2015 - Petite Haus

Angelina June 18, 2015 Uncategorized

Starbucks Mobile Order and Pay Review

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Ok, bonus post today! I love going to Starbucks. But sometimes it is so busy I don’t go. They aren’t worth 20-25 minutes to wait. I’m busy. Today they rolled out their new mobile order and pay. And I tried it. Here is my review…

First this only works on the Starbucks app. I am using my iPhone to order. You have to have your location services turned on in the app for it to work. You also have to be a member of my Starbucks rewards. It’s free, so if you’re not a member you need to join as you get free drinks. Mobile ordering is not available for android. Sorry android users.

To order, click on the upper right hand order button in the app, as circled in yellow in the picture below. I hid my address and account info in blue, so ignore the blue in all the pictures.

Next, place your order online…. You can customize how many pumps of syrup you want, whipped cream or no whipped cream, extra shots, type of milk, etc. You can also order food.
Then you pay. I used my Starbucks card.
And voila! Order ready in 2-5 minutes. So I headed off to Starbucks which is 2 min away.

We walked in and picked up our drinks. They were ready for us at the counter where you normally pick up the drinks. There were no lines and it was super easy to use. I love this new idea from Starbucks. It took me about 6-8 minutes total… Basically the drive to and from home. I was inside Starbucks for less than 1 minute. It was super nice. I wonder how this service will hold up on super busy Friday mornings. I will use this in the future. No lines, no wait. This was great! Finally, a new thing from Starbucks that I like… After all, I’m still a bit disappointed with their pumpkin scone fiasco and La Boulanges sucky food.
Review written at http://peoniesandorangeblossoms.blogspot.com
I was not compensated by Starbucks to write this post.

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Angelina June 17, 2015 france

10 Tips for Surviving the Louvre – Trip to Paris

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On our fourth day in Paris, we put on our walking shoes and headed to the Louvre.

The Louvre is one of the largest museums in the world. It is also the most visited museum in the world. And it is HUGE. I have been there FIVE times and I still see new things every time I go.

The Louvre houses the Mona Lisa along with over 35,000 objects. I can’t explain to you how big it is until you see it for yourself. Which is why you need to read some tips about how to survive!

1. Get a Museum Pass
The museum pass website is here. It shows all the locations where you can purchase it. I recommend purchasing it BEFORE you go to the Louvre, so that way you can get into the shorter museum pass line.

2. Get there early
The Louvre opens every day at 9am. The line will be the shortest then. You want to try to beat the tour groups. The museum pass line on this trip was by the pyramid; we tried to enter at the Carrousel du Louvre but the workers made us go to the pyramid. In previous years, there used to be NO LINE underground in the Carrousel. This time there was a long long line full of Chinese tourist groups. Many years ago there used to be a quiet side entrance but it is now a group entrance (or at least it was the day we were there!). I recommend trying to enter at the Carrousel du Louvre first before the pyramid.

get to the Louvre at opening. And try to avoid this pyramid entrance!

3. Do NOT go on Mondays
Mondays are the busiest day. The museum is closed on Tuesdays. We went on a Wednesday. Do NOT go on the first Sunday of each month because admission is free. You might save a few bucks going, but you will be so swarmed with people it will not be enjoyable.

Venus de Milo

4. Get a map
The Louvre is BIG. You will get lost. Even if you have a self-guided tour book, still grab a map. It’s so easy to wander around looking at the beautiful objects around each corner. You could waste a day looking at things you didn’t intend to see, which leads me to #5…

big empty gallery with no one in it! Amazing!

5. Come up with a game plan
If you can, try to plan out what you want to see first and then come up with a game plan. I recommend seeing the most touristy things first in the day – like the Mona Lisa. If you want to see the Mona Lisa, head straight to the Italian Paintings in the 13th-15th centuries section. We went straight to the Mona Lisa at opening and there were only 15-20 other people in the room. Also head to the Winged Victory and Venus de Milo. They are 3 biggest attractions in the museum. We tried to follow Rick Steves’ 2 hour tour of the Louvre – which I kind of liked. If you have a short attention span, I recommend that self-guided tour.

The Mona Lisa. Overrated yet you still have to see it!

6. Don’t forget to look up!
Remember, the Louvre used to be a palace and is where the Kings of France used to live. The palace started construction in the 12th century.

7. Pack a bottle of water
The Louvre is huge and you will do a ton of walking (miles, literally!). It is also hot. Even when it’s cool outside there are just so many lights and people so it gets hot. You will get thirsty and NO there’s not a drinking fountain around. I also suggest a small non-messy snack too. There is a food court in the Carrousel du Louvre that sells expensive food court items, which was okay when we were super desperate. There is also an Angelina’s cafe in the Louvre with Angelina prices.

Laduree has a stand in the Carrousel du Louvre so you could have a macaron snack…

8. Watch for pickpockets
Yes, a pick pocketer can buy tickets to the museum and steal stuff from you when you’re busy staring at the Mona Lisa! The horror! Yes, seriously. It’s a serious problem in Europe. We actually saw someone get pick pocketed while he was taking a picture. Watch out!

Ancient Egyptian antiquities was cool.

9. Understand you aren’t going to see everything
It’s just too big of a museum. Oh well, guess you’ll have to come back again. and again. and again. And pretty soon you’ve been 5 times and still haven’t seen everything.

my favorite painting

10. Dress appropriately
Bring comfy shoes. Dress in layers. Some areas of the museum are really warm because there are a lot of bright lights and a lot of people. Bring a zippered bag to hold your things.

Hopefully these tips will help you on your big trip. I’m including some other pictures I took while inside the Louvre…

a giant tulipiere! It was taller than me!!

You can visit Napoleon’s apartments.

Love the scroll work on this gate…

Don’t forget to look outside, you might have a nice view…

I have written many posts about my travels to Paris. Click here to see them all.

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Angelina June 15, 2015 france

Trip to Paris – Champs Elysees and Tuileries Walk

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On our third day in Paris we spent most of the day shopping and dining.

We started our day off with breakfast at Laduree. We had breakfast in their tea room at their Champs Elysees location. You can read the full blogpost about it here.

Laduree Paris

Laduree Paris treats

After our filling breakfast, we went to the Louis Vuitton store headquarters. We spent quite some time there staring at all of the pretty purses, shoes, and accessories. I mean, after all, it IS 5 stories tall!

Peonies & Orange Blossoms buys a LV in Paris! Ooh la la!

I was SO excited to buy a LV in Paris that I had to have a picture! I don’t normally share pictures of myself, but I couldn’t resist! I wrote a blogpost about buying a LV in Paris and the fact that it IS cheaper to purchase there. Definitely a total splurge but I will have it forever!

We then strolled along the boulevard and eventually climbed up to the top of the Arc de Triomphe.

Oh, and my Dad told me this story when we were walking along the Champs Elysees. He was there one day in August in the 90s and there were all of these people lined up and there was a finish line… for something. So then all of the sudden this bicyclist comes rushing through and crosses the finish line first and… no one cheered. He thought it was SO ODD, why was no one cheering? Then another crosses, then another. Only to be met with silence. Then all of the sudden, everyone starts yelling and cheering at someone wearing a yellow jersey who was clearly not the first to cross the finish line. And the yellow jersey was the winner!! He thought to himself, what a typical French sport, where the one in front is not the winner. Turns out he was watching the end of the Tour de France!! This was before us Americans really knew about the Tour made famous by Lance Armstrong. How funny!

Don’t you just love the view from up here?? This was at the top of the Arc de Triomphe. I love the beautiful Spring green of all of the trees.

One of my favorite things to do is to stand on the top of the Arc de Triomphe and watch the cars go around in the giant traffic circle below. It’s amazing that no one gets hit. Every once in a while you can find the same car going in circles ’cause they can’t figure out which way they’re going!

Paris Metro

We then strolled along the tuileries garden. We crossed over the Locks of Love bridge. We didn’t add any lock. Apparently the French just cut off all of the locks and won’t be allowing people to put locks on the bridge anymore due to the weight of the locks on the structure of the bridge.

We then went to the Tuileries. The Tuileries garden was so pretty. The tulips were still blooming, the trees were still blooming, and then the other trees had just put on their green leaves! My friend had gone 10 days before and the trees were just blooming and none of them had leaves! Paris at the end of April is beautiful!

I just love how manicured the trees are… all perfectly cut into rectangles.

When people ask me, “What is your favorite thing to do in Paris?” My answer is not “visit the Eiffel” or do other touristy things, it is instead: Pick up a pastry at Angelina’s and walk over to the Tuileries and have a little picnic and eat it. The gardens are so beautiful and it is so much fun to just people watch. It’s really about just enjoying life. Isn’t that what vacation is about?

okay, not a pastry from Angelina’s but from Laduree. Angelina’s didn’t last long enough for a picture!

That concludes day 3 of our Trip to Paris!!

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

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Angelina June 13, 2015 Uncategorized

Weekend Whimsy #12

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Is everyone getting excited for Summer?? I am over here! Check out the links I found this week…

I love this glamorous gray showhouse kitchen! I love the tile going up the wall.

An English Country Life… I love this little English cottage with the chickens and sheep!

23 ways to use Lavender… with all that lavender that’s growing in everyone’s gardens!

Smart everyday cooking tips from 10 celebrity chefs.

The most elaborate hedges and topiaries… love the rabbit and the elephant!

posted at http://peoniesandorangeblossoms.blogspot.com

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Angelina June 12, 2015 friday favorites

Friday Favorites!

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It’s Friday which means another edition of Friday Favorites!!
Cute Strawberry Tweets (err, Treats)

I went to a Tea Party this week and someone made the *cutest* strawberry birdie treats! Look at them! They were almost too cute to eat. But then my stomach said ‘eat it!’ so I did. It was really good! The nests were made out of chocolate rice kripsies and coconut. The strawberries were filled with a cream of some sort. I forgot to ask for the recipe, so I did a pinterest search and I think they are from this recipe.

Macarons
I’ve been busying baking macarons these past two weeks. As I’m moving up to Sacramento, I’ve been busy baking these for my coworkers as a big thank you for all of the good times these past few years.
This time I’ve made pistachio and salted caramel. They are good. If you’re interested, you can get the recipes here: pistachio macaron recipe and salted caramel macaron recipe. These pics were posted on my instagram last week.

Pistachio Macarons

If you’re wondering what the dark spots are on the shells of these salted caramel macarons, they are from the outside of the almond. For this batch I had used almond flour from Trader Joe’s… and let me tell you, never again! The dark spots drove me nuts.

salted caramel macarons

Sailing in Newport Beach

This past week we went to my friend’s wedding. They got married on a yacht in Newport Beach. It was so much fun! I really enjoyed sailing around in the Harbor where the sea was calm. We were all dreaming about which pretty house we would buy if we were billionaires.

S’mores Frappuccino Review

This past week we finally got around to trying to new S’more Frappuccino at Starbucks. I, for one, am not a *huge* frappuccino drinker. I normally drink coffee in the morning and the frappuccinos are really too sweet for a morning coffee. With that said, we tried the S’mores frappuccino in the afternoon. To my surprise, it was actually pretty good. Per Starbuck’s website, it is a Marshmallow-infused whipped cream, milk chocolate sauce, a creamy blend of graham, coffee, milk an dice, finished with more marshmallowy whipped cream and a graham cracker crumble. Whoa. Let’s for one not pretend for one second that this isn’t a milkshake with coffee in it. Because that’s what it is. It wasn’t sickeningly sweet like I find most of the other frappuccino’s. Granted, I only had a few sips of this drink. I’m not sure I could drink a whole tall one of these… maybe one of the new mini sizes. But, at 320 calories a drink, this is no daily ritual. Anyway, I think it’s worth trying for a sip or two. But for the rest of the time, I’ll stick to my Skinny Caramel Macchiato.

Charles Faudree’s “Country French Legacy” – The New Book!!!!

French Country Legacy

french country kitchen

I just got Charles Faudree “Country French Legacy” in the mail this past week. OMG, I loooooove it. I spent several hours pouring over the pages studying everything. There is just so much to look at in every picture. I love how inviting his homes feel. I noticed I really love blue in the bedrooms and red in the study. I love how he mixes all different fabrics together. I also love how he decorates with a lot of animals in the paintings and figurines he chooses. I could go on and on about how much we all love Charles Faudree, but if you haven’t bought his book yet then you need to! You can get it at the link above!

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Friday Favorites with A Little Bit of Everything, Momfessionals, 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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Angelina June 10, 2015 spring

Pink Peonies Table Setting

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Taking a break from blogging about my Paris trip to share my pink peonies tablescape!

As you all know, I LOOOOOVE peonies. They are my favorite flower. I mean, I named my blog after them!
This post may contain affiliate links. See my disclosure policy.

When I saw them I knew instantly that they would look good with my black “Country Estate” Juliska.

I found this pink ombre ribbon at my favorite store in Southern California – Roger’s Gardens. Ironically it was the cheapest thing I’ve ever purchased there… $5 for a whole roll of ribbon!

To add some extra pops of pink, I brought over my favorite antique Staffordshire swans to the table.

Let’s look closer at the peonies… you can almost smell them from here! They had a nice scent.

The peonies lasted for a week and then wilted. Too bad!

One last photo collage of my favorite table!

pink peonies table perfect for birthdays, bridal showers, or weddings!

You can also follow me by clicking on these: bloglovin, instagram, twitter, pinterest, and google plus.

Written at http://peoniesandorangeblossoms.blogspot.com

linking up at: The Scoop! Metamorphosis Monday and Tablescape Thursday’s Inspire Me Tuesday Lou Lou Girls Moonlight and Mason Jars Wow us Wednesdays! Creative Ways Share Your Style Work it Wednesdays Thursday Favorite Things Your Turn to Shine Home Sweet Home Feathered Nest Fridays Foodie Friday & Everything Else The Inspiration Gallery

Friday Favorites, 2 Bees in a Pod, My Romantic Home, amaze me monday

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Angelina June 8, 2015 france

Paris Trip – Walking in St. Germain des Pres and The Eiffel Tower

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On the second day of the Paris trip, we woke up at 3am. Yeah, whoops. Jet-lag is not fun. So naturally, we were up early and ready to go see the Eiffel Tower.

Paris Trip Day 2 Review

view of the Eiffel tower from the Place du Trocadero

Unfortunately we did not know that early in the morning the sun shines directly into the camera at this view of the Eiffel Tower. The BEST place to take a picture of the Eiffel Tower is at the Place du Trocadero. You can take Metro line 6 or 9 and get off at Trocadero. Follow the signs from the metro to “Tour Eiffel”… and voila! It is approximately a 5 minute walk to this view.

Obviously this was the best place to take Eiffel Tower pictures, as we saw 2 bride and groom couples taking pictures here. How romantic!

On this trip we did not go to the top of the Eiffel Tower. There is a long line even when it opens early in the morning. I have a phobia of heights and wasn’t too fond of going to the top again, and it wasn’t a must for my husband. So we saved the extra Euros (ha, to use on my purse!)

The Eiffel Tower from below

From the Eiffel Tower, we headed to St. Germain. We stopped at the Cluny Museum (now called the Museum of Middle Ages) which is a medieval museum in St. Germain. We sat and enjoyed the famous Lady and the Unicorn tapestries. The tapestries were made around 1500.

Lady and the Unicorn tapestries

They were SO beautiful. What you can’t see in the pictures is actually how much they shimmer with the metallic thread that was used. I highly recommend going to see them if you’re into textiles… the museum entrance fee is included in your museum pass.

There were some other tapestries too, like this one with sheep! Love it!

After that museum, we strolled and shopped along the streets of St. Germain de Pres. We saw this pretty hand carved wooden door with angels and fruit. How fancy!

The streets of St. Germain de Pres were so much fun to walk around on. We saw pretty buildings and cafes, such as the Cafe de Flore below. We did not eat here as it was $$$, however I’m sure it would be fun! Next time I go, I would probably want to stay in St. Germain de Pres. Or at the Ritz. ha!

We went to Pierre Herme, which I already blogged about. Did I mention that I LOVED the rose ispahan croissant and that you need to try one? Oh I did? okay I’ll stop. for now.

macarons at Pierre Herme

Once we picked up our pastries, we walked to the nearest square which had this beautiful old fountain. We sat here for about an hour or so and enjoyed our treats.

Oh, I HIGHLY recommend bringing plastic utensils in your bag so you can enjoy your treats in a park like this. Otherwise you’ll have one big mess on your hands!

We walked by famous stores, like the oldest chocolatier in paris, A La Mer de Famille! We did not buy anything here as we were already full from Pierre Herme! This chocolate store was super cute though!

Other places in St. Germain de Pres area that we shopped at were… Herve Chapelier, Le Bon Marche, Faconnable, La Maison du Chocolat, Louis Vuitton, Pierre Herme. We walked by Le Jacquard Francais but did not buy anything.

For lunch, we bought sandwiches at Le Grand Epicurie which is next to Le Bon Marche. We then sat in this cute park and had a picnic enjoying the flowers and watching the pigeons and people.

We decided to check out the Palais Garnier (the Paris Opera House). Despite going to Paris five times, we had never set foot inside the opera! We decided to check it out this time! And WHOA. It was beautiful. The great part is is that they use it still for productions today. We thought about getting tickets to a show but did not. How much fun would that be??

I felt like the Phantom was going to come out from behind a wall and start singing in this place… (If you did not know, the Phantom of the Opera was inspired by this opera house!)

After that, we crossed the street to go to Galleries Lafayette and Printemps. Honestly, Galleries Lafayette was a hot mess. SO MANY PEOPLE. While they did have some reasonably priced scarves, it was so crowded we were over-it and left. Printemps was much less crowded and we enjoyed something to drink in one of their cafes. But after a long day of sightseeing, we were pooped.

We eventually made it back near our temporary home… walking down pretty streets like the one below…

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

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Angelina June 6, 2015 Uncategorized

Weekend Whimsy!

We use affiliate links in our posts and our site. This means if you make a purchase using these links, we may earn a small commission. You don’t pay a cent more than you would otherwise! Our full disclosure is available under About.

Alright, I’m back this weekend with another edition of weekend whimsy! I’ve gathered around some of my favorite reads from around the web and am sharing them with you!

//ONE//

I really enjoyed this round-up of farmhouse exteriors. I’m kind of diggin’ the white farmhouse with metal roof thing.

//TWO//
I know you all like flowers. You need to check out the pictures from the Chelsea Flower Show in London that occurred just recently. I’ve officially added attending this show to my bucket list.

//THREE//
I liked these great graduation desserts from Martha Stewart. I know you’ll probably have to attend (or throw) a graduation party soon, so check out link for some great ideas.

//FOUR//
Ever spilled candle wax on something? This guide is great for getting candle wax out of things. I totally did the iron/paper towel trick once when I got wax down the front of my sweater.

//FIVE//
Apparently Flying Tiger Copenhagen from Denmark is going to try to give Swedish powerhouse Ikea a run for their money. Ever heard of them? Me neither, but apparently they’re coming to the USA. They seem to have a lot of neat things for your desk and such.

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Angelina June 5, 2015 Uncategorized

Chanel Paris Salzburg Campaign – Friday Favorites

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This week for Friday Favorites I’m going to dedicate my whole post to one thing: The Chanel Paris Salzburg fashion show. Yes, I know I’m a little late to jump on the bandwagon since this show initially premiered in Salzburg in December 2014, but it wasn’t until I saw an ad in Vogue for June 2015 that I knew anything about it. The collection launches for purchase this June, so let’s have a closer look:

I stared at this ad for a second and thought, oh, Pharell is modeling for Chanel. Cool. Then I had a closer look… Is he wearing… Lederhosen?? YES! And she is wearing… boiled wool and… edelweiss! WHAT?!
It is like… high fashion meets Tyrolean design. Auch, du meine Liebe! And my heart swooned at boiled wool, the boots, the wool sweaters, and the edelweiss. Now, I can only hope that the style will trickle down to the masses so it can be affordable for people like me!! However, I know this style probably won’t appeal to the masses as most people probably aren’t into these looks. However, as I have a love for all things German (that includes Austrian) and French, naturally I love these!!

I’m sharing my favorites from the collection. It was hard not to include every look! You’ll have to click for more at the jump because there are a LOT of pictures in the post and I didn’t want the whole page to take forever to load.

I’ll start off with one of my favorite looks. Love the coat, the lederhosen, the Bavarian/Tyrolean hat with the feathers. Naturally I love the black leather boots too!

I would wear this.

Loved the green boiled wool coat…

Loved the white military wool coat with the lace up boots…

Love the jacket plus the little boy’s outfit! I love the blue military style of the jacket and I love the lace up blue tall boots!

Love the leather shorts and the hat; you could rock this at the Oktoberfest!

A very fine coat green wool coat to wear….

Also love this red coat…

I love this wool jacket as well, with the red piping on the edges! Of course I love the black boots too. I’m seeing a pattern with these lace up boots!

I love the wool sweater, the coat, the leather shorts, the tall socks but most of all I love the shoes… yes those are edelweiss on the shoes!!

Love the sweater and tights!

I love this whole look, but especially the pants. I would totally wear this.

Yes there were male models in the show too. Chanel does lederhosen. I also like the traditional coat. Granted, his pants are kind of tight.

Love the pants but I love how the classic Chanel tweed jacket has an Austrian flair.

Love the Austrian flair on this tweed as well.

I just liked this white outfit… the classic Chanel suit.

Love the cape but love the shoes with the flowers even more!

I love the sweater, the tights, the hat, the purse, and the clogs!!!

Love all the little German patches on the purse with traditional ribbon edges. Again, notice the clogs and tights! I don’t know what to say about the pink Leia hair ear muffs though.

You can look tres chic at the Oktoberfest in the outfit below…

I LOVE the edelweiss shoes. And the whole look.

I saw jackets like this red one below on my travels to Germany and Austria.

I think this jacket may be my favorite. Again I love the shoes and I also like the hat!

More guys modeling traditional wear with boiled wool coats and lederhosen. I bet you didn’t even notice that he was wearing lederhosen.

How cute is this little boy? He’s apparently Karl Lagerfeld’s godson.

I just love the sweater set below; not a fan of the skirt or tights. Notice the clogs!

Modern German/Austrian mens wear. Although I think the pants are a bit too tight.

Like this look as well…

While the model is swimming in this coat, I like the coat, the sweater, and the hat! I think lace-up boots are going to be coming in fashion as well.

While this dress is ho-hum, if you look closely she is wearing pins of pretzels and edelweiss!

I liked this men’s sweater and pants.

Love the hat and jacket.

Love this take on the traditional dirndl. I like the traditional ribbon on it.

I also love the look of this traditional dirndl. However, you can’t see in the picture that all of the flowers on the dress are actually beaded. This is a fancy dirndl!

One thing I wanted to point out is how the hair was styled… A lot of my relatives like to wear their hair with ribbons in it which I know comes from the German in them! I love it and I love that’s how the looks were styled! I also totally loved all of the hats with the feathers!!! I have a traditional hat but never wear it. I also have a dirndl.

hair ribbons with edelweiss in the center, love it!!!

I found some close-ups of some of the shoes and a bag…

I think I need these Edelweiss loafers.

More pictures from the ad campaign… like the jackets? Notice the green boiled wool bag that looks kind of looks like lederhosen?

Maybe Pharell can make German-Austrian wear cool to wear?? The shoes on both models are fun, and of course the little boy is cute as a button.

All of the pictures are from the official Chanel website. You can see the whole collection and watch the official show by going to the Paris Salzburg Chanel campaign. The campaign launches for sale this month (so we can experience sticker-shock).

Written at http://peoniesandorangeblossoms.blogspot.com
Foodie Friday & Everything Else at RattleBridge Farm
Metamorphosis Monday at between naps on the porch
Friday Favorites with A Little Bit of Everything, Momfessionals, 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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Angelina June 3, 2015 france

Paris Trip – Walking the Il de la Cite

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As you know, I went to Paris this Spring. And now I’m finally blogging about it. First I blogged about my experience at Laduree. Then I blogged about Pierre Herme. Now I’m going to start blogging about my sightseeing experiences during the trip. You know I first had to write about macarons though, so now that that’s out of my system…. onto Day 1.

The first day in Paris was what I call zombie-day. Zombie day is when you get off the 12 hour plane flight (if you’re flying from the West Coast), go to your hotel, shower, and walk around the city like azombie because you’re so tired and jet-lagged.

Well, walk we did!!

First up, we headed to St. Chapelle, which is the most beautiful church ever. It was built from 1239 to 1248 for one of the King Louis. St. Chapelle cathedral is located on the Il de la Cite, just down the way from Notre Dame.

What’s amazing about this church is the beautiful stained glass that seemingly reaches to the heavens.

What’s amazing is that the stained glass is original and has survived through all of these years!!

On our way to Notre Dame cathedral we tried to go to the Marche aux Fleurs (the flower market), but on Sundays it turns into an aviary. We did find some flowers though…

An art nouveau metropolitan sign…

Next, we waited in line to see Notre Dame Cathedral. I don’t have a picture of the front of the cathedral- you all know what it looks like.

To enter the cathedral, you pass by these *massive* doors. How beautiful is the scrolling ironwork on them??

… and then you see this sight. Whoa. Hard to believe that this was built starting in the 1100s. It was built form 1163 to 1345. Almost 200 years!

People still attend mass weekly in this cathedral. I would too if I lived nearby! It is so amazing.

Everyone always talks about the Rose Window, which is pictured below. But frankly, I think the stained glass of St. Chapelle is prettier and you can see it better. The Rose Window is situated really high up so you can barely make out any scenes on it!

After our tour of Notre Dame, we strolled along the Seine River. It was such a beautiful day.

We then headed over to Ile St Louis to famous ice cream maker, Berthillon. Waited in a long line there but it was worth it! I’ll blog about it later.

We walked down these cute little crowded streets, trying to stay awake and enjoy the scenery. My favorite thing to do in Paris is to take a stroll, get a pastry, and sit in a park and people watch. C’est la vie!

And that concludes our first day in Paris! We followed this self-guided walking tour. In Summary, it was a short day because we only had the afternoon to explore. We headed to the heart of the city and visited St. Chapelle cathedral and Notre Dame cathedral. Both of these are must-visit. Notre Dame is free admission and St. Chapelle is available through the Museum Pass (which I recommend). We then strolled along the Seine, enjoyed world-famous Berthillon ice cream, then called it a night… and woke up at 3am the next day. Whoops!

Notre Dame with the River Seine

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

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Angelina June 1, 2015 france

Pierre Herme Macarons Review

We use affiliate links in our posts and our site. This means if you make a purchase using these links, we may earn a small commission. You don’t pay a cent more than you would otherwise! Our full disclosure is available under About.

As you all know, I have a love for macarons. Naturally, on my trip to Paris, one of my main missions was macaron tasting.

Before I left, I read loads and loads of reviews of Pierre Hermé macarons and pastries. Imagine my excitement when I finally made it to the patisserie!

a review of Pierre Hermé

When you walk into the store, you are greeted with a sight of this…

French Macarons

and this… ooh, la la! There were a lot more pretty pastries at the counter but they only allowed us to take pics of the macarons.

We were on a mission: try as many macarons as possible!

French Macarons

In fact, we *may* have gone there a few times and tried different flavors…

french macarons

Before I start reviewing each individual macaron flavor, I NEED to talk about the best pastry I’ve ever had. EVER. #bestpastryever.

See this below. Yeah, that croissant. Yeah yeah, it looks like a croissant with bacon sprinkled on it. This is NO ordinary croissant. It is the ROSE ISPAHAN CROISSANT!!! (yes I’m yelling with excitement!)

So what is it? It is a buttery croissant that is perfectly baked with a crunchy outside and a buttery inside. The outside is covered in a rose-flavored almond cream with candied rose petals sprinkled on top. The inside is filled with a raspberry flavored litchi pate.

Before I went I wasn’t *too* excited about this croissant. I don’t like rose flavored stuff and I am not a fan of litchi. But when I tried it, it was like a little piece of heaven from the pastry gods. It is really just so good, I can’t sing enough praise. Here’s a hint: get one before noon because 1. they sell out and 2. the shelf life of a croissant is only 4 hours after it is baked.

the famous Rose Ispahan croissant from Pierre Herme

Ok, moving on to the macarons… All of his macaron shells are perfectly baked. They have a smooth top with perfect feet. They have the perfect crunch when you bite into them and then a little chewy in the center.

The Mosaic macaron…

It is a pistachio, cinnamon, and cherry macaron and I LOVED it.

Mosaic macaron

The “Huile d’Olive a la Mandarine” aka Mandarin Olive Oil Macaron…
This was my favorite macaron. The flavors were so interesting and really went well together. I highly recommend trying this one.

Mandarin olive oil macaron

The Infiniment Caramel aka Salted Caramel Macaron…
This macaron was one of my family’s favorite. The salted caramel was *perfect*. If you are new to macarons, this one you MUST try. Or if you’re a macaron mad like myself too.

salted caramel macaron

The infiniment Rose macaron…
this was a rose flavored macaron. It was okay. I’m not a huge fan of rose flavored dessert because usually it seems like I’m eating roses. I would skip on this.

rose macaron

The Envie macaron aka vanilla, violet, and blackcurrant…
This macaron was SO GOOD. I just loved the black currant flavor with the vanilla and violets. It is an unusual flavor and one you don’t taste very often. I highly recommend it!

vanilla, violet, and black currant macaron

Infiniment Vanilla macaron…
This vanilla macaron was made with pure vanilla beans. It was extremely rich in vanilla flavor. It was the best vanilla flavored macaron I’ve ever had.

vanilla macaron

We also tried the Celeste macaron, which is a passion fruit, rhubarb, and strawberry macaron. The picture I took of it was really blurry, so there is no picture. As far as the macaron flavor, it wasn’t my favorite. I didn’t really like the flavor of passion fruit with the almond shell.

Okay, moving away from macarons and onto a last minute decision to try this citron tart! When you enter the store, there is a whole row of pretty looking pastries, so this lemon tart caught our eye!

This lemon tart was SO delicious. The lemon flavor was really strong but not in a bad way. The candied lemon skin on top was really nice. The crust was good. Normally I don’t eat tart crust but I did on this one! This was just a really good lemon tart! I highly recommend trying one!

Pierre Herme Citron tart

Okay, last patisserie we tried was the Rose Raspberry Ispahan Macaron. It is one of the pastries that Pierre Herme and Laduree are famous for. It is raspberry macaron with fresh raspberries with rose buttercream inside. It is a rose petal on top as garnish.

Now, ironically, while this is the prettiest looking of all of these sweets, this one was my least favorite! It wasn’t BAD, it just… wasn’t as good as everything else! It sure does look pretty!

the beautiful Raspberry Rose Ispahan Macaron by Pierre Herme

My FINAL review for Pierre Herme:

All of his creations were absolutely delicious. The macarons were perfection. His flavors were interesting but really good. When going to his store, I HIGHLY recommend the rose ispahan croissant, followed by a macaron flavor of your choice. I’m sure if you chose another patisserie it would likely be delicious as well! I strongly recommend you stop by his shop if you are in Paris, even if you are only there for a day!

Which macarons are better? Lauder or Pierre Herme? Mystery is answered!

Macarons from Pierre Herme in Paris, go ahead and use this as a cell phone background!!

Now, time to answer the big question…
Which macarons are better, the ones from Pierre Herme or Laduree?
First of all, let’s talk about the shell: Pierre Herme bakes his macarons using the Italian method while Laduree uses the French method. This website explains the difference. The end result: both shells taste the same to me. Every macaron that I tasted from both macaron houses had perfectly made shells with perfect feet. They know how to make macarons. The difference comes with the flavors…

The flavors are definitely different at both places. Pierre Herme makes more intense unusual flavors like… olive oil and mandarin. As you’re eating Pierre Herme’s macarons, they have more notes to the flavor and are more complex. Laduree’s flavors tend to have one note to them… but that note is very good. But when comparing the same flavor, for instance, the salted caramel macaron, it was very good at both places. So, I would consider it a tie when comparing the same flavor. If you are looking for more interesting complex flavors, head to Pierre Herme. If you’re looking for more standard flavors, head to Laduree.

Now, I have to choose a winner. I really want to say it’s a tie. Because really, it feels like a tie. But that’d be lame. I hate ties. I must choose a winner… so I would say the winner is Laduree. And this is why I choose them: I thought to myself, if I could only choose one macaron to eat and could only go to one store on a very quick trip to Paris, which one would I choose? I would choose Laduree’s orange blossom macaron. It is just that good. But in reality, if I go to Paris again, I would head to both stores multiple times. However, the rose ispahan croissant at pierre herme is better than any of the macarons. so there.

HELPFUL HINT: I highly recommend bringing plastic utensils with you to Paris so that way you can enjoy your pastries in the park without making a huge mess.

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

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Angelina May 29, 2015 Beauty and Fashion

Bridal Shower Gifts… Gifts for the Bride!

We use affiliate links in our posts and our site. This means if you make a purchase using these links, we may earn a small commission. You don’t pay a cent more than you would otherwise! Our full disclosure is available under About.

With wedding season coming up, I know we will all be going to a bridal shower this year. Instead of doing a #weekendwhimsy post this weekend, I thought instead I would share some of my favorite gift ideas for the bride-to-be. It’s kind of like weekend whimsy because it does include a bunch of links for my favorite gifts!

I like to focus on things that pamper the bride and help her get ready for the big day!
This post may contain affiliate links. See my disclosure policy.

Bridal Shower Gift ideas for the Bride!

//1// A cute bridal chemise, such as this blue one from Oscar de La Renta is sure to be a win.
//2// A signature scent for your wedding is a must – I love this Jo Malone London Orange Blossom Cologne (no duh, look at my blog name! Did you know orange blossoms were worn in the floral wreaths of Victorian era brides??)
//3//The bride will surely love Kate Spade “Mrs.” Necklace
//4//This makeup bag is see-through and makes it easy to find your make up: Wedding belles makeup bag
//5//The bride could light this lovely Voluspa Bourbon Vanilla candle while she relaxes in a bath
//6//Help the bride catch some much needed sleep the night before with a Cosabella Lace Eye Mask
//7//This nail polish color is the quintessential bridal color: Essie Nail Color, Mademoiselle
//8// This Verbena Body Salt Scrub helps clean the skin so it’s smooth and silky
//9// Once you’ve scrubbed with the salt scrub, apply this luxurious L’occitane Almond Oil for baby like skin!
//10// The bride can place her pretty rings in this cute Amore ring dish
//11// A wedding wouldn’t be complete without a Hanky Panky Bridal Keepsake & Tossing Garter Set
//12//Skin care is uber important, this Here Comes the Bride pampering kit from Philosophy is nice.
//13//I had this handy little kit at my wedding, it has lots of essentials in a small container, check out the Mini-emergency Kit For Brides
//14//And of course, a cute set of panties are a must! I like these: Hanky Panky Bride & Mrs Signature Lace panties

What is your favorite gift that you have either given or received at a bridal shower?? Share your ideas in the comments! Other ideas below…

EDITORS NOTE: oops, I accidentally hit the wrong button so this published early. I guess you will get two posts for Friday but none for the weekend. Sorry!

linking up at: The Scoop! Inspire Me Tuesday Lou Lou Girls Moonlight and Mason Jars Wow us Wednesdays! What’s it Wednesdays Creative Ways Share Your Style Work it Wednesdays Thursday Favorite Things Your Turn to Shine Treasure Hunt Thursday Foodie Friday & Everything Else Pretty Pintastic Party The Inspiration Gallery Friday Favorites @ Diary of a real housewives

Written at http://peoniesandorangeblossoms.blogspot.com

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Angelina May 29, 2015 friday favorites

Friday Favorites #3

We use affiliate links in our posts and our site. This means if you make a purchase using these links, we may earn a small commission. You don’t pay a cent more than you would otherwise! Our full disclosure is available under About.

I am back with another week of Friday Favorites. I have been having fun writing Friday Favorites as it gives me a chance to write about things or share this that aren’t quite long enough for a whole blog post.
This post contains affiliate links.

Salad You Need to Try

healthy white bean salad

One of nice things about Summer is that fruits and veggies are fresh. I found a salad recipe on Pinterest and it was so good I have to share it with you. It is a white bean salad with avocado, tomato, and onion. That’s it. Super healthy and super tasty. Adding this to our Summer line up. Because the dressing doesn’t have any mayo or yogurt, it would work well for a BBQ.
Lemons

When life gives you Lemons…

When life gives you lemons (or when your Uncle does)… You make lemonade. And lemon cake. And lemon flavored zucchini. And salad dressing with lemon. I made this lemon cake which was so incredibly good. The recipe is from the Barefoot Contessa and surprisingly it uses Greek yogurt in the recipe to help cut the calories. All the other pound cakes call for 1-2 sticks of butter! Yikes!

my lemon cake picture as proof I made it!

French Country Group Boards

join a group board!

I have just discovered group boards on Pinterest. I know I am late to the game with this. It is so confusing to try to figure out how to join a group board! So I started a new one, French Country Decor with easy instructions on how to join! I know there are a few others out there. That’s ok. I also started a new google plus community that doesn’t require an invite. Can you believe no one had done that yet?

Favorite Shoe

the valentino studded pink flats

I don’t know why but I have been loving these caged studded flats by Valentino. I have been seeing them everywhere online and in the store. I just love them! It’s like a delicate ballerina flat went punk. I also love them in all black. Only problem, I know these will look terrible on my feet!! All pointy shoes do! When you wear size 9.5, the point easily makes your foot look like a size 11 or 12! A dainty shoe turns into a clod hopper! I guess this will remain on my lust list.

Game of Thrones
*SPOILER ALERT*
You know it wouldn’t be a Friday Favorites without me writing about my current favorite show- GoT! This week, entitled “The Gift” gave us a gift… Cersei in jail! It’s not like she didn’t have it coming!! When she put the High Sparrow in command, did she really foolishly think she could imprison the Tyrell family without having the High Sparrow turn on her? Religion will eventually rule the Iron Throne, for now. As for the wall, Sam needs to like with Gilly. And Sansa I think is going to eventually try to kill Ramsay with the tool she stole while he was busy trying to show off his power. What out, the little bird is going to get you! As for my old hero Jorah, he got to give his Gift (Tyrion Lannister) to the Khaleesi much earlier than I expected, but I’m afraid it’s not going to be good enough. She’s still pissed at him and probably won’t ever change her mind. Can’t wait for next week!

sorry Cersei #notsorry

Laduree Paris Review

I *finally* got my first post from my Paris post up and running! These things take time. I’m still salivating over the pictures that I took. If you haven’t seen my review already, check it out, because I review things like this pretty Lily of the Valley macaron!

ALSO, I JOINED instagram!!! You can follow me by clicking the link! It is full of pretty pictures that I don’t post on the blog (at least most of them).

Thank you for stopping by!!
You can also follow me by clicking on these: bloglovin, instagram, twitter, pinterest, and google plus.

Foodie Friday & Everything Else at RattleBridge Farm
Friday Favorites with A Little Bit of Everything, Momfessionals, 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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Angelina May 27, 2015 france

Laduree Paris – Tea Room, Macaron, and Pastry review!!

We use affiliate links in our posts and our site. This means if you make a purchase using these links, we may earn a small commission. You don’t pay a cent more than you would otherwise! Our full disclosure is available under About.

As you all know, I’ve been a little bit obsessed with Laduree’s macarons. One of my top priorities when visiting Paris was to visit the Laduree tea salon on the Champs Elysees.

Not only do I have their Sweets Recipe book, I had poured over numerous websites trying to decide what I was going to eat when I arrived! Now settle in, I have a lot to say about Laduree!

a review of Laduree Paris

We had made a reservation for breakfast at the Laduree’s tea salon on the Champs Elysees in the morning. We made it around 9am in the morning, which I guess according to how empty the salon was, it was *much* to early to eat breakfast. However, for these jet-lagged Americans, 9am was perfect timing. We made a reservation through this website.

We knew we had arrived when we spotted the pretty green metalwork outside. How cute!

Although Easter had already passed, they still had their Easter displays up complete with cute chocolate chickens. While we were there, they did change their displays to a Mikimoto display, which I forgot to take a picture of.

We bypassed the row of viennoisseries and patisseries and headed up the stairs to the tea salon.

We were seated next to this beautiful antique French clock.

I did not take too many pictures of the upstairs as I was trying to be discreet.

Below is a picture of the (free) bread they give you… and wrapped up in that pretty green package is not candy but… butter!

Now, deciding what to order was a bit difficult. The menu was pages and pages long. I *highly* recommend looking at the menu before you go. You can browse through the menu here.

The Tea Room Experience

We had both coffee (which was good) and the Melange Laduree tea. The Melange Laduree tea is the house signature tea which is a mix of black teas, rose petals, and essence of orange, caramel, vanilla, cinnamon, bergamot, and black currant. If you like Earl Grey, you will like this tea! I loved it so much I bought some to bring home. (The tea is for sale downstairs)

To eat, we started off with some pastries. We had a little pastry with raisins, an apple turnover, and a chocolate croissant. They were yummy!

For breakfast, we had the plain French toast, raspberry French toast, and an omelette. The plain French toast was very good; it was a nice brioche with pure maple syrup. But then I tried the French toast that had fresh raspberries with raspberry coulis… oh boy, that was SUPER good. I highly recommend trying that. But, what I really loved was their omelette. It was perfectly cooked. It also was very thick but fluffy at the same time. It was the best omelette I’ve ever had! I think they probably use more yolk in their omelettes (With all of that macaron baking, they will have a plethora of extra yolks). I read some poor reviews about the omelette about it being cold and I feel sorry for those people because mine was delicious!

After the waiter allowed us to enjoy the salon for several hours, we headed downstairs. A note about dining in Paris – you must ask for the bill. They won’t present it to you automatically. It is considered rude to force someone out of their seat, so the waiters will wait for your signal. A lot of Americans think that the waiters are being rude and ignoring you, when in fact, they are being nice to you and not rushing you through the wonderful dining experience! Imagine it from their view: you are paying top dollar to dine in a fine tea salon on the most famous street in the world! No rushing here!

We headed downstairs after eating to the store. Enjoy some eye candy…

After staring for a while at all of the sweets, we eventually we were able to choose some macarons to take back and enjoy later. We arrived early in the day to the tea salon and store which I highly recommend! Later in the day, i.e. in the afternoon, there will be a VERY long line to get in to not just the tea salon but the store downstairs. We had no line. That was around 11am.

I highly recommend choosing a pretty box so you can take it open as a souvenir!

Laduree Paris Macarons

Macaron Tasting Reviews

For all of the macarons we tasted, they all had perfectly baked cookies with perfectly smooth tops and perfect feet. We did not have a single one that was bad. They are fragile and got beaten up a bit as I carried my loot around Paris all morning, but that’s okay.

Laduree salted caramel macaron

Salted Caramel Macaron – The salted caramel macaron as delicious. It was one of my favorites. I have nothing bad to say about it. You MUST try this one.

Laduree cherry blossom

Cherry Blossom Macaron – The cherry blossom macaron was very pleasant. It tasted, like, well, cherry blossoms! I didn’t know what cherry blossoms would taste like, but if I were to go and eat them I am guessing they would taste like this! This one is not a must-try.

Laduree pistachio macaron

Pistachio macaron – The pistachio macaron was very very good. The shell had pistachio in it to give the pastry more pistachio flavor. The pistachio cream inside was very pistachio tasting as well. Sometimes other places’ pistachio macarons do not have enough pistachio in them for my taste. This one was VERY good. Must get this one if you love pistachios!

Laduree orange blossom macaron

Orange Blossom Macaron– Onto my *favorite* macaron from Laduree… the orange blossom macaron! This is one of their original and signature flavors. It really does taste like an orange blossom. But it isn’t too floral. It is REALLY good. REALLY REALLY GOOD. You MUST try this one. You can also check out my blog post which features their recipe if you can’t wait ’til a trip to Paris.

Laduree lemon macaron

Lemon Macaron – The lemon macaron was okay. There wasn’t anything special about it. It wasn’t bad, but… there are other flavors that are more amazing that I recommend!

Laduree raspberry macaron

Raspberry Macaron – The raspberry macaron was really good. I love raspberry macarons. The tartness from the raspberries go really well with the almond shells. Can’t go wrong with this one.

Laduree Lily of the Valley macaron

Lily of the Valley Macaron – I was surprised at how much I loved the Lily of the Valley macaron. I bought it as a last-minute decision… and I ended up just loving it. It has a really nice refreshing taste. It does taste like the smell of lily of the valley. This flavor was just REALLY good. I’ve tried to find a recipe for it online and haven’t yet…. I guess I’ll have to make my own essence of lily of the valley. This is a must-try.

Laduree macarons

Other Flavors that we tried but I forgot to take pictures of because we ate them too fast…

Mikimoto Macaron – this is a rose lychee macaron and was okay. I don’t love rose nor lychee things, so I didn’t expect that I’d love it. However, Pierre Herme’s rose lychee ispahan croissant is to-die-for.

The Marie Antoinette Macaron – the blue one in the picture above. It tastes like an Earl Grey tea. If you like earl grey tea flavored desserts, than this one is for you. I just felt like they had other flavors that are worth your money and calories that you should try first.

Ice Cream Review – Yes, we tried their ice cream. I shouldn’t call it ice cream, it’s more like a sorbet. It got hot one day and naturally we had to try it. We tried both the raspberry and lemon flavors. They were REALLY good. The raspberry was very intense in raspberry flavor. The lemon was tart but sweet at the same time. I feel like their glaces do not get enough praise. If it is a hot day in Paris, it is worth getting some!

FINAL THOUGHTS – What is not to like about the perfectly packaged patisseries from Laduree? People have complained they are over-priced… um, yeah, duh. I wasn’t headed to Paris with bargains in mind. Are there other macaron bakers in Paris that are good? yeah, sure. But do they come in cute little boxes? No. Do they have an orange blossom macaron? No. I HIGHLY recommend going to Laduree on your trip to Paris. They have several tea salons throughout the city and then several macaron selling carts scattered about in popular areas… including one in the Louvre museum and another in the airport so you can pick some up to bring home to your friends (oops, then you eat it on the long 12 hour plane flight, sorry friends!) You don’t have to do dine in the tea salon to get the experience… it was just something special I wanted to do.

My 6 recommended macaron flavors to purchase for your perfectly packaged box are: salted caramel, orange blossom, lily of the valley, pistachio, raspberry, and oh, another orange blossom!

I’m reviewing Pierre Herme next and will also try to answer the burning question… Which macarons are better, ones from Pierre Herme or Laduree?

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

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Angelina May 26, 2015 Uncategorized

On Joining Instagram

We use affiliate links in our posts and our site. This means if you make a purchase using these links, we may earn a small commission. You don’t pay a cent more than you would otherwise! Our full disclosure is available under About.

Yes, TWO posts in one day. I had a lazy Memorial Day weekend which meant LOTS of time for blogging!I’ve decided to link up my instagram account to my blog!

I have been debating about this for several months now. I don’t blog for money; I blog for fun. I already have a full time job and don’t need to worry about more visitors to help generate income. But what I do have are my internet friends, who like pictures. And I like pictures. So I thought, let’s share more pictures!

One reason why it took me a long time to come to this decision was because of anonymity. Yes, I am scared that I will attract creepy people. I wanted to protect my family because they don’t have any say about me blogging. But then I realized I don’t have any pictures of my family on instagram anyway. I don’t have kids so I don’t need to worry about them either.

I am a little nervous because I frankly haven’t told many of my friends or family that I blog. I don’t know why, I guess I feel, embarrassed? I don’t know why I feel that way, but I suppose it’s because I normally am not so open about my love for decorating and travel and antiques with the ones I hang around the most. I guess that’s a silly reason not to want to share my most favorite things with the ones I love he most! I am sure more of my friends and family will now discover that I’ve had a blog running for nearly 2 years now. Hey guys! Welcome to my blog!

Even though my instagram was not shared with my blog, it was shared with other instagrammers whom I don’t have any relationship with. So the decision was then made. I shall share my instagram with my blogging friends!!

You will notice I have a feed going back almost 2 years now. I’ve been busy! Follow me on instagram here!! I love new followers and I can easily follow you back since instagram is super easy to use. And no, I won’t try to sell you anything. I already told you I don’t do this for a dime. (Yes I know I have affiliate links but if I’m being honest I haven’t seen a penny!)

You can also follow me on the other social media sites by clicking on these: bloglovin, instagram, twitter, pinterest, and google plus.
A preview of my instagram…

My absolute favorite French cake… le Fraisier! #frenchpastries #paris #angelina #Fraisier #birthdaycake #thesecaloriesdontcount

A photo posted by @lepetit_macaron on May 8, 2015 at 9:21am PDT

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