Friday, October 26, 2012

Buddy Bears in Paris


we fly to italy on sunday morning.
steve had to work today
but the kids have already started
their autumn break.
so today the two little boys
and i took a walk down to the 
eiffel tower. 
i love turning the corner
to view it.
the sight of it never gets old.
but what i love now..
is watching the faces of people
who have never seen it.
i should photograph them.
it's the coolest thing.

for the next few weeks the
are here in paris.
after the boys had their
traditional ride on the carousel
and a hot dog
we walked up the champs de mars
and looked at the beautiful artwork
done by artists from 140 different nations..
all in the name of peace.

here are a few..











u.s.a.!



aren't they amazing?

bon weekend mes amis!
we'll be back next weekend..
off to see venice, tuscany and rome!

p.s...a few people have emailed me saying they can't 
comment on my blog.
i noticed i had the word verification turned on..
i shut it off.
hopefully that'll work!
merci!













Thursday, October 25, 2012

Ciao!


this is my new pottery barn.
 it's a bit more modern than pb
but i did have fun shopping here today.
a new friend told me about habitat.
there are a few of them around the city
and lucky for me..
there's one within walking distance.
they have a great kitchen section
and all kinds of fun accent pieces
for your home.
i bought a few pillows, throws and 
some glassware.
i think i'll be spending some time
(and money) here.
and lucky for me it's not too pricey.

i told my french friend beatrice
that i'm in the market for an 
antique desk and 
dining room table and chairs.
obviously i'll be scouring the flea markets
but beatrice told me to check out 
french ebay.
spent way too much time on french ebay today.
:)


new pillows and throws.
makes me happy.
:)


my bedside table.
it's constantly changing. 
right now i'm reading 
david McCulloughs 
the greater journey.
i love history.
and i'm loving reading about
the americans that made their way 
to paris in the early 1800's to learn
about art and medicine and literature.


the kids started their autumn break.
we've never had an autumn break before!
so we're headed to italy!
ciao!!





Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Hello From Paris




Shopping the Champs


on saturday
hannah and i went shopping
on the champs elysees.
i will say
that i don't walk that
street often..
even though it's only
a few minutes walk from
our flat.


it is SO crowded.
but hannah was going
to a party that evening
and the h&m on 
the champs is great.


even though it was raining
we had a fun day.


empty cafe tables..


and i take back everything i ever
said..in an earlier post..
about louis vuitton not
doing it for me.


i would gladly accept
any one of these.
especially, the leopard.




i'm obsessed with oxfords.
i should just buy a pair right?
i'm afraid i'll get blisters.


we passed this boutique on 
our walk home.
i was drawn to the wallpaper.
and so we peeked in and
i totally lost it..


oh the leopard rug on the stairs!
i think i could live here.


steve and i went to another
parent party saturday night..
this time for the 5th grade parents.
we had such a great time
and met so many wonderful people.
the woman that hosted the party
lives here.
and this is her view.
the eiffel tower sparkles 
at night at the top of each hour.
it sparkles for about 5 minutes.
can you imagine looking out
at this every night?
she had the sweetest flat.
i wanted to curl up on her couch
and read all of her coffee table books.
she told me that when they moved
to paris a year ago
she decided everywhere she went,
museums, traveling..etc...
she would buy a book.
she would also write a little 
inscription on the inside of the cover..
i told her i was stealing her idea.
and i did.
i bought a book at the eiffel tower 
gift shop on sunday
and wrote all about our day.
hopefully, we'll go back to the states
in 3 years with a whole library
of wonderful books..
and memories of our travels.


really bad pic but..
..these are our purchases from our
shopping trip on the champs.
hannah's biker chick look.
:)
i picked up this spotted dress
at h&m for 25 euro!
(about 30bucks)
i was trying to decide if i should
wear safe black tights and boots
or mustard yellow tights with my
mustard scarf.

which do you like?















Monday, October 22, 2012

From The Top of The Eiffel Tower


yesterday we went to the top 
of the eiffel tower.
we've been waiting for a clear
weekend day and yesterday
seemed like a good time as any.
i'm glad we waited a bit though..
being at the top i was able to 
recognize much more now that
we've been here a little while.
i'm really not comfortable with heights
but i knew i had to just breathe 
through it and enjoy the 
magnificent view.
i love the  buildings of paris..
but from up here they just seem
even more beautiful to me.


looking out onto the 
champs de mars towards
l'ecole militaire and montparnasse.


looking down.
oh my.


griffin has been talking about
going to the top of the 
eiffey towey for weeks..
we get up there and he wants
to go home.
not what he expected i guess.
:)



the arc de triomphe..
i think we could see our house!


trocadero
and the autumn trees.
not as vibrant as new england..
but i'm not complaining
:)

it was a beautiful day
looking down on paris..
i kept thinking..
this is our home!
and how very lucky we 
are to call paris our home.













Thursday, October 18, 2012

Today Around the 16th


after being housebound for most of the week,
griffy was well enough
( and me too!)
to walk.
we walked for hours today.
i think it's one of my favorite
things about living here.
walking and soaking up this 
beautiful city.
i love all of the 
sights and sounds 
here.
(ok, maybe the constant beeping of horns
drive me a bit batty..what is it with the french
and beeping their horns? at all hours of the 
day and night.)

here are some pics from todays walk.
above is a lantern outside of my building.


statues and a playground
at the  Jardin du Ranelagh.


automne in paris.



more beautiful statues in the jardin.


headed home..
towards the eiffel tower in the 
background.




man buying grilled corn on the cob


paul & joe


pretty lavender flowers.

paris is amazing.













Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Today Around the Flat


griffy was up all night last night 
with a fever.
he refuses to take medicine
so we kept cool cloths on
him all night.
he's still not 100% ...
we spent the day on the couch
watching movies.
we watch the same ones
over and over again.
we don't have american tv here
which is just fine with me.
we do get CNN so we were
able to see Felix make that 
giant leap from the edge of space
on sunday.
wow.


will studying for a french test tomorrow.




the weather here this week.



i know..
lame with the photos right?
well, when you have a sick child
and a bruised tailbone..
you're not out walking the streets
of paris.
so this is what i take pictures of.
..before we moved here
we wanted to buy something to play
music to bring with us.
we've had a few of those bose type
speakers  that you plug your ipod/phone into.
but then we heard about sonos.
(no, i'm not getting paid to plug their product)
we love this thing.
we plan on buying another speaker
whenever steve travels back to the states.
i can control everything from my phone.
sound, selection, what i want next in the que.
you can move it around from room to room
and you don't have to tie up your phone 
having it plugged into it.
we can channel radio stations from
back home.
it's totally changed the way we listen 
to music.
(i should be getting paid for this!)


and last week
we had a playdate!
my new friend Nicky came over
with her sweet daughter florence.
i'm not sure if they'll be back
as griffin was a complete
nightmare while they were here.
nicky is so creative and i'm dying to 
get to her house to see her craft room!
florence brought griff some homemade
playdough and nicky made me an 
eiffel tower ornament.
how sweet is that?