You know you've lived on the East Coast too long when...

You know you've lived on the East Coast too long when...

In the midst of a hectic research/work/study schedule, I suddenly realized two very interesting things... 

1. I haven't baked in about two weeks (which is terrifying for me, however my waistline is much happier.)
2. The snow is almost completely gone and its warming up, is it really almost the end of February?   

To rectify point #1, I tried baking macarons again. This recipe is courtesy of Dave Lebovitz with a lot of helpful tips on how to perfect this deceptively easy cookie recipe. If you've never had traditional french macarons I can't really say you've lived life. We were gifted this wonderful treat by our friends who had visited Paris and brought back some macarons from the famed Laudree, there were so many beautiful flavors packed into these lightly crunchy on the outside and melt in your mouth on the inside confections! After finishing the box (this was a very sad day in the Chai household) I vowed to learn how to make them. Using the Lebovitz recipe my first try turned out really well: 

I want to say I did something special, but I really didn't...and these were so good that the whole batch lasted about 20 minutes in the house. So I figured I would re-try the recipe recently and it completely failed! I just got flat,chewy (albeit delicious) cookies. It was quite disheartening and I chalked up the first experience to beginners luck. Hopefully the third time is a charm, I plan on giving it a go this weekend!! 

Anyway, the weather has been remarkably better, especially considering we wait for the bus every morning and somehow that's become more tolerable with the weather being 45F+. Granted, now I know I've been living on the East Coast for too long...48F is balmy. This terrified the native Californian in me, who probably back home in 48F+ would be wearing a parka. 

Other than the usual things we are busy with, we have finally finalized plans for our winter trip to Paris!! This is super exciting because Bryan has never been to Europe so I'm definitely going to enjoy watching him lost in translation for about a week and a half. We have rented a flat in the center of Paris - very close to Notre Dame and about 3 minutes from Les Halle. Being there for Christmas and NYE will definitely be a great experience and while we'll definitely miss spending the holidays with our family, it seemed like a good opportunity to travel to Europe since its just across the pond!

We are really looking for suggestions on where to go and what to do from family and friends who have visited!! Especially off the beaten path type places, we love that! 

S.