Blackburn Coffee

This Saturday I went for coffee and a catch-up with Lauren at the recently-opened Blackburn. There's a new wave of cafés opening up in Paris, such as Blackburn, Holybelly and Lockwood, which do excellent food, have excellent coffee and understand what good service consists of. And have excellent design. Blackburn is just the type of place I would have loved to frequent as a student: it's stylish, peaceful and the owners, Sofiane and Sarah, are so friendly and easy-going it's like going round to a friend's (super-swish) apartment.

To continue that conversation about good service in Paris...well, to be quite frank with you, good customer service is sparse in Paris. As a Brit, I know how to queue, and I will never understand the French who form the most confusing queues - basically they're just all trying to push to the front! In Paris it is not uncommon for someone, who is being paid to provide a service, to behave as if you are bothering them, such as French waiters. I can never adapt to it, it will never be charming for me, and I even see Parisian friends bothered by this poor service.

Coffee, a fresh juice and this delicious plate, all for EUR 19.

Expectations seem to be changing though. Parisians are travelling abroad, coming back to Paris and opening their own places, combining French charm with good service. I'm not saying that I want the Parisian bistros to disappear. I admire and respect history and tradition, but there is space in Paris to cater to everyone's needs given that it attracts around 27 million tourists per year. Some days I can handle bad service if it comes with excellent food : ) Most days however, I would like my coffee and eggs served with sides of smile and friendly chit-chat.

So go in and say hello to Sofiane and Sarah, they'll be more than happy to have a chat whilst you sample their delicious coffee.

Lou xxx

Septime la cave

Recently, I've started a new job where I'm kept incredibly busy and learning a lot of new things. Last night however I was so glad to have a date with Danielle because it meant that I was able to step.away.from.the.html. We headed to Septime la Cave, an adorable wine bar opened by Bertrand Grébaut who runs the famous restaurant Septime on rue de Charonne. Michelin star, no biggie.

Organic wine, great jambon, lovely conversation...an evening well spent with Danielle! The service is friendly, the space charming and cosy, and there are wine suggestions which the staff are very happy to talk you through.

I'm happy to announce that Danielle will be the next subject of my LouLou meets...series. Watch this space.

Lou xx

Feel Good Friday

This afternoon's run around the lakes of the Bois de Boulogne.

Happy Friday my lovely readers. This week has been exceptionally feel good for me, I hope it has been the same for you? If not, the weekend is just around the corner so please recharge your batteries, if you can, by doing nice things with nice people that make you feel positive and good about yourself...and life.

Can I share with you my feel good week?

- I have managed 3 runs during my lunch break this week (10k, 7k and 8.3k) and we have been very very lucky with the weather here in Paris because it does not feel like winter at all. I'm going to try a long run this weekend (thinking of hitting 15k) and so I should also do some hip-opening yoga routines. A particularly feel good song at the moment on my playlist? "Inner Ninja" by Classified (feat. David Myles). I discovered it via Strala's Strong Fall playlist.

- On Wednesday, so many good things fell from the sky at around the same time. I got to meet Meg, a fellow expat blogger based in Paris. Meg has kindly agreed to be my next interviewee for "LouLou meets..." so it is a huge understatement to say I'm very excited about receiving her answers and publishing that particular post.

Meg is a self-proclaimed beer nut so I joined her for a drink at the beer bar Express de Lyon. New territory for me, as I'm a huge fan of the vin.

I was very happy to try something new, the service was friendly and the waiter happily answered Meg's questions about the brews. The lady herself was an absolute delight: funny, engaging and with a real joie de vivre.

- Some more big news that I received on Wednesday evening. *Drum roll please* I have been contacted by a company to participate in sponsored events throughout 2014. This will involve some travel, as well as meeting new bloggers from several European cities. I'm very grateful for such an opportunity and believe the whole experience will be a fantastic learning curve for me and my blog. Watch this space guys. Literally.

- This wouldn't be a true blog post without some mention of food. This week I discovered these yummy  meringue fancies which originate from the north of France (Lille to be precise). There are six flavours in total. JB and I sampled the Merveilleux and the Incroyable and I will definitely be going back to try the remaining flavours. You can find their addresses here (for any Londoners out there, there is a shop in South Ken.)

- I have found a piano teacher. My first lesson will be in mid-March so this weekend I have to start practising again. My new teacher has asked me to prepare some Chopin, so I'll decide which nocturne/étude/waltz to begin with...

Take care of yourselves and have a bon week-end.

Lou
xxx

Health Kick

Note: What works for me in regards to diet and exercise wise is not what suits everyone. This is a letter to myself and no-one else, because I know that personally I'm happier when I'm eating healthy, exercising regularly and feeling like I am looking after my body. I am inclined to over-indulge and I'm trying to be honest in sharing that I do struggle to find balance and moderation in my diet. I also know that I put on weight pretty easily and I have a 9-5 office job so I spend most of my day sat on my bottom. I apologise to anyone who read this and felt weird/offended or that I was being irresponsible. I don't believe in diets and in fact what I enjoy most about eating healthy is that I don't have to restrict portions because it's all good for me. 

Dear 60kg Lou,

I think it is time you faced reality. You have to eat clean and exercise often in order to have both the trim figure and the trim face that you want. To be completely honest the weight gain shows very obviously in your face which means that you don't quite look at your best, dearie. 

Caught in the act with the two biggest culprits...Note the wine glass is already empty.

It's time to take responsibility and just accept things for what they are, which is that you are a short person with a big appetite and put on weight fairly easily. 

Here are some changes I think you could make to help you on your way:

- Keep a food diary for a month and be completely honest with your entries;

- Limit your alcohol intake to twice a week and drink sensibly;

- Drink more herbal teas and water throughout the work day;

- Do some exercise every day. Nothing too strenuous and remember the importance of weight training;

- Bread and cheese are false friends, they taste so good at the time and then go straight to your hips - so eat them but in moderation;

- Quinoa, oat bran and yams are your best sources of carbs. Forget rice. Rice makes you sluggish and you know it;

- Indulgences should be moderate. Definitely eat cake on your birthday and birthdays in general;

- Remember to enjoy the food that you are eating with the knowledge that it is good for you.

Yours Sincerely,

57kg Lou
xxx

LouLou in London - Part 2

Training for the Prosecco themed yoga run on Friday evening

Our Lunch ended up running a little late (I blame the Prosecco) so we phoned the nail salon where we'd booked a manicure appointment (MW Nails) to inform them.They were very accommodating and pushed our appointment back accordingly. We'd found the place on Time Out's best nail bars - London and we'd gone for it as the concept is a little different. Basically the salon is decorated in the style of an American Airlines Boeing 747. You sit in comfortable plane seats which are nice for the tush, the beauticians' are dressed similar to an air hostess and the nail polishes are displayed in airplane window cubicles. There was a huge choice of polish, we um'd and ah'd for a while and primarily went for our usual colours. Then we decided to switch it up. So Essie's Lady Godiva and Angora Cardi it was then for us.

We had the Perfect Panama manicure at 29 GBP...

The staff were friendly. Flora and I were chatting away nine to the dozen so they didn't try to start a conversation with us but I noticed a few lone customers who were happily conversing with their nail technician. The salon was clean, and I would say it was a very non-fussy approach without being robotic. Professional with a human touch. Something fun to do every once in a while with friends. There we go.

Here we are, clearly pleased as punch with our new pretty nails! And i'm happy to say that the nail varnish is still firmly in place. I've had a few polish jobs/manicures where shampooing my hair can lead to chipped varnish!

After our manicure, it was time for Flora and I to say "au revoir". I have to say, it's really nice to have reached out and found a new friend from the blogging world. Flora is brilliant company, has a great sense of humour, she loves reading and is just an all round intelligent lady with a vast connaissance of London. It has been such a positive experience and given me the confidence to consider contacting other bloggers, and to interact with more people in the blogging community. Thanks Flora : ) You can find Flora on Twitter and Instagram as well as her blog site which you will see is in my "Reading" section.

From new friends to old friends...I trundled off to St. Christopher's Place to meet up with some school pals! We all met each other at boarding school when we were 16 and despite being close at school, we mostly ended up in different places for university. It has been so nice to reconnect after all this time. Moggs is married and expecting her second child! Suling has just secured a job at the University of Edinburgh and last but not least, Christina has carved such a nice for herself in the realm of 21st century solo piano works. She was recently rubbing shoulders with Elton John and playing on the most exquisite piano for an auction sale in Harrods! I really enjoyed catching up with these ladies, I headed home absolutely exhausted but very happy. There was time for a mini photo session with Tina and Snowy the dog.

My sister and I had a much needed lie-in on Sunday and started the chill out day with brunch at Kipferl, another favourite place of mine located in Camden Passage.

This is Flora's photo: turns out we both went to Kipferl, separately, for brunch on Sunday!

You must try the cakes if you're there. We tried an almond tart, an espresso cake and the apple strudel. Us Binns sisters do not mess around when it comes to cake!

My sister had got me some raw chocolate to sample by a company called Lovechock. It's very dark and therefore very bitter but the goji berries and orange gave it some natural sweetness and a bit of a zing. The packaging is very pretty and if you don't know already I am an absolute sucker for nice packaging. Plus there's a positive message inside if you need uplifting/to be reminded of all that is going well in your life.

Sadly the time came where I had to head to St. Pancras and back to Paris, although I wasn't complaining too much as JB was waiting in our fab apartment for me with hugs ready to go.

Thank you to everyone who made the time to hang out with me. I had a brilliant weekend in London. Here's to the next time! (Apologies once again readers for the mammoth post)

Lou xxxx