while you were sleeping.

i can't really even begin to describe the bizarre turn my life seems to have taken since my mom's diagnosis just three long weeks ago. i'm walking a delicate balance between
wanting to be strong for my family and dealing with the closest thing
to true despair i've ever experienced... and then trying to pray myself
out of it. i've prayed more in the past month than i probably have my
entire life put together. it's so strange and surreal to keep reminding
myself that i am not the first person to experience this, not the first
child to be terrified of losing her parent. i spent five days at my
parents' house before i flew home with both of them on her medical
transport flight (a visible answer to prayer in itself) to our hometown
of raleigh, nc. sorry for the giant medical team member in the foreground, i had about a 10 second window of time when the plane touched down to take this:


there she is on the flight, on a breathing machine that was followed by a full ventilator a day or two after reaching the hospital, leaving her very sedated and already in
pain from starting chemo. for all the "miracles of modern medicine" we
supposedly have, all the tubes and ivs and catheters still seem more like medieval torture when it comes
down to it.

i'm going to share the following picture that i took while i was staying at my mom and dad's .this would really bother my mom, that i would show her "messy house" tothe world, but i think any crafter (and any mom, really) can relate.

the blue squares are a quilt pattern laid out, half pieced and nowhere
near finished. my christmas present. too gorgeous for words.
heartbreaking, because i don't know how to quilt. the dining room table
(that you can't really even see) is covered in more quilting and sewing
projects, half finished scrapbooks of her grandchild,
and another card table set up by the couch for rubber stamping cards
and little notebooks for gifts. a crafter's dream that turns into a
nightmare at the possibility of being forced to leave them permanently unfinished.

we spent a bittersweet christmas day in a hospital waiting room while my momma, the heart and soul of every family holiday we had growing up,
"slept" in deep sedation. during her few wakeful moments over the past few days, i stare into her eyes, weepy and blurry from over-hydration, and worry for the way
her brow furrows in pain and she twitches her toes in frustration at
not being able to communicate with us. all i can do is hold her hand
and brush back her hair to let her know i'm there, and hope that even
my gentlest of touches meant for comfort and reassurance are not
causing her more pain. this is the worst situation i can possibly think of for my perfect mother, and the waiting for a verdict is awful.

we've set up a website for her for those interested in following her condition. it's been such a blessing to see so many old and new friends reaching out to her and my dad through this potentially devastating thing, this cancer.

for now, life has become about just breathing. being thankful for the breaths i take for granted that my mom's cancer-blackened lungs cannot, and making sure that every breath of mine carries a prayer for her. please excuse me if the posts here become infrequent for awhile... i'll still be checking in when i can and always appreciate any comments that are left (thank you, lea!).

i hope all of you were able to enjoy the peace and love of the season... merry christmas!

christmas crafts for mom.

i'm leaving first thing tomorrow for a couple of days to visit my mom. i believe she'll be starting chemo in the next few days, if not right away. i've been trying to whip up some fun christmas-y things for her, either to decorate her hospital room or just for general cheering-up purposes. i figured you absolutely couldn't go wrong with some soft trees. i made mine with green craft felt i had on hand, made them into little four inch tall ornaments with a ribbon loop, and stuffed them with cotton balls. i also rediscovered that i really enjoy decorative embroidery (within reason! nothing too extensive). the "stem" on the middle one is actually the loop of matt's stocking, hanging on the mantel.

i also made a garland of yo-yos and vintage christmas trim, bias tape to be exact, but pictures of that will have to come later. i had no idea what an aggravation it would be to try to get a decent picture of a garland.

off for now to get some sleep and catch an early (for me) flight...

a dark day.

here i am again explaining a lapse in posting, but this time it's not just from the usual busy-ness of daily life. for over a week now my mom, formerly in perfectly great health, has been in the hospital with a lung infection. for days we waited as the doctors tried to narrow it down... a bacterial infection, not a viral. not pneumonia. not meningitis. they did cat scans, bronchoscopies, and still we waited. then, a diagnostic surgery which, as of yesterday, finally revealed a diagnosis... stage four squamous cell cancer of the lungs. my dad called me yesterday at work and just happened to catch me on lunch break when i could actually answer the phone to tell me the news. i don't know how to process such a bleak and heartbreaking concept such as this. my momma, my friend, my mentor, my hero. to think that she might not survive, that she might not be okay in the most simple of terms, is incomprehensible.

i know i am not the first to experience this situation. i never thought i'd be the one doing endless google searches of every cancer-related medical term i've heard, wondering if there is a lung cancer version of the pink ribbon i can wear to show my support... to show that i too have been touched by this rampant disease that is claiming so many. matt has lost two aunts in the past year and a half to different types of cancer, and had one uncle with a terminal diagnosis. i leave sunday to go be with her, as hopefully by then she will be off the respirator and able to start chemotherapy.

so for now, there are only prayers and questions. questions of how a person can be perfectly healthy one week and the next, receive such a traumatizing diagnosis. what are we eating or breathing or doing that can be causing cancer to become so common? is prevention even possible anymore? and prayers, of course, that there can be a miracle. that this won't mean the end. that i will learn to trust in God's plan, and that he is good and his plan is good no matter how difficult it is to understand. that i will lean on him and not my own understanding, which is so weak. and, at the risk of sounding so cliched, that we all will find peace.

if you are one who prays, please pray for my mom.

come see what's new in the shop!

i've posted a few new items to the shop! feel free to stop by, the precious pre-christmas shopping time is quickly running out (only twenty days to go.... crazy!).

blustery day thoughts.

i've been doing a lot of sitting and thinking today. just a quiet day off, chilly outside with howling winds that seem to roll across the face of the house. i've been reading a new blog quite a bit recently. i used to love to read, and have always been the type of person, that if truly interested in the story, could finish and enjoy a large novel in one afternoon/sitting and actually relished in doing so. i loved to get lost in the stories and the characters, and i think my love of reading and my love of writing have held hands my entire life. well, in reading this lovely blog, i feel as though i've internalized the content of it in a way that i haven't done since the last time i read a truly great book. getting to spy a little on the way amanda soule's lovely family strives (and succeeds, is the amazing part) at living a more simple and heartfelt life is one of the most fully inspiring things i've come across in a long time. i know i may be starting to come across as a crazed fan at this point, but imagine a dress that you'd like to wear... you imagine it being the perfect color, fitting you beautifully, and having certain details that would make it perfectly "you." To be able to see into her creative process is like finding that dress, but discovering that it could exist in an even better form than you imagined. the way she fosters the creativity of her children while still allowing them to be silly and messy and children, the way she savors (in beautiful photos too) the simple pleasures of home and what i would call hearth... creatively making new things from the old and writing about the warm feeling of knitting in winter for example. i love that she makes pillows from her children's artwork and that they are happy to receive a gift of her handmade jammie pants. that the corners of her home are peppered with embroidery in process and the remnants of with friends. in my struggle to articulate what i would like my "grown up" life to be, her writing has been like walking in to a store and seeing the perfect dress hanging, waiting for me. i don't know that you will ever read this amanda, but if you do, thank you for the bravery and vulnerability it takes to share such a beautiful existence with strangers.

so as i'm trying to sort out my goals and intentions, not only for ellebee studio, but even for my life and how i want to live it, i do hope to make things more simple. and should there be any reader out there that frequents this blog, i hope that you are finding some sort of inspiration too, as there have been so many that have inspired me. my promise to you is to begin to share more of myself and to try not to censor or segregate my thoughts so much. and in life, to try not to let too much thinking prevent any actual doing.

a very happy birthday

...a dinner with family, a dinner with friends... more desserts than a girl should be able to eat... a glass of wine... a bottle of lovely perfume from my husband... a new cd in my car... phone messages full of birthday wishes... and my own little pink and white cake, the most delicious cake ever. what a great way to turn 24!

i have the day off work tomorrow and plan to spend it snuggled up on the couch, eating leftover cake and posting a large much-needed update to the shop! so feel free to stop by and see what's new, including some christmas items... see you there!

happy thanksgiving!

sorry for the huge lull in writing! typepad had been having some log in issues for me, but i think it was my laptop causing the problem.

i popped right out of bed thanksgiving morning since there was still a pumpkin pie, two green bean casseroles and a pan of rolls that needed to be baked in time for thanksgiving lunch at noon. i left matt snoozing and let a hyper-morning puppy out to the backyard to see such a beautiful sunny fall-colored day!

we did double-duty this year for the first time in awhile, having lunch with my family and dinner with matt's, which all in all made for a really nice day full of lots of unbelievable food. people joke about gaining 10 pounds in one day, but seriously, the diet will begin right after my birthday tomorrow (because let's be honest, who's going to not indulge on their birthday, right?)

i did color my hair the night before as planned, but had to laugh when i got in the car, carrying a tray of covered casseroles and such that the leaves had fallen on, that i dyed my hair the exact color of a fall leaf! i spent the rest of the day showing it off to everybody because i thought it was hilarious.

it must be something about having a late-november birthday, but i've always been opposed to starting any christmas decorating until december 1st, but i admit it's getting hard this year to resist when i have seen so many cute ideas in the past few days! i was looking through martha stewart to see if i could find an idea she posted last year about a mini stocking garland that i was thinking of making into an advent calendar, and happened across a great blog that i have heard of but never read before... amanda from soulemama had made her own version that is really beautiful (plus she has three adorable kids that love to craft as well... i really love her style, and her pictures pretty much sum up everything i want in life right now).

so yes, lots of garlands... a yo yo garland, a stuffed stars garland, a paper hearts garland, and a blanket stitch garland... not to mention these delicious japanese-style ornaments and such of various types from wool felt.

off now to begin birthday celebrations... after a year or two of not really knowing what a "grown up" birthday celebration is supposed to look like... sweet but not cheesy, fun but not silly, a bit of wine and a bit of birthday cake... i think i finally found it!

thinking christmas yet?

if you're planning ahead enough to actually make some of your christmas gifts by hand this year and need some ideas, inspiration, and maybe a few detailed photo tutorials to tell you how to do it, i highly recommend checking out the sew, mama, sew! blog. the ladies over there have put together an incredible handmade gift-making guide... not just one gift idea for each day through november, but one gift theme each day with multiple gift ideas! my favorite so far is november 16th, gifts for the crafter (mostly because i really want to make myself a roll-up keeper for my crochet needles. shame shame! i'm supposed to be making gifts for others). but there are tons of ideas for several types of recipients that are probably on everybody's list (ie: crafty things, baby things and clothes for the kiddos, super-organizational things, and home decor things). there are direct links to the tutorials, most of which are super detailed and have step-by-step directions and photos, which is good for me. if i see pictures i can generally figure things out or flub my way through it, but if i have to read instructions i'll just glaze over them and never really understand what they're saying (cough cough **visual learner** cough cough).

even if you're not planning to make them in time for christmas, it is a good reference to have some great tutorials all gathered up for you. i've posted two of my favorites below on the left hand side under "patterns and tutorials" for my own future reference, the book cover and the dishtowel potholder. enjoy!

thanksgiving, a birthday, and other november-y things

this week i'm sorry to say has not been too exciting around here. lots of closing shifts and pre-holiday mayhem preparations at work, a little hanging out with friends, a little recovery from the show, and not enough cleaning up around my house. are you supposed to be feeling the need for a spring cleaning in almost-winter? (i say almost-winter because the mid 40's we get in january is about the closest thing to a winter in north carolina, as i've probably mentioned before. not bitter about the lack of snow or anything. nope. not bitter at all.)

i have a long-awaited day off tomorrow, which i have already filled to the minute with things i want to accomplish, as is typical and essential for the entire idea of a day off. i think it will look something like this... cut and color hair (badly needed in preparation for thanksgiving and birthday pictures this week and next, respectively), meet husband at work for lunch, take pup for slightly overdue rabies shot (probably also a nail clipping for her now-vicious talons), planning and possibly a grocery trip for supplies for our two thanksgiving festivities, and if i'm feeling extra productive... maybe finally unearthing our dining room table from craft show remains or ordering photo christmas cards.

so yes, unexciting daily-life-type things. for a few chuckles i'll leave you with a photo of our first married thanksgiving together, three years ago now. we had just really met each others' families right before we got engaged, then got married about 3 months later, then thanksgiving was about 1 month after that. scary how much younger we looked, and it's only been three years!

post-show!

my first really big craft show was a lovely little success! it was a long day, but it really energized me to be around so many crafters and to have such great shopper traffic. i was amazed at the size of this show, and to be honest, can't imagine how anyone was still interested in shopping by the time they got to my space!

there was definitely lots to see, although i was suprised at how few items really were handmade. there seemed to be quite a bit of cookie lee-esque re-selling going on. i was right next to two cute gals selling tupperware, one of which was the spitting image of reese witherspoon. (i'll leave the link there as though there is anyone on this planet who hasn't been inundated by celebrity culture enough to know what any given one looks like!)

these pictures were all taken right after i was done setting up, so i think i was so distracted by trying to get set up quickly that i really didn't take all that many pictures. but of course, you don't realize these things until days afterwards. i also didn't write down the one thing i was going to remember to do next time... and promptly forgot what it was. oh well! i did meet my goal for sales for the day, and had a fantastic time with my mom, and actually got to network a bit with the little crafty community of raleigh! i got to meet the awesome proprietors of these shops:

• white pear- delicious and beautifully packaged handmade soaps


• small beans- gorgeous baby things including the cutest felt booties ever.


• katie carolina- lovely beaded jewelry, and she is helping organize a craft show for triangle area etsians


• faded blues- you must see her adorable knitted tea cozies!


• rippa's custom silver- lots of pretty pink breast cancer awareness jewelry and accessories

i have some other possible shows coming up that i'm hoping i'll be able to do, but unfortunately, at this point it depends completely on my work schedule, which we only get two weeks ahead of time. i've got lots of lovely things left and could have gotten up and done mistletoe market all over again the next day, so i guess that's a good sign. after so much preparation, it's almost like a let-down for it all to be over so quickly. hopefully i'll be able to do another show or two before the season is over!

as of this week, i've been accepted into delightful blogs online directory of great blogs in lots of different catagories... you can go visit the main site to rate and bookmark the ones you like (hint hint!). i could spend hours browsing and clicking and finding fun new things to read. blogs are so interesting to me that way... little windows into peoples' days and lives and styles, all punctuated by pictures of course! i don't really take the time to read any books anymore, but each little blog really is like a book about the writer's life and interests. if you do get a chance to check it out, feel free to leave a little comment! (or leave one here for that matter, if the inspiration strikes!)

for now it's nice to be able to take a little break from the mad rush of creating. well, so to speak. i've actually started crocheting a little afghan (we call them snuggles blankets) for our couch. we have this pile of cheapies right now that i want to replace with several handmade ones. i'm starting with a crocheted one in shades of blue, and then will move on to a patchwork quilted one in neutral tans. crocheting is such a nice somewhat mindless project while you're watching tv and hanging out, even though i feel like i'm about 60 years old anytime i sit around crocheting! i do have a birthday coming up next week (shhhh...) but i'm not that far up there yet!

pre-show...

my first big craft show is tomorrow and i've got the pre-show jitters big time... do i have enough products finished? too many? too much of a variety? enough price points? does everything look pretty and cohesive? are my prices reasonable? will i have candy to snack on for a sugar rush when things get slow?

i think i do have everything ready, but there are always those little last minute doubts. i am, admittedly, much better prepared for this show than any others i've done. my signage and packaging is a little more professional looking (color-coordinated this time, at least) and i have more "inventory" you might say to fill the holes if things get a little patchy when i (hopefully!) make some sales. a few friends have said they are stopping by and i do have sweettarts on hand. and my mom. both crucial elements.

here is a very bad messy-dining-room-background picture of my layout plan (or plan-o-gram as they call it at work):

this is much messier and not completely arranged as it will be tomorrow... and it also doesn't include the huge picture frame i bought from the clearance aisle that i plan to make into a big chalkboard sign. for now it has cork in it instead so it will house letters to spell out ellebee studio since i don't have any type of shop name banner. but i think it will be pretty! more pictures of the actual booth are to come, of course.

so if you are local to raleigh, nc please feel officially invited to come check out mistletoe market at wakefield high school from 10am to 6pm tomorrow!

aprons and letters!

i've been trying to think of past craft shows i've done and things i wished i had done in order to be better prepared for mistletoe market,
my big show coming up this weekend. (i can't believe it's this weekend
already!) one thing i did think of was that i wanted some sort of
pocket to keep money in so that it would be on my person throughout the
show and i could easily access it to make change. so i thought, why not
an apron?

so i took a lightweight cotton scarf that i never wear anymore but is the perfect shade of green...

cut it into three pieces, added some ribbon for decoration and a waistband/ties, and made a little kangaroo pocket out of one of my fat quarters, and voila!


it's pretty lightweight, and the pocket won't be able to stand up to a stapler shoved in it or anything like that, but i think it should serve it's little purpose well.

the mail fairy also came this week (or the post, as my newly-relocated-to-london best friend would say), leaving me two little parcels of exciting things! i've never met anyone who gets quite as excited as i do over "real mail" (except maybe my mom, who is cool enough to send people things just because. everyone gets tired of bills and junk mail before too long). anyway, one was my first package from the ever-lovely french general which contained this lovely book, not to mention an entire page of pink label stickers (all an early birthday present from my mom!)

the second package brought the contents of my first etsy trade, which included two adorable teacup pincushions, and french fabric-covered magnets which i love. check out more of natalie's lovely shop here!

happy halloween!

remember the lovely plump pumpkin from my last post? as inspired by the diabolical pumpkin on the cover of this crazy book, we created a halloween masterpiece that definitely took the cake over last year's!

here is how we went from pumpkin to cannibal pumpkin:

the little victim is actually some sort of squash (ambercup, i think it was called) that we found last minute at the grocery store. we never go super-elaborate on halloween costumes or decorations, but who can resist a pumpkin? (or a super diabolical one, at that!)

ps, did you know that taking sharpie off of a pumpkin just got added to the list of cleaning wonders that can be accomplished with a magic eraser? the list never ends!

happy halloween!

a little sneak preview!

here's what i've been working on/thinking/doing this week...

• coming soon to a craft show near you!

• fall weather! baking pumpkin muffins... i used double the pumpkin in the recipe and overfilled them to make big muffin tops!

• starting a new day job today... looooove the discount

• cds i'm going to have to just break down and buy: missy higgins, kt tunstall (she's scottish!), and a fine frenzy

• fall colors! (and i'm wearing an apple-red sweater too, it's finally cold enough)

• and wishing i was there again... i don't think i was done vacationing yet!

thinking ornaments in october

i'm peeking my head out from under a huuuuuge pile of craft show preparations! it's getting very close to crunch time (november 10th) and i refuse to replicate the madness that was the crafter's flea market, the last show i did (sometime last year, i think it was). at about midnight the night before the show, as i finished up the last piece i was making, i realized that i had not yet started pricing anything. and of course, knowing me, i couldn't just slap a price tag on everything. oh no. they had to each be hand-tea-dyed, hand-stamped with the prices, and have hand-written explanations of the type of stones used (i was making only jewelry at the time). oh, and add in there that they also had to be hand-dried with my blow dryer when they weren't dry fast enough to do the stamping and writing... long story short... i went to bed at 3 am the night before the show and had to be there at about 8am to get it set up. i am also incredibly not a morning person. i'd like to also take this chance to thank my husband again for not killing me, as he stayed up with me and even did most of the blow-drying.

generally, not the best plan.

it's also my goal to be much more organized and official this time around in the sense that i'm getting a full inventory done in time so i can keep up with things like, oh i don't know, which items sold and how much i sold them for (details, details). i'm also trying to make the packaging, display, etc a little more cohesive and professional looking as well.

you can expect to see lots of ornaments (including my favorite beaded stars) and others, lots of new notecards, sundress totes, and quite a bit of jewelry, including a big batch of petite treasure necklaces that i'm currently taking a break from putting the finishing touches on. check out an old post from my launch party to see a general idea of what my booth will look like! i'm in the process of getting a test run all set up in my dining room to see exactly what else i need to get done.

in the meantime, i've discovered the gorgeous and inspiring work of the lovely flea market studio! she has some of the coolest ideas i've seen in a long time... adorable birthday party boxes (she even lets you peek at the contents), beautiful and simple french-inspired packaging, and an ingenious use for an unexpected item. not to mention, of course, an etsy shop! it's so great to find new inspiration from crafters who seem to have it all together just when i'm working on re-focusing my overly abundant array of creative ideas.

back to the ornament making...

marche aux puces (flea market)!

ok, i've been saving one of the best parts of our trip to paris until now. i was proud of myself for having done a little research before we left about where to find a great flea market ... i was envisioning finding some magical box of old french treasures that would create amazing jewelry or totally transform our house into a subtle yet amazing french chateau farmhouse. well, between a very tight budget and being entirely overwhelmed at the wonderful-ness of it all (not to mention wondering how i'd get it all home on the plane) i didn't purchase a single thing.

when we first got off at the correct metro station and began walking in the direction towards it, i was immediately disappointed. we were besieged with people selling fake designer knock-off sunglasses and belts, and booth after booth of the typical cheap imported crap. we might as well have been in new york or any other large american city. was this what i flew for 7 hours for? was i wrong to expect to walk into marie claire maison?

then we turned a corner.

the crowds thinned a bit. we heard a man playing the stand-up bass and singing and the sunshine became brighter and warmer (not kidding).

jackpot.

this was my favorite section of the market... we stumbled into it from the back and saw this entryway sign on the way out:

many of the vendors had set out snacks such as grapes or crackers and cheese or mini pastries for their passers-by. some of them were just hanging out, making a day of it, sitting at the chairs and tables they were selling, having a glass of wine together. of course, many had their little dog making himself right at home beneath the chair or even snuggled up on a blanket on top of some heirloom antique furniture worth thousands of euros.

the space that these few pictures are from, i could have literally moved right in and lived in. just outside the door at a corner cafe, there were a few guys playing guitar and accordion, singing the jaunty little songs from chocolat (i literally thought to myself, that sounds like the song from chocolat. wait, that is the song from chocolat!)

hmm, who can that handsome tourist be that snuck into the last one there?

authentic french blue toile and wood with a story to tell (in other words, aged by actual time and wear, not purposeful "antiquing"). take that, shabby chic.

so these are definitely why i'm feeling a huge burn to completely redecorate my house! just look at that huge crusty bread. is it bad that i'm making a resolution to drink more wine? also, i'm renewing my plan to fill my house with all mis-matched creamy white dishes and to re-cover my dining room chairs.

it's amazing how a visit to a different culture can completely refresh and renew you. we still came home to the same old stresses and frustrations that day-to-day life can and does bring, yet i'm craving a change that i know i can initiate in myself. even just looking at these pictures makes me want to go read a book and drink a glass of wine... to stop and enjoy life for a minute. to work hard and appreciate an occupation, but also to relish in the downtime. to linger over a meal. to have coffee and dessert and to stop rushing. i've written about it before, but it's still a goal to live more intentionally. to stop letting time "get away from me" and to do it all in a house that reflects our tastes, to quit waiting around in case we move. i'm going to start by ordering some large prints of these photos to hang in my dining room! i hope you enjoyed the pictures!

a fair fall.

so things are pretty much back to what we call normal around here... which means of course, that this week has totally run away with me. (or without me?) but the weather has been fantastic, and i'm feeling that fresh feeling of fall, where you want to go buy pumpkins and brand new unsharpened pencils and elmer's glue like that scene in you've got mail when meg ryan is talking about how much she loves fall in new york. fall is one of the seasons that north carolina actually does well, and it's really my favorite time of year. between the 90s of summer and the low 40s of "winter," i really love that jeans and tshirt and flip flops stage. here are my favorite things about fall right now:

• adorable felt acorns and leaf garlands

• pom-pom turkeys and pumpkins!

• ideas for a beautiful table for thanksgiving

• trying out a new color in my wardrobe

• wearing these flats completely to death

it must be that back-to-school feeling again, but something about fall makes me want to throw away everything in my closet and start completely over with all the cute stuff that's out there right now. maybe it's all the rich colors and the fact that you can finally wear sleeves again... or maybe it's the bevvy of cute flats! what are you loving about fall? here's an official invitation to all of you who may be lurking out there... de-lurk and leave me a little hello!

i think there are others who are feeling fall as well... and if you make the mistake of going into williams sonoma like i did, be forewarned that they will try to tempt you with pumpkin waffles with pumpkin whip cream! i'm headed out this afternoon to the nc state fair which is definitely one of my all-time favorite things about fall, again, mostly for the food! fresh apple cider, dill pickles, maple cotton candy, and of course, the typical "fair food" like caramel apples and funnel cake... mmmm. hopefully we won't almost throw up on the way home again this year. there is something both wonderful and at the same time sad in realizing that you may be past the age where you can eat all of the above-mentioned and go upside down on a crazy fair ride and not suffer the ill-effects!

ahhh, home.

after a loooong day of travel it's so great to finally sleep in your own bed. other than a little confusion over being very sleepy at times we should be awake and very awake at times we should be sleepy, things are good.

so come take a walk through paris! we'll pass little shops and cafes:

with their offerings for the day on full display:

we'll stop for a little croque monsieur for lunch (and bien sur! the coca light):

and maybe a little something else that just can't be resisted:

then maybe we'll brave the passage up to montmartre:

but don't worry, the view will be completely worth it.

we'll visit the artisans hard at work:

and find other mysterious little city nooks to explore.

and even if we take the metro everywhere throughout the journey:

we'll still collapse into bed each night with tired and sore little feets.

we really did have a wonderful and exhausting trip. it was so nice to be able to go to paris this time, after having lived in france for a year when i studied abroad, and it not feel so much like a tourist trip. there was this freedom to only take pictures of the things that really caught me, so much so that it almost felt like photojournalism. come check out our flickr for many many more pictures soon and a little more explanation. the best part was remembering just how small you feel next to the eiffel tower.

it feels like living in a little haze to come back to everything the same but different. i was ready to come home after the week of being gone because trying to speak french all the time and the constant mental translating was so tiring, but of course now that we're home there are so many things i miss. i guess my ideal would be somewhere between the two, and you really only get two options... elements of french life in america or elements of america in france. of course, i know i'm probably not the first person to feel that way, and part of the haze i'm sure is just the jet lag. and oh, what a lovely anniversary week! (happy 3 years babe, thanks for carrying the heavier suitcase!)