Derrière la porte

I came home from France this time around with a renewed obsession for my favorite company, Plyones, and a new obsession for a company called "Derrière la porte" -- which makes stuff that looks pretty much like the stuff from Pylones, so maybe that has something to do with my love for it.

Anyway, I was surfing the french web (www.google.fr) for some more stuff by Derrière la porte and found this hilarious scale that says "Je suis une plume" (I'm a feather). HA! If you like the style of this, you will like all of the items on this website -- brightly colored and usually with French sayings. You can purchase this scale for 33 Euros (so roughly 50 bucks) but then you've gotta pay shipping to the US, which is gonna cost you another 24 Euros or so, but if you REALLLLY like it then perhaps it's worth it. (Or, ahem, if your birthday is coming up -- *cough, cough*) And don't worry, it gives your weight in pounds as well as kilograms, so no worries about the conversion rate.

Check out all of the great products at this website "Meomaly" -- I really love them! Click around and let me know what you love!

CSC Giveaway: French English Flashcards from Mudpuppy

This contest has now ended. Please check out our contest page for our current contests and giveaways.


Note: This giveaway is a part of the Bloggy Giveaways Quarterly Carnival! Thanks for stopping by!

Do people ever ask you why you chose the career that you did? It's a reasonable question, right? And you probably have an answer like "because it was stable", or "because I really like math" or "because I've always loved it". Well, my answer for choosing to get a degree in French is a little more, urm, weird.

In 6th grade, my teacher started French lessons with us. And I thought it was SO cool. I was always coming up with my own "secret" languages -- comprised of symbols or from rearranging the alphabet -- so I thought that it was just AWESOME that my teacher was teaching us this new "secret" language -- and it was called "French".

Studies have proven that when it comes to learning a second language, the younger the better. Aside from that, children who speak a second language score higher in both Math and English than children who speak only one language. Being bilingual teaches a child to think outside of the box -- to learn that there is always more than one way to accomplish something. Obviously, I am a major proponent of bilingual education -- no matter the language.

Don't worry if you don't speak another language -- there are still ways to encourage your kids to learn another one. That is why I love these French-English Flashcards with illustrations from Mudpuppy. It features 26 nouns in both French and English (and includes the ever so difficult to memorize Definite Article with the French version). I also really like the fun illustrations that go along with each card, done by artist Sarah Wilkins. The cards are all bound by a ring, so you can clip them anywhere you'd like, and they can go wherever you go (on a car ride or plane trip is the first thought that comes to my mind!). Little AG listens to French nursery rhymes every night (and has since she was 5 weeks old), and when she gets old enough, I plan to use these cards to play little games with her and to help her to expand her vocabulary in French.

While 26 words is obviously not enough for your child to speak much French, it is a great way to test the waters and to whet their appetite for the beginnings of a bilingual education, or just simply pique an interest in another language.

And who knows? Maybe they'll enjoy learning this "secret language" just as much as I did.

Win it! The kind folks over at Mudpuppy have graciously offered to giveaway one of these great French/English flashcard sets to a lucky Chic Shopper Chick reader. To enter, just follow the easy-peasy rules below!

• Go to the Mudpuppy website and look around at all of their great stuff -- then come back here and leave a comment on this post telling me what is your favorite product from them (besides the flashcards)!
  
• Please leave a valid email address if you would like to be contacted if you win. Otherwise, winners are posted here and on Prizey Fetch.
• If the winner does not respond within 72 hours I will choose a different winner.
• US AND CANADA entries only please!!!
• Earn extra credit! Choose one of the following for ONE extra credit entry. Any further attempts to woo me will be disqualified!
• Write about this giveaway and send me the link in a separate post.
• Subscribe to my feed and let me know about it in a separate post.

That's it! This contest will end on August 3rd, 2008 at 11:59 pm CST. Good luck!

PS -- Are you also participating in the Bloggy Giveaway Carnival? Please, sign Mr. Linky at this post so that I can be sure to visit your site too!!

La Chaise Longue

When I was in Paris I had a chance to stop in a store called "La Chaise Longue" when I was walking from the Abesses metro stop to the Butte de Montmartre. As soon as I stepped inside I was greeted by a singsong "Bonjour mademoiselle" (rather flirty, using the mademoiselle, actually) from an upbeat guy who was bopping around the store. I instantly liked the place -- it was very minimalist and clean, with just one of each item on display. You had to ask the workers to get the things that you were interested in purchasing from the back storeroom. However, all of the items were just fun and funky. It actually reminded me a lot of my favorite store, Plyones (which also ended up being on that street!).

Anyway, I walked away from La Chaise Longue with this adorable melamine set for Little AG. I purchased the bowl, plate, and divided plate set, as well as two matching sets of silverware for her, all for 22 Euros. Of course, I can't find all of the same pieces on the website, but I did manage to find the plate for you to see -- the silverware, divided plate and bowl all follow suit. Being a francophile and french teacher by trade, I love that this set has little girly pictures all labeled properly in french. C'est magnifique.

You can buy the little plate that you see above on sale for 4 Euros from La Chaise Longue. Of course, the conversion rate equates to around 6 dollars and then there is shipping from France, but what an adorable gift for the sweet little girl in your life!

Coloring and Cupcakes

I was browsing Etsy this morning when I happened upon these beautiful items from the storefront of ChichiBoulie. Based out of Lille, France, all of these exquisite pieces are hand drawn. Among my favorites are these adorable coloring books -- like this one for boys called "Le Mer" (the sea):They are 10 pages long and retail for $5.50. At 4 by 6 inches, they are the perfect size to slip into a travel bag for some quiet coloring time.

My other favorite items are these adorable gift tags -- you can get a set of 6 for $5. I like the cupcake style, but there are other designs as well, like Bridal Shower tags!

Check out these as well as the many other adorable designs at ChichiBoulie -- she also sells custom artwork and stationery, among other things!

You're gonna dig this!

How cool are these brightly colored garden tools from the Sarut group? They are made by one of my favorite (French!) designers, Créa Créa, and I think you would be the hit of the neigborhood if you were seen pruning with these babies. The garden shovel is $20 and comes in 3 different designs (my favorite is this red one), and these cool pruning shears sell for $30. Perhaps a bit pricey for "just" a garden tool, but hey, no one ever said it was cheap to be fashionable. I mean, is a Chanel bag "just" a bag? I rest my case. Check out these and lots of other cool stuff at one of my favorite online shops - The Sarut Group.

Perfect Puzzle

I think I have found my equivalent of heaven online. I had no CLUE that this shop existed, and now I am in trouble because I want to buy one of everything. The shop I am speaking of is Comptoir d'Enfance and it is just chock full of French stuff for kids. Check out this large wooden puzzle of the world, for example! Isn't it soooo cool? (gush gush gush gush) It is made by the French company Vilac and it is a great toy that can be passed down for a long time! It is on sale for $20 right now, down from $30, and it is a great way to expose kids to another language! For those of you thinking "that will just confuse my kid" I can promise you that it won't. Kids have an uncanny ability to distinguish between languages, far better than that of adults, and you may just be fostering a love of foreign languages by introducing something as small as a puzzle. Ok, that was my plug for the night -- but seriously, go check out Comptoir d'Enfance and click around to check out some of their other awesome products, I know you won't be disappointed!

Poodle, Party of Three (for tea!)

You already know I'm a fan of all things French, so it should come as no surprise to you that Little AG's room is decked out in all things French -- namely with a Pink Poodle theme! She has a pink poodle border with french words on it, pink poodles on the walls, pink poodles on a shelf -- even pink poodle ceiling fan pulls (thanks to my MIL, an ebay fanatic)! So, when I came across this indulgent, but adorable and girly French Poodle Tea set for little girls I just had to tell you about it! It's adorable, has settings for 3, and I think that it will keep almost any little girl occupied for hours! You can pick one up for the girly-poodlelovin'-francophile (or, uh, your child) in your life at Pink Taffy Designs for $45.

Super Scrubbers

So, you already knew I had a thing for French products, but could these be any cuter? It's not just because I'm biased! I dream of the day that Little AG will want to help me clean the house (because goodness knows I don't want to clean it) or help me do the dishes. When that day comes, I just know I will reward her with one of these adorable Dish Brushes from the French company Créa Créa. This one is a pirate, but there are other cute ones too -- a total of 7 designs to choose from! These will get your dishes sparkly clean and have a suction cup base so you can show it off even when you aren't using it! $32 at Plyones.

Eloise in Paris

You probably have already realized that I'm trying my hardest to teach Little AG as much French as possible, mainly because I love the language so much. Well, my whole family knows that, and the other day, my mother-in-law gave us this awesome, awesome book, Eloise in Paris, a part of the Eloise series. It is full of adorable illustrations and is written in English, with some French words thrown in (she is in Paris, after all) for good measure. I just love it, and I know Little AG will love it too. Hopefully we can read it a few times in preparation for our trip to France this summer! If you are feeling brave, or if you are a francophone or francophile comme moi, you can grab the French version of the same book Eloise a Paris (Eloise in Paris) French Edition on Amazon. Grab the English version for $13 and the french one for $40. J'espere que vous l'aimez!

Frenchie, baby!

My mom gave this to me/little AG when I was still pregnant. I have played it for her every night since she started sleeping in her crib at 5 weeks old, and I love it. It is divided into sections, 0-6 months, 6-12 months, and so on, so that you can slowly build the comprehension level! Being that I speak some French, I can attest to the fact that this CD was very well thought out in terms of comparison of difficult sounds, things that sound alike but may be different (like the English, their or they're), etc. Even hubby, who speaks no French at all (except for bonjour, merci, and deux personnnes, non fumer) hums the songs and has learned the sounds. It also comes with a book that gives the French and English for each track, as well as a pronunciation guide, so that you can figure out what the heck is going on.

Baby's First Steps in French is available at LanguageQuest for $16.95.