January 2019

Sick on Dry January...

If you don't know what Dry January is well it's pretty much a month where you restrain yourself from drinking any alcoholic drink... I'll find a way to drink nonetheless, Dry Cider? Dry Wine? Dry Gin? 

Every year, people set goals, resolutions and I'm sure many achieve what they come up with, but I ain't one these people. I tend to mess up and give up if I write too long of a list. One at a time is best... This year, Dry January kind of came at the right time with me being sick.

I caught a bad cold that gave me a touch time with back and neck issues. Coughing, stuffy nose (I can't sleep right when my breathing isn't there). Anyways, you get what the entire "sick" part means. 

Not sure if I underestimate the weather in France, but the cold is different from where I was. And trust me, Ireland's cold is rather better a little less humid if I may say. So I had to buy myself a better scarf and two sweaters because I can live on sweaters. 

Not entirely sure what I want from 2019, I expected things to go differently in 2018 so now... I have to set my new future right, get my things organized, think about the long journey I have ahead; if you have any suggestions on how to manage it all, please feel free to comment. I want help! I need help!

All I know is that even if obstacles comes through, I'll make it alright... 

Actually, it reminds me of 'The Blind Side' with Sandra Bullock, Quinton Aaron, Tim McGraw, Lily Collins and Jae Head. The film is about a white, Christian family that takes a young coloured kid into their home, give him a family he can count on. 

Let's move on from the whole what it is about to how important and how life lessons were given. First, it's based on a real story which makes it even sadder or happier. Watch the film then you will understand how much crying will happen. 

Second, despite colour skin and different backgrounds, a family changed a young kid's life just like he changed theirs. 

And finally, despite what others may say, think or do, believe what you are doing is the right thing. The mother took a huge decision, the family had to make choices, the kid, himself, had to manage changes. That woman deserves a lot more credit, people such as this family deserve credit. It's wonderful to be there for someone who needs it. 

If you haven't watched this film, go watch it, it has to be on Netflix or stream it. It deserves a watch or read (it's also a book). I truly admire the family, admire what they achieved, how far they have come even with obstacles, they kept going...

And to keep on going can be hard at times... 

This is why 2019 may not be my year, but I will make it mine. I will give all my best to make it an 'alright' year, a successful year. Tough one ahead, but nothing good comes easy! You should remember that! 

For now, I'll try to survive this bloody cold, noisy cough, and unbearable stuffy nose. If you are sick yourself, ginger and honey help. For me, it's tea and chocolate... But if you have a pint of Guinness go ahead it will make you feel better! 

Happy New Year!

~Bella

February? Love is in the air?

I don't remember a time when I had a real Valentine's Day if that even exists...

Valentine's Day may be the best day in someone's life or the worst. For me... It's just another day at work... Sounds pathetic but trust me, it is just another day! Quite nice of a day, but then again, I don't believe you need to show someone you love them only one day a year! Can't you just go to the movie, the restaurant or the massage place on any day of the week?

Alright, I'm a bit negative towards the whole Valentine's Day, but I have reasons to be one.

Despite this negative side and how much people spend that day... It has its perks such as movies, flowers, candles,  and obviously the classic chocolates...

And TODAY, chocolate made it to the blog! No need to discuss or explain the reason behind such an obvious day.

So CHOCOLATE...

Dangerous addiction, trust me on this one!  It's supposed to be a girl's best friend right after diamonds, and in my case, it's my number 1 addiction, my first love... First, white chocolate, then milk and now I'm turning into the dark chocolate... I'm turning into the dark side, and I appreciate it a lot.
It's supposed to be healthier, and I just think it's another piece of heaven. I hated it growing up, and now, I'm all about the dark chocolate. Bitter and healthier. Okay, I'm half describing myself, I'm pretty bitter!

Enough about this, and let's start with the juicy things...

Since it's Valentine's Day, I want people to understand that there is more bad chocolate than good ones! And trust me, it's hard to find the right ones, the ones that don't give you a stomach ache.
Being born in Europe, I know that you either love Belgium or Swiss chocolate, and it is quite a debate! Everyone wants to be right, no matter what may be the reason.

First, I believe everyone has either ate some or either heard of it... Ferrero Rocher, Fine Hazelnut.
Originated from Italy, this a chocolate which consists of a whole hazelnut (roasted) covered in a thin wafer shell filled with hazelnut chocolate, and then covered in milk chocolate and chopped hazelnut. Quite the hazelnut chocolate, so if you are a hazelnut lover, go for this one... It's a favourite!

Second, Lindt has to be another favourite. The brand is top number one for Swiss chocolate and despite the fact that it is a company, they make the best chocolate, amazing chocolate! So if you want some decent amazing chocolate, this brand will give you some pleasure!

Third, Milka... Alright, I was raised with this brand, and the chocolates are quite special. Many types of chocolate with the milk bar, it's for every milk chocolate lovers! I still don't know where to get it in California, but I'm searching!

Fourth, Nestlé, Quality Street which is a selection of individual tinned toffees, chocolates, and sweets... First created in England! Each bite is a surprise! Obviously, this box was given during the holiday, and everyone knew which colour to take and not to take.

Fifth, also my favourite... Kinder Bueno... My personal favourite, the one I always went for as a kid, and still to this day, I will go for this chocolate bar, hazelnut cream filled wafer with chocolate covering... Once more made by the Italian confectionery maker Ferrero.

Valentine's Day may not be the best holiday for everyone, but let's enjoy the fun of receiving some extra love and intentions coming from our partners!  

"Chocolate doesn't ask silly questions, Chocolate understands."

~Bella

It "LITERALLY" flew away!

Wednesday 22nd of June...
My younger brother flew back to France and as usual, I was ... SAD! I always expect it to be difficult to say goodbye, but this time, it is two months of not seeing him so it will be hard! 

Each time, there's a list that I give him to buy and bring back! Most the time I never get anything back except maybe chocolate and him obviously. This time, I asked for a football(soccer) jersey, hopefully, I will get it!  Let's have faith for once! 

As the day went by I was thinking to myself that he might have taken a few things that belongs to me like coffee or my tea or even one of my shirts (yeah I steal his jackets and he steals a few things of mine sometimes just to bug me, he usually just lets it hang around his room until I figure out something is missing...) I was partially right! I am missing a scarf (not that I will need it as it is summer time now), my little square thingy to plug my phone charger (yeah I might have lost it, so I'll blame him cause he isn't around to defend himself for the crime that he might not have committed) and are you ready for the most unexpected object he took... Honestly, I never thought he would take it! NEVER!!! It never occurred to me that someone would take it, that is just unexpected! 

It's almost midnight when I go to the bathroom to brush my teeth as I was eating too much chocolate, my teeth needed to be cleaned up! No one wants to deal with bad teeth, no one! So I reached for the toothpaste and my toothbrush. The toothpaste was fine, even though I had to climb on the toilet to get to it... And then came the toothbrush. No, I didn't get it, I was high enough to reach it, as usual, sadly, I couldn't see it. I looked for 5 minutes, around the shelf, and the cabinet, nothing. I mean NOTHING, no sign of my beautiful blue toothbrush! I declared that the famous toothbrush that had been cleaning my teeth every day and night for the past two weeks had disappeared on me. I thought maybe the wisdom tooth had scared the living hell out of it, but no, my dear brother had taken the liberty to "borrow" my toothbrush. MY BEAUTIFUL BLUE TOOTHBRUSH! The name of this post justifies what happened to my dearest toothbrush, the one and only who took the time to clean my teeth for a sad short period of time! This is traumatic, it is heartbreaking to know that I had to move on and say goodbye to my blue toothbrush, the beautiful toothbrush! Instead of crying like a baby over a toothbrush and seeing the time (too late to buy another one), I decided to look around the entire house for a new toothbrush! It took me over 20 minutes to find one, and it wasn't even a good looking one. I'm stuck with a green looking toothbrush, like what the bloody hell is that! I hate green and my brother for stealing my blue toothbrush! I'm planning on holding it against him, so now I better receive my football jersey or else he has lost his wallet (if I even find it in his messy room, that might take two months to discover the wallet, especially not knowing what it looks like.) My toothbrush has been flying across the ocean and land for more than 10 hours, and hopefully, it survived the dangerous trip in the suitcase next to the deodorant! 

Anyways, I'm pretty sure I will be discovering a few things that 
are missing from my room or bathroom! If he took my camera or
something like that, he will go back to school with a black eye! He 
will be saying "Hello" to the icepack! I will be expecting my 
football jersey with patience now, especially after this horrible, 
terrifying experience with my lost toothbrush that flew to Europe!
I'll have to update you on the missing objects if I discover them! 

"The scariest thing about distance is you don't know whether they'll miss you or forget about you."     -The Notebook.  (I have faith that my blue toothbrush will be missing my wisdom tooth, I believe in it)

~Bella

Bree'Osh here I come...

This morning just like many mornings before, I grabbed a cappuccino at Bree'Osh. A little cute place where you can taste a bit of France in their delicious brioche, the best out there... If you do not know what a brioche is, it's a light, sweet yeast bread that is commonly seen as a round shape. It's very common in France.

The owners Pierre and Nelly are French, friendly, and very easy to talk to. If you ever have a question or a simple request, they will gladly answer you the best they can. Like today, a woman came in and asked if they could make a croissant with eggs in. It's not on their menu and they typically use the brioche for the sandwiches. Pierre, the baker, happily answered yes and without any hesitation. To be honest, I rarely met anyone who is as flexible as them.   
They have regular customers, loyal ones like me... They know exactly what you take, and for me... A cappuccino and a praline brioche. 

Let's talk about the amazing brioches that they make... First, I haven't tried them all, but enough to talk about a few!

The olive brioche is salty but has a twist of fantasy in. I love it with a little salad on the side. Yummy in my tummy... The one that intrigues me the most is the parmesan brioche. Cheesy, but not too much of it either. You expect the brioche to have a strong cheesy taste, yet it is not at all strong, you just have a hint of it which in my opinion is very mysterious! I would actually eat two instead of just one each time.... I'm a cheesy girl and if you love parmesan, trust me, you will want to get this special one! The brioche with the little sugar parts on top is one that many of my family members love, I'm not sure why, but I understand how it melts in your mouth... It's delightful! I'm not a fan of raisins at all, I actually despise it, but this brioche is really interesting. You fall for it rather quickly, not me, though, but I did enjoy it last time I had a little piece.
Some are made as sandwiches with eggs, bacon, goat cheese (one of my favorite), and some other goodies... When you look at their menus you honestly don't know what to choose. Everything seems very exquisite, and even if it's not the biggest menu in town, it's enough to get to stare at the board for a good five minutes, wondering what you should get.

Obviously, I only reviewed the ones I tasted. Next time, I'll have to try something new... 

Their new addition to the brioche family, is the croissants, the original ones, and the almond croissants. I've tasted many different croissants in California and trust me when I say that they aren't good. The ones at Bree'Osh are AMAZING! Not buttery like most of them and the almonds are not too sweet. It's the perfect combination and I couldn't thank them enough for adding them to the list of wonderful pastries. 

Alright, let's finally talk about my guilty pleasure. It's the praline brioche, the center is filled with a very rich chocolate that only wants to make you have an enjoyable time. I must say it's like heaven on earth. The very first time I had it, I fell in love, and I married it. Since then, all I take whenever I drop by is a cappuccino and the praline brioche.

If you ever pass by Coast Village in Montecito, California, you must go to the little place! The address is 1150 Coast Village Road, Suite E, Santa Barbara, 93108, CA
Email address: info@breeosh.com
and website: www.breeosh.com

You will not find any other coffee shop, restaurant or anything else that shows the French side better than them. You will only find French places that are Americanized. It's only my first time writing about Bree'Osh, but be sure to read more about them... They also have articles in the independent journal... You should check them out on Instagram and Facebook. 

https://www.instagram.com/breeoshcafe/

https://www.facebook.com/Breeosh-1466985223608698/?fref=ts




Merci beaucoup pour avoir ouvert Bree'Osh. C'est un vrai délice! C'est toujours un vrai plaisir de venir vous voir et de faire la bise, ça manque un peu les bisous! 




"Dessert is like a feel-good song and the best ones make you dance." - chef Edward Lee

~Bella