west end lite

According to visitlondon.com, West End has a fantastic range of theatres, tourist attractions, hotels, shopping, and iconic streets. I had little desire to spend any time there (as I insist on not being a "tourist"), but! catching up with the lovely Daisy de Plume was a must.

After that full day in East London, I nearly slept in until our lunch date at Bea's of Bloomsbury. What a treat--both sleeping in and lunching with her. And though I may have stumbled through a bis exchange (gosh darn reassimilated American!), Daisy, the kind soul and adorable pregnant momma that she is, didn't seem to mind.

Following our date, I ventured over to the nearby Charles Dickens Museum to spend my time wisely while waiting for Rachael.

Yes, I'm aware this move made me a tourist. So be it! It was raining again and I'm quite the fan of Oliver Twist.

To continue with the touristing, Rachael and I went on to have cream tea at Soho's Secret Tea Room. And as we finished up our last bites of scone with raspberry preserves and clotted cream, we looked into theaters and well-reviewed plays nearby.

Then we ran over to purchase last-minute tickets to The Play That Goes Wrong. We got lucky with great seats at a very discounted price. To celebrate, Rachael and I clinked glasses of champagne before going in to laugh our asses off at the Dutchess Theatre.

And laugh our asses off we did. My empty stomach was sore by the play's end! To remedy the situation, and cap off a spontaneously hysterical evening, Rachael and I made yet another fabulous decision to late night-dine on fancy fish and chips at The Ivy.

It was the most perfect British send-off. The next morning I boarded a train to Amsterdam to visit my brother and Lorelei...

springtime saturday

Happy second day of spring! Autumn may be my favorite season in New York (and overall), but printemps takes the cake in Paris (especially when March 21st is also Café Loustic's birthday and they're serving free cupcakes). Yesterday was festively sunny and mild, too. Case in point: Rachael, Lorelei and I caught up over a crisp bottle of white wine. Picnic-weather's a comin'. And clearly the prospect of that has me in brighter moods. To belatedly celebrate, let's review another gorgeous day, Leslie's last in Paris:

On the accidentally perfect agenda: brunch at Rose Bakery (with scones, of course), flea market browsing, an unexpected brass band show, Montmartre shopping, a stroll through the Promenade Plantée, Palais-Royal break, apéro at Juveniles, and a Strobi dinner.

knit + tea goûter

Yesterday, I went to a tea party. I'd thought I was going to Katie's apartment to learn how to knit (a pastime I surely once believed to be only of old ladies), and instead spent four hours enjoying green-jasmine tea, Earl Grey cake, lavendar scones, clotted cream, raspberry jam, and un gateaux au chocolat. It was basically a little girl's dream come true in the company of six inspiring women.

They proved my entrepreneurial expat theory true again, with new Australian, British, and Taiwanese applications. And as I walked home, coming down from my sugar high, I couldn't help but think how much I've grown into myself since coming to Paris, too.

I have yet to accomplish any great success, at least in my mind, but I recently feel certainty in an "I'm onto something" sense (thesis-wise and not). Just as we can only work with tangled yarn by knitting past the knots, so is true in life. Granted, I'm only familiar with such wisdom grace â word of mouth... but still. We intend to actually knit next time. For now, there's a sweetness to our hopes.

"Some periods of our growth are so confusing that we don't even recognize that growth is happening. We may feel hostile or angry or weepy and hysterical, or we may feel depressed. It would never occur to us, unless we stumbled on a book or a person who explained to us, that we were in fact in the process of change, of actually becoming larger, spiritually, than we were before. [...] Those long periods when something inside ourselves seems to be waiting, holding its breath, unsure about what the next step should be, eventually becomes the periods we wait for, for it is in those periods that we realize that we are being prepared for the next phase of our life and that, in all probability, a new level of the personality is about to be revealed." -Alice Walker, Living By the Word

first, central park

Remember how I mentioned that "two friends from Oklahoma flew in for the weekend" to attend my Bon Voyage party? Well, they did so as the best last-minute surprise. On Thursday, K found out she had a long weekend from work; she bought her plane tickets almost immediately and invited her boyfriend to join; even though he didn't have as much leisure time, he chose to take her up on her offer. They arrived at 4ish on Friday afternoon, just five hours before the party.

Yeah, you're right, I do happen to know the most amazing people. I was also lucky enough to have these incredible friends of mine occupy my Saturday as we introduced A (K's boyfriend) to New York City.

11:45am: Brunch at Sarabeth's Central Park South (coffee with cream, original mimosa, spinach & goat cheese omelette, scone).

1:00pm: Stroll through Central Park.

[Meghan, me, Tanya, K]

2:15pm: Walk down Fifth Avenue and through Rockefeller Center.

3pm: Take a Times Square break as they purchase last-minute TKTS.

4:30pm: Enjoy a stretch of the High Line.

5:15pm: Lounge for a bit overlooking the Hudson at Chelsea Brewing Company with a microbrew of choice (Belgian-style white for me).

5:45pm: Venture from the pulsing Meatpacking District to the eclectic East Village in order to have dinner in Tompkins Square Park.

6:30pm: Revel in each other's company and the absolute delight of S'mac's multigrain pasta with Manchego cheese, fresh fennel, onions, and spinach.

7:15pm: Bid the first adieu that brings you (me) to tears. "How lucky I am to have something [as in more than one someone] that makes saying goodbye so hard."

breakfast tea possibilities

Remember how I said making a special breakfast ensures a good morning? Well, going out for breakfast, especially on a Monday, makes for a great one.

Yesterday, my roommate Catherine and I began our days at the whimsical Alice's Tea Cup. Why? Neither of us had been yet. Plus, she has a few days off as she transitions from her old job to a new one, and I often work from home anyway. 

Inspired by afternoon tea at various restaurants and hotels around the world, this adorable tea room offers a nearly overwhelming assortment of teas. It took me a while to choose but eventually I decided upon the classic Alice Tea.

'Twas a wonderful choice. This house blend of Indian black Vanilla tea with Japanese green tea and rose petals was "smooth and subtle." And, according to Alice's Tea Cup, was brewed to perfection in 180 degree double-filtered water.

For my entrée, I opted for Alice's Florentine (sautéed spinach and poached eggs atop buttermilk scones and served with a side of mixed greens). It was an incredibly clean-feeling breakfast--a quality my body enjoyed greatly after a very social weekend--and. I loved the scones (good not great).

I also love the story of Alice and Wonderland. In sixth grade, I played the role of the White Queen in our school play, and now, I want to watch the movie again. Hoping to fit it into this busy week! Either way :) a little magical insight for you...

"Alice: This is impossible. The Mad Hatter: Only if you believe it is."

baked with love in the berkshires

Good morning, darlings. I hope you're feeling as well-rested and revitalized this Monday as I am. To kick off the sweet week ahead, I enjoyed this for breakfast:

It was perfectly light and delicious, served warm to enhance the blueberries.

There was also some plain yogurt with cinnamon and an obligatory mug of tea. 

I hardly ever have baked goods for breakfast (anymore), but this one was special; this scone had been baked fresh yesterday afternoon at A-Frame Bakery. We had passed it on our way to the inn and had it on our mind all weekend.

Yesterday afternoon, Anna, Katie, and I decided we needed fuel for the road (cookies, cinnamon rolls, etc) and edible souvenirs for the upcoming week.

So we stopped. A-Frame Bakery was even more adorable than I'd realized. The couple in front of us ordered cupcakes that had just been frosted. We admired the muffins, brioche, and cakes on display, and were told that chocolate-chip cookies were on their way out of the oven. In the end, though, I decided upon scones. They are a bakery favorite of my dad and I. A boy that couldn't have been older than 12 years old (the baker/owner's son, I assume) cheerly asked me if that would be all, carefully placed three scones in a plain white bag, and quickly rang up the order. He wished us a great day as we left; leaving the wilderness (and the sweet, buttery quintessential bakery scent) behind as we headed towards our not-so-quaint city.

What a weekend. As Anna highlighted: alcohol [beer and wine], bean boots, mountains, art x 2, chocolate chip cookies, scenic drives, sweet potato fries. I'll reflect on it more over the next few days (there was snow and salad, too), but now that breakfast has already been enjoyed, I really must get to work. 

With that said, I honestly have yet to come down from my Berkshire-high. Case in point: although scones are almost always this shape, I told myself this particular scone was inspired by the unique A-frame of my new favorite bakery...