Travel Guide - Les Carroz D'Arraches/ Annecy

Happy new year to all of you! I am currently in France and I just came back from the French Alps. It was my first time up there and I have to confess I quite enjoyed my time and felt really blessed to have been able to see such a beautiful region.

We went specifically to Les Carroz, which is about 2 hours from Lyon by car. There we met some friends and had a lot of fattening foods! It was a diet suicide but totally worth it.

The temperature was quite low and I was really thankful to have a warm coat on me. For those who are against fur, I sincerely apologize and do not mean to be offensive at all, the coat was a gift from my wonderful beloved friend Traci Peace-Greco and it belonged to her grandmother.

We stopped at this Chalet-restaurant called Le Marlow, where I had the Patates a la facon Lulu and a gigantic Hot chocolate with whip cream. Both of them were heaven!

If you are ever in the area, do stop by, I am sure you too will enjoy the flavors of the local Savoyard cuisine and the friendliness of the staff.

Le Marlow

5 Place Ambiance

Araches-la-Frasse, 74300

We stayed at this cute and secluded hotel-chalet called Haute Combe and it was absolutely fabulous! Here is a picture of me walking in the snow to get there. The view was absolutely breath taking. I would recommend this place to anybody:

Haute Combe

Chemin de la Sarbotte

Les Carroz, 74300

+ 33 4 50 90 32 91

On our last day, we drove down to Annecy which is about 50 minutes away. Annecy is a pearl in the lake, absolutely beautiful. We walked around the lake and then had a hearty meal (another one!)  at one of the little restaurants in the Quai.

And to close our sejour, we went to the local restaurant Les Molliets where we shared yet another meal with our friends. On the menu: fondue and raclette.

Thank you very much for reading and I wish you a fabulous 2013. May you be blessed and all of your dreams come true!

Santa came this Xmas with pleasant surprises!

I really enjoy this time of the year. The chilly weather, the non-stop Christmas marathon in the radio, the candy, the family and obviously the gifts!
Giving and receiving gifts is such a pleasant experience. Seeing how creative people can get to please us and finding just that perfect little something for that special person always cheers me up.
Christmas is all about giving. We celebrate our Lord Jesus Christ that was sent to this world to give himself for us. We also celebrate all the blessings that we have in our life.
This Christmas I was particularly spoiled by my husband and his family. So here are some of the material gifts I got:

Displayed above:

Savon Soyeux J'adore - Dior

Huile Seche Satinee J'adore - Dior

Coffret Eau des Merveilles - Hermes

Carre Tigre du Bengale - Hermes

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you also had a wonderful Christmas!

The Look - All black: leather + feathers + lace

This past Sunday I thought I should embrace the winter time (since it is officially here) and dress for it. I wore high heel boots with a playful feather skirt and a cozy sweater. I got so many compliments that I want to share the look with you:

Lace cami - White House Black Market (old), similar here

Sweater - Zara

Skirt - Caroll (old), similar here

Belt - Renner (old)

High heel boots - Michael Kors (old), similar here

Sunnies - Tiffany & CO

Bag - YSL

Thank you for reading and hope you've enjoyed the look!

Alexander Wang chez Balenciaga

It came to me as a surprise that designer Nicolas Ghesquiere would leave Balenciaga after 15 successful years leading the brand. It came to me as a further surprise that the new head designer of this amazing fashion house is the American Alexander Wang.
I am delighted. I am also full of expectations and curiosity to see his first collection for Balenciaga. Will he reach the same level of success of his predecessor? Will he continue on the same aesthetic lines of what we now know as the Balenciaga look? Or will he input his own signature in the collections to come?
Furthermore, will this be his permanent position from now on? Or is this another test drive/ disposable experience by the Spanish Fashion house in search of a designer? I guess time will tell us.

The Look - Tell me what you're thankful for

I know it has been a couple of weeks since thanksgiving but I really wanted to share with you the look I wore for such a special day.

I mixed a combo of neutral color pieces with a candy-like necklace and burnt orange booties.

I hope you too had a lovely thanksgiving with your loved ones with plenty to be thankful for. I know I have countless blessings in my life and am thankful for them everyday. Here is my look:

Jacket - BCBG (old), similar here

Bonjour sweater - ASOS

Skirt - It was gift from my mom ages ago, similar here

Bag - YSL

Necklace - Anthropologie (old), similar here

Booties - Schutz (sold out), similar here

Thank you so much for reading and hope you've enjoyed this post.

L'Occitane

This past summer I had the opportunity to travel to the South of France for the very first time. I have been to France many times and have lived in the city of Lyon as well, but for some reason I had never been to the famous Cote d'azur.

So this summer I gave my husband and ultimatum, we have to, have to go. So we got a rental car and drove from Lyon all the way to Monaco and back. Since I've heard of the beautiful Provence and of the spectacular Couvent des Minimes (aka the L'Occitane's Hotel and Spa in their home region of Provence), I've decided to book a night and a couple of treatments there.

We drove from Lyon to Mane en Provence and I was in heaven! The hotel is simply amazing, the staff, the facilities and the spa, oh the spa! I had a treatment entirely using L'Occitane products and my husband pampered himself with a massage also using L'Occitane oils.

After the relaxing treatments, chilling by the pool and having an outstanding lunch, we headed to L'Occitane - the factory! I have to confess we did get lost while trying to get there and ended up in this isolated Lavender field (I know, I know, there are worst places to get lost).

We did end up finding the factory and the museum and the factory store. I was mind blown to know that this company started during the 70's with a man that sold soap in one of Provence's local markets (does this sound crazy to anyone else?). Here are some pictures of me enjoying the museum and ultimately the store, which gives you a heavy discount since you are shopping within the region.

Thank you so much for reading and hope you've enjoyed this little travel tip. I do strongly advise anyone that wishes to go to the Cote d'Azur, do take a detour and enjoy this amazing place called Mane en Provence.