… are spent au bar.

Beyond the well-traversed cobblestone streets behind Sacre Coeur that throng with tourists all day and night, there are still corner bars entirely peopled with locals. That “real Montmartre” you’ve been hearing about. You’ll probably have to walk through some sketchy-ass metro stops and streets to get there, though.

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Posted in: life, paris | Tags: 75018, bar, beers, cigarettes, mes amis, montmartre, montmartre bar, o, paris, paris bar, travel | 0 COMMENTS

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Posted in: life, paris | Tags: b&w, black and white, black and white photography, costume, costume party, high contrast photography, housewarming party, kill bill, little pieces of light, movie themed party, o, paris, party, pulp fiction, quentin tarantino, sin city, tarantino, tarantino costume, tarantino party, themed party | 15 COMMENTS

Can you believe that after having lived in Paris for over a year, I had never once had a picnic by the Seine? How lame is that?

What better excuse to break my streak of lameness than a dear friend’s birthday? I gathered with a group of some of my favorite girls to celebrate Sugared & Spiced‘s special day.

It couldn’t possibly have been any lovelier. Clear blue skies and a warm golden sun glinting off the river speckled us with light. Our big red picnic blanket (and, no doubt, the gorgeousness of the girls I was with) inspired many tourist photos from the street above the quai.

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Posted in: life, paris | Tags: bloggers, friends, girlfriends, ile saint louis, paris, paris picnic, picnic, picnic on the seine, pont de la tournelle, quai de seine, seine, seine picnic, travel | 7 COMMENTS

I mentioned meeting the charming Olivia of Cleopatra’s Bling on a recent post. I’ve been admiring her jewelry boutique for quite some time, and after having tried them on in person, I’m even more enamored. Her pieces are stunning and so unique — each is inspired by the jewelry of Turkey, Afghanistan, and India, and handcrafted by artisans of those countries.

Says Olivia of her beautiful pieces: “I started the business in August last year because I had always been enchanted by other-worldly jewelry. I love the aura of crystals and clusters and travel has been a big part of my inspiration for starting this business. I draw the pieces (apart from the vintage Afghani pieces) and they are created by Turkish and Indian artisans. Each piece has a unique story and no piece is the same.”

I love this jewelry so much that I want to give everyone a chance to experience it. So, to celebrate my recent blog redesign, I’ve decided to host a little blog contest/giveaway for my readers!

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Posted in: internets, paris | Tags: blog contest, blog giveaway, cleopatra's bling, cleopatrasbling, cluster ring, contest, giveaway, jewelry, jewelry giveaway, oh-la-la-livia | 58 COMMENTS