the tickets are booked!

As of yesterday, mon amie et moi have our tickets booked for our trip to France in the spring! Now that we have them, we can begin the fun of planning the actual trip~

We will fly in to Paris~ While there is so much to do, there are a couple of things that we certainly mustn't miss...

I am sure that we will spend quite a lot of time doing this~

And even more time shopping in places like this~

~found

We shall then hop one of these, and head south~

To the beautiful city of Avignon~

I am most looking forward to taking a LOT (read: endless) photos of my own. I can't wait to share them with you~

I had better get serious about my french studies...

xx

the promise of a wonderful weekend

~found

It is Friday evening and I am nearly giddy about the coming weekend. I am not sure what it is - we have no real plans, no commitments, no agenda. The only things on the calendar are a teenager party - at someone else's house no less, and our annual cookie party on Sunday.

This leaves me quite a bit of time to dilly dally around working on projects that I want to do - and which is most likely where the giddy feelings rise from.

Aside from making a ginormous amount of cookies, I would like to get a run in~

And work on wrapping gifts~

And then, if the stars are aligned just right, and I cross all of my fingers, I might be able to work on a bit of decorating (read: more garland, sparkle, painting some pieces I have white, etc...).

I found this home at Country Living and fell in love with the combination of beautiful blue, incredibly festive decor, and just the right amount of sparkle. I love it!

bonne nuit mes amies!

xx

my delightful surprise!

The postman was just here. He knows me by name. You see, last winter his truck went into the ditch on our street and so we invited him in while he waited for the tow truck to arrive.

Today he brought with him a parcel. From France. No need to tell you how EXCITED I was to open it. The fact of the matter is, I might have had an idea what may be inside. What I didn't know is how incredibly marvelous it would actually be!

This beautiful plank was painted by my incredibly talented friend who lives in Toulouse. She certainly has a way with inks and paints. My plank perfectly fits my current mantra:

Avec peu on peut vivre le present a l'infini

Which, en anglais, means:

With little one can live in the infinite present

I absolutely adore it and can't wait to figure out exactly where I want to hang it so that everyone who visits can enjoy it~

You too can have a little piece of France, by visiting this fabulous little Etsy shop~

Merci Ange - truly one of my most cherished gifts from a friend.

xx

Dear Santa

Dear Santa,

I don't want a lot this year, as I truly feel I have everything I could ever want or need (if you don't count unlimited travel access to France, a home in the French countryside, and a pink bicycle with a basket to ride to the village market).

However, if I were to find something under the tree, these would be quite lovely~

~found

~I thought I would slip this in, just in case...

~found

~found

incredibly inspired

Last night I had the amazing opportunity to see one of my favorite authors, not to mention my favorite inspirations.

Greg Mortenson wrote the book "Three Cups of Tea" which I read last spring and loved. It was the second book I had read on developing countries and the need for education, not to mention the discrimination of little girls worldwide. Ever since then, I have had this little seed sitting in my head, constantly saying "what is it you want to do my friend...?".

Greg has now written a new book, "Stones for Schools" which is the continuation of his journey to educate the children - especially the girls, of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

After his talk, we waited in line to have him sign the books that we had purchased. While I had only purchased one book, when he heard that I had four boys, he was so incredibly generous and gave me FIVE more books - one more of the new book, signed to #1, one "Three Cups of Tea" signed to #2, and two of his children's books, one signed to each of the younger boys. He also gave me an extra "Three Cups of Tea" to donate to #2's school. I think that I will donate one of each to each of the boys' schools as the books themselves are incredible and as his entire purpose is to educate children, the idea of educating the children here in America on the plight of children worldwide is something I know he supports.

I also want to say that he spent nearly five minutes talking to me. The man is one of the kindest human beings I have ever met. We are both from Minnesota (as was his "handler") so we talked at length about that, as well as what needs to be done out there. I shared my dream of one day taking photos of the children that he educates, and he said that I should follow that dream. In my book, he wrote "to a fellow Minnesotan, be inspired"~ I now have an author crush...

Have a lovely Wednesday mes amies,

xx

my sweet savannah sale

I thought I would quickly post a couple of photos from the sale at Melaine's from my sweet savannah. It was a lovely evening and so nice to see some readers there!

I had dyed some fabulous vintage slips, made cards from some of my favorite prints, and added some ruffles and flowers to a few of my organic re-usable bags.

Have a lovely week mes amies,

xx