The very first diner en blanc took place in Paris’ Bois de Boulogne in the 1980s and has popped up in some of the most iconic locations around town since then, like the Champs Elysees, Notre Dame or the Place des Vosges to name a few. While I loved Washington’s first two diners en blanc, the sites (Navy Yard Park in 2014 and the Carnegie Library in 2015) had lacked a certain wow factor. This year, however, the organizers really delivered that only-in-DC magic as 3500 white-clad diners descended on Henry Bacon Park for an over the top, elegant pop-up picnic in the shadow of the Lincoln Memorial. Getting so many people, slugging their tables, chairs, decorations and for many food, to an ...
A Taste of Lille ~ Méert’s Legendary Waffles
No visit to the Northern French city of Lille would be complete without a stop at 27 rue Esquermoise. This address has delighted local gourmands since 1761. Initially, it was a humble chocolaterie and ice cream shop until it was taken over in 1849 by Michael Paulus Gislinus Méert who turned the shop into a local institution with its signature thin, gaufres filled with Madagascar vanilla. Today, the former confectionery is an elegant patisserie, salon de thé and gourmet gourmet restaurant and a must-visit sight if you're in the area. I don't remember the first time I had one of Méert's waffles, but I must have been a baby -- I'm a second generation Lilloise after all, though we moved to ...
Weekend Highlights ~ Restaurant Week, Caipirinhas & Grilled Peach Pizza
Definitely another low-key weekend... sometimes you just need some of those you know, especially as I gear up Diner en Blanc next Saturday. Friday night, I had a couple of girlfriends over for rosé on the roof. My friends Jean and Aparna can't make it to diner en blanc, so we thought we'd dress in white and have a bit of a test run. I'm being a bit of a rebel this year and sprinkling hints of gold into my tablescape so I wanted to check out how it looked. Plus I love any excuse to host. I think it turned out pretty well no? I wanted to keep things simple for the menu so I made Martha Stewart's Grilled Peach Pizza recipe as well as a pitcher of caipirinhas (check out my recipe here, along ...
Saying Adeus to the Olympics with Caipirinhas
While I haven't really followed the Olympics over the last two weeks, I've loved seeing the spotlight back on Rio de Janeiro and it's brought back some great memories of my trip there two summers ago. My husband and I headed to Brazil for the World Cup in 2014 and even got to cheer for France at Maracanã Stadium. Well, I cheered more than he did, of course ;-) In addition to Rio de Janeiro, we also traveled to Belo Horizonte where we cheered on England even though it was already eliminated from the tournament, the Minas Gerais where we witnessed what it's like to be in a really small town when Brazil wins a game and Foz do Iguaçu on the Argentine border where we saw that it was like to ...
Highlights From My Long-Weekend in Montreal
I first fell in love with Montreal when I was seventeen, so much so that I moved across the Atlantic right after high school to attend its prestigious McGill University. Recently, my college flatmates and I met up back in the city where we had lived together for four years for a quick 3-days mini college reunion slash girls getaway. Here are some highlights from my trip down memory lane back to the city I still love so much. WHAT BROUGHT ME TO MONTREAL? As I mentioned in the opening paragraph, I went to college there and hadn’t visited in a while (like 8 years a while!) So I was definitely overdue for a visit and when one of my university floormate and flatmate who lives in Calgary ...
The Best Ikea Products for Diner en Blanc
I've been combing through the new IKEA catalogue since it came out last week and re-designing my apartment in my head ever since. Because I'm in a Diner en Blanc state of mind right now, putting the final touches on my tablescape etc. I've been paying particularly close attention to anything white that I could possibly hack for the event or use as a fun little additional design piece. And guess what, you can pretty much find everything that you need for your table at IKEA. So if you don't have all of your stuff for #DeBDC16 yet, check out these pieces: Since the table has to be covered by a cloth, it doesn't need to be white and the askholmen table folds easily for transportation to and ...
County State Fair and Baseball Game – An All American Weekend Highlights
It's WAY too hot to spend a lot of time outside... so that's exactly what I did lol. What can I say? I made plans and I wasn't going to let record temperatures stop me ;-) These plans included Star Wars Night at Nationals Park on Saturday (pretty much the only thing that could get me excited about going to a baseball) and the Montgomery County State Fair with my friend Kaoru on Sunday. I mean, if you stay indoors with the AC on, you're basically letting DC's steamy summer weather win and we can't have that!! JASON WU FOR CAUDALIE LAUNCH EVENT I kicked off the weekend Friday night with my bestie at City Center DC where Caudalie was celebrating the launch of their Jason Wu collaboration ...
Soirée Guerre des Etoiles au Match de Baseball
Dans la catégorie experience typique Américaine à faire au moins une fois, je vous présente le baseball. Mon premier match c'était à Fenway Park, le terrain de jeu des célèbres Red Sox de Boston, qui est aussi le stade de baseball de plus ancien encore utilisé aux U.S. Tant qu'à faire, autant choisir un stade historique et une équipe mythique non? L'équipe de D.C. c'est les Washington Nationals et elle est plutôt nouvelle. La capitale Américaine avait été privée de son sport national pendant des années, jusqu'à ce que les Expos de Montréal débarquent sous un nouveau nom et branding en 2005, pour la plus grande joie de tout le monde. En contraste au Red Sox et à Fenway qui sont pleins ...
Happy Watermelon Day!
Rather than give you a French inspired recipe using summer's most refreshing fruit, pastèque, I give you one of the most colourful house in Washington, DC and one of my favourite piece of street art in the city: the Watermelon house!! The row house is located at 1112 Q Street near Logan Circle. Its exposed side has been painted in pink and green to resemble a has a watermelon slice, complete with seeds. Story has it all started with a bad paint job and since everything I know about Logan Circle's famed Watermelon House I know from this Washington Post article, you can read all about it there too. Oh, and if you really want some recipes, I do have two super refreshing ones for you right ...
Weekend Highlights ~ It’s Getting Hot In Here
It’s been a scorcher of a weekend here in Washington, D.C. with temperatures in the high 90s and very little breeze. With that in mind, I tried to beat the heat by staying indoors and pretending the icebergs at the National Building Museum were real and not just made of translucent polycarbonate panels! And yes, there was pastis and rosé involved, of course ;-) Friday night I actually stayed in and finally watched Mustang, which is currently streaming on Netflix. Mustang was nominated for a Best Picture in a Foreign Language at the Oscars this year as France’s entry, though it eventually lost to Son of Saul. I was a little disconcerted at first that it was picked to represent France, given ...
