Lenotre Classes: Pate en Patisserie

our Pates en Patisseries class

brioche

pate de choux in the oven

while I was in Paris , I took a class in Ecole Amateur Lenotre De Cuisine et De Patisserie , Lenotre is a world wide well known luxury resturant & their school at Champs Elysee is one of Paris' top pastry & cuisine schools , just like Ecole Ritz and Le Cordon Bleu , so I was one lucky gal to get into a couple of their all time full classes!

we made broiche , which I took with me home and my hubby & I ate for breakfast the next morning with some apricot jam ..YUMMM !

we made Pate Feuilletee , Pate a Choux , Pate Sablee and Pate Brisee ..

the funny thing is that the whole class was taught in french , and I had to work double hard in remembering some words and sentences of some very basic french that I was taught while in school.. pathetic as I was lost in the middle , the classmates were so sweet to help me with translation! Chef Francois Schmitt was also very calm and helpful.. trying his best to focus on me sometimes , especially when my face sends puzzled messages !

Lenotre Classes: Pate en Patisserie

Fresh Vegs & Great Friends!

the Moulin Bregeon

Bonjour ! I'm back from my very short trip to France in the French Country side .. and Paris.

all I can say is I was sent to heaven , ate there , played ,napped , made friends with french people , americans , made friends with goats , cows , horses , ducks and geese.. bathed in great savon , brought home memories and awsome vintage french flea market finds.. Oh La

we stayed at Le Moulin Bregeon , a former mill turned into luxurious guest house , sitting in a green country farm , the nearest village is 10 minutes drive , nearest small town is 30 minutes drive , so this was REALLY secluded and very tranquile.

The owners , Bernard & Pascal are both french and amazing chefs , they took us in tours and activities such as horse back riding , and we are not talking about the tourists kinda horses that lack energy or grace , we are talking about the professional way in an equastrian school ! and Saumur , where we went to horse ride , is France's National Training Equistrian Center!

Pascal in the dinning room

Bernard , if you are reading this , we love you so much! thank you for all the fun you brought into our days , thank you for the looong drives and you always made us happy !!

Pascal was great too , he took us with him for champignions , that is for finding fresh mushrooms in the wild!!! in the middle of the forest , like 20 minutes walk into a forest , while we come from Kuwait , forests are almost non-existant .. this was kinda overwhelming.. and we LOVED every minute of it.. we got HUGE GIGANTIC mushrooms , Pascal made them for dinner with some french butter and garlic and OH MY GOD .. HEAVEN!! ( I said that in a very high pitch )..

the huge mushrooms we found in the wild

Jonathan Robinson is a famous american artist , he is the founder of the Moulin Bregeon and owner too.. he took us to his art studio and we had amazing energetic talks about the art , architecture and the whole concept of fitting it into nature , or as its called " the commulitave aesthetic" .. more about this in a seperate post..

of course , I took some cooking and baking lessons with Pascal and Bernard.. which I will talk about later as this post is getting so huge!

the rooms , my oh my , filled with antiques and vintage stuff , vintage linens , mirrors , I took the photos but some of them are grabbed from their website as they look more pretty and professionally shot!

our suite was HUGE .. in the heart of the MILL.. you can see the MILL parts in the roof and in the whole room .. ah , love!

our bedroom in the mill house

the bathroom

more to come!

Fresh Vegs & Great Friends!

Au revoir my friends..

I will be taking a week off for travel.. guess where I'm heading?

Au revoir my friends..

See this ?Airy Country House ...

see this farmhouse? how pretty is it covered in sheer curtains ? but wait , lets look inside first!!
welcome to the living room. what can I say about it? such a chic space , very airy and light . I could definetly relax in there .. see the blue chairs ? they are covered in velvet & organza slipcovers.. how amazing is that? the dinning room , with its The Scandinavian tradition of painted floors the country style kitchen , my I would die for the space in this kitchen!

my favorite part: the vintage buffet!!

her girl's room..

an old church window brought in for a touch of scandanavian style

some treats she always have on the tables for guests , as she loves to throw parties and gatherings..

meet Carrie , who knows how to style her home in the way she & her family feel most comfortable in..

now , where do I start?

See this ?Airy Country House ...

Farmhouse Style..

pattern of wall paper, color of linen and warmth of wood

An antique cow poster & worn stoneware, flatware, and enamelware

apron-front sink with toile skirt, old antique cabinets

iron bed with vintage floral bed linens

laundry room set with vintage teacups and assorted storage baskets arrayed in neat rows

pine floor , wood moldings , pretty cabinet and covered sofa all linked to farmhouse chic

subdued palette of color , and heirloom linens

reclaimed barn wood cabinet in the kitchen , showcases a collection of blue and white dishware.

the faucet is an iron hand pump that dates to the late 1800s; Filtering light from the window is a curtain that's actually a dishtowel edged in crocheted hens and chicks.

via Country Living

Farmhouse Style..

Kitchen Trinkets..

via cottonblue's home on flickr

Kitchen Trinkets..

Storage solved..

I was never sure on how to store my books & knick knacks , since our home is almost all open space , the living room flows into the kitchen flows into thedinning room which flows into my corner which I call my Studio.. hubby wants furniture pieces that are not just Shelving ( a.k.a ikea..sorry ! ) .. he wants furniture that tells stories. I couldn't agree more , though I was ok with the idea of shelving from Ikea , cz I have Sooo much clutter & books!! ..

But look at this!! this just solved it! I love how they combined the vintage cupboards for storage and each one is different yet fits so well !!

via flickr cottonblue

Storage solved..