Deck the Halls With Bows of Holly!

Well I hope everyone had the chance to shop their hearts out during all the Thanksgiving sales! And enjoyed delicious meals with family and friends! TENNY: I'm sure YOU had the BEST food ever seeing as how yummy all your pictures look! We need to go to France together so you can take me to that bakery!! Now that Thanksgiving is over, it's time to get in the holiday spirit and deck the halls with bows of holly! This is my absolute favorite time of the year. There's something so magical about Christmas...everyone is full of love, joy, and spirit...I know it sounds sappy but it really is extraordinary. That, and it gives us great excuses to go shopping! Speaking of which, I went to the Fashion Valley mall in San Diego yesterday and bought a great pair of boots for only $35 at the store "Reflections". H&M also had some really great winter clothes. And I got your present, TENNY! I'm SO beyond excited to give it to you and see you again!! Other than the holiday cheer, nothing much has been going on in San Diego. Unfortunately next week is finals week :( But after that I'm off to Boston and Connecticut to enjoy a true white christmas! Happy Holidays everyone!

FY,
N

Going, Going, Gone

As promised, we will now examine more complex pastries than croissants. There are literally boulangeries and pattiseries everywhere along the streets, and most of them have very good bread and pastries. I mean, compared to the bread and "cake" we get in the States, a typical shop in Paris would be at least twice as delicious. However, in a city of pastries, there are certain shops that are the best of the best -- they offer the most satisfying treats in a city already full of dizzying sweets. One such place is the bakery/pastry shop Thevenin, which is conveniently located five minutes from my school. (Why.) Seriously, everything within the walls of Thevenin is HEAVEN. Above is the amazing Charlotte aux fruits rouges -- an unbelievable little cake topped with blackberries, strawberries, and raspberries, and filled with raspberry cream, blueberries, and cassis. So much better than my dad's strawberries and cream cake from Safeway. And the Charlotte is just my latest discovery. At Thevenin, the Tartelette aux framboise passion below is perhaps their most famous pastry -- a raspberry tart filled with passionfruit cream. Everytime I get to the shop after class, it's always sold out! I've only been able to buy it twice out of the many times I've been there. Anyway, as of now, if you asked me the infinitely tough question, "What is the best bakery/pastry shop in Paris," I would say this one is it. Nisha, if we ever come to Paris together, I am taking you here, first thing.

Top of the World

Take the never-ending elevator up the Eiffel Tower and, on a good day, you can see Paris far and wide. This first is looking down at the Palais de Tokyo, which houses a modern art collection.
The second picture with all the bridges below brings to mind the first lines from Apollinaire's poem "Zone":

À la fin tu es las de ce monde ancien
Bergère ô tour Eiffel le troupeau des ponts bêle ce matin
Tu en as assez de vivre dans l’antiquité grecque et romaine
Ici même les automobiles ont l’air d’être anciennes
La religion seule est restée toute neuve la religion
Est restée simple comme les hangars de Port-Aviation

Which translates to: You have grown weary of this bygone world/ This morning Eiffel Tower shepherds, your flocks of bridges bleat/ Too long you have lived with Roman and Greek/ Here, even the cars seem ancient/ Religion alone remains religion fresh-revealed/ Simple like the hangars on a landing field.
...it sounded better in French.

That's right kids, fight for the telescope that neither of you can really reach.

Happy Turkey Day!

Happy thanksgiving to everyone! First of all I would like to mention that I am so very green with envy that Tenny was able to take a class at THE Cordon Bleu! That almost makes up for you not being at home for Thanksgiving! The pictures of Paris are gorgeous and make me want to go to Europe now! On another note, I am finally home and have never loved Paleezee Alteezee (as my cousin referred to it just now) so much!

In the spirit of thanksgiving, here is a list of things I am thankful for:

1) My family who have endlessly supported me and encouraged me throughout my life.
2) TENNY for being the best friend I could ever ask for. I am truly blessed to have found my shopping partner in crime. We've come so far together and I can't wait until you get back so we can have many more good times together!
3) All of my friends who have stuck by my side through thick and thin.
4) All my teachers for taking the time to pass on their wealth of knowledge.
5) Aldo for having a great sale on the bag that I wanted as well as free shipping. Needless to say, the shopaholic inside of me took over and ordered it online.
6) My beautiful house in Palo Alto.
7) All my ∆∆∆ sisters in San Diego and all my friends in SD.
8) The heater in this house that would otherwise form an iceberg.
9) Our wonderful president, Barack Obama.
10) God for giving me everything that I have as well as the many opportunities I have.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Love you all!

FY,
N

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's hard not to be with family on Thanksgiving this year, but this store in the Marais probably makes expatriots feel better. Thanksgiving is essentially an American grocery store with the largest selection of genuine American brands. You laugh at its name, but you have no idea how hard it is to find chocolate chips, oreos, CHEDDAR CHEESE, pumpkin pie ingredients, maple syrup, and various other American staples around here. My friends and I are definitely getting pumpkin pie mix from here for tonight!
On another note, French people have zero idea what "Thanksgiving" is. As a matter of fact, we Americans were trying to explain why we should get a day off from school today to our French class, and the guy sitting next to me got this really confused look on his face and asked, "Zanksgeeving? Mais qu'est-ce que c'est?" Missing out on some good food, French people! Plus missing out on some good deals -- I am SO sad I will not partake in Black Friday this year like I always do.
If you're ever in Paris and in need of American comfort food:
Thanksgiving
20, rue St Paul
75004 Paris

Cooking with the pros

Ahh the Cordon Bleu -- the storied alma mater of Julia Child, Mario Batali, and Audrey Hepburn's Sabrina -- who knew I'd get a taste of your greatness? It turns out the Cordon Bleu in Paris offers many cooking demonstration classes for the general public, and I was lucky enough to be part of one. Our chef Marc Thivet, pictured above, was the cutest, most quintessentially French chef ever. He called his sous-chefs mes enfants or "kids." And they were so obedient. For our class we made cappuccino de carrottes au cumin et croustillant de canard confit avec confiture de roscoff et pruneaux -- a carrot puree with whipped cream, and a duck confit in a roscoff onion and prune concotion, wrapped in a thin crispy shell, nestled in a port wine reduction sauce, over a lamb's lettuce salad with apples, mushrooms, truffles and a lemon vinaigrette. That was a lot of information. But it was SO good and unfortunate that we only got to taste a small amount, since there were so many people in the class and there was no way our chef was cooking full portions for everyone. But delicious nonetheless!

I have a problem

That there is the flagship Louis Vuitton store on the Champs-Elysees. I ventured into the HUGE multi-floor luxury ordeal, filled with rich Asian ladies and their rich little doting Asian husbands. But Louis Vuitton is not my problem. That stuff is too expensive to concern me. My problem is having H&M, Zara, Sephora, and loads of other stores within walking distance of my apartment. Coming from suburban California, I have never been in this situation before, and at times I just don't know how to deal with it. I mean, these stores are like beckoning me to walk in. What am I supposed to do? So far I've been good about not buying too much stuff because a)the euro-dollar exchange rate is really NOT american-friendly at all and b)my suitcase space is limited. But the holiday season is coming, and I am so excited to buy gifts for friends and family at the shopping-district-next-to-my-house and the Paris Christmas markets!

Lunch in the Marais

I finally got to taste the world-famous fallafel at L'As du Fallafel. The restaurant's motto is "toujours imitie, jamais egale" -- always imitated, never equaled. I could not agree more. It was seriously the best tasting fallafel -- nearly best tasting anything -- I've ever had. The crunchy veggies, the heavenly fried eggplants, and of course, the chickpea miracle balls that could make me vegetarian. NISHA YOU WOULD DIE FROM TASTE BUD OVERLOAD. Only a homemade sweet lemonade could match this specialty. And as if all that were not enough, I stopped at myBerry (HAHAHA myberry) and got frozen yogurt! (The ONLY frozen yogurt in all of Paris; apparently it has not caught on yet.) It was 5.80 euro for a medium-two topping, which was way too expensive. I had just been craving it for the longest time though! The only reason I didn't die after eating all this was because I basically walked five miles around the Marais.
To revel in the joy that is fallafel:
L'As du Fallafel
34, rue des Rosiers
75004 Paris

More Than Words

is a great song. New obsession. Along with many other songs (including Michael Buble's newest single "Haven't Met You Yet", John Mayer's newest album, and "Replay" by Iyaz)

Speaking of "Replay", here is a great acoustic cover of the song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPoWV6wOggE

I am now extremely envious of Tenny's beautiful pictures of France and am dying to see Culette as well as devour some of those delicious looking pastries. However, I am stuck in San Diego. Where people wear shorts and sweats on a daily basis.

Anyhow, I have a NEW bag that I am in love with:

http://www.aldoshoes.com/us/handbags/shoulder-bags-totes/product/76463079-damms/28

And my friend told me of a really cheap, cute store near here next to Target so I am planning on checking it out today....I'll let you all know how it goes!

FY,
N

Culotte

Yesterday I walked to the Marais, Paris' chic, eclectic "swamp," as the name literally means. It's full of little vintage shops, no H&M in sight. I found this store by accident, and I think it may be the cutest store I have ever seen. It's called Culotte, which means "underwear." It's mainly an accessory and jewelry store, with some clothing racks too. Everything about this store brings you back to your childhood, the pastel colors, the glossy bakelites.

You must visit this store if you're in the Marais, trust me.
Culotte
7, rue Malher
75004 Paris

Pick Your Poison

There are way more varieties of French pastries I have to share, but before the fancy stuff, the four basic types. Clockwise from top-left. PAIN AN CHOCOLAT: rolled pastry dough with two sticks of dark chocolate in the center. My favorite. PAIN AU RAISINS: a less crispy, slightly heavier pastry with raisins. Sweeter than the other three. CHAUSSON AUX POMMES: your typical apple turnover times a million in scale of delicious-ness. Airy and light, despite apple filling. CROISSANT: the veritable bastion. Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside. Photos from Bread & Roses, but more on them later.

Welcome to Paris

The Seine is tellement beau at night.
HI NISHA. OH MY GOD I MISS YOU SO MUCH!!! Wouldn't you say this picture could be a postcard? Everything here is just so picturesque.

After Our Long Hiatus...

So we've been gone for a while! Just as I had began to forget about our blog, I came across a friends blog and was re-inspired to write on here once again. A lot has happened in the past months and both our lives have changed drastically. It's funny to think that we posted these posts as high school seniors worried about college applications and stressing out about little things in life. And here we are just months later and I'm enjoying the college life at UCSD while Tenny is having the time of her life in France! (So jealous!!) She even saw the Sartorialist in person!!! (Super jealous!!!!) We've both started new adventures in life and our concerns in high school seem so trivial today. I know this was meant to be a blog on fashion but I'm going to go off tangent on a rant about life. Just the other day I was walking back from an 8 a.m. class half awake wearing some very unfashionable sweats when I came across a tour group of high schoolers and their parents. Major deja vu! It feels like just days ago that we were sitting in those small classrooms complaining about how badly we wanted to leave to college...who knew I would be here missing home? I never realized how distant I would feel from my family and friends and how much I would miss our days spent at the park or even just being able to walk to the local coffee shop. I can't wait for Tenny to come back in December and hear all about her fabulous adventures!!! Until then, I miss you lots and lots Tenny! And it actually feels really good to write all of this down.

On another note, I have been eyeing this adorable bag that I saw at Aldo, but cannot afford being a broke college student who has been shopping WAY too much lately :

http://www.aldoshoes.com/us/handbags/shoulder-bags-totes/product/75787047-nosel/46

It looks much better in person! I guess I'll just have to wait for it to come on sale!

And has anyone read the Sartorialist's book? I am dying to read it...maybe I'll order it online right now :)

And my newest obsessions include:
Tights, boots, pastel colors, plaid peacoats, floral patterns, and scarves

OH and also UCSD has some AWESOME vendors who have ridiculously cute dresses and shirts every so often that are only around $25! I have yet to successfully walk past a stall without buying something...

Fashionably Yours,
Nisha