the bride wore red: a parisian wedding

{beautiful day for a wedding}

{brother-in-law and husband}

{pop-up invitations}

{the happy couple}

{congrats!}

{newlyweds}

{taking the trolley}

{la vie en rose}

{hors d'oeuvres}

{macaron tower}

{such a wonderful evening}

Is there anything more romantic than a wedding in Paris? No, I think not. Kiwi's cousin married his gorgeous French bride in a beautiful civil ceremony with La Vie en Rose playing softly in the background. The bride chose a red wedding dress as a nod to her new husband's Chinese heritage. The color red is considered good luck. After the ceremony, we took a trolley across the Seine to the reception location, which was a beautiful historic building that is now being used as a school. We ate foie gras and toasted the happy couple with glasses of champagne. Everything was so lovely but I must say, my favorite part was the macaron tower. It's the stuff dreams are made of. After dinner, all the guests headed downstairs to les caves for more drinks and dancing. It was an incredible experience that we'll never forget. Congrats to the newlyweds!

a weekend in paris

{metropolitain}

{le chat nap}

{la patisserie des reves}

{sunset stroll}

{petit dejeuner}

{cafe de flore}

{luxembourg gardens}

{la tour eiffel}

{paris with my love}

{the tower at night)

Last week was a little surreal to say the least! After spending less than 72 hours in Paris, I caught a flight home so I could be at my new job on Monday. Even though our visit was a short one, we had a wonderful time strolling through the Luxembourg Gardens and sampling the pastries at La Patisserie des Reves. We stayed in this charming little apartment in the 6th arrondissement that was just steps away from the beautiful Saint-Sulpice church and macaron heaven, Pierre Herme. And of course, no trip to Paris would be complete without a visit to the Eiffel Tower. Her twinkling lights and soft, golden glow always leave me spellbound. Paris, je t'aime.

*I'll post photos from the wedding {the reason for our trip} later this week. Wait until you see the bride's dress!

paris city guide: montmartre

{you can do the cancan dance}

The lovely folks at Schmap were kind enough to include my photo of the Moulin Rouge in their Paris city guide! Be sure to check out the section on Montmartre... it was one of our favorite neighborhoods in Paris.

*You can see more photos from our Paris honeymoon here.

a parisian birthday party

{oh la la}

My sweet little sister is turning 13 next weekend! She has her heart set on a chic Parisian birthday party. The plan as of right now, is to decorate aprons and cook crepes for a group of her girlfriends. After crepes and cake we're planning a fun, Paris inspired polaroid shoot so the girls can take home a little souvenir. But, we still have a few questions...

What should we do for decor? Fresh flowers always go a long way in my book, but she is 13 and I feel like she's going to want a bit more pizzaz. What are some other French inspired dishes that are fun and easy for the girls to make? Do you know of any Parisian party games? If you have any other ideas I would love to hear them! I want to help make this birthday extra special for her.

*She has already hired me to be the party photographer... I'll be bringing the Fuji Instax for sure.

we'll always have paris...

{home on rue elvezir}

{saturday in the park}

{bubbly at the opera}

{we love the louvre}

{cafe break}

{la belle epoque}

{smooching on the seine}

{the city of light}

It's hard to put into worlds how much we loved Paris... We loved our little apartment, Christmas Eve at the opera and exploring the Louvre. We loved sipping cafe au lait, eating crepes and climbing the steps of the Arc de Triomphe. We loved strolling in the sculpture garden at the Musee Rodin, sipping cocktails at the Hotel Keppler and spending our last night gazing up at the lights of the Eiffel Tower. It was the perfect honeymoon.

We'll always have Paris...

*If you're not totally sick of our love fest... there are more photos here.

paris at your feet

{notre dame}

{winter wonderland}

{saint george}

{knock knock}

{melancholy gargoyle}

We loved exploring the cool, dark chambers of Notre Dame.... There is such a sense of peace within the walls. The normally boisterous tourists suddenly hush in awe of the vaulted ceilings and the beautiful rose window. It's always amazing to think of how many people have passed through those doors over the years. Kiwi and I decided to climb the 387 steps to the top of the towers... and it was well worth the hike. Even on a cloudy day we could see the Eiffel Tower in the distance and Sacre Coeur tucked away in the hills of Montmartre.

Victor Hugo said it best...

"All Paris was spread out at his feet, with her thousand turrets, her undulating horizon, her river winding under the bridges, her stream of people flowing to and fro in the streets; with the cloud of smoke rising from her many chimneys; with her chain of crested roofs pressing in ever tightening coils round about Notre Dame."

a moveable feast

{coquilles st jacques}

{market bounty}

{fresh sea urchin}

{fromage}

{clementines}

Our first day in Paris we signed up for a market walk with the lovely Meg Zimbeck and Context Travel. Meg introduced us to the wonders of Ble Sucre {the most amazing bakery} and Le Baron Rouge {a fabulous local oyster and wine bar}. We even sampled some fresh sea urchin, straight from the shell!

To top off our amazing tour she took a moment to write down the names and addresses of her favorite restaurants in Paris. Kiwi and I loved all of her picks... We had the best meal of our trip at Chez Janou {the scallops were to die for} per her fabulous recommendation. Thank you for a wonderful tour Meg, it was the perfect way to kick off our honeymoon!

"If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast."

-Ernest Hemingway

*Kiwi and I chose to take Mr. Hemingway literally on this one... Paris did not disappoint.