Thursday, June 20, 2013

c'est l'ete!! {it is summer!}..and an award


oh is life busy right now.
4 kids home on summer holiday..
steve's been at the paris air show..
birthdays,
father's day
and lots of planning and preparation
for our summer ahead.

it is such a bittersweet time in our lives.
we are so excited to be going "home"
to the states for the summer...
but it's been emotional
saying goodbye to friends
we've made this past year.
a year that has gone by 
much too fast.
some friends are leaving 
paris for good..
some just for the summer.



sunday was a beautiful day
here in paris and it being fathers day..
we packed a picnic and the 
entire family in the car
and headed to versailles.
it was a lovely way to celebrate
the funny, handsome,
hardworking, selfless
and incredibly smart father of my kids.




your family loves you steve!



yesterday griffy turned 4!
he is into all things
toy story right now
and spider man.






happy birthday my little man.
we love you so.


and yesterday i met for the first time
a friend i've known for over 4 years.
catie and her daughter 
were here in paris on a school trip.
they carved out a few hours yesterday
to have lunch with griffy and hannah and i.
it was such a treat to spend time
with catie..
and see her in person!
i just love her and her daughter! 


monday
the kids and i fly to boston.
we will stay in boston for the week..
we all have doctors and dentist 
appointments
and we will visit some friends.
and then we head to the vineyard 
for most of the summer!


au revoir!!


Veronique gave me this award recently..
thank you veronique!
i didn't even know what a liebster award was. :)

i have to tell 11 things about me.
ugh.

ok,
here goes.


First..
11 things about me.

1. i never finished college.
i went for a year after high
school and never returned.


2. instead of going to college..
i lived in the florida keys and 
st. thomas

3. i would rather have a 
second (or third) helping of dinner
than dessert.

4. i would rather see a play
or read a book
than go to the movies.

5. but one of my favorite
all time movies is
Dan In Real Life
with Steve Carell.

6. a perfect day
would include a big
bowl of buttery, salty
mashed potatoes.

7. i am deathly afraid
of driving in paris
and have no plan on doing so.

8. a coffee table stacked 
with books and flowers
and candles makes me happy.

9. i'm a pretty good dancer.
and so is steve.
the two of us can 
pretty much cut any rug.

10. i think the world would
be a better place without guns.

11. i believe any problem can be solved
over a pretty glass of champagne.





Second..
11 questions answered..

1. If you could have dinner with anyone in the world, alive or dead,  real or fictional,
who would it be and why?

Hmmm.
probably any one of my ancestors.
i love genealogy and would be interested
in learning more about my own history.

2. Name your favorite restaurant..

if i had to choose it would be 
legal seafoods in boston.
clam chowder,
lobster roll
glass of white wine.
yum.

3. What makes you smile more quickly than anything else?

right now it's the way griffy says his name...
"dwiffy"

4. The best quality in a human being?

generosity

5. What infuriates you more than anything else?

right now..
having a difficult time communicating
in french.

6. If you had to live in any other period in history,
where would it be and why?

with out a doubt..
1920's paris.
the clothes!
the parties!
the music!
the hemingway's 
and the fitgeralds!!

7. What would be your dream job?

well..i have my dream job.
but if it had to be something else..
probably jenna lyons' job 
at j.crew.

8. If you could live anywhere in the world,
where would that be?

other than paris????
i could live in london.
but lately..the talk is singapore.
hmmm.

9.What movie or tv show do you hate
that everyone loves?

ditto to what veronique said.
any reality show.
get them all off the air.
stupid. stupid.stupid.

10. Who is your favorite author?

Jane Austen.

11.  Favorite quote?

"We are tied to the ocean.
And when we go back to the sea,
whether it is to sail or to watch-we are going
back from whence we came.
JFK


and now i get to give out 5 awards!
to bloggers with less than 200 readers.


1. my friend catie
she is creative
and funny
and loves tea and scones
and baby ducks.
go visit her.

2. Cat at Sunday Brocantes...
just moved into a gorgeous farmhouse
in France.
i'm still going back and reading
her blog to learn more
about her life in france.
love her!

3. my friend dawn
she is stylish
and fun
and has a beautiful family.
she has just started a new 
business too..
go visit her!


4. Nicola ..my new friend 
here in paris.
still waiting for her to teach
me to sew.
:)

5. amy ...
i've known amy for
15 years..
we've met once.
when we met,
she had 3 kids and one
on the way.
now she has 10 kids 
and one on the way!
she homeschools
her children
and is an amazing mom.
















Monday, June 17, 2013

Graduation and Uganda


stephen graduated from
high school on saturday
from the
American School of Paris.
i admit..
i get a little giddy
looking at his diploma..
that says,
Paris, France.


it was a lovely ceremony.
we had great seats.
griffy sat still for 
AN HOUR AND A HALF!
and the guest speaker
was my new friend..
the U.S. Ambassador to France.
:)
he gave a terrific speech.
his words..
"the world owes you nothing..
you owe everything to the world"
was what stuck with me the most.
ok,
when he also said..
"by the way..love your blog"..
that kind of stuck with me too.
no..he didn't say that during his speech..
but he did say it when we met again
at the reception following the graduation.
seriously??

i had no idea that out of the 104 
graduates from ASP..
31 countries were represented.
how cool is that?

following the graduation and reception
steve and i took stephen 
out to dinner to celebrate.
we had such a nice evening.
talking about his past and his future.
and stephen talking about how 
embarrassed he was watching me bawl my 
eyes out at the graduation.



14 more years buddy.
i wonder where you'll graduate from??


it was a wonderful and emotional
day.
we are so proud of you stephen.


my friend kimberly 
is hosting an auction
on her blog
right now!
many of her generous friends
have donated gorgeous things
to help raise money
to furnish a home
in africa that kim's mom
built!
kim is going to uganda next month.

i just adore what kim and her mom 
are doing.

please consider bidding on
some of these beautiful things
on kim's blog!! 

xo




Friday, June 14, 2013

The Prom in Paris


oh do these kids know 
how lucky they are?
wait..
didn't i just write about
that??
well..i guess when you're
born into this..
then i would say you're
pretty darn lucky!

the american school of paris'
prom was last night.
stephen went with a lovely girl.
some kids go with dates
and others go as a group..
i like that.

prior to the traditional prom pics
at trocadero..
we were invited to the u.s ambassador
to france's home for champagne and 
hor 'dourves.
stephen is graduating with their 
daughter on saturday.
what a treat to meet 
ambassador charles rivkin!
we talked a lot about 
our kids and graduating 
and our time here in paris.
he asked where we were from
in the states and when i told him
boston he was so sorry to hear about
the recent bombings there.


stephen and a few of his
friends inside the mansion.






the weather cleared so we 
were able to head outside in
the ambassador's garden for some 
pictures.
(and fog on my lens...big bummer)



into the hummer limo
and off to trocadero for more
pictures.


stephen has such a great 
group of friends here.


today is the last day of school!
waiting for the kids to get home
and we're headed to 
jardin d'acclimation!
tomorrow is graduation!
it will be a fun and emotional
weekend for sure.

bon weekend!









Tuesday, June 11, 2013

You Are So Lucky


we hear this a lot.
and yes we are.
however,
luck didn't get us here.
we didn't win some
move to paris lottery.

it was nothing less than
very hard work that
landed us here.

the day after steve
and i were married
we were driving from
our homes on cape cod
 to ft. rucker alabama
for steve to start flight school.
as soon as we arrived
he was put in "lock down"
and i couldn't see him 
for a month.

i was alone,
in a new state,
newly married.
i unpacked our boxes
and wedding gifts
and cooked and baked.
i missed him
but i didn't mind.
i was a happy, young wife
and i loved our new life.

when he returned home,
he locked him self up
and studied hard.
again
i cooked and baked
and got pregnant.
i was happy.
i would cook dinner
for all of his single friends
and i loved it.
i would bring steve dinner
in his study room.
and man do i wish i had a picture 
of that room!
steve took a big old box and 
turned it into a helicopter!
he drew all the flight controls
and buttons and switches.

and he graduated number one 
from his flight school.
which meant we got to pick where
we wanted to be stationed.
we chose germany.

fast forward 18 years later
and here we are.

when i thank steve for
working so hard for 
giving us this great life..
he thanks me too.
i've worked just as hard.
while he has been off
climbing that ladder
to get where he is today
in his career..
i've been home
raising children
and keeping a home.
many different  homes.
and i wouldn't have it
any other way.

i love our life.
we ARE lucky to call
paris our home right now..
but it was a lot hard work getting here.



p.s
i just bought Jeanne Olivers Mia Camera Bag!
I think it'll be perfect for the summer!
Go check out her gorgeous new bags!









Sunday, June 9, 2013

Cruising the Seine


it's been a long week.
and it's just going to 
get busier.
steve and i went over
our calendar today..
happy to get that done.
we just booked our
october vacation!
can't believe we are already
looking ahead that far.

this past week we were all sick.
we spent a lot of time at home.
stephen was in greece
on his senior trip all week.
i didn't sleep much this past week.
but,
he's home
and had a great time.

while he was flying into paris last night..
steve and i went on a cocktail cruise
along the seine put on 
by the kids school.
we were having a great time..
until i ate something that had pine nuts in it.

i'm not going to go into
the gory details..
but basically 
the boat sped up
to get back to the dock 
to meet the ambulance 
that was waiting for me.

it was a long night.
and not just for me.
steve rode in the ambulance
with me and when i left the hospital
he went to grab a cab to take him back
to the car at the dock.
do you think he could find a cab
in this city?
he ended up walking for miles
back to the dock to get the car.


here's to a healthier week ahead!

p.s...
and please don't email me or comment about
how i need to carry an epi-pen.
i do.
i just forgot last night.






Monday, June 3, 2013

Musee Rodin


i just love the museums
in paris.
a few days ago hannah
and griff and i 
visited the 
rodin museum.
griffin wanted nothing
to do with walking around
inside the museum..
so we spent most of our
time walking around 
the gardens outside.


the thinker


the three shades



the gates of hell


there was spooky music
coming from the trees
near the gates of hell


monument to the 
burghers of calais.


hannah and griff
and 
auguste rodin


any day spent at a 
museum in paris
is a great day in my book.

yesterday
was the first sunday of the month.
which means free museum admission
in paris.
steve had not yet visited 
musee d'orsay
so we went.
now, usually
i'm cursing the stroller..
in my elevator,
on the metro
but
 a stroller gets you 
to the front of the line
at the museums.
and free admission sundays
are packed.


it was a great weekend.
will came home from
his field trip to brittany
friday night.
saturday morning 
stephen left for crete
with his senior class.

the next few weeks are crazy busy.
sports banquets
the prom
going away parties
graduation
and school ending.

looking forward to summer!