Stories Collected While Living in France

French la Vie

Pink-velvet

Velvet flowers pink

Velvet flowers

Tonight is the Pink Party at my friend Melanie's house.
Marie Noelle, (my French friend here in France) sent me a link to the popular TV show (which we are imitating) called:

Le Diner Presque Parfait,

 It is in French, but it doesn't matter if you don't speak French… I didn't for years… and whenever I went to a dinner party, which was often, instead of trying to butcher French with my insulting lack of skill, I would rearranged the furniture in whatever house I was at, in my mind. One has to do what one has to do to survive!

Can you imagine sitting for hours listening to a language you do not know? Though communication is said to be 70 percent non verbal… and you know what, I always knew who was flirting with who, and which person had had a bad hair day, and who was sweet, and who was opinionated, and who I could be best friends with.

Check out the video and tell me what you pick up or think about it.

Of course I will post the PINK PARTY details tomorrow.
Now, I have got to find something to wear, and let me tell you, with a closet full of black it ain't gonna be easy.

What makes a dinner party perfect? The food, the conversation, the decor? Have you ever had a dinner party and something flopped? I did and served Pizza from the pizza truck from our village.

Comments

28 responses to “”

  1. M-Noëlle

    Unfortunately, the link I have given you does not lead straight to “Un Dîner…”
    It leads to “replays”. Click on “émissions” then on “Un dîner…” on the left-hand side and … there you are !
    Otherwise, try this one !
    http://undinerpresqueparfait.m6.fr/
    NOW I shall be WAITING !!!
    ____________________
    Hi MN
    I changed it and it should work now. Thanks.
    Corey

    Reply
  2. M-Noëlle

    and the link ti full replays is :
    http://www.m6replay.fr/emissions/un-diner-presque-parfait
    sorry for the bug in yesterday’s comments …
    (getting pink with shame !)

    Reply
  3. Catalina

    🙂
    I know…it happened to me in Canada and France…my mother tongue is Spanish…first time I realize how language can sometimes influence your perception of somebody I laughed!: It was my brother in law (English)first time he came to see his in laws …he just said: si! si! (yes) and smile…all the time…we thought he was nice but….not too smart….hahahahahaha!
    (When I watched myself doing the same on foreign countries…I understood and laughed even more!!!!)
    but you are right…sometimes I found myself picking one word here or there and then weave a story…mine…:)
    A perfect dinner party is made of love: a mixture of good food -but do not have to be very fancy- and lovely guests
    I would say it starts when you cook whatever you cook, like one of the most important ingredients is magic: because cooking is like an alchemy process
    🙂
    Can’t wait to see how will you dress and how it was! enjoy!!!!

    Reply
  4. Marina

    Just beautiful pics! like…always!
    visit me anytime…
    Marina from far.

    Reply
  5. Dixie

    Corey… you can always throw a beautiful pink scarf around your neck and it will transform you black draped body into a pink loving guest… hope you have fun… I can’t wait to view the video later today when I have more time… and to read tomorrow about this evenings dinner.
    dixie

    Reply
  6. Ed in Willows

    Did you say “pizza truck” ??? Do you actually have a guy who drives around in a truck selling pizza ?? Like an ice cream truck ?? Oh, please tell me it has a speaker on the front playing “It’s a Small World” and people come running when they hear it. Well, that’s what our ice cream truck plays and after 3-4 years, you’d think he would find a new song. 3-4 years of listening to that song, played over and over would drive a person insane.

    Reply
  7. Sheala

    Have a great time! It sounds like a wonderful idea. Knowing you, you already have a theme in mind for your turn next week. You could always throw a “green party” where eveything is good for the enviornment & organic and guests wear clothes of organic fabrics. Or how about Willows style??? Well, that may ne a bit much for France. I can’t wait to hear about your adventure.

    Reply
  8. Isabel ~ Maison Douce

    I hope you have some great fun at the dinner!! I tried the link you gave me, but the replay one says only people in France can watch it, and the second link creates a network error and disapears from the screen! Oh, well…

    Reply
  9. martina

    Is Melanie the lady who owns that fabulous “Curiosities” shop? Have a wonderful time and take lots of photos at the dinner. Ed is right-why can’t ice cream trucks change their music? Ours has been playing The Entertainer off key for five years.

    Reply
  10. Rosemary

    Hi Corey,
    Can’t wait to hear all about it.
    It would make me crazy not knowing what people are talking about. I guess you got used to it.
    For some reason I couldn’t play the video.
    A pizza guy driving around sounds great!!
    Who doesn’t love pizza?
    If you come to my house, I will make you homemade pizza.
    Have a wonderful day!
    Rosemary

    Reply
  11. Marilyn

    Corey,
    What makes a dinner party perfect?? I once read that “it’s not what’s on the table, it’s whose in the chairs”. I completely agree.
    A pet peeve of mine are dinner parties where the host and hostess are stressed out from the meal preparations. As a guest, I never feel relaxed as I watch them fret and worry over the meal. Dinners should be relaxed, fun,and filled with laughter.
    At that point, I can honestly say that I would rather they stop and serve a simple sandwich and salad than continue to prepare a gourmet meal.
    As you can probably tell, I was a guest at such a gathering. I can’t even remember the food that was served that night, only that the atmosphere was tense and frazzled. That’s the memory I have of that evening, unfortunately!!
    Marilyn (in Dallas)

    Reply
  12. Roz

    Well, I don’t think its what kind of food
    is being served, but How it is served.
    I always believed that presentation is
    number ONE. I now pull out all the best-
    dishes, silverware, glasses, even if dinner is pizza. Conversation is definitely
    important, and I try to invite people who have something in common.
    I am really big into ambiance, even it is
    a pretty bowl of flowers, just picked from my garden.

    Reply
  13. amylia

    Link doesn’t work from the US! Darn! But the photos will be grand, I am sure!! Thanks for the good idea; when I’m bored at the next dinner party, you can guess what I’ll be doing!

    Reply
  14. Alina

    Sometimes I actually end up literally changing the furniture when visiting with friends! I feel flattered they ask my opinion and sometimes I just offer it!

    Reply
  15. Elizabeth

    Hi,
    I found your blog through Annie over at “The Bunny Bungalow.” I had lots of fun looking through your blog and beautiful photographs. I can’t believe you are from Willows! I grew up in Red Bluff. I remember visiting Willows a couple of times with my mom.
    I too lived in France for a bit. In 2002-2004, we were lucky enough to move to Paris. We lived in the suburbs and had a marvelous time. My oldest daughter met and fell in love with a French man,and they married in Paris back in 2004. We take frequent trips to France and really love the country. We will be going to Toulouse in May to visit my son in laws family.
    Sorry this is a non related comment to your post. I just thought it was such a small world to see someone from that part of California,and living in France.

    Reply
  16. Lorrie

    Hi Corey
    I hope your dinner goes beautifully – you are such a warm and friendly person that I’m sure it will be wonderful.
    For me what makes a dinner perfect is the people I eat with. That said, I do love good food prepared with love and artfully served. When all these things work together a perfect poem of an evening is the result. Something to remember and to savour.
    The link to the television programme has a very polite note advising that it can only be viewed in France itself, not anywhere else because of the purchase of rights. Rats!
    Lorrie

    Reply
  17. Kel

    I tend to get a bit nervous before a dinner party thinking that everything has to be perfect. I really do need to learn to relax and enjoy the moment, enjoy my guests.
    At one party my husband and I had we played a game where as soon as a guest arrived we placed one of those “hello, my nmae is” stickers on their back with a name that we picked out prior to the party of either an actor, a historical figure or even a cartoon or disney character. Then each guest is only able to ask the other guests yes or no answerable questions to try to figure out who they are. Questions like; am I a male or female, how old am I, am I real or fictional character etc. We’ve used names like Snow White, John Wayne, and former US presidents. This helped the guests mingle and meet new friends! We had a samll gift for the first one to figure out who they “were” for the night. Try to discourage them from heading to the bathroom to look at their back in the mirror!

    Reply
  18. Rosemary

    Corey,
    It sounds like great fun! Love those little velvet flowers. Are they a brocante find? Wear them in your hair or pinned to your bodice.
    Enjoy and can’t wait to hear about the festivities!
    Rosemary P.

    Reply
  19. somepinkflowers

    ~~rearrange the furniture in the house~~
    ha
    i do that a dinner parties sometimes
    where everyone is speaking my language…
    or
    i think how i would set the table…
    i try to keep up
    my end of the conversation,
    or be the **center**
    but
    sometimes
    i just want to sit and redecorate
    everything
    even the people…
    🙂
    {{ i so love these sweet velvet
    somepinkflowers }}

    Reply
  20. christine allen

    A gracious hostess is the most important ingredient.

    Reply
  21. Beverly

    I can’t watch the video…it says to e’quip something or other, and all directions are in French!! HA! I’m not brave enough to do that!
    I love observing when eating dinner with others. I’m more of a listener than a talker anyway, so observing is my thing! (Though that makes me a great friend, it probably makes me a horrible dinner guest!)

    Reply
  22. Kristy

    First off, Corey, thank you for the mention of my poetry from a previous comments section! My dinner party flop: can you believe I attempted my first turkey for my future fiance, and I didn’t know the “innards” should be removed? (I was young…) Imagine my horror when I smelled plastic instead of roasted turkey… realized what I had done… or hadn’t done. I had a LUCY moment in the kitchen wrestling with a fully cooked bird trying to get the bag out of it’s hot behind, all the while praying noone but NOONE would come through that kitchen door and find me in that awful predicament. Imagine that! Well, I fought the bird and the bird lost…. dinner turned out divine…. but I’ve not forgotten and never made that mistake again. Only my dearest friends know that secret, and now you… and the world!
    Bon Appetit!
    Kristy

    Reply
  23. annie

    I avoid dinner parties (at least hosting them) like the plague. And then what do I do? I host two in one month. We already had one on St. Paddy’s day (and memorialized on my blog) and the next one is tonight. Stay tuned for that one as well. It is always an amazing thing when I cook. Can’t wait to see what you find that is pink.

    Reply
  24. beachy

    Your pink parfait show sounds like a fabulous idea! My hubby and I love to watch cooking & entertaining shows. My biggest flop was a terribly sicky-sweet sweet potato pie I made for Thanksgiving once. No one could eat it because it was THAT SWEET and hard to swallow. We had no room in the fridge to store it, so hubby stored it outside on the deck inside the cold BBQ grill (since it was just above freezing outside). We forgot about it until the NEXT SUMMER… when we opened the grill in the steamy summer heat we found one nasty looking remains of a sweet potato pie!

    Reply
  25. andrea

    I was looking forward to seeing the little clip but it says you have to be inside ”France metropolitaine”to view it.
    As an American child growing up in France,I understand the language barrier issue…
    Now as an adult,I have been to Italy many times with Italian husband as well.I pick up more language skills with every trip however I am usually preoccupied with children,so it doesn’t seem or look as if I’m not always listening (wink wink).

    Reply
  26. marlis

    It worked… merci. Loved it. OMG, the menu. Can’t wait to hear about your evening…

    Reply
  27. GG

    I’m so glad I’ve found yout smashing blog!
    GG

    Reply
  28. M-Noëlle

    Forgot to say – by far too late now – :
    you could have worn black and just added a pink touch : a bag, a flower (from your garden), a hair loop, a brooch or any jewel (if you don’t have any, FH can help!), …
    OR (if FH doesn’t help) pink lipstick !!!

    Reply

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