I love Victoria magazine, Jane Austen, Little Women, good manners, calling cards, petticoats and most things reminiscent of the 19th century.  Bon bons fit perfectly into this group of romantic, charming, idealistic things, and so I was not at all surprised (but quite delighted!) when I got a phone call last week from one of the authors of the blog The Corset Liberation Front.  Their tagline is:  Not Your Grandma’s 19th Century.

A reference to our bon bons and some delightfully romantic photos taken by Millie Holloman were included in the post, which was written as an old-fashioned advice column.  Here’s the dillemma of the young woman seeking advice:

Dear Aunt Fanny,

I find myself in the enviable, but perplexing position of receiving the attentions of two different gentlemen. For several months now, these gentlemen have been calling regularly every week—on different days, of course. This has been quite a pleasant arrangement, but unfortunately, both gentlemen have taken it into their heads to press their suits more vigorously and both have proposed marriage with the expectation of a speedy reply. My question, then, for you, dear Aunt Fanny, is however will I choose?

The first gentleman is a veritable titan of industry in our small town, who owns the local lumber mill. He has a fine house and is always dressed in the latest mode and most expensive fabrics. He also has a fine carriage and hosts entertainments that are very well received by all the best people. His cook is so fine, in fact, that almost everyone in town is willing to overlook his bursts of temper to sample his cook’s latest triumph.

The second gentleman has much smaller means and writes for our local newspaper. In appearance he is handsome, if somewhat more rumpled and less stylish than his rival for my affections. He has a house which could best be described as cozy and no carriage at all. He has never hosted a dinner party, but every week he brings me a box of carefully wrapped bon-bons and a love poem. Some of the poems quite make me blush and the bon-bons are so scrumptious they do not last the afternoon.

What would you do, Aunt Fanny? Which man would you give the key to your heart and the trust of your future?

To read Aunt Fanny’s reply, go to The Corset Liberation Front blog.  Do you agree with Aunt Fanny’s sage advice?  I sure do!

 

 

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

Here’s an easy quiz:  On Valentine’s Day, it is tradition to give:

a.) a greeting card

b.) flowers

c.) chocolates

d.) all of the above

This year South ‘n France has you covered with ”all of the above” and a unique memorable twist.  We have partnered with Bloomers Florist to offer an incredible “one-call-does-it-all” deal for just $150.00. 

Just give us a call (910) 762-6882 and request your preferred delivery date: February 12th, 13th, and 14th.  Dressed in her Bon Bon Queen regalia, Charlene will deliver the following to your sweetie:

• 1 Dozen Gorgeous Pink or Red Roses
• 1 8-piece South ‘n France Hand-Dipped Chocolate Bon Bon Sampler
• 1 Customized Singing Telegram (the twist!)
• 1 Personal Message on a Gift Card
• This package creates an amazing, memorable Valentine’s gift at a price that can’t be beat (it’s a $200+ value!)   Best of all, your sweetie receives a unique, personal, and unforgettable memory to cherish for years to come.

Not into all of that lovey-dovey stuff?  Ask Charlene to sing an anti-Valentine song for your best friend or your single co-workers at the office.  After all, no matter what one’s “status” (attached or otherwise), flowers, music, and bon bons are always appreciated!

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.

Meet Olivia (left) and Bella, two of our youngest clients who hail from the D.C. Metro area. One day, when they’re all grown up, these two young ladies (and their baby sister who is still a bit too young for bon bons) will have the distinction of saying: ”We were raised on the world’s finest chocolate bon bons”.  I imagine the girls uttering this phase very nonchalantly with the hint of a posh British accent, as they come from quite the international background.  Between their parents and grandparents alone, there are first-generation ties to England, Jamaica, Iran, and the United States!

These cosmopolitan young ladies have been eating bon bons as a special treat since they were old enough to say ‘chocolate’. They have quite sophisticated palates, as they are already able to recognize the significant taste difference between cheap, mass-produced chocolate and fine, handmade artisanal bon bons. 

When Olivia walks in the door from school, it has become her habit to request a bon bon! Of course, she always says “May I…?” and “Please!” The girls are lucky enough to have both parents and grandparents who regularly keep their freezers stocked with our delicious treats. Their Mom very kindly snapped this photo of the girls enjoying Cookies ‘n Crème Bon Bons when our last (10-pound!) shipment of bon bons arrived just before the holidays. As the girls unwrapped the foils that cover their beloved bon bons, Olivia exclaimed: ”Mom, it’s just like opening a present!”

We couldn’t have said it any better. This Valentine’s Day, give your sugar, your baby, and even your sugar babies an entire heart (or tin) full of bon bon presents to unwrap. Whether they’re 6 or 60, cosmopolitan or “country”, they’ll be sure to appreciate your very good taste!

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!"

I’ve been taking a stroll down memory lane this Christmas season, looking back on our past few years in the bon bon business. In a recent post, I mentioned our first catalog which was a parody of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. You’ll see that in Year Two we only had 6 flavors, or "bon bon elves" (our Cafe au Lait Bon Bon had not yet been invented) and we were really pushing our holiday tins that were topped with gorgeous silk flowers and holiday greenery. I made every single one of those tins by hand, going through hundreds of glue sticks and suffering many burns! Now, we sell too many tins of bon bons to handcraft our tins in addition to our handmade chocolates.

Otherwise, it looks like the more things change, the more they remain the same. Everything else in this poem would still be accurate today. Enjoy!

T’was right before the holidays at South ‘n France
Pascal was dipping chocolate as if in a trance
Charlene tied bows and ribbons with precision and care
Keeping true to their tag line: "Where Southern Flair meets Savoir Faire".

The bon bons were nestled all snug in their tins,
Ready to be opened by people with big happy grins.
Charlene dreamt of an island vacation far South on the map,
Pascal, the cranky Frenchman, just wanted a nap.

When on the roof of the pink house there arose such a clatter,
They both left the kitchen to see what was the matter!
Ms. South and Mr. France couldn’t get over themselves,
When they saw eight tiny reindeer and six bon bon elves.

The driver, in red velvet, gave them a wink,

Even in the North Pole, South ‘n France Bon Bons had achieved fame
Because that sweet Santa Claus called each of them by name!

"Cookie Dough! Coconut! Fudge Brownie, you little Vixen!
Peanut Buttah! Pistachio! Cookies with Crème all mixed in!
Each delicious flavor rolled by hand into a ball,

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