Treasure hunting at Les Puces Saint-Ouen in Paris!

Salut mes amis!! I am back in (rainy and cold) London after a lovely four day long weekend in the city of lights. I had the most amazing time spending time with my friend, exploring the city, eating delicious food, drinking champagne, unleashing the inner kid in me at Disneyland and of course shopping up a storm! Being away is always fun but have to say it is good to be home sweet home again. 

My journey home yesterday wasn't as smooth as I'd liked though because I had the biggest WOOPS moment ever!! So here I am at Gare Du Nord in Paris queuing up to catch the 3.15pm Eurostar train back to London with my luggage and maybe a couple of additional shopping bags in hand hehe. To get to passport control you have to scan your ticket but every time mine kept coming up with a big red cross. Slightly frustrated and annoyed I went find one of their staff so they could 'fix' my printed ticket to ensure I could get on my train home. Anyway....the lady ended up taking my ticket away and came back 5 minutes later explaining to me that the ticket I had for the 3.15pm train was actually for the day before?! O...M....G.....I couldn't believe I had somehow booked my return train for the wrong day. It's so out of character for me because I am normally so super efficient haha. But yes as you can imagine, I felt like a right idiot :(

I ended up having to buy a brand new (and pretty expensive, I might add) ticket to still get me home that same day which was an annoying waste of money but you know what, the weekend was so brilliant that there's no way I am going to let this (silly) mistake I've made ruin my lovely memories of the weekend!! 

One of the things I did in Paris was visiting the city's most famous flea market. On Sunday afternoon we made our way to the north edge of Paris to hunt for treasures at 'Les Puces de Saint-Ouen' 

These markets have a very long history because they have been around since 1885 and it is the largest antique market in the world, receiving between 120,000 to 180,000 visitors each weekend.

Le Marché Aux Puces Saint-Ouen is massive. It extends over seven hectares and contains more than 2000 shops! To get to the markets we took the metro to Porte de Clinagncourt and from there you walk to the markets. On the way to the actual markets there are lots of busy street shops and people selling cheap (aka fake) clothes, shoes, watches and bags etc! Note; these are not the real Les Puces de Saint-Ouen; they are inside hidding in little side alleys after you get through the crowded streets. The actual flea markets are very calm and more for collectors and antique dealers from all over the world.

Want to come treasure hunting and exploring with me?

Loved this big table!

Seeing these really made me want to get an antique mannequin dress form for my room!

Loved all the keys.....

How amazing are these coloured pump bottles and that antique clock?

Beautiful prints!

Jewellery, jewellery and more jewellery everywhere!

From Paris with love....a huge selection of old postcards....

I wish my french was better so I could have read some of the stories on them.

Imagine the secrets and romance stories that could be written in these old cards? :)

How super duper cute is this dog? Unfortunately he wasn't for sale.....

I just loved browsing all the little streets looking at antiques and other used goods. It's a great place to get inspiration for fashion or home/interior design ideas. The markets are open every Saturday and Sunday and also part of the day on Monday. For more information on Le Marché Aux Puces Saint-Ouen visit their website www.marcheauxpuces-saintouen.com

Did I buy anything at the markets? Slightly inspired by the Tiffancy & Co key pendants, I ended up buying myself one of the antique keys! Who knows what it unlocks or who it once belonged to....I suppose I will never find out! But I can't wait to get a nice chain for this and wear it as a necklace :)

Me, on the day, as a happy flea market shopper :)

Things nicely brings me to today's hump day message! I can't believe it is Wednesday already.
Only a short week at work for me, yay!
More posts on Paris to follow but for now...

Happy Hump Day everyone :) xoxo

Paris is always a good idea

Audrey Hepburn once said "Paris is always a good idea".....

...and I personally totally agree with that!

This weekend the Queen of Great Britain celebrates being on the throne for 60 years and she was so kind to give us TWO days off to help her celebrate the Diamond Jubilee. Thanks Elizabeth!! :)

However instead of staying in the UK for the festivities I decided to make the most of having a four day weekend by spending the weekend with a friend of mine in one of the best cities in the world! 

Paris is one of my favourite cities and I can't wait to soak up the music, love, lights, macaroons, fashion, cheese, parks, paintings, bridges, restaurants, croissants, wine and the list goes on....

Paris is full of inspiration so I can't wait to take lots of photos and have a fun time!

Au revoir, mes amies...see you when I get back :) xoxo

Spring/Summer Floral Print Trend +

Flowers are blooming all around us, including in our closets :) Roses, daffodils, daisies and orchids are a big fashion trend for Spring/Summer 2012. Floral prints have been all over the runways by designers from Prada to Dolce & Gabbana to Valentino. The floral trend is feminine and fresh, and a great look to ensure you stand out from the crowd this summer. 

You can mix up the colours to suit your mood, whether you feel like wearing bold colours such as red and blue, or more subtle colours, such as white and black. The floral trend is completely versatile, so you can adapt it to suit your personality; so don't think floral is only for girly girls or grandma's; it can also be an edgy bold look!

From the runways the floral trend has also hit the high street and I just couldn't resist picking up this floral print floaty top from ZARA a little while ago. I am not normally one for girly prints but I seem to received lots of lovely comments from people when I wear this top so I am glad I added this cute top to my summer wardrobe. Here a recent outfit of the day:

Silk sheer floral ruffle long sleeve top by ZARA

Light blue jeggings from H&M (as seen here)

I love the added shoulder ruffles on this top!

♥ My arm candy:
Watch by Michael Kors (find online at ASOS here)
Silver lucky clover bracelet (as seen here)
white crocodile bone ball bracelet (my parents bought it for me on their recent holiday to Cuba)
Gold cable bracelet with heart by Regina Pierallini (link)
Heart charm chain bracelet by Tiffany & Go
Turquoise and pink bracelets by H&M

Beige leather pump wedges by Invito (on sale now for €49.99 here)

I honestly can't enter a ZARA store at the moment without buying something!

These are some other florals items from ZARA that I have my little eye on....

♥ I absolutely ADORE the white floral blazer.......

What do you think of the floral trend; will you be adding some blossom to your wardrobe this summer?

London nights out: The River Cafe Restaurant

A few weeks ago it was my flatmate's birthday so we decided to celebrate this special day together the only way we could think possible....over good food!! We are both real foodies so for her actual birthday night I got us a booking at one of London's top Italian restaurants that had been on our to-go-to list for a while but warrented a special occasion and this was certainly a perfectly good reason to spoil ourselves to a lovely evening out!

The River Café is located along the north bank of the London Thames near Hammersmith and Fulham and was set up by acclaimed British chef and cookery writer Rose Gray (together with Ruth Rogers) in 1987. Since then the restaurant has become a bit of a London institution for its simple, unpretentious but delicious flavours of Italian home cooking with an emphasis on the finest ingredients. The restaurant earned a Michelin star in 1997 and is also known as a breeding ground for a number for successful chefs that have trained in its kitchen; Jamie Oliver, Sam and Sam Clark of Moro and Ed Baines of Randall & Aubin; just to name a few!

The restaurant is a not an easy find, being a bit hidden off the main roads but well worth finding because when you arrive you are bound to love the outdoor garden terrace (which we decided deserves a re-visit for a sunny outdoor weekend lunch sometime this summer!) and the stunning view overlooking the Thames. 

Here is the birthday girl overlooking the river by a pretty spring sunset!

I have to say from the moment we walked into the restaurant we were wowed by the customer service of the super friendly and helpful staff. The restaurant has incorporated the bar, dining area and kitchen area into one big space housed in a warehouse. I loved the modern, fresh and light interior and felt the place had a great buzzy atmosphere!

The menus at the River Café change twice daily to respond to the seasons and what is best in the market, with simplicity being key to their food. Signature dishes include the wild mushroom risotto; Dover sole and John Dory smoked in the restaurant's own wood stove, plus the must have rich Italian desserts including lemon almond cake or the chocolate "Nemesis" cake (but more on that later...) 

Now onto the menu for that day...

Each menu is is set out in a traditional Italian way with antipasti, primi, secondi, i formaggi and dolce e gelati. Each dish looked so mouth watering..we definitely took a while to decide what to order on the menu, we wanted to try everything! 

But first things first...... a prosecco to toast to the birthday gal :)

Washed down with beautiful home cooked bread and their own to-die-for olive oil!

We decided to share two entrees....

The antipasti with the most amazing mozzarella I've ever tasted. It just melted in my mouth!

And char grilled scottish scallops with fresh chilli and rocket and broad bean salad. 

For the mains I had the grilled Sea Bass and my flatmate the perfectly cooked lamb.

All the food was delicious and let's say those plates left our table sparkling clean hehe. It just proves how very simple ingredients can make the most amazing meals. 

Then even though we were pretty stuffed after all that food, we just HAD to make room for dessert:

1) it was her birthday

2) their signature dish the 'Chocolate Nemesis' sounded too good to resist and

3) we are both huge dessert lovers and we are often heard saying 'there is always room in that seperate compartment of your stomach, reserved just for dessert' ;)

I had told the restaurant it was her birthday so they were very sweet and brought the dessert out with a candle and Happy Birthday written on the plate! ♥

This was truly a spectacular cake! It is part flour-less chocolate cake and part melt in your mouth chocolate mousse..nommmmmmm. It's light, fluffy and incredibly moist but definitely very chocolately and filling at the same time. I am glad we shared this dessert because we couldn't have had a whole piece of this indulgent cake after our dinner. I loved this dessert so much that I tracked down the recipe to try to re-create this epic cake for a dinner party some time to wow my guests socks of with! 

Here is the recipe if you want to give it a whirl yourself and please do let me know how you get on :)

The River Café’s Chocolate Nemesis (serves 10-12)

675g dark chocolate (70%)
450g butter
10 whole eggs
675g caster sugar

Melt the chocolate and butter together in a bain marie. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees and line a 27cm springform cake tin with foil.

Beat together the eggs and sugar with an electric mixer for five minutes until they’ve quadrupled in volume. Fold the chocolate and butter mixture into the eggs and sugar and stir thoroughly. Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin.

Place the cake in a large roasting tin in the oven, then pour enough boiling water into the tin to rise 3/4 up the side of the cake. Cook in the preheated oven for over an hour, then turn the oven off and allow to cool completely before removing. Serve with crème fraiche.

Make a wish birthday girl :)

We had an amazing evening and it's definitely one of those restaurants that makes you want to get a 150-hours-a-week job as an investment banker, just so you can afford to eat here every day!

The River Café
Thames Wharf, Rainville Road, London W6 9HA
020 7386 4200
www.rivercafe.co.uk

Hear hear Julia!

"It's fun to get together and have something good to eat at least once a day. 

That's what human life is all about..Enjoying things" ~ Julia Child

Happy Hump Day everyone! xoxo