what we did last week, and the recipe for blueberry tea!

last Saturday, Mr D and i left the country!

we kicked back!

we relaxed!

at Whistler, we had a pretty view of winter moving into spring.

{windows 462}

i packed some basics.

Sunday night, i made clam chowder...Mr D's favorite!

the guest room was set up for our son Jay and his best friend
 (since childhood), Tyler. they arrived on Tuesday night.

they hit the slopes for two days.

we met them for coffee at the foot of Blackcomb apres, day one!

poolside, after ski boarding on Thursday night.

Jay and Ty are experimenting with Mr D's little waterproof point and shoot!

...firing up the rib eyes!

we brought the good wine for "last night"!

then it was mom's turn...
...blueberry tea with my boys at the Fairmont!
 the music was live. a young man was singing James Taylor,
 Mumford & Sons,
and even a little HO HEY by the Lumineers!

a perfect last nightcap!

the recipe for Blueberry Tea
1 oz. Grand Marnier
1 oz. Amaretto
and
one pot of Orange Pekoe Tea.
garnish with a cinnamon stick and an orange slice!
( hmmmm...there are no blueberries in blueberry tea)

i had the best time, but i did miss my babies and the folks back home.
as soon as i am finished with my coffee and this post, we are off
to see Holland at her gymnastics class!

have a great weekend!

withLove!

:: our timeshare, at Club Intrawest, thanks Mom & Dad! ::
:: thank you for all of the "Otime" you worked, Mr. D. it was a lovely vacation! ::

wrapped in the light blue notes of Dolce & Gabbana for less that a dollar a day...

i love to visit the fragrance counter.

last week, i visited Nordstrom, with some birthday 

money that i had tucked away!

 i was seeking a new fragrance for Spring.

for the past several years i have been

wearing Chanel. most recently, i have worn

Chance Eau Tendre and Chance Eau Fraiche.

i was ready for a change... to try something new.

i did not care for flower bomb.

even if i loved it, i could not justify the price.

nothing new impressed me.

then i thought...

 how about some notes from the past?

  ...something warm and familiar.

i chose light blue.

( they had a gift set...perfect for some travel ahead...it was sixty dollars.)

the sales also associate filled a purse spray from her counter tester

 for me for five dollars.

i think of fragrance as a fashion basic.

 light blue has been around since 2001, so

it can be found most everywhere.  of all of the fragrances i have

worn, hands down, i have received the most compliments and inquiries

when i wear light blue.  i'll make the fragrance last at least

three months, which means i can wear this lovely collection of

{fragrance notes}

notes from Dolce & Gabbana for less that a dollar a day!

withLove.

{resources light blue}

what is it about French butter?

my curiosity began last December, when Mr D and i were at Costco shopping

for our staples (coffee, nuts, maple syrup, wine, cheese 

and his gimundo bag of chips).

we always separate at least three times when we visit Costo.

 i lose Mr D at the wine, and he loses me at books and fromage!

on this visit to the big warehouse,

when seeking fromage, i found French butter.  

  i know if i had pushed the issue...it would have ended up

in the cart...but to justify spending OVER EIGHT DOLLARS on a pound

of butter...i had to do some research.

(the research was placed on the very back burner with the acquisition
at work in January, the crazy flu and colds that came in February, 
along with my quest for getting some things on 34th street in better 
order before my goal date of March 1st!)

on Saturday, i posted about a French cookie exchange!

 here.

the post was inspired by one of my favorite French blogs Manon 21.  

Manon's blog featured butter cookies from POILANE.

this morning i made crepes for Mr D and me.

( i didn't photograph them as i did not intend to blog about them)

they were made with farm fresh British Columbia eggs.

i drizzled them with butter from Montreal that i found for

six dollars a pound, and blackberry honey.

now, i know that Montreal is not France...

...but the butter was and is nothing short of amazing. 

 i took a bite of my breakfast crepes.

then i looked up at Mr D.  we both said..."the butter".

he got up from is chair, went to the fridge and took the package of

butter out for further inspection.  it was just a fun little gastro moment!

i must say that i was pretty impressed with the "B.C." farm

fresh eggs that went into the batter as well. when you can feel the

difference when cooking, you KNOW that you are going to TASTE

the difference at the meal!

can you believe that i am going on an on about French butter?

after breakfast,  i found the answer to my question in this article by Dorie Greenspan
that was published in the New York Times on January 2001. 

"LIONEL POILANE, France's best-known bread baker, has a very expressive face, and recently it was expressing deep doubt. He scrunched up his eyebrows, frowned and said: ''I'd love to give you my cookie recipe, but I won't because you'll never be able to make it in America. Your butter just isn't the same as ours.'' 
Then, he looked at me the way a teacher might regard a slow student and asked,
 ''What is it about your butter?'' 
"What is it indeed?"
Or put another way, "what is it about French butter?"

there are two recipes attached to the article, one for a lemon tart, and 

the other is for a French butter cookie!

the next time i find French butter...into the cart it will go 

without a second thought!

my goal for this day is to butter you up...

...withLove!