Did you find me in Elle? :) {competition inside}

As we are all eagerly awaiting for a fresh portion of glossies, 

I thought I would ask if you had noticed me in last month's (March issue) of Elle?

I'll agree it's not much - an advert in "Elle Collections" but to me, it is very exciting

- seeing my very own jewellery in Elle!

Congratulations to me! ;-)

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MINI-GIVEAWAY!

And as promised, I know you girls are always very eager to get your hands on a new shiny copy of Oh Comely magazine! Free of charge is always the best way... and it is happens, I have two copies!

So to be in the chance of winning it... you can either:

1. Leave me a tweet (or retweet a tweet) and mention Oh Comely in it - username:@parisinabottle

or

2. Share me on Facebook (you'll have to like me first!) - 

username: Paris in a bottle

Easy peasy! :)

I'll put everybody who enters on a list and draw a number with Randomizer.

Closes Wednesday at 9pm.

Good luck!

Sunday morning tunes...

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COMPETITION!

I also thought I would mention that the lucky winner of the *Mademoiselle Paris* bracelet in the competition with Stefanie Grace has not yet made herself known.

I know who you are girl (but I believe you are in a midst of a move... in Chester perhaps?!) ....

Don't forget, you can still get FREE DELIVERY until the end of February!
Visit Stefanie's blog for more details! 

A simplified version of life

Everybody is busy. We want to know everything but we never have (or take) time to find out more, read more or explore subjects. I am particularly bad at this. I wished I was more knowledgeable, but you will rarely find me with a book, or a science-heavy magazine.
 I am much better at digesting short burst of information.

It is quite convenient then that "shortcuts" nowadays exist. New books, new magazines that reduce dense information into smaller helpings, easily digestible for us busy people.

Art

This love this poster. It is quite commonly found now, but still, it makes you think. A copy of it is actually hanging in my kitchen, so it's like getting an art lesson every morning!

Books / Films

A Christmas present, this is a book of many books. On every page, it sums up a classic or contemporary book in a comics-style way. Perfect if you want to join in on cultured conversations!

Also available for films, and more books!

Philosophy

Another Christmas present, this book introduces and presents the main philosophical school of thoughts, and the 'life' questions that relate to them. It explains them in good depth but also depicts it creatively, and is great for a refresher of who thought what when. All ideas are explained graphically, related to their context and illustrated by quotes, and there are also simple biographies, glossaries and timelines. 

Happy reading!

Did you say tea?

I dream of a life when I can work form home full time, creating jewellery all day long 

whilst drinking lots and lots of tea.

Whether you catch me on my English mood and I say 'a cup of tea' or 'some tea' 

or on my French mood and I say 'a tea'... tea, me likes!

When we moved in our current place, we decided to have a 'breakfast cupboard' i.e. where all the breakfast things would go (jams, cereal, tea and coffee..) however over time, this changed somehow and now we have one whole shelf for teas and infusions and another for everything else. 

I buy different flavours depending on where I go, picking up a few favourites over and over again 

or trying out new things too... to suit my fancy. 

Tea varieties are to me what shoes are others - if you have less than 10, I feel naked and choice-less!


At the last count (that would be Sunday), I had a choice of 23 varieties - I am not sure whether that is a lot or not, and would definitely be interested in knowing how many you have....

Below is what I currently have - but like I say it does change.

I have noticed that so many of you are also tea-addict, so I hope it will inspire you, and feel free to share your favourite ones too!

Café Henri

They have a nice selection yummy perfumes. 

I really love their 'poppy-flavoured tea, but also the rose one, so girly!

Mariage Freres
I only discovered this brand last year when I visited Paris for a few days, but I fell under the spell of their delicious teas. It doesn't come too cheap but it is worth every penny.

My favourite here: Vert Provence and Thé des Impressionistes (Christmas present yum yum!)

Make us a brew
This is the tea collection by the DJ Mr Scruff from Manchester. Unpretentious and with original flavour combination, it is a staple in our cupboard. Plus, you get lovely little comic-style stories.

 

Le palais des thés
A household name in France, you can find there a nice range of traditional and quirkier flavours.
Here: Violette, Montagne Bleue et Thé du Hammam

Twinings
Despite the fact that you can find those in everyday supermarkets, I find the Twinings teas rather yummy. Be is their large range of infusions or their more English-heritage flavours (Earl Grey, Darjeeling, Assam, etc), they are a reliable brand for those with smaller budgets.
And if you haven't yet, try their Blossom range, it is particularly good!

My cup of tea
New kid on the block (for me anyway) is this charming and elegant brand. Presented in individual bags rather than loose, this is tea for busy people, and who have an eye for design.
Here: Peppermint Tea, White Jasmine Tea and Minty Green Tea

Miscellaneous
A couple of Whittard tins, some traditional English teas for the guests and some deliciousness coming all the way from Dubai (where I discovered Oolong tea).
If you are looking for fruity infusions, try the Clipper range - it is fair-trade and it is really tasty.

Last but not least...

This is some rather original tea coming straight from China, which I discovered through my day-job.
It is quite extraordinary; basically each little ball is a little flower which, once you put in hot water, opens up like a blossoming flower, just as shown here You can then drink the flavoured water. 
Yummy yummy! 
If you ever can, make sure to try it!

What I love about Britain...

Sunday morning with a brunch and a Sunday newspaper - is there anything better?

I must admit that I am usually a Sunday Times kind of girl - a good balance of culture, fashion and news. But today, we went for the Sunday telegraph (my darling boyfriend wanted to read the article on wind farms - he works in planning, so it makes sense).

As I was flicking through the many supplements, I noticed an article in 'Seven', entitled "What foreigners love about Britain". Reading this article made me think: I have been living here for more than 8 years now and I am, let's be honest, more familiar with the culture, customs, likes and rats of English than French people. Yes, I moan about living here a bit (not too much though to be honest), but there are quite a few things that, over time, I have started to take for granted, just like any other English-native.

So I decided to go for a spontaneous article, and list a few here 

(as well as a few things I truly hate)...

Things I love

1. Having fresh milk delivered straight to your door

2. Having an never-ending supply of green countryside

3. Charming old cities: Oxford, Cambridge, Exeter, Chester

4. The Queen, which though I do not understand, I do find rather amusing and entertaining

5. It is ALWAYS tea time!

6. Sunday newspapers

7. Traditional pubs (with dog, fireplace and stone walls)

8. Red phone boxes and letter boxes with the Queen's (or late King's) initials

9. Different accents (sometimes hard to understand, but so much fun)

10. BBC Radio 6

11. Daring architecture (in big cities anyway)

12. Parks, everywhere

13. The love and ubiquity of cards and card-shops

14. Living in the first 'non-White' city in Europe

15. The thriving of small, independently-owned shops

16. London (its markets, its people, its museums)
17. Afternoon and cream teas

Things I loathe:

English people's love of football

Drunkenness 

People being loud and brash and very un-stylish

People mocking foreigners and their accents and stereotyping them 

The never-ending focus on celebrity culture

The lack of unpretentious cafés

Crisps (though yummy I ought to eat less of)

Cadbury's chocolate - far far too sweet

Too many people and all of them being in a hurry, all the time

London is better than anywhere else (yes, we know but no need to keep saying it)
How quickly waiters come to take your order (and you haven't even sat down yet!)

WIN a 'Mademoiselle Paris' bracelet!

COMPETITION TIME!

Visit Stefanie Grace's blog for your chance to win a bracelet of your choice

from the 'Mademoiselle Paris' collection! 

The competition ends on 14th February 2012, and the winner will be announced

a few days later in a rather spectacular way! :)

Good luck!