Le Chocolat, C’est Si Bon Bon-Chocolate, Bon Bons

("Vintage" South 'n France flavor legend / Our current flavor legend)

It's here - the moment you've been waiting for, and I bet you're feeling lucky! One taste of our new Café au Lait Bon Bon, and trust me, you'll be thanking your lucky stars for our seventh bon bon flavor! We at South 'n France are very proud to introduce our creamy coffee bon bon with just a hint of French vanilla. The secret ingredient is a pure coffee extract made by an independent specialist in Winston-Salem, NC. He makes small batches of this amazing, all-natural coffee flavoring, which we then use to create our small batches of delicious handmade, hand-dipped Café au Lait Bon Bons. We already have a handful of customers who have left their old favorite flavors behind, claiming complete devotion to Café au Lait as the ultimate gourmet sensation. But don't take my word for it...taste for yourself. Order online or come to our special Sale of the Century on August 8th.

This past weekend I sent out our annual holiday cards. It's a new tradition for me and Pascal, celebrating Christmas in July. In years past, prior to owning our bon bon business, I sent out a holiday photo and an annual letter every December. Each year, the cards and the letters seem to grow more elaborate than the year prior. One year, we took photos ice-skating in Central Park. Actually, I ice skated; Pascal refused to let go of the supporting boards around the rink! (There's a funny photo from that day on our site in The Story of South 'n France.)

The next year, I convinced Pascal to dress as Santa for a second holiday photo shoot in the park. I had to yell at him for smoking in his Santa suit whilst in front of the children! Of course, they were New York City kids, so it probably didn't even faze them.

Now that we're in the business of selling handmade chocolate confections, we're so busy during the holiday season we hardly have time for sleeping and eating. Holiday cards are out of the question! Of course, we still like to receive Christmas cards (they are one of our lifelines to sanity during the hectic holiday season), and we do want to keep in touch with friends and family. So, after two years of negligence, we decided to take a page out of Julia Child's book. Literally. In her autobiography, My Life in France (which, incidentally is one of my all-time favorite books), Julia explains how she and her husband, Paul, sent out Valentine's Day cards every year as an alternative to holiday cards: “Valentine cards had become a tradition of ours, born of the fact that we could never get ourselves organized in time to send out Christmas cards. With our ever-enlarging network of family, friends, and Foreign Service colleagues, we found that Paul's hand-designed valentine cards...were a nice way to keep in touch." One year they posed in a bathtub, wearing nothing but artfully arranged bubbles!

But, for South 'n France, Valentine's Day cards in the middle of peak chocolate-selling season are also out of the question! When does our season slow down a bit? Not until July. From now on, we'll be cranking up the holiday tunes, pulling out the holiday cards, and telling our loved ones "Merry Christmas" about six months in advance (or, too late, depending on your point of view). So from our house to yours, Happy Holidays!

Christmas is only 148 days away, and at South 'n France, that means that we are in heavy preparation for the holiday season. The expression "Christmas in July" is used to refer to a windfall, an unexpected find, or a wonderful surprise. And for us, finding Christmas packaging that we like and that we think you'll like too, feels just like Christmas in July. Last week, we completed a photo shoot for images that will grace our holiday catalog, and we couldn't resist sharing some of our special finds with you. Forget those "No Peeking" and "Do Not Open Until December 25th" rules; we believe in spreading holiday cheer anytime of year! Won't our hand-dipped chocolate bon bons look great wrapped up in these cute packages?

Author Karen Quinn's visit to Wilmington is just one week away! In preparation for her reading from Holly Would Dream at the Mayfaire Barnes & Noble (Thursday, July 10th), I've been doing a little research on the actress who inspired the novel, Audrey Hepburn.

Audrey spoke 5 languages (English, French, Italian, Dutch, and Spanish), had size 10 feet that made her very self-conscious, and she was trained as a dental assistant before making it big. She loved chocolate (I'm sure she would have adored our gourmet chocolate bon bons), and it is said that each day following her afternoon nap Audrey would have one piece of chocolate to "chase away the blues".

Karen Quinn likes chocolate too, but right now she doesn't need to chase away the blues! Fair ladies everywhere are hailing her comic genius. Actress Heather Graham (of Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me fame) said this about Holly Would Dream: "Funny, romantic, and absolutely charming like the classic Audrey Hepburn movies of the 1950s." And, the rumor in Hollywood is that Sarah Jessica Parker is now eyeing the lead role in the screen version of Karen's first novel, The Ivy Chronicles. 

What do all of these women (Karen, Heather, Sarah Jessica) have in common? Just as Audrey was in her day, they are smart, funny, gorgeous, stylish, modern women. And I'm sure that you are too (unless of course, you are a smart, funny, gorgeous, stylish man reading this blog - George Clooney, I know you're out there...). So what are you waiting for? Dust off your little black dress (suit or tuxedo), polish up those pearls, and join us next week for a celebration of all things Audrey. Meanwhile, for inspiration, remember to do as Audrey did. Take a break this afternoon and eat a piece of chocolate while enjoying some of her timeless wit and wisdom in the following quotes:

I am by nature neat, rather particular about my person. I like to look my best, not only for those around me, but for myself. I'm more casual at home than the public might think, but part of being a working movie star is maintaining a glamour and polish that set one apart.

I have to be alone very often. I'd be quite happy if I spent from Saturday night until Monday morning alone in my apartment. That's how I refuel.

I don't think a woman's measurements are what make her sexy. For example, sex alone won't make for a good marriage. It's important to keep excitement in marriage, to have happiness born of the wish to please each other.

My mother is Dutch, my father is Irish and I was born in Belgium, if I was a dog I'd be in a right mess.

Success is like reaching an important birthday and finding you're exactly the same.

People associate me with a time when movies were pleasant, when women wore pretty dresses in films and you heard beautiful music. I always love it when people write me and say "I was having a rotten time, and I walked into a cinema and saw one of your movies, and it made such a difference."

My own life has been much more than a fairy tale. I've had my share of difficult moments, but whatever difficulties I've gone through, I've always gotten the prize at the end.

People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone.

Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, it's at the end of your arm, as you get older, remember you have another hand: The first is to help yourself, the second is to help others.

For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone.

I've written before about Kristin Espinasse and her French-Word-a-Day blog.

This morning’s entry about her 10-year-old daughter's sweet dream caught my fancy. It's a beautiful reminder of how sometimes the greatest pleasures, the most fabulous riches are not made of diamonds or rubies or gold. And it brought to mind one of my favorite quotes:

Kristin’s breakfast table conversation:

Well, I was so excited by this honor, that I called up author Karen Quinn (who by the way, is as sweet, petite, kind, and funny as both Audrey and her character Holly) and begged her to come down to Wilmington for a reading and a book signing. Guess what? She agreed! So, save the date for July 10th. You'll get to meet Karen, have a copy of her book signed, and perhaps even win your own bon bons at the Mayfaire Barnes & Noble at 7 p.m. Don't forget to wear your favorite little black dress; Audrey-inspired outfits are sure to be rewarded...

It's one of those days where I've got the blues. In French, one says:  "Je me déprime" - I'm feeling depressed. Did you know that during the Great Depression, chocolate makers tried to tout the nutritional value of their chocolate bars in an attempt to increase sales? Candy bars had names like: Chicken Dinner, Idaho Spud and Big Eats. Hershey's chocolate bar wrapper had this appetizing tag line: "More sustaining than meat". Now that's depressing! But never fear. As presiding Bon Bon Queen, I hereby promise that no matter how many trying days I encounter during my reign, I will never stoop to promoting Liver or Brussel Sprout Bon Bons...