Creative Confinement
Patty Sadauskas reported sales of almost 400 protective masks of her photographic designs on Red Bubble, thanks to Monday’s Nouvellettre®, with a bit of help from Facebook and other social media. Her response, “I’m flabbergasted!” Our response, “We love them! Masques à la Française!” If you didn’t get one (or two or four) the first round, now’s your chance.
I FINALLY was able to score masks from the local pharmacy by showing up exactly at 4 p.m. yesterday, when they were scheduled to arrive, and walked away with 10 surgical masks at the cost of 9.50€. This is a quick fix until the cloth masks arrive and I can be a bit more stylish! I was told to only wear one four times before chucking, but I guess with a bit of alcohol, direct sun or even a quick wash, there’s a way to prolong its life a bit more.
“Cinco de Mayo, Oh My-oh!” inspired Lisa Anselmo to host a Zoom meeting among friends on May 5th…of course! She’s been writing a daily diary blog at her My Part-Time Paris Life titled “Lockdown in Paris: Day XX.” She’s on Day 50 as of yesterday, as are we all. “Music Mondays” she sings a song (one of the many hats she wears, one of which is as a professional singer). Tuesday is “Viewsday” showing off views from her friends’ windows around the world. Wednesday is “Anything Goes,” so let her surprise you. Thursday is “Thoughtful,” so you’ll get her reflective observations. “Fun Friday” offers something to just have fun with…like cooking up something special. Saturday is Editor’s choice, so it’s up for grabs à la Lisa. Sunday is “Stroll-with-Me” when she takes you on a tour of her world within her one kilometer radius.
Lisa is project-managing my long over due new website. It’s been 4.5 years in the making and if I told you how much time, energy and money I’ve invested so far, now on my THIRD development team, you’d tell me I was either crazy or stupid or both. This is another one of her many talents and I couldn’t do the new site without her. The new development team is none other than The Essential Website, run by Janet Hoover and Stefani Harris, both in Texas. Janet is one of our illustrious Paris property owners who taped a House Hunters International episode (Paris with a Texas Accent) with me a few years ago. And Stefani, by coincidence, is an old friend of my family in Texas. (It’s a small world.) Confinement has been a blessing for all of us to get this done once and for all, so stay tuned for a new and improved look and highly functioning site within the next couple of months, just in time for lockdown to be over.
On the call was Julien Chameroy and Craig Carlson, owners and operators of Breakfast in America, the two Paris American diners that the Parisians love. You might recall my story of how the two of them moved into one of the restaurants while their six-floor walk-up apartment is under complete renovation (by our illustrious designer, Martine di Mattéo) and were previously sharing a tiny nine square-meter “chambre de bonne” (servants’ quarters) they happen to own. Now, they’re occupying the entire two-level restaurant with three dining rooms, three bathrooms, a big kitchen and a full fridge.
This week, BIA2 on rue Malher (Number 4 in the 4th arrondissement), began doing take-out! Most of the menu is up for ordering (just about everything except sandwiches), so now’s your chance to get pancakes or burgers to go and pick them up or have them delivered. While we were Zooming it, customers were coming in to pick up their orders! We got to see it all in action. To see the menus, click here for the outside and here for the inside.
Confinement is clearly getting everyone’s creative juices flowing. My daughter in Los Angeles, Erica Simone, well-known for her photography (along with a long list of other “casquettes” she wears) decided now was the time to offer up her original pen-and-ink drawings for sale. Lockdown has given her the time to do more of what we jokingly called her “doodles,” but they’re way more sophisticated than that. Originals, each and every one of them, ready to frame and hang, you can find them at artxsimone.bigcartel.com for sale at the new wave spiritual price of $111.11. And just to see more, visit her Instagram account.
I’ll be moderating a panel Saturday during this year’s The Paris Writers Workshop 2020, which for the first time, will be on-line! For all of you who have wanted to participate, but couldn’t be in Paris for one reason or another, here’s your chance to take advantage of this important event for the literary community — July 5-12, 2020. The Paris Writers Workshop has been WICE’s flagship creative writing event for over two decades. Held every two years, the event features distinguished and award-winning faculty. In addition to the masterclasses, all participants are invited to enjoy an opening reception, join in our panel discussions and meet over a closing cocktail…all virtual, of course! Click here to learn more about it and register!
And stay tuned for information about an upcoming Webinar, “Finding and Financing Your French Property,” sponsored by the Adrian Leeds Group and given by myself in conjunction with Paris international mortgage broker, Kim Bingham. More details to come…
Happy confinement…a la prochaine…
Adrian Leeds
The Adrian Leeds Group®
P.S. For those of you sheltering-at-home (by order or not) and dreaming of a move to France, or even a property purchase, this can be a good time to prepare for and work toward that dream. I’m at home, too, and happy to connect with you on Skype or by phone. We can talk about a strategy to change and enrich your life by living or investing here. To schedule your time, contact me now!
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