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This year for my Valentine’s Day tablescape, I used a beautiful swan as the centerpiece.
The swan was purchased for Christmas, actually. I had planned to have him sit under the tree. Then I saw the feathers. We have a cat. Cats love feathers. So I perched him high above the refrigerator for Winter. I thought he would be perfect for Valentine’s Day, since swans are so romantic (except in real life, they are pretty much mean divas).
This year I set the table for two! We never go out for Valentine’s Day. We always stay at home for a night in. We prefer to cook and ignore the crowds, over priced specials, etc. Plus, I think my husband can cook better than many restaurants! Married a keeper!
Despite everything I just said above, this year we were walking in the mall as we passed a chocolate shop with its heart boxes and I told him, one day I hope you’ll get me a box of Valentine’s chocolates. He said, nope, never. OK. I’ll get my own. So I did.
So last week, I went to Ladurée, which if you’re not familiar with, is famous for its macarons. I wrote about my experience visiting the tea room in Paris here. They have a few locations in the USA now. Two are in Southern California – The Grove and Beverly Hills.
So I went and bough myself a pretty pretty box of macarons. I adore the rose on top!
The box sits on top of a stack of antique and vintage plates.
The rest of the items on the table I already had and pulled out of various cabinets. If you’ve noticed, there are a few Staffordshire swan spill vases in the center of the table as well.
I hope you enjoyed our Valentine’s Day table for two and have been inspired to spend your Valentine’s day at home for a nice dinner in!
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Happy New Year! With the new year everyone starts thinking about health and fitness. So I thought I would write about my favorite piece of exercise equipment: THE PELOTON BIKE!!!
We have had the Peloton Bike for almost 3 years and we love it. We initially purchased it because we were having trouble making time to go to the gym because of our busy lifestyle. I first wrote a review at 100 rides later which you can read here.
I thought I would show you have we have set up our bike at our house now since we’ve moved. These are pictures of our exercise area.
As you can see in the picture below we set up our tower fan to cool us while riding.
The bike holds 2 water bottles. When we are not working out we leave our towel and heart rate monitor to dry on the handle bars.
The bike holds the weights behind you. This is convenient as some of the cycling classes have an arms session.
We also keep our remove control for the fan and the much needed chapstick here.
We have an exercise mat underneath the bike to catch sweat because this bike will make you sweat!
Below are some screen shots from the app but you can do the classes also on the bike. Since writing my previous review they have added many more exercise options such as boot camp, live yoga classes, running indoor and outdoor etc.
A new feature also includes training programs. I recently finished the 4 week Ride Tabata with Robin and it was great.
During each classes the bike measures many different metrics. I have includes a screen shot of one of my recent rides. These metrics include heart rate if wearing a compatible heart rate monitor, resistance, speed, cadence, and output based on wattage.
Also they have added new badges that you can earn. These are fun to collect. As you can see I don’t do any of the boot camps but I love riding.
Another example of some of the badges. In December they added monthly challenges which is a good motivator. You can ride with friends and also earn badges as noted by these social badges below.
While you are riding you can “high five” other riders who are currently riding. This is nice especially during the hard parts of rides.
During our workouts our cat sits in her tower and sleeps while we are sweating to death.
You can also use the app on your iPad. We use this for core workouts and yoga. It is also great if you are traveling. If you don’t want to splurge on the bike you can first download the app to subscribe to see if this is something you are truly interested in.
While the bike is no where cheap at $2245, we felt it has been worth every penny and between my husband and I we use it nearly everyday. The peloton membership is $39 dollars a month.
They now have introduced a Treadmill too, called the Peloton Tread. We have been debating about it… but I hate running so I don’t know how much I’d use it. You certainly don’t have to run while using the treadmill – you can walk on it and there are walking programs in addition to programs for training for 5Ks and marathons!
My review earlier has more basic questions and answers and more of my favorite accessories – if you are seriously thinking about the bike you’ll want to read that review too! You can purchase the bike here.
Favorite Extra Equipment
Here is the equipment mat we use – cheaper than the Peloton one.
Shoe clips – hang two pairs of cycling shoes on the back of the bike on the weight rack – perfect if you don’t have a lot of space! We just store our shoes in a cabinet in the room.
These are the clips you need for your cycling shoes if you don’t buy the Peloton branded shoes.
Love these weights – they fit in your bike weight holder (at least the 1 and 3 pound did!)
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A Thanksgiving Tablescape in nontraditional colors. I know I shared this table earlier this Fall, but I made a few tweaks and a cake! Next week I’m sharing my traditional Thanksgiving table as part of a Thanksgiving table blog hop! It’s fun to compare and contrast the two looks.
If you remember, the table from a few weeks ago had white pumpkin cocottes on top of each place setting. I removed those, added some candles and a cake.
Now you can see what green plates were hiding below – these beautiful majolica plates!
Yes, we eat off of our antique and vintage china, as pictured below. I recommend not using any knives on it so they won’t scratch the dishes!
I love dining by candlelight, especially in the Fall and Winter. I pulled out my new candlesticks for this table!
Now it took me a while to find a candle that actually fit these candlesticks. These candlesticks are made in France, so of course the candles don’t come in standard US sizes. I went to lots of different stores trying to find candles that would fit. I ended up having to cut a larger candlestick to size in order to fit.
To set your Thanksgiving tablescape, you can try some new things: maybe use non traditional colors. Use your antique or vintage china. Dine by candlelight.
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Do you have vintage or antique linen? Now, ask yourself, do I use my antique or vintage linen?
If the answer is “no”, my question is… why not??
Antique linen is extremely durable – it was meant to last a lifetime and to be handed down to the next generation.
In the dining room, I’ve just left it on the table for my own enjoyment. No parties here, just me, the husband and the cat. Oh dear, that reminds me of a story what I’m calling, The Great Accident. We’re off on a detour.
There is a problem with using tablecloths when you have an animal at home. See the table below? One morning my cat decided she was going to sit on the chair and bat at the tablecloth that was dangling down. I had taken this photo the day before the Great Accident. However, her claws got caught in the lace, she got spooked, and she took off… yes, the table was set.
I had taken off the goblets and plates, but my tulipiere remained. When she took off, the tablecloth went flying with her. And so did the tulipiere. My husband knew how much I loved this vase and dove across the room trying to save it – however the vase is in three pieces. So he couldn’t decide which one to catch, and all three went crashing down separately and broke. I was sleeping, and all of the banging woke me up.
I climbed out of bed and came out to see what the ruckus was. There were tulipiere shards everywhere, flowers and water scattered on the ground, a tablecloth with a few new holes, and in the middle of this mess was my husband laying on the ground bleeding from somewhere. The cat… nowhere to be found. My husband didn’t respond to me at first so I started panicking. Then the first thing he says “is the cat okay?” Uh, yes. She is busy pretending she didn’t do this. So, we cleaned up the mess. I did a little home laceration repair with old medical school supplies on my husband’s cut hand, but the vase… broken forever. And discontinued.
About a year later, we were able to find a new tulipiere at a local store, they had still had one in stock despite it being discontinued from Juliska… yes it was pricey, frankly that’s probably why they still had it in stock! But alas, I have my tulipiere and THIS time I don’t leave it on my linens unless we are in the room, otherwise up on the counter it goes! When not in use – in the cabinet, away from the cat!
Okay, back to talking about antique linens. Yes, I know I didn’t iron my tablecloths in these pictures – but I just set them up for me so I don’t care… for a party, fine, I’ll iron them for guests.
Laundry tips for napkins: Don’t do a heavy spin, it leaves creases in the napkins! If you happen to have a mangle, run through at the mangle. If not, iron – sometimes if you have a difficult wrinkle, I recommend getting your piece wet again and ironing it when it is wet!
If your textiles have holes that are unrepairable, repurpose them to make sachets or throw pillows. Also, if you gently tug on a piece and it comes apart in your hand, it has dry rot! It needs to be thrown out.
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Let’s have a talk about baking cakes, specifically this layered Momofuko birthday cake.
So, how did I come about baking this pretty and scrumptious cake? I was recently watching the Netflix show, Chef’s Table. They came out with a new season of just pastry chefs! I was so excited because I love baking (and not so much cooking!).
The first episode was about Christina Tosi who creaked the Milk Bar empire in NYC. In her show, she was making her famous birthday cake.
I have never baked a layered cake. Never from scratch nor from the box. I have always wanted to bake a layered cake but never had the correct supplies. I knew that if I was going to attempt to make a layered cake that this would be the one! Look at it – the perfect birthday cake! A Funfetti inspired, cream cheese frosted, naked layer cake!
Her cakes are naked cakes, which means they are not frosted on the outside. This is perfect for me – one, because I don’t love frosting (and frankly the reason why I never make cakes nor cupcakes) and two, you don’t have to fret over perfecting your frosting until its smooth on the outside because it doesn’t need it!
So I set out to bake this cake. I purchased her cookbook, Milk. Everywhere that I was reading the reviewers were talking about how “difficult” this cake is. I thought, okay, challenge accepted!
Yes, you need some supplies. Such as a quarter sheet pan. And a 6″ cake ring. And acetate strips. Well, I already had acetate. I need a quarter sheet pan for my little steam oven anyway. And so really all I needed was 6″ cake ring.
You also need several ingredients that are harder to find. You need glucose. I actually just substituted 2 tsp corn syrup instead since it is hard to find. You need grapeseed oil – I have seen it in several stores, so not that hard to find. You need citric acid (which can be found in the canning section of your grocery store). Instead of citric acid I used about 1/4 tsp of fresh squeezed Meyer lemon juice. You need clear vanilla extract – which, by the way, is not vanilla extract but instead clear vanilla flavor! Yes, fake vanilla flavor (that seems to be the secret to creating your own funfetti cake!)
Okay, so you need a few specialty items. Well, fine. In reviews I was reading, people were complaining about needing specialty items. Well, do you want to make a cake that tastes really good or not?
Next, I was reading about how difficult it was because it has four parts to the recipe. The cake. The soak. The frosting. The cookie crumble. Well, break it up into parts!
To make it easier, I would recommend splitting it into two days – bake the cake and the cookie crumble on day 1. On day 2 make the frosting and the milk soak. Then you assemble your cake on day 2. Place it in the freezer overnight (or for up two weeks) as recommended. Then on day 3, take it out several hours before your event. Really, it’s not that difficult to make, especially if you spread it out over a few days.
I had a little left over cake so I made a mini 3″ cake too! Isn’t it adorable??
The cake itself is very moist. In between the layers is the cream cheese frosting and cookie crumble. The crumble adds an extra crunch with a hint of salt in this sweet cake. On top of the cake you put the cookie crumble, as pictured below.
I felt like it needed a little extra impact so picked some I put garden roses on the top. (also, note the differences in the pictures between an iPhone and a DSLR!). Doesn’t it look pretty? Well, it tastes as good as it looks!
My final thoughts – this cake was really tasty! I have never had an American-style cake as good as this one – and seriously, I don’t really like “normal cakes” and I don’t like frosting. This cream cheese frosting was the bomb. The cake was really moist. This is traditional funfetti taken to the next level. If you want to impress your party goers at your next birthday party, serve them this cake. If you can’t make it yourself, Milk does ship nationwide.
Get the cookbook and the recipe for yourself below. I’m so excited to try her other recipes too!
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PS – I wasn’t paid to make this cake or review the recipe/cookbook. I just enjoyed it and wanted to share it with you all!
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I have been wanting to make a macaron tower for a little while, so I set out to create one. It was surprisingly easy!
I was delighted when I saw my finished product – how pretty!
I thought this pretty pink tower was perfect for a Valentine’s Day post.
Finding a cone to as a base for this was not super easy.
I first went to a specialty cake supply store – but they did not have any. I thought, great, I will just have to make it so they stack up on top of each other without a base. *rolls eyes* like I am skilled enough to do that. Nope I am not.
Then my Mom had the idea to get one of the floral foam cones – so off to Michael’s we went.
And we found one! Or two actually. I bought two sizes but decided to use the smaller one in this post.
Materials Needed
Foam floral cone
parchment paper
toothpicks
macarons
First, pictured below is the foam floral cone that I used.
I wrapped parchment paper around the cone because the foam flakes off. If you do not intend to eat the macarons off the tower, then you do not need to wrap the cone in parchment paper.
Here, I cut the paper and taped it to the cone. The paper didn’t hold very well with tape, so eventually I just put a few toothpicks in it to hold it in place.
Next, cut your toothpicks in half.
Then poke one hole into the cone where you want your macaron. It needs to stick out about halfway – you need enough toothpick sticking out so that it can fully support the macaron otherwise it will fall off.
Then, gently stick the macaron onto the toothpick. *gently*. It does not take much pressure to place it onto the toothpick!
Then, row by row, work your way up until you reach the top!
This tower was approximately 4 inches wide at the base by 9 inches tall.
It took approximately 50 filled cookies to fill this size of cone in the pictures. I estimate, depending in the size of your cookie, it could take 50 +/- 2 cookies.
I used several different sizes of cookies – the largest ones are on the bottom and the smallest ones are at the top. You don’t have to do that… it just had to do with my inconsistent piping and it worked out well in the end!
You could also using frosting to attach the cookies to the foam if you do not have toothpicks. Or you could do both.
I would recommend making this the day of and just before any party you bring it to!
This is *perfect* for bridal showers, tea parties, birthday parties, or fun celebrations! It is a pretty centerpiece! I would love it if you pinned this image.
How to Make a Macaron Tower – a DIY tutorial for French Macaron Towers!
Also, if you are not up to making your ownmacarons, you could just get some store bought ones – for instance, the ones from Trader Joe’s in the freezer aisle would be perfect! It would take several boxes but you could do it!
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Vacation packing list carry on only packing essentials! Your updated guide for 2026!
I find that keeping these items in your carry-on makes you flight much more pleasant! This guide works for both domestic and international trips. I just tested this out on a 2 week trip to Europe!
Nº 2 // Noise canceling headphones– I *highly* recommend noise canceling headphones, especially for your 12 hour flights. For long flights I prefer the over the ear headphones as they are better at noise canceling.
Nº 3A //Toiletries bag– I bought this exact bag last year and I love it. It has multiple compartments. It can hang on a towel hook in the bathroom. It also comes with a clear bag that you can put your liquids in for TSA.
Nº 3B //Toiletries products holder – I bought these cadence capsules for my products and I loved them. I initially bought this set, but then I bought several other small capsules. I felt like the small once plenty for less than 2 weeks, but it depends on how much product you actually use.
Nº 4A // iPad– The iPad has everything I need… books, movies, music, and a notepad to jot down thoughts. I read my travel books on this on the way to the location I’m headed to.
Nº 4B //Kindle – another alternative to an ipad given how fancy our phones are these days, is to bring a kindle and just your phone.
Nº 5 //Camera– you need to put your camera in your carry-on so it does not get lost or stolen in your checked bag. I have a GoPro camera and I cannot sing enough praise about it for a travel camera especially if you like to hike/do adventurous things. It is waterproof, you can take it surfing, snorkeling, swimming, hiking, biking.
Nº 6 // Medicines– You need to pack all of your medications in your handheld carry on. I always bring some pain relief medication, upset stomach medication, antihistamine, band-aids, mole skin, and any prescription medications.
Nº 7 // Lip Balm – Your lips will get dry on the airplane.
Nº 9 // Snacks – This is nice to have because you never know when you’ll be starving
Nº 10 // Water bottle – I usually just buy one in the airport, that way if I’m desperate for space on the way home I can toss it. I know that it is using plastic and I’m trying to reduce my plastic use, but I do use the same one the rest of the trip. However, you can also bring your own. Note though, bring your own will increase the weight as they are usually heavier and bulkier.
Nº 11 // Hand sanitizer and Hand wipes – Airplanes are full of germs. You’ll feel better after using this, even if you washed your hands in the loo.
Nº 13 //Ear plugs – You will wish you had these when it is too noisy on the plane or in the hotel room!
Nº 14 //Scarf– The temperature of the airplane varies too much. A blanket scarf is nice for those temperature fluctuations.
Nº 15 //Travel size perfume – You’ll want to reapply your perfume just before you get off of your flight. You can use one of these to fill up with your favorite perfume. Alternatively, you can use my trick which is to bring the sample size perfumes you receive with gifts with purchase.
Nº 16 //Eye mask – You will want this for when the person next to you leaves their reading light on the whole flight. Nº 17 // Toothbrush and toothpaste – So, 10 hours into your international flight, it is now suddenly morning time where you land and you realized you haven’t brushed your teeth in approx 24 hours. You’ll be glad you brought this!
Nº 18 // Jet Lag Mask – Since I’ve created this list, a brand new beauty mask came out this year and I cannot sing enough praises about it! It’s called the Jet Lag Mask and it is seriously FANTASTIC. Like if you had to buy one beauty thing to travel with it is this mask! It makes your dehydrated sorry looking airplane skin look amazing! It seriously did wonders to my face. The great part is you don’t have to rinse it off – you just wipe off the excess after 10 minutes.
Nº 19 // A Travel Pillow – On a really long flight it is nice to have an extra pillow besides the one they give you. There is this one that has 32000 reviews on Amazon.
Nº 20 // Passport and wallet – If there’s one thing you *must* bring on international travel it is your passport. If you’re traveling overseas, you will want an anti RFID theft one because in crowded spaces/subways/buses they will use little scanners and steal your credit card information from your chip credit card.
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I travel to Paris and London frequently and I am sharing with you a guide about what to wear to these cities.
I usually go to Paris and London in the Spring or Fall, but I have been there in the Summer too.
With that in mind, I have shared some of my favorite pieces that you can layer easily.
I always fit all of my clothes onto a carry-on bag. I’ve heard horror stories of lost checked bags on international trips – especially stories of this happening in Paris because France frequently goes on strike!
Imagine going to the most fashionable city without clothes! The horror!
Tops and Tees
Nº 1 //A Breton Striped Tee– You have to wear a striped tee in France!
Nº 2 //A white and grey t-shirt – A white tee and grey tee go with everything.
Nº 3 // A Nice Blouse – You need a blouse that you can wear to a nice restaurant.
Nº 4 // Chambray Shirt – I like this shirt because it goes with everything and is fashionable.
Nº 5 // Sleeveless Shirt – It is nice to pack a sleeveless shirt or tank top because that way you are prepared for unexpected (or expected!) warm weather! Sometimes the museum can become very hot too.
Outerwear and Dresses
Nº 6 // A Black Blazer – This is essential as you can dress this blazer up or down.
Nº 7 // Long Sweater Cardigan – A long sweater cardigan is great for layering and on the airplane and for cooler days.
Nº 8 // A Little Black Dress – A LBD is a wardrobe staple and can be dressed up or down depending on the occasion.
Nº 9 // The Trench Coat – You need a trench coat that will keep you dry in Europe! It frequently rains there for all seasons, except the middle of Summer.
Jeans and Pants
Nº 10 // Jeans – The Europeans love skinny jeans.
Nº 11 // Black Skinny Jeans– You can’t go wrong with a pair of black skinny jeans. They are nice because you can dress then up or down as well.
Shoes
Nº 12 // Ballerina Flat – The ballerina flat is a must-wear in Paris.
Nº 13 // Black Booties – Black booties and boots never go out of style, especially in Europe!
Nº 14 // Mules and Loafers- If you are going to London or Paris in the warmer months, I suggest wearing some slip on mules or loafers instead of bringing booties.
Nº 15 //Retro Cool Sneaker – I have been wearing these Converse Chuck Taylors to Europe for years and every time I go, Europeans ask me where I got my shoes. *smirk, they think I’m cool*
Accessories
Nº 16 // A Scarf – You must bring one scarf with you for the plane and then buy all other scarves in Paris.
Nº 17 // A Cross bodybag – A small cross body shoulder bag is perfect for your slim camera, passport, wallet, travel umbrella, and lip gloss. Honestly though, buy a bag in Paris when you’re there.
Nº 18 // a Necklace– Accessorize your outfit with a necklace. I recommend a simple necklace as the big bold necklaces are not fashionable there. The scarf instead is worn as a statement necklace.
Nº 19 // Travel Umbrella – Who knows when it’s going to rain.
Nº 20 // A watch – I find that when I go to Europe I wear a watch compared to when I am back in the US. I usually use my cell phone in the USA, but as I frequently don’t carry my phone there, I actually wear a watch to tell the time.
Nº 21 // Sunglasses – I always wear a pair of chic sunglasses to Europe. You will find yourself walking around outside a lot (8-10 miles per day!) and you will find some sunglasses very helpful!
Shop my picks here:
If you are headed overseas, be sure to check out my guide to what to pack in your carry-on bag for the airplane flight!SaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSave
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