Blessed

i flew home

to paris

alone tuesday night.

hannah is resting and 

recovering on the vineyard

with my mom.

i took this picture from 

the little plane i flew on

from the vineyard to boston.

you can see the three bridges

connecting cape cod

to the mainland.

i don't love flying...

but i loved flying over 

the vineyard and the cape.

what a long 11 days

it has been.

we sure weren't expecting

to be there that long.

i tried to balance

the many lows we experienced

with some highs.

shopping..

lunches..

and mani/pedi's with good friends.

our first day in boston

was a gorgeous day.

hannah and i walked

from our hotel

through boston common.

i love boston.

paris is where we live..

but boston is our home.

the 

make way for ducklings

ducks 

were all decked out 

for cinco de mayo.

from the common

we walked down boylston street.

this is the street that 

just over a month ago

boston was changed forever.

it was so emotional to be there.

i still can not believe that 

it happened.

monday we fasted 

and prepped for her 

procedure on tuesday.

tuesday we headed 

to children's hospital.

following her procedure

the doctor admitted her.

her crohn's was in need

of some stronger meds

and her pancreatic levels

were sky high.

we spent four long days

at children's.

lots of blood work

ultra sounds

mri's.

during those four days

i thought about how blessed we are.

blessed that we are able

to hop a flight last minute

to the states and be seen

at one of the best children's hospital

in the world.

blessed that hannah

is getting healthy.

blessed that she has 

a loving grandmother

to watch over her

for a bit.

i kept thinking of 

the little girl..

staying at that very hospital

who not only lost her brother

martin,

but lost her leg

in that horrific attack.

yes..

we are blessed.

To Boston

hannah and i are flying to boston.

her crohn's disease is 

flaring up and i'd

prefer her to be in boston

for the procedure she needs.

it's a comfort thing for 

both of us..

to be home

and at the hospital

we know and love.

so..although our holiday

plans are put on hold..

i am glad that this 

is all happening over 

a school vacation.

steve will stay back with the

boys 

and hannah and i will 

try and make the most

out of our time in 

boston.

:)

Fete du Muguet

i had big plans today.

steve has been in the states

since sunday..

the kids are on holiday..

stephen is studying for AP finals..

i thought i'd take the younger kids

to Musee Rodin.

so we walked 

and walked 

down to 

trocadero,

under the eiffel tower

all along the champ de mars

past l'cole militaire

and along les invalides...

all along it's raining 

harder and harder.

and do you THINK

that since i've lived in paris

i'd never leave home with out

an umbrella?

do you KNOW how many

umbrellas i own now

because every time i leave the

house i buy one?

and then i say to hannah..

after seeing a MILLION people

out and about today...

stores closed

cafe's closed..

i say..

wouldn't it be just great

if the museum was closed?

it was closed.

so

we hopped the metro 

home

and now after

putting on dry clothes..

we're headed to 

cafe victor hugo

for some french onion soup.

i learn something new 

every day here in france.

walking up my street

on our way to the closed 

Musee Rodin..

we find people

selling little bunches

of lily of the valley.

every corner i took..

there was another stand 

selling them!

today is a french holiday.

what a beautiful day 

for a holiday.

happy may day!

i love france.

xo

Ordinary Days in Paris

last night steve and stephen

and i met up with 

steve's sister and her 

husband who are visiting

here in france.

they are staying at 

the four seasons george V

amazing hotel.

we met them for

drinks at the hotel bar there.

 ok, so i really would like

this to be my new hangout.

however, 27 euros 

(or 35 dollars) 

for a champagne cocktail

might be a bit much

for our weekly date night.

(i did score some 

cool George V matches!)

but 

wow.

what a gorgeous hotel.

robert redford may have 

been spotted 

:)

we've had a busy week.

not much blogging

or picture taking going on

here...so i'm thankful

for my camera phone to snap

pics of our daily life.

tuesdays are big shopping

days here for us.

griffy loves his little

cart and he scored 

a new pair of sunglasses.

will plays the euphonium

and had a band concert

at his school recently.

so proud of you buddy!

stephen had pics

with cap and gown this week.

i can't believe he's graduating.

bubbles on the balcony

the weather in the early part

of the week was gorgeous..

sunny and 70's.

french doors thrown open..

lots of walking

and balcony sitting.

i recently finished another

persephone book...

Greenbanks by 

Dorothy Whipple.

i loved it.

will's 5th grade class

put on a play this week..

it was so fun to watch!

will had a solo

and was terrific!

just ordered these lovelies.

i must say that i'm getting

better about wearing heels.

i love heels but don't love 

how my feet feel in them 

while walking all over paris.

but..i've been wearing them

more often and i think i'm

getting it down.

every day i feel a bit more

parisian.

:)

homemade chicken fajitas

are on the menu here

frequently.

here  is the recipe.

my carafe d'eau 

collection is growing

:)

steve is on a plane

to the states for a few days.

and the kids have started a 

two week spring break!

Our Weekends in Paris

(all photos are iphone photos)

(peonies at my local out door florist)

i love our weekends

here in paris.

we try and balance

them with a little bit of 

relaxing

sightseeing

baseball

date nights

family dinners.

steve works very hard

during the week.

he also travels frequently.

he is never ever home

during the week for a 

family dinner.

so we try and make the 

most of every minute of 

our weekends.

 (basil and Greenbanks by Dorothy Whipple

on the balcony)

on saturday

steve took the little

kids to the tuileries

for a few hours.

a treat for me

to paint my nails

and sit on my balcony

and read.

stephen is studying

these days for his 

upcoming finals.

hannah was off 

walking around the city

with friends.

(weekend morning pancakes 

by hannah and griff)

saturday evening

we had some friends

over for drinks and 

yummy cheeses i bought

at the fromagerie.

we then walked

to le congres

near port maillot

for a delicious and 

fun evening with our friends.

champagne and oysters

wine and salmon

digestif's and chocolate deserts.

we dined for hours!

we had a fabulous and 

funny waiter.

of course as we leave

(like i always do now)..

i ask for matches

(for my collection)

and if i could buy a 

water carafe.

negative for both

which is a bummer

but it doesn't hurt to ask

right?

(taken from hannah's balcony)

sunday was a gorgeous

day here in paris.

we started out walking to 

the american library.

we rent movies

and load up on

books.

for me..

patricia wells' cookbooks.

looking forward to 

cooking with her!

from there we strolled to

the champs du mars

and sprawled out

on blankets to enjoy 

the warm sun.

i wished i had been

better prepared

with a picnic.

which also got me thinking..

i REALLY need a picnic

basket.

hoping i can find one here.

from there we headed to the 

latin quarter for dinner.

as we were walking home

steve and i were just

taking in the beautiful sights

around us and talked about

how 3 years 

(maybe 4)

will just not be enough time for us here.

(snacks and homework

on the balcony)

our friends that we had dinner

with saturday evening are 

getting ready to move

back to the states this summer.

they've luckily, been here 

4 years.

we talked about what they'll miss

(baguettes being #1)

and if they're ready to go.

i don't think i'll 

ever be ready to leave

paris.

Would You Like to Buy Some French Yogurt Cups?

ok..

so many people have emailed 

me about the french yogurt cups!

and since i can't 

sell them on etsy..

if you'd like to buy some

please just

leave a comment or email me.

i will have to charge

$65 which will include

6 cups of your choice

packaging and shipping

to the states.

to make this fun..

i'll name each style.

:)

the ones on the top 

are 

helene.

these are

ines.

i love these blue yogurt cups!

these are penelope.

sabine.

anastasie

i'm kind of thinking of 

switching to a .com

for a few different reasons.

if i do i could accept paypal.

but as of now..

it's cash or check.

if you are interested

send me an email and 

i'll send you my address.

now,

i'm off to the market.

i'm out of yogurt.

:)

p.s

do you know Jeanne Oliver?

i came across her blog last fall

and immediately loved it and

signed up for her Creatively Made Home

course..

i "met" so many lovely and 

creative women through that course.

a few months later..Jeanne emailed me

asking if i'd like to do an interview with her!

since then i've taken many of her 

online courses.

some are free

and some are paid courses.

i've been so inspired

by jeanne and 

her classes.

go say hi to jeanne!

i promise you 

that you'll love her!

April in Paris

if you are in paris this week..

boy did you luck out!

the weather is amazing!

today it's sunny and 75!

and griffy and i are napping..

he was up all night with a 

stuffy nose and couldn't breathe.

we are both exhausted today..

but hopefully we'll  get out soon

and enjoy this gorgeous day.

this past weekend

was busy and fun.

friday night we hosted

two baseball boys 

from the international school of frankfurt.

stephen had baseball games friday

and saturday.

saturday will and i 

went on a walking tour

with his class.

we learned so much!

i wanted to jump out of the tour

and go into this bookstore.

i hope i can find my way back here sometime.

sunday was sunny and 75!

we walked all day.

we started at saint germaine de pres

le deux magots

these guys are always playing right

outside the metro station

the cafe's were crowded

we walked along the seine.

loved this girl riding her 

bike in her tutu.

and this stylish frenchie..

black ballets

trench and rolled jeans.

perfect day for a party 

along the seine.

we walked around the 

jardin de tuileries.

the flowers smelled so lovely

as we walked!

we sat at an outdoor

cafe and had lunch.

the boys ran around 

"looking for treasures"

and we sat for an 

hour at the cafe.

such a treat.

we walked home 

along the champs elysees.

now, it's always crowded

but wow!

i'd never seen it like this!

and here's what i wore..

blue gingham shirt..gap

blazer...j.crew

shorts..gap

sandals..korkease.

man, do i need a tan on those legs.

loving 

april in paris!