Early Morning Muffins

early morning muffins

fresh from the oven

Blueberry Muffin Mornings

I love early morning muffin making ... rinsing fresh blueberries, sipping tea while lingering over a favorite recipe, improvising and finding that an equal amount of wheat flour to white flour actually makes for better muffins, and taking in the sweet smells of blueberry muffins on a quiet morning. I have much to share with you this week: a date night that left me giddy, a day trip that made me happy, and a jam class taught by Rachel Saunders that still has me smiling. I hope your weekend was lovely!! Bisous.

Blueberry Muffins
Do: try using wheat flour
Must: early morning muffin making
Indulge: eat two

a weekend spent jamming and a winner

Cheers to the weekend!

Jams

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!! What are your plans for this long weekend?? Tonight, Marc and I are going on a date ... Mexican Food, grabbing lattes at our favorite café, and then watching a play. Tomorrow, we have a day trip planned that involves a long run, wine, and pizza. And, what I am so elated about is ... I am taking a jamming class through Blue Chair Jam. To say I am excited would be an understatement. The class I am taking is a Jam Making 101 and yes, I have made a lot of jam but, I feel like it is always so beneficial
  to go over the basics, master them, practice them, and never be afraid to relearn things.

I will have so many stories to share with you next week!!
On another note, the winner of the Coeur de La giveaway is Brittany from Life of Charmings.  Congratulations!!! And, thank you to all of the readers who left those hefty and delicious comments. All of you should be food writers.
Remember, you can still get 15% off any purchase on Alana's site ... the code is books. So, technically you are all winners. Happy Friday! Bisous.

the weekend ...

wedding toasts

admiring the food

my favorite

ahi tuna 

my brother and sister

taking it all in

among the flowers

Eat!

a perfect salad

dinner

Toasting to Ally and Amir

 Bouchon Macarons

And, eclairs!

For the Road!

This past weekend was filled with: colorful dresses, lots of smiles, family and friends, delicious food, lots of dancing, mint tea on a warm afternoon, breathtaking weather in the Napa Valley, and lots and lots of laughter ... all because of my sister's wedding!!  The weekend can only be described as beautiful.  Moments like these make me reflect on what is important ... family!!  Congratulations Ally and Amir! Happy Monday! Bisous.

Don't forget to enter the Coeur de La giveaway.

a little crumb and a giveaway

Miette

excited

all of the colorful sweets

my favorite 

that one

sitting in the park

for you

Miette ... French for little crumb ... pretty much the perfect name for a sweet shop that carries ... candy, cakes, cupcakes, macarons and all things sweet. I first stumbled upon Miette a year ago, and since than have only fallen more in love.  Last week, while Marc and I were on our San Francisco adventure we popped into the Hayes Valley Miette for some macarons.  After making macarons with one of my sweet friends (she is quite the impressive macaron maker) I have given myself the title of a macaron connoisseur.  And, I've been quite critical with other macarons because ours were just SO GOOD. Once I got over my ego Marc and I admired an array of macarons. We chose a rose geranium, a hazelnut, and a traditional chocolate ... and, our choices were in fact the right ones ... they were incredible.  So there we sat, macarons in hand, smiles on our faces, enjoying the afternoon while we devoured our sweet little macaroons.  And, the only thing that we left behind were crumbs ... a sign of a perfect macaron.

Miette, Hayes Valley SF
Do: visit
Must: order a macaron or two
Favorite: the rose geranium

On a different note, I was so excited with the response I had to my Coeur de La necklace that ... I am offering a giveaway for Coeur de La readers.  Alana is such a talented friend of mine and whether I am wearing my wishbone necklace or my Coeur de La necklace that she surprised me with, all of her creations never cease to amaze me.  Lucky for you, Alana is offering a 15% off code for Coeur de La readers for the next month!!! First, go to her etsy, peruse and admire, and if you find something (which I am sure you will) enter your code for your discount ... the code is books. And, there you have it!! This is open to Coeur de La readers ... a gift for you!


As for the giveaway 
one Coeur de La follower will win one of Alana's heart necklaces ... with one of my favorite things inside .... your necklace will say ... BOOKS!! Because, who doesn't love them!! 
Giveaway Rules:
1. Giveaway will end Friday, May 27th
2. Leave a comment telling me a story about your favorite sweet, dessert, food, meal etc.
3. Leave a comment telling me your favorite book
4. Giveaway is open to Coeur de La followers

Also, if you live in the San Francisco area check out Alana's creations at the Renegade Handmade Fair on July 9th and 10th or, if you live in the Los Angeles area her creations will be at the Renegade Handmade Fair on July 16th and 17th. Don't forget to check out her website www.alanadouvros.com or her etsy ... here.

Bisous!!

sweet treats

A Latte at Hooker's Sweet Treats

A Latte to share and two salted chocolate caramels

The first bite

merriment

content

a sweet smell .... chocolate peanut butter cookies straight from the oven

some sweets to go

There is nothing that I love more than a sweet, yet salty, chocolate caramel. I had read about Hooker's Sweet Treats on one of my favorite blogs, The Snail and the Cyclops, and immediately knew I had to go there. So, after our adventure on Valencia Street, Marc and I made our way to Hooker's Sweet Treats. The shop is quaint, unique, and the smell of sweet chocolate fills the room.  While there, Marc and I ordered a latte to split and two chocolate salted caramels.  The chocolates were creamy, smooth, and I knew I had to order some to go.  I sat at the communal table giddy with joy as I truly had found ... the perfect chocolate caramel. So, the next time you are in San Francisco indulge your sweet tooth at Hooker's Sweet Treats.  On our way out, a sheet of chocolate peanut butter cookies were brought out of the oven and I kid you not, the smell has not left me.
Bisous.

Get Lost

Ritual Coffee Roasters

my ritual

LOVE

vibrant colors

Lunch at The Blue Fig

Croque Provencal

Valencia Street

Last Friday, I was assigned a photography project called Get Lost. The goal of the project was to take a day trip and get lost. Normally,  when I head to the city, I tend to go to my usual spots. But, this time I wanted to venture out, try new places, see new things, and find good coffee.  We ended up spending morning and evening in San Francicso. We walked everywhere.  I came back home with over 400 photos ... plenty of shots for my project.  So, as I was looking through my shots I got a little idea ... over the next week I will highlight each place I perused to.  That way, if you live, visit, or are planning to see San Francisco in the near future, you will have some new places to visit. Or, it might just inspire you to get lost in your favorite city!!

First up, Valencia Street, San Francisco:
Must: Grab a latte at Ritual ... I love the name as coffee drinking for me is in fact a Ritual.
Keep an eye out for: all of the vibrant colors and cute boutiques
Do: people watch, I got so much style inspiration while I discreetly people watched.
Lunch: Marc and I stumbled upon The Blue Fig Café and could not have been happier. We ordered a Croque Madame and a Croque Provencal, and both dishes were made to perfection. The meals were fresh, filled with flavor, and had us carrying on a conversation of mmm's!

So, the next time you take a day trip ... Get Lost!

in search of the perfect scone ... and lattes too

a perfect strawberry scone from:

Cafe Delmarette

Verve Coffee

mornings with my sister

savoring each sip

what was left

the Santa Cruz sun

an afternoon latte

Cafe Delmarette

Sweet Spring Strawberries

a cute little bunch

taking it all in

This past week my sister and I went in search of the perfect scone.

And,

after grabbing morning lattes at Verve Coffee in Santa Cruz

our barista gave us a tip as to where we could find

a perfect scone.

Don't worry,

our never ending search for the perfect latte has not been put on hold

...

scones just happened to take precedence at that moment.

So,

Wednesday afternoon,

we made our way to Cafe Delmarette,

ordered two lattes

and one strawberry scone to split.

The strawberry scone was perfectly made,

not too soft,

moist,

and the strawberries did not overpower the buttery scone

...

perfection.

So,

there we sat,

drinking out lattes,

chatting about life,

and nibbling on a perfectly made scone.

Afterwards,

we headed over to one of my favorite Farmers' Markets,

purchased fresh asparagus

and admired sweet strawberries that glistened in the Santa Cruz sun.

I am off on a photography adventure today that will have me

going to a new chocolate shop,

drinking lattes,

and

soaking in the good weather.

Happy Friday!!!

Bisous.