And we’re off for the holidays! I am taking a holiday break, away from blogging, to regroup, chill out and recharge my creative batteries, sort of a digital diet – emphasis on ‘digital’ because, let’s be honest, I plan on splurging on good food during the holidays.
We’re planning a staycation this year, and I dream of decluttering my home from all the photoshoot props and boxes, decorating for the sake of decorating, without a camera in hand, cook because I want to, read and garden. I also plan on resuming my running routine, which has suffered these last few weeks from my work schedule.
I hope you get a digital diet as well, if not, there is plenty to catch up on, on the blog. I wish you a happy holiday, surrounded with your loved ones and filled with positivity. See you all back soon! Love and light, always. Xo, Si-
I recently discovered Fab Goose, a Scandinavian company that designs 3D paper holiday decorations and home decor pieces. Have you heard about them? They kindly sent* me a few samples of their holiday pieces, and I’m in love.
Fab Goose collaborated with Danish illustrator Theresa Jessing, from Sort Lakrids, to offer 4 different DIY sets ready to assemble at home. Each kit includes :
Paper arks with ready-to-use elements made of 175 g sturdy paper with natural antique finish. FSC and ECF certified (no heavy metals or chlorine bleaching)
100% natural silk string with a special safe needle attached – 2 m
Plastic beads – (400+ pcs.)
Simple assembling instruction with illustrations
You’ll receive your decor piece ready to assemble [we did it with Maya and it was super easy to follow the instructions and get the pieces ready and assembled, like 5 minutes top].
and then, all assembled, you get this adorable nordic fir tree on foot.
I also adore the nordic fir hanging tree version:
Or the mistletoe one… Cute and clever design, isn’t it?
Fab Goose is committed to its environment, and produce all its products locally in the most sustainable way possible. Their products all comply with strict ecological standards.
Following up on my post about Miriam, the Uber driver-partner who inspired me so much with her personal journey and sense of humanity, I’m sharing today my perspective as an Uber rider.
Living in San Francisco, I use Uber extensively. The city is small but packed with traffic, and parking can quickly become a wallet drainer. When I go downtown to the bustling Market street area, I usually prefer to use Uber versus taking my car, dealing with construction detours or pedestrians crossing in the middle of the streets. I also use Uber when I go out with my girlfriends or to evening bloggers’ events : parking my car in a dark parking lot and having to limit myself to one only glass of wine is just not how I want to spend a chill evening.
This is what I like the most with using Uber as a rider:
I don’t have to worry about GPS mishaps, itinerary or getting late : my Uber partner takes care of it, and drops me at the exact address I requested. I can even share my ETA with friends and family.
There is no money exchanged with my Uber driver-partner, as everything is paid directly from my Uber app. At the end of each ride, I get to rate my driver and ride in pure confidentiality. This rating system allows me to check my driver-partner’s rating made by others before I get into my next Uber ride.
I also know exactly the make and color of the car, licence plate number, the name of the Uber partner and his rating before I get into the car, and as a woman sometimes riding alone, this sense of safety is priceless for me.
I get picked up from home directly to the venue I’m going to, and at night, when I go out alone, I feel much safer than using my car and having to park it in dark corners of the city.
I get to enjoy a ride back home with a ‘real’ person, chat during the ride, and meet authentic people, just like Miriam. I love the peer-to-peer approach, versus the anonymity of a cab ride.
This year, for our holiday shopping, our family has been using uberX to get around town. We’ve divided the family into small groups to keep the gifting secret until we open the Christmas gifts : the girls together, Maya with her dad, Inès and I, Maya and I… you get the drill. When we’re done, we all meet back at an agreed meeting point, and get a ride back home with uberX. No parking, no hassle.
This has been the least stressful holiday shopping experience so far, almost as easy as shopping online, but with the added joy of actually picking physically the gifts for each of my loved ones.
And after a long day of shopping last week, Mister and I treated ourselves with a few margaritas at Padrecito, one of our favorite Mexican food spots in town. One margarita, two margaritas, but eh, who’s counting? We had our own designated Uber partner to get us home safely.
Do you use Uber? What do you like the most about this service?
• This post is in collaboration with Uber, a service our family enjoys using on a regular basis. All opinions are my own.
Happy Friday guys! To celebrate the month of December, I wanted to share with you this delicious recipe, so decadent and so easy to make. I found originally the idea on Pinterest and it uses three ingredients : Champagne [because… December and holiday] or sparkling wine if you prefer, Saint Germain liqueur, and…. cotton candy! Yep, cotton candy, that literally melts in the Champagne, and gives this cocktail a fabulous pink tone and a sweet taste, while the Saint Germain liqueur adds a little sourness to the ensemble.
Since I don’t have a cotton candy machine at home – to the despair of my 2 daughters – and I doubt most of you have one either, I found some packaged cotton candy here for those interested.
PS: On a side note, do you know how we call cotton candy in French? “Barbe à papa”, which literally translates into “dad’s beard.” Pretty sweet, heh?
Ingredients:
Champagne or sparkling wine
Saint Germain liqueur
Cotton candy [in any flavor you like]
Steps:
Place a bit of cotton candy inside your glass. Add a dash of St. Germain, and then fill to the top with Champagne; and watch the cotton candy dissolve in front of your very eyes; drink immediately.
Happy, happy hour, and a lovely weekend to you! Xo, Si-
Oh hey, I’m back from my summer escape! We had a fabulous time visiting mysister, brother-in-law and niece, 11-month-old baby Kira, in Washington, DC, then headed out to Florida where we spent a few days in Fort Lauderdale and then the Florida Keys. Here are a few pics from our family trip.
We stayed at the W Hotel in Fort Lauderdale and spent some extensive time at the pool and the beach, because the temperature was a scorching – and very humid – 95+ degrees, a big change from the gloomy San Francisco July weather we left behind us.
Then we hit the road to the Florida Keys, and vacationed in Marathon, FL, in a charming resort called Tranquility Bay. Hubby surprised us with a beachfront house rental, and waking up to this view every morning was quite spectacular! If you plan on vacationing in the area, I strongly recommend this resort : beautiful architecture, very peaceful and quite, white sand beaches, and the staff is extremely nice [special mention to Otis at the front desk for feeding my caffeine addiction and giving me extra doses of coffee for the room’s coffee maker!]
We also went on a snorkeling expedition. Maya, Inès and I were scared as s**t about a shark encounter [thank you Shark week!] but we only met colorful fishes and a couple of dolphins who jumped out of the water during our boat ride to say hello. Another true magic moment!
How is your summer going? Can you believe we’re only a few weeks away from back to school? :/
I’m off to enjoy some summer time away with my loved ones, and to create more summer memories – we’re headed to the East Coast to visit family and spend some time under the Florida sun… see ya’ San Francisco fog!
I’ll be updating my Instagram feed from time to time and I have prepared some pre-scheduled posts for the blog. If the internet Gods allow, I’ll send a few postcard-style updates of our vacation here on the blog while I’m away.
I’m inviting you to my holiday party, so paint your nails in your favorite shade of red, put some lipstick on and let’s mingle!
I love this time of the year, the magic of the holiday season, the crisp cold weather, the bare trees, and this feeling that the year is coming soon to an end and there are new beginnings ahead. And if there is one time of the year where we can go all glitter, it is now or never, right?
So when Pier 1 asked me to partner up again and share some holiday table inspiration, I said yes, excited about this new creative challenge. This time, I switched things up with a buffet table, because the holiday season for me is about gathering, mingling with the people I love and enjoy gathering with, in a chic, glamorous, but casual setting, instead of sitting at a formal dinner table. Are you in? Welcome to my glitter wonderland table!
Isn’t this faux fur wine scarf adorable? I just couldn’t resist getting it for my holiday table, and I used it as a Champagne bottle scarf. So chic and très Audrey Hepburn!
My buffet table may be all glittery, but as always, I want things to be chic yet simple. Understated elegance is the keyword here. Here is how I dressed up my holiday table with Pier 1:
I chose the beautiful champagne flutes from the Pier1 Schott Zwiesel collection. Then, I used some edible glitter as glass rimmers, to add a bit of ‘va-va-voum’ effect. On other glasses, I just added some miniature gold balloons – or white balloons on which I dip painted some glitter paint – attached to wooden skewers.
For the table ‘floral’ holiday touch, I cut out a branch from a dying tree in our backyard, and spray painted it for a white holiday feel. I put my “holiday” tree in a big glass vase, securing it with stones and small rocks inside. To cover my installation, I filled the vase with some white linen fabric and wrapped a set of Pier 1 glimmer string lights around the fabric, inside the vase. When lit, it’s truly magical!
The ornaments I chose from the Pier 1 collection are : the icicle glass ornaments, some beaded ball gold ornaments, a few luster drop ornaments – because I adore their simple and clean design – and some gold rattan star ornaments. Because my DIY branch holiday tree is so simple and white, these ornaments work well and add just enough glitter and magic to my buffet table, don’t you think?
I also used a Champagne beaded garland as a table runner to add more magic and glitter to my table.
For the menu, since it’s a buffet table, I prepared some fancy bite-sized dishes that are easy to prepare in big batches : salmon and dill toasts, mango salsa and grilled shrimp bites, and some brie and pomegranate crostinis. I also added some chocolate truffles for the sweet-tooth aficionados. For presentation, I chose some delicate but very simple pieces to present the food : the a gold charger, and some white porcelain spoons for my mango shrimp bites.
And because no party prep is complete without some music, I prepared a new mixtape to share with you. In fact, I am not a fan of traditional Christmas carols, so I prepared for those of you who like less-traditional holiday tunes a playlist, with some holiday remixes and funky lounge songs. Beware though, some of your guests may end up transforming your reception area into a dance floor!
GLITTER WONDERLAND || MIXTAPE NO.3 || Listen on Spotify
I hope you enjoyed my glitter wonderland holiday table and got some inspiration for an upcoming holiday event of yours. What’s your favorite element? Xo, Si-
• This post is a partnership with Pier 1. Thank you for supporting the sponsors that make FrenchByDesign possible.
Our house is getting ready for the holiday season…
Have you decorated your house for Halloween and/or Thanksgiving? I’m going low key in our home with some simple wreaths made of olive tree branches and seasonal flowers. They are so simple to make and so pretty! Wishing you a lovely weekend folks. Any fun plans? Xo, Si-
Here is another easy DIY alternative Christmas tree project for those of you who want something a bit different from the the traditional Christmas tree.
You’ll need for this project some wood lattice moulding, some vinyl decal dot stickers – I got mine on Etsy – and some mounting tape. Be careful not to use too much of a strong double tape so that the wall doesn’t peel off when you try to remove the wood pieces from the wall after Christmas. Cut the wood in different lengths and arrange the pieces on the wall to create the shape of a tree. Then stick your wall dots and voilà! Oh-la-la effect guaranteed!
Art direction and styling FrenchByDesign – Photography Radostina Bosseva
