HODLER MONET MUNCH The musée Marmottan Monet, on the western edge of Paris, in the calm 16th arrondissement, has two major special exhibitions a year. This year, the fall and winter show, which runs from September 15 to January 22, 2017, concerns three very different artists Ferdinand Hodler, Claude Monet, and Edvard Munch. The proposition is that these three were essential to three major European art movements: impressionism, post-impressionism, and symbolism. Also, all three tackled subject matter that was considered almost impossible to render with paint and canvas such as snow, the movement of light on water, or grasses growing beneath the surface of water. As Monet said, “C’est admirable à voir, mais c’est à rendre fou de vouloir faire ça,” which means “It’s wonderful to look at, but to try to paint it is enough to make one insane.”
- Madame Bovary – The first book I ever read in French in university was Madame Bovary, by Gustave Flaubert. It’s a great classic of French literature, and after I read it, I felt … annoyed. What was her problem? She was so selfish and I had absolutely no empathy for her. This 2015 English-language film, starring Mia Wasikowska, is not flawless, but it helped me understand Emma Bovary’s feelings of claustrophobia in her small town existence. It’s available on Netflix and Amazon.
- Death in the City of Light: The Serial Killer of Nazi-Occupied Paris, by David King – This is an absolutely amazing true-crime story that I had never heard of before. Dr. Marcel Petiot was a physician and antiques dealer by day and a serial killer by night. Although he was ultimately convicted of 26 grisly murders, he may have committed a hundred more. I don’t want to give away too much by telling you what he claimed as a motivation and what his actual reasons for killing appeared to be, but it’s quite the tale. I think that King went down a few too many rabbit holes in trying to tell this sprawling story, but overall this was a very interesting read.
- @french_manoir – This Instagram account features the restoration of Le Petit Château in the Loire region if France. If you want to make your internet feed look just as beautiful, you can even rent the château for your own family to enjoy.
- Clarins Rouge Éclat lipstick – I wanted a red lipstick that wouldn’t be too bold and garish. I like Clarins skin care, so I tried several of their lipsticks to see if I would be similarly smitten. I really liked color 20, Red Fuchsia, but I like the formula so much that I would definitely consider other shades. Not only is the color beautiful and long-lasting, it’s also an age-defying treatment, featuring Clarins’ Nutri-Youth Complex to create fuller, younger-looking lips. Moisturizing AND longlasting? Ooh-là-là!
Bon wek-end!
Recently, my husband and I visited The Mount, Edith Wharton’s home in 
Wharton and her husband lived in the house for just ten years. Their marriage was marred by their lack of suitability and her husband’s increasing mental health issues. Wharton left for France, where she continued to live until her death. She was very active in charities to ease the suffering caused by war, including work with refugees. She was allowed to travel to the front more than once to report on conditions there. She received the French 
The house and grounds are beautiful, but they’ve gone through some rough times. In 2002, the centenary of The Mount, they hosted a designer Show House. Although no furniture from Wharton’s time was currently in the house, there were many, many photographs and letters describing how things were. Designers were given enormous latitude, provided that what they did was in keeping with how things looked in 1902. The living room, dining room, library, Wharton’s suite of bedroom, boudoir, and bathroom are the most fully decorated spaces. Other rooms are used for educational displays about Wharton and her era.
In the forty works that she wrote in her forty years as an author, Wharton had many a bon mot. One of her sayings has become rather well known: On peut répandre la lumière de deux façons : être la bougie, ou le miroir qui la reflète (ohn puh ray-pan-druh lah loom-e-air duh deuh fass-ohn: et-ruh lah boo-zhee, ooh luh meer-warh key lah ref-let), which means “There are two ways of spreading light: be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.” I think Wharton was a candle, illuminating the good, the bad, and the ugly of privileged New York society. If you get a chance to visit The Mount, I would heartily recommend it.
As I mentioned, I ate well when I was in Trouville a few weeks ago. One of the restaurants that I was glad to visit was Les Étiquettes (65 rue des Bains). This small restaurant specializes in tapas-like small plates of food. The menu, written on chalkboards, was full of fresh and original offerings. I had the salmon tartare with potato galettes. The name Les Étiquettes (layz et-e-kets) means “the labels.” I’m guessing that it refers to the labels on the wine bottles lining the walls like mini works of art. If you’re in Trouville, this is an address worth checking out.
Normandy
