Sunday Stash #5

This is a vintage piece of cotton that is one of my all time favs. It was part of a random pile of vintage fabrics my mom gave me. It is a large scrap; maybe 1/4 of a yard or so. I love the cheerful yellow blooms with the blue dots. It has a loose weave, giving it a look similar to linen. I almost used some of it to make a reversible patchwork bag. It looks wonderful with natural linen. Perhaps I still will.

Sunday Stash flickr group here.
Sunday Stash hosted here.

This is Paris

I fell in love with this book, This is Paris by Miroslav Sasek, when I saw it at the Orsay Museum's gift shop. It was originally published in 1959 and then re-published in 2004. The illustrations are charming and the text is witty and simple. The author writes of the famous attractions in Paris as well as the everyday ones.

This is a butcher's where they only sell horse-meat.

And at the other end is the Arc de Triomphe de l'Etoile - which Napoleon had put up to celebrate his victories.

When you want him you call "Garcon!" - Boy! -

Everyone knows the Eiffel Tower

Macaron Tasting Notes

I'd been waiting for this moment . . . tasting *real* macarons from Laduree. I was just delighted when we walked right by it on the Champs-Elysees. I was the proverbial kid in a candy store or, more accurately, lady in a macaron shop. I was particularly interested in trying some of the perfumey flavors, rose, jasmine, lavender.

The line was long but moved pretty swiftly. All of a sudden it was my turn, I didn't have time to study the list of 16 flavors, I had to choose and do it quickly. So I blurted out 2 mint and went from there. I ended up with an eclectic sampling of 12, some I probably wouldn't have picked had I been of clear mind. But, oh it was so fun.

The macarons really were different from others I've tried. Granted, I really haven't eaten very many. The cookie part was very light and delicate, breaking easily. The fillings were buttery, rich and flavorful. Here's a run down of the flavors I tried:

Mint: Bright turquoise blue in color so I expected it to be strong, refreshing almost like a peppermint patty. Quite to my surprise it was what I'd call spearmint and had a soft, buttery, warm minty taste. Much better than what I was expecting. Audrey liked it too.

Chocolate: Not too sweet, not quite dark chocolate, but not the sweetness of milk either. The filling was thick, almost fudgey. Very tasty. Bryce liked it too.

Caramel with Salted Butter: This one was exceptional! The filling wasn't butter creamy, instead it was more like the best thick, caramel sauce you've ever tasted. Real caramel sauce, full of flavor. DELICIOUS. Eva approved.

Pistachio: Extremely subtle flavor, in a blind taste test I'm not sure I'd be able to detect pistachio. Almost had a coconut flavor. I would skip these next time.

Rose: So curious about this. Eating perfume. The filling was a rich butter cream with a perfectly subtle taste of rose. It wasn't perfumey at all, but definitely Rosy. Interesting. Tasty. I'll try again for sure.

Black Currant: Called Cassis/Violette in the shop. Ever so slightly tart, strong flavor in filling. Definitely a currant flavor, not blackberry or mixed berry. I enjoyed this flavor.

Lemon: Called Citron in French. I love lemon desserts so I was excited about this flavor. The filling was a butter cream with a subtle, soft lemon flavor. No tartness or tanginess at all. It was good, but I wanted a bit of zing.

Bergamot: This was one of their new spring flavors. It had a butter cream filling, with a subtle, almost absent orange essence. I love the chartreuse color of the cookie, but after tasting it, would probably skip it next time.

Next on my macaron radar is Wenge here in Luxembourg. Catherine tipped me off to this place. I walk by it often in the center but have yet to stop . . .I'm also very interested in making my own. These sound lovely.

Tell me your macaron tales - most interesting flavor, best over all - I want to know!!

Paris Days and Nights

Friday, June 26th:

9: 15 Arrive in Paris via the TGV from Lux
{} Check into hotel - frantically freshen up so we can get out into the city
{} Walk up to Montmartre, take the Funicular up the last little bit.
{} Enjoy the view from the steps of Sacre-Cour.
{} Dinner
12:30 Stumble back to hotel

Saturday, June 27th:
9:45 Wake up in a fog, shocked at sleeping in soo late - get ready quickly!!
{} Take the Metro to Pompidou Center to see the Kandinsky and Calder exhibits
{} Get coffee at Starbucks across from the Pompidou Center . . . yeah, I know shame on us for not stopping for a coffee and pastry in a bistro - but we miss Starbucks - I'm not going to lie.
{} Tour the Kandinsky and Calder exhibits as well as the permanent collection on the 2nd floor.
{} Grab and sandwich and eat it in the square in front of the Pomideo center. Enjoy the street performer who is speed painting a picture upside down. No joke. Turns out to be a portrait of Barak Obama.
{} Take Metro to The Champs-Elysees - stop at Laduree and hand select 12 macarons.


{} Continue down the Champs-Elysees, stop at a cafe for a few beers and to people watch.
{} Proceed up the Champs-Elysees - near the Arc de Triomphe watch some street performers breakdance.
{} Take Metro to the Eiffel Tower
{} Loiter around the Eiffel Tower. Debate waiting in huge lines to go up to the 2nd floor. People watch. Wait for public bathroom to reopen after cleaning.
{} Take Metro back to hotel. Freshen up for dinner
{} Take Metro to the Marais district. As trendy and "hot" as described. Clearly we don't belong here. But we stay anyway. Good for us. Stop by Notre Dame on the way to Marais.
{} Dinner at a Korean BBQ place in the Place du Marche Ste. Catherine in Marais. Something different. Somewhere we wouldn't eat with the kids. Each meal is served on an individual gas heated tray. We both had BBQ pork and shared a bottle of rose.
12:00 Stumble back to the Hotel

Sunday, June 28th
7:30 Wake up -thanks to Bryce's cell phone alarm
{} Coffee - not at a French cafe (that's all I'm going to say)
{} Walk to the Orsay Museum throughThe Tuileries, past The Louvre
{} In the museum, head straight to the 5th floor to the Impressionists also visiting Klimt, Munch and Rodin on the 2nd floor.
{} Lunch at the Orsay cafe
{} Leisurely walk to a Metro Stop
{} Back to the hotel to pack
2:02 TGV leaves Paris for Lux

Macaron tasting notes coming up . . .

Back Home

10th anniversary officially celebrated.

10 Years!

Today is our 10th wedding anniversary. And guess what? We're off to Paris for the weekend. Just us. Just the two of us. In Paris. No kids. For 2 nights. I'm jumping out of my skin with excitement. Our train leaves in 5 hours and 15 minutes. Yes, I'm counting.

This weekend wouldn't have happened without the generosity of our friends Mark & Angela who are watching the girls. They insisted we go and do something special- 10 years is a big deal. Thank you so very much. I think we'll bring them home a bottle of wine . . . after a weekend with 4 little girls I'm betting they'll need it!!

Berry Lucky

Oh we are! We have the best neighbors in Luxembourg who also happen to have incredible gardens. We've received a tub of freshly picked strawberries *and* from our neighbors on the other side, raspberries! The strawberries were unlike any I've ever tasted. They literally melted in your mouth. The 4 of us stood in the kitchen stuffing them into our mouths as fast as we could. See that little hand in the picture? It would NOT let go!

The other neighbors have a huge patch of raspberry bushes that happen to be having a phenomenal season. They've invited us to eat, pick whatever we can reach from our yard. And we've happily taken them up on their offer. Going out to the backyard and eating raspberries has turned into an official activity at our house. Today we were all out at the same time, grazing and picking. When asked, my neighbor said she freezes the raspberries and makes a "Tiramsu like dessert with them in the winter." Naturally, I had to ask for the recipe and she was delighted to share it. It's called Tiramisu with Red Berries (I'm guessing that's how she translated it from Luxembourgish) I'm so excited to try it. I'll share the recipe when I do. This is beginning to remind me of my strawberry obsession from last year.

The red currents are ripening. She also shared some of those as well! They are tart and very seedy. Can understand why I mostly see them used as a garnish.

Wild and Sweet

Just popped in to share with you these sweet little wild strawberries we've been enjoying. Seems they love the weed patch in the front of our house. Almost convinces me not to dig it up and plant the rhododendron as I've been planning.

Sunday Stash #4

This week I'm sharing one of my very favorite stashed pieces. This is from Alexander Henry, 2000 and is called Robot Man. It is a flannel fabric and would be perfect for a baby quilt, swaddling blanket or even little jammie bottoms. I'll use this for sure if my sister has a boy.

Sunday Stash is hosted here.
Flickr group here.

Play along!

Ode to Neil - A Haiku

Found Haiku inspiration here.

Rockin' in the Free World

More specifically we'll be rockin in the free & German world. Hee hee. Bryce and I are sneaking off this weekend to Cologne to see Neil in concert. Oh happy day! Ya know I really just attend these concerts with Bryce so I can watch him be in his happy place. Little known fact: I've attended one more Neil Young concert than Bryce. A fact I love to torture him with.

Happy Friday!

Switzerland - Part lV

Here are some random pictures I took during our trip. Fun, fun fun!

Left to right:

1) Swiss license plate detail. Think the bear crest signifies the region we were in.
2) Swiss cat
3) Shutter detail
4) Pig sign out in front of a deli
5) Laederach - Swiss chocolate that is sold in those square sheets. Pieces are broken off and then weighed when you buy. Yes, we indulged.
6) Large garden gnomes seen in Gimmelwald. These guys were about 3 feet high.
7) Hilarious decal on the doggie poop bag dispenser
8) Charming carved wooden figures in a window box in Gimmelwald
9) How we spent our mornings . . .on the terrace, in front of the Eiger with coffee and maps
10) NOT from Switzerland, but from a stop in the Alsace region of France. Alsace is known for these storks.