Dusty & Marlina

La Régalade – Saint Honoré

June 15, 2013

One of my favorite places to eat in Paris is La Regalade. La Regalade bistro has three locations, it’s original on the left bank in the 14th arrondissement, one near the Louvre (La Régalade Saint Honoré) and a third (La Régalade Conservatoire), part of a new boutique hotel which just opened this year.

Dusty called and made a reservation but the only time they had available was 7:30pm. We knew it was going to be an early dinner but we were willing to sacrifice because it’s such a great place. We showed up and after a little confusion we found out that someone else had taken our reservation (I’m assuming they had made a reservation at one of the other locations and didn’t know it). They were very apologetic and asked if we could come back at 9pm. We went to a nearby restaurant/bar for a drink, Willi’s Wine Bar. Willi’s has been around since 1980 and although we just had drinks, the food looked spectacular.

Allison and Dusty enjoying a glass of wine at Willi’s before we went back to La Regalade.

La Regalade serves a delicious prix fixe menu of seasonal food for approximately 35€ that includes a starter, entree and dessert. One of the things I love is that everyone starts with a communal housemade paté that comes in a hug terrine and a jar of cornichons (pickles). You eat as much as you want and they take it away when your food comes. Some might be put off by the fact that the same terrine is then given to another guest who might come in a little later but I’m not at all and love that they can serve it this way.

Of course we didn’t take a picture of the menu so I can’t tell you specifically what everything was called but Dusty started out with squid ink risotto with calamari, I had a fresh crab salad, and Allison had fresh vegetables on a thin tartlet. Everything was well executed and so very delicious! Before our starters came out we also were brought out a small cup of some type of cazpacho ceviche (which I’m sure happened because of the reservation issue). I don’t traditionally like cold soups but this was an amazing tomato soup with avocado and shrimp at the bottom that you mix in with each bit.

For our main courses Dusty had duck and I had sea bream with artichokes. Both were cooked perfectly and absolutely wonderful!

To end the meal Dusty and Allison had the absolutely best riz cuit au lait (rice pudding with caramel sauce on the side–my favorite in Paris) and I had the souffle chaud au Grand Mariner (Grand Mariner soufflé), knowing the rice pudding comes in a communal jar and there would be plenty for me.

1 Comment | Posted in: Food, Paris | Tagged with: Food, La Regalade, Paris
French Macarons

June 14, 2013

One of the things on my Paris Bucket List for this summer was to go for macarons at Carette in Place des Vosge. There are many well-known macaron shops but the reason for this one being on my list is that I’ve been following a few Paris blogs which said that Carette’s had some of the best macarons, and because the location is very near where we live that means I can walk there any afternoon.

When I first heard of macarons three summers ago I thought they were actually talking about macaroons (spelled differently and most definitely different). The macaroon I always envisioned was a type of cookie made with almonds and coconut.

And then there are the French macaroons, according to wikipedia they are a sweet meringue-based confection made with eggs, sugar, almond powder or ground almond, and food coloring. The macaron is commonly filled with ganache, buttercream or jam filling sandwiched between two biscuits.

Last week when it was really nice out I went to the park (which was also on my Paris Bucket List) and before heading home stopped at Carette’s to pick up a few macarons. I picked up a caramel au beurre salé (salted butter caramel) , framboise (raspberry), chocolat, and vanille macaron. Dusty and I shared them and our favorite was the caramel and then my second favorite was the raspberry.

Just for reference, these macarons cost approximately 1.50 euros each (that’s about $2 each). The macarons we had from Pierre Hermé while we were on our food tour were 2 euros each. I’ve also paid 1 euro for them at an anonymous pâtisserie (pastry shop). I’ve tried ones from three different shops now, at the three different prices, and I’d say that the two more expensive ones were of higher quality. As far as which ones were the best, I think it just depends on which flavors you like best. It’s like everything else in life; it just depends on how much you want to spend. I wouldn’t mind trying macarons from other specialty shops like Hugo & Victor, Sadaharu Aoki, Jean-Paul Hévin, or Ladurée, which are also known for their excellent macarons. I’m not obsessed with macarons but they are a French delicacy and I feel like I should know where the best places are to get them!

1 Comment | Posted in: Food, Paris | Tagged with: Carette, Macaron, Paris
Big Omaha’s Five Year Anniversary

June 13, 2013

Last month Dusty and the SPN crew hosted their annual Big Omaha conference, now part of the Big Conference Series. They hold three events a year (in KC, Des Moines, and Omaha) showcasing some of the creative entrepreneurial talent locally and nationally. I wrote a little about why I love Big Omaha so much in one of my weekly pregnancy updates and want to just say that I’m so very proud of what my husband does and all of the things he believes in. We both care deeply about Omaha (and surrounding communities) and I feel so lucky to be a part of such a fun event. Of course, one of the funnest parts of the conference is that they have a photo booth at the actual conference and then have booths set up at the parties they hold each night. You can also check out my posts on the past four Big Omaha events here.

No Comments | Posted in: Fun Times, Work | Tagged with: Big Omaha, Silicon Prairie News, Work
Poilâne Caprese Sandwich

June 13, 2013

On our food tour a couple weeks ago we went to Poilâne, a popular bakery in Paris with unique bread called pain Poilâne. The store has been their since the early 1930s. On our tour we discovered that the bakery is known for the traditional French dark sourdough loaves. These loaves were very popular during WW II because they kept longer and could be cut into large slices. Even as the baguette became the popular type of bread they believed in the great product they had. The bread is still made with stone-ground flour, sea salt, and a wood-fired oven. You can read more about the history of Poilâne on their website.

These are reasons why I love going on great tours and reading blogs that talk about Paris, I would have never known that I should even try this bread otherwise. I love baguettes and have never ventured to try anything else but since the tour we’ve fallen in love with this wonderful bread. It is really nice to have a bread in the apartment and not have to go to the boulangerie if you want a sandwich. Baguettes don’t last more than 24 hours and there’s no way to use a baguette from yesterday for your sandwich today. The grocery store that we go to sells Poilâne bread so lately we’ve been picking up a quarter loaf for sandwiches. A couple of days ago Dusty made us a lovely grilled caprese sandwich with soft mozzarella, fresh tomatoes from the market, and pesto.

No Comments | Posted in: Food, Paris | Tagged with: Food, Paris, Poilâne
Merry Christmas

June 12, 2013

I’ve spent the last week updating our blog and realized that I never got around to wishing everyone a Merry Christmas or a happy new year. Yes, it’s crazy for me to think of these things in June or even to think about wishing you all of these things so late in the year but I remembered taking pictures so that we could do it and now that I have the time I’ve decided why not just do it.

Here’s a pictures of Dusty and I during the holidays as well as a picture of our annual holiday card. It’s an infographic of what we’ve been doing over the past year. I was inspired by this year in review card and this one as well. If you click on the image of our card, it will get bigger and easier to see. When we mailed the card out I punched a hole in the MERRY card, folded the infographic card, put it with the picture and then tied it all together with the red string. It’s probably my favorite holiday card I’ve done since we’ve been married and don’t know how I can beat it next year.

1 Comment | Posted in: Holidays | Tagged with: Christmas
28 Weeks

June 12, 2013

Welcome to the third trimester! This week our bambino is the size of an eggplant. My weekly baby email updates say that our little girl weighs around 2.5 pounds and measures about 14 inches long.

I spent this week lounging around the apartment, updating our blog, and spending some quality time with Dusty.

Gender & Name: We still like the name we’ve picked out and are trying to think of a backup just in case we decide it doesn’t work when we actually meet her.

Weight Gain: No scale in Paris means I don’t need to feel guilty for eating all of the delicious food. In all seriousness though, I’ve actually been eating pretty darn healthy, lots of fresh fruits and vegetables since we go the market twice a week.

Maternity Clothes: Paris has had beautiful weather this week. It’s been in the high 70s and low 80s for most f the week. This weekend has cooled down a little and is back in the high 60s/low 70s, which is perfect weather! I’ve been wearing cotton maternity dresses like the one in my picture this week or a t-shirt and gym shorts when I’m around the apartment.

Sleep: Paris is at the same latitude as the Canadian border and because it’s further north, stays lighter later into the evening. With this and then with Dusty working late because of the time difference, I’ve been staying up later and getting up later in the morning as well. I’ve had a few nights that have been a little more difficult to sleep but overall, I’m sleeping comfortably.

Food: No specific cravings but I’ve really enjoyed all of the fresh fruits at the market. I’m eating a lot of peaches, strawberries and avocados. And of course, I’m in love with nutella with baguettes.

Movement: This week has marked the beginning of a huge change. I can see how the third-trimester can seem long and tiring. Our bambino is moving around more vigorously and I can feel her jabs and kicks regularly. Dusty’s able to feel her movements and sometimes see her movements as well. At least once during the day I’m beaconing Dusty over to feel her violent moves. Needless to say, I know it’s only going to get worse as she gets bigger and stronger and has less room to move around.

Belly Button: My belly button is officially half in, half out most of the time.

Mood: Overall, I’ve been in an excellent mood this week. I have been a little more emotional this past week and getting sentimental at times, looking at the other little bambinos on the sidewalk and thinking about what life’s going to be like when we’re a party of three.

Best Moment(s) This Week: Best moments this week: 1) The beautiful Paris weather and 2) Going on an adventure with Dusty. We first went to ‪Galeries Lafayette, a huge upscale department store (can you believe Dusty suggested we go). They have shops like Versace, Valentino, Gucci, and Prada. They have the world’s largest shoe department, which I’m sad to say, I didn’t get to see because the place was a complete zoo and the size of several city blocks. In fact, we did no traditional shopping. I would not suggest going on a Saturday afternoon (although I’m sure it’s busy every day of the week). Our sole desire was to go to the grocery department (and yes, this is why Dusty suggested we go), which was like a gourmet supermarket with kiosks of some of the highest end products you’ll ever see. After Galeries Lafayette we strolled around the Eiffel Tower and went to dinner at a restaurant we’ve wanted to try out.

Missing Anything: Not missing anything at all!

Looking Forward To: I am a bit excited to go home in a couple of weeks and start on the nursery but for right now I’m enjoying this quality time with Dusty (in between his work).

Weekly Picture: This week’s picture was taken outside the Louvre when we went on adventure. I’m wearing a black maternity dress from Target and a handmade necklace.

***My weekly posts are written during the week and then posted the following week, after I’ve taken my weekly picture and I’ve had time to edit them.***

1 Comment | Posted in: Pregnancy | Tagged with: Baby, Pregnancy, Weekly Belly Pictures
Les Puces de Saint-Ouen Market

June 11, 2013

Paris has the biggest flea market in the world, Les Puces de Saint-Ouen Market (puce is French for “flea”) and sprawls over numerous blocks and into alleyways and covered halls that are filled with a variety of goods.

I’m not exaggerating when I say that you can spend an entire day roaming the stalls and still not cover the whole market. To help you invasion the atmosphere, it reminds me of outdoor and indoor storage facilities with small garages, filled with items ranging from the very large and expensive (some stalls resemble high-end antique shops with prices to match) to the tiny and cheap.

A couple weeks ago Allison and I took the underground metro out to the 18th arrondissement to the flea market. If you’re in Paris and want to go, make sure to use Oh Happy Day’s blog post on how to get there to find your way there. This post of was helpful in getting us there and making sure we understood how the flea market was set up! It isn’t just one big flea market but more like several small flea markets in the same area that are all connected.

No Comments | Posted in: Paris | Tagged with: Flea Market, Paris
Photoshop 101 – Week 1

June 9, 2013

I’m loving my Photoshop 101 class and it’s just the first week. As I’ve said before, I’m pretty familiar with the basics of Photoshop (or at least I feel like I am) and have been using it for quite a while but there are still things that I don’t know and things that I do but don’t know why. I was a little fearful that that the 101 class (they also offer 102 class as well) wasn’t for me because I’ve been using Photoshop for a long time and know, what I feel like is a lot about the program. I’ve already learned a lot!

This week the class focused on Adobe Bridge and Camera Raw. I’ve never used Bridge but knew I should be and I only recently started using the Camera Raw function (and probably needed a more detailed lesson on how to use it). I watched 16 short videos, ranging from 2 to 5 minutes. The videos were so manageable and easy to go back and watch again. My homework for this week was importing photos into Adobe Bridge, applying stars and labels to the photos I like, and then taking photos into Camera Raw and making adjusts to the photo to enhance them!

The course platform is great. If you see in the screenshot above, each week is in a folder and there are short videos to that go into detail about a particular concept. This video was about using Camera Raw.

And then you have me using Adobe Bridge. I don’t know why I wasn’t using this program earlier.

And finally, an example of my final work. This is a before and after of a picture I took at the Paris flea market. I know that there’s only subtle difference between the two pictures but I really think these small adjusts are going to make a huge difference.

No Comments | Posted in: Photography | Tagged with: Photography, Photoshop
Paris Market

June 8, 2013

In Paris, every neighborhood has it’s own outdoor market. Our neighborhood market just happens to be the largest in Paris and is held every Thursday 8am to 1:30pm and Sunday 8am to 2pm. Of course, there are also more traditional grocery stores, the one we go to is called the Monoprix, but in my interpretation most Parisians purchase at least some of their weekly groceries at one of these outdoor markets. Dusty and I go to the Marché Bastille every Thursday and Sunday to pick up food for the next few days.

Our market has three aisles of vendors that stretch several blocks. There are over a hundred different sellers, displaying a range of items from fruits to fish to flowers to leather goods and scarves, and everything in between.

Here are a few pictures I took of les fleurs (the flowers) they sell at the market. The flowers are so beautiful that it makes me want to fill our entire apartment with them.

No Comments | Posted in: France, Paris | Tagged with: Bastille, Market, Paris
Taste of Saint-Germain Food Tour

June 7, 2013

Last summer we found a great website and blog, Paris by Mouth, that talks all about Paris food as well as conduct food tours and tastings. At the end of our Paris stay last summer I went on a cheese tour that was not only informational but also a lot of fun. So this trip we planned to go on tour while our friend Allison was in town.

And thus, this past week we went on a food tour of the Saint-Germain neighborhood. The neighborhood is located on the left bank in the 6th Arrondissement in Paris and known for being artistry with many galleries as well as being an upper-class bourgeois residential district, with high-end clothing stores and restaurants.

We started the tour out at Poilâne. Then on to Pierre Hermé, known for their famous macarons, although my favorite was something called a crescent ispahan. This lovely thing was a crescent topped with almond glaze, rose, raspberry compote, and lychees. Our next stop was at an indoor market for meats and cheeses. The gentleman who owns and runs the boucherie (meat shop) is well-known around Paris and as you can see from all the medals above his head, has won a few awards for his delicious meats.

Our next stop was a little wine shop, La Derniere Goutte, which was perfect because it started to downpour. After the ran stopped and we had snacked on our meats, cheeses, and desserts, we ended our tour with chocolate at Patrick Roger’s, who might just be the best chocolatier in Paris. Diane, our tour guide, was wonderful and had a great story. It was a perfect food day!

1 Comment | Posted in: Food, Paris | Tagged with: Food Tour, Paris