oh, and I bought some shoes

OK - I think I am just about back to reality and done with the Paris posts. (I may have one more coming on Denmark - we actually spent most of our time there.)  So just one more mention of Parisian shopping:  I bought a couple pairs of shoes at a little shop off on a side street somewhere that I can't recall.  

They aren't super fancy French designer (though, I must say that bringing the Hubs and me glasses of champagne in your shoe department was extremely clever, Louis Vuitton, and I was very close to buckling on some LV flats) but they are nicely made, comfortable, and I am enjoying wearing them.  The brand is La Scarpa Paris and it came out to just under $140 for both pairs.  I have searched all over the internet and cannot find a way to shop for these stateside.  But - the brown suede ballet flats are very similar to the J Crew ones I've seen on Summer's and Petunia's blogs!  I wish I had bought them in another color too so I'll have to keep an eye on J Crew's ballet flats for Fall (like I wasn't going to anyway).

Sidewalk Scenes {Paris}

I know I am jumping back and forth but I still have a couple posts on the Europe trip to share! Here I just have some random shots from walking through Paris. I love the cute storefronts and charming cafes and snapped lots of pics while we were out and about.

Sale signs were plastered everywhere too - which was very exciting. Balenciaga happened to have just a very teensy tiny little sign at the bottom of a window but when we went in there was an entire wall 50% off. No such luck at Chanel, Dior, LV... of course!

and this one is from the top of the Arc de Triomphe

Le Jules Verne

the view

We had dinner at Le Jules Verne (at the Eiffel Tower) our second night in Paris but made the reservations two or three months ahead of time from the US.  Apparently it takes a while to get in here!  They check your name at the private elevator and up you go... the decor is very modern and sleek and it feels a little like you are dining on a ship (or spaceship).  The view is spectacular and the food very chic.

It is difficult for me to describe the courses but, luckily, we went with the fixed dinner menu (I did change one of my desserts), and took pictures - and the same menu is currently listed online.  So, I can share the meal here with you all!   (We also just went with the sommelier's wine recommendation.)  Here we go:

a little extra treat from the chef

roasted imperial prawns, tangy baby vegetables and vinaigrette

small violet artichokes, "barigoule" juice

pan-seared turbot, crayfish and mushrooms "a la Riche"

pan-seared veal, potatoes Anna

tower bolt, dark chocolate praline, hazelnut ice cream (Hubby's) on the right toward the back

caramel and whiskey cream dome, with coffee ice cream (not pictured - off to the side) (mine)

wild strawberries, lemon thyme 'palet', fresh cream cheese/red berries sorbet

extra treats (the marshmallows in the white bowl were de-lish!)

looking out to the Trocadero - when the lights on the Eiffel Tower started flashing (10 min every hour at dark), we watched tons of camera flashes pointed at us (well, at the Tower) going off over there!

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend... Happy Monday!

xoxo

J'adore Dior. Yes, I do.

Christian Dior on Avenue Montaigne, Paris

Of all the big names I visited in Paris last week, Dior was the most magical. Chanel was so impressive, Louis Vuitton amazing, but Dior just seems to take you back in time... You can easily picture Grace Kelly or another elegant woman from that era walking through the door when you are in this shop. I adore the light gray and white facade of the store - and - inside - just beauty everywhere you turn!

I did not make a purchase here, but since we returned I have visited the website and found the Pink Dior Cherie bag. It doesn't even pop up as an option on the US version of the Dior site and I can't find it at SFA or NM so I can't order it. But - if you go to the UK version of the site, you can see it under the Dior Signature and Logo section. They describe it as "Basket bag in pink coated canvas, 'Cannage' print with embroidery effect". I describe it as "Perfect".

So, Dior Cherie bag... you are at the top of my current handbag wishlist.

Here are a few snaps from the Ave. Montaigne store:

my girls watching the video fashion show - mesmerizing!

and look at this feathered chair - tres elegant!

a window display

Oh, but I did end up with one little Dior treat from the Nordstrom sale which we stopped by last night after dinner - the Escale a Portofino eau de toilette. I just love this fresh yet warm citrusy scent (bergamot, citron, almond, orange blossom and cypress)- and for the sale the 4.2 oz size is wrapped up with a complimentary Miss Dior Cherie moisturizer - which has notes of green tangerine, strawberry leaves, violet and caramelized popcorn! Fun!

Happy Weekend!

xoxo

Le Cinq

the dining room sometime after midnight when most people had left

I have a few more posts on our Europe trip before I return to musing about outfits, J Crew orders, and Target finds... and dinner at Le Cinq definitely deserves a mention!

Le Cinq is the restaurant in the George V hotel and our dinner there was opulent, extravagant, perfect - and lasted 4 and a half hours. I can't recall exactly how many courses we had - I believe the chef sent out little extra tastes about three times in between what we ordered - which themselves were insanely fabulous and complex. We started with a glass of champagne and followed the sommelier's recommendations on a bottle of red and a dessert wine so everything just blended together fabulously. I seriously don't have the culinary expertise to describe this meal so I will just share some snaps I took (as discreetly as I could). I did notice a couple other snaps being taken elsewhere in the room, so I wasn't the only one!

Now, these pics don't include everything, but they give a good idea! (Oh, and when you go there, your handbag gets its own little stool pulled out for it!)

one of the little tastes sent out from the chef

2009 tomato appetizer -"fog" is floating out of it around the caviar...

...the other half of my tomato appetizer... a sorbet is on the far right, next to it a tomato wrapped in some sort of thin pastry

to just say "chicken and potatoes" doesn't do this justice... two waiters brought it out in the pan and cut and plated it at the table

my dessert - a souffle with red bell pepper

Hubby's dessert - he got the Le Cinq fraisier

Hubs shared his macaron

after dessert sweets chosen from the sweets cart... Hubby had some fabulous cheeses from the cheese cart

the perfect espresso to end the meal

Still to come: dinner at the Eiffel Tower, sidewalk scenes, and a little shoe shopping!

xoxo

Petit Bateau {at the Arc de Triomphe & atop the Eiffel Tower}

Petit Bateau = Little Boat.

It reminds me of the phrase "the sea is so wide and my boat is so small", which I believe is taken from an Irish fisherman's prayer.

Ahhh... love, love, love this brand. Thank you so much to Ema for recommending this shop while in Paris. I visited the little store on Champs Elysees three times, finding loads of goodies every time. I mostly bought things for my children - and when I took them on one of the trips they found many, many things themselves that they liked - but I did manage to buy some fabulous tees for myself and also a black double layer dress that I wore on the flight home with black leggings and a pewter Jackie... sooo comfy!

Here are some snaps of my finds from the first two shopping trips (on the third I just bought a few little things for the kids and the black dress... sorry did not get a pic of that). OH! And I didn't mention most of the things I bought were between 20% to 50% off! This was a perfectly timed trip and much of Paris was on sale! My Hubby got some great things at Faconnable, including the most gorgeous pale blue cashmere sweater, and most of that store was 50% off. I also bought my girls some things at Zara & H&M with similar deals.

Shopping Trip #1

Shopping Trip #2

(The light blue striped tee is adorable - it is almost tissue weight but double-layered and reverses to a picture of a mermaid with a French phrase)

xoxo

West-End Hotel, Paris

For our entire Europe trip, my husband made all the arrangements, and he was very kind to have us stay right off the Champs Elysees for some fabulous shopping while in Paris. Being that we have small children, this was not a museum trip... we went to the top of the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe, but other than that pretty much just walked around and enjoyed the sights, looked for play areas, shopped, and ate! We did go to Notre Dame, but the line was way too long for the patience of our crew.

So we were booked at the Claridge Hotel, which is right around the corner from Laduree, but the first two nights there was a problem and they took us the 5 minute walk to a same-class hotel, the West-End. At first I was disappointed, but not after seeing the rooms! Here are some pictures - we had two triples that connect to each other. The Claridge is lovely also and I have some nice snaps from those rooms also.

Another good feature of the West-End is that when you step out the front door and look to your right, you are looking directly at the Louis Vuitton store on Avenue Montaigne. I was in that store four times, so that was handy. More on that coming up.

a great place to blog

beautiful fabrics - each room had one of these sweet single beds

OOD 7.7.09 (first day in Paris)

J Crew ruffle tank in gray, ATL cardi in black, Paige Premium denim, Tory Burch Revas in black & LV Neverfull MM:

Paris Possibility #1 by sparrowsandsparkles featuring Juicy Couture accessories

Laduree Paris (Champs Elysees)

This place is absolutely amazing! We had lunch and made a few purchases... but I am thinking I need to go back for a couple more things (for one thing, I didn't see the candles until after we left - in a window display). It was soooo crowded and soooo hard to choose.

I will let the photos speak for themselves!