Paris: Part One

I'm writing from our little apartment on the Rue du Champs de Mars.

It's a small white room with a large old window perched atop 5 flights of tightly curled dilapidated stairs.

It's raining, which is wonderful because today has been a beautiful sunny day, and I need a good excuse to sit on my bed and let my feet rest.

When it comes to walking around cities, Kent is like a prize race horse, and I am a flat footed goose.

We both started out of the gate fast (We shot out at 7:30am, Kent forgot to put on an over shirt, and we both forgot to brush our teeths. It was all I could do to get my hair pinned up!)

But we walked all over 3 districts today, and this goose is cooked.

First we walked up the river to the Musee d'Orsay (the line was too long, and we were too gung-HO to stand in one place, so we plan do it later this week), then crossed at Pont Neuf, over to the Jardin de Tuileries, where we sat and enjoyed the sun and the views. The park was lined up with rows and rows of purple iris and foxgloves, large walks, and fountains, and the symmetry of it put me immediately at rest.  If a garden could be vacuumed and dusted, it would look like this. At the end of the park, the Champs Elysée began, and we followed it all the way up to the Arc de Triomphe. After that we meandered through a few neighborhoods, thinking we were were some place we were not, until we were greeted once again by the Eiffel Tower. It is our North Star, since we are one street over from it and up 5 flights of dilapidated stairs. (You know you are at our landing when your thighs burn exactly enough that you can't possibly go any further.) But you have to walk Paris. To take the metro would be to miss it entirely. Sun dappled trees, corner cafés, boats on the river, mansard roofs... They are the whole reason we are here. And I couldn't bear to miss any of it today.

I wish I could describe the feeling of being in the middle of all of it. 

But the magic is hard to pin down. Best to leave that to Hemingway and the rest. I'll just say goodnight, and goodbye to 29. 

Tomorrow I will be 30 years old. Kent and I were talking about it over coffee and a Croque Monsieur this morning. I don't feel any of the panic about where I am at 30. I am satisfied with what I have and have not accomplished, and we are enjoying a lot of fruit that was the labor of our 20s.

Time is just moving forward, and time does beautiful things.

Just look at Paris!

Bonjour Paris!

Have you seen Funny Face? You know the song, Bonjour Paris (Pareeeee!).

Well, It's been going on a loop in my head all morning.

We are packing up and heading out in just a few hours and I'm a mixed bag of emotions!

Obviously excited, because Paris. But my heart is all water for leaving my little hearts behind. 

You know, that's one of the scariest parts about having kids. Having children is like having your very heart walking around outside of your body. When it's just you in the world, you can stash your heart away, if you like. 

But to know love, and to know love like a mother or father, you have to put it all out there. And then everything you hold dear on earth is running around in one man and two little people. Who eat too much food and too fast (don't choke!) and get sick, and can make the most appalling decisions!

They are just so dear, sometimes I feel like a crazy person who's reaching for the stars to leave them for an hour let alone a week. And for what, Paris? Some food, and art, and buildings?

Then common sense kicks in and it says: Of course you go to Paris! People travel all the time. You will come back. They will be here. Go and enjoy this wildy amazing opportunity with your best friend. Because you promised to love him first, and there is a whole world still happening outside of this home, so go enjoy it with him.

(Becoming a mother has turned me into a bit of a hobbit, all stay and no go. "Adventures are nasty, disturbing, uncomfortable things, make you late for dinner.")

But here we go, and that's it! We have a fleet of friends and family to tend to our home and our little hearts this week. And we are praying for them, but we will be doing it from the city of lights!

Au Revoir!

Easter 2014 Recap

Did you have a wonderful Easter yesterday? Yeah, us too!
As per tradition, we went down to my mom's house and a couple of our friends and their sweet families joined us.
So the house was crawling with kids! Just how my mom likes it.
And I think the endless festivities: egg dying, party games, cookie decorating, gifts and treats, along with 2 egg hunts, kind of blew their little minds.
I know the Mediterranean feast blew mine. (grilled lamb + tzazkiki, still thinking about it.)
There was an egg decorating contest for the adults, which I never can seem to win. My record is 1 in 5 years I think, and this year I was sitting cozy in last place. Which is probably due to the fact that my friends and family are a load of over achievers. Attaching eggs to shoes, fruits, and vegetables, and aging shells in coffee. Nonsense.
We were also introduced us to a new egg tradition.
Have you heard of Cascarone Eggs? They are basically hollowed out eggs filled with confetti. Here's a cute diy. And the tradition is that when the children find them they are supposed to crack them on their parent's head!
It was a lot of fun, and added an extra level of frenzy to the egg hunt chase. However it being Oliver's first egg hunt, he might have caught on to the wrong idea. He spent the day beating real hard boiled eggs on to his own head, with gusto! Kind of like, oh I guess this is how you do it huh? Resulting in our entire batch of newly dyed eggs pretty battered*.
We had a carload of confetti haired parents, and tuckered out, sugared up kids on the way home, and I wouldn't wonder if Oliver had a headache to go with it.
It was a very festive celebration, for a most hope filled day!
He is risen!

*Which actually solves the years problem of what do we do with all these eggs we don't want to eat, but feel bad about throwing out!

Zimbags: Behind the Scenes.

Hey, I've got a box from Zimbabwe full of bags in my room, which means it's that time again!
Zimbags is launching their Spring/Summer bags this month!
It's always a fun and busy time of photographing, designing, and promoting.
Saturday, I'm kicking into gear the photography portion which is the most time consuming (and rewarding) So many pictures, so much editing.
I have a good chuckle to myself a lot of the time, because the behind the scenes and inner workings of these Zimbags shoots are a little bit of a dog and pony show. Get rid of any notion of photography studios, paid models, and white umbrella thingys.
We take the product shots in my kitchen, and ask our friends to take pictures with us somewhere local. And the person taking the pictures (me) is not even a photographer. (Unless by photographer you mean, person who owns a camera.)
But that's the beauty of it in my opinion. We are just a group of woman dedicated to helping other women, from our kitchens, spare rooms, or whatever we've got with whatever talents we have. No one is getting paid, except for our women in Zimbabwe.
It is a non-profit organization at it's finest, in my opinion.
Well the last time we did this it was Fall of '13, and we were at UW campus getting ready to go "back to school".
Meg was taking pictures of us that day behind the scenes on a FILM camera! Yes film! Which is why these look so cool (these are not instagram filters) aaaand why it took 7 months to get them developed.
But have a peek! And get excited with me for the good things to come.

Moving back outdoors!

It was such a beautiful weekend! It gives me such a happy to think about it.
We had been stuck inside with illness all week, and desperately needed some sun and some fun!
So I scrubbed the algae off of the deck and rounded up our sandals. This weekend was going to make up for it. (And it did!)
Kent made his first batch of smoked pork with his new smoker, which has given our lives new meaning. Then we invited friends over and spent the entire weekend outside eating, catching up, and letting the kids romp around the yard.
These days are back! And they are glorious on all accounts.
And you know that tired feeling you get when you spend all day out in the sun? Yeah, I got that.
First sun coma of the season.

Beck & Parsley

Since Spring is really all that I can talk about these days, I thought I'd share two of my favorite Spring companions.

Beck's new album Morning Phase (which sounds like pure contentment feels), and fresh parsley.

Seriously parsley is 79 cents at the store and can act as bouquet for the table, and that extra pinch of Spring freshness in pasta, soup, or sprinkled over potatoes.

I refuse to stop putting it on everything! Never mind that I am the only one in my family that doesn't pick it off again. It's bright and perfect and needs everything. 

So much like my campaign to get everyone on board with fresh tomatoes, I will serve it again and again until I have worn away any resistance. Parsley will triumph!

Now this approach may sound extreme, but it's seriously things like Beck and Parsley that are helping me keep it together this week.
A tenacious cold has weaseled it's way into our home, and we are all scratchy throats, coughs, and snots around here. As of today I've got it too and I am making bad decisions based off of whatever the path of least resistence is. You want that? Suuuuuure.
So everything is cancelled and we are just chilling at home watching Greta reenact the entire movie of Frozen. Let me explain that this is in no way an exaggeration.
I need you to understand this.
She is currently in the next room reenacting the entire movie. Everyone's lines, songs, and humming the background score including appropriately timed music swells and crescendos. She finishes only to begin again.

So you see, I need the Parsley, and the Beck that makes me feel like I'm wrapped in paradise.
My Springtime companions are here to hold my hand.

Fresh Starts.

Spring is so hopeful isn't it?
Energy and anticipation is all tied up with Spring. Oliver came to us in brand new Spring, and I smile to think about anticipating his arrival almost 2 years ago now. Although in his case, I think there was too much waiting involved.
But flowers, farmers markets, playing at parks, and outdoor living is just around the corner.
And with it, interest in projects around the house also kick into high gear. Painting this, planting that, building this & that fills up most of our conversations these days.
And at the top of the list is our biggest project to date. We are in talks with a few contractors about building an addition on to the house!
Can I get 3 cheers for a little extra Walter wiggle room? (The plans include an added family room downstairs and office/guestroom.)
It's something that has been on our radar for few years now, but the plans have been chilling on our fridge month after month as we wrestled with the idea "Do we move - start over?" or "Do we stay and keep investing?".
It took a lot of time, prayer, and looking at houses around the area that we didn't love, to finally come to the decision to stay.
And when we did we found ourselves relieved, and excited! We get to continue to fall in love with our house, and work on the things that we don't.
So now at ever corner I think "We should really do something about that: crack in the molding, wiggly step, light fixture, backyard." Because we aren't going anywhere, it's ours to fall in love with.
Yep, it's an exciting time!
Winter is for staying in and savouring, but Spring is about jumping out of your chair and starting something new!
What are your plans?

Ps- I took this picture in the Home Depot parking lot. Oh Spring, I love how you make the humble parking lot look so good.