Chic Electrique

We actually celebrate on December 24th, like everyone else, but we do remember it’s “our” Christmas. In France, it is the Epiphany and they eat the traditional galette des rois, or King Cake, throughout the Christmas period. A small trinket is hidden inside the cake and the person get is it has to wear a crown (made of carton and sold with the cake). So you get to be king – or queen – for a day!

The Christmas decorations in Paris are really gorgeous.

I want mauve shoes, a mauve MacBook and a mauve Christmas tree! (window of Zwilling J.A. Henckels store on Boulevard des Capucines)

Neon tree at Les Halles. Looks great in the snow!

Printemps department store

Printemps - View from the first floor.

Printemps' giant Christmas tree has been cut in half and "pasted" against the wall. The other half is just opposite.

Facade of Galeries Lafayette department store.

The Christmas tree in the middle of Galeries Lafayette is always spectacular.

Underneath the tree.

Giant gift boxes hang from the dome of Galeries Lafayette, right above the giant tree.

More presents for moi!

This box, which can be seen up close from the third floor of the department store, is surprisingly huge.

"Statement” Christmas trees (around a fountain near the Comédie Française) made of plastic bottles to encourage people to recycle.

Cute, twisty Christmas tree at Starbucks.

Edible Christmas trees at Ladurée. Champagne de rigueur!

Moi in front of the Panthéon.

Notre-Dame de Paris.

A snowman in front of the Hôtel de Ville, the Paris city hall.

Ice skating in front of the Hôtel de Ville. Fun!

My friend Jennifer and I went to the Airbourne concert on December 18 at Le Trabendo in Paris where they were one of the headliners at the Bring The Noise Festival (thanks to Olivier from Replica for the invitation). It was a tad too loud but it rocked – lots of rockin’ guitar riffs and headbanging! Here are some videos – including an 18-minute one! And who cares that there’s no zoom – it’s great even as background music!

Here are two videos of Papa Roach live that I recorded with my iPhone on December 14 in Paris at an invitation-only show that’s part of the Bring The Noise Festival. (Then I discovered that the iPhone has a zoom. OK, OK, stop making fun of me.) More details about the show on YouTube.

I’d never seen Papa Roach in concert before. Not only was it an incredibly energetic show, but the sound was great, too, and not too loud. It was the last date of their tour and lead singer Jacoby Shaddix was telling me after the show how weird it was to play in such a tiny venue (it’s club size) after playing stadiums. I’ve seen loads of big name bands play at Le Trabendo – System of a Down, Queens of the Stone Age, The Strokes, Green Day (they were mostly private showcases). Even Metallica played there a few years ago!

Japan Vogue editor at large Anna Dello Russo has shot a promotional video for the launch of her perfume The Scent of Anna Dello Russo. While at admire her sense of fashion and ability to wear the weirdest clothes and make them look stylish, I do sometimes wonder if she’s in some land of well-dressed unicorns where shoes grow on trees…

I don’t care about silly lists like “sexiest man alive” and tabloids even less but it’s a good excuse to post a photo of Jon Hamm, right? I realize these lists don’t take into consideraiton their acting abilities but how hot they look shirtless, but I think Hamm is more handsome and has more depth as an actor than People‘s 2010 list-topper, Ryan Reynolds. Is the tabloid’s choice of the “Sexiest Man Alive” PR-driven? Maybe. Ryan Reynolds has a major blockbuster coming out in 2011 (Green Lantern) and is was married to Scarlett Johansson, another hottie who tops similar career-shaping lists.