There’s nothing like a great love story.  I enjoy reading the New York Times wedding announcements, even though I’ve never known a single person featured therein.  I even own a book (that I bought long before I was married) called  How We Met: Chance Encounters and Other True Love Stories of Real-Life Couples.  And, of course, there is my own love story with Pascal, one I’ve told to countless audiences at Bon Bon Parties and public speaking events.

Whenever I meet a new couple, I love to ask:  “So, how did you meet?”  Recently, I met a bride-to-be with a really cool love story.  Lorie was on a plane, flying home after her daughter’s wedding, when she struck up a conversation with the man in the seat right next to her.  Little did she know that man would become her husband.  Talk about love in the air!

Lorie was living in Texas at the time, but the charming airline passenger, a resident of California, was undeterred.  A week later, when he traveled to Texas on business, he called Lorie and asked to take her to dinner.  The rest, as they say, is history.

Eventually Lorie moved to California to be closer to her beau (he’s a film producer).  And recently, the couple moved to Wilmington, NC to be near Screen Gem Studios where said producer has a few projects in the works.

Pascal and I were thrilled to be a small part of their wedding celebration.  We provided bon bon favors for the Welcome Baskets placed in hotel rooms for out-of-town guests, and we hosted a Bon Bon Party for the bride and her girlfriends the evening before the wedding.

Here’s a shot of the happy bride (in white) with her two daughters, Ashley (left) and Amanda (right), the one whose wedding started it all….

In the past, we’ve shared several reasons why we love our customers: you send us great mail; you take “tres bon bon” photos; you place creative orders; and you bring us cool stuff!   Well, here’s another reason we haven’t mentioned yet:

#174: You Make Us Giggle (and Gurgle)! 

We are blessed to have a customer who has one of the sunniest dispositions we’ve ever encountered.  Her bright and cherry attitude is matched by a melodious speaking voice and a completely infectious giggle.  Every time she comes to South ‘n France, she elevates our mood!

We were completely thrilled when Jane came to our Easter Open House.  She was our Easter Bunny this year, surprising us with a most unique gift–a GurglePot!  It’s a water pitcher shaped like a fish that gurgles after you pour water, wine, or the beverage of your choice. 

Of course, there is a fabulous French connection.  The creator of the GurglePot, Matt Ellison, tells the story like this:

We tried the pot right away, and the gurgle (listen here) definitely made us giggle!  Later that week, we entertained guests and served iced water to them in the GurglePot.  True to its promise, it was the hit of the evening and a hot topic of conversation.  Everyone enjoyed pouring their own glass of water and then listening for the gurgle.

What we love most about the GurglePot is that the gurgle makes of think of Jane and her fabulous giggle.   Perhaps we should try to invent a GigglePot…..

Locally, look for the GurglePot at Bella Anne in Hampstead, (Phone:  910-270-6371) or A Proper Garden on Anne St. near Elijah’s in downtown Wilmington (Phone 910-763-7177).   At this writing, A Proper Garden has black, chocolate brown, oatmeal, merlot, and mustard colored GurglePots in stock.  And the storekeeper said she’s getting a big shipment of all 16 colors on or before Friday 4/23.

 

 

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

Listing reasons why we love our customers is a regular feature on our blog. You send us great mail; you take "tres bon bon" photos;

you place creative orders; and you bring us cool stuff! But for Pascal, who dreams of being a serious "cave man", this reason may be his favorite reason yet:

#346: You Know How to Make a Frenchman’s Day
And that’s no easy feat! It all started when a charming, new-to-the area couple discovered South ‘n France in December 2008. They dropped in to buy bon bons for the holidays and started talking to Pascal about French wines. The monsieur is a serious wine collector with a very impressive cellar, and Pascal thoroughly enjoyed the dialogue. A few months later, this couple joined us for Dinner and a Movie when we featured our favorite French comedy, The Dinner Game (Le Dîner de Cons).

In the movie, the lead character, a wealthy publishing executive, suddenly has to open a bottle of wine for a tax inspector who is coming over to his luxury apartment. He fears that the tax collector will want to audit him when he sees his impressive wine collection, so he opens a 1978 bottle of Château Lafite (one of the most famous and expensive wines in the world) and pours vinegar into the bottle in order to mask its quality.

This couple joined us again recently at the launch for our new Wine & Dine Party. When they walked in the door, much to our shock (and Pascal’s incredible delight), they presented us with a most extraordinary gift – you guessed it! - a bottle of 1978 Château Lafite from the monsieur’s collection. This generous, thoughtful, and humorous gift made Pascal’s day, his week, his month, and quite possibly his year. As soon as we were finished working for the evening, he sat down to admire his new bottle, a new crown jewel in his own collection. You can be sure that we won’t be adding vinegar to that Château Lafite, no matter who’s coming to dinner! In fact, I suspect that it will be many years before Pascal even lets us get close to that bottle with a cork screw. Thank you, Dan and Pat, for making Pascal a very happy "cave man". You can bet he’ll be proudly displaying that bottle of Château Lafite for all to see at our next showing of The Dinner Game!