perfection in Paris

I'm in Paris this week with these two-

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the kitchen

here are a few shots of the kitchen.  We have a little bar which will be nice once we get stools but the counter-top is too high to be useful to me when I'm cooking most of the time. The stove-top has a lid so that it can be used as a counter-top as well.

above is from the other side of the bar looking in to the corner of the kitchen.  The framed print is the only decoration I brought in my suitcase.  It has sentimental value and plus it makes me happy to have one little decorated corner! :)

Same view only further back.  The big thing on the wall back there is our water heater.  It is actually an instant water-heater so we don't have to wait for it to re-fill.  A nice perk!

in this picture you can see the bar on the left.  straight ahead is the fridge and the washing machine (yep laundry is in the kitchen too!).  to the right there is the sink, the small cabinet and all the way in the bottom right corner of the picture you can see the edge of the oven.  You can also see the dishes and mess everywhere because we have nowhere to put them yet!  :)  Although it is a small (dare-I-say silly?) kitchen, I do like how light and bright it is.  The sun comes in from the balcony doors and lights the whole area.  I'll post some more pics in another post.  Now go cook something in your big kitchen and count your blessings! :)

Our {little} home sweet home

This is what we see when we step out of our building and look down the street.

Finally!  We have a place to call home.  After 4 months of displacement, it is really nice to be able to have a little space of our own.  We have 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, an itty bitty kitchen, a family/dining room and a "water-closet" (the toilet has it's own room in this country. Bathrooms are just for bathing!).    The bedrooms all have closets (which is uncommon here!) but the funny thing is, the closets have nothing in them.  No shelf, no hanging rod, NOTHING!  The kitchen comes with a sink that has a little cabinet underneath and a draining board.  That's it.  No cabinets, no appliances, nada.  Finding all the appliances and everything so that we could even move in was a little overwhelming. With the appliances, the kitchen is filled to the max.  No room to store anything.  We do have a big coat closet in our entry way so I will be using half of it for my pantry and we are on the look-out for a buffet for the dishes.


Overall it's been very strange to start over.  Not having a couch or even enough chairs around our table at this point could be a little depressing but somehow we're not depressed.  We are very busy figuring things out and we're happy that we're here all together.  There is still a lot of mountain ahead of us but one step at a time we're climbing!  


p.s. I will post some pics of the apartment soon
p.p.s. can I just say that I really miss my dryer?!  Clothes hanging on the line might be charming but it sure isn't practical! :)

Boulangerie

This past weekend we had the chance to spend some time with our friends in their charming little village.  They thought we might enjoy visiting one of their friends in a nearby village who happens to be the baker.  He bakes his bread the traditional way in an old wood-burning stove.  It was so fun for all of us to visit his "boulangerie"!

above is the oven.  The door is open to see the bread but you cannot tell how big it is inside.  It holds at least 100 loaves!

"Isn't it beautiful?"

"I could get used to this!"

Eric thought the long paddles were great

Emilie LOVED the boulangerie!

Above is the next batch of dough that is ready to be cut in put in the oven (it's all done rising)

"Yep.  It tastes good Mom."

He has different sized paddles for different size loaves.  On the right is his work counter and the slots beneath it are where he puts the dough to rise.  It is rolled out into thin rectangles first and then slid into one of the slots.  You can see all of his bread baskets stacked up in the corner.  Does it get any better than this?!

We took some time to go for a walk on the mountainside behind the bakery while we waited for the baker to finish making us an herb-crust pizza for lunch.  The country-side was so beautiful!

Thank you William and Sonia!  It was just what we needed to clear our minds and refresh our spirits!