La Pointe du Groin

Having just arrived back from a week in the sunny Dordogne village of Lanouaille, living like a princess in a French château for my brother's wedding, I am having post French living and Paris blues. It's the little things you miss: living next to a Boulangerie/Patisserie with fresh baguettes every day, the cheeses, the drinkable 2€ wine...but we'll save that for another day.

Alas, I though I'd share with you another of my favourite al fresco spots in Paris, introduced to me by a former colleague one working lunch, I then returned with mon petit copain in my final week in old Paname. Nuzzled between two of Thierry Breton's other hideouts Chez Michel and Chez Casimir, in the 10th arrondissement on the Rue Belzunce, you'll find La Pointe du Groin a rustic Breton restaurant influenced by the northern coast in Brittany. 

First of all, the restaurant offers a trip back in time, before we could pay by plastic, before euros and pounds...at La Pointe du Groin today's money is exchanged for old currency by which you pay with. It's a help-yourself from the water well pump service or choose from home-made lemonade, a country beer or regional wine. Serving rustic bread from la campagne with rich, salty, creamy butter on the side to whet the appetite, you can choose from a selection of provincial baguettes, rolls, hors d'oeuvres and delicious desserts at an extremely reasonable price.

La Pointe du Groin al fresco

Insert your card and voilà...in exchange for real money.

A very happy moi, home-made lemonade & a beer.

Entrée: Green olive tapenade and a rustic onion, tomato and rocket salad. 

Plat: Smoked salmon rustic roll and a saucisson & cornichon baguette - yum!

Finished off with an apricot and lavender panna cotta - we scraped every little bit of it up as you can see!

Research tells me that La Pointe du Groin is also on the Time Out 50 things to do in Paris list...so a definite must! Located with the nearest metro and station at Gare du Nord, there really is no excuse not to wander down upon your imminent arrival to the city of love and have a bite of rural France in the city. 

I do hope you take a stroll down, do let me know if you do and what you thought!

E x

Wednesday wishlist... #1

So it seems that summer really has said its goodbyes... As the weather has plummeted in the last few weeks, the colour of leaves are slowly changing from green to golden...to burgundy...to crisp and winter clothes have long been in stock. I want to hold on to that bright summer feeling for just a little while longer whilst staying warm enough to kick up leaves in the park and have a coffee alfresco. So here's my Wednesday wishlist #1, and outfit inspiration, grasping one of the season's biggest trends, monochrome, whilst holding on to the brightness and boldness of Cobalt blue with a pair of colour block, statement heels: 

Wednesday wishlist... #1

WATCH // Olivia Burton // Also available at ASOS. Neutral, simple and chic. From the moment I saw this watch I cast my lusting for Michael Kors and Marc Jacobs aside and immediately began a dream affair with Olivia Burton's Vintage Inspired Watches. I just can't decide whether I want blue or brown...

NECKLACE // Pull and Bear // Statement and stand-out costume jewellery has been on the radar a while now. This necklace is subtle yet compliments the outfits colours.

JEANS // Levis's for Next // Black jeans - a wardrobe staple.

HAT // Topshop // I actually have my own French Connection hat, similar to the Topshop one on the list. A great and chic addition to the outfit to my outfit inspiration.

TEE // Céline // Already ordered and on the way! I can't wait for this tee sported by Rhianna to arrive! 

SHOES // Ted Baker // The moment I set my eyes on these babies I was in LOVE! They just reminded me of Carries satin Manolo Blahnik's and I will never stop loving them even if I don't own them! Unless I find the money for the real deal...I'll just have to save up the pennies for these. 

This outfit is black and white and cool all over with a splash of colour to remind me that summer is only a recent memory.

E x

The one where I went to Venice in Sweden...

Cruising at 556mph, 37,000 feet above ground level over Denmark I was over half way on  my trip from London to Stockholm airport to visit my Father. A packet of McCoys flame grilled crisps, a peanut butter Kit Kat chunky, one coffee and a read of Grazia later we touched down in Arlanda airport, on the outskirts of one the most beautiful Nordic capitals, Stockholm, home to ABBA, H&M Ikea and their infamous meatballs.

Scandinavia's capital, Stockholm, home to fourteen islands, offers a huge range of exciting activities for everyone; museum junkies {of more than one hundred available it boasts this year's hottest news in the world of museums, The Swedish Music Hall of Fame and ABBA}; thrill seekers {Gröna Lund amusement park - which I have visited in the past, a great shout!} and nature lovers, the neighbouring {and not so closely neighbouring} 30,000 other islands create a beautifully tranquil journey from Lake Mälaren through to the the Baltic Sea.

Although I have been to Stockholm a fair few times in my lifetime visiting family and relatives, it has been a good eight years since my last visit and this time I was lucky enough to enjoy and visit the city and surrounding areas as a tourist-come-local with the guidance of my Father. 

Day one: We headed to the races..not you average Joe races but Harness {or Trot} racing and Sweden is the 'locomotive' of trot racing in Scandinavia. The difference? The rider doesn't actually sit in the saddle on the horse, but in a kind of wagon called a sulky pulled by the horse. Another major difference? The horse and rider are penalised and a lot of the time disqualified from the race if the horse turns from a trot to a gallop. {You learn something new every day}

A night at the races & Dad teaching me bad habits and making a few bets! You win some you lose some eyh!

The cruise: On the evening of the second day we headed to the ferry dock to embark on a mini-cruise through the Baltic sea and Swedish and Finnish islands to Turku in Finland. With a cabin booked by my Father and reservations made for the restaurant the following day, we were ready to set sail on our mini adventure. As we cast anchor and said good night to Stockholm, we watched one of the most beautiful city sunsets I have ever seen and drifted through the night through the islands. 

A the sun set over Stockholm the moon came out and we said good night to Sweden.

On board our amazing buffet lunch included three types of Caviar, Salmon gravlax, macaroons, a cheese board, beer, wine and much much more...and the best part...all you can eat and drink!   

...and awoke the rising Finnish sun. Good morning Turku.

On my final day we headed into Stockholm city centre, also known as the Venice of Scandinavia, to explore the Old Town, Kings Palace, changing of the guards and all the other beautiful sites it has to offer. The changing of the guards at the palace is a great experience, a definite must! We were in for a treat too as just by chance the ITU World Triathlon Series was being held so we had a stop off to watch the swimmers, cyclists and runners! 

Stockholm city, the Kings Palace.
What I wore: a cheap, trendy, comfortable summer city break outfit:
Top Primark, Leggings M&S, Shoes Converse, bag Longchamp, Sunnies H&M

The changing of the guards at the Kings Palace

Stockholm, the Venice of Scandinavia

Stockholm Old Town. Freshly made waffle ice cream cones. Delish!

Stockholm is a beautiful city and I would recommend it to any traveller! I was lucky enough to experience it once again the in hot Scandinavian summer sunshine as a local and tourist and look forwards to hopefully going back in the winter for some skiing and snowy fun!

Have you been to Stockholm? Let me know what your favourite part was or if you want some advice!

E x

Random facts I found out: did you know... 
...Sweden has the highest number of McDonald restaurants per capita in Europe (although that is only about half of the US ratio). 
...According to the International Coffee Organization (ICO), Sweden ranks second in the world after Finland in terms of coffee consumption per person. Coffee drinking is fostered through a tradition called fika — in which friends, family and/or colleagues meet for coffee or tea. - Italy who?
...On Easter children dress up as witches and go trick-or-treating. - strange right?
...The population of Sweden is 9.2 million, which is only a bit more than the population of New York City. -crazy!

RTW Fashion Week SS14

First thing's first - I cannot believe it's September already! Where has the time gone!?

Autumn's not even upon us, yet for months designers and brands have been working hard on the Spring/Summer 2014 collections - crazy right? 

Although the sun is still beating down and secretly everyone's hoping that the summer 2013 sunshine continues through September to October so that we can cram in those last minute BBQs, garden parties, picnics and of course top up our tan for those cold winter months that are looming, the world of fashion deemed this season over months ago and today marks the start of Fashion Week {or more like month} for the Spring/Summer 2014 trends.

It feels an eternity ago {it has indeed been six months!!} that I wrote about FWAW13, having watched, attended in Paris and read all about the upcoming trends and designer inspiration yet we still haven't hit that season!

Today Fashion Month kicks off in the first of the 'big four' fashion capitals, New York, followed by London, Milan and Paris trending next year's RTW collections and I'm super excited to see what's in store for us next year!

Remember...you may not like top expensive designers, but what you see on the catwalk during Fashion Week will filter down and influence the high-street purchases you make next year! 

Click link for image origin: New York, London, Milan & Paris

Spring/Summer 2013 brought pastels and neon, '90s teen spirit, Andy-Warhol inspired art-attack and much much more. Who knows what SS14 has hidden in its wardrobe...There's not much gossip to report on yet, so above are some pretty pictures of fashions favourite capitals waiting to be dressed from head to toe in top models, designers and their SS14 wardrobe!

I'll definitely been reading up and watching shows as the weeks go on, will you? What do you hope to see and wear next summer?

Enjoy the rest of the sun whilst it lasts!

E x

Missed my AW13 posts? Catch up in what I blogged about and see what's on trend this coming season >>> 

Paris Fashion Week AW13 Day 1

Paris Fashion Week AW13 Sonia Rykiel

Paris Fashion Week Day 5 Vivienne Westwood and Street Style