A Good Year

merry christmas and 

happy new year!

looking back on 2013 

i feel nothing but blessed.

the health and happiness of

my family of course..

but this year has been filled

with 

amazing adventures..

reaching important milestones..

trying new things..

meeting new people..

learning new cultures..

i can only hope for this 

coming year to be 

as rewarding.

this year i..

finally..

turned my blog into a book.

this is the reason i write this blog.

to remember the days and years

of our little family.

the last photo i put in an album

was around 2002.

i don't scrapbook.

so my blog book documents 

our life.

and i love it!

i miss our tradition of 

throwing out the old in the 

fireplace new years eve..

and writing good thoughts for the new

year on rocks and throwing them in the 

ocean on new years day.

you can read about them

 here 

and 

here

...i'm sure we could throw a rock

in the seine?

christmas morning.

griff looks overwhelmed non?

merci 2013.

you were good to us.

happy new years eve!!

20

20 years ago today.

it was a beautiful

and cold day on

cape cod.

i loved our

wedding.

i still love my dress.

and of course my dashing 

husband in his dress

blues.

the day after our wedding

we hitched a u-haul

trailer to our jeep

and drove to ft. rucker 

alabama for steve to 

attend flight school

and begin our life 

together.

and what a life it has been.

(so far!)

we've lived in many places.

have had some amazing experiences.

and most importantly,

have brought 4 

beautiful souls into the world.

steve was supposed to

fly home this morning 

from boston.

but, mother nature

had a different plan.

he texted me at 3:00 am

(my time)

saying his flight was canceled

due to more snow.

i'm so sorry we won't 

be together today.

but, we'll celebrate this

weekend.

20 years.

i am proud and blessed

to walk through this life

together with you.

my dashing husband.

i love you.

Christmas Markets

the past few days i've been better.

not great..but better.

steve flew to boston

saturday..right into

a snowstorm!

he's back for work..

and christmas shopping!

saturday evening the kids

and i walked up to the trocadero

christmas market.

the entire time i'm thinking

to myself, "i live here!"

after a year and a half..

it's still incredible to me.

the eiffel tower all lit up

to honor nelson mandela.

such a beautiful sight.

i rarely eat meat.

but walking these 

markets sure smell good!

how do you think you go 

about eating one of those 

hanging things anyway??

cute felt slippers.

i didn't take many pictures

of the vendors..

it was SO crowded and 

i was pushing griffy in the 

stroller.

looking over the skating rink.

kids posing

:)

flying santas

eating churros

red flocked tree

and you can't go to 

the market without a ride

on the carousel! 

C'est Noel!!

Some Views...

so.. the past week has 

been trying.

i've been at the hospital,

doctors office,

having tests done.

something going on in my

head and neck.

a pinched nerve maybe.

degenerative disk disease?

whatever it is..

i've been in major pain.

i've been wearing a neck brace

and now count the minutes 

until my next dose of pain medication.

nothing matters when you don't have

your health.

but life goes on.

christmas spirit is slow

coming this year.

i know we'll get there..

yesterday i sat here..

and wrote out christmas cards.

probably one of my favorite 

activities this time of year.

we send them all over the world..

(we've moved 10 times in 20 years!)

it's nice to reflect on each person/family we're 

sending to for a few minutes.

many that we haven't seen in years.

with each card i say a little prayer

for that family for the coming year. 

i love my sweet little kitchen.

we were worried buddy

couldn't find our new apartment!

whew!

les invalides at dusk..

my favorite time of day here.

early morning view of 

sacre coeur.

morning view of

trocadero and the 

christmas market.

i hope your

christmas season is

a happy and healthy one!

Rue Cler

griff and i took 

some time away from 

unpacking boxes yesterday

and walked around our 

new neighborhood.

it was such a beautiful day 

here in the city.

we walked across

the champs de mars

to rue cler..

a favorite street of mine.

we stopped for a 

chocolate chaud,

cafe creme

and a nutella crepe.

the shops and cafe's are getting

ready for christmas.

it's so pretty lit up at night.

this little specialty food shop

was  beautiful.

just look at those panettone 

hanging from the ceiling!!

i couldn't decide what to get!

flowers and greenery 

and of course i had to 

get a picture of these 

gorgeous chippy blue 

tolix chairs.

still pinching myself.

Bienvenue chez moi

we are moved in for the 

most part.

it took all weekend..

we had more than we thought!

i can not express how 

grateful we feel to be here.

i'm actually thinking of 

going back to the old apartment

and thanking the woman upstairs.

:)

we are truly blessed

and i'm thankful every single day.

speaking of thankful..

we had our thanksgiving dinner

last night!

it was delicious and more 

importantly,

the turkey JUST fit

in my oven.

these two photos were taken

from my balcony

just a few minutes apart

as the sun was rising over 

Les Invalides

this morning.

and this one was taken

looking in the opposite 

direction from my balcony.

the sun is shining 

over paris this morning!

we call this room

the eiffel tower room.

steve and i sit 

in those club chairs

with our binoculars 

and glass of wine..

in awe.

we moved the couch 

and the coffee table

in to the adjoining room.

tv room..

i pushed both coffee tables

together to make

one large one.

a great space for all of my

books.

next up is 

hanging pictures

and getting some

bookshelves for storage.

my sweet and tiny parisian

kitchen.

washer/dryer in the kitchen!

can you see my turkey in the oven??

ok..back to unpacking.

enjoy your monday! 

Another New Start

we move friday.

in the 20 years that

steve and i have been married..

this is our 10th move.

yes, it's stressful.

but it's also so exciting to move

to a new place..

a new town,

state or country.

a new start!

a new view!

and wow do we have a view.

there are many things i'll

miss about this apartment.

it was our first apartment here in paris.

it's a fabulous location..

i'll miss my local markets

and the familiarity of 

them.

i'll miss this 

 very parisian apartment itself.

the gorgeous herringbone floors..

the high ceilings..

the fireplaces in every room..

the moldings and details throughout.

i won't miss the noise.

we live on a noisy street..

with noisy neighbors.

i won't miss the 3 am shouting

matches upstairs.

the stiletto heels stomping

on the marble floors.

i won't miss the glares 

she and i give each other 

when we run into each other

in the elevator.

who knows..

we could end up 

with similar neighbors in 

the new apartment..

(although we're on the top floor

and maybe we'll be the ones 

getting the complaints!)

so..

here's to another new start

in paris!

and..

happy thanksgiving to 

our american friends and family!

****

blogging seems to be taking

a back seat these days to instagram..

instagram is just so darn quick and easy!

follow my

#dailyparis

posts for a daily peek of paris!

This is What I Saw...

...when i walked around my neighborhood at

5:00 tonight.

the kids get home from school around 4:30..

sometimes if it's not too crazy 

i sneak out for a walk alone.

this time of year..the sun is just 

getting ready to set.

the light against the paris

buildings is just beautiful.

look at the moon up there!

i am truly blessed to live here.

i love this time of night..

rush hour.

there are so many people walking 

the streets.

coming home from work..

going out to pick up dinner.

it's when i feel my most

parisian. :)

parisians waiting in line

for their nightly baguette.

parisians waiting in line

for their poulet and pommes de terre..

(chicken and potatoes..

so good!)

parisians sitting at a cafe'..

parisians walking.

and an american taking a 

selfie in her elevator.

Our Own House Hunters International

last week steve and i

(and griffin)

went and looked at 

11 

ELEVEN

paris apartments.

i really felt like i was on

house hunters international.

and i think i could do that 

every day.

ok,

maybe not 11 in one day.

but, wow.

how fun to be driven

around paris

to view 11 amazing

flats.

so..update.

the last apartment

with the amazing view didn't work out.

so our transition company here

found these flats for us to view.

i took 300 pictures that day.

i promise not to share them all.

the one on top

with that awesome view..

crossing fingers.

we saw some furnished

and some unfurnished.

the difference here in france

is that unfurnished generally means

NO kitchen.

like..

no stove,

refrigerator

oven

dishwasher.

a part of me would love

the idea of furnishing a kitchen.

this one had nothing.

not even counter tops.

i kept thinking of the 

amazing furniture i could buy!

 it was a great building..

great location and 

a view of the tower 

from some of the rooms.

this flat (#2)  was actually

in a private mansion

right on trocadero..

straight ahead in this photo

is the arc d'triomphe.

it was still being 

refurbished.

it was so charming!

oh i die over these french details!

this next flat

(#3) 

i just fell in love with.

the location.

the building

the details..

and from two of the rooms

there is a view of the tower.

i mean, hello?

stained glass windows..

AND

trompe l'oiel ?

it was hard for me to leave.

and then we saw the 

dining room.

i just kept imagining 

the dinner parties.

i was honestly

ready to move in.

but again..

the kitchen needed

everything.

we kept coming back

to buying all of these 

appliances and then having 

to sell them in a few years.

AND

furnishing the flat!

we have some things here...

a few beds..

a desk..chair..

but we'd have to furnish the 

entire flat.

(which between you and me..

i would not mind :)

ok 

totally switching gears here.

(#4)

modern

kind of cold

but kind of cool.

especially when we were 

brought upstairs

to the terrace!

wow.

this was a duplex flat.

the master bedroom

was upstairs and this

amazing terrace off of it.

and if you peered around 

the back of the terrace

there was a view of the tower.

just look at those paris rooftops.

the next few flats we saw

were furnished.

this one had great details..

and others had great views of paris.

loved this master bedroom

this flat was HUGE.

it was on the first floor

and had a bit of a view

of the seine.

i actually said that i 

thought it was too big.

can you imagine?

yes..

there was a fountain 

in the foyer.

in the end..

this is the one we've been

back to see 3 times.

steve will think i'm jinxing

it by talking about it..

but just look at that view!

this is the view from the living room.

looking out that same window towards

les invalides..

you can also see sacre coeur

but i didn't get it in this shot.

the view over the champs de mars

and the foliage was breathtaking.

this flat is completely furnished.

and when we walked through it

i kept thinking it would be like 

living in a hotel.

it's very different from 

the flat we live in now.

it certainly doesn't scream

PARIS APARTMENT

like most of the others..

however..

the view

and the location are 

what's going on here.

if we get this flat

we'll have to put 

most of the furnishings that we have 

here into storage.

hello sparkly eiffel tower.

please be my new view.

hoping to hear soon!!