I mentioned yesterday that even though we only spent the weekend in Paris, I had to spread it out over two blog posts. There’s just too much to say about that city! Matt always laughs at me: I’ve been to Paris twice now in the last two years , but it still tops my list of places I want to visit next. There’s something about it that always makes me feel at home. Plus, it was great to go back after refreshing my French conversation skills in Brooklyn last fall. I felt so much more comfortable chatting and making my way around this time. 

On Sunday, we woke up to sunshine, so decided it would be the perfect day to visit Montmartre, a place we missed on our last trip. We grabbed croissants at the boulangerie across from our apartment, and made our way to the metro…
(more…)

It’s hard to write about our weekend in Paris with just one post, so I broke it up into two separate entries so I had room to cover it all. 🙂 It’s just a two hour flight from Stockholm—so quick! Last time, we rented an apartment in St. Germain des Pres, so we decided to mix it up and stay in the 13th arrondissement this trip. There’s nothing more fun than combing through the apartment listings on Airbnb to choose a place. We found an adorable 1-bedroom right next to Place D’Italie and knew in an instant, it was perfect for us.

Have you seen Chef starring Jon Favreau and Sofia Vergara? For aspiring—or seasoned—foodies, it’s delicious (and inspiring) to watch. Favreau plays Chef Carl Casper, a one-time “best new chef” who loses his culinary creativity (and eventually, his job) while employed in a kitchen whose menu is dictated by a wealthy restaurateur. So, he has to start fresh. What better way than with a food truck?

My favorite description of the film comes from Favreau himself in this interview with Food & Wine. He says that the reason he wrote the film is less about a fascination with food or the restaurant business, and more about a way to tell a universal tale:

“It’s about losing the part of yourself that launched you,” he says in the interview. I think that’s such an interesting aspect of the film, especially in a climate that’s all about reinvention and channeling your inner entrepreneur.

Even cooler, Favreau employed the LA-based founder of the food truck movement, Roy Choi, to be his culinary advisor for the film. Choi’s one stipulation? He’d only do the movie if it looked absolutely real. The mouthwatering food scenes in the film are proof: His work paid off.

(Image 1, 2)

I’m back! My apologies for the lack of blog posts over the last few weeks. I’ve been playing catch-up after my vacation. What a trip! We made it all the way from Stockholm to Venice in 13 days. It was a lot of go, go, go, but so worth it to see so many sights. I figured I’d spend the next few weeks posting recaps of my trip (in case any of you are planning a Swedish, French or Italian getaway soon). So, to begin: Stockholm, Sweden! We arrived after taking a red eye from New York…

I felt super thankful that I could rely on my Swedish friend Anna’s 36-hour guide to Stockholm. She told us exactly what to do since we knew we’d only be in town for a short time. Here are my favorites:

**We stayed at the Elite Hotel Arcadia in Östermalm, a sleek and modern spot, located right next the metro. It was perfect for what we needed—the rooms are comfortable and spacious (with great wifi!). We dropped our bags, and headed out to explore. Despite the red eye, we decided we didn’t have time to nap, and pushed through our jet lag. 

**Stockholm reminds me so much of Boston—it made me so homesick for Massachusetts while I was there! We lucked out with blue skies and 75 degree weather for the two days we were in town, which meant we could basically wander from one neighborhood to the next by foot. Östermalm has lots of adorable cobblestone streets with sweet little shops (like this candy spot!).

**After walking around all afternoon, we made our way to Gamla Stan (Stockholm’s old town) and the Grand Hotel for dinner at Mathias Dahlgren’s Matbaren. The food was incredible—you order medium-sized plates one course at a time until you are full. The ambiance was perfect—just what we needed to wind down our first night.

**A few more spots worth checking out: The Vasa Museum features an original 16th century warship that sank on her maiden voyage before it left Stockholm Harbour. It was pulled up in the 1960s from the bottom of the ocean and restored. The result is breathtaking. I could have spent hours in this museum just imagining life on that ship. The museum is located right next to Djurgården, a large park next to the water that was originally created as the King’s private hunting grounds. It’s spectacular—and the equivalent of walking out of city traffic into the peace and beauty of Central Park.

We were sad to spend such a short time in Stockholm, but happy to fit in as much as we could. After walking around Djurgården, we made a mad dash to the airport to catch our evening flight to Paris.

Have you spent any time in Stockholm? What are your favorite things to do there? 

Stay tuned for my Paris recap later this week!

Happy Friday, my darling readers! I’m spending the weekend at my 10-year college reunion. The best part: I get to reunite (and sing) with the Wheatones! Then, I’m off on my European vacation for a couple of weeks. (I know—I’ve been looking forward to this forever.) I’m taking a brief hiatus from my blog while I’m away, so wanted to take this opportunity to say a quick and sincere thank you for reading and following along. Wishing you a wonderful couple of weeks ahead! Here, to get your weekend started right, a few happy posts from around the web! xoxo

A pretty spring dress.

The main reason I will always love Friends.

Style lessons from Emma Stone.

The coolest way to wake up.

Say yes to paper flowers.

A new use for calligraphy.

Adding this French film to my list.

Have you been to Savannah?

A Linda Belcher supercut.

The prettiest office makeover.

A pistachio and raspberry macaron. Yum!

Sweet and adorable Hazel.

(Image via The Cools)