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!!

Paris in the Rain

just like in the movie

midnight in paris..

i think paris is the most

beautiful in the rain.

Collections

hello monday!

we had a 3 day weekend..

which is a treat.

and after staying up until 5:00 am

wednesday night to watch the 

red sox win the world series..

i needed some sleeping in.

yesterday i went with a friend 

to the paul bert flea market 

at porte de clignacourt.

i've never been to this one..

what a fun day we had!

starting with lunch at cafe paul bert..

we indulged in wine and entrecote.

now, we didn't find many

bargains here..but,

shopping this market made me 

think about collections.

can one have too many collections?

since moving to paris

i've started collecting cafe au lait bowls,

vintage linens, and little moutard (mustard) jars.

i also want to collect these gorgeous vintage 

seltzer jars! just look at the colors!

i did start my collection of 

vintage french bread boards yesterday.

love them!

and french ironstone.

need. to. collect.

these old pharmacy jars

were  HUGE.

i wanted them all.

but at 200 euro a piece..

i refrained.

but aren't they lovely??

and what about these 

vintage wine bottles?

a beautiful collection.

what do you collect?