Today, February 2, is the national holiday La Chandeleur in France, a Catholic feast honoring the Virgin Mary. Tradition says that the Pope offered crêpes to pilgrims who came to honor Mary. And the French have been eating them ever since. Today all of France is dining on crêpes, the very thin rolled pancakes with delicious sweet or savory fillings. Crêpes are easy to make at home – and even easier with the ready-made crêpes I shared with you last year – but this year I’m introducing you to Moi new favorite neighborhood crêperie, La Crêperie.

To be totally honest, TBG and I passed this resto countless times before finally going in…we just assumed it wouldn’t be what we wanted. Were we ever wrong: its exactly the type of neighborhood restaurant everyone wants to have:

• easy walking distance
• casual authentic food
• inexpensive menu with a good variety of options
• and, its a French!

Living in Paris we were always lucky to have a crêperie within a few footsteps, plus outdoor crêpe stands are easily found in many Paris neighborhoods. Living in St. Louis, we walked to City Coffee and Crêperie, and then in NYC we literally lived above Artopolis, featuring crêpes and gelato! I guess we thought it too good to be true: but once again, a charming and authentic crêperie right in our neighborhood.

On our 1st visit to La Crêperie we took niece Rachel, who was a little reluctant to go to an “authentic” crêperie: we’d taken her to Artopolis, and she loved the more creative pizza crêpe. Inside, La Creperie is dark and crowded (everyone in the neighborhood discovered it before us!) but charming and reminiscent of a 3rd or 4th generation crêperie in Brittany. She was a little skeptical of the menu, but TBG and I were enthusiastically discussing the beer, wine and cider menu: this crêperie was the real thing! After explaining that fromage crêpe was basically toasted cheese on a pancake Rachel chose that, while I decided to order the soup a l’onion gratinee and “share” Rachel’s fromage crêpe and TBG’s jambon et fromage – and a HUGE platter of pommes frites.

OohLaLa! Accompanied by un verre rouge and un bol cidre – and a diet Pepsi for the child – we were very happy indeed. But saved a little room to share a Banana Sara for dessert: oozing with banana, chocolate, caramel and vanilla ice cream.

the details

Bon Appétit!

It’s time again for one of Moi favorite antiques shows: The Merchandise Mart International Antiques Fair™, one of the premier antiques shows in the Midwest, returns to Chicago April 29 – May 2 for its Spring show as a part of Artropolis. Serious shoppers and casual browsers will find a variety of collections at all price points and styles.

Join the over 100 national and international antiques and fine art dealers exhibiting this Spring. In addition to the antiques sale, The Fair hosts a calendar of special events including an exclusive preview night party, presentations, book signings and a toast to England’s new royal couple. All show details and schedules are listed on the website: Merchandise Mart International Antiques Fair.

What will catch your eye at The Fair?

wearing my necklace from The Fair

• paintings and posters
• jewelry: rare stones, casual vintage jewelry, coins (see my necklace!)
• furniture: chairs, beds, bureaus, tables
• accessories: lamps, mirrors, statuary
• textiles: clothing, pillows, wall hangings
• tableware: dishes, silverware, glassware

And a whole lot more!

the details:

Moi Tip: Mark Your Calendars: The Fall Fair is scheduled for October 14-16, 2011!

Take advantage of the beautiful Chicago springtime weather this weekend and visit the Chicago Botanic Garden’s 11th annual Antiques and Garden Fair. Located north of Chicago on the shores of Lake Michigan, the 385 acre Botanic Garden features 24 gardens and natural areas, plus exhibition buildings, café, and walking and bike trails: combined they create one of the top educational and recreational botanical gardens in the country.

This weekend – April 15-17 – the Botanic Garden hosts the Antiques and Garden Fair in a tented garden as well as in permanent Garden buildings. Weekend events include:

• 100+ exhibits of garden antiques, gardening products and services from the US and Europe
• Belgian landscape architect Peter Wirtz speaking on “Formal and Informal in Contemporary Garden Design”
• flower arranging demonstrations
• The Fair promises treasures available in every price range

the details:

The last few years I’ve enjoyed wandering the Macy’s Flower Show at the 34th Street Herald Square store in NYC. The gorgeous fresh bulbs and bushes, the stunning artistic arrangements, the bold and flashing colors: it was a Welcome to Spring after a cold and dreary NYC winter. But this year, I was spending March and April in Chicago. Quelle Surprise: The Macy’s Flower Show is also blooming at the Macy’s State Street store!

So on a sunny but windy day this week I visited Macy’s on State Street in Chicago, first browsing the colorful display windows on State Street, then entering Macy’s to view the blooms.

Moi verdict? The Chicago Macy’s displays were beautiful, very nice, and welcome burst of Spring colors. But the NYC 34th Street Flower Show: its spectacular. Go to the NYC Macy’s Flower Show if you can, or visit the Flower Shows in Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., or San Francisco.

Fountain display by the main escalators:

In the Cosmetics Aisles:

Crowninging the Jewelry Counters:

Each Macy’s store is also offering a series of special programs and events throughout the Flower Show including

• flower arrangement demos
• cooking demos
• free audio tours of the flower displays
• gardening lectures

I dropped in on a cooking demo by Art Jackson, chef and owner of Pleasant House Bakery,  cooking with fresh herbs and edible flowers.

Moi shopping tip? It’s all free, free, free!

the details:

Oops: it did it again! That’s right, my closet once again imploded and I came home to this:

Time to bite the bullet and have new closets professionally designed and installed. When we bought the condo 3 years ago our intention was to have closet organizers in each of the bedroom and hall closets, but there were so many delays (asbestos, plumbing, granite: you get the idea) that the closets simply didn’t happen. So we’ve been surviving with wire shelving. Until last Fall, when my closet made a loud swhoooof sound: I turned my head and my closet doors were partly opened and all my clothes, shoes, bags, scarves, belts and random stuff were in a huge, heavy pile. We called around to get estimates, but everything was 4-6 weeks. So we just called a handyman to put the thing back together, and $80 later, he promised this would last for years and hold my weight x5.

Well, I guess you get what you pay for. It lasted 6 months, then when I came home Thursday, Mignette was sitting outside the bedroom door with her head cocked to the side. Something was up. 2 steps into the room I could see the pushed open closet doors, and lots of empty space where my clothes should be hanging. The hunt for a closet organizer system was on. lma0: bff Tampa T helpfully suggested that her husband had bought a system at Lowes and installed it himself. She’s known TBG for years: I don’t know what she’s been drinking.

We are not closet amateurs. In Europe, we had elaborate closets (and kitchens) designed and installed by Ikea in 4 different homes. In St Louis in our fabulous 6000+ sq foot custom-built home St Louis Closets designed fabulous and efficient walk-in closets. In NYC, Home Depot built efficient storage systems in our 100 year old apartment, plus an attractive stand-alone unit in our guest room. In SoFlo California Closets via Costco designed systems for both walk-in closets plus a stand-alone office unit.

But this was different: Moi closet had already collapsed, its a small apartment and there was nowhere to move my clothes for a few weeks. I was living off what I could squeeze thru my propped open closet doors:

• 1 pair of skinny jeans
• 1 pair of black leggings
• 1 long white shirt
• 1 long khaki sweater
• 1 short blue knit dress
• 1 pair of grey Uggs
• 1 pair of black thigh-high boots

No problem: I could survive for weeks: that was enough of a wardrobe to travel to NYC or Europe for a month! All my sweats, underwear, etc were safely in dresser drawers, the front closet held an assortment of colorful pashminas that would style-up the tops and help with the 21° temps outside.

Oh, did I mention? The closet collapse occurred while we had a house-guest: niece Rachel was visiting during Spring Break, so not only was the guest bed not available for piling my closet onto, we had an extra person and her luggage! As Rachel and I had lots of fun city activities planned, TBG got on the computer and started googling closet companies:

• California Closets: 4-6 weeks
• Home Depot: 4 weeks
• Closets by Design: 4 weeks
• Closet Works: bingo! Tim could come the following day to measure and give a quote, and the system could be installed in less than 2 weeks.

I was out with Rachel (lunch at the Chicago French Market followed by cupcakes at Crumbs, then shopping on State Street: the perfect Saturday) so TBG met with Tim. He decided to take advantage of the chaos and have his closet re-done also. And just to keep things interesting, the shelf in our laundry closet that holds all the guest linens had tipped over as we were reaching for towels for Rachel, so TBG decided that closet need an intervention also.

I came home a few hours later and TBG showed me a catalog and some sketches, and promised an official closet plan and quote would be emailed to us Monday morning, guaranteed to be installed in 2 weeks. Sold!

Monday morning the plans arrived along with the quote as promised. After a few minor adjustments (TBG had chosen bisque shelving: I changed that to white!) and a deposit, we were promised closets would be installed on Thursday. As in 3 more days. As in today. As in right now Tyler is installing Moi closet. (Closet Works is a local Chicago company, so there is a lot of flexibility and customer service in their custom designs.) btw: Tim offered us a temporary rolling closet, but since they were being installed so quickly, I opted to just wait it out.

For this project money was not an issue: we were happy to throw money at the closets in return for speed. But we were very happy with Closet Works quote: very reasonable given the rush job.

the details:

Gotta run: Tyler says Moi closet is ready to rock n roll!

If only Tyler could have transformed it into a walk-in closet…

Christmas is just one week away, and I’m counting down the days with a holiday shopping guide: Be sure to check every day for gift ideas that will please almost anyone on your list!

If you’re lucky enough to be in Chicago on Saturday, find time to visit the Indie Arts Holiday Market for handmade gifts and drinks and food that will keep your spirits bright!

]]> http://shesshoppingnow.com/indie-arts-holiday-market-dec-18/feed/ 0 http://shesshoppingnow.com/chicago-christkindlmarket/ http://shesshoppingnow.com/chicago-christkindlmarket/#comments Fri, 10 Dec 2010 11:00:46 +0000 Moi http://shesshoppingnow.com/?p=3404

Since it’s first year in 1996 I’ve been lucky enough to attend Chicago’s annual Christkindlmarket almost every year (only missing those years when I lived in Europe and was visiting European Christmas Markets!).

Open daily from Thanksgiving until Christmas Eve, the Christkindlmarket has quickly become one of Chicago’s favorite holiday traditions, rivaling the lights on Michigan Avenue and the windows at Marshall Fields/Macy’s (old habits die hard!) on State Street.

Chicago’s Christkindlmarket is inspired by Nuremberg Germany’s famous Christkindlmarkt. I’ve been to both, and I like Chicago’s better: Nuremberg’s has gotten too big, too commercial and too tacky. Chicago’s Christkindlmarket is just small enough to have an authentic German Christmas market feel, and big enough to have a large variety of vendors, foods and lots of atmosphere. Plus crazy Chicagoans drinking beer in -5° windchills.

My favorite Christkindlmarket pasttimes include:

• sipping hot and spicy glühwein and munching bratwurst with sauerkraut
• browsing Bavarian cuckoo clocks, Rothenburg holiday ornaments, and German lace and glass crafts
• listening to the choirs and jingle bell musicians
• chatting in moi broken German with the visiting booth vendors staffing the Christkindlmarket

the details:

Where will you be December 2 ? I’ll be waiting at the doors for the 10th Annual One of A Kind Show Chicago to open!

With over 600 vendor artists from across North America, this is the perfect opportunity for holiday shopping: and a little self-indulgent shopping too! Artisans offer every type of  personally crafted creating including:

• clothing and accessories
• jewelry
• ceramics
• kids clothing and gifts
• photography
• sculpture
• gourmet foods
• holiday items

I love the Chicago show, but was unable to attend last year. But: I was able to attend the inaugural NYC One Of A Kind Show, and scored this fabulous re-styled vintage coat from Creative Coats:

And of course I bought gifts: especially loved was a beautiful necklace from Sue Rosengard Jewelry similar to this which my mother loves:

Exhausted from all the shopping? Not to worry: there are plenty of gourmet cafés, lounge areas and even a big-screen television so you (or your husband) can rest-up between shopping spurts. Show amenities include a licensed child care center, coat check, complimentary bag check, gift-wrapping and curbside package carryout: everything to make your shopping as convenient and hassle-free as possible: they want you to be happy!

One Of A Kind Show and Sale: Chicago

• Dec 2-5
  • Thursday, Dec 2: 12 – 9pm
  • Friday, Dec 3: 11am – 9pm
  • Saturday, Dec 4: 10am – 7pm
  • Sunday, Dec 5: 10am – 5pm
• Merchandise Mart, Kinzie and Wells Streets, Chicago 60654
• Tickets: (a ticket is good for all 4 days)
  • Adults: $12
  • Senior and Students: $9
  • Children 12 and Under: free

I just discovered a perk of being a Bank of America customer: free 1st week-end of the month at over 100 museums across the country! Is this a new perk: no, I just never heard of it until moi personal banker Greg happened to ask me if I was going to take advantage of the free museums  in Chicago for BoA customers this week-end.

Free 1st week-end museum? It makes me happy!

So here’s the scoop on Museums on Us :

Some of my favorite museums participate in this program:

• New York City: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bronx Zoo, Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum
• Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, Shedd Aquarium, DuSable Museum of African American History
• Florida: Museum of Art Ft Lauderdale, Miami Children’s Museum, South Florida Science Museum
• Washington DC: The Phillips Collection
• St. Louis: Contemporary Art Museum

Moi Tip: afraid you’ll forget to schedule museum visits? BoA lets you sign up for text alerts or emails to remind you of upcoming free musum 1st weekends!

Somehow my crazy hectic schedule has granted me a free weekend in Chicago: I’ll be at the Jayson Home & Garden Warehouse Sale.

With prices 50-90% off they’re advertising everything but the kitchen sink including

• new and antique furniture
• holiday items
• accessories
• garden planters

the details:

Friday – Sunday November 5-7

10am-5pm

701 Albany Avenue (note: this is NOT the regular store location)

773.248.8180

www.jaysonhomeandgarden.com

Moi tip: Jayson is providing free local delivery: what’s not to like about that!