A Joyeux Noel Indeed

A Joyeux Noel Indeed

One of my fave pics taken - from top of Arc du Triomphe,  unintentionally wrong aperture and speed.

Its amazing what a difference a 7 hour flight can make. We  had been on vacation (officially) 2 days and were already in the happiest mood!  We stayed in the 2 Arr. which is perfectly located in central Paris. We were able to walk to the Galerie Lafayette and Printemps on Friday evening, which was ...hectic to say the least. It was beautiful but felt a little like Times Square - a gazillion people + shopping. To avoid the crowds we ducked into a Monoprix and did some shopping to stock up on the essentials. On the way back from our jaunt we stopped off at the Rue Montorgueil - gorgeous street lined with shops, markets, brasseries, boucheries, boulangeries and cafes! Needless to say that a few hours were spend eating escargot and sipping cafe in one of the quaint cafes. Its amazing how much people watching goes on over here; where we were seated was facing the sidewalk and it seems like a national past time to people watch (and smoke!).

Day Two was spent touring the Jardin des Tuileries and walking all the way down the Champs Elysees to the Arc du Triomphe. The day was brisk and sunny so it was perfect weather for walking; we were able to check out some of the Christmas Market at the Champs Elysees and to also see (and climb) the Arc du Triomphe; a gorgeous Napoleonic piece of history. (I can still smell the sweet scent of vin chaud and crepes being made as we walked by each stall)

Christmas dinner was at Le Train Bleu at the Gare du Lyon ; a famous resturant constructed during the late 1800s with elaborate frescoes on all the ceilings. A sumptuous 7-course meal was  presented in traditional French - fare and we were stuffed by the end of our meal to say the least.

Since most of the boutiques and cafes were closed - or running on holiday time - we decided it would be best to explore some the churches on Christmas. Once of which included St. Eustache ( which was a few minutes from us) as well as attending an organ concert on Christmas night in Notre Dame Cathedral. The concert itself was played on the large organ and the movements were very long; can't even imagine what is must have been like to play there as an organist. The sound was beautiful because it echoed throughout the entire church and surprisingly it wasn't as packed as we thought it would be!

Versailles was on the docket for the next day and while it was beautiful and grandiose in all of its French splendor, the hoardes of tourists was quite a bit much to handle. Still we enjoyed walking the grounds and seeing a bit of French history.

The rest of the week was spent walking around the various arrondissement and randomly finding ourselves in cafes and restos. We were able to see the Eiffel Tower (of course) and it was much more stunning in person than from far away. You always seem to see it peeking between buildings in the skyline of Paris, so being able to see it up close was really special.

We spent a few days touring the museums as well including the Musee du Louvre and Musee D'Orsay. Which I must say D'Orsay was our favorite - impeccably curated with tons of works from the big names in Impressionist paintings as well as post-Impressionism and pre-Modern. Absolutely breathtaking to see all those Monets, Chagalls, Renoirs up close!!

New Years Eve was spent back out at the Jardin des Tulieries - because you have a view of the Eiffel Tower without having to brave the huge crowd!! It was actually really wonderful to ring in the new year watching the lights glitter of the Tower at midnight, magical almost.

As you can tell Paris has left a huge impression on us Chais; we definitely cannot wait to make a return trip to Paris and hopefully next time to the countryside as well. (Granted, since we have been back we have been having some serious carb-withdrawals -I can't even begin to explain how good all breads/pastries are over there. In fact I don't think we had a meal that we disliked! Definitely miss being spoiled by that!)

I'll be posting a link to our photo album since I didn't want to bog down this page with all the pics!
Paris Album

Au revoir!
S

October in Pictures...

October in Pictures...

Hanging out at the Bentley Football game, cheering on Kyle. 

Players warming up.

Visiting friends in Boston, Ma.

Candlepin bowling. MUCH harder than I'm making it look, with my perfect form and everything ;)

Crisp, fall morning pic from our building before heading down for work.

An interesting display at a Wal-Mart in Virginia. (Don't even know what you would do with all of that processed meat!!)

Our team for the Tough Mudder, VA race.

Bryan making his way down an obstacle.

Bryan and our friend Greg awaiting my approach to the half pipe.

My very feminine and dainty run up the half pipe, thanks to the guys who dragged me up the rest of the way!

The final obstacle, Electroshock Therapy - running through a bunch of live wires, ouch!

Decided to go for a Star Wars theme for our Halloween Party - I'm Princess Leia, Bryan is a Sith Lord and Napoleon was Yoda!! (Obviously he loves his costume based on the facial expression)

His + Hers Pumpkins. Can you tell which one the dentist carved?

Halloween Cake Pops I made for the party!

October was a very very busy month for us.... A trip to Boston to watch Kyle play Bentley Football, visiting old dental school buddies...Then the Tough Mudder race in the Virginia mountains the next weekend (10 miles up and down mountains definitely took its toll!!)....then hosting a Halloween party at our place for all our friends!! As busy as we have been - we're so grateful to have the opportunity to travel and to spend time with great family and friends! Hope you enjoyed the pics.

Next up on the itinerary -  Thanksgiving in CA then our winter retreat to Paris!

S.

there's a chill in the air...

there's a chill in the air...

Absolutely couldn't wait for the weather to get colder. It was the most welcome feeling EVER. Nothing beats the east coast fall/autumn, crisp sunny days and chilly nights. Perfect weather for apple cider, pumpkin carving and hearty home cooked meals.

In addition to enjoying the weather...Bryan is pulling teeth and taking names in clinic and I'm trying to finish my thesis this semester, so needless to say the Chai's have been having quite the hectic fall season.

I've also developed quite the online shopping problem... as you can see below I had to purchase my seasonally fashionable boots...this year its suede wedges. (I've convinced myself that this will be tre chic for our trip to Paris in December but maybe not if we're trudging through the snow!) I've also found ways to justify other purchases online for Paris - which means we'll be living off of croissants and cappuccinos alone for two weeks.

Anyway, below is a delish recipe for an Apple Dutch Baby, a baked pancake, that is perfect for lazy Sunday morning breakfast and ideal with a cup of coffee or tea. I made it using some fresh Jonagold apples, milk and eggs from the market, which is typically what I end up doing most Sunday mornings. I love making breakfast/brunch with my market finds, its such a great way to start our Sundays. Here's the link for the recipe Apple Dutch Baby - I would note that they didn't include any extracts, but I would add about 1/4t. of vanilla or almond extract.

We're headed back to CA this week for Kylie's 1st birthday - although it doesn't even seem like a year since that little angel entered all of our lives, looking forward to seeing the West Coast fam and friends! Have a great start of October everyone!



S.

Still enjoying gelato at Pitango during the fall....especially the affogatos!

Huge boots! I'm about 5'9 in these, love it!

Apple Dutch Baby, fresh outta the oven, sprinkle liberally with powdered sugar!!

Someone is definitely enjoying his Sunday nap and the cold weather. 

A much needed respite...

A much needed respite...

Spent a couple of days Labor Day weekend in Santa Fe, NM with Aunt Tish and Uncle Rich. Neither of us have ever been to the Southwest and I must say, we were extremely surprised with how much we enjoyed everything there.

I'm not going to lie, the amazing hosts, nice dinners, perfect weather, shopping and spa day definitely didn't hurt either...but Santa Fe definitely has gorgeous mountains and desert terrain. (Unfortunately I got lazy and didn't take my nice camera so my phone pics will have to suffice!) Of course the Southwestern influenced cuisine, extensive art galleries and turquoise jewelry were ever present - all of which made for a much needed getaway.

By the way, anyone going to Santa Fe needs to book a day at the Ten Thousand Waves Japanese Spa - it was the best 4 hours of my year so far hahaha.

October outlook is insane, three weekends out of Oct. we will be traveling out of state, hopefully I can post some pics though!

View from the kitchen out onto the terrace.

Bryan in relaxation mode.

Me posing with the pepper ristras.

Enjoying lunch al fresco.

Getting blinged out with some gorgeous turquoise and gems. 

Hurricane? What hurricane?

Hurricane? What hurricane?

I'm not going to lie - I was actually excited to experience my first Hurricane. I know that sounds absolutely insane, but considering it wasn't going to be severely damaging to MD it seemed a little exciting. Considering we just experienced two natural disasters in a week - earthquake on Tuesday and weekend of Hurricane - I can't say it hasn't been interesting. Although I must say, being a native of CA the earthquake was a bit unimpressive. But I guess I'll take unimpressive and safe natural disasters over any other kind.

With Labor Day weekend coming, we'll be headed out of town - to avoid the maniacal Baltimore Grand Prix - which I'm sure will be amazing, but I'll pass on the madness of later summer + alcohol + racing fans in favor for a gorgeous, relaxing weekend in Santa Fe!

Will post pictures soon, take care!