I’m Lauren, I started Elle & Pear in 2013 while living in Barcelona and completing my MBA. My husband and I explored the city and traveled around Europe on our free weekends. I spent any free time sharing our travels here and cooking in our tiny kitchen that was 16 square feet.
Since living in Barcelona, we moved back to the US and over the course of the last few years we now have a family of five, with the additions of our three young boys.
We spend hours and hours every week in the kitchen together, kids included. It is the center of our home, and where we feel the most centered. I hope that you find something here that you really enjoy and share with your family!
Recipes & Cooking:
Recipes shared here are ones that we make over and over and that we love to eat. They are mostly healthy and are often inspired by places we’ve been or meals we’ve shared with family and friends.
We generally cook with fresh, whole ingredients, and avoid packages where possible. I try to simplify wherever possible, why cook with two pots when one will do, why pull out multiple measuring spoons when you can use one. Though this is not a hard fast rule, sometimes you need to pull everything out, and deal with the fall out (clean up) later.
Most of the time the recipes here are ones that you can put together with three little kids running around. But sometimes I like to dive into a project, like learning how to make pita bread (our boys like to help with this!) or a big dish that cooks low and slow and feeds a lot of people.
Traveling:
I’ve lived in California, Connecticut, Barcelona, Boston, Boulder, New York, and Texas.
My approach when traveling to a new place is to explore by walking as much as possible, taking in the nature or architecture of the area. If traveling to a city I look for public parks and gardens. If I'm somewhere less urban, I look for hikes, or nature walks.
I like to learn about a new place through food, whether just trying restaurants, street vendors, local grocery stores, or food tours and cooking classes.
I certainly want to visit the big to do’s, but I’d rather walk and eat than spend too much time in museums, lines, etc.
Generally, I research a restaurant or two ahead of time that has good reviews, but then leave the itinerary open to stumble across new (to us) places to eat.
Updating our Home:
I like light bright and airy, with some color and a sense of comfort and coziness.
What I learn comes from trying things in my own home (like installing bathroom tile), asking family members who also have experience in home updates, other blogs, HGTV shows, and occasionally reading through a book from the library.
Just like with cooking and traveling, I have lots to learn!