The Thankful Project: November 23rd

The Thankful Project: November 23rd: Hot Tea

Growing up in Minnesota you have no choice but to have thick skin for the winter. It could start snowing as early as October and could last into April, but you just accepted that and moved on with life. However when I moved down to North Carolina, I quickly lost my Northern blood and became a pansy for the cold. I use my heat seat all the time and I have a heat pack I bring to work all year long. North Carolina has mild falls and springs for the most part with an occasional snap of cold. Well today is one of those cold snap days. It was below freezing when I ventured into the office today and boy was I thankful for a hot cup of tea in the office this morning.

When I lived in England I drank tea all the time. My flatmate Liam would actually wake up early in the morning to get the kettle going so we all could have hot tea before we headed out for the day (boy do I miss that luxury). When I returned back stateside, the “sit and enjoy a spot of tea” mentality just wasn’t the same; maybe it’s American consumerism, the American mentality of never enough time in the day, or the obsession of Starbucks (guilty) but I rarely drink tea these days. After today though, I’m reminded why I love hot tea and the nostalgic and warm feelings you get by drinking a wonderful cup of Earl Gray.

Cheers to a wonderful week!

Jour 5 à Paris: A Day on the Island

Another morning of sunshine greeted us today. I love being able to open up the tall window coverings and expose the day to the beautiful sights and sounds of Paris. Mornings are so wonderful because our little area is bustling with life as parents get their kids ready for school and business people head to work. We headed out this morning the Île de Cite, or the City Island, to visit Notre Dame Cathedral. I never realized that Notre Dame was on its little island in the city, and it amazes me that it has stood there for hundreds and hundreds of years.

Inside the cathedral is just outstanding. The stained glass, the gothic architecture elements, the cool and damp feeling is just like how you imagine it when you’re reading Hunchback of Notre Dame! It was dark and peaceful inside. I loved reading the history of the cathedral and how the construction has developed since the dark ages. This cathedral is a must-see for anyone who visits Paris just for the pure beauty of the architecture alone.

After finishing our tour of the inside we wanted to go to the top of the cathedral so we went outside to the left of the cathedral for the door and the line was backed up for ages. We decided to stand in line hoping it’d go fast but later found out that they only let 20 people up every 15 minutes. At that rate, I did the math and we would’ve waited for three hours before we could’ve made it into the entrance. Just as we were weighing out the ‘should we or shouldn’t we’, the skies opened up and it started pouring rain. Well that basically answered it for us and we ditched the line and sought shelter in the crypts of Notre Dame.

Inside the crypts were old ruins and foundations of a time long ago. The little village that surrounded the cathedral (which later would become Paris) was built by men and women who laid brick by brick and stone by stone. As a history buff I found it interesting to see the beginning foundations of Paris and what it tells historians about life back then.

By the time we reappeared from underground the rain had passed and we were able to move on. On the one side of the river is a famous book shop that has been there since the 1950s- Shakespeare & Co. I of course had to stop and bum around the nooks and crannies of books and find a book to purchase to receive the iconic ‘stamp’.

Post book-purchasing we walked along the little narrow streets of Paris and came across a man making crepes at his shop so of course we all had to split a nutella-banana crepe because when in Paris…

One crepe and a few metro stops later we found ourselves at the Galleries Lafayette, a grand and luxurious shopping center that blows any other mall out of the water for opulence. The interior is just fabulous, the designers are wonderful, and the shopping is awesome. The iconic dome structure in the center of the mall is full of stained glass and ornate details. It’s here that I saw and fell in love with the pink Eiffel Tower Longchamp bag for the first time. Oh and besides shopping here, don’t miss an opportunity to walk to the top terrace of the mall for a super chic place to have a snack and catch some wonderful views of Paris, the Eiffel Tower and the Grand Opéra.

Next we took the metro towards the famous boulevard, Champs-Elysées for afternoon tea at the Ladurée. We’ve done tea at Harrod’s in London and mom had come here with Lisa before but this was  my first time at the original tea house. Inside it was opulent, feminine, and fabulously decorated. We each got a pot of tea and a sweet dessert from the wonderful selection of treats they had in the case. 

















I’m a visual person so I honestly don’t know what I ate or what it was but I pointed to the pretty pink one and chose that. We each sampled and nibbled while we enjoyed our afternoon tea as we desperately needed a pick-me-up after a day of running and yet we still had stuff to do! We opted to wait to get iconic macaroons for a later date as we were too full from the desserts and tea. However it was a good thing we had some energy left because we had one more big thing on our agenda for the day: the musée de Louvre.

First off let me tell you that it’s almost embarrassing to say how little time we spent in this wonderful and amazing museum. However sacrifices had to be made, and sometimes you can’t do it all so this was one of the places that kind of got short changed. However the nice thing about today was that the museum was open late! Normally it closes at six o’clock or something like that but tonight it was open to eight o’clock. My tip is to definitely check out when museums are open late (usually there is at least one night that it will be open for longer hours). So we arrived at the Louvre and obtained a map of the ‘highlights’ such as the Venus de Milo, Mona Lisa and the Winged Warrior.

















 In the matter of a few hours we hustled from one room to the next and managed to see a handful of the highlights before we were over it, too tired and ready to go. Next time I’ll definitely have to spend more time in this wonderful museum and probably plan on spending at least a half day in this museum alone.

After a crazy long day on our feet we started the walk back to our apartment but stopped at a wonderful restaurant for some French onion soup and crème brûlée before finally calling it a night and returning to our sweet little abode. Tonight we will sleep well.

A Cupper + A Cake: Strawberry Almond Scones

I love a good cup of tea. Earl Gray. Dejareeling. Ginger Peach. There's nothing like a good cupper on a rainy day to get the creative juices flowing. But sometimes a cupper just isn't enough, sometimes you need a great little companion to go with that steaming cup of your favorite blend: a fresh, homemade scone. One of my favorite summer time scones are fresh strawberry with a dollop of lemon curd on the side. Yum! This afternoon I tried a new recipe for strawberry almond scones, originally from Krissy's Creations, I found the recipe on Pinterest and wanted to give it a whirl.

Strawberry Almond Scones

2 c. All Purpose Flour

1 Tbsp. Baking Powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 Tbsp. Sugar

5 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter (cold)

3/4 c. Milk

1/4 c. Heavy Cream

3/4 c. Fresh Strawberries, Hulled and Chopped into small pieces

1/4 c. sliced almonds

2 Tbsp. Strawberry Preserves

1 tsp. lemon juice

**I didn't use preserves as I didn't want the batter to get too moist

**I add another tbsp of sugar to the mixture

**I added about 1/2 tsp almond flavoring + 1/2 tsp vanilla flavoring

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line 1 baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone mat.

Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Cut the butter into 1/4-inch squares, and add it to the flour mixture. Using your hands, or a fork, break up the butter until the butter pieces are no bigger than small peas, the mixture is crumbly. 

Make a well in the center of the mixture and pour in the milk and heavy cream. Using a spatula, fold the mixture until the liquid is fully incorporated into the flour mixture.  Add the fresh strawberries, sliced almonds, strawberry jelly, and lemon juice.  Using your hands or a spatula, carefully fold the mixture to incorporate all of the ingredients into the dough.  I like to use my hands so I can be extra gentle with the mixture and to make sure all the strawberries aren’t squished.  Don’t worry if the strawberries slightly bleed into the dough, this is inevitable because of the strawberries juices.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface.  Lightly coat all sides of the dough with flour.  With your hands, carefully press the dough into a ¼-inch thick rectangle.  Try to press it out until it is about 10 by 5 inches.  Using a 2-inch round biscuit cutter, cut rounds of dough and then transfer each round to the prepared baking sheet.

Bake until the scones turn a light golden brown, about 20 minutes.  Transfer the scones to a cooling rack to cool until warm.  Serve and enjoy!

Tea in Stratford #tea #teatime #stratford #england #travel #studyabroad

Tea at Chatsworth Estate #tea #teatime #england #travel #afternoon

Mum's Visit: London

Friday morning we had to rise before the sun to get ourselves up, out and ready to catch a train to London first thing. The wife at the bed & breakfast was absolutely precious and prepared us a delicious breakfast which we had to scarf down to catch a taxi to the train station. We had four days in London and we wanted to get as much done as possible!

Day 1: Our train rolled into Euston station and we took the underground to Camden Lock area which is where we were staying. Dropping our luggage, we hit the pavement to start off our whirlwind time in London- straight to the Tower of London. We did a Yeoman tour which was hilarious and yet very informative, our guide was quite cheeky! We even got to go into the chapel where Queen Anne Boleyn was buried, which I didn’t get a chance to do last time I was there. We saw inside White Tower, the Bloody Tower, and of course, the Crown Jewels which were stunningly spectacular. The sun was setting as we left the Tower of London and headed to take pictures of the Tower Bridge which was illuminated blue. Grabbing our first Starbucks of the trip, we just sat and reflected on the day, chit-chatted, and tried to figure out what to do that evening. We finally decided on going to the London Eye. The Eye was a great experience, you could see for miles around London and it really showed you how large the city was. Not sure what was going on, but fireworks popped up in the sky all around us which was fun. After that, we wanted to cross over the river and see Parliament, Big Ben and Westminster by night. While we were over there, we stopped in at this beautiful looking pub that was right across from Parliament. The food was delicious, and they had my brand of favorite apple ‘cider’, so we were all quite happy and full by the end of the night. 

Day 2: We started off our day with a trip to Notting Hill to visit the Portobello Market. The Market was fantastic, which antique dealers, food shops, jewelry stores, typical “London” stores, and so forth. There were street performers and singers on the street that added to the atmosphere. We ended buying several treasures and bumming around most of the morning. We stopped off in Notting Hill town center for a Starbucks, yum, and then stopped in a couple of adorable stores on the way. We were so close to Kensington Palace, we decided that we’d walk to Hyde Park and then go tour the Palace. Kensington was beautiful, and the fact that Queen Victoria grew up there, Princess Diana lived there, and now William & Kate are going to be residing there…well it was surreal to visit. After closing Kensington down, we took the underground to the fabulous Harrod’s to go to the Laudree for tea. Harrod’s was absolutely stunning and extravagant; I’ve never seen so many designer names under one roof. Laudree was such an experience, and we all got to share some delicious sweets. We dotted around town for a bit, seeing all the Christmas lights of Leicester Square, Trafalgar Square, and Oxford Circus before heading back towards Camden Lock for dinner. We went to this chic Italian restaurant which had incredible authentic Italian food. Yum!

Day 3: Sunday was our day for a small outing from London city: Windsor Castle. Windsor was one of my favorite parts of our London trip. It was absolutely grand and stately, definitely worthy of royalty. The interior was stunning, beautiful furnishings, lush fabric panels, grand fireplaces, breath-taking chandeliers…it was definitely worth the trip out to Windsor! I found it incredible that the Queen still resides at Windsor and parties and holidays are still thrown in those very rooms. It was quite cold that day, probably one of the coldest days there; so after spending several hours walking through Windsor we wanted a warm lunch or tea. We ended up at the Drury House, which was established in 1645. There was a blazing fire in the fireplace and the interior was old and charming. We got to have a traditional Sunday Carvery and tea, which was lovely :) Afterwards we bummed around town which had tons of shops and places to see before heading back into London for the night.

Day 4: Our final day in London was literally a jam-packed day, where we had to finish everything we hadn’t seen yet. First things first, we went to St. Paul’s Cathedral and got to experience the opulence of St. Paul’s. The Cathedral was stunning, there aren’t many other ways to explain it other than that. After St. Paul’s we went to Westminster Abbey. If any of you know me, you know how much I love William & Kate…so the fact that I was walking down the same aisle she walked down to become Princess Catherine…eek! I loved every moment of it. Talk about a surreal experience. Next we went down to Green Park and walked through the park to Buckingham Palace and got to experience that. Then finally, to end our time in London we had high tea at Kensington Palace in the Oragnery. It was a peaceful and relaxing way to end our pavement-pounding weekend in London.