Remnants of Paris

A week after we got home I got to host book club (for a great book--The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch) and I still had Paris in my heart and taste buds... so I made or bought some yummy foods that reminded me of my trip. You might notice my toile tablecloth (happily purchased at a discount price at JoAnn Fabric) and Eiffel Tower and Fleur de Lis (also purchased here in the States at a discount store). You have to love that I bought my Paris souvenirs in the U.S. and a couple of them were more than likely made in China. Oh well... they still remind me of a fabulous trip and I didn't spend a fortune on them.

I made crepes and served them with Nutella and bananas (or butter and sugar). I made ham and cheese quiche (although I would have purchased the mini-quiches from Costco if they had been in stock). I served cream puffs (thank you Costco) and chocolate-croissants (thanks refrigerated crescent rolls and chocolate chunks). And I pulled out all the stops and served the very baguettes I had stuffed in my luggage (we froze it right when we got home) with Laughing Cow cheese (thanks to Costco again). We even had sherbet (not nearly as tasty as the sherbet from Ile de St. Louis) with ginger ale (my beverage of choice on all flights going anywhere, including Paris). I don't think anyone there was nearly impressed with everything I pulled off for that night as I was with myself... it had been my first full day at my clinic and we had a soccer game for Coleman in between, but somehow the house managed to get clean and the food got made, just in time for my lovely book club friends to come over and enjoy it with me.

The next week I had signed up to decorate a door for our PTA's Teacher Appreciation week... the theme had something to do with our teachers being world-class and so Olivia asked her teacher what her dream vacation was... she was so kind in saying that she was dying to go to Paris (I am sure she had compassion for me and knew that I could easily put something together about Paris). We came up with this rendition of the Eiffel Tower (complete with gem sparkly things for the lights they turn on at night) and put random sayings about Paris and our fabulous and wonderful Mrs. Rhodes who has been a great teacher for Olivia this year.

I think those two projects sufficiently got Paris out of my system... although we are still enjoying a baguette every few days and will likely keep the Laughing Cow cheese and Nutella a staple in our fridge and pantry....