Disneyland under the rain

· Fashion

I don’t regret to invest in this raincoat because as planned I use it a lot : from NYC to Paris, I’ve almost only wore that one. No need to invest into sandals or light tops, the safe bet for this Spring is the raincoat.

So here is a new outfit in situation in my second house… Disneyland Paris !

I went there for the preview showing of Pirates of the Caribbean, Salazar’s revenge and took the chance to shoot this look.

Much needed hood, Mickey sneakers and small light bag for a day with my hands free but with eyes full of sparkles: the magic, unlike the weather, always remains. (English translation by Quiterie)

My Outfit

Raincoat Rains
Sweatshirt Collector x La Redoute Madame (-55%) (already seen here)
Mom jeans Topshop
Sneakers Moa x Disney
Bag Close (-40%) (already seen here)

Bracelets Dinh Van, Thomas Sabo, Mya Bay, Louis Vuitton
Earrings &Other Stories
Watch Cluse
Ring Papyrus Atelier B
(-20% off on Atelier B  jewels with the TKBB20 code)

Eyelashes extension « Volume russe » Les cils de Marie (already seen here)
Crayon Brow Drama Pomade “Soft brown” Maybelline NY
Lipstick « Diorific Mat » 950 Splendor Dior
Nailpolish “Infaillible gel duo” “Red stroke” L’Oréal Paris

Montréal Sweet Montréal

· Fashion, Food, Travel

A few weeks ago, against all appearances, I left for a working trip to Montréal and New York. Thanks to Renaissance Hotels, I was tasked with creating a photography feature for a magazine (I’ll say more about it when the issue comes out).

 

Business Unusual

The frontier between work and pleasure is often blurred when I take on this type of mission (especially since I got to go with my SO), and this state of mind is very much the one of Renaissance Hotels (which I discovered last winter in Hamburg).

It’s perfect for me since my illustration work is also along a similar line of project : it’s all about enjoying your work and maximising business travel.

 

See you later Navigator !

These hotels, thanks to their Navigators (you know, this concierge with millions of good tips), allow you to discover the city under a new and more personal angle. I had already been to Montréal 2 times, but had never stayed long enough to discover all its secrets.

This time it was a quick stay as well, but with a myriad of discoveries – both touristic, gastronomic and unusual. I’ll try and resume my stay in Montréal in this one post, with lots of great addresses. I hope it’ll inspire you!

 

Like at home

The Quebecers were, as usual, incredibly friendly. So it is without much surprise that I found the same friendliness at Renaissance Montréal Downtown Hotel.

To chill in the lobby…

 

Even just the lobby, with its big leather sofa, bookcases and unexpected swings makes you want to curl up and enjoy the place.

… or in our room?

 

In our room, a modern decoration, colourful and welcoming, with a minimalist fresco by Quibe above the bed, and a mirror that fashion experts would probably be very envious of.

Breakfast, be it served via room service or in the dining room, is delicious. I especially enjoyed the berry pancakes with the vanilla twist. Probably the best I’ve ever had so far.

East Egg Benedict (with salmon and croissant!)

The breakfast in East restaurant

On the roof-top, a swimming pool opens up as soon as the weather allows, and there is a bar with a view where ice-hockey fans like to gather.

 

The East Restaurant

The hotel’s restaurant is a hommage to Asia’s most popular dishes, with Yusheng salad (with 32 ingredients!), dim sum, sashimi and other yeast dumplings.

Yuzu bliss and taro cheesecake

We really enjoyed the food the first night we arrived. And the pastries are pretty awesome as well, like the taro cheesecake or the well-named Yuzu Bliss.

 

The Navigator’s recommendations

Following the Navigator’s advice, we discovered Montreal in different ways : vintage, colorful, friendly and welcoming : follow me!

 

THE MILE END AREA

We spent a good amount of time in this bohemian area, with it’s vintage boutiques, vinyl stores, and very Instagram-able libraries and cafés. Here are a couple of addresses if you want to have fun browsing in that part of town.

 

ARTS CAFÉ (201 Avenue Fairmount O):  perfect for a matcha latte while listening to “Smalltown boy” straight from the eighties.

 

CARDINAL TEAROOM (5326 Bvd St-Laurent) : English tearoom for those of you that enjoy pretty tableware, club sandwiches and warm scones.

 

LIBRAIRIE DRAWN & QUATERLY (211 Rue Bernard) : it used to be a Canadian comic-book publishing house. You’ll find quite the selection of comic-books, but also culinary/fashion/decoration magazines.

 

ANNEX VINTAGE (56 Rue Saint Viateur) : stationery, vintage accessories and clothes.

 

SUNRISE CAFE & COLLECTIONS (54 Rue Saint Viateur) : both a decoration and fashion shop and a café.

 

VERTUOSE (5409 Bvd St-Laurent) : a boutique with lots of green plants, cactus and very cute tiny pots. Too bad it’s not the sort of purchase that travels well.

 

PLATEAU MONT ROYAL’S COLOURFUL HOUSES

You can stroll in the streets of Plateau Mont-Royal and admire the architecture of these colourful houses. Note this surprising rainbow house in Bullion street – probably the most photographed of all.

After the stroll, stop at the BLUEBOY (1P1, 150 Mont-Royal Avenue E), a shop that specializes in homemade frozen yogurt, made with creative flavours, such as tomato-basil, coco-lime, mojito, but also more classical options – you can add fruity or chocolate-y toppings.

A Frozen yogurt stop

To make it even yummier, you can opt for a side of churros.

 

LITTLE BURGUNDY

ATWATER Market (138 avenue Atwater) : this art-deco building houses all the stalls where local farmers sell their treasures : maple syrup in all its forms (butter, candy, cake, flakes), flowers, meat and fish.

 

Le VIN PAPILLON (2519 Rue Notre-Dame Ouest) : to keep up with the local product vibe, here’s a great address for those who like good wine and good food.

I said it already : I’m no expert when it comes to alcohol – I only tolerate it in very small amounts.

Croque-Mackerel , Fried gnocchi with sturgeon cream and smoked carrots eclair

 

Here you’ll find tapas with regional products, served with a glass of wine. I don’t know if it’s because of the quality of the wine (thanks to Alex who was with us that evening – a Quebecer who studied in Bourgogne and a wine expert), but I especially enjoyed the synergy between the food and the wine (all in moderation of course!).

Ham and cheddar

Smoked carrots eclair

 

Everything was absolutely delicious – these fried gnocchis with sturgeon cream and cheddar ham are still in my dreams.

 

SPA-SUR-L-EAU BOTA BOTA

To finish our stay in style, here’s a great address for an unusual relaxation option in Montréal. This boat houses a spa where you hop on for a couple hours or for the day : massage packs can be booked for a complete relaxation.

We didn’t have quite enough time for the whole experience, but I enjoyed the dip in the heated pool (37°C!). .

Tradition would require us to alternate between a cold pool (10°C, with a full immersion, head included) and the heated pool/sauna, in order to open the pores and invigorate the tissues, but I decided to just go for the “softening” of my tissues in the heated pool, knowing that outside, the temperature was only 10°C anyway!

Apparently the contrast is even better in the wintertime when there is snow!

 

So here’s a recap of my Montréal stay. I hope you enjoyed it! I really had fun, and hope to discover even more of the city during my next stay.

We’ll meet up again very soon for my re-discovery of New York, and new addresses and experiences! Enjoy the end of your week! (English translation by Marine)

 


(Follow @renhotels on Instagram and use #BusinessUnusual when you’re travelling)
This is a promoted post and was made in collaboration with Renaissance hotels.

Simple pleasures

· Decoration, Food

Lately, this never ending winter season is not very helpful to boost our moral. On my side, I’ve been trying to find some tricks to avoid gloominess as much as possible.

Actually, I think the more I move forward in the years (let’s not be afraid of the words, “the more I get old”), the more I try to appreciate the simple daily things. I don’t know about you but here are a few little pleasures, which have a real positive impact on me lately.

 

Spend time in the kitchen

I would have never thought about writing this few years ago but it’s a real pleasure to spend time in my kitchen. I don’t prepare anything very complicated but I love trying new recipes, no matter if it’s sweet or salty.

I like preparing brunches but also local and asian cuisines.

I would even say that I don’t mind doing grocery shopping and wandering around markets actually entertains me.

Of course it’s mostly during the week-ends that I start cooking but weirdly this activity became a real source of pleasure during the preparation and… obviously when eating!

Mug Rabito
Pineapple tea infuser Rice
Golden cutlery AM.PM

 

Last week-end was homemade brunch with smoothie bowl (pretty much the same recipe as here, without avocado and spinach and I replaced the matcha with red fruits) and pancakes (Cyril Lignac‘s recipe with frozen blueberry, because I didn’t have any fresh ones) but I also tried to cook some agedashi tofu : not utterly successful yet but promising.

 

Write postcards & letters

Postcards Jade Fisher, ASOS, Jeff Koons and Sézane
Ring Papyrus Atelier B (-20% off with TKBB20 code)
Pencil case brought from Copenhagen by my Babe

 

I always loved writing: it’s one of the reason why I started this blog. In high school, I was really enjoying writing letters (and receiving them). At that time, with my friend LN (those who read my “Globe trotteuses”  comic book heard about her), even though we were seeing each other every day, we would keep writing to each other with pleasure.

I’ve been trying to revive this sweet sensation of grazing paper by collecting postcards and by sending you some sometimes with my #SurprisePostcardFromTKBB Instagram contest. I also told myself to write more often to my family and friends, just for the pleasure, and why not to even send a letter?

 

Start meditation

Candle “Wood” Maison la Bougie
Cloud pillow Annabel Kern (-40%)
Carpet La Redoute intérieurs

 

Two months ago, I started doing meditation about 10 minutes every day. Once again, an activity I didn’t expect doing but after watching a TV program, I thought it could be a good idea to give it a try as my temper is rather stressed. It would be a good idea to get to know how to enjoy living the moment and react to exterior events with more phlegm.

However, I couldn’t do it on my own: I decided to use the Iphone app ‘Mind’ (french version of Headspace) simply because it was easy to use and I liked the design (I know it doesn’t really mean it’s effective but it has its importance for me). When I searched for online reviews for meditation app, I found some quite positive comments for one called “Petit Bambou” (in French too) (but I thought the design were not appealing at all, sorry).

Since then, I’ve practiced every morning right after getting out of bed and I think I’ve started seeing the benefits even if progress still needs to be done: I’ve noticed that the negative events seem less important and little by little I’ve started seeing the glass half full rather than half empty.

I’m still far from considering a meditation retreat on the Tibetan uplands and I’m not always optimistic, but every morning sitting on my pillow in my living room, I can start feeling the positive side.

 

Grow plants

Candles Diptyque recycled in pots
Pot with wings Flying Tiger
Rabbit lamp Rice

 

I already told you but I’ve been thinking about changing my apartment to make it greener. As for now, my SO is focusing on the balcony and doing it very well (I need to show you the result one day).

On my side, I’m in charge of “easy” indoor plants such as cactus and other succulents. I replanted a few plants from terrarium to Dyptique containers (I also use them as glass for toothbrushes in my bathroom) and just looking at them give me full satisfaction (as you can see my activities get more and more Rock’n Roll).

Next objective: to acquire a small Monstera.

 

Get impatient with music

Letter board Design Letters
Letters set Design letters
Nailpolish “Blanc de Lune 112” L’Oréal Paris
Pen “Magic Mani” White L’Oréal Paris
Nail file (Gift from London= Thanks Nini !)

 

At the end of the month I will see Take That in concert in Manchester and I’m so excited! I know this band isn’t that famous in France because of the very “Boys band”image.

I was not really a fan of them in the 90’s but after re-discovering them a few years ago during their spectacular “Progress Live” tour, it definitely converted me (praise already done here). English pop is my passion and my days are punctuated by their last opus Wonderland. Sooo looking forward to it!!

 

To positive and dream thanks to books

Book “Et si vous deveniez l’héroïne de votre vie? (Editions SOLAR)” by Fanny et A-Sophie Lesage
Phone found at Fleux Paris

 

I’ve been moving forward very slowy with my Potterish discovery because I’ve been reading other things on the side (but I don’t give up… I just found the Quiddich of the beginning of tome 4 a bit boring, I admit).

I recently received this book of challenges from  Anne-Sophie and Fanny, the sparkling twins who founded the site ‘Holi me’.

With a fresh and funny spirit, it gives the opportunity to challenge the imperfect heroin we are all every day: the exact match with my current tentatives to ‘let it go’ and ‘meditation’, this book helps me to see the bright side: I’m in!

Pineapple tea infuser Rice
Mug “C’est la vie” Playtype

 

Magazine Lodestars Anthology Japan

 

Last weekend I also found this superb magazine dedicated to Japan. I miss this country so much but the pictures and layout are so esthetics that I have that feeling to dream page after page. A beautiful discovery! (English translation by Quiterie)

Wooden tray AM.PM
Marble plant pot AM.PM
Bracelets Mya Bay
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