Spring in Paris?

i bought these crab apple 

branches last night..

almost took out a few people

on my walk home.

i need some sign of spring!

it was 28 degrees this morning

here in paris.

so done with winter.

and i love winter.

but i'm done.

i'm ready to shed the

puffy coat.

decision making has 

never come easy to me.

i'm always the last to order

at a restaurant. 

trying to decide

even which restaurant

to go to

is enough to make

me crazy.

but, i did make one 

decision recently.

i'm not sending griffin

to preschool next year.

after months of 

mulling this over

i know that this is 

what is right for us.

believe me

there have been

and there will be days

that i wish he was in 

school for a few hours.

but that day will come

sooner that i know

and i'll have hours

and days

and years ahead of me

to spend my days

with out children.

and i'll wish for these days.

i did a little rearranging 

the other day.

i decided we needed a game table.

(thanks for the idea mom!)

we've been having fun

working on this puzzle.

griff and i at angelina

last week on my birthday.

angelina has THE most amazing

hot chocolate.

good mail days

make me happy.

even if i receive 

my mags a month late.

i will never tire of leopard.

i adore seeing older women

in their leopard here.

and speaking of fashion..

parisian women sure do 

love their furs.

my phone has been

indispensable since moving

to france.

my google translate app

is a must

and if i don't have time

to translate 

while shopping,

i'll snap a picture and 

go home and do it.

i'm sure the other shoppers

find me strange

snapping pictures of 

grains.

griffin's hiding place.

(image unknown)

i've been busy this week

planning our next trip.

can you guess where?

bon weekend mes amis!!

xo

Paris Flea Markets and Etsy

with the temperatures 

rising even just a bit

i decided to head up to 

the marches des puces

st ouen..

the largest flea market in europe.

i hadn't been since last fall

and i was itching to get back.

and we've been looking for a

new desk.

i got such a great deal on this

desk and i love it!

it was exactly what i was

looking for.

i also picked up this 

great chair.

goes perfectly with my desk

don't you think?

i spent hours walking

around the stalls.

i picked up some other 

treasures that i'm now

selling on

ETSY!

come visit me!

you can find me

here.

Jardin du Luxembourg and Crazy Collections

will stayed home "sick" today.

it was sunny and 55

so we hopped on the metro

and went to one of my favorite

spots in paris..

jardin du luxembourg.

soon enough

those trees will be green

and the urns will be

filled with colorful flowers.

there is a really great

playground here.

you have to pay a couple of euros 

to get in

but so worth it. 

there are other playgrounds

that are free...and

puppet shows, carousels,

tennis courts,  model sailboats

to rent..

we spent hours here today.

we also went to lunch

at cafe louise on 

boulevard saint germain.

the lunch was terrific

but what i loved most of all 

was the water carafe.

i'm actually a bit obsessed

lately with the carafe d'eau.

i asked the waiter if he'd sell

me one.

he looked at me strangely 

and said no.

now, 

in ireland

steve and i started 

collecting beer glasses.

the first night in ireland

steve and i had a guinness

of course.

the glass it came in was cool

and we asked our waiter

if we could buy one.

he said..

in a great brogue..

"just take it..

everybody does"

so the rest of the trip

in each of the pubs

and with each beer we

tried 

we asked for a glass..

and they all just gave them to us!

i have started quite a few

collections.

like matches.

i don't smoke

but i love my glass jar

filling up with matches

of the restaurants

we've visited.

crazy,

i know.

now when i 

leave a restaurant

i'm asking for matches,

water carafe's and 

beer glasses.

my kids are really

embarrassed.

a couple of my new

cookbooks i can't 

wait to dig in to.

and speaking of books..

i recently finished 

jane eyre..

which i LOVED

and can't believe 

hadn't read before.

i also picked up

The Girl You Left Behind..

by JoJo Moyes.

she also wrote

Me Before You

which i went on and on about.

This one was just as good.

I loved it

and highly recommend it.

Bon Weekend!

My New Art

thank you all for 

the birthday wishes yesterday!

i feel so loved

:)

hannah gave me this 

for my birthday.

she made it in art class

isn't she amazing?

i have such admiration

for people with artistic talent.

mainly because i have none.

hannah gets hers from steve.

i do so wish i could 

draw something!

when we're out at a restaurant,

steve will draw all kinds of 

things for the kids on the 

placemats or napkins

while we wait for our food.

when they ask me to draw

something it's basically a 

smiley face.

i love art.

i love going to museums

and learning about art.

maybe someday i'll take an art class.

until then..

i'll leave the art to the 

pro's. 

like my beautiful daughter.

45 and Yes..More Ireland

after two nights in dingle

we drove north to doolin..

decked in our newly purchased 

woolens.

we took a ferry and drove

scenic back roads to get there.

at one point we must have looked

a little lost 

as the driver in front of us

rolled down his window

and asked us

"where ye headed?"

he told us to follow him.

love those irishmen.

again, we arrived at our cottage

at dark

and again we awoke

to gorgeous views of the ocean

and  two wild horses in

our driveway.

doolin is well known for 

it's traditional irish music.

and the three pubs in town..

mcganns, mcdermotts, and o'connors

are where it's at.

march is a bit slow..

no music during the week

but steve and a few of the kids

were able to get out friday night

to hear some great irish music.

it was a bit late for me..

i mean griffin.

loved seeing the newton, ma 

and barnstable ma

patches.

we ate at o'connors pub 

for lunch twice it was so good.

that, and there really wasn't much

else to choose from.

griffin's pub.

we visited the cliffs of moher

in doolin.

another very cold day

but the sun was shining

and the views were spectacular.

we drove by so many 

abandoned stone houses.

i couldn't stop thinking

of the starving families

that lived in them

during the famine.

we drove through the burren

which is an area of limestone rock

covering mountains.

saying goodbye to our cottage in doolin.

we drove from the west coast to 

the east coast of ireland in

3 1/2 hours.

we stopped in waterford

for lunch before our ferry 

back to france.

we stumbled upon a small

st. paddy's day parade.

they certainly don't 

celebrate like we 

do back in the states!

we loved the sheep.

and we really loved ireland.

i hope to return someday.

i'm 45 today. 

FORTY FIVE.

What?

when did that happen.

i certainly don't feel 45..

in my head i'm still 25.

griffy is taking me out to 

lunch today

and maybe to the bookstore.

i did splurge yesterday

and bought myself

clarins' double serum.

it's not cheap

but i've read good reviews

and i think it's time.

i live a truly blessed life.

i'm thankful every day for it.

More Ireland

this was a very last minute trip

as we were unsure if steve could

get the time off from work.

we pulled it together pretty quickly.

here is our itinerary...

we booked our car on 

the Oscar Wilde ferry

leaving from Cherbourg, France...

about 3 1/2 hours northwest of us.

the ferry was not leaving until 

9:30 at night so we took advantage

of our time and visited Normandy.

visiting the american cemetery was emotional.

i'd love to go back with the

older kids and take a guided tour.

the ferry ride from cherbourg to rosslare ireland

left at 9:30 and we arrived at around 3:30 the next day.

it was a rough ride that night

and we were all looking a bit green the next morning.

we drove from rosslare, which is south

of dublin..to cork.

we stayed in a hotel that night.

the kids loved the indoor pool.

the next day we checked out and

drove to the charming town of 

kinsale.

it was COLD and windy and snowing.

but the sun was out

and this being a tourist town in the summer

we had the place to ourselves.

(photo cred's to Will :)

i loved the brightly painted store fronts in kinsale.

we popped into one shop

and bought some new wellies.

we lived in our wellies in ireland!

lunch at the fishy fishy cafe

was delicious!

we had our fill of

fish and chips and seafood chowder.

and maybe a guinness. 

if you're ever in kinsale..

visit the fishy fishy cafe.

i bought their cookbook :)

full belly's

and new wellies

we headed northwest for the 

town of dingle.

(let me say that the boys

had a field day with the name 

of this town...and not just the

young boys)

we arrived

after dark at our cottage.

what a surprise the next 

morning..waking up

to a view of the  snow capped mountains,

grazing sheep all around

and the ocean.

this cottage was charming..

and cold. 

steve kept the fire going all 

night that first night

and i think the kids slept

with their coats on.

our view from the front of the cottage

view from the back

little hike up to see the sheep.

dingle also was painted brightly.

we ate lunch two days in a row

at Murphy's pub.

we loved the food,

the hospitality

and the free wi-fi.

and then went for ice cream

at murphy's.

lots of murphy's.

:)

the next day we drove

the ring of dingle.

we followed a guide book

and it took us

most of the day.

the sights were breathtakingly

beautiful.

at one stop on the tour

there is an old ruined church

from the 12th century.

we got out and walked around

and as i read more from the book

it talked about an old stone that was

there 900 years even before the church

was built.

it marked a grave, indicating that this

was a pre-christian holy spot.

a hole was drilled centuries ago

through the top of the stone as a place

where people would come to seal a deal..standing on

the graves of their ancestors and in front of the house

of God, they'd "swear to God" by touching their 

thumbs through this stone.

you can still use this to renew your marriage vows..

and that's what we did.

(photo cred's to hannah :)

sun going down on 

part of the three sisters mountain range.

we loved dingle! 

more tomorrow!