Europe 2014 // Paris: Le Food

I'm not exaggerating when I say I only had one bad meal on our whole trip (which happened to be in Rome). Usually I'm reluctant to recommend restaurants. I find that even though we may have had a blast (food, service, etc.) it doesn't mean it will be a hit every time. Nonetheless here is a list of restaurants we went to in Paris.

Le Pub St. Germain
Katie and Jamie found this well hidden pub the first time they went to Paris. So to kick off our trip we went there for wine and snacks. We sat outside even though it was pouring chats and chiens.

17, rue de l'Ancienne Comèdie
75006, Paris (6 arr.)
www.lepubsaintgermain.com

Les Fines Gueules
If you've been to Paris, you will know that almost everything is closed on Sunday. So dining out usually isn't an option. But since we were there for a limited time I really wanted to go out. After a lot of research, we found this gem. This was hands down my favourite meal in Paris and probably one of the most fun nights of my life. 

43 rue Croix des Petits Champs
75001, Paris (1 arr.)
www.lesfinesgueules.fr

 

 

 

 

Le Petit Chatelet
This special spot is located right beside Shakespeare & Co. It also looks out over to Il de la Citè to Notre Dame. We had a 10pm reservation. We found ourselves caught in the rain again and walked into an inviting room with a warm fire. They later cooked the lamb for one of us on the same fire that welcomed us in from the cold and damp. Cest magnifique!

39 rue de la Bucherie
Paris, 75005 (6 arr.)

 

Cafe St Regis
Perfect for a Kronenbourg and an onion soup. 

6 rue jean du Bellay
Paris, 75004 (Il Saint-Louis)

Cafe Victor Hugo

Every visit to Paris we start one of our days off at this place. My meal of choice, the croque madame. 

4 Place Victor Hugo

Paris, 75116 (4 arr.)

 

Bon Appétit!
Charysse

Europe 2014 // Paris: Le Flight & Le Apartment

2 couples. 3 weeks. 5 locations.

Our trip took place from April 26th to May 16th. We had 5 nights in Paris, and let me tell you not one second was wasted. I can't wait to share with you some things we got up to. Be warned that if you have been to Paris, or have always wanted to, these pictures will rightly make your heart ache just a little. But before I do that, I want to in introduce you to our team and to the digs we had in Paris. Our team is pictured directly below, from left to right: Dustin my husband, moi, Katie, Jamie. We stayed in the 15 arrondissement in two bachelor apartments, literally right next to each other. Team Carlson had the Fashion Room while Team Juchymenko had the Boulangerie Room. 

Here is what we will be covering in our upcoming blog posts:

5 nights Paris

2 nights Siena

7 nights San Casciano

5 nights Positano

1 night Rome

Cheers,
Charysse

West Elm Market #popupshop

On Saturday June 26th we had the privilege of setting up shop in one of our favourite shops, West Elm Market Vancouver. You'll find at West Elm Market everything from delicious lavendar lattes with homemade simple syrup to retro modern vacuum cleaners. The style of their store and simple clean design of their products left us murmuring the same thought under our breath time and again "I want that." You would be hard pressed to find another environment that looks so cooly unaffected. Me and my husband had such a great time talking with all those who stopped by and got great feedback. Our top selling card was our "#sorryeverythingsucksrightnow". 

One thing that makes West Elm Market so special is that they 'support local'. You hear this a lot in Vancouver, but West Elm Market really does. They let me set up shop for free of charge.  They did not take a percentage, not a penny. This means that they actually support local.

I would like to thank the General Manager Tiffany Medwid and the staff that works there. They made it such a great and friendly experience!

I would also like to thank Three Knuckle Photography for taking such awesome photos (featured in this blog) and also the beautiful flower arrangement from Fleurish Floral Design.

Cheers,

Charysse

Let's Get Lost Creations on Etsy.com

Our Etsy shop is open for business! We are really excited to be part of such a creative community. If you haven't shopped on Etsy before, it's easy and great to connect with the sellers. They are all excited about their products, as am I.

The main obstacle to opening on Etsy.com was having the right images to convey the feel that I wanted in my shop. I teamed up with my super talented friend Marta and got to work with champagne and camera in hand. Please stop in and say hi!

www.etsy.com/shop/letsgetlostcreations

Cheers,

Charysse

The Barrel-Aged Vancouver Cocktail

Last October we got together with friends and tried our very first barrel-aged cocktail, the Negroni. It was a total hit. For our next attempt we tried to barrel-age the Vancouver cocktail. If you haven't had the pleasure of trying the Vancouver cocktail, you must (especially if you visit or live here). I made labels inspired by the one and only rain-city we call home, Vancouver. If you can't wait the seven weeks for it to age, here is the recipe to try at home pronto: 

1.5 Oz Bombay Sapphire Gin
3/4 Oz Punt Mes
1/4 Oz Benedictine Liqueur
2 Dashes Orange Bitters

Stir over ice and strain. Garnish with an orange peel.

You're welcome.

Cheers,

Charysse

Let's Get Launched!

www.letsgetlostcreations.com

It's official. My greeting cards are ready to sell! I have 27 to choose from and there are definitely lots more to come.

Because it's official, my loving husband threw me a surprise launch party for all my (our) hard work! My husband actually ordered rentals: plates, cutlery and champagne stands. I was so impressed!

He took me to Joe Fortes beforehand for dinner. He told me the reservation was for 6pm, which is really early for us, but assured me it was because we were doing something after. We headed home to "change", but to my pleasant surprise, my family and close friends were there!

I would like to thank everyone in attendance. I had so much fun and know that my husband couldn't have pulled it off without you. Thank you so much (#loveyourguts)! And for the record, I love my husband so much I could just "squeeze him into a paste and brush my teeth with him." Seriously.

***

I'd also like to take this time to mention the meaning behind the name Let's Get Lost Creations. I'm a huge Chet Baker fan. Even at 14 years of age, I would sit in my room and listen to his Best Of album over and over again. One of my favourite songs by him is...you guessed it, Let's Get Lost. I love the idea of getting lost. Whether it's at home with a good book, or in Europe literally getting lost, I find those are the times you really get to enjoy the moment. As I have looked over the parties I've thrown in this past year, I realize I'm often overcome with this feeling of getting lost and caught up in the moment. My goal is for this to come across in my work and especially on my blog. So hopefully you can stick with me and get lost with us. 

Cheers!
Charysse

The Romantics take Vancouver

8 friends. 4 couples. Celebrating 10 years of marriage. 

This particular celebration is the third we have celebrated out of the four. (For the other two events check out my blog posts on them: I, II.) 

To explain everything that occurred, and when, would most likely get you hopelessly lost. Even when planning we all at one point forgot what was next on the agenda. And of course, it's not always necessary to kiss and tell. 

The day consisted of twelve clues. Six of the clues were contained within matryoshka dolls requiring the clue to dwindle in size along with the proportions of the dolls. The last of the written clues became so small that a magnifying glass was needed. The other six clues were put inside envelopes (pictured below). Each clue was in the form of a poem. A limo transported us along our clue driven treasure hunt throughout Vancouver. One of my favourite stops was the whiskey tasting at the Shebeen Whiskey House. They were kind enough to open shop specifically for the eight of us. I made labels for the four whiskeys we tasted (pictured below). Our last stop was the beautiful Vancouver Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel.  

We splurged and got a suite at the hotel. By doing this it enabled us to have a sit-down dinner with enough room to party in when the time came. We had oysters as a starter in the sitting room, and began the sit-down dinner with an often requested caesar salad made by one of the couples present. We then moved onto burgers. Yes that's right, you heard me, burgers. Everything from the bun to the mayonnaise was house made. It was delicious. And after a full day of running around, it just hit the spot. 

We were too full from dinner to cut the cake. So first thing in the morning we all reconvened at the suite for cake and bubbly. We bundled up in our robes and ate on the outdoor patio by the fireplace. We were in no rush as our checkout wasn't till 5pm. This led us to the realization that white cotton robes are the perfect look for anytime of day.

***

The cake (pictured below) was pretty darn cute and made by Le Gateau Bake Shop.

A big thank you to Katie Juchymenko and Marta Angus for helping make this such a great event. 

Photo Credit (Above): Marta Angus

Photo Credit (Above): Jamie Juchymenko

Photo Credit (Above): Marta Angus

Photo Credit (Above): Marta Angus

Photo Credit (Above): Marta Angus

Cheers,

Charysse