M stands for...

The first day without a jacket - although spring didn't exactly sprung yet and I still need to wear a sweater - deserves well an outfit post ;)

And at the same occasion a little feedback of the online shopping website Chicy.se, that's where I found the M sweater.

I knew about this website through the blogosphere and found they had nice things but I couldn't find any feedback about it so I couldn't decide whether I should give it a try or not.

Then I saw the M sweater and I really needed it as my boyfriend's name is Mickael (and just for the record he really likes me wearing a jumper with his letter ;p).

This plus the fact that the unknown website wasn't China based, convinced me to place an order. So I took the M sweater plus another white knitted sweater.

So Chicy is a Swedish webshop. So they ship from Sweden, items in Europe arrive quite quickly (less than 1 week for me), but the shipping cost is quite high (17€ for Europe and 40€ outside Europe) so you can't really buy one little item as the shipping cost would double or triple its price.

You can return items, and that's a good thing.

Last, but not least, the clothes. I actually think they buy and resell clothes that you can find on Aliexpress, Sheinside and similar China based webshops. As some clothes are the same and quality is more or less the same too (a lot of acrylic and few 100% wool or cotton items). That it's not a problem if you know what you're buying : I mean these are not long-lasting,  timeless pieces. 

And Chicy has a nice selection of clothes. Problem is that prices are higher comparing to similar items. Plus the shipping cost, it's not really a good place for shopping, if you live outside Sweden.

That being said, the website is sure, they ship fast and you can return items (we cannot exactly say the same for China based webshops).

Chicy has also a sale section that may be more interesting (that's where I found my sweaters by the way ;p).

So regarding the M sweater, at first I was a bit disappointed with it, as it's slightly too short, but I couldn't see it from the pictures on line, so I couldn't wear it for some time. But then I thought of wearing it with a long shirt of the same color tone under it and I think the result is really nice.

What do you think? Which are your favorite online shops?

I love shopping in Grenoble

Last time we were in Grenoble, Mick and I had some errands to run on Saturday, so we went to the mall. I just love the malls in smaller cities comparing to the ones in Paris, I mean, it was Saturday afternoon and the shops weren't crowded at all! I could easily trying clothes on and all...

After all things done, we still had some spare time, so that was a perfect excuse for some shopping!

Actually I wanted to look for a dress for my bridesmaids (found anything) but I felt in love with this top from 1.2.3. 

It feels summer with the printed palms and the golden color is just perfect with blond hair. Really. It was a bit expensive though, but it really fits well. And I know it will be perfect to create simple, effortless yet particular outfits this spring (if spring will ever come..).

I also found this falsely sporty top at Zara.

Can't wait to wear them! But it's still too cold outside... :(

And the cute love ring is just a little plus from Pimkie.

And just for the record, I saw some very cute and remarkably inexpensive jars at Casa.

Grenoble & the family

This week seems just endless... And it's only Wednesday! Helpppp!! ;))

It's funny how when you don't do anything special in the week-end the week after seems super long whereas just 2 days outside of Paris can feel like a one week holiday and are enough to completely disconnect from everyday life...

The other week-end we went really quick (but really quick: we left on Saturday morning

and went back on Sunday evening) to Grenoble for Mick's dad's birthday and Monday morning while going to the office I was really disconnected like if I was away for several days :)

That is absolutely not what is happening this week lol!

Anyway, it was a nice weekend. On Saturday we went shopping (found 2 really nice tops I'll show you in the next post) and in the evening we went to the Luna park :))

This is us on the roller coaster !

And on Sunday there was this big surprise birthday lunch for Mick's dad.

I had the chance to meet all the rest of the family I didn't meet yet. It was really nice. :)

I don't have many pics from the week-end to show you, but last month we went to Grenoble with my dad as well, as he was never been there plus Mick's grandparents are Italian so we wanted them to meet my dad. 

So here some photos from last weekend to show you a little bit around and take a quick mid-week break ;p

The cableway that goes up to la Bastille (the ancient fortification) and the view of the city from up there.

Apparently this is the longer straight line street in Europe!

We also visited the place where the monks produce the Chartreuse, a very strong liquor made with plants (the exact recipe is a well kept secret). It was an interesting and fun visit, but pictures were forbidden, and at the end they offer you a glass of Chartreuse of course. ;)

Family time - That was the reason we organised a week-end in Grenoble with my dad in the first place ;)

And we took some nice walk in the countryside - countryside around Grenoble is really nice and really close to the city centre - and well, we needed at least those walks after all the family meals we had!! ;))

Broccoli & chickpeas

Here's a healthy and yummy recipe based on broccoli.

Yeah, I hear you saying that broccoli isn't exactly the first thing you'd think about when thinking about a yummy food... This is because you don't cook it my way! Just give this recipe a try and you'll see ;)

What you need for 4 persons :

- 2 or 3 broccoli

- 400 g of chickpeas 

- 2 handfuls of yellow raisin 

- olive oil

- pepper

Cut the broccoli in pieces. 

Remember that you can eat also the stem. Just cut off the outer part of it and keep only the center (see the difference between the following two pictures). It's really tasty, I prefer it at the broccoli florets..

Put the broccoli in a casserole with water and let cook for about 20 minutes, until they're tender (just tender not completely undone).

Put the cooked broccoli in an oven plate.

Add the chickpeas.

Add the raisins.

Add oil and pepper and mix everything so that the oil is well distributed.

Put in the oven for about 30 minutes.  

When the broccoli and the raisin start to grill, it's time to stop the cooking.

Now you just have to enjoy your meal! :)

You can eat it as a main plate (it's a complete meal, the chickpeas gives you proteins) or as a side dish to accompany meat or fish.

Bon appétit! 

6 things that made me happy last week

- To be call back for a very important project and to meet with a very talented director! I won't say his name for good luck, I'm just saying he's an Oscar winner!!!

- To have dinner at home with some friends - honestly I like to prepare a nice dinner at home rather than always go to the restaurant, don't you?

- To finish and to send our wedding invitations. We had some diy to do and it took us the whole week-end, but on Sunday evening we very really happy with the result and it was really nice to actually hand-made something together with my future hubby! ;)

- To have time during my audition day in Rome, to see my sister and nephews.

- To have my boyfriend picking me up at the airport!

- To go the doctor to check on my knees that cause me huge pain and knowing that it's nothing serious, no operation is needed (on the other side there's nothing much that I can do for the pain, but at least I can keep on dancing!)

8 things that made me happy this week

- To find a good (and not overmuch expensive) photographer for our wedding :)

- To spend the whole Sunday at the Church for our premarital course with other couples and discover that it was really, really, really interesting and all the people were super nice! Plus our Church has a beautiful garden and the day was super sunny so we could did part of the course outside :)

- My boyfriend who's now impatient to spend the second (and last) Sunday at the Church for the premarital course!

- To have lunch outside in the sun with my girlfriends without wearing a coat!

- The sun who begins being warm...

- To take a good dance class, like I was used to take before, and not feeling pain in my knees!!

- A romantic dinner with my love on Friday night, just the 2 of us... He's working a lot lately so I have the impression of not seeing him for days sometime even though we live together...

- To meet with some girls from the premarital course for some coffee and brides to be small talk ;) 

Potatoes cheesecake

Here's a quick, easy and, most important, super yummy recipe for all cheese lovers! And for all of you who want to your beloved one - my boyfriend was over then happy with this cake the other night... So if you wanna win a man's heart through is stomach, here's a good option (and you will be able to make it even if you're not that terrific cook, but shhh it's a secret! ;p ).

What you need :

- 7/8 potatoes

- 1 egg

- 250 g ricotta cheese

- 125 g mozzarella

- 2 slices of ham

- grated parmesan

- pepper (if you like it)

Wash the potatoes and put them in a pot with cold water and let them cook for about 30/40 minutes (the exact time depends from the potatoes' size), until they're tender. 

Don't put salt in the water as it makes the potatoes broken.

Once the potatoes are cooked, take them off of water and let them cool up.

Peel the potatoes and mash them with a fork.

Take a baking dish, cover it with baking paper and put the mashed potatoes in it.

With a spoon, spread evenly the potatoes in the dish, leaving the borders higher than the center.

In a plate, mix the ricotta cheese with the egg.

You can add pepper too, if you like it.

Add the mozzarella and the ham, to the mixture, after having chopped them in small pieces.

Put the cheese mix over the potatoes base.

Cover with parmesan.

Put in the oven at 200° for about 40 minutes. 

When the cake is grilled on top you can take it out.

Doesn't it look good?!

Now all you have to do is just cut a slice of you perfect cheesecake and savor it!

For a complete meal, you can pair the cake with some fresh salad.

Bon appétit! :)

Les oiseaux se cachent pour mourir

We've got a very sweet old lady as a neighbor. From time to time, I have a little afternoon chat with her, she's a very interesting lady, she tells me about life during war time or about her many travels, she's been like everywhere in the world!

And one of these afternoons, she lent me a book as she thought I would have liked it. And she was right! ;)

The book is "The thorn birds" from the Australian writer Colleen McCullough. I read it in French, the title is "Les oiseaux se cachent pour mourir".

It's exactly the kind of book that I like: the destiny of a family over several generations, with love, drama and action. 

It's the story of an Australian family and an Irish priest. And I won't say more. Guys, you really have to read it! I never heard of this book before, but apparently it's well known, they also made a tv show from it... So maybe you already read it...

It's a very beautiful story and as it continues over several years you have the time to really get attached to the characters, to choose who you prefer and who you can't stand and you can't wait to take back the reading where you left it to meet with them again and to know what's happening in their lives. It's like when you watch a tv serie.

Plus, the story take place in Australia and as I'm right now planning our honeymoon in this country I was really feeling there with them. 

And now that I finished it I'm kinda sad... I miss Meggie (my favorite character) and I would like to spend time with her again...

Let me know what do you think about it if you're gonna read it or if you already have! ;)

10 things that made me happy this week

- To show the monologue I prepared for an audition to my boyfriend and heard him say that I wowed him :)

- To have an audition for a very, very, very important project!

- My hair who finally seem to grow!

- My sister who came to Paris on Thursday to come with us to buy our wedding rings (the wedding rings are her gift to us).

- To find the perfect wedding rings <3

- To take my sister out for lunch to thank her and share a huge seafood plate with her and Mick.

- To see that my sister is truly happy about our engagement.

- To find a solution to print our wedding announcement cards. Honestly it can seem easy but it's not! We bought some handmade Italian paper but no one in Paris knows how to print on it. Except for a guy whose price was 400 €!!!! We eventually gave the paper to a friend who was going to Italy and she's gonna have the wedding announcements print in her town and then she's gonna take them back to Paris..

- To have such a good friend!

- To spend the weekend in Grenoble with all the family.