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Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Spontaneity Is the Spice of Life!

Sorry it's been a few days since my last post.  We have been changing cities almost daily since being in the South of France, so there's rarely time to blog!


Here we are, heading to the train station in Paris.


Sunnies: Chanel
Scarf:  Shop in Paris
Top: Zara
Bangle: Hermes


Since my last post,  we have visited Nice, Cannes & St Tropez.  We rented a sweet little 1956 Mercedes SL 190 and have been cruising to nearby hot spots!

Cruising our ride to the city of Grasse to visit the Fragonard Perfumier Museum!

Sunnies Chanel
Earrings: Chanel
Scarf: Tory Burch
Trench: Burberry
Top: J Crew

In Cannes!

Bikini: Vix


When Chris and I travel,  we are known for driving an hour or two away from our hotel to a cool spot and deciding to stay with nothing but the clothes we wore to town! Yesterday, we drove to St Tropez and laid out on the beach all afternoon.  We then decided to stay the night.  It's an hour and a half away from our hotel in Nice,  so staying the night sounded more fun than driving back at the end of the day!

In St Tropez

Fedora: J Crew
Top: Zara
Pants: Nordstrom
Beach Bag: Bought in a shop in St Tropez

In St Tropez

Bathing Suit:Vix
Fedora: J Crew
Sunnies: Chanel



Luckily St Tropez is known as a tiny city with big city amenities.  They have to be with the kind of people that frequent there. So since all we had were the clothes on our backs, we had to do some shopping to buy all of the comforts of home for the night.  Unfortunately for Chris,  I'm not low maintenance!

By the end of our shopping trip  to buy toiletries, perfume, makeup, clothes & undies, it was time to shower and hit the town.

We enjoyed a late dinner and walking through the tiny streets of this vintage town!

We woke up to the most beautiful ocean view and had breakfast over looking the Mediterranean!

St Tropez, view from our room.

After that, we headed back to Nice to catch some sun and spend the day on the beach here.

In Nice

Bathing Suit: Robin Piccone

Back in Nice.

We found all of this amazing Sea Glass!  I was obsessed,  the ocean just happens to producer glass in all of my favorite colors!:)

Off to bed now,  I'm sun burned, tired & we are heading to Monaco and Italy tomorrow!  After that,  we are heading home to see our furry babies!! 

Xoxo, 
B



Thursday, June 6, 2013

Queen of Versailles & Maison Chanel

Today we woke up early to go visit Versailles.  It was quite the place.  Seeing the Hall of Mirrors in person was really neat.  They are restoring the fountains and a portions of the Palace.  I honestly could have done the gardens alone and skipped the inside!

Our main reason for going was to ride bikes through Versailles.  That was worth the trip alone.  The weather was warm and sunny.  Not a cloud in the sky!  It was like something out of a dream!  Drinking champagne and enjoying a picnic on the great lawns of this grand palace!

You may recognize my dress?!  I'm all about repeating outfits,  just switching up the jewelry or shoes.  Even just changing your hair can change the look of an entire ensemble.  Last time you saw me in this I dressed it up for our restaurants opening.  This time I wore my cork peep toe flats and a cardigan with my hair half up.  It changed the look entirely.  It couldn't have been a better outfit for visiting such a grand place (in my humble opinion;))  I wanted a timeless look with a touch of class!  I may wear it again in Monaco,  I'm on a lengthy vacation and options are getting slim at this point!!

Sunnies: Chanel
Clutch: Christian Louboutin
Cardigan: J Crew
Dress: Moulinette Soeurs
Shoes: Stuart Weitzman

Now can we please get to the BEST part of our day (for me)?!  I got to go to the House of Chanel.  Here,  I am photographed sitting on the famous steps up that go to the second floor of her apartment!  She walked up and down these steps every day!  Pretty freaking spectacular getting to pose on them like the great Mademoiselle Coco Chanel!!!  A little history lesson,  when Chanel first began,  she was a hat maker.  The House of Chanel is the same place it was when she first began: 31 Rue de Cambon!!


This is a picture of the Happiest girl in the world!!! :-)  

After this,  we walked to three different Cafés and had a glass of Bordeaux.  Then enjoyed a break in the shade on some lush green grass.  Now we are back at the hotel about to grab dinner.  Tomorrow,  we head to Nice (the South of France)!  Our Tour de France officially commences at 6 AM! Au Revoir!

XOXO,
B

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Vintage Wine, Buildings & Clothes

So apparently I was too tired to post this yesterday.  I wrote it and saved it but didn't finish it.  So this and my previous post are out of order....sorry!

Today we went to the Louvre, stopped by some water fountains on the way. 

Sunnies: Chanel
Shirt: J Crew
Trench: Burberry
Belt: Hermès
Ring: David Yurman
Jeans: J Brand
Shoes: Tods
Purse: Tory Burch


Sport Coat: Bonobos
Shirt: J Crew
Pants: Bonobos
Belt: 1901
Shoes: Zara

You may not see it,  but that's a picture of me at the Louvre taking a picture (towards the right).  Chris is quite artistic when he wants to be!

After the Louvre,  we stopped in at Didier Ludot at Palias Royale (vintage shop that Roger buys Rachel's present in on the Rachel Zoe Project), ate lunch at a cute outdoor restaurant called  Muscade Palais Royal right by the vintage shop. 


Then we went to Fragonard Perfumier and got some fragrances that you can only by here and in Nice.  On the was we saw the Opera House.  A highlight for me was the Hermès Flagship store.  It was the biggest one in the world.  Floors and floors of gorgeous hats, scarves and Purses!  By this time,  we were super tired so we grabbed a pedi cab to take us back to our hotel.

We rested up for a short while,  then went to Le Bistro Marbeuf for dinner.  It was more of a local spot.  I'm not sure why,  but I seem to finish every bite on my plate here.  Must be the amazing food.  It will be hard to eat in America after eating here.  

FYI:  for those of you who have food allergies....they will possibly be better if not non existent here.  I can't have dairy, sugar or corn.  They don't put corn or corn syrup in anything here.  Food is extremely unprocessed and pure.  Even the chicken tastes differently. My mouth waters just talking about it! Mmmmmm!

Anyway,  then we retired to our room,  I took a very HOT bath and now I'm going to bed. Sooooo sleepy! Bonne unit!

XOXO,
B

Key to my Heart!

Today was an incredible day!  The weather was perfect.  It was so warm that I got to wear a dress.  

We went to Notre Dame,  right in front is the padlock bridge where you and your soul mate put a lock and throw your key into the Seine River!  


It was super romantic.  Then we enjoyed lunch and wine outside of Notre Dame.

Hat: Target
Sunnies: Chanel
Earrings: Chanel
Dress: Glam
Purse: Tory Burch
Arm Candy: David Yurman, Hermès
Watch: Michele
Necklace: DKM Designs
Belt: J Crew
Shoes: Gianni Bini

After that, we went to the Musée d'Orssey.  Then we went over to the Eiffel Tower to take a break under the trees.  We rested under there a few before going back to the hotel to change for dinner.

We took this picture before dinner,  I'm missing my dogs and one of them is named Winston.  There happens to be a Harry Winston in the ground floor of our hotel.  So this photo had to be taken in honor of him!

Sunnies: Chanel
Necklace: Tasha
Watch: Kate Spade
Purse: Tory Burch
Arm Candy: David Yurman
Cardigan: J Crew
Blouse: Lush
Camisole: Zara
Jeans: Joe's
Shoes: Stuart Weitzman

We had dinner at Chez Francis.  After dinner,  we moved tables and enjoyed a glass of wine before retiring to our room. 


Tomorrow we are going to Versailles so we have to get to bed early!  Bonne unit!

Xoxo,
B

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

30 in Paris

Yesterday was my 30th birthday....what a day!!

I felt as though I was dreaming,  everything went flawlessly,  even my favorite songs played on the radio while I was getting ready!

Unfortunately I didn't get a single good picture of a full outfit on my phone yesterday!  I was too distracted by the many things going on.

We started the day off with room service overlooking the Eiffel Tower.  Then we went shopping,  directly across the street from our hotel (The Plaza Athenée) the street is lined with high end fashion, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Valentino...the list goes on!  Then we wandered over to Champs-Élysées,  this is the road with the Arc de Triumph.  On this road is one of my favorite sweet stops...Ladurée!  It was a destination on our list for sure! OMG,  so delicious and beautiful.

Then we walked over to find my Aunts old apartment, which is right across from the Arc, she lived here about 10 years ago. 




There's Chris posing in a picture for her.  From here we walked over to Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré.  This street is known as being one of the most fashionable streets in the world.  It has the top designers of the world: Christian Louboutin, Dior, Lanvin, Chanel...the list goes on! 

After that we worked up a hefty appetite and had lunch at a chic Parisian spot called L'Avenue right by our hotel!  Holy poached Salmon,  that place was delicious.

Then we came back to the room and took an afternoon nap.  It was much needed after all of the walking and staying up late the night before :)! 

Then I woke up and got ready for my birthday dinner.  Luckily it was a good hair and makeup day,  I needed it to be for my birthday ensemble!

Again,  I didn't get a full body shot on my phone, but you can get the idea:


Earrings: Chanel
Necklace: J Crew
Dress: Ted Baker
Shoes: Christian Louboutin
Clutch: Christian Louboutin
I'll post a better picture once I arrive back in the states.  

We hoped into a car and it took us right over to the Eiffel Tower where we were met by an employee of the restaurant.  We were then escorted to a private elevator and taken up to the top to enjoy our dinner at Le Jules Verne. It was the BEST meal of my life.  It even tops French Laundry in my book!  The view was breathtaking and every thing from the wine, to the service to the food was perfection!  We took this picture when we were leaving the restaraunt...





After dinner we came back to the hotel and had another glass of wine in the hotels ultra chic corridor.  

We retired to our room and enjoyed a few laughs and more wine!  The wine here is so good but I never seem to get typsy, it's the strangest thing!  So that was my perfect 30th birthday.  It was such a milestone birthday that could not have been celebrated in any better way for me! 

We're off to explore the city! Bonjour!

Xoxo,

B

Oh Paris....

***I posted this on Sunday but apparently it didnt post!***

Bonjour! We took the Eurostar to Paris today! First of all, the train station in London was gorgeous. I had never been on a train before,  and this one goes 150 feet below the English Channel.  Needless to say,  I was a bit nervous about this.  it ended up being a really neat experience. A big shout out to my Aunt Valerie for her French language learning materials,  I actually know enough French to get us around thanks to her!

Jacket: Burberry
Chambray Shirt: J Crew
Earrings: Kendra Scott
Jeans: J Brand
Shoes: Tory Burch
Purse: Louis Vuitton
Bangles: David Yurman

When we checked into the hotel,  everyone seemed to know we were here celebrating my 30th birthday.  The concierge was even acting funny,  when we got up to the room I finally understood why!  Chris surprised me with the most breathtaking view of the Eiffel Tower, strawberries and champagne!  How lucky am I?  This is our view for the next week...


I don't have much fashion to discuss today.  I threw on a pair of dark denim J Brand cropped jeans and my J Crew chambray shirt, trench and Tory Burch ballerines.  Nothing exciting,  just comfy travel wear.  In my Europe look book (I make one for every trip),I only packed this shirt for one outfit but have worn it three times already!  Proves my previous post about chambray to be spot on!  Off to take a nap,  been awake since 2:30! Au Revoir!!

Xoxo,
B

Saturday, June 1, 2013

Our Last Day in London..

Today was our last day in London.  Tomorrow is the 60 year anniversary of the Queens Coronation.  needless to say there is a lot of Pomp and Circumstance among us. We got to see the trooping of the colour (we were told it only happens once a year), we went to Hyde Park, Chelsea and Knightsbridge!  

We spent most of our day at Harrod's shopping.  I was in heaven, it was 5 entire floors of heaven.  Neat fact, they just opened the largest Christian Louboutin store in the world inside of Harrod's and they actually have sizes in stock!!!  

I introduced Chris to Zara Men today!  I think I've created a monster;)!  He is really excited that they have such great stuff at such great prices.  He fits in so perfectly here.  It's been fun watching him enjoy fashion the way that I do!

Today's Euro outfit was very similar to the other day,  different blazer, hat and necklace though!  It was another gorgeous day today.



Fedora: Target
Sunnies: Chanel
Necklace: J Crew
Chambray shirt: J Crew
Silk Camisole: J Crew
Blazer: Zara
Bangles: David Yurman & Hermès
Watch: Michele
Jeans: J Brand
Shoes: Tory Burch
Purse: Prada
Scarf on bag: Hermès

Xoxo,
B