Shutters & Shuttles

February 27, 2012

New Music: Week 2

I have been listening to my Florence + the Machine Pandora station for going on a week straight now. Excluding how unbelievably amazing Florence + the Machine songs are, one of my new favorites is a song by Angus and Julia Stone called Big Jet Plane. Apparently it’s been around for a while now but it’s new to me so I am adding it to my list of newly discovered music this year!

2 new songs down, 23 to go! I am thinking of starting March out with a general “how-I-am-doing-on-my-crazy-long-list-of-resolutions” update. Maybe it’ll motivate me to get organized and work harder towards accomplishing them!!

February 27, 2012

Paris Day 2

Day 2 in Paris was pretty low-key. We headed to a a little cafe to grab some breakfast but we couldn’t eat it there so we got croissants to go and hopped back on the train to Notre Dame. On the walk to the cathedral we found street full of pet stores. We stopped in one and oogled over the adorable puppies. Amidst the pet store street we found a crepe stand! That was pretty high on our list to do in Paris so we immediately stopped and ordered some crepes to go. I got one with strawberry jam and Roger went all out with a Nutella and banana filled one. OMG. They were so deliciously amazing. When I asked Roger what some of the highlights of our trip were- this was definitely top 3!

So we devoured our crepes on the way to the cathedral. I’d toured Notre Dame once before but as we came upon it, I had forgotten just how magnificent it was. Wow. So beautiful! We walked around inside looking at all the statues before heading out back to the gardens.

It was a beautiful day outside so we decided to walk to one of the vintage stores on my list. We found it and browsed but I wasn’t really in the vintage mood so we stopped in the adorable boutique next door. I got a really cute locket from there I debuted on an outfit post a few days ago.

After that we decided to head back to the hotel to pick up our bag and then made our way to the train station. Luckily we got there early because it took nearly 2 hours to make it through customs and as soon as we sat down they started boarding. We made it out of France with only wonderful memories– well except for that customs agent who screamed at us for traveling over international waters without our boarding passes for the flight back to the states… it was weird. She was British though so we can officially say we didn’t experience any mean Parisians! Woot woot!

After arriving back in London we were craving some hearty food, the 2 days of baguettes and croissants were delicious but less than satisfying. We got a recommendation for a fish and chips place near the station– what a terrible experience! The staff was incredibly rude, the food took almost 45 minutes to come out, my fish was still on the bone, and not to mention it was ridiculously expensive! More than double what you would pay for fish and chips at an average pub! Don’t worry though, we got one last delicious fish and chips before we left London! The last 2 days of vacation to come!

February 26, 2012

General Life Update

I’ve been continuing my old movie resolution these past couple days with a few classics:

Marathon Man (1976) starring Dustin Hoffman. It was a good story but super slow. I gave it 3 stars on Netflix.

Next up was Visiting Hours (1982) with a crazy young William Shatner. I gave this one 4 stars.

Lastly I watched Women in Cages (1971) last night. TERRIBLE. Awful story, awful acting, awful everything. One star.

I haven’t made much progress on some of my other resolutions- like sewing my own clothing so I figured now is as good a time to start as any! I downloaded this pattern today from Grainline Studio and plan to start work on the first attempt tomorrow! I have the perfect fabric for it!

It’s been ridiculously warm these past few days so we’ve had our windows open to enjoy it. I have a crazy bout of spring fever! I can’t wait for shorts and sandal weather!

Roger and I went to Anthro today and I scored a super cute green wool and cashmere sweater for only $9.95! So. Excited! I also have a LivingSocial coupon to use at UAL sometime in the near future. I haven’t been thrifting in a while so I may do that tomorrow instead to keep it cheap :)

(Cute button detail on the back of my new sweater!)

I am thinking of entering this BurdaStyle challenge to encourage myself to sew more. Plus, I really like the free blouse pattern!

Last Thursday I went to my very first Nashville Predators game with Kathleen because my boss gave me 2 tickets he wasn’t going to use. It was a blast! We eventually lost in the shoot-out after no one scored in overtime but the excitement leading up to it was so fun!

It seems like it is going to be a slow week at C.R. Gibson so I may not be called into work. Anyhow, that’s a general life update. I am sure I am forgetting things but that’s it for now :)

February 26, 2012

Valentine’s Day Outfit

Here is my outfit from our Valentine’s Day in Paris!

Outfit details: Dress – Anthropologie, Fur Cape – Vintage (from the Battersea boot sale) Tights – Belgian (Christmas gift from the in-laws), Shoes – Kurt Geiger London, Earrings – Madewell, Clutch – Anthropologie (birthday gift from Eryn!), Hat – Topshop, Bracelet – Nordstrom, Lipstick – Chanel.

February 25, 2012

Paris Day 1

Paris. Que puis-je dire à propos de paris? Il est étonnant. La ville de l’amour; Magique. We called a taxi to pick us up from the houseboat at 4AM so we could make our 6:50 train from St. Pancras to Paris-Gare du Nord station. The train ride was relatively short but we were so tired and just ready to be in France already. We bought our Metro tickets and headed straight to the hotel to drop off our bags. The concierge gave us a map and pointed us in the direction of the Eiffel tower. But first– breakfast!

We went to Le Petit Cler. Roger got a ham and cheese omelet and I got a Croque Madame. Yum! After breakfast we decided to walk to the tower (less then 10 minutes from the hotel!!) Even though it was my second time seeing it, it was still so impressive up close! We walked all around to see it from every angle before finally heading towards the Arche de Triomphe and the Champs-Élysées for some shopping. We discovered there is a tunnel leading under the 12 lanes of traffic to actually get to the Arche. Seeing it across the street and standing below it are two completely different things. It was magnificent!

We strolled down the street from the Arche and did some shopping. We found the biggest Sephora EVER where I got some Chanel lipstick and stopped into Ladurée for authentic French macaroons. Then it was time to check into our hotel room and figure out dinner plans. It was Valentine’s day, after all!

We decided to go to Angelina’s across from the Louvre for dessert and hot chocolate first. The hot chocolate was one of the best things I’ve EVER tasted. Warm liquid chocolate and fresh whipped cream. OMG. SO. GOOD. I can imagine this is similar to the drinking chocolate the royals first drank in the 17th century! I also got a Carla which you can read about on the menu.

After dessert we walked back towards the tower looking for a place to buy a baguette for dinner. On the way we got to witness the Eiffel tower sparkle for the first time! Every hour, on the hour, for about 5 minutes the tower glitters. By the time we took a round-about way towards it, we got to see it glitter again when we were right beneath it! It was so beautiful! We headed back to the hotel and managed to catch a cafe right before they closed and picked up 2 baguettes and got some butter and crazy cheap champagne (€1,60 for the bottle!) at the market next door. We had just enough time to make it back to the hotel before the tower started glittering again! We felt so Parisian! Munching on fresh baguettes, drinking champagne, and watching the Eiffel Tower sparkle. Best Valentine’s Day ever.

We had just enough time for dinner and to get cleaned up before we already had to get ready for the Féerie show at none other than the Moulin Rouge. I’ll post my outfit pictures tomorrow so stay tuned. The show was really good but we didn’t have any idea what was going on. At one point there was a cat lady and an Indiana Jones character then it looked like they sacrificed another lady and she jumped into a pool and started swimming/dancing with live pythons. It was bizarre but a really good show. We cut out about 30 minutes early (around 12:30) because the Metro stops running at 12:45 and we didn’t want to have to take a taxi back. We caught some of the last trains but made it back safely. Like I said, BEST. VALENTINE’S DAY. EVER. Along with my outfit post tomorrow I’ll also be posting day 2 of Paris! Crepes and the Cathédrale Notre-Dame!

February 24, 2012

London Day 5

Monday was pretty low-key. Roger and I hopped the train to get to the Tower of London. It was really rainy and cold out so they informed us (after waiting 15 minutes for the tour to start) that they weren’t doing any more tours due to the weather. So we just had to wander about through the various towers ourselves. It was pretty cool but I wish we had a guided beefeater tour. We got to see the torture instruments, the ravens, and after nearly an hour long wait in the rain, the crown jewels.

After the tower, we headed to one of the places on my Design*Sponge city guide for coffee: Sensory Lab. One word: Mmmmmmmmmmm. I got a latte and Roger tried a mocha. They were both. so. good. We talked to the barista a bit, he said he’s been doing it for about 6 years– it shows in his sweet latte art! I snapped a picture of his pouring technique on my phone and posted it to Instagram and he totally found it! Caught again! Apparently I am terrible at sneaking around (even the Raven caught me taking his picture!) It worked out for the best though because he recommended some other awesome coffee shops to hit up on our trip. We headed back relatively early because Kay was making dinner for their landlords (Malcolm and Sheila and Sheila’s brother Johnny). After dinner and some socializing it was time to pack for Paris! We called a cab to come pick us up at 4AM the next morning so we could catch the train at 6:50. Stay tuned tomorrow for Paris!