L'Occitane - favorite products

L'Occitane is one of my favorite brands. More so after being to their hometown of Mane en Provence. There I visited their factory, drove through their lavender fields and stayed at their hotel and spa Le Couvent des Minimes.

What I really love about their products is that you can easily identify the ingredients that they are made from. And the same way that quality ingredients are crucial to make a great dish, great quality ingredients are also key for well-balanced, luxury cosmetics that actually work.

So I've decided to share with you some of my favorite products from L'Occitane:

Their lavender shower gel and eau de cologne. A great combo for a peaceful night of sleep. I usually use these after coming home from a stressful work day. The shower gel helps me wind down and the cologne gives me that clean scent that gets me ready for bed.

Another one of my favorite combos is their Almond shower oil  and delicious paste. These I generally use when my skin is feeling a bit dry. I will wash my skin with a coin size of the shower oil applied to a wash cloth and then scrub my entire body with the paste - it's truly delicious!

The last product I will share here is the Verbena exfoliating shower gel. It's a refreshing shower gel with some very light scrub to it. It vitalizes the skin and leaves a clean and fresh feel to it. Pure bliss!

Thank you for reading and hope you've enjoyed these products as much as I do!

Le caro de Lyon - an institution

Lyon is a city known for its beauty, history and specially its cuisine. It is the home of the world famous culinary school Paul Bocuse and several Michelin starred restaurants. It is also the home of Le Caro de Lyon, a traditional brasserie that has been open for the past 30 years.

I had heard of this place back when I lived in Lyon, but had never had the opportunity to pay a visit. So when my friends Rodolphe and Thy-Anh Prebois invited us for lunch, we were very excited.

The decor is gorgeous, library style and the food is simply amazing.

We had a great time! And I definitely recommend this place, if you are in the neighborhood please stop by.

Le Caro de Lyon

25 rue du Bat d'Argent

Lyon 69001

+33 4 78 39 58 58

http://www.lecarodelyon.com/

Thank you so much for reading and hope you enjoyed it! Bisous!

Reader's Q & A

Hi all, I've decided to start posting responses to my readers questions on the blog,.I'll share with you my expertise on a wide range of subjects and try to the best of my ability to respond to your questions. So here is the first one that come from my British sister and bff Holly:

"Ok, put me on a strict diet! What do I need to eat, breakfast, lunch and dinner. X"

First of all, I want to thank you for asking me this question while I am very busy in France stuffing my face with cheese, bread and pate! I don't feel self conscious at all! And even if my last meal alone had enough calories to feed an entire family for a whole week, I will keep my cool and simply avoid jeans and anything with buttons and zippers at all cost. Thank God, for pregnant lady pants for us non-pregnant women! 

Muffin top? Whatch-ya-talking-about? I will get back on track as soon as I leave the land of bakeries on every corner! Promised!

Without further delays, here is the diet SOS after the holiday marathon (I know, I know, I won't tell anybody you had 30 eggnogs and 25 candy canes between mint and cherry):

1. Cut on carbs:

You are bloated. You have to take drastic measures for at least a couple of days. The easiest way to de-bloat yourself is to cut every single carb from your diet immediately. Forget the bread, pasta, potato or sugary foods for the next few days.

Please keep in mind, this is not supposed to be permanent. Carbs are a important part of your diet and should be reintegrated back at least for breakfast once the de-bloating process is complete (for me, it takes about a week depending on the size of the diet damage).

2. Drink water:

Dehydration can make you hungry! Or at least make you think you are hungry. If your stomach starts to tick drink a large glass of water before eating anything, it may be that you are just thirty.

3. Eat healthy foods:

Your body need nutrition, so everything that you eat should supply you with the maximum amount of vitamins, proteins and fiber per calorie. Why eat a twinkie when you can have an apple or even some baby carrots?

Add as many vegetables, fruits, leaves and lean proteins as you can possible do to you daily diet.

4. If it doesn't look like food, then it shouldn't be eaten:

This one should be common sense. Why should we eat things that don't resemble food at all? Soda, Cheetos or ketchup will give you very little nutritional value, fill you up with calories and artificial substances that should not be ingested to begin with.

I hope this help you get back on track, Holly!

Thank you so much for reading and hope the tips were helpful.

New Years eve - The party

I have very high hopes for 2013, as I've said on my previous post: I am fully convinced that it will be the best year I've experienced so far and I wish the same to all of you.

We've entered 2013 in style drinking champagne and eating delicious French food. We've celebrated with close friends and had a blast till 6 am! Wow! It had been a long time since I've party-ed that late.

Cheers!!

This is the family of friends that had as over: a lovely couple and their two beautiful little girls

On the menu foie gras feuillete: simply delicious.

The preferred drink of the night was Billecart- Salmon champagne (brut for the appetizer and rose for the dessert).

And the heavenly dessert I brought: buche de noel. Believe it or not, it was purchase right on the boulangerie next door. Yes, some things only exist in France!

Again, Bonne Annee to all of you!

Welcome, 2013!

Hi everybody, happy 2013! I am so glad and thankful for the new year that has just arrived. With 2013, hope also comes. I have a list of resolutions for the brand new year and a feeling that it will be the best year in my life (so far).

Yesterday, we went to a New Years party here in Lyon and had a blast. I wanted to throw in some sparkle to welcome 2013 and gold was my color of choice. Since it's winter time here, the boots, scarf and sweater are not an option, although I really like how this look turned out.

Here you have a close up of my make up and I was very proud of myself putting on fake eye lashes for the very first time! Hurray! It was actually easier than I thought.

Thank you so much for reading and I hope your reveillon was also exciting and that 2013 brings a lot of blessings to you!

Top - H&M

Sweater - Zara

Sequined skirt - Camaieu

Boots - Michael Kors (old), similar here

Watch - Gucci

Bag - YSL