a penny well spent

an afternoon sweet

a must read

a great way to use my pennies

Sometimes,

I get so annoyed when I open my wallet and the only coins I have are pennies.

When I need a quarter

a penny just doesn't do.

However,

I found a way to use all of my pennies.

Last Thursday,

as I was waiting for a friend to get off a shift at The Penny Ice Creamery

...

I decided to grab a cone and relax with a good book.

Little did I know,

that it was Penny Thursday

(you can get an additional scoop for only a penny more)

a sweet deal if you ask me!

So,

I used one of my endless amounts of pennies,

ordered a scoop of brown sugar oat walnut and a scoop of kiwi sorbet

and,

there I contently sat with my book

knowing

I was putting my pennies to good use!

I haven't been able to put The Blue Chair Jam Cookbook down

(a spontaneous purchase last week)

...

the photos,

recipes,

and

stories

are simple,

sweet,

and I am aching for a good jam day.

The first recipe I will try will be blueberry mint

...

can you just imagine the taste of it

...

delicious!

A couple things to look forward to on Coeur de La

...

an exciting giveaway for the month of February,

and a blogger meet up that left me so happy to be part of such a great community

...

more on this later.

Happy Monday!!

Bisous.

The winner of The Homemade Life Giveaway is ... La Petite Coquin send me an email with your address and I will send you your loot.

CONGRATS!

Elijah Bleu's and The Lake

playing with aperture

Elijah Bleu's

waiting

an eclectic decor

Marc's drink of choice

sweet and homey

watching

slowly

my favorite

the smallest details

my drink of choice

the lake in winter

a little yoga?

admiring

a pink hue

LOVE

us

Don't you just love

(when you least expect it)

...

finding a fantastic coffee shop.

When Marc and I were recently in Tahoe

we went to downtown Truckee to explore.

We walked, admired and perused.

Just as we were calling it a day

we both noticed a blue electric light that said

...

BLUE BOTTLE COFFEE.

And, we literally both were stopped in our tracks.

Obviously,

we had to check this place out and I am so glad we did.

First off the name had me at hello,

Elijah Bleu's.

Secondly,

the decor was eclectic, homey and a little bit hippie

...

my favorite way to decorate a space.

Marc ordered a kambucha

and

I ordered a slow dripped coffee.

And there we sat,

happily for an hour or two taking in the aromas of the coffee shop

and a good day.

After,

we drove to the lake to watch the sunset

and honestly,

there is something so magical in a winter sunset.

Bisous!

Wednesday Walks

a good friend and her camera

one of my favorites

moving

yellow tulips

color coordinating

simple and small

a must grab

golden beets

a blood orange ... gorgeous

!

I am starting a Wednesday series called

Wednesday Walks.

This Wednesday walk happens to be one of my favorites

...

a walk through my local farmers' market.

...

I hope it will inspire you to grab a camera and go for a walk

or

grab a latte and go for a walk.

Either way,

there is nothing like a good walk with my camera in hand,

Tom's on my feet,

while

carrying a bag filled with sweets

as I walk down some of my favorite streets!!

Happy Wednesday!!

Bisous!

this and that

finding balance while at Lake Tahoe

1. Yoga is ahhmazing and offers me so much balance.

2. I am signing up for the San Diego Marathon tonight!

(any other blogger want to run with me?)

3. I am going to offer small tips while training for a marathon during these next five months.

4. Don't forget to enter the Homemade Life book giveaway

5. What do you want to see more of on Coeur de La?

Have a great day and I just wanted to say thank you to Coeur de La readers

for keeping me positive yesterday!

Your comments and encouragements are so appreciated!

Bisous

sometimes ...

Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead. The consciousness of loving and being loved brings a warmth and richness to life that nothing else can bring.

Oscar Wilde

Without going into details,

this weekend

left me feeling

thankful for my family.

Sometimes,

life isn't always about coffee, croissants and chocolate.

And, if you do one thing today

call someone you love

and

tell them thank you!

Bisous.

breakfast, lunch and carrots

fresh carrots

pickling

steel cut oats with apples, almonds and brown sugar

a veggie sandwich for lunch

hummus from our hummus guy at the market

Lunch

lunch at home

Breakfast ...

steel cut oats with apples, almonds and brown sugar.

Lunch ...

a hummus sandwich with tomatoes, zucchini, sharp cheddar, mixed greens, and avocado

and for a snack ... pickled carrots.

These past couple of weeks I have savoured these two meals

and

dabbled with pickling carrots

using this recipe.

Classes are underway,

papers are due

and

my weekdays are incredibly busy

so,

I take solace in having go to meals for breakfast and lunch.

I hope everyone is having a great week

...

the weekend is almost here.

I joined a book club that Nadia put together

from

La Porte Rouge

and

I must say I am pretty excited about it.

And,

being that I love a good book

and to thank all of you for your kind comments and inspiration

...

I am giving away one of my favorite books ... A Homemade Life.

To enter,

leave a comment telling me something about yourself

...

it can be anything ... a favorite post on your blog, your favorite sweet or your favorite book.

The giveaway will end next Friday, January 28.

Bisous!

a macaron morning

Things to know about making Macarons

1. Be Fearless

2. Be patient

3. Follow the recipe

4. While you wait drink a chai latte

5. Bake with a friend

6. Understand that making these decadent little sweets will have you dreaming about making them and you will want to bake them all the time ... they are highly addictive!

7. Again, be fearless in the kitchen and do not listen to those who tell you how hard they are to make ... they are not easy but they are so rewarding when made right.

8. ENJOY!