Laduree

This post is entirely dedicated to my trip to Laduree in Paris. Why? My closest friends and family are the only ones that know about my macaron obsession. Well, that is until now, now you all know. My name is Courtney and I LOVE macarons. These were probably the most amazing one's I've had. And I drive 30 minutes to Sweet in Studio Center just to get my macaron fix! Enjoy my mouth watering photos, I know I'm missing these macaroons already...

Thinker

Our next day in Paris was a mish mosh of adventures. It started off with my brother and I taking baby E to get our morning coffee and croissant. A tradition I'm trying to keep alive while back in the states and desperately wishing I was still in Paris. Note to Central Market: please never be out of croissants again...I'm developing a habit. Thank you. Next the whole family went to Napoleon's tomb. I'm telling you, this was one elaborate grave site. Do you think he was compensating for anything? Next we took a short walk to the Rodin museum, the only museum we went to on this trip. I wasn't about to wait in that crazy long line at the Louvre. This was definitely worth the trip. Walking around the garden was really peaceful and it wasn't very crowded. My kind of way to experience and enjoy the art. The day finished off with us wandering aimlessly around Paris stopping at Cafes and Patisseries along the way. One can't just go into one Patisserie there are too many goodies to choose from!

Outfit

Top: Juicy Couture black long sleeve (not pictured), Banana Republic sweater (similar here)

Jeans: Rock & Republic (old)

Boots: Steve Madden

Jewelry: Betsey Johnson heart earrings, Rose ring from Cuffs, vintage class ring

Glasses: Penguin

Fashion show

Our second day in Paris was spent exploring the city. We were outside the Louvre for the Louis Vuitton fashion show and it was amazing. It was incredible to see the models walking off the runway in this seasons looks before anyone else was to see them. I also got to meet a few fellow bloggers along the way. Thanks Denni from Chicmuse, Bryan from Bryanboy, and Rumi from Fashion Toast for taking necessary blog photos with me! Here are a few photos we took while wandering around the city of Paris.

Model straight off the runway

Denni and me

Rumi, me, Bryan

Outfit

Top: American Apparel 

Sweater: Madewell

Jeans: Rock & Republic (old)

Shoes: Sam Edelman

Jewelry: Alexander McQueen ring, BCBG ring, Tiffany bead earrings

Purse: Louis Vuitton, Louis Vuitton charm

Paris, L'amour

Here's a quick outfit post on our first day in Paris. This day was spent mostly traveling from London to Paris via train. I would love to tell you about the amazing scenery or how quick the trip was...but honestly I have no idea because I was passed out the whole time. Not sleeping a lot in London I jumped on the opportunity to catch some zzz's.

Once in Paris we checked into our hotel and high tailed it to the Louis Vuitton on the Champs-Elysees. You see, my Unlce promised Baby E a Louis item of her choice if she would come out of the womb naturally...and I'm sure you guessed that she took him up on his offer and was delivered just a mere few hours later. We thought bringing Baby E into Louis with a stroller would hinder us from shopping, but in fact it got us VIP treatment. We didn't have to wait in line like the others and were helped right away. Baby E walked away with a few great items and I walked away with a fabulous charm.

Outfit

Top: Banana Republic (similar here)

Shorts: Nordstrom

Tights: Target

Boots: Steve Madden (similar here)

Jewelry: Tiffany bead earrings

Purse: Louis Vuitton

Harry Potter

One of our last days in London we went on the Harry Potter studio tour, pause for moment of jealousy...Okay, now I can say how absolutely incredible this experience was. Let me be start off by stating that I like Harry Potter, but I wouldn't consider myself a die hard fan. Honestly, I stopped reading the books about 4 books in, but I've seen/own all of the movies.

This experience was not only amazing because it was Harry Potter, but because I'm a huge movie buff and it was incredible seeing the entire film process. You got to see so many amazing sets, costumes, props, hair and make up, special effects...my list could go on. The time, the effort, the details, the hard work that goes into creating a film series over 10 years...it's just amazing.

I wish I could recount everything that our tour guide told us and all of the amazing facts written about each piece. Here are some notable highlights, however...

1. The Great Hall was created to stand the test of time. The floor was made from real stone so it could withstand the wear and tear of shooting for 10 years! Also, the ceiling full of candles? Not real. The ceiling consisted of metal pipes and film equipment. There was never a true ceiling the entire 10 years.

2. The door to the Chamber of Secrets (the door with all of the snakes) was thought to be created through CGI, but in reality it was created to actually work. It was made through mechanical parts that have the snakes move in their pattern to open the door.

3. The moving paintings were played by crew members and their families created through a green screen. Also, the paintings seen around the school were crew members as well. Some of them posed for these pictures, some were unaware!

4. The potion bottles in Snape's classroom, along with every wand in Ollivanders, was hand written and created by set designers.

5.  A miniaturized exact replica of Hogwarts was created for pan shots of the outside of the school. This model is amazing for its detail alone.

We spent a good few hours at the studio but even as I left I wish that I had stayed longer, read things in better detail, and took more pictures. Guess this means another trip to London is in order!

Too Creepy!

Butter Beer anyone?

This is from a different day, but I had to include it! Hogwarts, here I come!

Outfit:

Top: J.Crew (similar here)

Jeans: Rock & Republic (old)

Boots: Steve Madden (similar here)

Jewelry: Tiffany bead earrings, Tiffany heart ring, Flower ring from Cuffs

Purse: Louis Vuitton

Glasses: Penguin

Mix and Match

I went to Pei Wei to visit their new Freestyle machine with my friend Minhthy. I told her about the project I was working on and she was excited to join me and help take photos. I was able to convince her to try the machine out as well. Since she is a soda drinker it worked out perfectly. She can give you the inside scoop about the soda portion of the machine.

She tried out Coke Zero and did a combination of flavors, cherry and vanilla. That's the beauty of the machine, you can mix your own sodas together to create your own unique flavor. She doesn't normally order a drink with her meals, but she said she'd be more likely to order one if there were this many options. Especially since she can mix her own flavors together and control the amount of each flavor option.

Check out her photos below!

Touring London

Two of the days in London we did the typical double decker sightseeing tour bus. I was a little skeptical because I didn't want to scream out to everyone, "Look at me, I'm a tourist!" But it was such a great idea. I got views of landmarks I wouldn't normally have been able to see and we were able to hit every major sightseeing location. We took mental note of places we wanted to stop off and see, like the Tower of London, and on our second day took the bus to these locations.

I think the Tower of London was up there on my list of amazing places to see, partly because the crown jewels are there. Unfortunately we couldn't take any pictures, but trust me when I say the whole exhibit was absolutely amazing. Seeing all the jewels, even ones that were from the 1800s, that were still intact was an incredible sight. I swear, the history from London is just mind blowing. It makes me realize how young of a country the US is.

Outfit
Top: J.Crew
Jeans: Rock & Republic (old)
Scarf: Burberry (thanks Uncle M!)
Jacket: Native Fox
Shoes: Vince Camuto
Jewelry: Tiffany Bead earrings, Marc Jacobs ring, vintage class ring
Purse: Louis Vuitton