more spring sewing

…and now, my girls are sleeping in fresh new spring style!  With the simple addition of a new pillowcase made with your favourite fabrics, you too can take their sweet dreams to a whole new level.  Why not give it a go?  The only downside is that they might get upset when they see the other custom pillow case you made for them in the dirty clothes.  As demanded by my little one “MOM! Why did you take my pillowcase?!”…..then she pulled back the covers as she scowled only to realize there was a new pillow waiting to surprise her.  Her face changed in an instant and a “Thank you Mama!” came tumbling out as she switched gears with with grace.  Too funny and now I won’t have to rush to wash and dry and change bedding all between morning and bedtime as demanded before (oh how she loves that original custom pillowcase made by my dear friend Gabrielle).

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oh i love the wee wander fabric!

the original custom pillowcase that started it all  - made by my friend Gabrielle

I really encourage you to make some….they make such sweet gifts and are so easy to personalize for each unique person you are gifting.

 

a night to remember

How about one more trip down memory lane to our time in Paris? On this day last year we took two very excited little girls to see the Eiffel Tower.  But first, they zipped out in their red berets to get our morning baguette….

ready for a magic day in Pariscan't wiat until they get to the apartment

And then we made our way to Île de la Cité to visit the Notre Dame and Shakespeare and Company (I had 20 beautiful minutes alone while the gang went to get snacks and then the girls came back for a peek and a purchase…The Little Prince, of course).

notre dameimagining the writers who gathered here....Then as we headed towards the Musée d’Orsay, Dimitri pointed out the art and book stalls along the Seine!!  Needless to say I loved the treasures on display and wanted to linger (and Raena showed a little interested), but my man (and my youngest) perhaps did not enjoy this stroll as much as I….

who is not having as much fun as me?old books!!!!

Once we got to the museum we all easily found a painting (or two, or three….) that we loved on the main floor. But what I really wanted to do was go see the Impressionist Wing.  Oh the fast paced zoom to the bathroom past all the masterpieces in this wing was hard to do (but when your kid has to go….).  Noteworthy that even during this focused dash, Raena stopped in awe (and struck a pose) as she came upon the Little Dancer statue by Degas.  Then she was off, spewing facts about the statue that she had learned during our studies earlier in the year and Alex and I were trying to keep up while my eyes tried to take in all the amazing art we passed.  After visiting the loo (of course at the END of the wing) we enjoyed a leisurely trip back through the Impressionist art where no photos were allowed.  May I suggest you just go see it for yourself someday?  I do hope to go back with Maddy someday (she had to leave the museum, poor girl, she got hit with the same flu that Dimitri had when we first got to Paris).she was so excited she had to do cartwheels

We had planned a quiet afternoon siesta back at the apartment before visiting the Eiffel Tower in time to see the light up.  But as we walked over (Raena did a few cartwheels too) and approached the tower, I found out that Dimitri actually wanted to go up to the top.  That wasn’t on my wish list for this visit, but when he said he wanted to, I said YES (after all, he had let me drag him through museums for days and days!).  It turned out to be a highlight of our visit to the City of Lights.  The lineups was long, but while Dimitri bought the first tickets the girls enjoyed ice cream under the tower and when we were buying tickets at the middle platform the girls kept busy playing “Eye Spy with my Little Eye”.  When we we reached the top it was well worth the wait – the view was breathtaking.  We looked over the city pointing out places we had been; it worked out perfectly that we saved this visit for our last night in Paris.

ice cream!!!my sweet french girlseye spyon top of the world in paris!We had timed if perfectly (by total fluke) and were able to see the light up happen just after we got back down on the ground.  I will never forget the moment when Alex was taking a photo of us with the lit up tower behind us and she stopped, lowered the camera and dropped her jaw and pointed in delight…..the lights had started to flash and sparkle (something we had not expected) and we all turned to share in the surprise!

an amazing light showAll that was left to make this a perfect night was for us to find a special dinner.  The girls were “starving” by the time I finished photographing the sparkly tower.  Perhaps that is why they braved the escargot appetizer (which they thought was okay but a bit weird). Oh we had a fantastic meal at a little restaurant with a peek-a-boo view of the sparkling Eiffel Tower and a sweet dog to keep the diners company.

hmmmm?our last dinner in Parisdrawing the towerfellow diner taking a nap between courses

The quiet walk back to the Seine and the Metro and then to our apartment was full of more sparkles…and my girls smiles were shining brighter than any of the city lights!  I will always remember our last night in Paris together…

one more look after dinnerhappy girlssparkling Seineheaded to our apartment in the Marais

Bonne Nuit Paris, je t’aime!

on this day

on this day, one year ago, we were on our way to Paris…..by road and train and lots of excitement…..there was even a parade en route that was for everyone who celebrated a decade milestone birthday that year (10, 20, 30, 40…..up to 90)….how perfect given I had just celebrated my birthday and Dimitri and I fit into the special 40th year section of the parade!!! The super fast TGV could barely keep up with the pace of my beating heart and the rainy streets that greeted up could not dampen our spirits as we got ready for a couple days of romance in the city of love!

on y va!parade for us!!travelling in style on the TGVso fast...ticket to ride, gifts from friends accompany mefirst glimpse of Paris....she looks back at us!I am HERE!looking for our apartment in Le Maraisdinner for twopuppies tooour first paris dessertour sweet apartmentplanning the next day with tea and much anticipation!

thrifting wishes for France

Look what I discovered today (during a random etsy search, oh I love those!)….there is a Pyrex equivalent made in France (known as Acropal) !!!  (photo credit to Vintagebananas).

Arcopal casserole ovenproof vintage salad bowl midcentury

Now I have another item to add to the thrift shop, flea market wish list for France!  Did I mention that we are going to France?  The girls and I leave in a week and I am starting to spin with anticipation (and flea market dreaming)….hoping to find a fancy tea cup, a gorgeous serving tray, beautiful vintage table cloths, gently used linen tea towels (to upcycle and to use), a map of old Paris (to frame), some original art (of course), stationary (vintage postcards are calling to me, maybe an old book or two), perhaps a doll for the girls and some little surprises too…..all Raena wants is a beret and I bet we could find them both some fun costume jewellery!

My French thrift shopping has already begun (and I have not even ordered any of the Acropal from etsy…yet!).  I recently found a few old Paris wall plaques at our local thrift shop (locals will understand when I say “SCORE at the GIRO!”).  LOVE!  Soon I will be strolling these very same streets and making pen and ink magic of my own.  Did I mention that we will be staying a 15 minute walk away from the Notre Dame?!

And, oh!, as much as I want to buy this old case for packing my travelling art supplies in, I think had better save my cash for vintage treasures when I get there.  Who knows, maybe I will find a little old train case to bring all my art supplies (and wee paintings) back home in!!  Photo credit to forgottenPLUM on etsy.

This reminds me, I better start thinking about packing…not too much stuff mind you, there has to be room in the suitcases to bring all our vintage French treasures home!!!