Un dimanche à Paris.

T'was pretty perfect! Hope you all had a fun-filled weekend and are ready for another busy week ahead!

ps: although I fear I'm a helpless cause, I have activated the 'reply option' in the comments as an attempt to be more organised, and reply to your comments and emails more promptly. Please forgive me if still owe you an answer -  I know, I am embarrasingly running behind...boo hoo. :(

An update.

It has been fairly quiet around these parts lately and it may continue to be until the end of the month. Two weeks ago today we (finally!) signed the legal documents for our flat and officially became broke propriétaires. Now that we have the keys to our new home in hand, we can start the big refurbishment. Kitchen, bathroom, toilet, closets, windows, shutters, electricity - we are talking weeks of travaux. And while it is exciting to be redesigning everything from scratch, the task of choosing all the materials is not easy. In which room do we put down carpet, tiles, or wood? what texture do we want? what colour? what disposition? It's super tricky to decide since there is no going back once the choice has been made. I sometimes wish we had hired an architect to help us make all these decisions. But since we cannot really afford one, I've been pinning like mad lately, looking for as much inspiration as possible on line. Fingers crossed that in a few months, we'll have successfully turned this new apartment, into a new home.

Wishing you all a relaxing weekend! I'm looking forward to my girls' night out at Andy Wahloo & the 404; two places I have be meaning to go to for years!

A bientôt!

II.

This time last week, our little man turned a whopping two years old! Pressies were opened, cakes were eaten, songs were sung, and candles were blown. It was a quiet winter day with snow on the ground and Siberian temperatures, like on the day you were born. These past two years with you in our lives have been more exhausting and challenging than we could have ever imagined yet at the same time they have by far been the most wonderful, magical and blissful years we have ever lived. Who knew it was possible to love someone the way we love you?

Happiest birthday big boy!

May these past two years together only be a teaser of all the fun and love-filled years that are still to come.

Ps: a good article on what it means to be a parent. 

Space.

My first attempt at video editing. Seven years ago, I used to create heaps of slideshow movies for work. It sounds so uncool today, to make a slideshow movie from photos, but I swear that back then it was pretty neat. Only at the time, I didn't have iMovie. Oh boy, what I was missing out on! It's probably old news for many of you but last night, I made the greatest discovery since Photoshop. I think this is the beginning of the end, when it comes to borrowing Mr. Franglais' MacBook. Sorry love. You just shouldn't be so well equipped and I will stop stealing all your gadgets, hee hee.

Wishing you all a relaxing weekend! I'll see you on Monday.

ps: This movie was shot in early January in Normandy when L. & I visited my mum and "little" bro. And the music is Grown Ocean by Fleet Foxes.

Soldes.

Some bargains found in the sales over the weekend : 1) one pink knit and one starry jumper from my favourite clothes shop, Vicxite.A; 2) a set of Marimekko bowls from the new 1962 shop (these were really "fake bargains" since they were only 10% off, mais bon!); 3) Smiling Planet bear sweater from Smallable; 3) Cushion from Petit Pan (originally for the little man, but his mama keeps pinching it from him).

Vicxhite.A
47, rue des Abbesses
75018 Paris

Boutique 1962
4, rue Tholoze
75018 Paris

Petit Pan
10, rue Yvonne Letac
75018 Paris

I'm at home sick today, getting lots of sleep and drinking heaps of herbal tea (thanks Jocelyn!) to be back on track tomorrow.I hope you are all having a good week so far!

L'hiver est là.

Bonjour! A few random photos from our weekend. The sun was shining, the sky was clear, the air was freezing, and we the light was... dear (for the sake of rhyming, eh). First time this year it actually felt like winter. We hung out in our neighbourhood all weekend which was delightfully relaxing. I know we aren't moving into our new place until another couple of months, but I am already starting to feel nostalgic of our vie de quartier. I suppose it's normal though, right? After almost six years (blimey, six years!)...time flies.

ps: 1. Pompom garland (which I've finally hung) from this lady (whom I hope is having a baby right now!); 2. Dried bouquet I received when L. was born; 3. Blanca Gomez's city prints (I've got Paris & London).

England

A few photos of our little four day getaway to London the week before last. I luurve London and could totally see myself living there one day. People are generally so much nicer and friendlier than in Paris, it always takes me a day or two to adjust, i.e. take down my anti-aggression shield. We were there between boxing day and new year and it was by far one of the best times to visit: the city was e.m.p.t.y! A real treat.



On our first day, we woke up late, filled our bellies on a full English breakfast (grazie Isabella!) and headed off on foot through Holland Park and Kensington Gardens, to the V&A. I wanted to see the new photo collection about the history of photography. It was an amazing travel through time. You can find pieces by Henri Cartier Bresson, Diane Arbus, Irving Penn, Man Ray, Lee Miller, to name a few of my favourite. It is truly worthwhile and you can see it all for free (I always forget that museums are free in London which makes it a pleasant surprise).

Day two was a crazy shopping day. Bond street, Oxford street, Carnarby street, Liberty's... we shopped until we dropped! Everything is much cheaper than in Paris now so it was all a bargain for us. One little gem of a shop our friend showed us was Skandium. It was filled with the most sumptous Scandinavian goodies... which I managed to resist but it was hard. Instead, I privileged buying a few cute little outfits for our wee man as clothes for little ones in the UK are more vibrant and whimsical than what we get in Paris. Our exhausting consumeristic day ended with our must-have curry on Brick Lane - a classic, yum!

The following day we visited some of my relatives in south London and met our new baby cousin (once or twice removed, I can never remember) who is so adorable and teeny weeny.

And before our trip back on our last day, we went for an expeditive walk around the picturesque Notting Hill to check out Fara Kids, a charity shop recommended by my friend Vanessa. I came out with an awesome pair of red jeans and an indoor football (the boy was ecstatically pleased with his pressie) for less than 10 pounds. Not bad me thinks, when the neighboring shops would almost be ready to charge you for looking at their clothes.

Wishing you all a happy weekend. I'll see you back here on Monday. x