Lake District Road Trip

We bought a car, woohoo! Though I realize the photo above is of a sailboat not a car... getting to that. It's a pretty big deal since we've not had a car for almost 6 years, and with two children, I'm amazed we made it that long without one. Granted our neighborhood has just about everything we need on our doorstep: butcher, baker, candlestick maker (not really that last one but I couldn't resist adding it because I'm a goof), fishmonger, wine shop, school, doctor, playgrounds, parks, all of these things within a 15 minute walk and a few of them a one minute walk, just around the corner really. We order our bulky groceries online (laundry soap, paper towels--you know, the boring stuff) and the rest we get locally, so that part of life without a car is pretty easy for us. Sometimes, though, it's been a royal pain! I have been reduced to tears on more than one occasion, standing at a bus stop in the freezing rain with two equally wet, freezing children and thought, this is nuts! We'll still take the bus to many places, but I'm really happy we finally decided to buy a car. It will make some short trips in the neighborhood easier, like picking up a very tired Lois from playdates after school rather than having to practically drag her home walking. And it means more road trips! We usually rent a car when we want to take a road trip, but that gets really expensive and is a bit of a hassle. Gotta go get the car, do the paperwork, pay the deposit, hear the sales pitch about insurance and whatnot, install the carseats each time, etc. I'm still not completely comfortable driving on the other side of the car and road, but I'm getting there. So, for our first road trip, we decided to go to the Lake District.

Summer Days

Ah, I wouldn't mind having that view again today! Beautiful blue water, warm breeze, sunshine, sand... all with family. We're back in London and have been for almost two weeks now. Alas, it seems like so long ago that we were in the US at the beach! We had a great time though, and I'm grateful we get to go home every summer for a few weeks and see our families and try to make the most of our time. We went to Cape San Blas in Florida, which was perfect. It's a bit remote compared to other summer beach cities in Florida, so it wasn't packed with people, which made being there all the more relaxing. Our girls had a great time with their cousins--lots of time body boarding in the ocean, swimming in the pool, games on the beach. We also drove to North Carolina to go to Asheville, a city we like a lot, and then up to Baltimore to see more family.

Snapshots from Cornwall

I've been so busy lately that our holiday in Cornwall with friends almost seems like a distant memory. The days just seem to rush by and it's hard for me to keep up with everything that I need and want to do. I imagine many people feel the same way, juggling the responsibilities of housework, kids, work and play. (I feel like I say that all the time!) It was great to have a break from our regular routine, though, and I wouldn't mind being back there now. The weather this week there is amazing. Unfortunately the weather wasn't great most of the time we were there, but we all had a wonderful time anyway. Our girls played with their friends from morning till night and had so much fun together. We went on some lovely short hikes, went to the beach, went to the Eden Project, Rick Stein's fish and chips, we cooked, played in the garden at the house, had an Easter egg hunt, and had a relaxing time just lounging around. The house we stayed in was amazing. I highly recommend it if you're looking for a place to stay near Bude. Here's a look at our holiday in Cornwall though instagram.

Snapshots from New York

I had a GREAT time with my mom and sister in New York! Four days with no kids (as much as we love our kids, it's nice to have a break!), just shopping, eating, drinking and exploring.  I couldn't have asked for a better girls' trip! And New York during the holidays, well, it's just magical, isn't it?

Hello New York!

Tomorrow I'm going to New York where I'll meet my mom and sister for a fun long weekend in the city! I'm so excited to see my mom and sister but also because I'll be going solo. A tiny, lightweight carry-on-bag! I've dreamt of this day. No diapers, no wipes, crayons, markers, sippy cups, changes of clothes, snacks, snacks and more snacks, no headphones, no iPad... Just me and my gin and tonic with a book on my kindle and a few pretty magazines. WOOHOO! And I need to make a few more notes on places to go, so I'll be taking some time to look through my Herb Lester guides. If you don't already know of Herb Lester, they make some beautifully illustrated guides with maps to wonderful cities. I've also asked friends for recommendations and found some helpful info from Time Out. I've been to NY a few times, but it's been a while. If you have any recommendations or tips, let me know! (Image above from one of the Herb Lester guides.)

Workshop Update

I've only just realized how long it's been since I wrote a blog post! But here I am again now. We've packed a lot into these last weeks of summer. After my mom's visit, we went to Cornwall for a week, then after coming home just a few days, we went to San Francisco for two weeks and Baltimore for one week. I also managed to do a good bit of sewing before we left to go to the US. I made another pair of trousers and two dresses. But more on all those subjects later! Before it's a distant memory, I wanted to share some photos from the food styling and photography I assisted Béatrice Peltre with at Hawthbush Farm in June. We had a wonderful time, and all the students did as well. We could not have asked for better weather! I was soooo happy the weather was beautiful. And Hawthbush Farm is amazing. It's a beautiful glamping destination on an organic farm about an hour and a half from London in East Sussex.

A Few Days In Marrakesh

Last February, to help keep our minds off the cold, grey days, we decided to pick out a warm, fairly exotic place to go in spring. We have a long list of places we'd like to visit while we're living on this side of the world, and Marrakesh is just one of them. It's always good to have something to look forward to, especially a holiday! So earlier this week we spent a few days in Marrakesh. We stayed at a beautiful place called Jnane Tamsna 15 minutes outside the medina, which I read about on Mr. and Mrs. Smith. We needed no further persuading after reading more about them on their web site and reading many good reviews.

Cottage Hideaway

This morning when I woke up, I was scanning my Pinterest for a few minutes before I knew Lois and Ellie would wake up (a rare occurrence for me to be up before Lois). Lying in bed, I was looking over at our desk and the area around it in the corner of our bedroom, which needs a lot of work. I wanted to look at some office inspiration photos while looking over at the desk, but of course it's Pinterest so I got a little sidetracked and found this adorable cottage hideaway on the Isle of Wight instead.

Home Again

Long time no post! We are back home from our trip to the US now but had a great time. Although we were there three weeks, time flew, as it often does of course when you're having fun. One thing I did with Lois and my mom is make peg dollies or at least try to. The one above is one of my inspiration peg dolls by Jess Quinn. I also love Alicia Paulson's peg dolls. So cute! This little "home" gal greets us in our front hallway. We haven't finished ours yet, but I hope our sweeties will be almost as cute. But peg doll making just took up a teensy fraction of our time. So lets see, what did we do? So much really!

Portugal in View

Oh my goodness, a few of the keys on my keyboard are really messed up, and I have to smash down on them about 30 times to get them to work! Time for a trip to the Genius Bar. So, needless to say, it takes me a while to write just a few sentences. So here's a brief summary of our Portugal week. Andrew needed to go for work so we tagged along and added a few days to the trip to make a holiday. Andrew went to Sesimbra (photo above) with co-workers and took that photo. I would have liked to go there too! Most of our days were spent in Lisbon though (photos below), and some time out and about just beyond Lisbon in places like Balem, Cascias, and Sintra (where the moorish castle is in the photo). It was a very nice, hilly city with friendly people, great food, and beautiful scenery. I loved the tile buildings. So many beautiful patterns and colors!

Beach Week

Greetings from Florida. I meant to post about our trip back to the US but as is often the case leading up to a trip, I got busy and didn't get to it before we left. We went to Atlanta for a few days and we're now in Florida with my family. The first few days were sunny and beautiful but now it's cloudy and raining. Blah! But I have been enjoying the thunder and lightning, which we don't get much of across the pond. And the rain makes for a good day to read and to start organizing all my photos of the trip so far. I'll post more soon. Looks like I'll have plenty of time as the rain might stick around for a few days.

Bonjour!

Greetings from Paris! We're in Paris this week, and I can't tell you how beautiful it is. The weather is perfect. Yesterday was a perfect spring day--sunny, blue sky, crisp air, warm in the sun, cool in the shade. It looks like today will be the same. We spent the afternoon at Luxembourg Gardens yesterday. It's a wonderful place for kids. More on that soon, but for now I'm adding things to my map. Do you have any Paris favorites? Let me know! I've started working on my map, which is here if you're interested in some of my favorites. Image above found here.

Greetings from San Francisco!

This week we're in San Francisco! We'll be here for a week, then we head to the east coast to spend the holidays with family. I meant to mention it before leaving but didn't get to it with all the other things I needed to do before we left. I'm so excited to be here! We got here on Saturday and have already gone to a number of places we love and miss. Here are a few snapshots of what we've been up to. From left to right... Tartine's bread pudding, the best!; a fun open air tram we were lucky to ride on; flowers at Bi-Rite market; the menu at Emmy's Spaghetti Shack (the best spaghetti and meatballs!); lil' miss kicking back, wearing my shades in Dolores Park; Lo's hot chocolate and lavender marshmallow at Craftsman and Wolves (the hot chocolate promptly covered her dress shortly after this photo); a sunrise photo in Dolores Park (we're a little jet lagged), tasty goodness at Craftsman and Wolves; a photo of Mission High School with birds. More to come soon from San Francisco!

France Photography Workshop Update

I'm back from France now but had a nice time at the photography and food styling workshop. Unfortunately the weather was a real drag. It was rainy, windy, and cold for 4 out of the 5 days of the workshop, which threw off the itinerary and prevented us from getting outside much. It was a shame in such a beautiful place (southern France, in the Languedoc wine region) where the weather is normally sunny and about 75 degrees most days this time of year. Alas, we can't control weather, so nothing could be done about that but make the best of our indoor time. But it was great to meet and learn from Beatrice Peltre and Lara Ferroni, and I met a lot of nice people who came from all over the world for the workshop. Here's a peek into our workshop days.

Props

This weekend I'm headed to France for a 5 day photography and food styling class. We're instructed to bring some props, and since all our kitchen stuff is in storage, I decided to hit the Anthropologie sale table. I got a few fun plates, bowls and linens. Here are a few. I'm very excited about the class! The weather forecast isn't looking too great, but I'll take France rain or shine. Rolling green hills, a chateau, beautiful food and photos, interesting new people to meet... I'm ready! See you soon from southern France.

Glamping in France

Now that's my kind of tent! Does't it look wonderful to you too? That is a desert tent at Camping Les Ormes in southern France. I read about the campsite on My French Country Home a while back and made a note of it. A farm, restaurant, pool, lake, fun outdoor activities... it looks amazing! I'm more the glamping kind of gal than the rugged camping kind of gal, though I've never really been to a campsite so beautiful. I appreciate running water and toilets very much! I'd really love to go camping here this Summer. It looks especially great with kids. If you'd like to have a relaxing family vacation in France, this might be a good option. Here is the web site for more photos and information. Photos here are from their site. 

My mom arrives today for a visit, so I'm very excited! I have a lot planned for us in the next few days, so I hope to have lots of posts about our Paris outings.

We made it!

Good morning, Paris! We're settled into our temporary apartment now and ready to explore. More soon....

Paris in One Week!

Next week this time we'll be heading to Paris! Our place is about halfway packed but we have a lot on the to-do list. We'll be busy, busy finishing loose ends. I keep reminding myself that London is just 2 hours away by train and that if some things aren't covered before next week, it's not the end of the world. So much that needs to be can be done online anyway. See you next week from a Paris!
Image from Pinterest

Paris See and Do

Over the last few weeks I've been searching blogs for Paris tips--things to do, places to go, where to shop and eat.... My list has grown so long that I feel a little overwhelmed by it, but it's certainly better to have more to do than not enough. One of my favorite blogs for information is Anne Ditmeyer's blog, Pret a Voyager. The "living in Paris" and the "visiting Paris" sections have so much information, both practical, such as finding an apartment and working in Paris, and fun, such as recommendations on shops and restaurants. Her Design Sponge city guide is great too. If you have any plans to go to Paris and need some tips on what to do, definitely put her blog on your list. 

Cute Paris illustration from Bear and the Hare on etsy. 

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!