Martha Stewart Wants to Get You Drunk
Plus Feminist Wine Tasting, Cryptic Hints at the Future, My Stevie Nicks Phase, and Jolene's Hollaback Song to Dolly
Bonjour à toutes et à tous (Hello all),
Ces dernières semaines étaient surchargées ! These last few weeks have been really busy!
Here’s a catch-up, a mysterious hint at what’s to come, and some other fun fiddle-faddle from the mind of your friend, La Flâneuse~and if you’re just here for Martha Stewart’s dark (rum) arts, scroll it alllll the way down.
Thanksgiving and My Favorite Wine Expo in Paris
Well, remember how we addressed the truth about Thanksgiving in France ? In reality, mine ended up being pretty sweet. I walked to work with Monsieur B in the early morning through a misty park, then took a slow run (yes, I’m running again!) le long de la Seine (along the Seine).
I returned to his office at lunchtime with a Bourbon-spiked Sweet Potato Pie (complete with a graham cracker crust made from my secret stash—un grand merci to my badass belle sœur for toting back two precious boxes from the States since I’ve never found them here) for him to share with his colleagues.
That evening my dear husband and I (if you didn’t know, I moved to France for love and got married at age 54 in a medieval French village) dined by candlelight at a beautifully set table. On the menu was chapon rôti, purée de pommes de terre, stuffing de brioche et de baguette avec sa saucisse et ses fruits secs, et des choux de Bruxelles. Oh and of course, du Champagne et du bon vin rouge.
Since I’d given the pie away to my husband’s office mates, we ate a delicious and fancy looking gâteau aux framboises (raspberry cake) from the patisserie, and we gave thanks together.
Earlier that week we had a neighbor over for l’apéro and we splurged with a tin of caviar from Petrossian and a special bottle of Bourgogne blanc—un Savigny-lès-Beaune premier cru.
Fun French Fact: When you see “lès” with l’accent grave in a place name, the lès means “next to.” So, Savigny-lès-Beaune means Savigny-next-to-Beaune. IYDKNYN
We completely blanked on Black Friday (again, just another work day) and on samedi (Saturday) we trammed it over to the Salon des Vignerons Indépendants, one of the best wine events of the year. As the name suggests, it’s an expo of only independent French vignerons (winemakers), and they themselves are holding court at their stands, sharing the literal fruit of their passion.
Despite My Best Efforts, I Couldn’t Taste “All” the Wine
If you find yourself in Paris in late November/early December and you are fou/folle de vin (a wine lover), you might want to check out this incredible expo. C’est énorme (it’s enormous), and it’s not fancy, but it’s Wow. The thing is, you have to have a plan or you’ll get swirled away into a wine vortex—but what a way to go, non ?
Monsieur B and I decided to target our tasting to just two regions:
Beaujolais, because I am a big fan of these wines and wanted to dive deeper.
Jura, a pre-Alpine (mountainous) wine region bordering la Suisse (Switzerland), because my brother-in-law is hosting a Jura-themed dinner this weekend and we were tasked with buying a sparkling wine (Crémant du Jura), a red (Arbois), a Macvin and some absinthe. Mission accomplished!
Luckily, Monsieur B brought his chariot (rolling cart) and his engineering skills because somehow we bought six cases of wine—Did I do that?!
If you want to learn a bit more about Beaujolais, I recently wrote an article about the region, and I made this talky-talky pronunciation audio guide to help you with the not-easy-to-say names of the 10 cru Beaujolais appellations.
A Feminist Wine Tasting, or Dinner in the Vineyards of Beaujolais? Mais, Tous les Deux, Bien Sûr ! (Both, of course!)
OK, before (temporarily) leaving Beaujolais, juste un petit mot (just a quick word) about two cool events I discovered and which have been immediately added to my 2025 agenda:
Beaujonomie. A festival that takes place every June in the vineyards of Beaujolais, where something like 50 winemakers pair individually with local chefs to serve incredible meals at their estates. You can book a ticket to drink and dine chez your favorites (if you get there fast enough) and share un moment inoubliable (an unforgettable moment).
Féminalise: un concours de vin (a wine competition), judged entirely by panels of dégustatrices (female tasters), aura lieu (will take place) in March one of my favorite French cities: Beaune. I’m hoping manifesting to be chosen as a taster—on croise les doigts (fingers crossed)!
Par-aoke and My Christmas Wish
Yep, I did it. I signed Monsieur B and me up for a Parisian “Karaoke Night” event organized by the American Women’s Group of Paris. It was in Paris’ Chinatown district (13ème arrondissement) and it was a trip.
First off, Monsieur B had only done karaoke once before, and that was with me one sultry summer evening in the backyard at his brother’s house in Germany. Our family there were hosting (and still are!) a marvelous mother-daughter duo of Ukrainian surgeons who had fled the war and brought with them, among other possessions, a giant karaoke machine and at least two microphones. Bien-joué (well-played) if you ask me. And yes, pun intended bah-ha!
There was borscht, there was vodka. And there was my husband belting Alexandrie, Alexandra ! in his big baritone.
No, I can’t share the video. But if you love French culture, you might need to see this incontournable (unmissable) performance by the original singer Claude François and his “Claudettes,” all of whom seem to be one musical note away from toutes nues (butt naked) and gunning for a booking on an early episode of Solid Gold. Am I right?
But despite the fact that my husband isn’t a big fan of karaoke, tu sais quoi ? (you know what?) He came home after work and showed me a playlist he’d made to help him practice while walking to work so he could do a good job on his songs. 🥹 🎤💕 #keeper
I was delighted that a good number of attendees at our two AWG tables were French. I was also shocked that almost no one wanted to sing.
Moi, I came in hot with my signature karaoke offering: Jolene.
Please tell me someone else remembers the Porter Wagner show, where Dolly got her start singing her hit, “Dumb Blonde” in 1967 and shot to fame? Also, of course when I was looking for a video of Dolly singing, I was bound (and blessed) to discover the below “response” video, wherein Jolene herself has some requests. Absolute internet gold! She’s clearly changed her flaming locks of auburn hair, but in a nutshell, she just wants “that cheatin’ man” to be held accountable. Preach, Jolene!
But What’s My Christmas Wish, You Ask?
Je t’avoue que ce n’était pas du tout ce à quoi je m’attendais ! (I admit it’s not at all what I was expecting!) It came as if out of a karaoke fever dream, when Monsieur B just couldn’t stop complimenting me on my singing (which, again #KEEPER). And that got me unrealistically thinking manifesting myself joining a 1970s soft-rock-based band in Paris. Lil’ bit o’ Stevie Nicks, some Nicolette Larsen? Definitely a sax solo involved.
I’m putting it out there: how do I join a 1970s soft-rock-based band (or start one ha!) in Paris? If ye be the keeper of said precious knowledge, put it in the comments, won’t you? Because…it’s gonna take a lotta love 🎶 🎤😂
Coming Next Year (as a Result of Some of My Experiences This Year)
Getting (mildly) serious for a moment about some welcome and most-needed personal developments here (aside from my band aspirations plans). I’ve experienced some difficult times in 2024 that challenged me to my core—as a creative, as a physically active person, and as a former entrepreneur, and as someone navigating life in a new country. But heureusement (happily) ces défis (these challenges) gnawed and grated at me enough to actually reveal a portal somewhere within. Through that newly open space I was able to see what I might want, and what I might need, and where the two might intersect.
I know from talking to my friends who also feel this way at times—just stuck or lost or blocked or unsure or beating ourselves up for not “completing” our dream projects or being as productive as we think we should—I am not alone.
This year, I was lucky enough to benefit from some wonderful people and tools who helped me to clear the dust, get a good look around and start building again with real momentum and excitement. I want to share more about that with you in the coming months as we look at what we want to bring into our lives, what we want to create and celebrate.
Martha Stewart Wants to Get You Drunk. It’s What She’s Always Wanted.
That’s why there are THREE types of hard liquor in massive quantities in this one (overly?) creamy bowl of her “family recipe” egg nog yupiiiiiii ! If anyone dares make this, could you please share the results (and the police photos)? Also did you know that if you repeat “Martha Stewart” three times in a row while drinking this egg nog, a handmade wreath of natural materials will appear on your front door? Allez !
OK mes chères et chers, c’est tout pour maintenant. (OK my dears, that’s all for now.)
I’m wishing you a weekend of sweet holiday moments, 1970s soft rock, and for Heaven’s sake, responsible egg-nog drinking. Ne fais pas des bêtises !
And so I leave you, above, with the softest of all soft rockers, my musical inspiration and possibly the greatest Karen ever (she played the drums, folks)…Merry Christmas darlings!
Bisous,
Karen
You’re a total badass for singing Jolene at karaoke. Not an easy one!
That's an interesting fact that 'lès' with an accent in a place name means 'next to' I'm going to look out for this.
And wow, I want to go to that wine expo, there are so many wine events here in Provence but that one looks huge. My husband has been and said it was a lot of fun!
Hehe I know the Alexandrie Alexandra song but have never seen the video so that was a treat - what a great karaoke song!