Winter Blossom Christmas Tree

As many of you have read, my hideous white Christmas tree and I have been at odds with each other over the past couple of years. My store-bought Christmas tree has not taken care of herself-always mis-shappen and shoddy looking-and I am sure she has heard the awful things I have said about her under my breath, not to mention, she still gets huffy when Zena, our cat, gnaws on her prickly, plastic branches. Needless to say, last year I decided that we needed a break from each other, and I promised myself that I would not drag her down from the attic this year.

And I KEPT my promise.

Instead of decorating with my plastic, commercial white Christmas tree, I made a new one, and it didn't cost me a penny.
Inspired by Cherry Blossom trees, I simply gathered sticks that had fallen from our trees and painted them a creamy white, and placed them in a white decorative pot (which I have used in numerous projects-Remember Amelia's Secret Garden Party?)
Then I made white tissue paper petals to mimic cherry blossoms and glued them to the white branches.

I could have stopped there if I had wanted a simpler, minimal look, but the romantic side of me just couldn't stop, so I added a handful of luxurious white feather plumes~

Since this tree was created for Amelia's room, I adorned my homemade Christmas tree with sweet, childlike ornaments:
a pair of vintage dusty ice blue mittens, petite vintage silver bells and birds,

a handmade paper ornament,

and a gray dove-accessorized with a aqua satin scarf. And notice the top of the white pot was also dressed for winter, I added a vintage white rabbit fur collar around brim for a wintry touch!

And my favorite detail about my homemade winter blossom Christmas tree is that I placed it into the curio cabinet in Amelia's room~a fancy little display case just for the tree. I hope to add white lights inside of the cabinet so that at night, it becomes a magical little scene behind glass for Amelia to enjoy.

_{images by à la parisienne}

Ladurée-inspired fête~~le menu, la table, et le thé

To all of you who have attended my Ladurée-inspired party thus far, thank you for your sweet comments regarding the invitations and décor. Now on to the most important element of my party planning-the food. Pretty invitations and a romantic atmosphere are nice but a delicious meal enhances the entire experience. An when throwing a Ladurée-inspired party, one must serve authentic French cuisine.

Months before the party I carefully planned the menu. Then I designed an actual menu to place on the table. Perched on top of a small, ornate easel, my French menu gracefully greeted each guest. I created mini menus, as party favors, and placed them at each table setting.

_{romantic table setting~shiny silverware, soft white napkins wrapped in rich champagne satin ribbon, and miniature menus}

I began planning this party nearly a year ago with a Ladurée theme in mind. I envisioned an all white table with gold accents. I wanted white linens and classy antique white plates with gold rims. Even though I searched for a year, I never found the plates that I was looking for...until YESTERDAY...yes, yesterday I found the set for which I'd been searching-three weeks after the party...C'est la vie.

Our lunch was a leisurely five course meal...comme les français, bien sûr.

All of the food was homemade by me-the day of the party-except for the crème brûlée. I want to thank Renée (my other sister-in-law) for helping me prepare the plates in between courses...You should have seen us scurrying around in the kitchen:)

LE MENU

L'entrée :

_{la soupe à l'oignon gratinée {French onion soup with cheese}}

This French onion soup was made following Rachel Ray's Recipe: French Onion Soup with a Sicilian Twist. I love the fresh rosemary cooked into the soup and the large homemade crouton {from a French baguette} that is covered with grape tomatoes and basil from the garden. This makes a delicious lunch all on its own.

La salade:

_{une salade verte au chèvre chaud {Warm goat cheese salade}}

When I studied abroad in France about 10 years ago, I remember eating warm goat cheese salads everywhere I went. This was my first attempt at bringing this salad to my home.
Simply slice chilled goat cheese, roll slices in flour, then roll in Panko crumbs and fry in the skillet with some olive oil.
Add fried goat cheese to a bed of green lettuces that have been tossed in a French vinaigrette-et voila! a classic French salad.

Le plat principal:

_{la bouchée à la reine {Chicken Friand}}

I never had Chicken Friand {la bouchée à la reine}in France, but it is my favorite dish at La Madeleine-a country French café chain here in the United States.
If you love puff pastries, chicken, and mushrooms, you will LOVE Chicken Friand!

Click here for the recipe.
And here's a little secret for a great tasting Chicken Friand-use a rotisserie chicken for the best flavor!

Le fromage :

Our cheese plate included:
gouda - not very French but delicious;
le fromage aux noix {cheese with walnuts- The BEST tasting cheese you will ever eat!}
and chèvre {goat cheese}

La crème brûlée:

My sister-in-law, Renée (the one who made Amelia's aqua birthday cake with white chocolate sea creatures) made the creme brûlée, and we all enjoyed torching the sugar on top~
It was so delicious we had to restrain ourselves from licking the ramekins clean.



Later that afternoon, we enjoyed un pause-thé {a break for tea}. We enjoyed drinking fresh loose teas such as Jasmine pearl tea, Imperial Pu-erh, and Earl Gray.
And as a gift, I gave each guest a vintage teacup and saucer as a party favor and souvenir of our special day together.

Along with our teas, we had homemade French macarons.
I enjoyed creating the uniquely flavored macarons just for the party while staying with the classic pale Ladurée color palette.

_{macarons by à la parisienne}

I used a butter cream base for all three macaron flavors:
pistachio-lemon;
cinnamon with fresh ginger zest;
& lavender/rosemary infused honey

By the end of the day, our souls were replenished not only by food by but also through convivial fellowship, and I was so thrilled (and relieved) that our fête surprise à la Ladurée had been a success.

I hope you have enjoyed your virtual glimpse of the party. I appreciate your visits and kind words of encouragement, and Felicia appreciates the birthday well wishes. Merci.

_{images by à la parisienne}

Ladurée-inspired fête surprise-The Décor

A beautiful, ethereal atmosphere and delicious French cuisine were the two essential components of la fête surprise. "Over the top" is a common phrase my sister-in-law uses when describing something amazing- a well-decorated space, a favorite dish, or a special experience. If you knew Felicia, you would know that she has a finesse for creating things that are "over the top." She's an extraordinary decorator and craftswoman. How could I honor such a savvy woman's birthday with just common balloons and streamers?

~~~

A party at a nice venue would have been nice, but those are few an far between here, not to mention expensive. So, I decided, I could create a beautiful atmosphere in my home with a little bit of planning and moving. Yes, moving. My husband and I switched the furniture in our parisienne salon and diningroom-just for the party.

_{drama & the unexpected-a trail of peachy-blush lace spills off of the dining table and puddles onto the floor like the train of a wedding dress.}

The party took place in the parisienne salon, which receives the most glorious peach-infused morning light.

_{upclose view of table and beyond a glimpse of the tea table}

I purposefully made this party very intimate, with a list of 5 invitees (including myself and the guest of honor.) I wanted us to have a few special, private hours around the table, dining on French cuisine at our leisure and enjoying each other's conversation with soft French music in the background. How many public venues in Texas can offer such an ambiance?

_{a picture of the birthday girl during her adolescence~ May her life hold many more years full of wonder.}

~~~

When Felicia returned home, she sent me the sweetest message:

"We just got home and there is only one word to describe today and that is 'magical.' On the drive home I described {to my husband} every bite, every color, every detail and how special you made me feel. Today was sincerely the best birthday I have ever had but the real gift is you. I beleive with all my heart that God not only hand-picked you for Aaron but he also had me in mind too. Thank you from the bottom of my heart and for a memory that I will always cherish. I love you...Sissy"

~~~

And that is what hosting a party is all about~making people feel special and drawing loved ones even closer together.

Next, I will share le menu....

_{images by à la parisienne}

Une fête surprise ~ inspired by Ladurée

Vous êtes invités...

Here's a hand delivered invitation for you to attend la fête surprise that I hosted this past weekend.

This wasn't just any party; this party was specially designed for one of my dearest friends, who happens to be one of the most creative, talented women I know~~my sister-in-law.

Felicia deserved the very best party I could create, so what better inspiration to use than Ladurée?

Ladurée boxes inspired the invitations for the party.

The boxes were hand painted and given a beautiful one of a kind label on top. Then they were wrapped in a rich champagne double faced satin ribbon, but the real treat for the recipient was what was inside the box...

homemade pistachio macarons with a lemon butter filling...

made by yours truly.

Yes, I tought myself how to make French macarons~~just for this party.

More delicious party details to come...

_{images by à la parisienne}

Un peu d'inspiration

I just wanted to drop a note and tell you all bonjour and fill you in on what I've been up to.

For the last couple of weeks my friend and I have been steadily working on preschool activities for our 3 year old children. While Amelia and I have been doing short lessons every morning since the beginning of the year, I have "officially" started to homeschool her. I never really planned to start this early, but it just naturally happened. I called up my friend, asked her if she wanted to collaborate on homeschooling activities, and boom we were meeting, making plans, and searching the web for ideas.

If any of you stay at home moms want to share ideas, I'd love to collaborate with you.

Once I get caught up on school planning and some other fun projects I've been working on, I hope to blog more, and, of course, do a little show and tell!

Until then, I thought that I would share with you this gorgeous image.

I am labeling this image "Dream home" as I would love to have a diningroom such as this.

The trailing tablecloth is also an excellent dramatic idea for a party or special event.

And the color palette is just parfait!

I hope all is well in your world!

À bientôt!

_{image via Pinterest}

Pink Vows-Wedding Centerpiece & Winners

Here's a little wedding centerpiece inspiration for you, which will conclude my series of pink inspiration-at least for a while.

The lucky winners are listed at the bottom of this post.

The most important part of a wedding are the vows-the promise of life-long commitment between a man and a woman.

This centerpiece is composed of the simplest of elements: an antique glass compote, water, Scrabble letters, and a single floating pink peony. I layered this look with the same vintage floral platter as used in my previous pink tide post.

Okay, now for the winners of my first giveaway by color-PINK:

1st place winner:

#76 Jojo

2nd place winner:

#18 CJ

Please email me at alaparisiennedesigns@gmail.com to claim your prizes.
un grand merci to all who entered. I appreciate all of your sweet comments and support. Also, thank you Divinagioielli for participating in this giveaway with your gorgeous vintage-inspired earrings. {I also love the pair I bought for myself.}
There will be another giveaway by color soon, so stay tuned!

_{images by à la parisienne}

Pink Tide~~~Romantic Fête Inspiration

Who says seaside-inspired celebrations such as weddings and parties have to be blue or white?Words, textures, and objects can all evoke the rhythm of the tides no matter the color.
I felt inspired to photograph of few of my ideas and wanted to share them with you.

Seashell pink, one of nature's most beautiful colors makes a beautiful color palette for a seaside party. Alone they are beautiful, but how about tucking in a few peonies? or even a few ruffled chiffon flowers or vintage millinery buds?

And layering the centerpiece with a vintage rose adorned platter offers added charm and romance.

Have a beautiful week and Happy July 4th to my American readers!

GIVEWAY:

Just a couple of days before the romantique pink giveaway winners will be randomly selected.

Click here to enter.

_{images by à la parisienne}

Secret Garden Gift Wrap

At midnight the night before our daughter's party, I finally took the time to wrap the only two gifts we were taking to the party.

I was exhausted. I was anxious about the party. I was alone in the diningroom with wrapping paper, ribbon, tape strung out across the table while everyone else was fast asleep. I was thinking "Why do I always put this off until the last possible minute?!" I was working very quickly. No time to miscalculate. No time to start over and redo.

It's funny. I began wrapping without a plan. No Secret Garden Wrapping Plan floating around in my head. Just scissors and extemporaneous cutting and taping.

In the buffet drawer in our dining room lies some of the most beautiful wrapping paper, double faced satin ribbon, tissue paper, and paper flowers sent to me by none other than Sande aka A Gift Wrapped Life. Yes, I was armed with paper from the renowned Wrap Room!

_{The beautiful blush paper with handwritten script and celadon birds is my absolute favorite paper in Sande's Wrap Room.}

I also have a secret to tell you...Sande tied the bow on this gift!

Do you know that when the gorgeously wrapped package of gift wrap arrived on my doorstep the long rectangular white box inside was wrapped in this very bow?

That night, in my haste and desperation, I grabbed this gorgeous pink ribbon bow, that I had stowed away, and twisted the loop and made it fit this box. It took some patience and maneuvering, but it worked!

And this beautiful bow was rescued from the giftwrapping trashbag at the end of the party. I caught my husband just as he placed it in the trash. "What are you doing?" I said as I halted him in the act, "I can reuse that! and the paper!;)

The second gift was a complete accident. I can't take credit for this idea. I wasn't even thinking straight by this point.

I wrapped this box in solid white paper.

I did something terrible. I ripped a page out of a Beatrix Potter book! Oh, that's bad.

I trimmed the illustration down to fit the surface of the box and rounded the edges.

Then I cut two small slits at the bottom of the illustration so that I could run the ribbon under it.

Then I added some more Wrap Room ribbon. Layering different widths of ribbon is another one of Sande's tips.

Then something reminded me of the little celadon green paper flowers she sent in the package...

I pulled them from the drawer and laid them on the pink bow.

"The lettuces were certainly fine."

Total accident.

_{Green paper flowers pose as sweet little lettuces}

This last image is a freebie. Exactly one week after the party I saw this display created by Linda at WillowNest.

A simple white pedastal with white roses tucked in cabbage leaves...

A fine idea for a secret garden party.

Secret Garden Party~Soft Touches~Poms and Marshmallows

Did I tell you that the party actually took place in a secret garden? No, I didn't create this garden just for our daughter's party. This secret garden has been a tranquil retreat for a few years and has been cultivated with the love by my mother-in-law, my husband's aunt, and several other very sweet women who attend our church.

About the location:

The secret garden is a hidden place on our church's property, and our church is located in the country, where tractors run the roads and cow pastures are sprinkled across the land.

When our church built a giant metal gymnasium next to its main building, this new ediface created a secluded area encompassed with three walls leaving only two ways to enter: through the back pasture or through one door.

_{My mother-in-law created this beautiful basket full of flowers with a skeleton key suspended by a ribbon, which hangs on the door leading to the secret garden. She has been doing this for years and changes out the flowers seasonally.}

The secret garden actually existed about a year before anyone else even knew about it. One day my mother-in-law told me "I have something to show you" and she led me through the door...

This secret garden is quiet, innocent, untouched, secluded~the perfect place to celebrate a young child's birthday.

To compliment the existing rose bushes, potted plants, and climbing ivy, I wanted the décor to be soft, pure, innocent.

I decided that paper poms would be the main decoration. I hung them above the main table (actually from a large 15 foot metal frame that held the above airconditioning unit).

I purchased these paper poms from Pom Love on Etsy. The poms came in the mail "unpoofed" but with simple instructions to follow. Be sure to allow about 20 to 30 minutes per pom for poofing.

Once I had the poms ready, I clothespinned them to a hanger and hung the hangers on chandeliers throughout my house to avoid flattened poms...Hmmm have you seen any poms hanging from chandeliers lately?? Scroll up!

My goal from now on is that when I host a party, I will make at least one of the decorations and hopefully create something that is unique.

I wanted to keep the cost of Amelia's party at a minimum (She's only two and we have the rest of her life to spend money), so I used two white pots that I already had...which happened to be flower pots leftover from my own wedding.


This centerpiece is made of:

*a flower pot
*a wooden stand made by Mr. à la parisienne and tucked inside of pot for elevation
a canteloupe
toothpicks
white and pink marshmallows
silk flower blossoms
green moss


_{I took a couple of pictures of the process if any of you would like to see them, let me know.}



My handmade creation sitting atop a vintage floral tablecloth waiting in the secret garden...to celebrate...

Secret Garden Party~The Invitations

With my love for photography and obsession with photo editing and graphic design, I just couldn't bring myself to buy invitations for our daughter's second birthday party, so I made them myself. Honestly, they only took a few of hours from start to finish and for all of you crafty and creative women out there, I encourage you to try making your own invitations for the next special event you plan; it not only makes such an impression on your guests but it also peaks their interest.

Below I am including the instructions for making these invitations...for future reference!

How they were made:

The front of the invitation is comprised of three different photographs and is 4X6 inches in dimension.

The top photograph is of Amelia's eyes; the middle picture is actually a picture of an illustration in Peter Rabbit tucked in some Geraniums; and the bottom picture is a closeup of the same Geranium bloom.

Then I added two pieces of nature-inspired clip art as embellishments. I chose the bottom embellishment to hold the title Secret Garden.

I had the front of the invitations printed by a photo lab.

I designed the back of the invitation using the same photo editing program, where I inserted the same lovely piece of clip art at the top. (I handwrote each of the guest's names inside of this embellishment.)

I printed the invitation backs myself on ivory cardstock with a moss green ink.

On a trip to the Warrenton, TX antique fair in March, I found a vendor who had a box full of keys, and they were 25 cents each-perfect. The vendor also had old skeleton keys for $2 each, which would have been nicer, but not really necessary.

I came home and spray-painted these keys a metallic champagne color to soften them up a bit and give them a little more pizazz.

Invitation Assembly:

After the paint on the keys had dried, I cut small strips of blush hem tape and looped them through the key holes and tied the ribbon ends in a small knot.

Then I used a small scrapbooking brad to poke through the ribbon that was holding the key and ran the brad through the cardstock in the top right corner. {See image above}

Then I adhered the photograph to the backside of the cardstock invitation using double-sided photo adhesive stickers.

Coming up Next

Pictures of the party decorations, food, gift wrap, and birthday dress

_{All images by à la parisienne}

Celebrating in the Secret Garden

Flowers...check

Poms...check

Table cloths...check

Birthday cake...check

Sweet little Birthday girl...check

This weekend we will be celebrating Amelia's 2nd birthday in the Secret Garden...

Wishing you a happy weekend!