Paris...is always a good idea.

I made a pact with myself back in January that I would go to Paris this year.  It had been several years since my last visit and I just felt a weird gravitational pull for no particular reason.  This happens on occasion – things get into my head and can't shake them and (as the Brit will attest ) once I set my mind on something like that, sooner or later I'm going to make it happen.  I had hoped to get there earlier in the year but with all of my music related happenings I just could't get away until now. The upside was that my trip coincided with a few fun events that happened to be...er... happening in the city of lights. I'm back in LA LA Land now so I thought I'd do a little recap. These photos aren't necessarily in consecutive order but I'm sure you'll get the point - sadly most of these were taken with my iPhone though I did take a few with my proper camera too.

We rented an apartment in Le Marais which was a lovely change from the usual Left Bank tourist madness I'm used to. It felt like a neighborhood we could quite easily live in... if I perfected my French that is. On our first night we headed off to the Oberkampf area and then to on Le Zèbre de Belleville to watch the fantastic Miss Sarah Slean perform!

In general, we spent our days (restaurant & vintage store list in hand!) meandering the city streets (occasionally showing Brit some of the more obvious Paris sights... he had only been to Paris for an afternoon years ago up to this point!) and our spent nights eating, meeting up with friends and doing even more wandering.

 

On yet another fun-filled night during our stay I got to celebrate my dear friend Nell's birthday (she was, by pure coincidence, going to be in Paris for Fashion Week).  I bought her a card that looked like a popsicle, met some of her lovely co-workers and pals, and we had a crazy and wonderful night near Canal Saint-Martin.  Afterwards, I proceeded to get ever-so-slightly lost on the way back home...alas a 1920s Peugeot did not pick me up and whisk me off to drink with F. Scott Fitzgerald at Gertrude Steins place…bad luck.

I must say, I think my favorite touristy thing we did was Pere Lachaise on our last day in Paris.  It was a little bit rainy and felt very autumnal which made the place even more spooky and magical...

So much fun... sigh... Well, I think that's probably enough pictures for one post but it is hard edit them down!  I hope you are doing well!  xmeg o

PS: Paris... I will be back!

more photos from the mountians...

I've been extremely busy this week (incidentally, stay tuned for an extra special post I've been working on for Monday!) and, as a result, I am atrociously behind with posting more of the photos from our trip to Idaho. 

mountain girl

Despite the aforementioned puffy face (due to terrible allergies) on our last day in the mountains of Idaho I asked "the Brit" take a few blog photos for me. The weather was incredible the whole time we were there - particularly lucky because the forecast had not been a pretty sight.  Alas, we managed to avoid even the slightest hint of rain! 

 

I really love going on trips on or around my birthday and since "the Brit" had never been to Idaho (where my family has a place) when it was not covered in snow it seemed like a very good plan. We spent most of the trip taking photos in the wilderness with proper film cameras (I hope to post the fruits of our labors soon!), driving around, hiking a bit, eating delicious food and just being lazy. Oh and I did manage to hop on a bike once or twice. Here is the evidence...

All in all I would say (wrenched allergies aside) it was a very successful escape from old Los Angeles. Oh, and the pups came too! The best thing about their tiny size is they are oh so easy to put into a carrier and bring along on short trips.

outfit notes:
romper - american apparel
shoes - vintage 

PS: I meant to mention this in my last post but a big Happy 1 Year Anniversary! to the Loved One shop in Pasadena. I cannot believe it has been a year since this post.  If you live in LA and you haven't been yet you are missing out!

Reckless in Nashville

 Hello loves! This week has basically consisted of me playing catch up with the world after an amazing little trip to Nashville, Tennessee last week.  I had been trying to go visit for months now and finally the stars alined. Plus I got to be there from my dear pal Ledja's birthday which was extra nice. Before I let the week pass I thought I'd share a few photos from my trip with you and mention a couple of places I visited and loved. *I should point out that after 5 days in Nashville I am hardly an expert. I did, however, have my friends there who were wonderful tour guides.

Please note most of these are restaurants because I ate a whole lot of food…

Loveless Cafe – This was basically the first stop on my trip... aside from dropping my bags at my friends Ledja & Davids house.  Loveless is known for their delicious biscuits and despite the BBQ everywhere they had lots of friend veggie-friendly (albeit fried) side dishes. It is a bit out of the way but worth it, I think.

Marché – This is a little East Nashville gem... I had one of the most delicious meals of my trip here.  I am a huge fan of breakfast and this definitely did the trick! Also, they make their own bakedgoods which pretty much sold me before I'd even had a bite.

Bongo Java – Surprisingly, there are a ton of little indie coffee shops in Nashville. I met up with one of my favorite bloggers, Quincy and her husband (post to follow!) at Bongo Java and had a delicious coffee called "the Diddy" still not sure if that is meant to be "diddy" as in little song or "diddy" as in p.diddy but I do know I enjoyed it. a lot.

Mercy Lounge – I was able to see a couple of shows while in town and I liked Mercy Lounge best. It's a very cool mid-sized venue.

Pancake Pantry – this place is a Nashville institution – even on a Monday morning there was a big line of people but it moved shockingly fast.  I had the sweet potato pancakes which where delicious and I'm not the biggest pancake fan so that is saying something.

Grimey's record store – for the old school music enthusiasts that still buy records (ehem... like me). This reminds me so much of record stores I frequented while living in Seattle. I miss that!

Imogene + Willie  - this store specializes in raw denim but has a variety of other things going on - including live bands occasionally.  I saw a bunch of people around town wearing their cross t-shirts so clearly the locals are in to it as well. While its not really my style, it is such a cool space; you should definitely have a look. Plus it smells delicious inside, the owners are super nice, and this little pup lives there...

sidenote: being a Nashville dog seems like a sweet deal to me.

  

A few other places worth mentioning…
Las Paletas Gourmet Popsicles
City House
Katy K's Ranch dressing (vintage)

Well there you have it...lots o' fun packed in to a long weekend. In a nutshell, I will most definitely be returning to Nashville!