TRAVEL DIARIES: 10 THINGS TO DO IN PARIS

Paris is of course my favorite city, and I have had the pleasure to see it twice. I would go back every year if I could, but hubby is not a fan of seeing anything twice. There is just so much see and do in Paris, if nothing else just taking the city in would be my favorite thing to do. Everything is just so pretty there! I could go on and on about what to do and see in Paris, but here are my top 10 things, apart from the main attractions of course, which include the Louvre, the Pantheon, Moulin Rouge, Sacré-Cœur, the Palace of Versailles.

1. Visit Laduree for tea and macarons on Champs Elysees (obviously)
2. See Eiffel Tower sparkle at night

3. Climb Arc de triomphe - and enjoy the panaromic views of the city and the Eiffel Tower

4. Shop at Galeries Lafayette for designer brands

5. Visit 31 Rue Cambon - Coco Chanel's apartment

6. Watch sunset from the Eiffel Tower

7. Take a walk through the streets of Paris, even on a rainy day

8. See Cherry Blossoms in March/early April

9. Take a long but a magnificent walk from Arc De Triomphe to the Louvre

10. Explore the St. Germain neighborhood

DIY: CREATE YOUR OWN WALL ART FOR GALLERY WALL

I have been seeing a lot of prints everywhere, especially with the popularity of the "Gallery Walls". A good gallery wall is a combination of art and photography, and even some fun quotes. Not wanting to purchase yet another print I decided to get a little creative and made my own art!

Now it is NO secret that I love Diptyque. I have stumbled upon some diptyque candle prints online, some on sale and some people have done just for fun. So I decided to give it a shot, and here it goes step by step!

Materials:
1. Blanks piece of Paper(s), depends how many you want to do
2. Pencil
3. Fine Black Artist's Pen (I got mine from Chapters Indigo on sale!)
4. Diptyque candle votive (optional)- instructions below

Now place the piece of paper on the candle and simply trace out the pattern. This can be a little tricky so do it lightly with a pencil, and then refine with the Artist's Pen later.

However, if you don't have a diptyque candle (because well they are a kind of expensive) you don't have to go buy one, follow the instructions below:

1. Simply Google "dyptique candles", or click Here

2. Click on the candle you like

3. Trace the outline from the screen!

4. Remember to trace the glass outline and the candle inside

Once you have the rough outline of the candle, darken it with the Pen

Fill in the details and embellish the letters. I went for the rough look, but you can make it sleek and polished, and voila! How easy is that!

Once you are done one, it is so much easier to the rest, because now you just have to trace the paper. Or better yet, you can photocopy the pattern and write in the name of the candle later, saves you so much time, and gives it a dark professional looks.

Here is the final product. DIYs for beginners like me :)

Anna with Love shop

It is no secret that I am in love with Paris, and I have dozens of my own photos of Paris that I love to admire. But when I came across Anna with Love's Paris collection I was amazed at the details. I love how she focused on details that make Paris so beautiful and unique. I am especially crazy about the "Gold" details in all the prints..here are some of my faves!

 

She also just released a square collection, okay wow! I like how it is easy to create a gallery wall with square photos, it gives it a clean modern looks, and with all these colours and metallics it would be one stunning gallery wall! So head over to her Shop right now, I know I will be ordering a few of these beauties!

Gloomy Monday

It is a little chilly today, started off sunny but getting pretty cloudy now. By the time got around to taking a few shots it was straight up gloomy, so that paved the mood for today's shoot. Oh and my phone case that I ordered from Sealoe shop has arrived! So with gloomy weather and monotone case..I give you my first black and white shoot. I love colour too much so I can never have all black and white home or wardrobe, but that doesn't I can't have a black and white day.

My Laduree Obsession

If you ask anyone that knows me, they know that I am kind of addicted to Macarons! Well who isn't really! Since I first discovered them through blogs in 2008, and tried the original Laduree Macaron in 2009 in Paris..my life has never been the same! I have tried macarons all over the place, but nothing compares to the original Laduree. Everything I have a friend visit Paris (which thankfully happens often enough) I ask them to bring me back macarons, of course. So when my husband's friend went to Paris last month and brought me back some Macarons..but never did I expect such a big box! He got me 2 dozen macarons! I had almost forgotten how amazing Laduree's macarons really were, almost like little piece of heaven with in every bite!

This is probably the longest intro I have ever written for a blogpost..but it is only because I LOVE these colourful little cake/cookies ;) Something this beautiful must of course be photographed first, and that was probably the hardest thing I had to do...WAIT! So I gave myself half an hour to do what I gotta do and then sit back and enjoy..I can't share with you the amazing taste but I hope this pictures give you an idea..because they taste even better than they look!

 

Pretty little things..

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. I, as I predicted on Friday, had a busy one! But all is calm again and I share with you my latest experiment. I have always loved pink, but kind of kept it a secret. I don't wear much pink and there is no pink around the house either, but with all things spring I feel I can get away with immersing myself in Pink without being called "girly". This gives me chance to openly display my love for this colour and it feels great!

I am a tea addict, and I am always looking for ways to make it as pretty as I can. I mean why not right, this is one moment I have to myself and I want to make it as pleasing to my eye as possible..so of course I would do it with a lot of Pink!

My husband laughed when I told him that I bought "Pink Himalayan Salt"..to be honest more for the colour than anything! It is the prettiest shade of blush. It does come ground up or in solid form seen above. And best of all, it comes with the cutest little grater to grind the solid chunks! 

This beautiful flower is actually the lid to the a lovely candle I bought from Anthropologie. Not only it smells heavenly but once the candle has run out, you are left with a blush and white ceramic container..win win!

If you asked me to pick my favorite item from the picture above, I really couldn't tell you..I am totally in love with all of them..

Blush roses.. *sigh*

So here it..my girliest shoot yet and I love it! It is difficult as we try to be everything at once, and try to make things "others" will approve but it is nice to be honest with yourself sometimes so you can get true joy out of things you really love.

Tea Mug: Anthropologie| Square dishes: Urban Barn| Ceramic Candle: Anthropologie| Paris Calendar: Anthropologie via Anna Bond| Himalayan Salt: Homesense