The South

If you are a regular reader of this blog (thank you!), you will recall our very enthusiastic build-up to the arrival of author Karen Quinn.  She came to Wilmywood to read from her book Holly Would Dream. For her book reading and signing, Audrey and Karen fans were encouraged to come dressed in homage to that icon of Hollywood glamour, Audrey Hepburn. But that day, another great dame decided to shower us with her presence. Her name?  Mother Nature. And shower us, she did! The heavens opened and the rain poured down so fiercely and so quickly, we were sure Wilmington was experiencing a monsoon of epic proportions. Streets flooded, traffic lights stopped working, and we started to worry that no one would be able to make their way to the Mayfaire Barnes & Noble - especially in tight black dresses, high heels, fancy hats, and evening gloves.

But, the stylish women of Wilmington proved that they were willing to pay the high price of navigating puddles and accessorizing with umbrellas in order to partake in some good, old-fashioned Hollywood glamour. Despite Mother Nature's attempt to grandstand our false eyelashes, tiaras and pearls, a crowd of brave literary fans filled the chairs at Barnes & Noble. They were all eager to hear Karen entertain us with stories of how she wrote this delicious novel about fashion, travel, romance, and adventure.

Local fashion icon Jess James (fabulous stylist and Style Girl columnist) wore her best Audrey attire and wrote a wonderful account of the evening in the July 25th edition of the Wilmington Star News. Couture milliner, Jan Wutkowski, owner of Amuse graced us with a drop-dead gorgeous Audrey-inspired chapeau.  Cheri Olsen, Ladies Who Launch leader in Wilmington, donned her pearls, sunglasses and fabulous vintage gloves. Melissa Kinnamon of NSALO salon on Front Street gave me the perfect up-do to complete my own Audrey look.

And there were more Audreys, darlings, many more; each and every one of them truly...well...darling!  

World-renowned photographer, Millie Holloman, was there to capture this historic evening when the Mayfaire Barnes & Noble welcomed the best-dressed customers it has ever seen. Of course every photo Millie takes is gorgeous, but I like the black and white ones best since they are true to the spirit of that old Hollywood style we re-created while the thunder clapped in appreciation and the lightning added a special glow to our rhinestoned-tiaras.

Author Karen Quinn will be here in just three more weeks to read and sign copies of her latest read, Holly Would Dream. The book, inspired by the incomparable Audrey Hepburn, moved the ladies at this Manhattan book signing to go full glam! (That's Karen with the red shawl...isn't she adorable?)


Of course, we girls (and fun guys) in the South are not to be outdone. I know of several groups who are already planning to storm the Mayfaire Barnes & Noble in full Hollywood style - black dresses, pearls, tiaras, limos and all. Since our bon bons have a cameo in the book, you'd better believe that there will be several fun surprises from The Bon Bon Queen. For one thing, I'm calling today to book my appointment for a fabulous up-do.

What about you? I'm looking forward to seeing you there...

Here in the South, we love our queens. They come in all shapes, sizes, and ages. From beauty queens to Sweet Potato Queens, from drag queens to the Bon Bon Queen, there's just something too fabulous for words about the way a girl's face lights up when she dons a tiara and matching accessories. So, when we announced our very first Bon Bon Mom of the Year, we knew that she would need to spend her Mother's Day dressed in regal finery.  The right outfit just makes an occasion feel so much more special. Here's our South 'n France Bon Bon Mom of the Year, Debbie Bost, celebrating her new title in style!

 (Charlene is standing by to take your holiday order via phone now!)

We're lucky to have some amazing clients, including one mother and daughter duo from the South. The beautiful young daughter, Amy, wants to be a diva. No, not the MTV version of an arrogant, high-maintenance, out-of-control celebrity like Paris or Britney; a real diva, in the classical and most refined sense of the word. She is studying to be the next great female soprano opera singer. 

Now, being a real diva is no easy task; it requires years of training. An opera singer's voice usually doesn't mature until she's well into her thirties. In addition to years of music classes and voice lessons, this American girl must also study foreign languages, pronunciation, and diction since most operas are performed in French, German or Italian. We have no doubt that our favorite diva-in-training has what it takes to make it in the competitive world of opera; we've already seen what she's willing to sacrifice for the things she loves. Even as a poor college student, Amy managed to work regular bon bon purchases into her budget, so imagine the lengths to which she will go for her love of opera!

Our future diva is currently spending a few months in France, brushing up on her French language skills and pronunciation. Now, we've always said that South 'n France makes the best bon bons "this side of the Atlantic", but recent taste tests confirm that we just may make the best bon bons in the world! Check out this excerpt from an instant message conversation between Mom, on the Southeast coast, and daughter Amy who has been eating bon bons on the other side of the ocean:

Amy:  ps tell them that the bon bons in Wilmington are every bit as good
Amy:  some better
Amy:  id rather have theirs
Mom:  wow
Amy:  yeah
Amy:  theyre not as hard
Amy:  i like their flavors
Amy:  esp the pistacio
Amy:  its grainier here



We love the message, and the photo's great too, Amy.  And thanks, Mom, for forwarding this to us!  It made our hearts sing...

In the chocolate world, future chocolatiers at Ecole Chocolat are also back in school and they've been working on cartography, the study of maps. Time for a mini French lesson here: the French word for map is "carte". Ecole Chocolat students created the world's only online chocolate map. Chocomap.com plots out the locations of specialty chocolate shops around the globe. We're proud to say that our award-winning gourmet bon bons have put Wilmington on the map. Want to see for yourself?

This past Mother's Day, I spent the afternoon entertaining residents of a nursing home. I brought along bon bons, but since our resident chef was home sick and we couldn't do the South 'n France demo we had promised, I pulled out a few songs from my days as a cabaret singer and put together a 30-minute show instead. Nursing home residents can be a tough crowd; performers don't get a lot of foot-stompin', hand clappin', smiling, or cries of "Bravo!" and "Encore!" to egg them on. In fact, my friend Matt, who hails from the Midwest and came to help in Pascal's absence, said he couldn't tell if my audience was even listening. But, as I reached the end of my act, I announced that my next song would be: "Nothing Could Be Finer Than to Be in Carolina".  Then, I encouraged everyone to join in. Every face in the room lit up and every voice sang along enthusiastically. Some even swayed or danced in their wheelchairs.

As we were packing up after the show, Matt said:  "What happened? Did you notice that? It was incredible!"
"Notice what?", I asked, thinking nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
"Every single person in the room sprang to life to sing that Carolina song and they all knew the words! How could that be?"
"Well, of course they knew the words", I replied. "If you're from North Carolina, you know the song. It's like our state anthem."

The church signs around town have been catching my attention lately. You know the kind - those one-sentence messages that encourage drivers to come by on Sunday or that advertise the personality and beliefs of the congregation within. Folks down South are a church-going people, and our hometown and bon bon headquarters of Wilmington, NC is no exception. A quick search in an online phone directory yielded 915 results for “churches or places of worship” in the Wilmington area. Not bad for a city with a population of about 110,000 people. But, attendance slows down a bit in the summer, and that’s when preachers, ministers, priests, and deacons up the ante with the outrageousness of their church sign advertising. Some of the messages are witty and charming; many are kitschy and corny; and a few are just downright ridiculous and tacky.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Not every church down here sports drive-by sermon advertising.  With so many places of worship, there is something for everyone - from the dignified stately historic churches with bell towers that define our downtown skyline to the neon-lit boxes in strip malls. For years, there was a church that sat right next to a used car lot. The car lot is gone now, but the church is still there. Another ironic favorite is the church next to the adult entertainment establishment. Their clever preacher put the following message on his church billboard:  "Jesus is watching you!"  I wonder how many men do u-turns after reading that message...

God answers "knee mail"

Want to make your own religious billboards like the one that started this blog entry?  Visit: http://www.churchsigngenerator.com

Scarlett Sighting One: Last month while reading the wedding announcements in our local paper, The Star-News, I happened across my favorite announcement to date - The Kot-White wedding. I simply adored this photo of the blushing bride and the description of her wedding gown: “The bride wore a sleeveless gown modeled on the dress worn by Vivien Leigh at the Twelve Oaks barbecue in the motion picture Gone with the Wind…” Does it get any better than that? I photocopied the article to save in my files and came across it again while cleaning up my desk this weekend. Mrs. Kot-White, you are gorgeous!

Scarlett Sighting Two: Last night, I picked up one of my favorite books about the South, Queen of the Turtle Derby by Julia Reed. Julia hails from Mississippi, and currently lives in both Manhattan and New Orleans. Her brilliant observational essays perfectly capture the unique personality and charm of the South. I opened the book with the intention of reading one essay for a little dose of inspiration. I ended up re-reading the entire book, including her musings on Scarlett: “Scarlett possessed in equal measure both grit and vanity.  She would literally throw herself into the fields at Tara, but we also saw her clock plenty of quality time at her dressing table brushing her hair. In the end, that is the kind of woman, I think most of us, at least secretly, want to be. We want to be resourceful enough to rustle up a stray pig for our starving kin’s dinner. Or to create a useful gown out of our last useless vestiges of grandeur. That kind of woman, with all her strength and flexibility and passion and will, is not only interesting to men as wild and brave as Rhett, but to women as good and quietly as Melanie. That kind of woman retains a remarkable hold on the public’s imagination.” 

Scarlett Sighting Three: For years, I have collected quotes. Last year, my friend, Matt, gave me the most wonderful gift; he created a day-by-day calendar with quotes he had been finding and saving just for me. This morning, I turned the page on my calendar to find this quote: “You still think you’re the cutest trick in shoe leather” -Rhett Butler (Clark Gable) in Gone with the Wind. Of course, he was speaking to Scarlett.