An old friend let me use her Paris apartment in the Latin Quarter for our recent trip to visit family and attend the Maison Object furnishings show. The view from our window (that’s St. Sulpice church on the right) gives a hint of this ideal location, surrounded by the shops, galleries and magnificent buildings of the most beautiful city in the world. I immediately fantasized about owning a similar pied a terre—to go along with my farmhouse in Provence, of course. For more information on renting this or other apartments in Paris, go to parisforrent.com

The Latin Quarter is chock-full of home furnishings shops. This one features original eighteenth century antiques, in exceptional condition. I adore this style, as well as the style of this typical Parisian shop. The clean, simple, somber grey façade, free of extraneous signage, epitomizes understated elegance–the perfect frame for the graceful furnishings inside.

Spent an interesting day at the Maison & Objet show in Paris; very different from my annual trek to High Point in North Carolina. For one thing the food is better! It’s a more intimate show, and the style tends to be more contemporary in Europe. Artisans at smaller firms exhibited the most interesting work. Definitely gave me some good ideas!

I passed this menu on a wall in Antibes and it seemed a perfect embodiment of the French view of cuisine. The four pieces of slate manage to turn the most plebian way to list menu options into a work of art. During our trip we ate expensively and not so expensively, but without exception we ate artistically. One of our cheapest meals in a café in Beaulieu was in some ways the most delicious. Food remains one of the glories of France, and a visit always recharges my culinary batteries

Matisse, Chagall, Miro, Calder and Picasso all spent considerable time in Saint Paul de Vence, an ancient, picturesque hilltop town near Nice. Their local hangout was La Columbe d’Or, and they often paid for their room and board with their work. My husband stayed in the hotel in the 60s (he swears he saw Picasso) and so it was a reunion of sorts to return for lunch. There are still paintings in every room, a Calder mobile by the pool, and a restaurant that makes the lightest soufflés. And you can still feel the presence of the giants of twentieth century art in the bar and restaurant, by the pool and in the corridors of La Columbe d’Or.

We spent a delicious night at the Hotel Metropole in Monte Carlo. Our room (with a shower my husband had to drag me out of), the impeccably laid out bar and lounge, the lobby with hints of Egypt, and a restaurant guided by chef Joel Robuchon, all contributed to a keener appreciation of just what money can buy; maybe not happiness, but a good approximation.

While strolling through one of the well-manicured parks of Monte Carlo, we came upon this sign, which in some ways typifies the ethos of this playground of the rich and famous. You may walk your dog on a lead and please use the trash containers, but you may not bike or pick the flowers or picnic or take photos or walk on the grass. You can eat off the sidewalk in Monte Carlo, but it’s a bit too clean for my taste. Great fun for a visit, though.

Depending on the day the outdoor market in Nice is full of the freshest flowers, produce, fish, meat, and much more. I’m sure Julia Child spent quality time here when she visited. On Mondays the antiques vendors take over and I spent a pleasant few hours strolling the aisles. Here I am looking at an old print of the wedding of Prince Rainer and Princess Grace back in the 50s. For Hitchcock fans, you can almost see Cary Grant in To Catch A Thief hovering by the window.

As autumn strengthened its grip and Lake George prepared to go into hibernation, I made one final trip to a job we’ve been working on for years—a job that’s become one of my all-time favorites. Partly this is because of the perfect simpatico with the owners, who’ve become good friends, and partly the nature of the work, creating a sophisticated, comfortable Adirondack look and feel. We drove up with a photographer friend and spent a few days taking pictures, which I’ll put on the site soon. It was bittersweet, finally turning the page on such an inspiring job. Still, I’ve plenty of exciting work in progress, and the next chapter is already being written.

I’ve been known to spend the better part of a day at the D&D Building in Manhattan, sometimes without much to show for it. Today, a wet, windy Thursday, I drove in at the end of the rush hour at 10:30, and spent 90 minutes choosing fabric samples. I found exactly what I was looking for, solved several pressing client needs, and was back in the shop by 2. The traffic parted for me like the Red Sea, and the sales assistants were the very picture of knowledgeable, courteous efficiency. On a chilly, miserable November day, the sun was shining. At least until I heard about the next out of stock order…