Homesick Today

(view from the top

of the ferris wheel..

the best view of Paris,

in my opinion!)

Paris is home.

It's been home for 3 

Thanksgivings now.

But, 

always on this day..

I want my American home.

Today 

I am homesick.

For family and friends.

For traditions

old and new.

For familiarity.

And for an oven

big enough to cook

my French turkey in.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Hannah's Soccer ISST's and Other Stuff

A few weeks ago

I went to Munich to 

help cheer on Hannah's soccer

team at ISST's.

...Hannah has never played soccer

before. The team needed bodies

this season and she joined!

It was so fun for her..

and for me..

to watch her out there with her friends.

Paris came in 4th out of 8 teams

from all over Europe.

The first two days were 

freezing and we actually had

snow!

The International school of Munich

hosted this years girls soccer tournament..

and the girls were housed by some

very generous parents of those students.

So..some of the traveling

moms got to stay in a hotel

in Starnberg and make a weekend 

out of it!

It was cold but the foliage

along the lake was beautiful.

This reminded me of

Stephen's rowing days

in New England.

Taken at the ceremony at the end

of the tournament before 

our flight home.

A great weekend!

I never have my good camera

with me anymore!

I was picking up our daily

baguette at my local boulangerie

recently and this sweet lady was 

in front of me picking up hers.

I love that she let me take her picture.

Wednesdays are half days for 

Griff and his little friend Oona

at their school.

Oona and her mom Anna invited us

to go have Korean food with them

recently.

Griff and I had such fun with them

and loved Korean food!

Can't wait to go again!

More random iphone pics..

sporting my new gorgeous gray

wrap/scarf from  Cat at Sunday Brocante.

Had to stop to take a picture

of the foliage along the Champs du mars

during my run..

Visited the flea market this 

past Sunday with a few friends...

even second hand, that

Birkin bag is too pricey.

But man I didn't want to

take it off my wrist!

My goal this trip to the market was 

to find a coffee table.

I really loved this one..

with a fitted piece of glass over the top..

perfect!

But I ended up with this one..

...it's just what I had in mind.

And, I got a great price!

Nothing better than a day

at the flea market.

Griff's been home sick for a few

days.

Sore throats and bad coughs going 

around.

The weather has been dreary

and gray and cool.

Perfect Paris weather in my opinion.

Happy Thanksgiving week!

A Beautiful Day in Paris

I can't believe we've only

been in this apartment two 

weeks tomorrow.

It feels as if we've 

always lived here.

Yesterday..

Griffin and I walked

to the WHSmith bookstore

(yes, we can walk there now!)

It's situated right across the 

street from one of my

favorite places to walk...

Jardin de Tuileries.

I was kicking myself for

not bringing my good camera.

The fall foliage and 

warm lighting were 

perfect.

So,

iphone photos it is.

Better than nothing 

I guess.

We sat outside with our

new books for 

some tea and a snack.

(Loving Mimi's new

cookbook)

Steve flies home from 

Boston tomorrow..

Looking forward to 

a fun weekend!

Happy Halloween!

We're In!

My new view!

I LOOOOVE our new 

apartment...and 

I can't believe how

quickly our family has

begun to feel at home here.

The apartment is furnished..

beautifully.

It's comfortable and livable 

and if I were to ever own an 

apartment here in Paris...

well, I think I'd want this one!

The location!

We knew we wanted to stay

in the 7th.

But..I also knew I wanted to

get a little further deeper into it.

And as far as missing the tower...

well,

we still get to see her watching over us.

And I admit..

it's a nice change to see her from

this perspective.

This past week has been busy.

Moving in..

unpacking..

(we had much more stuff 

than I thought)...

and making this place a home.

The kitchen is always the 

first to set up when we move.

I have mouths to feed!

And this kitchen..

not only so very well equipped..

but sleek and functional

and now that I've added my own

touches..

it feels like home.

I'm excited to get cooking again!

My new outdoor market on 

Raspail certainly did not disappoint

on Sunday either!

I'm hoping to someday catch a glimpse

of Ina.

:)

ahhh....

the infamous farmers table.

By the way..

Catie, I think yes,

I do need to name her.

She has such a story!

I bought her a year ago..

sight unseen from a dealer in 

Normandy.

Two friends had seen it

(Frenchlarkspur and Cat from Sunday Brocantes)

and sent pictures.

I bought it immediately after hearing 

the details.

Cat graciously stored the table for a month

in her farmhouse in Normandy.

Her husband later delivered it to a 

colleague of Steve's that 

graciously offered to house it 

at their house in the suburbs until 

we moved.

Well, when we moved 

last year...we moved into a 

small furnished apartment and could not

use it.

Long story longer...

it was delivered yesterday.

After a year of owning it..

we finally meet and I love her!

Names??

(the delivery :)

Griffy the ghost.

He had a Halloween party

at his school last Friday.

(the kids are all on

holiday this week.)

He's with his little buddy and 

two of his teachers.

He is loving  his school!

Griffin and School

Life is busy.

Apartment hunting

and just the thought of

moving again is taking up

most of my days.

We don't have to be out

until November 28th..

and I think they'll be pushing us

out the door on that day.

I don't want to leave here!

Griffin is slowly adjusting 

to his new life at school.

He has days when he jumps out

of bed and can't wait to go.

And then he has days that are the

complete opposite of that.

On those days

we do things like the above.

Trying out new cafe's and  

visiting the park.

I am not pushing him.

We are taking this school

thing slow.

Not the French way..

that's for sure.

As expats, 

we encourage the kids

to try new things.

Experience the food..

learn the language and 

the history..

understand the people and 

be respectful of their culture and country.

However,

when it came to schooling Griffin,

I decided not to send him at 

3 or 4 when most 

French kids are heading off to

l'ecole.

And I have no regrets.

I am also so grateful

for his patient teachers 

at his little school here!

We are proud of you Griff! 

The leaves are falling in Paris..

but the temperatures however

seem to be rising!

Bon weekend!!

La Parisienne

I ran a road race for the first

time Sunday! 

The La Parisienne 6.7 km!!

I started running at the 

beginning of the summer.

The furthest I've run is about

4 km.

 I had every intention of stopping

at 4 and walking the rest..

but I just kept going!

It was so exciting picking

up my number!

And the day of the race there

are over 25,000 women running!

It was such an amazing day.

Never in a million years

did I ever think of running

a road race.

And now..

I want to do another!

It's addicting!

There was a group of us

that ran.

So fun!

Yesterday..

Griffy didn't go to school.

He woke up crying and 

said he didn't want to go.

I didn't push him.

So we went to a cafe together.

(I had a delicious fig and mascarpone tarte!)

We've been having warm sunny

days with gorgeous skies over the city.

(sunrise this morning over Les Invalides)

And this morning he's off!

We kiss each others' hands 

and put them on our cheeks 

when we miss each other 

during the day.

My hand is always 

on my cheek.

So proud of you buddy!

Rome and The Amalfi Coast

Before I go any further..

I need to explain the 

eviction.

Eviction is a strong word.

I was being a bit dramatic.

(my middle name)

We have been told to leave though.

We haven't done anything wrong.

Didn't throw a big loud party

or have been disruptive in any way.

The building will be under new 

management and they are doing

major renovations.

So..we need to move.

We flew into Paris the morning

of August 5th.

The next day we were flying 

to Rome!

This was our 3rd trip to 

Italy but first to Rome.

I don't think I'd do that again..

we were SO jet lagged.

We were walking around the Colosseum

at midnight!

The good thing was that it 

was cool at night..

and so pretty!

We stayed in the Trastevere section

of Rome.

We rented an apartment for 4 days and it

was the perfect location.

We took a lot of pictures

with iphones.

Returning to Rome

is a must.

We didn't do half of what

I had planned.

Rome in 4 days 

with 4 kids

jetlagged..

not a great idea.

Believe me..

I'm not complaining.

We did fit in a lot and 

ate amazing food...

but I'd love to go back.

Maybe just with Steve. 

:)

On Saturday we rented a car

and drove to Positano.

A gorgeous and nail biting 

drive along the Amalfi coast!

We stayed in a hotel in

Positano for a week..

this was our view from our

balcony!

We drove to Ravello

one of the days.

We walked around this

beautiful town and 

had a fantastic lunch with 

this view!

Our days in Positano were spent on 

the beach

and eating big lunches!

In the evening we'd order pizza

and hang out by the pool.

selfie!

Another day we rented a boat!

This was probably one of our favorite

days! 

I don't think I've ever seen water this color..

a beautiful deep navy blue.

another selfie from the boat!

On Saturday we drove to Naples..

returned the rental car

(which we did not need the entire week

except to drive to Ravello)..

and hopped the ferry to 

Capri!!

This was taken from our

balcony looking down at 

the kids in the pool!

Capri was so beautiful!

The beaches..the people watching..

the food..the fashion.

Loved Capri!

Hannah and Will

rock jumping

I feel terrible about

not taking more pictures!

Too busy enjoying ourselves.

An amazing end to an 

amazing summer.

I asked Steve recently..

"where to next?"

Although, with moving to 

a new apartment soon

and getting kids

settled into school

and me adjusting to all

of this alone time..

I think we'll stay put for a bit.