Category Archives: DIY

My Mother In Law’s Saffran Risotto

Posted in Dairy Free, Delicious!, DIY, Family, Foodie, Holiday, Paris, Recipe by

Christmas eve risotto with scallops and shrimp I have been dying to share this recipe with you ever since Christmas eve.But first, credit due where credit is deserved : this is my mother in-law’s special Christmas eve recipe, and these images (and instructions) come from our Christmas eve family dinner with them, which is her holiday tradition. Chéri and I helped in the making of this so that I could document it and be able to understand how to prepare it, perfectly. I hope we will have many more years together as a family making this amazing meal.

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Just looking at these images is making me drool. the memory of this meal is still fresh in my mind and seriously, it was so delicious we were singing her praises for days afterwards. Mmmmmmmm! Continue reading →

Ringing in 2014

Posted in American in Paris, Dairy Free, Delicious!, DIY, Foodie, French, Funny story, Holiday, Love!, Paris, parisian, Uncategorized, wine by

Cheers! Opening the bubbly for #NYE !!! With @ellacoquine and our chéris :-)Chéri and I had a fun intimate party for New Years Eve, at our place with Lisa of Ella Coquine with her chéri and our good friend Sophie. It was nice to just have a small group of good people gathered together to laugh, drink some bubbly, eat decadent delights and be silly until well past the pumpkin hour.

I served some of my remaining champagne from Mon Champagne, Hediard foie gras (splurge!), Lisa brought smoked salmon bites with a totally amazing dairy/soy free creamy dill dip, and amazing sweet marrons marinés from Sophie, and then of course one of my favorite foods, nêms! Continue reading →

Little Winter Indulgences

Posted in beauty, bon plan, DIY, Holiday, low cost, Paris, Practical info by

Little Winter Indulgences This time of year, a feeling of fatigue seems almost universal. We are over-worked, over-played, over-fed and over-spent. So I like to find small and simple ways to regenerate my energy and contentment that don’t take much out of either my pocket or my time, but have a maximum positive psychological impact.

Here are three ideas for indulging this winter, that I like to partake in…

1. Filling my home with comforting scents

2. Getting my fill of vitamin C.

3. Giving myself a little “pause beauté” to erase some of the effects of over-doing everything. Continue reading →

Prête-Moi Party

Posted in Accessories, Blogs, DIY, Paris, parisian, Pretty!, vintage, wine by

So the Prête-Moi Paris 4 year blogiversary fête was a hit and a success. Complete with a vintage fashion show, champagne, and a raffle for prizes, it was a feast of pink fluff, cupcakes and DIY!

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Sion of Paris Imperfect and Gail of Perfectly Paris ; Meg of De Quelle Planète Es-Tu? Lisa of Ella Coquine  Mary Kay of Out And About in Paris and Patricia of Patricia Parisienne have all written posts on the event. Thanks ladies! You make me sound waaay too fab! *blushing*

It was a fabulous gathering of our little blogging community in Paris, most of us expats, but a Frenchy and a best friend or two and the crowd was well mixed albeit largely feminine (yeah girl power!). Chéri high-tailed it far away for the evening. Something tells me all those pink puff scared him a little. But being the absolute chéri that he is, he helped me clean up every last sequin sparkle and cupcake crumb when it was all over. I am truly a lucky woman.

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Le Brunch…

Posted in activity, American in Paris, brunch, DIY by
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Image from Blog Alcazar (Click image for link)

LeBrunch

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…Le Brunch is a big deal here in Paris. Or maybe it is a world wide phenomenon going on. Because Sunday morning my instagram is choc full of brunch images from both sides of the Atlantic and even elsewhere in the world from all the trendy and interesting people I follow. I have gone out to brunch in Paris a few times, but generally I save that for a big occasion. Why? Because I work Saturdays and I just can’t drag myself out of bed (nor Chéri either for that matter!), and get dressed, do my hair (because non, I don’t leave the house and go out into the City of Lights without looking presentable, and yes, you can snicker and call me Parisian, I will take it as a compliment!). Sundays are sacred for me and Chéri. We rest. At home mostly.

But all those brunch photos!!!!! Continue reading →

The Truth About Chocolate Mousse

Posted in creative, Dairy Free, Delicious!, DIY, Foodie, Recipe by

So, apparently I am one of the few who “knows about” this discovery : chocolate mousse doesn’t need dairy -at all-. I came to the conclusion that most people don’t know this truth judging from all the recipes I see that call for all sorts of creams, and butters and crazy dairy requirements, and the fact that I have never met a restaurant that does it sans butter or cream. Even the dairy free recipes out there on the internet all call for the complicated substitutes that I just don’t want to deal with. Chocolate mousse is really quite a simple recipe. 3 basic ingredients are all it takes! P1190089 THREE! I wish more restaurants would get the concept since it would be nice to have something other than fresh fruit once in a while for dessert when I go out. But then I live in France, dairy land of the world. *sigh* … I suppose that the silver lining is that I have retained my figure.

When I want dessert, I have to make it myself. And usually I have to come up with all sorts of resourceful and inventive solutions to my creations to make them look, taste and feel like the “real” thing.

Luckily for me this is one of the simplest desserts out there!

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Cake & Bake makes me a cake!

Posted in boutique, creative, Delicious!, DIY, Foodie, Paris, Recipe by

Cake & Bake for Prete Moi ParisPaul Waters a.k.a. “Pastry Boy” of Cake & Bake invited me over to his boutique on rue Lancry in the 10th for an in depth demonstration of how to decorate a cake in fondant. Little did I know the surprise he had in store for me! He had conceptualized a cake just for Prête-Moi Paris! I was thrilled to watch the “sculpting” happen right before my very eyes, and to capture it all on video for you. In addition to being photogenic and just plain charming, Paul also has an expert hand, it meticulous when creating his masterpieces. He always made sure everything was just perfect! And of course, made it all look sooooooo easy in the process!

See what he is capable of here…and hold on to your bakers hats…this video goes fast!

Cake & Bake from Prete Moi Paris on Vimeo.

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Rochers Coco

Posted in Dairy Free, Delicious!, DIY, Foodie, Recipe by

My boss left a little magazine cutout with some recipes she found for me (she knows that I eat dairy free and my Chéri eats sans gluten). I was so touched that I was inspired to make one particular recipe to share with my colleagues.

Rochers Coco, has go to be the easiest recipe for the biggest taste. Bite sized coconut/vanilla sublime goodness… and my whole house smelled incredible while making them!

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The Wedding Tea Room : DIY Atelier

Posted in activity, DIY, wedding by

Frédérique, my dear friend of The Wedding Tea Room is taking reservations for an all day workshop for wedding DIY decorations and krafting.

Ma chère copine, Frédérique of The Wedding Tea Room prend des réservations pour un atelier DIY (fait-soi-même) pour les décorations de mariage.

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DIY : fun & frilly greeting card

Posted in activity, Budget, creative, DIY, Fun, inexpensive, low cost, Pretty!, romantic by

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I have a friend that I had meant to write to for quite some time…and the days turned into weeks and the weeks into a couple months! And before I knew I had become gravely late on my correspondance!

So to make up for it, I thought it would be the perfect touch to make it into a fun, DIY frilly card.

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