My Paris: L'Eclair De Genie

It was a long time coming

before I could make it 

to the famous L'Eclair de Genie...

Well, in retrospect to my entire life, I suppose.

Once we got to Paris,

we were there within 72 hours.

Since then, 

we've been back, well....
more times than I'd like to admit.

I love these pretty little things...

and dream in the Vanille et Noix de Pecan.

It's, by far, the best eclair I've ever tasted.

And, hey, when you're in France,

that's exactly what you want to have.

Flavors rotate out seasonally,

but there are typically some classics that stick.

Don't go for a cheap treat,

as they are around €5 a piece for a gorgeous-yet-small eclair.

Go for a taste of something truly special

or a treat for someone that you really fancy.

It also makes a great dessert

after a falafel from it's lovely neighbor,

L'As du Falafel.

*   *   *

For more of my Paris recommendations, check here.

*photography by Noah Darnell

The Lovely Drawer: Gingerbread Blondies

I love brownies like every other person,

but a blondie has certain mystical appeal to me.

I'm not sure why, 

but if I have the choice-

I almost always will defect from the chocolatey hero

and cling starry-eyed to it's paler counterpart.

You can imagine my wonderment 

when Teri whipped up these 

gingerbread blondies

in her kitchen

for this month's recipe.

Gingerbread yumminess

combined with a blondie

drizzled with white chocolate?

My mind was as blown 

as the first time I encountered

Slutty Brownies...

which my sister hilariously refers to as

"the Tur-Duck-En of desserts."

It's just one of those creations

you encounter that has 

so much goodness 

wrapped up in one tiny thing.

It's like, as the Brits say,

all my Christmases have come at once.

Here's Teri to walk you through

this lovely creation.

(Don't forget to read it to yourself

in a sweet English accent... it makes it so much better.)

*    *    *

These yummies may look like brownies but they are in fact gingerbread blondies and each gooey bite is worth every calorie. These are really straightforward to whip up and make a nice change to a standard brownie. They work well as a dessert with some vanilla ice cream or as an afternoon treat with a cup of tea or coffee, yum!

225g dark brown soft sugar

150g butter

4 tbsp black treacle

2 tsp ground ginger

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

125g plain flour

125g wholemeal flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp salt

100g gingernut biscuits

150g white chocolate

METHOD:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 and line or grease a 20x 20 baking tin.

2. Mash the dark brown soft sugar, butter and treacle together in a bowl with a spoon until the mixture is totally combined. Mix in the ginger, eggs and vanilla extract.

3. In a separate bowl, combine the plain flour, wholemeal flour, baking flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Add the flour gradually, incorporating between each addition.

4. Break the gingernut biscuits and 100g of the white chocolate into small chunks and stir into the blondie mixture.

5. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake in the oven for 25 minutes. Leave to cool. 

6. Melt the remaining white chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a simmering saucepan of water, stirring constantly.

7. Pour the chocolate into a bottle with a small nozzle or wrap a sheet of greaseproof paper into a cone shape and snip the end off to drizzle the white chocolate over the blondies. Leave the chocolate to set a little and then cut into squares.

*    *    *

Yum.

Teri is off to Brussels for a week,

and I'm hoping the sticky and sugar waffles 

provide some inspiration for her next recipe!

Check out her (amazing) blog,

The Lovely Drawer.

Maui, Hawaii: Mama's Fish House

I probably had 30 people tell me to eat 

at Mama's Fish House

when we annoucned we were going to Maui.

So, we did
after spending the afternoon
in the cute little town of Paia.

And it was amazing.

Now, I'm adding to the chorus

of people singing this place's praises.

Please, go if you are in Maui.

It's just such a special place.

All the Hawaiin kitsch you could imagine

and yet, the seriously best fish

you've ever had in your life.

I had the Panang Curry.
Tyler got the mahimahi stuffed with crab and lobster.

Mmmm...

Oh, and the dessert is really good, too.

Try the banana & macadamia nut crisp
with tahitian vanilla ice cream.

Ohmygosh.

So good.

And the beach outside... 

It's so gorgeous.

PS. If you're imagining a small shack

with mama cooking you her special recipe,

you would be wrong.

This is an expensive dinner in a nice setting.

In fact, I was totally blown away with how big and nice
the restaurant is considering it's location.

Dress cute and plan to spend some cash.

It's worth it though.

(You know I wouldn't steer you wrong.)


*   *   *


Mama's Fish House
799 Poho Place
Paia, Hawaii 96779

*all images original to Aspiring Kennedy

MAISON MIRU: Cecelia Wreath Giveaway

I don't buy a lot of jewelry.

I know most girls update their collection

every season with new pieces...

but I, well, I just don't.

Maybe you would expect for me to offer

 some cool, understated reason

for this purchasing habit, 

but there's not one to give.

The boring truth is

that I just stick to a few pieces 

and wear them for years

until they literally fall apart on me.

I think I just can't deal with 

a big mess of tangled earrings and necklaces

getting knotted and twisted 

in my jewelry pouch and toiletry bag... 

But when I saw Maison Miru's Cecelia wreath necklace,

I knew I wanted to buy it immediately.

It was just too perfect for me to pass up.

I really felt like it was something 

that I could wear with so many different outfits

and would stay fashionable for years.

Plus, at £40- it was way cheaper 

than the other costume pieces 

I had seen at JCrew and elsewhere.

So I bought it,

and I love it as much as I thought I would.

(In fact, I like it more after feeling how heavy & sturdy it is...)

What do you think?

You think you might like one, too?

Yup. I thought so.

Well, let's make that happen.

Maison Miru is offering one of you lucky readers

a chance to win the same Cecelia Wreath necklace

that I have and love.

While the line has tons of pieces that I really like...

like this necklace...

or this one....

or these earrings...

this piece stands out to me as just... well, so lovely.

(Yes, I do play favorites.)

Enter below for your chance to win

your very own Maison Miru Cecelia Wreath Necklace.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Winner will be announced next Monday.

*photos by Noah Darnell

Is This Thing On?

No blog posts in a week?

Ah, yes...

I've slipped into the black hole

of the chaos of my semester.

Forgive me.

I'm here.

I'm just busy!

(Who isn't?)

So in the void of thought-provoking blogging,

here are just some awesome things

that I have seen, discovered or eaten 

since we touched down in France.

CHATEAUX

We had such a great day in the Loire Valley last week.

It's such a quick trip from Paris,

I think you should definitely make a day of it

when you plan your trip to Paris.

Hop a TGV from Gare Montparnasse

and head to Tours.

In about an hour and some change,

you'll be there.

Plan to rent a car

and hit the open road.

Chambord, Ambroise & Chenonceau

are the destinations awaiting you.

You definitely won't regret this decision.

(It'll be an all day event, if you plan to do it right.)

SANDRO OUTLET

If you come to Paris and you're in the Marais, 

take a quick jump up from the St. Paul metro stop

to the Sandro outlet on Rue de Sevigne.

I bought some awesome silk pants there (€20)

and an amazing white cocktail drew (€40) there today.

The sweet girls working there said they get new stock in

about ever other day. 

(I have a feeling I'm about to become so much poorer.)

NOT-TOO-SWEET TREATS

I'm all about pastries,

but for some reason

I've been drawn to the simpler choices

when wandering into the boulangerie lately.

Spongey madelines, almond-tinged financiers...

these are a few of my favorite things.

BOOT CAFE

While Paris is known for many lovely things...

it isn't know for great coffee.

Unless you're wanting a tiny espresso

in a pretty cafe,

"real" coffee is hard to come by.

Lucky me for stumbling on a new shop, Boot Cafe,

right next to my metro stop, San Sebastien Froissart.

The new coffee shop sits where a cobbler used to be

(hence the name)....

Grab a cafe creme 

and a piece of the blood orange + pistachio cake

to start off your morning in the Marais.

ON THE MARKET

I love Marche Aux Puces as much as the next American,

but the trek out to Pore de Clignacourt is a bit of a haul 

and the prices can be a bit steep.

(I can't get stay away from it though.)

I was so excited to see the more-local market

pop up on Boulevard Beaumarchais over the weekend.

I'm hoping it's a weekly thing. 

(Any locals able to weigh in on this?)

So many great "Paris" things...

from old street signs to discarded china.

I got two really cool books for 0.50 each.

GIVING ME THE LOOK

First, Viola has mastered "the look."

She gives it on command and we think it's so funny.

We are sadly having to reign it in now

because she's taking it a little too far 

and using her new super power for evil....

But honestly... it makes me laugh.

Also, I'm getting the look.

The Paris look.

With being pregnant (and huge!)

and then post-baby messiness

and then nursing chubbiness (am I the only person who gained weight while nursing?)

and then 2 year old wardrobe apathy,

I had basically given up and given into a wardrobe cycle

of about 4 items + 3 scarves.

See below for documentation of said repeated items.

Being back here is awakening my old self

and I'm actually freshening up my closet a bit.

I'm working on the extra pudge I've slapped on,

but no place like Paris to make you want to lose weight

and wear some great new clothes.

* * *

That's all I've got for now. 

Keep following the fun on Instagram.

Things are getting exciting.

If you're looking to spruce up your closet, too,

here are some pieces that make me say, "Oh la la!"

*images original to Aspiring Kennedy

My Notting Hill: Jamie Oliver's Recipease

When we first moved to England,

I would do a 2 hour commute

into London for work...

and then another 2 hours home.

(And I loved it.)

In the evenings,

the first hour was on the tube

getting to Paddington

where I would hop on a train

and haul my buns

back out to Oxford.

In London during commuter hours,

free newspapers are passed out

to commuters as the enter the tube entrances.

I love sitting on the packed-yet-silent tubes

and listening the ruffles of newspapers.

Because there's no cell service (yet),

it is like a time transport

to people reading books & papers.

(And I loved that, too.)

I remember reading the Evening Standard

on the tube one night

the first few months we lived in England.

There was 30-Minute Meal insert

by this English chef, Jamie Oliver...

he was cooking with exotic ingredients

like "rocket" and "coriander"

and making weird sounding things

like Portuguese tarts for dessert.

For some reason,

I kept the paper

and it's still sitting in my recipe book today.

Now that I've been here a while

(3.5 years already!),

I realize what a naive little pup I was.

Jamie Oliver is practically the king of the cooking scene here.

(And "rocket" & "coriander" is actually just arugula & cilantro. Oops.)

While I still don't have an affinity for Portuguese tarts,

I have fallen in love with Mr. Oliver.

He taught me to roast a perfect chicken, afterall.

And, now, he set up shop in our neighborhood

with the cutest place you ever did see:

RECIPEASE.

Cooking classes, cute baking goods,

take away meals for dinner,

gorgeous baked goods & coffee for easy snagging,

and of course- a restaurant with his yummy recipes.

It's a sweet place

that's easy to find

right above the Notting Hill Gate tube station...

Stop by. 

Either grab a coffee

or sit a while 

in the sunny windows upstairs

over a gorgeous plate of his yummy creatiions.

(I personally dig the thai green curry or the spiced carrot pancake with hummous!)

*    *   *

RECIPEASE

92-94 Notting Hill Gate

London W11 3QB

(other locations available here)

*photography by Noah Darnell

Now You Know: Champagne?

If there's one thing I've learned

while living in France,

is that people are particular 

about their sparkling wine....

Excusez-moi, "champagne."

Because, in France, mon ami,

you can find Champagne

most every where you go...

since it's made there.

If you go to a cafe in London,

you may find other bubbles on the menu

but just because it's pretty and sparkling,

doesn't mean it's "Champagne."

It could sparkling wine from Italy, Spain or Napa.

(Though, you won't see American wine on a European menu too often.)

Champagne is the name that is given ONLY

to sparkling wine grown in the Champagne region in France.

Only.

And they get really fussy if you give it's name 

to anything that isn't from that area.

So here's a quick tutorial for you 

so that you can speak of the sparkling

and babble of bubbles 

correctly where ever it is

you find yourself.

Are there bubbles in your glass?

It's sparkling!

Is it from France?

Then it's probably Champagne...

but check that the bottle says so.

Is it from Italy?

Then it's not Champagne- it's prosecco.

Is it from Spain?

Then it's not Champagne- it's cava.

* * * 

Look at that.

We've all got a bit smarter 

and more refined.

Cheers to that.

*image via

"Today I'm..."

I found myself going down a rabbit hole

of old memories tonight

by watching some of the videos I made

when we first moved to England.

I'm so glad I made them.

They are some of the best treasures I have.

I don't know why, 

but this one has always been one of my favorites.

Maybe it's because it combines travel + home.

Two things that typically compete,

but are both equally tied for first in my heart.

It also makes me excited

to remember what we've seen

and what adventures await us.