Hi Charlene,

I have a confession to make….

After bringing home that tin of South ‘n France Bon Bons, a special Valentine’s gift for my very deserving boyfriend, I couldn’t help but sit there and think: “I’ve got a whole tin of super delicious bon bon’s in my fridge, just waiting to be eaten!”

After wrestling with my conscience for over an hour, I decided to cut the shrink wrap, open a coconut bon bon (my favorite!) and pop it in my mouth. Like an addict, I felt like I was stealing something, but the flavor overrode any guilt I was feeling. Then I had to re-arrange the bon bons in the tin to make it look like there were only 15 originally (instead of 16) .

There….I feel much better now. I haven’t decided if I will tell my boyfriend of the coconut fatality or not.

Thank you!

Loyal Customer Turned Thief,

Anonymous

My grandmother, whom we called Nanny, was a strong, independent, and very conservative woman (except when it came to buying jewelry).   Born on February 23, 1924, she was a farmer’s daughter–one of eight children–who grew up during the Great Depression.  A polio survivor, she battled this crippling disease while expecting her 2nd child and caring for her eldest son, a two-and-a-half-year-old toddler, at the time.  My grandfather had to add casters to my uncle’s baby highchair so she could push it around the kitchen.

Although most married women of her era remained housewives, she worked as a “nanny”, babysitting other families’ children while raising her own.  Later,  when my grandfather underwent open heart surgery and had to take early retirement, she took a full-time job as an LPN in a nursing home.

Whenever I went to visit Nanny, I slept downstairs in the finished basement.  The basement consisted of a great room, an adjoining laundry room, a half-bath and a cold cellar.  The great room contained a hodge podge of old furniture (a sofa, chairs, a table, a bed, and even a rocking horse) that had been replaced by upgraded models upstairs.  These castaways, however, were still serviceable and would never be thrown out.  In fact, not much was thrown out in her depression-era household.  Nanny saved the twist ties from bread, used old juice cans for composting, and made tea towels from flour sacks.

Downstairs, next to the guest bed, there was a 1950’s era refrigerator (that still worked and was used for extra food storage).  Next to the fridge there was a large  freezer where my grandparent’s kept surplus summer vegetables and beef from my uncle’s farm. 

Although she loved us, Nanny was far too practical and puritanical for  a lot of demonstrative affection.  As I grew older and started pursuing the many opportunities for young women of my generation (traveling abroad, entertaining on cruise ships, cocktail waitressing in a 4-star hotel), Nanny had difficulty relating to me.  She was concerned that I was living a “fast” life andshe couldn’t understand why I wasn’t following her dream for me, which was to “marry a red-headed minister, sing in the choir, and have red-headed babies”.  I kid you not.  My French Pascal was certainly a far cry from a red-headed minister!

Around this same time, my fascination with all things vintage was born.  This was another thing that Nanny just didn’t get.  At a time when I had just started a collection of vintage brooches and jewelry, I was heartbroken to learn that Nanny had unwittingly sold all of her old costume jewelry in a yard sale at just 25 cents per piece!  Someone got very lucky, scoring all “that old junk”, as Nanny called it, for a pittance.

When Nanny died, I (like each of the granddaughters) inherited one of her rings.  Nanny had a weakness for jewelry and amassed quite the collection of rings, earrings and necklaces that were the “real McCoy”. I didn’t really care about the ring.  The things I cherish the most are two old chairs from the basement that were almost sent to the Goodwill; the rusty vintage tin that sat on her kitchen windowsill collecting all of those twist ties; and a small collection of her floursack-tea towels that we use daily in our own kitchen.  I also inherited that vintage refrigerator that used to hum next to me whenever I slept in Nanny’s cool basement.

For a while now, Pascal and I have been talking about rebranding our business and updating our bon bon packaging, but we couldn’t seem to settle on an idea that felt just right.  But inspiration comes from unlikely sources.

 As a devotee of interior decorating, I loved those early episodes of Trading Spaces when interior designer Genevieve Gorder would design a room around an eggplant or a bowl of miso soup.  I also smile knowingly at that Kohler commercial when the couple visits the architect to present a designer sink faucet explaining:  “We want you to design a house around this.”

Our own home decor has been inspired by a motley collection of flea market finds and trash-day treasures.  But it wasn’t until recently that  I remembered Nanny’s fridge, which has been sitting patiently in storage at my parents’ house waiting for me to decide its next life.  A bolt of creative inspiration surged through me, when I suddenly realized that Nanny’s vintage fridge would be the perfect launching point for our bon bon business makeover. 

Nanny wouldn’t understand.  “Why on earth would you want to do anything with that old thing?”, she’d probably ask increduously.  But, I still think she’d be secretly proud that we find value in her old castaways, especially since they’re still perfectly serviceable. 

Thomas Edison said: “Genius is 99 percent perspiration and 1 percent inspiration.”  Now that we’ve found the inspiration, it’s time for the perspiration.  There’s no better example than my hardworking Nanny to remind us that hard work does indeed eventually pay off.  After a lifetime of daily work and sacrifice, she was able to enjoy life’s luxuries in her later years:  new clothes, fancy jewelry, and fur coats.  

We love the idea of an old-fashioned, hardworking fridge that will hold an abundance of life’s little luxuries, South ‘n France Bon Bons.  We’ll be sharing our path from inspiration to makeover completion in the weeks to come, and we hope you’ll join us for the journey.  For a sneak preview of our plans for Nanny’s old fridge, visit Big Chill (photo credit), an appliance company that shares our appreciation for vintage values.

Last week, New York Magazine published an article entitled 50 Simple Steps to Happiness. The suggestions range from "Just say yes every time your partner wants to have sex" (number 13) to "Spend some time with animals" (number 39) to "Paint your walls yellow" (number 47).

Here at South ‘n France, we would like to draw your attention to step number 16:
"Eat one ounce of dark chocolate a day. It’s the new superfood."
—Dr. Jeffrey Morrison, Integrative Medicine and Nutrition

Did you know that each South ‘n France Bon Bon weighs approximately one ounce? It’s the perfect serving size for a happier you. As the old saying goes (okay, it’s not so old, but whatever!): "A bon bon a day keeps depression away!"

So far, the highlight of our bon bon-selling season has been getting to know one of our younger customers a little bit better. Her name is Aimee (which is French for loved or beloved), a name that suits her well. I am completely smitten with this intelligent, charming, and sweet young lady. Read her interview below, and you’ll see why!

Aimee first tasted our bon bons at the Wilmington Chocolate Festival this past year. When it came to time to make her Christmas wish list, Aimee said that she wanted just two things: bon bons and a jump rope! Does that melt your heart, or what? Her Mom decided that she didn’t need to wait for the bon bons, and brought her to South ‘n France to buy some just before Thanksgiving.  Pascal and I had a few minutes to chat with Aimee about her interests (which include cooking and reading – I told you I love this girl!). At the time she was reading Charles Dickens. I asked if she had read Little Women yet. She hadn’t, so I highly recommended the book, which I read at her age. I’m thrilled to see that she has added it to her reading list. Here’s more from an online follow-up interview with Aimee Waldrep:

How old are you?
I am eleven years old, twelve in March.

What grade are you in?
I am in the 6th grade and being home-schooled.

What do you like about South ‘n France Bon Bons?
The chocolate is very rich and they melt in your mouth.

What is your favorite flavor?
So far, I have only tried the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, but the others look good.

How do you eat them?
I kind of nibble on them. I take about half of one and savor the flavor, then eat the other half. They last me about a month, sometimes two.

What did you put on your Christmas wish list this year?
I put bon bons and a jump rope on my Christmas list this year. I believe the simple things in life are most important.

I hear you are into cooking. What have you been cooking lately? What do you want to try next?
I cooked bread, mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce on Thanksgiving and lately I’ve been cooking cookies and candies for aquantinces (sic) for Christmas. I am not sure what I am going to do next.

What’s your favorite cooking show?
I really like the Barefoot Contessa. I also think Sandra Lee is kind of funny.

What are your favorite foods (other than bon bons)?
Besides bon bons, I like strawberries!!!!!

Do you have brothers and sisters? If so, do you share your bon bons with them? What about your friends? 
I am an only child but I share my bon bons with my mom. Once a friend from NJ came to visit and I gave her one, and when my grandma came I shared one with her. But mostly, I must say, I keep them to myself.

I hear that you like to read. What books are you reading right now? I remember you said something about Charles Dickens…
Yes, I was reading A Christmas Carol and went to see the movie. Now I am reading a book called Love Among the Walnuts by Jean Feris. I am planning to read Sherlock Homes, Little Women, and Anne of Green Gables.

What do you want to be when you grow up?
A long time ago, I wanted to be a toll booth operator, then a scientist, then a vet, but now I think I want to be an author and illustrator of books.

What are your hobbies?
I like to draw, swim, read, write letters and stories, play with my 7 pets.

What’s your favorite subject in school?
Science. For sure.

If you won $1,000 dollars, how would you spend it?
I think I would give it to a charity to stop animal cruelty or something.

How does your family celebrate Christmas? What are your favorite traditions?
We always have put our decorations up right after Thanksgiving, but my favorite is hiding baby Jesus until Christmas morning. I kind of made that one up.

What would your perfect day be like?
Snuggling up with my animals and with a book.

What else should we know about you?
I have always wanted to live on a farm with cows, horses, pigs, sheep, chickens, and other animals with a mailbox that WALDREP was painted on it. I have always wanted that. I also was born in Canada and lived in five places!

Thanks, Aimee.

This year the theme of our holiday catalog is "Mr. French: The Grinch Who Tried to Stop Christmas". Pascal loves pretending to be a Grinch, so we had great fun when we discovered a few "Grinch Tests" online. We used them to create our own version of a foolproof Grinch exam. Of course, if you’re reading The Bon Bon Blog, you probably don’t have a single grinch-like bone in your body. But, we also bet you know a few cranky people who could use a little more holiday cheer. If they score even a single point on our Grinch Test, a tin of South ‘n France Bon Bons is sure to sweeten them up!

You know you’re a Grinch when…

(Give yourself 10 points for each sentence that sounds like you).

I like the word voluptuous. For me, it’s one of those words that sounds like its meaning. The French equivalent is "pulpeuse" (or literally, pulp-like). It means voluptuous, curvaceous, sexy. For the French, Marilyn Monroe was "une femme pulpeuse". Although it is usually intended as a compliment, I’d much rather be referred to as voluptuous in English than pulpeuse in French. I was never much for pulp.

Even when I was a skinny little thing, I still had curves: a small waist, a significantly wider bottom, a rounded derriere, and thighs that were "tres pulpeuse". Sadly, I was one of those girls who at 118 pounds thought I was fat! Over the years, I’ve learned to appreciate my body (although there’s still a lot more loving to be done). That’s why I couldn’t help but laugh when I heard about a new scale for women. When you step on the scale, instead of seeing a number to worry and obsess over, the scale gives you a compliment. It says things like:  "You’re gorgeous!", "You’re hot!", and "You’re perfect!". You have to believe these compliments because we all know that the scale never lies!

This genius invention is made by Vuluptuart.com. Going to their site reveals lots of fun products designed to help women celebrate their bodies. The lounging diva with candles caught my eye because to me, it looks just like a woman enjoying a leisurely afternoon of reclining, reading, and eating bon bons. Don’t the candles look just like our delicious chocolates? Of course the scale is a little off (we’ve never made bon bons the size of anyone’s thigh!), but the effect still conjures up the life of a "bon bon vivant".

The Vuluptuart site got me thinking about how we try to convince ourselves that certain things are bad. Why do curvy young women think their body shape is wrong? Why do so many women believe that indulging in a piece of quality chocolate is a bad thing to do? One of our biggest fans recently gave me a a good tip – talk about calorie content more often!

Caroline works in a large office where there are lots of women who love our bon bons. Every time we offer a special promotion, she asks the ladies if they’d like her to place an order on their behalf. Inevitably, the women respond with: "I’d love to, but I can’t afford the calories; I really shouldn’t." But Caroline is such a devotee, she has actually bookmarked the blog post announcing the calorie content of all of our bon bons. She’ll remind them:  "Are you crazy? You could have 3 Oreos or one amazing Cookies ‘n Creme bon bon, and with the bon bon you still save 50 calories!" or she’ll say: "2 Cafe au Lait bon bons or 1 coffee drink – what are you waiting for?" This fan (who by the way is thin and petite) understands something I wish all women knew: We should be good to ourselves and good to our bodies. When you allow yourself the pleasure of fully enjoying a gourmet sweet, just one piece of chocolate will feel like so much more. As Caroline says:

"I appreciate [concerns] about caloric intake but SERIOUSLY, the bon bons are SO GOOD, WHO CARES??!!!!!!! I say: ‘If you watch your calories on your main meals (take the time to make a yummy salad or yummy lean dish as opposed to grabbing fast food), then desert is where you SPLURGE!!!… Your bon-bon eating (with no shame or counting)…friend, Caroline"