Frenchmen and Wine, Days 8-10

I loved that the wine was all just tossed in random baskets. Day 8

Day 9 the amazing piller by the Ritz.
Day 10, tres french! Adorable old frenchmen stolling by Napoleans Tomb while we had a picnic lunch

Photos of Day 4, 5, 6, 7

Summing up the first week,

Day 5 the street where we live

Day 6 Light dancing on the walls of Notre Dame

Day 7 My own frenchman, on the streets of Montmartre.

***Sorry, some trouble with Day 4 Pic of the day, it will be coming soon.

A Few of my Favorite Things

After two weeks in Paris I am officially Smitten. A hard lesson learned is that no one should have buttery warm crissonts, brioche and 2 bagettes everyday, its jut not healthy. Yet it's just so good.

Going to be posting my chosen photos of the day for our time in Paris. Below is Paris day 1 , our first glance of the tower, Paris day 2 the tower glowing at night, and Paris day 3 inside Sacre Coeur.

Wish You Were Here

We're having such a wonderful time theres hardly a second to spare to edit photos. I just put a few new ones on flickr. Click the side bar link and go have a look!

If Only She Had a Monkey

Just by Sacre Coeur we stumbled upon this performer. It made our day.

Technical Difficulty

Having some trouble with all of my pictures getting from the computer to the blog... coming soon, beautiful photos that match all the posts. In the mean time be sure to click the side bar link to my flickr page to see whats up there!

Montmartre

Took ourselves on a tour of our new neighborhood today. With a the stairs and hills we will be in such good shape! We had our first glimpse of the Eiffle Tower and listened to an amazing street performer. And for lunch? Baguettes, sliced pork tureen, brie de meux, sliced apple, white wine, cornichons, and for desert? Ice cream.

Welcome to Paris

Our first day in Paris was spent search for a bank, then searching for wifi, then going to bed very, very early. We were spent from the late night in London and the early morning on the train. But we have big plans for the rest of the month. We have a small Bachelor flat half a block from Sacre Coeur. I already know I'll never want to leave.

How Wicked

We spent the morning looking around town, we walked through the National Gallery and it was a bit over whelming so much to see. And think of how much more the Louvre will be.
I found a few artists I'd never heard of and loved; George Stubbs painted a life sized racing horse called Whistlejacket. It could have leaped off the canvas, from a meter away it could have been a full taxidermist horse. The other was, and I love this name, Hans Holbein the Younger who painted 'A Lady with a Squirrel and a Starling' , just a girl hanging out with her pet squirrel. Love it!
Went to see the Buckingham Palace and was disappointed. There was no changing of the guards, the few that were there were dressed in faded navy, not the bright red you see in pictures and there were far too many people. Considering how beautiful all the other buildings were, it was just alright and a bit small, we didn't stay long. The evening held our first London musical! We went to see Wicked and it was splendid. Sort of a twist on the Wizard of Oz. The sets and costumes were full of colour, the music was so much fun and the whole show was fantastic. We splurged and sat front and centre, perfect view.
And tomorrow we head to Paris.

Best Meal Ever!

We ate at the best restaurant I have ever walked into. Cousin Peter is a good fellow to know. We were dining with all the important people of London, among them Margaret Thatcher's right hand man, whose name I can't remember. Peter knew the chef so we were spoiled! The moment we sat down were we brought 5 plates of AMAZING tasting dishes, parma ham, buffalo mozzarella with olives, tuna carpaccio with capers, zucchini frites, scallops in beautiful dishes like shells... and that was before we even saw the menu! By then I was full. We had a first course of pasta veal ragout and jumped to desert, as there is always room for desert.
When we dragged our over stuffed selves out we went walking the River Thames while everything was lit up and music was playing. Yes, I do like London.
Tomorrow we'll see it all by day light.

London

Granted I was quite ill for the first night in London, we spent the first morning and afternoon walking around Notting Hill and Portobello Road. We're lucky enough to be staying with a lovely cousin of Matts, Peter, he's an up and coming director who happens to live near the area. We did find the Travel Bookshop thay Hugh Grant worked at in the movie Notting Hill..."I'm just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her." Just a little cheese...
We also found some other lovely shops, full of beautiful and expensive dresses, jams, flowers, lovely non travel related bookshops and ended up having lunch in the Organic Kitchen. It was just what we needed, rustic, delicious food, just like home.
What a lovely day, and it's not quite done.

And They're Off

The ferry ride went well, we watch Quarantine on our computer until the battery died, right in the middle of the movie at a very frightening and tense part. C' est la vie as the french say. Matt's very excited, I'm pretty anxious for the flight to come and go smoothly, but under all my tenseness is a bundle of excitement.

Here we are, jet setters on the ferry to Vancouver... next stop, Manchester!

This is ivy league

I wish I had a little bunny hood to wear in Paris while my hubby rowed us romantically down the river singing to me... but somehow I just don't see that ever happening. This is Ivy League is one of my band on repeat of late. This was the only music vid I could find, but my favorite song of theirs is 'till the day'. It's feel good music, and feel good music makes me feel swell!

Paper Art

My dearest spends most of his internet time finding the most random of things,but this time I think he struck gold! Anything paper art is good, anything stop motion is good, but put them togther and add a 3D glasses wearing, keyboard playing paper dog... and there is nothing better!

Oh Dear...What to Wear

Been spending a lot of time thinking about the trip. Now with only 24 days to go I've turned my attentions to packing. If I win the lottery before we go I would get this oh so romantic outfit the stroll the streets in (all Anthro, no surprise). I suppose I'll have to suffer through in my thrift store finds, I'm sure I'll look only slightly less glamorous.

28 Days Later

Yes I know it's been a few weeks but it has been a busy life I've been living. Top of the list is that in 28 days I will be over seas! First England for a few days to visit my husbands long lost relatives and then to France for 2 months. Although neither of us have more that grade school French under our belts, we've been reading our lonely planet phrase book and more importantly been listening to this song on repeat. My only regret in life is that I am not as brilliant a song writer as Jermaine or Bret. ...Volia mon passporte!

Herman Dune

This Music video is a bit random but I love it when the angels sing. And I adore the way he dances. Herman Dune is pretty fantastic!

I Drink Tea: How I Made a Tea Cozy

1. The way to begin any project is to gather your materials. To make my tea cozy I chose linen(of course), grey tweed, a red patterned left over and olive green ribbon. You will also need cotton batting, matching thread and fabric paint if you're going to print on it.

2. As I have two different sized tea pots I made two different patterns based on the same shape. To decide how big to make your tea cozy measure around it (roughly) and add 2 or 3 inches it width and 1 or 2 in height. My pattern for my largest tea pot was 15" across and 13" high. Just to make sure that it's the right size cut out your batting first, pin it together and fit it on your tea pot.

3. Cut out your fabrics. You will need 2 pieces for lining, and 2 for the outer shell. This is when you can do any embellishments you'd like to your shell fabrics. I wanted my shell to have multiple fabrics so before I could cut out my shell fabrics I had to sew my patchwork together. After I cut out my fabric I stamped my tree image onto the outside and set it aside to dry.

4. As batting needs to be attached to something, quilt the lining with the right side out to the batting. I chose to do this one in a spiral, while my other cosy I did in a grid pattern.

5. Once both pieces of batting have been attached to the lining, sew these pieces together to create a pocket making sure to leave a small hole in the top to flip right side out further down the road.

6. Cut your ribbon to approx. 3" and iron in half to create a tag and pin it between the tops of the shell fabrics good sides together and sew pieces together making another pocket.

7. Now is where it all comes together, flip your shell piece right side out and press the seams flat, make sure everything looks good and fit it inside the lining, good sides together. Match up the side seams and sew them together.

8. Trim your excess and flip it all right side out using that hole you left in the lining. Press everything nice and flat and either hand sew or use your machine and stitch that hole up.

9. As a finishing I used a matching olive thread and made a seam 1 inch up from the bottom to hold everything in place and highlight my green ribbon and green tree prints.

10. Make a pot of tea, put your new cozy on it and keep it warm twice as long. It's magic!

I Love Paris in the Spring Time

5 to 1, originally uploaded by Cyril BRETON.

We booked our flights last night. Very, very exciting...

The Want to do Nothing

Shirine Staring Into The Sunset, originally uploaded by Cyan64'.

I wish I could stay home all day in bed and watch the birds with my cat. Alas the outside world is calling,

Sunday Shops: Cuddle, Carry, Cozy

What better way to spend a Sunday than shopping on etsy. The problem is that it's a great way to spend your entire pay check too...
I'm a pretty big fan of cats, and thus am a pretty big fan of penguinandfish. I love all her fabric choices and each kitties cute little face. This one, Kitty no.63 is only $45. There's also a charming blog to go with the shop.

Okay, so maybe I can't justify a $90 hat, so this would fall under the 'once-I-win-a-Set-for-Life-scratch-and-win-and-can-have-everything-I've ever-wanted' category. In the mean time terrygraziano's Fine and Dandy - black hat is nice to look at. It's "a delicious concoction of a newsboy, a slouch hat, a beret and a crusher".

Now could I be anymore stylish when my hubby and I are off adventuring in France carrying around a GetReadySetGO bag? These are all upcycled funky vintage bags that they refinish to be lovely again. I think they sum it up in their description..."this bag is killer-sweet". Cobalt Blue VINTAGE Carry On Messenger Bag with Hand Drawn Black Bird on a Branch $52.50.

CircaCeramics 6oz tea cup vesper (pinstriped clementine) for $18. I think everyone and their dog wants one of these cups or bowls. There's nothing I love more than a cup of tea in a pretty mug. Sure I have a million mugs already, but whats one more if it brings you joy?

So I'm thinking that while I carry my beautiful new bag down the streets of Paris I could catch a chill and will need just a little something to bundle up with. Perhaps this yorktownroad flare scarf in light green linen is just what I need, and for $40 why not.

All is right with the world

shivery, originally uploaded by unclear.

The snow is gone and the rain has returned... This picture is stunning!

The Elephant Continued

The first animal I made was an elephant for a dear friend of mine and I've since made a few custom ones so the pattern is already made, I just have to whip up a few and as soon as I do you can be sure that I'll be posting pictures! In the mean time I've found some charming elephants on etsy for your enjoyment...

We'll start with "Lets grow old and wrinkly together", a vintage image of two old and grey elephants. Its made with post consumer card stock by SugarStreetCafe.

This is Elephant Love Print 8.5 x 11 by OrangeWillow for only $15 what a steal! I don't know why but I am always drawn to drawings like this with animal heads on people, but I'm scared of masks... odd? Maybe a little.

And finally a favorite seller of mine somethingshidinghere has these forget me not elephants. Its a mini plastic elephant covered in blue glitter, whats not to love!

Fine Forgotton Friends: The Elephant

I’m designing a new line of animals to branch out beyond those endangered in B.C. I’m going to start with a few that are either endangered or critically endangered throughout the world. With the trusty red list as my guide, each Friday I’m going to introduce you to some creatures through out the world that are in a bit of trouble.

Starting with the …the Asian Elephant

The elephant is set apart from other creatures by its mammoth size and above all, its trunk. Rough as the skin of an elephant may appear, the trunk has such fine coordination that it can be used to pick flowers or lift small coins. Smaller than those in Africa, these elephants can get to 12 feet tall and weigh up to 11,000 pounds! The females and even some males don’t have tusks and their forehead has two bulges on either side. The eyes of an elephant are disproportionately small but the folds around them give vast expressiveness.

WARNING VERY VERY SAD

The biggest threat to the Asian elephant today (as with most endangered animals) is habitat loss and the dreadful conditions of an expanding human population. For centuries elephants have migrated on the same routes and when a new farm is found in the middle of their path they eat or trample crops and are often killed. The future of these elephants, in and out of protected areas, is linked to human–elephant conflicts.

I met a herd of domestic elephants when I was in Thailand and we rode them into the jungle to visit some hill tribes, very amazing. Although they were very well treated they still had those sad and soulful eyes (just like this picture), maybe they see what we’re doing to the world and it breaks their hearts…