A Kiss on the Chic

Love, Tuesday...

 

Hello blog.  I'm so bad at this blog.  I really forget about it.  It's because I have TWO OTHER BLOGS... and life kinda gets in the way too.

But I want to introduce you to one of my blogs that I don't think I've talked about yet.  I started a new FOOD blog!  It's called...

 

I'm so proud of the blog banner... I created it myself!  Those are my photos from Europe (except the actual food ones, hahaha)

and here's a little blurb about why I started it:

Just an idea...

I LOVE how things can start with just the tiniest of an idea...

Do you {HEART} Pinterest as much as I do?  Well, if you've found my blog, you probably do!  Don't you love just abandoning life for a little bit and oohing and awing over all the PRETTIES over there? 

Well, I was making another Pinterest recipe last night and had this idea of creating a blog ABOUT Pinterest recipes!!

Now in my mind, I right away pictured the movie Julie & Julia and thought "HOW FUN" would that be?...  Of course, I can't even BEGIN to come near the level of gourmet extraordinaire that Julia Childs was, but I will say I've had dreams of making a cookbook for YEARS.  Want to know the name of said cookbook??

 "The Everyday Gourmet"  by Laura McCollough

So, I guess I'm on a new kind of journey to share the Pinterest "Gourmet" in me,  and I would LOVE for you to follow along!

I will explore Pinterest on OUR behalf, try out 1,000's of recipes, (over the course of years mind you...) share pictures, review the experience with you and we can go from there.  Sounds like a FUN idea to me! 

Now I just hope it doesn't turn out into some nightmare "Super Size Me" experience...  hahaha

So share this blog with your friends, follow along and leave comments to let me know what you think of this tiny idea that might be quite a bit of FUN.

~~~~~~~~~

Like I say above,  I'd LOVE for you to follow along on this new journey!  It's so much fun to share all of my FAVORITE recipes, try new ones on Pinterest and just talk about food and restaurants and travel and all that "foodie" related stuff.

As a little "tease" I'll share a couple photos of some recipes I've shared on there so far:

to DIE for dessert...

amazingly easy shredded beef tacos!

So come on over and check it out!

Have a GREAT Tuesday,

Laura

P.S.  You still have time to leave a comment about Paris to win the RAK!  I'll announce on Friday, so check out the post below...

 

Happy Monday...

You may have seen last weeks blog post on here (if NOT, go check it out because there's a GIVEAWAY going on...) about the Creative Retreat being SOLD OUT.

Well, I have 2 GREAT BITS OF NEWS to share...

First, I have just received word as of last night from two of the three hotel/apartments that I am using for the Creative Retreat and now I have 4 more rooms available.  I'm SO excited!!

La Limonera Apartments AND the Hotel Florence BOTH have a couple rooms available! I have sent the information to the ladies on the WAIT LIST for THIS YEARS EVENT, but I wanted to also put it up here on the blog so everyone would be able to email me if they were interested.  I know some people stop thinking about going to something when you here it's SOLD OUT, so now you can think about joining us again!  Just send me an email and I will let you know if there are rooms still available after the WAIT LIST people respond back.

 Here are the LINKS to BOTH apartments/hotels for you to check out and see if you want to join us!  

Hotel Florence

 

Residence La Limonera

And just to give you an idea where everything is in the village, here is a LINK to show you each choice of accomodations and where they are in town:  BELLAGIO MAP

Click on the link or the photo above to see the location of each place.  Remember each place is no more than 3-4 minutes from each other at the most!

So go check those out and let me know ASAP.  

Secondly, I found a GREAT price on airfare to Milan from LAX on Expedia!! $1165 from LAX TO MILAN ON AIR BERLIN WITH ONLY ONE STOP!! So check that out RIGHT NOW if you need a flight! It may be even CHEAPER from YOUR town!!

Here's the links to two of the websites that are showing this LOW FARE:

Expedia

Vayama

Air Berlin


So go check those out b/c those prices WILL NOT LAST LONG!!!

Lastly, I will be sharing some SNEAKS and information on the CLASSES we will be enjoying during our week in Italy soon!  So check back on the RETREAT BLOG for some details on the beautiful classes and teachers!  The food, art and beauty of Lake Como will surely INSPIRE you to create your OWN AMAZING ART during these classes!

I am just SO THRILLED to share a WEEK in Italy with all of you as we enjoy the Food,  the Art and the Beauty of Lake Como and are INSPIRED to CREATE our own Art with our beautiful teachers!!  

Oh, and one last thing...

One of those teachers, Jeanne Oliver, just posted about the Creative Retreat and I thought I would share a LINK to her blog so you can check out her excitement about this summers weeklong event!!

Have a GREAT day everyone!

Laura

Love, Tuesday... Help with Paris trip (comes with a RAK)

 

I don't know if you've seen my blog post on the Creative Retreat blog, but I'm happy and a bit sad to say the Creative Retreat in Italy is SOLD OUT!

You can go check out the information about it and how you can get on the WAIT LIST for THIS years and NEXTS.  I am SO humbled and thankful that you want to join me o this DREAM JOURNEY to Italy!!  I have exciting plans for 2014, so stay tuned...

Now onto something else I'm REALLY EXCITED about and would LOVE some ideas/help from YOU!

I'm going to Paris this Fall!

My hubby's "Summit Club" this year is going to be in Italy at our favorite place...drum roll please....  Bellagio, Italy!!!  duh,  I'm sure you guessed that one.  And my cute hubby said that since we are over there (with NO children mind you :) why not stay a little bit afterward and go to Paris!  Um, OK.  Gotta love my guy.

Now I know we've been to Paris before and may know some of the places to go, places to eat, cute shops, etc.  but we just don't feel like we've REALLY found the BEST of the BEST of Paris!

 

We've done the Fat Tire Bike Tour, we've seen the Eiffel Tower, we've been to the Louve, the d'Orsay, Champs Elysees, the Opera House, Notre Dame...  All the BIG places.

So I'm asking anyone for information on what UNIQUE and SPECIAL places we should see this next time! We really would love to know the special cafe's you've been to, the antique markets, the beautiful streets you've walked,  your favorite arrondissement of Paris... those special things that made you FALL IN LOVE with Paris.

So I'm offering some "incentive" for you...  

Leave a comment on THIS POST with your FAVORITE things about Paris.  You're favorite restaurants, cafes, streets, markets, unique shops, etc.  Anything you think makes Paris SPECIAL.   I'd LOVE to hear them all and I will pick a WINNER and send ONE winner a little care package of my own "Paris stash" for your information!

As an ADD-ON... We want to visit another place outside of Paris for a couple days.  We don't want it to be too far from Paris, so maybe Normandy, Mount St. Michel or somewhere within a few hours of Paris.  If anyone has any suggestions where to go, would LOVE to hear that too!!  We love places that meet the High Bar that Bellagio sets. Unique, BEAUTIFUL, quaint, and very memorable!  Any suggestions?

 

I'll leave this "RAK" going for a while so I can get as much info from you as possible.  :)

Thanks in advance and can't WAIT to read the posts!  

 

Hugs,

 

Laura