A Little House tour and a Book

my view last night!

this will never

ever

get old!

so we've been in this 

new apartment for about

a month and a half now.

we are so happy here!

i love our new neighborhood.

i've made friends with 

my butcher

and baker

and 

candlestick maker..

i mean my produce guy.

our new bi-weekly open air

market is incredible.

we've been trying out new cafe's

and the kids have been 

skateboarding

scootering

and pennyboarding

all over the champs de mars.

i've been having fun

making our new place home.

this apartment is much smaller

and completely furnished.

just enough room for our desk and 

a few bookshelves we bought at ikea.

here are some pics!

the family room is split

in two.

we moved one of the couches and

one of the coffee tables

from the other side over here.

it's a comfortable room

and space for all of us to watch movies

and read and play games.

the couches aren't really my style

but they're clean and new and comfortable.

i need to add some color and i'm on the hunt

for some architectural pieces..vintage ladders,

shutters, mantles, columns, etc.

i do love a coffee table

stacked with books!

this is the other side

of the family room.

we call it the eiffel tower room!

we moved the two club chairs

in front of the window and steve 

and i love to sit at night with a 

glass of wine and watch the 

tower sparkle.

i bought the desk and chair here at 

the flea market.

over christmas steve and i

made a few trips to ikea..

we bought these two metal/glass 

bookshelves.

again,

not normally my style

but i like how they look 

in this room and 

they're functional.

i get my wine crates

at my local wine shop..

for free!

they are great for 

storage and they warm

up the space i think.

our dining room..

oh how i wish i 

could bring in my 

beautiful 10 foot french

farmers table i bought 

before we moved here!

it'll sit in storage until we move again

:(

i do love my sweet LITTLE

kitchen.

storage is a challenge

but i'm learning to live 

with less.

i'm also learning that

in a small kitchen,

cleaning as i cook is a must.

it took some getting 

used to having my 

washer/dryer in the kitchen..

but i like it!

another ikea bookshelf!

it fits perfectly!

and adds some much 

needed storage.

(and they're inexpensive!)

our apartment is a duplex.

there are 3 bedrooms and 

a bathroom upstairs for the kids.

the master bedroom/bath is on

the first floor..

this is the master bedroom before..

and the after..

yes..

more ikea shelves!

i found this idea on pinterest.

i love our shelves behind our bed!

they give us plenty of storage

(with room to add more books :)

steve and i share a closet

and we quickly ran out of room..

so i put some of my shoes/bags

on display

:)

i do love our new home!

just finished this book last night.

i picked it up as i love

reading about other families that live 

internationally and move around a lot.

when i looked at the picture of 

melissa bradford, the author,

on the back cover i thought she

looked familiar.

after reading a bit more,

i realized that we sat next to she and 

her husband last year at stephen's high school

graduation.

i remember looking at her and wondering

which graduates' mom she was.

later in the ceremony an award was given

to one of the students..

the Parker Bradford award.

parker is her son.

he graduated from ASP in 2007.

that summer he lost his life

saving another boys'.

melissa and her husband

rasied 4 children in eight different

countries and

her book is all about their 

experiences.

it's beautifully written and inspiring

and heartbreaking to read.

i encourage you to read it.