Written by If you’ve followed my posts for any time at all, then you probably already know that I’m a huge fan of dessert. To me, it’s the best part of any good meal, though I, of course, don’t have it every single day. Unless, I’m on vacation. When I travel, it’s impossible to turn down dessert at dinner, and it feels nearly criminal to pass it up. So, my dinners themselves get continually lighter as the trip goes on in order to compensate. Sometimes becoming nothing more than a sprig of salad. There’s just something about traveling that makes me feel like I deserve an extra treat. The entire experience of getting away from normal everyday life is always a bit of a treat, for sure, so dessert is simply the cherry on top as it were. Though I haven’t actually been traveling at all this entire month of a travel challenge, I’ve enjoyed imagining that I am. Or pretending like when I recently bought a coconut cream pie while ducking into the local bakery a couple of days ago while Philippe and I were on a walk with Phineas. It was sadly, not an entire pie, but one of those small single serving pies that I then had to split with Philippe, but it was a delicious taste of escape nonetheless.
Once when Philippe and I were visiting Amboise, France we had café gourmand and I was immediately smitten. Instead of choosing just one dessert, you simply order this and get three amazing tiny desserts along with a sweet little biscuit. I felt like I’d died and gone to dessert heaven. Making a choice of dessert can be stressful for me so I was thrilled to find a version where all of that had been properly sorted out in advance. We couldn’t find anything quite like this when we got back home in the States. Here, the sugar levels can be a bit off the charts, so we have to be careful which desserts we sample. I’m still confused by the notion Americans have adopted that sugar is an actual flavor. It’s not. It’s meant to be a only a sweetener and enhancement for other real flavors. Like salt, a little goes a very long way. There’s a restaurant we enjoy here and once the pastry chef left and the main chef took over. He turned all of the desserts a bit savory with far less sugar and we adored them! But we chatted with him and he admitted that several patrons had already returned them thinking they weren’t quite right.
This month spent thinking about travel has really made me want to take a trip. We’ll only be visiting my family in Texas over the holidays and then heading back to Paris in January. So, there are a few months to go before any sort of travel happens. But the act of dreaming about previous trips has been incredibly fun. In many ways, I feel like I’ve done a bit of traveling this month. And all of it is thanks to my little evening ritual of sketching and painting. Truly, this is travel at its finest. Whether I’m fantasizing about the future, or much more likely, traveling back in time, it’s the most amazing experience ever! And though I always sketch and paint just before dinner happens, it’s still like enjoying a treat each and every time. There are always so many things that need to be done in a single day. I have a full-time day job, for one, and lots of deadlines to meet. But then, there’s that moment after, when I get to sit down, relax, and enjoy one of the greatest treats of all. If you love to sketch and paint like I do, then I invite you to always do the same. No matter what happens in life, never skip dessert!
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About the DoodlewashM. Graham Watercolors: Yellow Ochre and Quinacridone Rose. Da Vinci Paint Co.: Indigo. Lamy Al-Star Safari Fountain Pen with sepia ink in an A5 Hahnemühle Watercolour Book. Want to purchase a print of this doodlewash? Send me a note with a link to this post, and I’ll add it to my shop! |
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Charlie, all I can say is, eat dessert first so you will have the best first and one can never say I don’t have room for dessert!!! If you are ever near Schulenberg, TX., try Frank’s Restaurant where everyone goes there for the PIES…mine is the Coconut cream pie, it’s the one folks come from all around to get it!! We always stop, and have a piece and bring one whole pie home for later, that’s if they have any left.
hehe! I love that philosophy, Patsy! yay to dessert first! 😃💕And oh wow! Those pies sound divine! I think Coconut cream would be my fave as well!
We are never more aware at the fluidity of time then when planning and waiting to go on vacation. It simultaneously takes forever to arrive and yet is fleeting when we’re trying to get everything ready. Of course, you deserve a dessert every night after wrestling with that time paradox. Especially when they look as tasty as the one you painted.
Thanks, Sandra! 😃💕 Yeah, all that planning can be crazy and stressful, so I think dessert is the least we can do for ourselves after surviving all of that.
My motto is “Eat dessert first!” I love the way you painted the spoon.
Excellent motto, Sharon! 😃💕 hehe… and thanks! Glad you liked this!
Well that looks yummy 😋! Yesterday and today I had the pleasure of watching hundreds of yellow sulphur butterflies puddling. That is when they gather in large groups in places like gravel driveways where recent rains have brought salts and minerals to the surface for them to glean. Then today, my cleaning girl and I found and saved eight monarch butterfly caterpillars that were running out of milkweed leaves to eat. We moved them to a better patch of plants to give them time to finish their trip to butterflyhood. This stuff is better than dessert!
Oh wow!! That’s the stuff of life that definitely beats dessert! How cool! 😃💕 You were heroes!! I love that story!
The sundae looks so delicious! I’ve the same love for desserts and have a hard time choosing what to pick, afraid that I’d be disappointed by something that looks fancy but might not taste good. I’m supposed to go to Rhode Island and NY next month and I’m really looking forward to sampling desserts I’ve never had before.
Thanks, Zertab! 😃💕 Yay to your upcoming trip! I hope you have all the desserts you can manage! hehe… sounds like a blast!
i hold you and your luscious looking desserts, personally responsible for a 5lb weight gain this year!
haha! So sorry Suzala! 😃💕 In my defense, it’s been awhile since I’ve painted one, so that bit in between was the diet! lol 😉
I liked the sweet s too much but due to strong will pawer i control my self.nice cup yes i will try. As i try mini car.
Thanks so much
Hehe!! Yeah, it’s good to have a bit of self control when it comes to sweets! But they’re sooooo good! 😃💕
Yummy dessert!
Thanks so much, Mary! 😃💕
There’s that piece of glassware again. And yet, I have not tried to paint any. It looks like real glass. So good! I’ll be leaving on a sketching/painting vacation to Disneyland in a week. We have reservations for afternoon tea at the Disneyland Hotel and I am hoping to see some glassware on our table. 😉 I better screenshot some of your glassware pieces for reference. 😛
Thanks!! 😃💕 You should totally try and paint some glass! It’s really so much fun!! And yay for Disneyland!! I’m sooooo jealous!! hehe… I would love that! Hope you have a blast!
Thank you. I never have a bad time at DL. I could sit on a bench all day and still enjoy myself. Hopefully when I get back I will post somethings over on your board. 🙂
Awesome! Can’t wait to see it! 🙂
Love this post because I LOVE dessert. Your picture is great and has me craving sweets. What’s your favorite kind?
Yay! Glad you liked this and always happy to meet another dessert lover! 😃💕 Wow, though… choosing a favorite kind? I’m not entirely sure, but I know it always comes with whipped cream. 😊
Public Service Announcement. Please limit your sugar indulgence. We want all you guys to be healthy and happy.
Well stated… hehe… yeah… sweet is lovely, but a mouthful of sugar is way too much! 😉
This looks delicious and you’re really tempting me – but it’s 3 AM here and I need to get to sleep. So I’m going to imagine one quick taste of this yummy concoction and then I’m going to bed. Sweet dreams to you – and to me.
Aww sweet dreams to you my friend! 😃💕 Though I’m always late on replying so I imagine you’re awake now. So, sweet dreams for tonight anyway! 😉
A lovely dessert it is!!! Do you remember the steak restaurants like Ponderosa where the first thing you saw was the dessert bar? Consider a day road trip. I think That qualifies for dessert! 😂🤣
Thanks, June! 😃💕 Haha!! I totally remember those!! My dad was a HUGE fan of Ponderosa. I think it’s wise to see dessert first so you can choose your meal accordingly! hehe