Adorable Paris

Christmas was a lot of fun, especially for Lois who as soooo excited about santa, and gifts, and really just everything Christmas. But I'm happy it's over because I can't wait to get to Paris! It's all I've been thinking about. We've settled on an apartment in the 6th.

Holiday Cheer

Oh I've been much distracted by our Paris plans, and have mostly neglected poor little Lois and holiday fun, but I haven't entirely forgotten about Christmas. We just have a wee synthetic tree this year, but my mom got an amazing real tree for her house this year. She usually goes the more eco friendly route, but she just decided she wanted a real tree this year, so that's what she did. Here's her tree above, which we decorated with the kids when I was in town. We love x-mas cards from past years stuffed in trees. They look even prettier that way to us and they fill some bigger holes. And tinsel, I LOVE tinsel. Just a little bit though to add some sparkle.

Paris?!! I need your help!

We might be moving to Paris! I know, that made me squeal too :) I say moving, but really it will be a long stay to start with--a few months, that is. We have some apartment options, furnished vacation rental options, but I need help with some other things like what in the world to do with a 3 year old! I've found my spots in London that are good for Lois--the playgrounds and parks (of which there are many in London), indoor jumpy play space, water parks in summer, and right now she's in nursery 3 days a week and loves it. But in Paris I'm not sure what to do nursery-wise. She does not speak French (uh, neither do I, but that's another issue). So for now, I'm mostly interested in fun things to do with children near the 4th and 11th arrondissements since that's likely where we'll be staying. We also want her to learn French. I found a baby languages place that teaches children English, but we have that covered. I emailed them to see if they also teach children French, but I haven't heard back just yet. And if you live in Paris, will you be my friend?!! I'm not going to be shy. Moving to another country is hard, and I will need some friends! Same for Lois--if you have children, even better. Lets go play. And get a pan au chocolat while we're out, of course! If you have any other tips, suggestions, recommendations for anything Paris, on any other topic, feel free to let me know that too. I'm all ears, ready with a pen. The photo above is from this great blog post from Kiss My Spatula. If you like Paris, seriously head over and see those photos! 

Gypsy Honeymoon

Whew, we're back from our US holiday--San Francisco, and then Atlanta to visit with both sides of our family for Thanksgiving. We had a great time but it's taken a few days to adjust and get back into our routine. One last San Francisco stop before moving on... I popped into Gypsy Honeymoon, one of my favorite SF shops, to see the new location. The location is new since we moved anyway, which has been 2 years! Time does fly. A post on a previous visit in the old location is here. The space and the merchandise may be different, but it's still the same Gypsy, filled with beautiful antiques, vintage clothes, jewelry, trinkets, and treasures. I didn't bring our nice Canon with us on the trip, but here are a few snaps in the new location, at 1266 Valencia Street, with my iPhone.