C'est dur d'être un bébé

This post will be dedicated to babies. I don’t know what it is – maybe it’s all the holiday Baby Gap commercials I’ve been seeing lately, or maybe I’m just growing even more neurotic, but I can’t stop thinking about/noticing cute babies. Whenever I see a cute baby, I kind of want to ask their parent if I can pet him/her. But then I realize that that’s not socially acceptable, and that babies are not dogs…

Anyway…

Couture pour des petits

Jean Paul Gaultier introduced his first children’s collection this winter. Vogue Paris says in the description that these kids are fashion victims in training, but I would definitely (hypothetically) dress my children in these ensembles. I admit that they are totally impractical given the price, and well…the fact that not every kid wants to wear a leopard suit to pre-school, but, as far as I can tell, the craftsmanship and design of these garments are really, truly impressive.

http://www.vogue.fr/Mode/News/090804-junior-jean-paul-gaultier.aspx

Jordy

is a French child celebrity from the 90s. I recently rediscovered some of his music videos on YouTube and have become smitten with him all over again. The videos are so stereotypically French and reminiscent of Saved by the Bell – two of my favorite things in one!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IiLZ0dvDWU

Mon propre bébé

No baby blog update would be complete without a couple photos of Maggie, who is almost not even a baby anymore. I think she’s nearly four pounds now :D

D-Day 2009

As claustrophobia and I are not exactly BFF, I tried to stay away from major retailers this Black Friday. Instead I visited Blue Elephant, one of my favorite boutiques in Austin and stopped by Scarborough’s store closing just a few doors down.

Before I recount my favorite finds from the day, I want to take a second to thank my parents for their 21st birthday present to me: a Pentax k-x DSLR. My photography skills have a ways to go, but I'm learning. And I’m extremely excited to have a fully functional/semi-professional camera. Thanks Mama and Daddy : D

And now on to ze clothes! I got some pretty amazing deals today, although none of the stores I went to were having Black Friday-specific specials.

At Blue Elephant

I found this beaded cotton dress for only $32. I really like the contrast between the cream colored fabric and the beads. It’s super comfy, too.

I also found this t-shirt today. I wonder if someday Maggie will look like this…

The shop had a lot by Collective Concepts in stock today. I was impressed with what I saw – the label consists of a lot of modern/urban basics in which I plan on investing in the future. The line is very moderately priced now, but I don’t expect it will stay that way for long. Get ‘em while you can!

http://www.lulus.com/manufacturer/157/collective-concepts.html

Scarborough’s

is unfortunately closing its doors soon. The store has typically catered to middle-aged/older women, but they also carry younger labels like Juicy Couture and Hanky Panky. Because their target consumer isn’t necessarily shopping for Juicy earmuffs or red vinyl pumps, most of this merchandise ends up going on sale, so it’s easy to find good deals there.

Today I found these Sam Edelman flats for $60,

and this tunic dress for $37.50. It was half price, but I would have easily paid full. I love the detailing of the sequins and the champagne color of the velvet. It will be a great holiday dress.

Lost and Found

I found this leather change purse I’ve had since I was little hiding in my closet today. It’s not big enough to be practical, but I think I’ll use it to hold quarters for the washing machines at school.

C’est fini for now! I’m off to do some accounting homework and recover from the big day.

La fête du Thanks

Thanksgiving at Chez Kehoe has been a little cray-cray. The house is undergoing some renovations, and a lot of things are being moved/put in boxes/thrown away as my parents are preparing to move. I can’t find anything! On top of that, I’ve brought Maggie home to meet the fam, which includes my childhood pet – a fifteen pound white long-haired cat who is affectionately known as either “Sparky” or “Fluffy.” Apart from spending Thanksgiving transporting Maggie up and down the stairs to get to her litter box (she’s too little to climb them herself) and making sure she and Sparky don’t eat each other, I’ve been watching movies and making table decorations. For the centerpieces I made little flowers out of orange peels and glued Mardi Gras beads in the middle. They only took about 45 minutes to make, and I think they turned out pretty well.

The wine next to the flowers is a bottle I brought back from my trip to France this summer. It’s a “vintage” Beaujolais bottled in 1999. Most Beaujolais wine is almost rosy, but because this bottle is a little older, it has a bolder, darker taste. It went really well with the turkey.

I’ve also watched roughly a movie and a half since I’ve been home: Swimming Pool and Ingmar Bergman’s first film Torment.

Swimming Pool

is a half English, half French thriller released in 2003. I won’t spoil the ending, but it’s basically about a murder mystery author (Sarah) who goes away to her publisher’s house in the south of France to find inspiration for her new novel. After she’s been there for a few days, the publisher’s daughter Julie shows up unannounced to stay indefinitely. The girl is a blonde French bombshell who has a habit of seducing older (and much less attractive) men and bringing them back to the house, much to Sarah’s dismay.

The first hour of the movie focuses on Julie and Sarah’s evolving relationship, as aspects of Julie’s personality and life story start to reveal themselves. Things take an unexpected turn at the end of the movie, though; I would say about 75 percent of the plot unravels in the last half hour. I’m still not sure if I’ve completely made sense out of the ending, but it was a very enjoyable film – I give it 4 out of 5 stars overall.

Torment

was filmed in 1944 and is based off Ingmar Bergman’s first screenplay. I'm only halfway through watching this one, so I won't comment on the story line, but I will say that Bergman is my all time favorite director. I was really excited when my boyfriend gave me the box set of his first five films for my birthday this year. Bergman has the unique ability to make a three-hour film filled almost completely with dialogue and keep audiences (or at least me) captivated the whole time. I knew I was a sucker for Swedish film and black and white before watching this movie, but so far I especially love the cinematography of Torment.

Scenes from a Marriage

is one of Bergman’s later works from the ‘70s and the first film of his that I saw. It’s quite a bit different from Torment, but also one of my favorites. The realness of the account of a couple’s crumbling marriage is totally heartbreaking, but it’s a very enjoyable film nonetheless. Unfortunately I couldn’t find any Youtube clips of either Bergman movie with English subtitles, but I highly recommend checking out some of his films. A lot of them are available on Netflix.

…More on Ingmar once I finish watching the other four films in the set.

Also, stay turned for a Black Friday post (which *hopefully* will include details about my new camera) and a complete chronicle of my 21^st birthday :DD.

QQchose de nouvelle

Today is an exciting day, as my blog officially has a customized layout :D. The content of the header should be pretty self-explanatory, with the possible exception of the photo on the top right corner. It's a picture of me on Halloween in Woodstock, New York circa '91 or '92. The sour expression on my face is the product of my mom's insistence that I wear a jacket over my costume. Ugh! I guess I learned the hard way that fashion always has to be functional, even if you're 4 years old and wearing a homemade witch outfit.

Être débrouillard

On a somewhat unrelated note, I wanted to point out how cool I think it is that innovation can sometimes arise from a lack of resources. For example, I didn't have access to a working scanner (and to be completely honest, was too lazy to look for one...), so I taped images to my wall, photographed them with my nearly-broken point and shoot, and then retouched them on iPhoto -- a quick 20 minute fix for a generic Blogger page. As a less-than-wealthy college student, I'm constantly trying to think of new ways to recycle things I already own, repurpose everyday objects, and spend as little as possible to save up for the finer things in life...

http://www.vogue.fr/Mode/News/090109-hunter-et-jimmy-choo.aspx

... like Jimmy Choos! (Speaking of which, I just found out that the makers of Hunter Wellies collaborated with Jimmy Choo last Spring. I'm a little late, but I want these boots!)

I've never been so good at shaking hands

On a completely unrelated note, the Strokes's Julian Casablancas recently released a solo album called The 11th Dimension.

I've been listening to it a lot lately while studying for my last pre-final exams, and I predict that the single (also called "11th Dimension") will make it to my Top 25 Most Played list by the end of the month.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_h5DMHh5_M

Et on commence

In light of becoming mildly obsessed with the pages of Nylon and Vogue Paris and blogs like Sea of Shoes, I’ve decided to start my own style blog. And while those who know me can safely assume that I would use this page as an outlet to write post after post about personal style, vintage shopping in Austin, sales at Nordstrom Rack, etc., I’d also like to branch out and share my ideas about not-so-popular culture. Here are some examples of topics you can expect to see in the near future:

Music I'm currently listening to

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIuyVAXvf1k

Books on my reading list

Films I love

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbEQ4Q0yohE

Chronicles of my and my boyfriend’s adventures with our new Holga camera

My favorite places to visit, whether in…

Austin

http://sodadecoffeehouse.com/

New York

http://www.economycandy.com/

or the south of France

(photo by Shannon Kintner)

Photos I've taken or come across

(photo by Kevin Meredith)

And of course requisite fashion findings

http://www.vogue.fr/Mode/Zoom/091116-cosmic-girl.aspx?idZoom=1

Now, you're probably wondering about this blog's namesake. "La Chouchou" (pronounced shoo-shoo) is the nickname I gave my new kitten Maggie. It's a term of endearment in French that means "darling," or, ironically, "pet." Although the word "chouchou" is supposed to be masculine (meaning its correct form would be "Le Chouchou"), Maggie is a petite fille, and this blog will likely be a little on the feminine side, too.