Parisian Chic, Laduree

Knowing how much we love sweets around here, we finally made it to Maison Laduree on the Upper East Side for their famous French Macarons.  

We went on a Saturday, so there was line to get in, but it was definitely worth the wait. 

 The boutique is so Chic and French in every way.  The Macaron trees were gorgeous. 

Everything was pastel and perfect. 

 Everything was so gorgeous, it was so hard to chose what we wanted.  

Laduree Menu via Facebook 

We bought a small box of these flavors:

Orange Blossom

Melon

Strawberry Candy

Salted Caramel 

Dark Chocolate 

Coffee

Image via http://farm8.staticflickr.com/

I was tiptoeing through the Tulips on Park Ave with my Laduree bag in tow.  

Have you tried Laduree?  

~City Belle

Grown Up Ice Cream Truck

Van Leeuwen

My grandfather had a General Store and I grew up as a Kid in a Candy Shop.
He had candy and treats and best of all...Ice Cream.
Hence my love for ice cream began.
So now that Spring is here and Summer is approaching I thrive for that
delightful dessert, that makes me feel like a kid again.

In NYC, there are tons of ice cream options, but Van Leeuwen is top on the list.
It's an Ice Cream truck for Grown Ups!

Van Leeuwen

They are an Artisan Ice Cream establishment using only the freshest ingredients and all natural flavors.  The Flavors are absolutely pure and delicious.  

Van Leeuwen

They Van Leeuwen truck was parked outside my office the other day and I ran to get some ice cream, unfortunately it was a private event, so they wouldn't serve me.  :(  

But that's OK, I'm destined to have my ice cream fix very soon. 

Do you love ice cream as much as me?
Have any favorites in the city?
~City Belle

All images via Van Leeuwen

CBCB is not affiliated with Van Leeuwen or profiting from this post

We Are Still Here!

CB~CB here and we'd like to apologize for being gone. We are still here in NYC, working and living in our pursuit of happiness. Above is a photo I shot in Hawaii a few months ago. We went for City Belle's birthday. We've been super-busy and again would like to apologize for our absence.

all the best,

CB~CB  

Braves take New York

 My boy who sells tickets owed me a favor.  Favors are an ideal creative force here in Manhattan.  Often leverage or doing things for others will enable you to get more in the long run than charging them money.  Basically what goes around comes right back around.  We've all heard it for years.   

I took the 7 train to the game from Grand Central Terminal for $2.25. 

There's BIGGIE SMALLS on the right flanked by a plethora of random graffiti.

NYC in the background shot from the 7 train. 

The building with the 45 degree angle is the Citigroup Center at  601 Lexington Avenue.

Jamie Kennedy threw the opening pitch.  Ironic considering I'm a Kennedy as well. 

 It was a gorgeous night in Gotham for a baseball game.  The Mets fans were pretty nice considering I had on a bright RED Atlanta Braves jersey at CitiField.  I even met a few North Carolinians who had driven up from Raleigh to watch the 3 game series. (fellow Braves fans)   It was a father and his 9 year old son.  Sorta made my night.

 Jason Heyward

 Left Fielder Atlanta Braves

There's my favorite baseball player of all-time Chipper Jones.

I've seen the Braves play 4 times in NYC.  Twice against the Yankees and twice against the Mets.  And every. single. game. he has gone Oh for whatever.  I have never seen Chipper get a hit or even on base in all the times I have watched him play.  I was literally sitting right next to 3rd base so I watched stalked him all night.  I even screamed at him a few times and called him Larry, his real name,  if you can imagine that.  The Braves lost the game though they had won the 2 games prior.  It sticks, but that's life sometimes.  Ya can't win em' all ya know? 

There's the kid's hat from North Carolina.  He was okay with the loss.  The kid took it in stride. 

"A child shall lead them" so they say....

We got beat. 

:-( 

Roger McDowell- 86' World Champion with the Mets.

and was the winning pitcher in the deciding Game 7. His major league record of decisions was 70 wins and 70 losses.  He's currently the Atlanta Braves Pitching Coach.

After the photo he told me he sucked in his belly on that one.  Made me LMBO.

until next time,

~Country Boy 

Pretty in Pastel

via Polyvore

It's official, Color is here to stay!  The weather has been gorgeous, which means lots of color from the Runway to the Streets.  I'm sure you have seen the Pastel trend.  I'm usually not a fan of pastel, because I'm worried it's going to wash me out. 

Free People.com

But, I think I'm starting to like it.
I'm loving this sorbet denim via Piperlime...

 Piperlime Sorbet Denim

I also like the pastel denim options Eat, Sleep, Denim chose:

via eat, sleep, denim

1. Hudson Nico Mid-Rise Supper Skinny Jean in Lavender

2. IRO Jayrod Skinny Jeans in Saffron

3. J Brand 811 Mid Rise Skinny Jean in Coral

4. DL1961 Angel Ankle Jeans in Sherbet

Or, how about some pastel accessories to layer in your wardrobe...

 asos pastel jelly watch

via Piperlime

DVF Oversized Cat Eye Sunglasses via Piperlime

Rebecca Minkoff Mini Mac Embossed Python via Piperlime

Matiko Echo Light Pastel Colorblock Platform Wedge via Lulus

I think I need to add some pastel to my wardrobe ASAP.  How about you?

Are you jumping on this pastel trend?

~City Belle

All photos via Internet

Safari Adventure

Banana Republic

Have you noticed the latest Desktop Safari Banana Republic campaign?  It features the sought after book, I Married Adventure by Osa Johnson.  This first edition has a brown/ivory zebra striped cover that has had the Design blog world swooning for awhile now.  

Etsy- High St. Mkt

And BR has used this book as the inspiration for their latest campaign.  Pretty cool, huh?  

Banana Republic

Banana Republic

I'm really digging the neutral zebra trend.  I love this zebra rug (shown above) and the gorgeous horn and lucite console table.

Banana Republic

I personally don't wear a lot of animal prints, but I do love the styling of the safari look. 

Banana Republic

Banana Republic

Banana Republic

Needless to say, I have been wanting this book for a couple of years.  I scoured ebay for months and got into bidding wars to try to buy a first edition for less than a small fortune.   

Fortunately, all that hard work paid off around my Birthday a few months ago.  I finally won the ebay auction for only $40.00, still a lot of money for a book, but not a lot for a collector's edition.  

Do you love this book as much as I do?

~City Belle

All photos via Banana Republic.com

Friday the 13th

Happy Friday 13th!  We've been busy for the last couple of weeks.

Here's some of our journey.

 

We went and saw WarHorse on Broadway!

 Country Boy went to Opening Day Mets v. BRAVES@ Citi Field

 Country Boy had an Art Show, it was a success!

 We went home to NC to hang out with family.

Photographed the Revolutionary War Battlefield in Greensboro, NC. 

As Above~
So Below...

shot Mom's front yard..She's so talented.

Found a 4-Leaf clover

 Country Boy went fishing.

City Belle found a couch she liked in NC.

We flew back to New York City, where Spring-Time awaits...

 Country Boy ran into Gerard Butler at the Darby on 14th Street.  

He sang Wonderwall by Oasis. Crazy times!

here's the link:
 http://gothamist.com/2012/04/12/video_gerard_butler_and_oasis.php

  Designed a custom pair of Air Jordan 2012's.

(NEON is BACK!)

Stood & attempted to photograph ourselves under the Manhattan Bridge.

We walked across the Brooklyn Bridge.

 oh and Country Boy started his own WEBSITE!

www.mdkglobalphotos.com

CARPE DIEM CB~CB Followers! 

until next time,

CountryBoy~CityBelle