"America is my country, but Pari is my home."  -The Devil Wears Prada

I have no idea where to even start this blog, but I will say Marshall and I had an AMAZING weekend in Paris.  Writing a blog about our trip seems almost a bit overwhelming.  Mostly because I took way too many pictures and can't decide which ones to choose. 

Here is how the first day went:  (Sorry in advance for all the pictures)

We arrived at the airport around 6am.  I took a picture just to show you how small Malta's airport is!  This is it.  And after you go through a tiny security check, you enter the one big room with like ten gates.  You can definitely bypass the 2 hour early arrival here.

I'm surprised our eyes were even open!  We were up late the night before and had like 2 hours of sleep!

I don't know where you come from, but where I come from...this is NOT breakfast.  Gross.  Especially all the juice in the bottom of the pan!  Granted it was from an airplane, but still.... I do remember the food used to be edible!

So once we arrived in Paris, we had to take a little hop on hop off trip to find our hotel.  We first needed to find a bus at the airport to take us to a train station.  Once we found it, we needed to get tickets beforehand.  Well we didn't have enough coins to buy them or a euro card so we were like ummmmm.  It cost 14 euro which is close to 20 dollars.  Who carries that in change?!  So I asked the next people who bought their tickets if they would charge ours to their card too and I would just give them cash.  Thank goodness they were kind!  This is the first stop that we had to get off at from the bus.

I've learned from traveling that you waste waaaay too much time trying to figure things out on your own sometimes.  Especially when you don't speak or read the language.  So I always just ask someone.  When we entered the station above it was a bit confusing so a sweet french man helped us figure out what to do.  We then took this metro to another stop to switch lines.  And then 2 more times before we arrived at our final destination!

Our quaint abode.  Not exactly what you would get in the states for $170 a night... but I guess its to be expected in Paris :)  It actually was perfect.  A soft bed to crash in and a hot shower in the morning.  Location was great and we were happy! 

We definitely enjoyed eating and drinking our way through the streets of Paris.  This was our first lunch.  Marshall ordered the Croque Madame and I ordered the Croque Monsieur.  The only difference was his came with the egg on top and mind didnt.  Inside was a thin slice of ham (they definitely don't load up on the meat like we do), and on the top was a decent piece of gruyere cheese toasted.  They were delicious!  :)

There is something so happy and adorable about little streetside food stands.  They just make me smile and want to order something because...well why not?!Surely I need some cotton candy or to drink a hot chocolate while we walk!

And we found it!!  Walking towards the beautiful, iconic tower...



We walked around and took lots of pictures...



And of course here...

While we were waiting to enter the tower for dinner, we decided to find a cafe and warm up.  I just love outdoor cafes... especially this one with the heat lamps!!  I'm going to miss these when we come back home.

Marshall ordered a coffee and I ordered a diet coke.  This is what he got...which turned out to be delicious desserts.  We laughed at him for having to drink out of this tiny tea cup.  :)

Paris is really expensive!  For Marshall's "coffee" and my "coca light" it cost 15 euro which is close to $20.  The entire time we were there, my diet cokes never cost less than $5 each.  And they were the tiny little glass bottles!  Crazy!

We had a little glass of mulled wine before dinner.  There is a cute little cafe up in the tower where you can sit and have a drink.



Our special dinner up in the tower!  

Marshall ordered these drinks for us before dinner.  Its the restaurant special called Tour Eiffel.  I'm not too sure but I think it was something like blue curaco on the bottom, then champagne, and then some sort of sorbet on top.  They were really good!!

This was my starter I chose.  Smoked Salmon...and off the top of my head I'm not sure what else.  REALLY good though!

Marshall's Jumbo Tiger Prawn with an incredible guacamole, grapefruit, apple slices, and tomatos.

Althought I definitely didn't want to order chicken, I somehow picked it anyways.  For what it was, it was prepared really well.  The mixture of it all and the sauce was great!

Marshall's salmon and butternut squash.  I would say presentation ranked a bit higher than the actual food, but all in all we were really happy!

My dessert that I chose and ate...after they sang happy birthday to me.  Thanks babe.  :)  I'm not sure how to describe it.  Its a french dessert... its like a soft, chewy biscuit kind of thing with ice cream and whipped cream inside that was totally different than what we are used to.  So I'm not sure what it was... but I enjoyed it!!

Marshall's was more of a nut tasting. Similar, but not.  And the stick leaning on it was like a white chocolate stick.  Different but good.

We still had a great view from our table, but if you wanted right next to the window, you have to book 4+ months in advance!!

It had been raining and was super windy and freezing when we finished dinner!  We walked around, took a few pictures, and then made our way down the tower.

So like 5 times a night... on the hour... for ten minutes, the tower has a light show.  It was maybe my favorite thing!!  Apparently this is the last year they are doing it too!  We just watched it in awe...  I don't think it would ever get old.

After dinner we went to the Arc De Triomphe and then walked down Champs Elysees.  It was just magical to me to stroll through the streets with my man.  The only downer was having to walk in heels!!!! 

The stunning streets of Paris...

I'll post the second day of our trip tomorrow!!  Hope you all had a great weekend!!  XOXO



Kitchen Kravings!!

So the last few days I've had some time to try new recipes I've found on my beloved Pinterest.  :)  Check them out and give them a try too!!

The first one is a sesame orange chicken.  This is the link from the original recipe I took it from.  It was pretty easy and I loved the "wet batter" to coat the chicken in.  I've always fried chicken in the flour, egg, breadcrumbs way... but this was much easier. 

Ingredients:

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into 1 inch cubes)

½ cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 egg (beaten)

½ cup water (or as much as needed to make batter smooth)

3 tablespoons cornstarch

salt (to taste)

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

 

 

Sauce-

 

¼ cup ketchup

¼ cup honey

2 teaspoons sugar

2 tablespoons white vinegar

½ cup water

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon sesame oil

the juice of ½ orange

1 teaspoon orange zest

sprinkle of garlic powder

sesame seeds

 

Step 1: Heat oil in a deep fryer to 325 degrees. In large bowl combine all of the batter ingredients and mix thoroughly. The batter should be thick enough to coat the chicken but thin enough to flow around the pieces. Set aside.

 

 

Step 2: Dip chicken pieces into the batter to coat evenly (one by one). Deep fry the chicken in batches in your deep fryer for about 10 minutes or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. (or you can fry in hot oil at about 325 degrees in your wok for about 3-4 minutes or until golden brown).

 

Step 3: In a bowl whisk together ketchup, honey, sugar, water, vinegar, cornstarch, sesame oil, orange juice, orange zest, and sesame seeds. Pour into a wok and cook until the sauce is thickened and bubbly. Mix in a bowl with the fried chicken pieces.

 

 

 

And...ta da!  Although its no General Tso's chicken...it was still pretty good :)

 

 

The second recipe is from this link in Pinterest and its a Crockpot Honey Sauced Chicken.  We had this for dinner tonight over rice and I really enjoyed it.  The flavor was good, meat was tender, and it made extra juice/sauce for the rice.  I'm definitely an extra saucy person so I get excited when there is more to dump on my plate!

3/4 pound chicken (of your choice)

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/8 cup chopped onion (or 1/16 cup onion flakes)

1/8 cup ketchup

1 Tbs. vegetable oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper, put into crock pot.

In a small bowl, combine honey, soy sauce, onion, ketchup, oil, garlic and pepper flakes.

Pour over chicken. Cook on low for 3 hours or on high 1 1/2 hours.

Cut chicken into bite size pieces, then return to pot and toss with sauce. Serve over rice or noodles.

The third recipe I tried was the Reese's Peanut Butter Banana Bread.  And let me tell you it is sooooo good!!!  This is a must for my recipe box.  Here is the link and here is the recipe:

 3 bananas smashed

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup oil

1 egg

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

8 oz bag of Reese’s Mini cups

Preheat oven to 350

Grease your loaf pan (I used an 8 x 4 pan) with butter or shortening.

In a medium bowl whisk together your flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt, set aside.

In a large bowl stir together your bananas, peanut butter, oil, egg and sugars.

Pour your dry ingredients into your wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Batter will be lumpy.

Fold in your Reese’s Mini cups and spread batter into prepared pan.

(I think next time I'll cut the reese cups in half to just break it up a little more)

 Bake for approx 1 hour or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.

This really is amazing.  The peanut butter doesnt overtake the bread, but adds a perfect amount of taste!  Here is the picture from Pinterest because I forgot to take a picture when I cut mine.

Have a great day!!  XOXO



I'm linking up with Jamie today on What I'm Loving Wednesday!

I'm loving that I just booked my birthday dinner in the 58 Tour Eiffel Restaurant in the Tower!!  We could pick the 6:30 or 9 PM time.  I chose 6:30 because the sunsets at 5:30 and we want to check out the views during the sunset.  I'm SOOO excited!

This is the menu:  What would you choose?!

Glass of champagne

Choice of starters
Cream of leek and potatoes with chestnuts chips
Pan fried tiger prawn, avocado, soya and sesame dressing
Norwegian smoked salmon with a spicy vegetables tartare
Duck "foie gras", quince marmalade
Choice of main course
Seared salmon, butternut squash with rosemary
Pan seared John Dory fillet, celery and tomato confit
Roasted chicken breast, salsifis and mushrooms, Albufera sauce
Braised veal, seasonal vegetables, stew sauce
Choice of desserts
Selection of matured French cheeses
Profiterole with vanilla ice-cream and chocolate sauce
The 58's Mont-Blanc
Variation about the chocolate Jivara
Baba with rum, whipped vanilla cream
Choice of wine on a basis of 1 bottle for 3 persons
Chateau La Pierrière (red)
Bordeaux Kressmann Monopole(white)
Les Celliers de Ramatuelle (rosé)

I'm loving the Christmas cards we just received in the mail from my sister, sweet friend Becky, my cousin Jacqueline, and my gramps and Leslie!!  Thanks gramps and Leslie for the gift and picture too!  We will be using that on our Eiffel Tower excursion!!

I'm loving that my precious new nephew Christopher is one month old....happy and healthy! :)

I'm loving that my birthday is in two days and I get to go get my hair done!!

I'm loving this new reese peanut butter banana bread recipe I found and will be making tomorrow!  (check back for an update!)

I'm loving Vonage...and how I can call home or anyone can call me at anytime. 

I'm loving my amazing fiance.  Words can't even describe what he means to me.

I'm loving 2 Broke Girls... that show is hilarious!

I'm loving all the sunshine in Malta.  Even though the air is chilly and windy... the sun is out which makes the day beautiful!

I'm loving pizza and ranch dressing night!  It makes us very happy. 

I'm loving my new book... A Lineage of Grace by Francine Rivers.  My all time favorite book is by her:  Redeeming Love.  If you have never read it, its a must read.  Incredible. 

I'm loving all my friends and family back home. I think of you all so often and miss you like crazy!!

Happy Hump Day!!  XOXO