Hummmmm ... here's a good way to spend your money if you have lots.
Have any BP readers been here?
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/11/18/style/fstore.php?WT.mc_id=newsalert
How I Spent My Money
So... while I'm not much of a consumer under normal circumstances -- I didn't know until just a little while ago that there's more than one kind of Oreo Cookie 
-- I did enjoy shopping in Paris -- and I also enjoyed my share of leche-vitrines.
The one thing that I hadn't counted on shopping for ended up being really great: we went up to Compiegne, and the temp was much cooler than in Paris, so I went looking for a sweater. I hate shopping for sweaters in NAmerica, because I'm shorter than average, and the styles are either skin-tight or grossly baggy -- meaning that I either end up looking pregnant or two feet tall by four feet wide. I ended up in a high-end women's shop, because they had a sweaters in the window in colors that caught my attention. The shop proprietor asked me a few questions, guessed my size, and pulled three sweaters out for me to look at. I opted for a white one, which she had me try on, and I was absolutely amazed at how nice it looked on me. She even guessed my size correctly. It was a Mont St Michel brand, and I didn't notice until later why it fit me so well -- the sweater had the knitted equivalent of darts throughout the waistline, so that it contoured rather than hanging straight down. I love this sweater -- which is good, because I wilingly paid 92 Euros for it.
Other things that I bought to bring home include:
A delicious orange-flavored honey;
Tapenade and biscuits;
Cocoa and bar chocolate for making hot chocolate;
a Wittner metronome;
a stained glass piece from the artists' market;
three different teas from Marriage Freres;
yarns and trims from La Droguerie;
many yards of fine English wool fabrics;
and books -- Paris Disparu, which has some fabulous photos; and a used copy of 2e Classe, about the final battle at Dien Bien Phu.
Oh -- and I made one major purchase: a ltd edition bronze by Jacques le Bescond.
-- I did enjoy shopping in Paris -- and I also enjoyed my share of leche-vitrines.The one thing that I hadn't counted on shopping for ended up being really great: we went up to Compiegne, and the temp was much cooler than in Paris, so I went looking for a sweater. I hate shopping for sweaters in NAmerica, because I'm shorter than average, and the styles are either skin-tight or grossly baggy -- meaning that I either end up looking pregnant or two feet tall by four feet wide. I ended up in a high-end women's shop, because they had a sweaters in the window in colors that caught my attention. The shop proprietor asked me a few questions, guessed my size, and pulled three sweaters out for me to look at. I opted for a white one, which she had me try on, and I was absolutely amazed at how nice it looked on me. She even guessed my size correctly. It was a Mont St Michel brand, and I didn't notice until later why it fit me so well -- the sweater had the knitted equivalent of darts throughout the waistline, so that it contoured rather than hanging straight down. I love this sweater -- which is good, because I wilingly paid 92 Euros for it.
Other things that I bought to bring home include:
A delicious orange-flavored honey;
Tapenade and biscuits;
Cocoa and bar chocolate for making hot chocolate;
a Wittner metronome;
a stained glass piece from the artists' market;
three different teas from Marriage Freres;
yarns and trims from La Droguerie;
many yards of fine English wool fabrics;
and books -- Paris Disparu, which has some fabulous photos; and a used copy of 2e Classe, about the final battle at Dien Bien Phu.
Oh -- and I made one major purchase: a ltd edition bronze by Jacques le Bescond.