A Soiree and Some Soup

it was a nice weekend.

plenty of sunshine,

but cold.

we walked to the playground

near the eiffel tower

and ate cotton candy.

steve and i saw ARGO

and loved it.

here is a funny story.

early last week we received 

a letter under the door.

opening it, i found

a beautifully monogrammed french

name followed by handwritten

words in french.

the only words i could

decipher were..soiree,

and samedi fevrier 16.

excited, i call steve and tell him

we've been invited to a soiree!

later that day i noticed everyone

else in the building had the same 

envelope tucked under their door.

then i started to worry.

see, we haven't really hit it off 

too well with the neighbors upstairs.

so i start to think...should we go?

will it be awkward?

i quickly dismiss those feelings and think

about buying a new cocktail dress and 

a lovely hostess gift.

as the weekend approaches,

steve takes the invite to work..

to have his french co-worker translate.

steve tells his colleague how excited his wife 

is to be invited to a soiree.

his colleague is laughing hysterically.

apparently, we aren't being invited to

the soiree.

we are being notified ahead of time

that they will be hosting a soiree for 

their son and to please excuse the noise.

you have no idea how close i was 

to going.

can you picture me knocking on the door?

i made a big pot of Smitten Kitchen's 

lentil soup this weekend.

SO good.

and SO easy.

thanks to my neighbor back

home in the states who emailed me

and told me about it.

thanks Kyle! 

miss you guys

and jealous of all the snow you've been getting!

i couldn't find swiss chard or kale

so used spinach instead.

and unless you plan on eating the 

entire pot of soup in one day..

don't add the chard/kale/spinach 

until you're ready to eat.

i am SO buying her cookbook.

i started

and finished

Someone at a Distance

this weekend..

by Dorothy Whipple.

It's one of the Persephone classics.

i can honestly say

that it's probably one of the best

books i've read.

i do have quite a few favorites 

but this one is right up there.

i have never had such strong

feelings for the characters in a book before.

i've read two of the Persephone books

so far...and looking forward to more.

happy monday!