Happy Memorial Day to all — hope you’re enjoying a sun-filled Monday with your family and friends.

A quick Etsy shop announcement: I will be putting the shop on vacation mode (meaning, no sales) from this Saturday, June 4th, until June 16th. It will reopen on June 17th. As much as I’d like to keep it open and continue to take orders, it will be simpler for me this way. Thank you for your understanding. Until then, shop it up!

Life is a whirlwind here as we are preparing for our French adventure next week(!).  I’ve been busy scouting places to stay and other side trips to take.  We’ll spend the first few days with my aunt and uncle, and dash up to Normandy for an overnight jaunt.  Despite spending much time in France, I’ve never made it north, and I’m really excited to explore a new (to me) area.  We’ll be spending the night at the Maison de Lucie in Honfleur.  Isn’t it darling? I found it via the Guide de Charme. That’s one of my favorite things about France — there is such an emphasis on style and beauty, and the mere fact that there is a Guide to Charmingness (my own word) thrills me to pieces.

Once in Paris, we’ve secured an apartment rental in the 7th arrondissement, close to the Eiffel Tower. I really like renting apartments on vacation; we’ve done it frequently in other cities. My first apartment vacation rental was in Paris in 2003 as a student, and I felt the experience was more authentic and fun than staying in a hotel. Since we were so late to deciding to even go to France (a downside to being spontaneous at the height of travel season), we were highly limited in apartment options. Everything was already taken; I probably emailed twenty different apartment rental agencies. But finally I was able to secure our apartment via CobbleStay, and I couldn’t be happier with the customer service they offered us.


We’ll be in a marvelous location in a neighborhood I haven’t been terribly familiar with in the past, so that’s always fun. Close by is the delighful outdoor market at Rue Cler. We plan on spending our days exploring the streets, eating lots of croissants, riding bikes (Velib!), museums, and just the entire joy of being in Paris.