Paris!

Our trip to Europe was a dream come true... 2 weeks, 4 countries, 2000 photos. I could take a week to tell you about each wonderful place we visited on our little European tour, but I'll try to keep it to one long post per country. I'll start off with our last stop and my favorite: Paris!

The architecture was stunning...

The gardens were gorgeous...

And the food was perfection.

The shopping was fabulous and the store displays were gorgeous...

We did see some of the famous attractions: Notre Dame, the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower...

Review:
Paris was beyond wonderful. I am literally aching to go back. There is so much more in Paris and France that I need to experience. I loved it all... the sights, sounds, tastes... I'm trying to burn in all into my memory so I never forget.

The absolute best part of our time in Paris was getting to be with our dear friends, Seb, Mala, and their sweet son Elliott, who live in Paris. They showed us an amazing time, and we're already longing for their company.

Food: A+++ 
This is Paris! Every meal was a culinary adventure. The bread was so fresh, the pastries so divine, and the cheese so scrumptious and never-ending. Also, crepes with Nutella is my new favorite thing to crave. The restaurants and cafes were much smaller than we're used to, but the service was great.

Scenery:
Paris had the most beautiful architecture of any city we visited. It seemed every building was adorned with amazing sculptures, gorgeous stonework, and gilded peaks. It was almost too much to look at!

Accessibility:
Honestly, I don't know how we would have managed with our friends. I never felt like I had a handle on the city, like I did with our other stops. The transportation unions were on strike during our visit, but we still managed to get around just fine, we just had to plan our timing a little more carefully. We saw most of the city on foot, which I loved. It allowed us to see all the wonderful little side streets and quirky buildings, plus helped us to work off all the amazing food we were eating.

People:
Not as many people in Paris spoke English as in some of our other destinations. Almost all signs and announcements were in French only. However, everyone we asked for help was kind and friendly. We had heard such stories of Americans being hated overseas, that we were pleasantly surprised to be so well received. ;-D

Want to see more photos from Paris? Check out my FB album.

Weekend Glimpse

It was a laid-back, watch cartoons and play Star Wars kind of weekend...

These activities were largely determined by the presence of my nephew.

We made some Rice Krispie treats, assisted by an X-wing.

(I make them the right way, with a scoop of peanut butter... and sometimes drizzled in chocolate and caramel.)

I also played nursemaid to our stray-turned-teddy bear, Montreal. He's had a rough week: two trips to the vet, one trip to the veterinary ER, one surgery and another scheduled for Thursday. He's going to be just fine, but he did give us a little scare... I think he's doing it all for the belly rubs.

Not pictured:

- a nice little wander through Target ($3 embroidered t-shirt, yay!)

- Mexican food, yummy

- homemade bread

- photo editing (first Europe post tomorrow!)

- root beer floats

- instant stream Netflix (best. thing. ever.)
- winning Three Bad Seeds' giveaway! (check out their shop here)

Flowerlicious

Wishing my weekend involved a gigantic flower... does yours?

via 100 layer cake

from the wedding of Brittany + Paul

Organic Wooden Toys

Love these organic wooden toys and teethers by little alouette...

These would make a great gift for a new baby! Each piece is made from locally sourced hardwoods and crafted by hand in a workshop filled with "cups of tea, laughing children, and disco music." Gorgeous works of art, good for baby, and affordable to boot!

1. Wee Woo Owl (Teething Toy), $15
2. Wood Toy Stacker, $25
3. Free Play Dinosaur Set (Teething Toy), $28
4. Wee Wood Circle (Teething Ring), $10
5. Waldorf Handle Rattle (Teether), $19

Wedding Flowers

I mentioned that Annie and I had done the flowers this past weekend for a friend's wedding. Here's a few more shots of the floral goodness...

Cake topper

Bridal bouquet

Corsage

Centerpieces
I heard from the bride the morning of the wedding that there wasn't much for the centerpieces, so I quickly threw these together using what I had on hand: mini white pumpkins, bud vases from Ikea, and leftover flowers.

We used deep red roses, pink tipped roses, orange spray roses, yellow button mums, hypericum berries, burgundy carnations, and leaves that the bride had made out of paper. It was a small wedding, and the flowers were done on a budget, but came out looking like a million bucks. The addition of the paper leaves really ramped up the design. The boutonnieres were my absolute favorite, but of course I neglected to get a photo them. The bridesmaid's bouquets turned out darling as well, but again, no picture. Next time I'll try to get more photos, and some of the creating process too.

Butterscotch Custard

Note: A few of you have been clamoring for Europe pictures... I promise I am working on it. It's been a little crazy around here since we've been back. I was hoping to have the first batch ready for today's post, but that just didn't happen. So hang in there a little while longer, and next week there will be photo overload.

This butterscotch custard could stop an army, it's so good. Delicately sweet, thick and smooth, an unexpected love.

Butterscotch Custard

2 1/4 c. milk
1 c. heavy cream
6 T. unsalted butter
1 c. light brown sugar, packed
3 egg yolks
1/4 c. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. salt 

2 tsp. vanilla

In a saucepan, combine the milk and cream over medium heat. Once it simmers, turn off the heat and set aside. In a separate saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Stir in the brown sugar,  and cook about 5 minutes, stirring constantly, to caramelize the mixture (it will be thick).Whisking constantly, gradually add the brown sugar mixture to the hot cream mixture. Put the egg yolks in a  bowl, whisk lightly.  Combine cornstarch and salt in a medium bowl, gradually whisk in about 1 cup of the hot milk mixture, blending until smooth. Gradually whisk in the egg yolks, whisking the mixture constantly. Add the egg mixture back to the hot cream, whisking constantly, and cook over medium-high heat until thick and just boiling. When the mixture thickens, there will be a few large bubbles boiling up to the top. Remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla extract. Pour custard through a sieve into a large bowl (to catch any small lumps). Pour into 6 cups, ramekins, or mugs and chill, uncovered, at least 2 hours or overnight. Serve chilled, garnish with whipped cream.

recipe adapted from here.

I chose to serve it in tea cups, since the color reminded me of milky tea. Since there is no dye in the recipe it won't be the bright orangey-brown we're used to associating with butterscotch.

***

This custard was a hit at the Halloween party, and since I didn't want to deal with dozens of little ramekins, I served it in a large bowl, garnished with a chocolate spiderweb.

 To make the spiderweb, I traced the rim of the bowl onto a piece of paper. Using a variety of bowls, cups, and a spice jar, I made a series of declining circles inside the rim outline. I taped the paper down, laid a sheet of wax paper on top, and taped that down. Using melted chocolate in a squeeze bottle, I traced over the circles in chocolate, then immediately dragged a toothpick from the center to the edges to create the lines. I let it harden, then gently peeled off the wax paper and popped the web on top of the custard.

I made a spider too, but I preferred the simpler look of just the web.

To make the custard a little more pumpkin colored, I added a few drops of food coloring to the custard with the vanilla: 2 drops green, 4 drops red, 2 drops yellow.

Weekend Glimpse

Annie and I did flowers for a friend's wedding, here's a quick shot of the corsages.

James and I crashed on Saturday afternoon for a catnap.

The glorious spread at a friend's Halloween party (Cory and I were ghosts).

Not pictured:

- hanging Cory's Alice show at another gallery

- steak dinner, so good we ate it twice

- not enough sleep

- Butterscotch Pudding (recipe to come!)

- good times with friends and family

Umbu Lumiere

Love these lamps by Umbu! 

1. Sewing Patterns

2. Mountain Maps

3. City Maps

Book Projects

After making the paper wreath, I've been on the lookout for more book projects. Here are some fun ones!

This table centerpiece from Style Me Pretty is stunning, simple, and inexpensive!

A hollow book safe is Nancy Drew chic. Make your own, or buy one like this from conduit press.

 This gorgeous installation (by Cath of California via simplesong) would be easy to recreate with some styrofoam balls and a circle punch.

 If you find your book collection is stacking up around you, turn those piles into a table or fort!

(I've lost the original sites of these last 2 images, if you know who they belong too, please leave a comment so I can give the proper credit.)

Rabbit Love

Loving these gorgeous printed plates by The Storybook Rabbit!

Europe

I have just returned from a whirlwind European adventure... 2 weeks in London, Sweden, Switzerland, and Paris. It was utterly amazing and I have so much to share, but first I need a shower and some sleep.

I have a billion photos to unload and edit, so for now I'll leave you with this low-res shot (House of Parliament in London.)

Weekend Glimpse

I hope you had a good weekend, I sure did. ;-D

Paris Love by Elgarbo Art

Favorite Personal Blogs

Mollie Greene writes about her family, her work, and the passing of time. She makes everything sound fascinating.

Annamaria Horner isn't someone I know personally, but I've been reading her blog so long, I feel like I do. She writes about her gorgeous fabric and her delicious children.

Wishful Thinking is by sweet Christin, and she posts about her projects and things that inspire her.

Favorite Craft Blogs

How About Orange is a fount of all things crafty. Jessica is a fabric designer, but in addition to posting textile related projects, she features down-loadable freebies, design quizzes, and great how-to's.

Oh Happy Day features a lot of party-related inspiration, included some of the coolest invitation ideas I've ever seen.

At the Art of Doing Stuff, Karen will teach you how to do everything from make a soap dispenser out of a vintage soda bottle to darning a sock.