u/canadian_blueberry

Homemade from the raspberries in my backyard. So yummy!

Recently got back from Paris and had a lovely time. It was so hot but still magical.

We did a couple of the typical touristy things and found them to be the least enjoyable, so we opted to just wander and take in the city. We explored the suburbs and met many lovely, kind Parisians. The residential areas had an amazing community vibe, and sitting at corner cafés with an espresso while watching everyone whirl by was one of the best things we did.

We also loved seeing a live jazz show and got to chat with some locals while there which was fun.

We did a dinner cruise for our first anniversary, which is definitely cheesy and touristy, but we chose a very intimate boat and it was an amazing experience with great food.

We skipped Versailles and took a day trip to Lyon instead which was absolutely amazing, and we hope to go back there someday.

Overall, it felt like a movie. I wouldn't change anything except the heat.

A delayed report but hopefully it's helpful nonetheless.

We stayed in Paris for 9 days, on Rue Montorgueil in an apartment our family owns. It was the end of May and very hot, but we still tried to walk everywhere. Occasionally we took the metro.

We made an effort to not over-plan but simply wander and see where the city took us, although we did do about 1 "main" attraction per day. For museums, we tried to go first thing in the morning to beat the crowds. For the Louvre we entered at the Porte des Lions entrance and only had 2 people ahead of us, plus it was in the shade. I highly recommend this over the main entrance. I also recommend for other museums to book a time slot, as we got to skip most of the line.

The overall highlights of our trip were the Porte de Vanves Flea Market and exploring the Malakoff neighbourhood afterwards, which was a very nice change of pace from the rest of the city, as well as a jazz show at Le Duc des Lombards and a dinner cruise with Le Calife.

If you're looking for an intimate and beautiful dinner cruise with genuinely good food I highly recommend Le Calife. The atmosphere was incredible and so was the food, which is actually prepared on the ship unlike most dinner cruises.

I also highly recommend skipping Versailles and doing a day trip elsewhere if you have time for it. We went to Lyon instead and had the most amazing and relaxing day. Paris is so well connected to many major European cities, that it almost feels like a waste to not explore further afield.

We found Parisians to be very polite and kind, especially when you make an effort to speak French and are aware of the customs. There were a couple times where we saw tourists (almost always Australian, for some reason) who did not greet shop keepers in French or say please/thank you (in English or French), and who would immediately start "demanding" things (ex. "Give me the ham and butter sandwich" "I'll take one of those circle things"), and these people were met with a bit of attitude, although I'd say the shop keepers were just matching their attitude. So just be very aware of this before going.

Also, knowing basic French is nice if you're planning to go outside the main city centre. When we were in the less touristy places, especially at markets, we were able to have whole conversations in French with the vendors. I know they could tell we weren't native speakers from our accents but if someone doesn't feel as confident in English then they might appreciate it.

I'm going to be doing a lot of solo travel on trains this autumn and need to build the perfect playlist

I'm going to be doing a lot of solo travel on trains this autumn and want to start building a playlist that feels like these photos. I don't really know how to describe this feeling so I needed to share visuals

Found at a flea market

This weekend was a lot of work, but worth it! We made:

• 7 pints of black raspberry pie filling

• 14 half pints of black raspberry jam

• 8 half pints of wild blueberry jam 

• 7 half pints of black forest preserve 

• 12 half pints of bruschetta 

• 7 pints of corn relish

The black raspberries were from our backyard (we have a HUGE bramble that must be at least 50 years old. We have more black raspberries in the freezer still 😅)

We picked the wild blueberries on a mountain near us Saturday and canned them the same day (we're in New Hampshire and have great wild blueberries everywhere)

The corn was from a local farmer for only 20¢/ ear. We also dehydrated the corn silks to make corn silk tea, which I highly recommend

The bruschetta tomatoes were bought from a local store but all the herbs in it were our own that we dehydrated.

So satisfying to see the cupboards filling up!

Gilded walnuts were a popular and prestigious Christmas ornament during the Victorian Era. There would sometimes be little sweets or gifts inside, although it was more common for them to be empty, which inspired a popular children's story from that era (included below). Mine are empty and super glued shut for durability.

Some tutorials use acrylic paint or spray paint, but in my opinion it just doesn't have the same effect as foil. I also wanted it to be more historically accurate. It was messy but worth it!

The Victorian children's story:

"One Christmas eve, a group of children were assembled round the tree, which the Germans are accustomed to prepare on this day, to amuse their children. As it was illuminated on all sides by brilliant lights, its green branches might be seen laden with all sorts of sugar-plums and little play-things, that were suspended from them.

There were some gilded walnuts, that especially attracted the attention of little Peter, and he wished to possess them. His mother said to him, “My son, these gilded walnuts have only been put there to embellish the tree. Therefore let us leave them there. If you wish to eat some walnuts, here are some for you.” But Peter cried desperately. “The brown walnuts do not please me,” he said: “I want the golden ones. They must have much sweeter kernels.”

The mother knew that often the best way to punish wayward children, is to yield to their capriciousness; so she gave him the golden walnuts, and distributed all the brown ones among her other children. Peter, in great delight, hastened to crack the beautiful nuts. But to his disappointment and sorrow, they were all empty; and his brothers and sisters began to burst out into laughter, and ridiculed him.

His father then said to him, “These walnuts were only intended to please the sight, and not to be eaten. I did not want to lose good walnuts, so I took some empty shells, fastened them together, and covered them with some gilt paper. There are many things in the world like these deceitful walnuts; they are brilliant outside, but empty within."

Is it too early for Christmas stuff? 🫣 If so, too bad. I can't help myself.

Gilded walnuts were a popular and prestigious Christmas ornament during the Victorian Era. There would sometimes be little sweets or gifts inside, although it was more common for them to be empty which inspired a popular children's story from that era (included below). Mine are empty and super glued shut for durability.

Some tutorials use acrylic paint or spray paint, but in my opinion it just doesn't have the same effect as foil. I also wanted it to be more historically accurate. It was messy but worth it!

The Victorian children's story:

"One Christmas eve, a group of children were assembled round the tree, which the Germans are accustomed to prepare on this day, to amuse their children. As it was illuminated on all sides by brilliant lights, its green branches might be seen laden with all sorts of sugar-plums and little play-things, that were suspended from them.

There were some gilded walnuts, that especially attracted the attention of little Peter, and he wished to possess them. His mother said to him, “My son, these gilded walnuts have only been put there to embellish the tree. Therefore let us leave them there. If you wish to eat some walnuts, here are some for you.” But Peter cried desperately. “The brown walnuts do not please me,” he said: “I want the golden ones. They must have much sweeter kernels.”

The mother knew that often the best way to punish wayward children, is to yield to their capriciousness; so she gave him the golden walnuts, and distributed all the brown ones among her other children. Peter, in great delight, hastened to crack the beautiful nuts. But to his disappointment and sorrow, they were all empty; and his brothers and sisters began to burst out into laughter, and ridiculed him.

His father then said to him, “These walnuts were only intended to please the sight, and not to be eaten. I did not want to lose good walnuts, so I took some empty shells, fastened them together, and covered them with some gilt paper. There are many things in the world like these deceitful walnuts; they are brilliant outside, but empty within."

Gilded walnuts were a popular and prestigious Christmas ornament during the Victorian Era. There would sometimes be little sweets or gifts inside, although mine are super glued shut for durability. It was also quite common for them to be empty, which is referenced in a popular Victorian story about how pretty things do not always have substance to them.

"One Christmas eve, a group of children were assembled round the tree, which the Germans are accustomed to prepare on this day, to amuse their children. As it was illuminated on all sides by brilliant lights, its green branches might be seen laden with all sorts of sugar-plums and little play-things, that were suspended from them.

There were some gilded walnuts, that especially attracted the attention of little Peter, and he wished to possess them. His mother said to him, “My son, these gilded walnuts have only been put there to embellish the tree. Therefore let us leave them there. If you wish to eat some walnuts, here are some for you.” But Peter cried desperately. “The brown walnuts do not please me,” he said: “I want the golden ones. They must have much sweeter kernels.”

The mother knew that often the best way to punish wayward children, is to yield to their capriciousness; so she gave him the golden walnuts, and distributed all the brown ones among her other children. Peter, in great delight, hastened to crack the beautiful nuts. But to his disappointment and sorrow, they were all empty; and his brothers and sisters began to burst out into laughter, and ridiculed him.

His father then said to him, “These walnuts were only intended to please the sight, and not to be eaten. I did not want to lose good walnuts, so I took some empty shells, fastened them together, and covered them with some gilt paper. There are many things in the world like these deceitful walnuts; they are brilliant outside, but empty within."

Some tutorials use acrylic paint or spray paint, but in my opinion it just doesn't have the same effect as foil. It was messy but worth it!

Before you guys say anything, yes I know I need to tidy up my pantry. I promise it's usually more neat but I've been very busy lately 😅

I feel like this one is easy but we'll see