: Fresh Satin Lustre in Chantilly Lace

Mascara: Lancome Defencilis in black


I would love to know… what are your favorite brands and shades for le no makeup look?

Madame Bohemienne was a single mother with two boys (one teenager, the other early twenties) that lived at home. She was such a marvelous woman- warm and welcoming. She frequently invited me over to her home... and her home was lovely.

Madame Bohemienne’s apartment was on the 10th floor (I have already described my journey in getting to the 10th floor sans elevator here) and while her apartment was very different to Madame Chic’s (no ancient antiques or portraits of formidable ancestors to speak of), Madame Bohemienne’s home was equally as inviting and uniquely Parisian.

When I first met Madame Bohemienne she asked me what I thought about the walls of her living room. I had noticed them as soon as I walked in. To say they were yellow would be an understatement. They were bright yellow. Strong yellow. Parisian yellow. When I gave her my opinion, I spoke the truth “I absolutely love them,” I said. Madame Bohemienne’s walls spoke volumes about the way she led her life. They were bold, creative, stimulating- these were not tranquil walls- these walls made you think and they would (as I would find out soon enough) be walls to host countless animated dinner parties. They were walls for living in.

Yellow wasn’t the only bold color in Madame Bohemienne’s living room, however. Her curtains were a deep red as was the cover on the built-in seating arrangement; not quite a sofa, not quite a bench… it was an l-shaped built in- covered with bold Moroccan-inspired cushions- perfect for before dinner socializing.

There was, of course, a very large dining table (a pre-requisite, I think for true Parisian living), lots of books and a very tiny television (another pre-requisite, I believe). Her kitchen was a modern one- modern appliances, new fixtures and it was painted bright blue- Madame Bohemienne, as you can probably already tell, was not afraid of color.

Her apartment vibrated with great energy. Some of my favorite memories of my time in Paris are from attending her wild dinner parties (more on those later). But one moment I will never forget happened late in Spring- Madame Bohemienne had just popped out to grab a bouquet of flowers for her dinner party that night. She walked in breathless (no elevator, remember) and placed her flowers down, walked to her open French windows and proclaimed, “We are so lucky to live in Paris. This is truly the most beautiful place in the world”.

I couldn’t agree more.


Image courtesy of www.zazzle.com

Today, in my ongoing effort to keep myself culturally aware, I visited the Los Angeles County Museum of Art to see the Luis Meléndez Still Life exhibit. I dressed for the occasion (taupe peasant skirt, striped shirt, ballet flats, wayfarers and messenger bag- perfect for for the museum) and journeyed to LACMA by myself for an afternoon of indulgence in art.

My art history knowledge is pretty abundant when it comes to French artists (thanks to my stay in Paris), as well as for religious art (thanks to Art History 101 at USC... Virgin and Child with Saints, anyone??) so I knew little about the Spanish painter Luis Meléndez (pictured above in his self portrait) going into today's excursion. I am so glad I went- they didn't call Mr. Meléndez the 'master of Spanish still life' for nothing.

His art was so vivid, so impeccably realistic I almost felt like I was looking at photographs. Meléndez painted everything from fish to figs, melons to grapes and the bread... let's just say I was longing for some tapas after the museum...


My favorite painting of his was the Still Life with Chocolate Service, Bread Roll and Biscuits (pictured above) painted in 1770. At the time, chocolate was a novelty from Central America and the Spanish upper class was obsessed with drinking it in the form of hot chocolate. I love the idea of chocolate as an exotic and coveted item- 1770's own version of a little luxury.

Sadly, like so many other artists, Luis Meléndez did not receive the acclaim he deserved in his lifetime and died a poor man in 1780. But his artistic genius is greatly appreciated today... and rightfully so.


The Luis Meléndez exhibit runs at LACMA through January 3, 2010.

www.lacma.org for more information