When you walk into our home you'll be be greeted by my French Geese. They are fabulous, but I'll save their story for another time. You'll also see a French pastry table and on that table is a white cachepot. It is not anything truly spectacular when compared to some of my other French treasures. In truth, it is really nothing special at all.
However, I will always keep that piece front and center where I can always see it. Why, you might ask? For one very important reason: it always makes me smile. Here is the fantastically funny story behind this piece (well, in my opinion). Spoiler alert: It involves a wardrobe malfunction and a bursted bubble. Get comfy and I'll tell you all about it!
So picture it: two Americans out treasure hunting in France. As all Americans usually are, we were giddy and overly excited. I always said you could spot Americans a mile away. We are kind of like overly excitable Golden Retrievers and, knowing us, hopped on up on sugar from strawberry eclairs. We had just spent the last hour or so at one of our favorite thrift shops searching for treasures. Even though this was one of our favorite shops, the owner had never really warmed up to us!
It completely stumped us! I mean what was not to like? We were so friendly! Plus it seemed that all of the owners of the other stores we frequented adored us! Not this gentleman though. He never chatted with us or negotiated! On this particular day (well, really every single time I went there ), I had purchased a lot of stuff. I had just finished paying when I realized he had forgotten to ring up the white cachepot.
I was tempted to put it back (paying with a credit card can be such a hassle in Europe) when he looked up at me and SMILED. I mean a BIG smile! This man had NEVER smiled at me! I think I was just too overly excited for him. I probably wouldn't have liked me either, to be honest. Then, to my surprise, he said, "for you, a gift!" You could have knocked me over! I COULD NOT believe this! He never negotiated and here he was smiling AND giving me a gift. My friend and I walked out of that store like we had just pulled off the impossible. I mean this meant we were practically French...right? He liked us! Heck, he adored us! We put away our items in the car while we chatted about this victory and how magnificent our newfound relationship was. I mean, we were practically US ambassadors to France now.
As we settled into the car and I reached for my seatbelt, I felt a breeze. Puzzled, I looked down and to my horror, I realized, my blouse was unbuttoned! The entire previous scene in the store played out before my eyes. After he had packed up all of my items, he was able to clearly see me on the other side of the counter (I'm super short, or should I say, petite). That's when we discovered we'd forgotten the cachepot! That's when he smiled that giant smile!
My bubble was burst. Well, actually, blown to smithereens! All I could do was laugh, leaving my friend puzzled. At this point, I was almost crying as I showed her my unbuttoned shirt. We sat in that parking lot and laughed for five minutes. It was one of the silliest and funniest moments of my life, to go from such a high to such a low and still be able to laugh hysterically.
We still talk about my "French Discount" to this day. I would truly give anything to be with my dear friend for one more adventure in France. Hitting all of our favorite stores, butchering the French language, and eating eclairs...well really anything we could get our hands on.
It truly was the best of times. So that, my friends, is how a silly little cachepot became a prized possession. I hope this little story made you smile or laugh as well. Goodness knows, we could all use a little levity in these uncertain days! Thank you for stopping by! In my next post, I'll introduce you to my absolute favorite French shop owner, Jean Claude. Until next time, au revoir mes amis!
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