Paper hearts...

I've been in the habit of making valentines for my students for the past 5 years or so.  This tradition is not an easy one to let go, even though I have approximately 10 times as many students this year (190 kiddos, ages 7-12)!!!

So, what to do...in a foreign city and on a budget?

Folded copy paper and a red Sharpie to the rescue!

A batch of 20, for one of my 8 classes...

Fold, write, repeat...

Simple, but from the heart ♥

Happy Valentine's Day...

to one

and all sweethearts out there ♥

"Midnight in Paris"...

At midnight.

In Paris.

Yes, I know.

I'm that much of a nerd!  But I loved every minute of it (again!)

I thought Owen Wilson was perfect in this role!

The movie let out a little after midnight :)

Paris is certainly magical at midnight...

Or any time of day ♥

French Cooking...

Hey Good-Lookin'...

I'm the first to admit that I'm not the most adept when it comes to preparing food.
(Eating food?  Yes.  Preparing it?  Not so much.)

So, it's been interesting (to say the least) to witness how I've been maneuvering around my "kitchen" the past few weeks.  I'd like to think I've been doing okay, meal-wise.  Nothing gourmet to be sure.  But I've been trying my best.

Just so I don't forget...here are some of the meals that have graced my counter:

New Year's Eve...

Ah, New Year's Eve...in Par-ee...

Lights, Fireworks, Countdowns, Cheering...

Right?

We-ll...

I decided I would venture out late in the evening to experience an incredible display of pyrotechnic excellence that surely the City of Lights must offer her residents, guests and visitors each New Year's Eve...

Unfortunately, there were no (organized) pyrotechnical feats and the only reason I knew it was midnight was because the Eiffel Tower started sparkling.

But, you know what?

I think I'd take that version of a sparkler any day of the week...and twice on Sunday!

11pm sparkles...

December 31, 2011

Happy New Year 2012!

Party boats on the Seine

Not sure how my camera did this, but I like it!

12am sparkles...

January 1, 2012!!!!

Thanks for saving the day, "Eiffel-Tower-sparkles-on-the-hour!"

I like to sparkle, too ♥

Winter...

The winter season has descended on Paris of late (and much of Europe, too, for that matter).  It's sometimes difficult to find the motivation to leave my warm apartment (read: bed).  But when I do, I'm always certain to find interesting things...

Moving On Up...

...to the East side.

And by East side, I mean the southern part of Paris!

With everything I had going on in the month of December, I was fortunate enough to move into Paris over the Christmas Eve/Christmas Day weekend.  I thought it would be the perfect gift to myself to wake up in my new place on Christmas morning :)  Many thanks to Susy who provided an extra suitcase and helped me haul my things from the house where I was staying, down the main street to the commuter train (for the 22km ride into the city), up and down flights of stairs to switch trains, down the sidewalk in my new neighborhood and into my building where everything was safely delivered to my door.  The fun continued as I began to unpack and tried to find a location for everything!  I worked for a number of hours cleaning and organizing and finally took a break to visit with some family friends who are currently living in Dubai but decided to spend Christmas in Paris.  While making me wax nostalgic for my own family on Christmas Eve, it was lovely to be surrounded by both an American family, and the French family with whom they were staying, for a couple of hours.  It was also wonderful to return to my place at the end of evening :)

Rainbow Twilight?

I love to organize things.

Some might say color-coding falls within the parameters of my love for organizing.

But apparently I do this without even realizing it...

Case in point:

The sole purpose of this picture was to simply to prove to myself that yes...I did, indeed, go a little crazy when packing for this trip.  I brought far too many shoes.  That much is evident.

But what also struck me was how I haphazardly arranged them in the midst of packing up for my move from the suburbs to the city.

I had no idea I had, One...essentially managed to bring a shoe in every color of the rainbow to Paris, and Two...had unwittingly organized them accordingly.

Harmless?

Or certifiable?

Hmmm...

Deliberations continue ♥

Strasbourg, Capital of Christmas...

A few days after my birthday, I boarded a train with Susy and Heather for a trip that I had been looking forward to for weeks!  We decided to visit the famous marchés de Noël during the week of Christmas.  We left Paris very early in the morning and it was snowing when we arrived in Strasbourg!  It was absolutely beautiful :)  We found our hostel, dropped our bags off and immediately made a plan to visit a few of the dozen or so markets scattered throughout the city.  The snow eventually turned into rain making staying outdoors for great lengths of time virtually impossible.  (During our 3 days in the city, we visited a café at least 3 times a day...coffees, hot chocolates, teas [and even a mug of grog!] were imbibed in mass quantities!)  As we walked around the city, we discovered that each new market was more amazing than the last.  So many colors and lights, so many smells and wonderful things to see and purchase.  We signed up for a walking tour our first night (and thankfully, the rain subsided that evening) and learned more about the history of the city...even the fact that storks call Strasbourg home!  We ate our way through the city as we enjoyed beignets and hot orange juice for breakfast, bratwürst with noodles/ham/cabbage (so good that I had it twice), bredle (amazing cookies), and vin chaud (hot wine) as well as many other local specialties!  We walked through the cathedral and spent some time (warming up!) in the Musée Historique.  We purchased souvenirs and gifts throughout our visit - food and ornaments and more food(!)  It was the perfect city to visit in the days leading up to Christmas.  I definitely missed my family during the holidays, but this city brightened my spirits more than just a little bit :)

12/17...

My 30^th birthday celebration will be one of those events that I will remember forever!  The week leading up to it was pretty eventful as well…searching for and finding a new living situation, as well as finishing up classes before the Christmas vacation at both of my schools!  Wow!  I was able to sleep-in the morning of my birthday (which is a gift in and of itself!)  My host family prepared a small luncheon, sang “Happy Birthday” in French, and my host mother made a cake (sweetened squash with walnuts – think banana bread, minus the banana, yet still delicious!) with candles and offered me a sweet little gift on behalf of the family!  It was so thoughtful!  I headed into the city to meet up with two girlfriends at the Roue de Paris (The Ferris Wheel of Paris)…Susy and Heather joined me as we saw the city spreading out below us from really high up!  We wandered through Hermès for a bit (searching for perfume samples! :), and then up to the Pont de l’Alma to join 3 other girlfriends amidst a group of carolers from my church.  We sang a number of popular American carols by the replica of The Statue of Liberty’s torch, on the metro, and as we walked along the Champs Elysées.  At various points, we drew a small crowd and even some applause.  It was really fun and also really cold.  We needed to warm up quickly, so we took the metro to a restaurant that I had in mind for dinner…Au Pied de Cochon.  Pretty much every item on the menu contained a bit of pork in some way or another.  My meal consisted of their famous (and delicious!) onion soup and a salad (with bits of ham).  I was also very excited to order profiteroles for dessert (cream puffs with chocolate sauce), but our server, who had been acting like a ham all night, totally distracted me and subsequently proceeded to drown my pastries in chocolate :(  (They were still delicious, though!)  After dinner, Susy and Joy joined me for a kir royal at a local bar, Carpe Diem (excellent choice, Joy!)  A kir royal is a glass of champagne with crème de cassis (blackcurrant syrup)...my favorite cocktail!  It was a really fun evening with a combination of new and old friends.  I'm quite fortunate to have kicked off my 30s in such style with such lovely ladies!!!

Bright Lights, Big City...

I enjoyed living the “country” life for my first 3 months in France (September-December); however, I decided that in order to fully take advantage of this wonderful experience, I needed to be living in the city.  I began searching for a living accommodation in early December, and after numerous calls, emails and a few visits, I found a studio that seemed perfect!  It’s in a safe location, footsteps from my good friend Susy, very close to the metro, tram and commuter train lines, and offers a 25-minute commute (door-to-door) to my schools!  I’m so happy to have found such a great space!  It all happened very quickly…I saw the announcement on a website I checked regularly for housing offers on a Monday night and emailed the same night, saw the location on Tuesday and signed the lease on Wednesday!  The landlord and his family are extremely nice.  I know I’ll be in good hands for the rest of my stay; however, all of this was a huge answer to prayer, so…

I give all the praise to my (real land)Lord!

I’m always in good hands with Him ♥