Fresh Strawberry Mixed Greens Salad

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I thought I would share with you today one our favorite salads! My husband and I eat this salad frequently and I thought I’d share it with you all today! We used to eat this salad at our favorite lunch spot in St. Louis – Companion Bakery… but when we moved we couldn’t take the salad with us… so we copied it!

This recipe doesn’t have a lot of measuring… if you need more you add more. Just add until it looks “right” to you. Usually each person gets 1-2 handfuls of salad mix.

Ingredients – serves 4

  • several handfuls of Spring salad mix (or spinach tastes good too)
  • 6-10 fresh strawberries, diced (number of strawberries depends on size)
  • crumbled blue cheese – as much as you want
  • diced pecans – as much as you want, if you’re feeling decadent you could caramelize them!
  • 1/4 red onion, diced (to decrease onion taste, rinse chopped onion in water!)
  • Brianna’s strawberry vinaigrette

Directions (there aren’t many)

  1. Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix! 
  2. Add a few of the extra toppings on top for looks. Done!

Fresh Strawberry Mixed Greens Salad

Yes I know, it’s another salad recipe. I know you don’t want to eat salad. You came here to read about MACARONS! Not salad. Salad is for rabbits. 

But I wanted to give a shoutout to this salad dressing which tastes REALLY GOOD on salads with strawberries in it! It’s a blush wine vinaigrette and it’s amazing. FYI I wasn’t paid to rave about this dressing. I just like it.

Think you’re going to give it a try? Do you have a favorite salad recipe with strawberries in it?

Written at http://peoniesandorangeblossoms.blogspot.com
linking up at: amaze me monday The Scoop!  2 Bees in a Pod,  Metamorphosis Monday’s Inspire Me Tuesday Wow us Wednesdays! Creative Ways  Share Your Style Thursday Favorite ThingsTablescape Thursday’s Your Turn to Shine The inspiration gallery Home Sweet Home Feathered Nest Fridays Foodie Friday & Everything Else Sunday’s Down Under

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Weekend Whimsy

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Before I include the links for this weekend, I have an important READER ANNOUNCEMENT:

I have noticed over the past several weeks readership of weekend whimsy has significantly declined.  The other posts of mine are doing just fine 🙂 But I don’t want to keep spending my time on something if you aren’t interested.  I am partially wondering if the decline has to do with the fact that everyone is busy on the weekends because it’s Summer and the weather is nice out.

I think what I might do is just put this weekend whimsy on hiatus and resume it in the Fall when the weather sucks and more people are inside on the weekend!

French journalist parodies high fashion by copying their looks in the real world– it’s kind of amusing.

Some photographers show how birds see our world... it’s really neat.

Check out this beautiful wedding in Rome – that cathedral! WHOA.

Tour this beautiful Provence guest house!

How online retailers predict your perfect outfit

… and that will be it. Weekend Whimsy shall return this Fall.

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Friday Favorites!

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This post may contain affiliate links. See my disclosure policy.

grumpy cat on Monday and then on Friday! hee hee.

Zinnias!

The zinnias in the garden have been blooming like mad for the past month. I shot a few pictures with my iPhone this week.  Aren’t they so pretty?? I want to cut them and put them in my tulipiere but then I won’t have any zinnias in the garden… so I’ve left them outside!

New oven & Baking
We got a new oven and new stove this week.  Our previous oven here sucked. It ranged in temperature from 250-350 degrees even though it was set at 300!  The old stove only cooked at hot and hotter… there was no “simmer”.  This week my husband made a dutch baby pancake in our new cast iron pan in our new oven!  Doesn’t it look delicious?

Now, can someone tell me, why are there 3 names for this pancake? Dutch baby. Swedish pancake. German pancake. Which one do you call it?

My new Favorite lotion

This here is my new favorite lotion: black honey by archipelago botanicals. It smells so heavenly!  I love it! Check it out here

Little French Bud Vases

Everytime I walk by the table and see this little bud vases I bought in Paris it reminds me of my trip over there this Spring.  Aren’t they cute??  I wrote about my favorite places to shop in Paris this week, you can see that post here.  

Mango Black Tea Lemonade

I tried Starbucks mango black tea lemonade this week (with half the sweetener)… it was really good! It was really nice and refreshing!

Well, I saw this meme and thought it was kind of funny…

Thanks for stopping by!!!

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Friday Favorites with A Little Bit of EverythingMomfessionals, and Grace and Love
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Oh Hey, Friday! at September FARM

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French Empire Picture Frame

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When I was in Portland and went to the antique show this past July, I did find *one* thing to take home with me.

I took home this cute French picture frame with pink Moire silk!  Isn’t it cute?  I had never seen one of these antique French empire picture frames with pink silk before.  Usually these picture frames go for a lot of money… this one was a fraction of what they normally cost! There is a little bit of damage but that’s okay with me.

I like how the sides and the back of the picture frame are in the pink moire silk as well!  The picture of the little girl was already in the frame.  Most of these picture frames were made around 1880s-1910… right around the time the camera became in fashion.

I put the picture frame above my dressing table in the bathroom next to my other French picture frame.  I love the yellow gold one of the left.  In the days where we take thousands of pictures on our phone cameras, displaying a picture in an ornate picture frame really makes it seem like something special.

A search online found some other fabulous picture frames from the same era and genre.

This one below looks pretty similar to my new pink one, but a little more ornate with the wreath on top.

I love the one below, wouldn’t it look cute on a wall? 

Now this one is the most ornate out of all of them, but how pretty!!

This pretty green one below could display a lot of photos!

 I found this other pink one… but it was 10 times the price of the one I got!

I also quite like this pretty green picture frame below…

 What do you think of these picture frames?  I think it’s nice displaying a little picture in a pretty little frame these days…

Written at http://peoniesandorangeblossoms.blogspot.com

linking up at: amaze me monday The Scoop!  2 Bees in a Pod,  Metamorphosis Monday’s Inspire Me Tuesday Wow us Wednesdays! Creative Ways  Share Your Style Thursday Favorite ThingsTablescape Thursday’s Your Turn to ShineHome Sweet Home Feathered Nest Fridays Foodie Friday & Everything Else  

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Shopping in Paris – Favorite Shops!

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Let’s talk about one of my favorite things to do in Paris… Shopping!! Shopping in Paris is every girl’s dream, right?

A Guide to Shopping in Paris - My Favorite Shops!
Shopping in Paris

 

Shopping on Rue St. Honore

Astier de Villate
173 Rue Saint Honore
This shop is the cutest shop full of handmade porcelain.  A lot of the porcelain is in white – their signature look.  But the white is NOT boring… they have interesting motifs.

 

This is what I carried home in my carry-on… these two cute little bud vases! J’adore them!

Herve Chapelier

390 rue Saint Honore

Ever heard of this brand?  It used to be kind of popular in the 90s.  They make great travel bags, beach bags, school bags, and lug-around-town bags.  I used to use one of these for my books in college. Tres chic. I get a bag from here every time I go. I can’t help myself.

image source

Longchamp

404 Rue Saint Honore

Longchamp is a very French brand.  They make beautiful handbags and I’m sure a lot of you already own a Le Pliage bag.  But did you know they are a LOT cheaper in Paris??  For instance, the long champ le pliage large shopper is $145 in the USA.  In Paris, it costs 78 Euros which equals about 90 US dollars (Spring 2015).  If you spend over 150 Euros at this store, you can get the VAT tax back and save an extra 15%.  Just saying… this is a VERY FRENCH and VERY NICE gift for someone (or yourself)!

picture from here

Anne Fontaine

370 Rue Saint Honore

Anne Fontaine is known for making beautiful white blouses.  They are timeless and classic.  They also have trendy designs too.  I highly recommend taking one home… just know they aren’t cheap (uh, is anything in Paris?).

picture from here

Colette 

213 Rue Saint Honore

Everywhere I read on the internet before I left was about how “cool” Colette was.  Honestly, I didn’t think that this store felt very French to me AT ALL.  It reminded me exactly like Kitson, a store in LA.  They had loud music blasting full of a lot ofAmerican brands. I’m sure a lot of people will think this store is cool, but to me it did not feel Parisian at all.  If you want nice clothes you can shop here, but if you want Parisian clothes, skip it.

picture source

 Manoush
162 Rue Saint Honore
This is the cutest clothing store.  Ironically my cousin posted a picture on instagram when she went to Paris a few weeks after I did.   I totally recognized the dress she was wearing in the dressing room… it was from this store!  While I did not buy anything here, I would’ve loved to have something from here!

picture from here

These cute dresses were in the window display when I was there:

E. Goyard

233 Rue Saint Honore

This company is famous for their luggage and hand bags as well.  They have a famous print and if you’re in to collecting suitcases or pretty bags you need to go there.

picture source

Hermes

24 Rue de Fabourg Saint Honore
A lot doesn’t need to be said about Hermes.  If you want to have the most fashionable scarf from Paris, you go here.

picture source

Le Petit Bateau

9 Rue du 29 Juillet

This is a clothing store for children and babies.  But is is the cutest clothing store!!!  These locations are all over Paris and is where the Parisians buy stuff for kiddos.  If you want your toddler looking tres chic, check them out! (FYI, I wore Petit Bateau when I was little, my mom had me starting out in French fashion! Is that why I love Paris?). Also a some great gift ideas you can take home easily.  These locations are all over Paris.  You can check out the location finder here.

picture source

Near Saint Honore… either a 10-15 minute walk…

Christian Louboutin

19 Rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Just like the Louis Vuitton, Louboutin’s are also quite a bit cheaper to buy in Paris.  I had so much fun looking at all of the shoes… while there were quite a few pretty shoes, I didn’t see any I couldn’t live without.  I don’t wear super high heels anymore.  However, next time I go I will be on the hunt for some pretty red-soled shoes!

picture source

E. Dehillerin

18 rue Coquilliere
This is the oldest cooking ware store in Paris!  They have so many unique items here.  This is where Julia Childs bought her copper pans!  I wrote about it in a post here.  We bought several tart pans and wooden spoons.  If you like to bake or cook, head here for your souvenirs!  Just remember, you can’t take knives or objects that could be used as weapons on the airplane!

Printemps

64 Blvd Haussman

This is a large department store in the 2nd arr in Paris.  While we were there they were decorated in Spring pink celebrating their 150th birthday.  This store is HUGE.  They have many different places to eat inside.  If you know you want to buy lots of things under 150 euros, buy them all here so they add up to over 150 euros so you get your VAT back.

picture source

Galeries Lafayette

40 Boulevard Haussman

This department store is just across the street from Printemps.  It was a ZOO. The tour group buses have this store on their maps so EVERYONE was there. It was so crowded I couldn’t stand it.  But they did have some good deals on scarves here. If debating between the two dept stores, I would go to Printemps.  But my favorite dept store is Le Bon Marche in St. Germain.

Galeries Lafayette

Champs Elysees
Louis Vuitton
101 Avenue de Champs Elysees
Since I had last been to Paris, the shopping scene has changed.  The Champs Elysees seemed to be where all the super high end shopping was; now it seems it has moved to St. Honore.  But if you are looking to buy a LV purse, you MUST go to the headquarter store on the Champs Elysees. It’s FIVE stories!  I wrote about buying a LV in Paris here.

St. Germain des Pres

Le Bon Marche
24 Rue de Sevres
This is the best department store in Paris.  They have everything and it is not very crowded like Printemps or Galeries Lafayette.

picture source

Le Grand Epicerie
38 Rue de Sevres
If you are a foodie, you MUST go to Le Grand Epicerie which is the next store down from Le Bon Marche.  They had FIVE ROWS of jams and jellies alone.  I stood there just staring because I couldn’t decide what jam I wanted to take home!

Check out all the different types of mini madeleine cookies! LOVE.

They have fresh fruits and veggies. It is a giant market.

I love how they have a cute little truck inside full of fresh items as if it were just hauled in on this truck!

Can I just say that I wish our strawberries were sold in these cute little containers? PLEASE oh please! Aren’t these baskets the cutest?

This store is actually full of good ideas for souvenirs to bring home – you can bring a nice French jam (keep it under 3 ounces if you want it on your carry on!).  We brought home truffle salt too which makes a nice gift. They have tons of various types of honey – another good gift!  Even those little madeleine bags would be a nice gift.  Just don’t bring home dried meats because I don’t think customs will let you.

Le Jaquard Francais

53 Rue Bonaparte

We’ve all seen the pretty tablecloths that this company makes.  They have a nice store in Paris. I highly recommend going in!

picture source

Faconnable
174 Boulevard Saint Germain
This is a nice store that mainly sells men’s clothes.  I tried to get my husband to wear a scarf because his heritage is French – but he didn’t want to. Sigh. So we got him a really cool belt here.  Very stylish store for guys!

picture source

I’ve already discussed these stores above, but they have locations in St. Germain as well:

Hermes 17 Rue De Sevres

Herve Chapelier 1 bis Rue de Vieux

Louis Vuitton 170 Boulevard de Saint Germain

Longchamp 21, Rue du Vieux Colombier

Now, my favorite shopping in Paris is… Window Shopping!  I wish I took more pictures of the cute window displays.

Some of my loot… I love how they wrap everything like it’s a present!

I love how pretty their wrapping is even for the simplest of items

Um. I like to shop. These are all of my goodies!

 

I hope you enjoyed my round-up of my favorite shops in Paris!  This is by no means bargain shopping – you don’t go to Paris to look for bargains except at the flea market!  Where do you like to shop in Paris?

If you’ve missed a Paris trip post, catch them ALL RIGHT HERE !

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Weekend Whimsy

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A tour of Van Gogh’s picture perfect French Village

Here are 15 beautiful places in California that are on my list of places to visit!


Do you have a plethora of peaches like me?  Check out what The Pioneer Woman does with them— serves them grilled with pecans! Sounds delicious.

Disneyland turned 60 this month. Here’s a look back of the past 60 years of magic.

I thought this was funny because it happens to me… being “Hangry”. When you’re hungry it makes you angry (and cranky).

How to get authentic French style – tips on decorating your home

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Friday Favorites

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It’s Friday and I’m back with some more Friday Favorites this week! Can you believe July is over?? I can’t. It was a big month for us. Moved from SoCal to NorCal.  Both of us started new jobs. Big things happening over here.
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French Pastries
I have a French pastry problem. The problem is… I love them and can’t stop eating them.  These pastries are from Craftsman & Wolves in San Francisco.  The one of the left is a raspberry eclair and was delicious! The one of the right is called a peach twinkie.  It is nothing like a twinkie!  With the edible flower blossoms and fresh peach cream inside, it is a delight!  If you are heading to San Francisco, I recommend going there.  I wrote about them in a blogpost here.

Honey
This honey from the Savannah Bee Company is one of the best honeys I’ve ever had. It’s an orange blossom honey and it actually tastes like orange blossom! I’ve many other orange blossom honeys but they never actually taste like orange blossom.  But this one does! As you can see, we already used half the bottle!

Pumpkins!
We planted pumpkins on July 1 when we moved it and this was them earlier this past weekend. We planted them from seed. There are 6 different varieties.  I’ve been outside cackling around like a witch… grow my pretties!  While they look really big, they need to started growing like mad if we are to have pumpkins by Halloween!

Pretty Tile
This past week we were playing at the San Francisco Design Center and I saw this pretty tile design on the wall.  Wouldn’t you love to have this… in your kitchen, bathroom, or outside, or anywhere? It’s so beautiful!

 Liberty London at Nordstrom
This past week when we went to the downtown San Francisco Nordstrom’s we checked in at Liberty London’s pop-up store!  If you’ve never heard of Liberty London, LL is actually a department store in London that sells really cute products!  They are known for the cute floral prints! They have no current store in the USA, so Nordstrom struck a little deal with them.  Nordstrom is exclusively selling their merchandise for 1-2 months.  If your local Nordies doesn’t have the pop-up store, that’s okay, you can get everything online.  I purchase the gardening gloves on the bottom right – they are soft and cute, and long to protect my arms from the rose thorns!  Here are some of the other things I eyed as well… oh, did I mention they give you a free cute little shopping bag if you buy something?

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Friday Favorites with A Little Bit of EverythingMomfessionals, and Grace and Love
Five on friday at A Liz Adventures .
Friday Favorites at the Diary of a Real Housewive
Oh Hey, Friday! at September FARM

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Summer French Table Setting

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I have assembled my first tablescape after the big move!  I was inspired by the beautiful roses that are blooming here, the orange topiaries, and my new French burlap fabric I bought!

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I put a freshly picked rose on each place setting.  It’s not just to look at – pick it up and take a little sniff and you’ll be treated with the most pleasant smelling rose!

These are David Austin roses and they smell heavenly!

I saw a very similar table runner in Napa recently but they wanted $100.  I found very similar fabric at a fabric store and bought it for $6/yard.  I intended to make placemats with it but I think I like it as a runner for now!

I put one of my madeleine anduze candle pots in the center. It has a really nice fragrance.  Purchased these at Pierre Deux years ago (RIP).

I like the Frenchie Summer feeling of this table.  The cups and plates are from Williams-Sonoma.  The cups are printed in French with fruits on them.

A pretty little collage that is pin-worthy for you 🙂

French Country Summer Table Setting Decor Idea

 

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White Chocolate Blackberry Macarons

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I’ve been back in the kitchen baking again.  You will love what I came up with! I was inspired ball of the pretty french pastries I saw in Paris! White chocolate blackberry macarons!
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White Chocolate Blackberry Macarons – printable recipe here

We will need 2 cups of fresh blackberries, but will not use them until the very end.

Materials needed: (affiliate links are used for your convenience)

    • a food scale (yes, you need this. I use this one)
    • a piping tip and piping bag (I like the ateco #806, I use these tips and piping bag)
    • Food coloring (the gels or dry powder works best, not the liquid store stuff)
    • A macaron template
    • food processor (I use this one)

 

Macaron Shell Recipe (from Laduree)

275g ground almonds

250g powdered sugar

210g egg whites

210g granulated sugar

 

1.  Mix almond meal and the powdered sugar in a food processor. Be careful not to grind too long, otherwise it will form a paste.

2. Sift the almonds and powdered sugar. Set aside.

3. Weigh out granulated sugar.

4. Weigh the egg whites.  Beat them slowly on a low speed until foamy. SLOWLY add the granulated sugar to the egg whites as you beat.  Once all mixed, increase speed to medium and beat until a firm meringue forms.  You want a firm meringue with glossy peaks but not stiff peaks.  They should defy gravity and remain in the bowl if you turn it upside down.  If you tilt your bowl to the side and they are sliding out, keep beating.

5. Add the food coloring gel and mix.

6. Then fold in 1/3rd of the almond/sugar mixture into the meringue with a silicone spatula.  Once combined, add another third of the almond mixture. Add last bit.  This batter requires more deflation during this step since it creates such a poofy meringue.

7. Add the batter to a piping bag.  Pipe in rows using your template onto parchment paper.  These macarons are a bit bigger than your usual macarons – 7cm in diameter.  To make my template I found a round glass that measured 7cm and drew around it.

8. Pick up the pan and beat until the counter.  The cookies need to rest on the counter between 30-60 minutes.  They are ready to go in the oven when they are dry to touch (the shell shouldn’t stick to your finger)

9.  Set the oven to 300F.

10. Bake the cookies for 15-20 minutes, one sheet at a time. They are done when they look kind of matte and seem firm when you lightly tap on them.  You can always rescue a slightly overcooked one with the maturation process that comes later, but you cannot rescue an undercooked one!!   The cooking time really depends on your oven.

11. Remove from paper once completely cool. If they stick to the paper, they aren’t cool yet. Or you undercooked them.

miam miam

White Chocolate Cream Filling

  • 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
  • 85g granulated sugar (about 1/4 cup + 2tbsp)
  • 1 cup milk (doesn’t matter whole milk vs nonfat, I used 1%)
  • 29g cornstarch (3tbsp)
  • 119g white chocolate (4ounces)
  • 28g butter (2tbsp)
  1. Beat the egg, egg yolk, and the 1/4 cup of sugar together in a mixer until pale yellow and thick. This takes about 4 minutes.
  2. Add the cornstarch, mix on medium-low until mixed in.
  3. Mix the milk and the remaining 2 tbsp of sugar on a saucier pan over heat.  Bring it to a boil.
  4. Once boiling, pour half of the milk slowly into the egg mixture and whisk constantly.
  5. Then pour the entire mixture back into the remaining milk in the saucepan.  Bring up to a boil to thicken on low.
  6. You must whisk continuously to make sure that it doesn’t burn on the bottom, This takes several minutes.  If it burns, you must throw away and start over.
  7. The pastry cream will suddenly thicken.  Once it thickens, add the white chocolate and mix together thoroughly until chocolate is melted.  Remember we are only melting the chocolate, not cooking it!
  8. Put a piece of saran wrap directly onto the surface of your cream and place it in the refrigerator.  Let cool for 1-2 hours before using.



Assembling the macarons!

 

On one shell, form a ring of blackberries on the edge.  Using a piping bag, pipe the white chocolate cream into the center of the blackberry ring.Then put another macaron shell on top to make a sandwich.  For looks, pipe a little dollop around each blackberry so it appears to be sandwiched between white chocolate cream.

For garnish, pipe a little dollop of cream on top, add a blackberry, and sprig of fresh mint. Voila! You, too, are a pastry chef!

Below is a picture of what I mean by putting the blackberries on the edge and adding the cream to the center.  As you can see, my recipe was inspired by a raspberry rose version I had in Paris.  Except… I never saw a blackberry one there! So I came up with my own!

this is what I mean by putting a ring of berries on the edge and piping cream into the center!

These were really very good.  I struggled with piping the larger 7cm macaron shells. The oven here is super crappy, in fact, we are getting a new one. I had the oven set at 300 and it ranged from 250-350F!  You just have to practice. I had some trays of flops… and some trays of nice ones!  I am very happy that these turned up with feet and I got the perfect flat top too!

 

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Weekend Whimsy!

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I almost forgot about weekend whimsy this week!  I’m quickly writing this before I head into work…

A tour of some of England’s Stately Homes… I love this! 

While this is technically a baby shower, I do love the French theme of this party!

Kate Spade announced plans for a new line of activewear, home goods, and baby.  Save your money now!!

As I still have a bunch of peaches, I like this recipe for peach iced tea. This will be nice for next week when the high is near 110!

The Converse chuck taylor, one of my main shoes that I wear, is getting a redesign for the first time ever.  Nike is adding softer inserts to it. 

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Happy 2nd Blogiversary!

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You’re invited to…. my second blogivesary party!  Last year we had a little blogivesary party like Marie Antoinette in Versailles (and then for my 30th birthday in real-life!).

This year we are going to a nice little dinner in Napa on some private grounds…

First you will enter through the gates below…

then drive up this tree lined driveway…

You’ll then stroll along the pretty private grounds hearing the pitter patter of the fountain…

 …and eventually find this beautiful affair…

 …where we would dine under the vines with lights dancing like stars above our heads…

…we would feast on some dinner under the warm evening air…

 …before diving into this beautiful cake for dessert!

Hope you all enjoyed my little pretend soiree in Napa today! I can’t believe it’s already been TWO years since I started blogging.  I have had a lot of fun continuing to run this blog. 

I love everyone’s comments; sometimes it takes me a little while to respond because I do work a full-time job “in real life”.  If you’ve never left a comment here and enjoy reading my blog, leave me one today! 

Thank you for reading my little blog! 

If you aren’t following me, you can follow me here : bloglovin, instagramtwitterpinterest, and google plus.

I am going to highlight some of my readers’ most viewed posts from the past year!

You loved the Laduree Paris Tea Room Review…

You liked my Paris packing list ideas…

 You loved the orange blossom macaron recipe…

 You loved the taupe, greige, and grey kitchen round up…

 You liked this French country lavender table..,

And most recently, this blackberry peach galette with cinnamon ice cream!

And lastly, you agreed last Fall that Starbucks’ pumpkin scones sucked and were curious why they were recalled.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog!  Also, I won’t be doing a Friday Favorites this week since I did this post instead.

linking up at: Thursday Favorite ThingsFoodie Friday & Everything Else

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FitBit Charge HR review

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I have had my FitBit Charge HR for a month now and am ready to write my review!

There are several different FitBits available.  I purchased the Charge HR.  What that means is that it tracks steps, sleep, miles, calories, and my heart rate.  The heart rate monitor was essential for me… I can track calories burned during exercise more accurately.

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FitBit Charge HR review

Here’s a look at the home screen…

 It tracks and trends your steps for the week.  I love getting the 10,000 steps!  However, it doesn’t happen every week like it did on this one.

 It also tracks floors climbed.  As you can see, I don’t climb a ton of floors.  I live in a single story house.

It tracks your exercise too… You can do biking, walking, running.  Here I did my PiYo and walking.  If you use it while on the treadmill, it will NOT count your steps *unless* you have your arm swinging down at your side. If you arm is not moving the FitBit assumes you aren’t either.

 What’s cool with the charge HR model is that it lets you track your sleep.   It shows you how many times you were restless and how many times you woke up.  As you can see, I like to sleep at lot and sleep pretty solidly through the night.

 It also tracks your sleeping pattern over time.  In the screenshot below, I was working various shifts during various times of day.  As you can see, it totally messed up my sleep. I mean one night (which is actually when I slept during broad daylight) I only slept 3 hours.  People who work night shift and swing shifts have chronic sleep deprivation… You can see that evidenced below.

 … then I went on vacation.  And had a normal circadian rhythm like the rest of the world.  Check out how I consistently slept the nearly the same duration every night!

Here is a sample of a work out I did on July 4th. I went bike riding this day.  You can see how my work-out truly went. It measures your heart rate during your work out! It calculates your target HR based on height, weight, and age.

 It also takes resting heart rates when you sleep.

If you have friends or family with a fit bit, you can add them as a friend and challenge them! It’s kind of fun (if you’re winning!)

It can also do calorie tracking with food that you enter manually into the system.  I haven’t done that (yet). 

I sync mine with my iPad and iPhone without any problems.  I find the battery lasts about 4-5 days.

PROS

– It helps me exercise. I like getting 10,000 steps!

– It allows me to better calculate my burned calories while exercising.

– It lets me know how I am sleeping which helps me with my night shift planning

– did I mention it motivates you to exercise? I think that’s really the biggest plus and is worth mentioning again.

– It lets me measure how far I walked!

– You can sync it up to other apps and map your runs

– the battery life is long and can be easily recharged

CONS

– it did cause a rash on me one day. To avoid this, I recommend taking it off right away after exercising and cleaning it regularly. 

– if you do swimming for exercise, it doesn’t count it

– it’s not 100% accurate.  My mom’s fitbit and my fitbit will measure different steps for the same distance, which is expected that there will be some variation but it shouldn’t be a large difference.

At first I thought the fitbit looked really ugly and I would never wear it… but now that I’ve been wearing it around I barely notice it on my arm!  I got it in the black because I thought that would be the least annoying of all the colors.  The color selection is below…

There is a wide range of FitBit products.  The fitbit flex is the most popular and allows you to change arm bands with Tory Burch accessories!  But for me, the heart rate monitor was necessary and was only available on the two fitbits on the bottom right of the picture below.  FitBit also makes a scale that syncs with their program.  Here is a comparison of all the different models!  I considered other tracking devices but thought this one delivered the most bang for the buck!

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Multnomah Falls and Wahkeena Falls Loop Hike in the Columbia River Gorge

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As you may or may not know, I grew up in the suburbs of Portland, Oregon.  One thing we did almost every weekend in the Summer was to go on a hike.  One of my FAVORITE hikes is the Multnomah Falls – Wahkeena Falls loop hike.  It is located in the scenic Columbia River Gorge

If you love waterfalls, then this hike is for you!  There are officially 8 named waterfalls but the numerous little falls that “don’t count” as you hike your way up and down Multnomah creek and Wahkeena creek.

Multnomah Falls!

For my trip, I started at Multnomah Falls (mainly because there is a bathroom stop there).  Multnomah Falls is Oregon’s tallest waterfall, falling 620 feet. Only 3 waterfalls in the whole US are taller!

a snail friend

You start at the Multnomah Falls parking lot (get there early otherwise there will be no parking!).  Just follow the crowds to the bridge… then keep going.   You go up a whole bunch of switchbacks and you will end up at the top of Multnomah Falls. Years ago you used to be able to look right over the cliff but someone committed suicide there so the viewpoint is now a ways back from the cliff.

Dutchman Falls

Now at the top of the falls, continue on the Larch Mountain trail.  You follow along Multnomah creek past a whole bunch of bigger and smaller waterfalls. It is so pretty!

Weisendanger Falls

You then will come to Wahkeena Trail #420, heading to the right. Go to the right!  You will climb uphill through a ferny forest.  Although there is no waterfall, it is really pretty!

pretty ferny forest, sorry for blurry iPhone picture

You will end up at a 3-way junction.  Go straight.  The trail will go downhill and reach intersection for Angel’s rest trail #415.  If you want to see Wahkeena Spring, head further up only 0.1 miles. I highly recommend doing that!   This is no ordinary spring!  It is literally a creek just flowing out from underground.

Wahkeena Falls
steep switchbacks. Can you count how many? there are 4.

Now, turn around and head back down.  You will follow Wahkeena creek down the mountain.  You will meet another stream coming into Wahkneea Creek at Fairy Falls.  This waterfall is so pretty! If you need to cool off, sit on the log bench or stand in the mist of the waterfall.

Fairy Falls!

Continue on downhill, enjoying the sights and sounds of Wahkeena creek.

Wahkeena Creek

You will eventually reach some switchbacks and find yourself at the base of Wahkeena Falls.
Continue down the paved trail to the road.  Follow the return trail #442 eastward back to the Multnomah Falls parking lot.  This section is next to the Scenic Highway. Do not walk on the road, you will get hit by a RV!

base of Wahkeena Falls

The trail is 5 miles long.  The elevation gain is 1600 feet and it is moderately difficult.
To get to the hike, head east on I-84 from Portland.  Take exit 31, the Multnomah Falls exit.  Do not leave any valuables in your car!

For a more scenic route, I highly recommend taking the historic Columbia River Scenic Highway.  Take it at exit 22, Corbett.  Travel 3 miles up the hill to the top were the road makes a “Y”. Go left and head east on the Scenic Highway.  Multnomah Falls is 10 miles East.

To see Wahkeena Springs just come bubbling out from the ground, check out this pretty video!

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Weekend Whimsy

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Hey everyone! It’s the weekend so you know what that means… weekend whimsy.  I round up a few of my favorite links from around the web that I’ve found.  I’ve had a few people request for pictures with my links… I would love to BUT for now, my internet is super slow.

Oneota Falls

Check out these most elaborate hedges and topiaries. They are so beautiful!

Do you love MacKenzie-Childs??  Take a virtual tour inside the MacKenzie-Childs Estate!

I’m sure you’ve heard of Birch Box by now or some other boxes of the sort.  Well, Hermes is getting in on the box business… it’s called the Petite H box.

While we were at the Chateau de Versailles during our vacation trip to Paris, we learned that every year there is a period masquerade ball held once a year.  Anyone can attend, but the caveat is that you must wear period-appropriate costumes! How much fun! check it out here.

The Nordstrom anniversary sale opens to the general public this weekend.  If you haven’t checked it out, here are my picks for the sale!  This sale is unique because it offers Fall 2015 clothes on sale BEFORE the season instead of clearing out old styles!

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Friday Favorites

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Hey o! It’s time for Friday Favorites!

Nicky Hilton’s Wedding Dress
How beautiful is this wedding dress that Nicky Hilton wore to her wedding last weekend?  It is custom-made Valentino gown costing $75,000!  Isn’t it just beautiful?  The bride is beautiful too, of course!

Normally I would not be a fan of the sleeved gown with the turtle neck, but this is such a beautiful creation I love it!

I am sure the pictures do not do the gown justice.

Isn’t the bride just stunning?

But even when you’re a billionaire, your wedding day cannot be perfect.  The driver of this Bentley (!!) drove over part of her veil!  Luckily it did not wind around in the wheel well, but I am just horrified for her!  And this was on her way TO the ceremony, to make matters worse.  

She married a Rothschild and got married at Kensington Palace.

THIS PIZZA
I know, the picture is blurry.  But this pizza was soooo good.  It is from Kaleidoscope pizza in Medford, Oregon.  It has fresh spinach, red pepper, mushrooms, garlic, mozzarella on garlic olive oil.  It is soooo good.  I’ve put my husband on a mission to try to figure out how to copycat one of these.

MOONSTRUCK CHOCOLATES
Ever heard of them?  They are a local chocolatier in Portland, Oregon and they make the cutest chocolate truffles!  Look at them below! A school of clown fish! From left to right: sea salt toffee, peanut butter, raspberry, and blackberry. So cute and delicious!

The other flavors we tried were: peach (left), vanilla caramel (middle) and lemon (right).  The lemon truffle was to-die-for.  Like how these look? You don’t have to go to Portland to get some, you can have some shipped from their online store here. (no I wasn’t paid by them to write this, but I’ll gladly accept payment in the form of chocolate hint hint)

MOVE COMPLETE!
I just wanted to give everyone an update about my moving: our stuff FINALLY arrived. Only 10 days late.  It arrived the day we headed up to Portland… went to Portland… came back and now we’ve been busy unpacking like mad!

We moved out into the country on a couple of acres.  It’s my parents house but they don’t live here.  They are letting us live here in the meantime…. I will tell you what we did with a big announcement in a separate post!  I started a new job this week too.  I was so super stressed out but it has gone well. One problem in the country though is the internet.  We had major major internet problems that just got fixed last night.

wahhhh I need the internet.

Written at http://peoniesandorangeblossoms.blogspot.com

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