Buffet

I finally found a white lacquer & wood buffet for the apartment in Paris. It was 50% off due to the July Soldes (Sales), which afforded me the extra cost associated with having it delivered and professionally assembled.

The good news is that it was delivered to my 2nd floor Paris apartment.

The bad news is that the delivery guy said he doesn't do assembly.

Since I bought it online, there isn't a contact number available so that I can debate this delivery error and demand a "spécialiste de l'assemblage" like I paid for.  But how hard could it be? I am a smart, capable lady. Yet here I am at 9:38pm blogging about this situation, and not actually finishing the assembly tonight like I had planned.

I made a fatal mistake in Etape No.1 (Step One). One that requires pliers to pull these little wooden wedgie things out of the incorrectly inserted holes.  I don't currently own any pliers, and bricolages are closed at this hour. In a desperate attempt to continue my momentum this evening, I took my Shu Uemura eyebrow tweezers to the situation. That obviously didn't work.

I will continue this incredible act of patience tomorrow.

 à demain...

Cimetière du Père-Lachaise - Paris

Today I ran in Père Lachaise Cemetery for the first time. I am not sure if that is a disrespectful thing to do or not. But it felt good. It was like a quiet, paved park, without kids. I no longer have a Luxemborg Gardens or a Jardin des Plantes in my neighborhood anymore. This cemetery is the closest thing to it in these parts. And I really like cemeteries, so there's that.

I found it auspicious that my playlist put Black Angels on heavy rotation.

It was surprisingly motivating to run in a cemetery. I thought a lot about not being able to run one day, and that made me feel like I shouldn't take movement for granted. Trippy stuff to think about on a run, really.

The good news is that I am really into a grey, stone, green color palette.

 And then I played a little game with myself that I like to call, "which one would I pick for me?". I thought this one suited me the best. Very Lady Stark, yet simple, with a place on top to grow kale.  Kale for visitors. No colorful flowers. Great idea.

Uphill.

Just about the only color in the place, other than green. I had to wonder why the family chose this particular one.

I hope I never find out that it is not okay to run in a cemetery. 

Medieval introduction

My mom came to visit and I introduced her to Bourgogne.  Before seeing it with her own eyes, she used to think it was bizarre that I was so drawn to a medieval village in the middle of the French (wine) country. Because I was always a "city/beach girl".

"Oh, I get it now, it's not as strange as it sounds.  I can see why you spend so much time here, it really is magical."- Mom

L'Abbaye de Fontenay church. This is where her photo-taking got out of control.

L'Abbaye de Fontenay's monks dormitory. It was designed to look like the upside down hull of a ship.

The boys were out of town, but were generous enough to share their house with us. Here is the view from the bedroom she stayed in at the boys' house. 

One of my favorite places on earth, the boys' wine cave.

Les Cave Bailly Lapierre, where you drive your car into the cave and can taste/purchase a variety of Bially Lapierre cremants. I stocked up plenty, as can be expected.

We also did some house hunting around the village. The house attached to the left of the village's back arch was one I had considered buying last year, alas did not--overpriced, with moisture issues.

La Porte Peinte center for arts, in the heart of the village. Always an inspired afternoon escape.

Mom had to take the requisite photo in the rapeseed fields of flowers.

It's not everyday that your friends parents are all in the same place at the same, time (Argentina, US, and England). Especially on Mother's day. So Carla, Julian and I threw our moms a surprise three-way Mother's Day brunch that ended in bouquets for the moms, and dancing. Pure magic.

US Contraband

My mom arrived today with the requisite US contraband. Nothing but net through customs.

Carrying her luggage on the train and through 2 metro changes was a different story, yet a small price to pay for such joy.

Pictured top, left to right: 2 goose down pillows with the life sucked out of them (using vacuum packed bags), 3 cans chipotle chilis, 2 bottles 2 bottles of Cetaphil gentle skin cleanser, dozens of packages of enchilada sauce seasoning, 2 boxes raspberry flavored Emergen-C, 2 bags black beans, bags of pepita seeds.

Tortillas

One of the things that I miss most about the US, is the food. Healthy fare and more urgently, Mexican food. I miss burritos, tacos, enchiladas, tamales, salsa and hot sauce. Whenever someone comes to visit, they usually ask me if I need anything from the US. My answer is always the same:

hot sauce
enchilada sauce
chipotles
and TORTILLAS.

It is true, you can technically buy Old El Paso tortillas at almost any grocery store in Paris. But they aren't the same. I am not sure what bizarre ingredients they include, but the flour tortillas taste like flat, doughy croissants and the corn tortillas taste like flour. So as far as I am concerned, there are no tortillas in Paris. Until now!

Yesterday I received my first shipment of homemade corn tortillas from Paris' first Tortilleria, Mil Amores Tortilleria.  Thank God for Louis Rendon from Candelaria for bringing tacos and now homemade tortillas to Paris. I have made veggie tacos and am anxious to use my last two precious cans of red enchilada sauce on a batch of spinach enchiladas. Of course fare this rare should be shared with friends. So the race is on to get my new kitchen installed so I can have the gang over for Mexican food.

I am starting to feel like Paris might have just about everything I need to live my ideal lifestyle. Well, everything except my GT's grape Kombucha and my US peeps whom I continue to miss immensely. The tortillas help to lessen that void.

Peinture

peinture (Fr.)/ paint (Eng.) noun: a mixture of pigment and a suitable liquid to form a closely adherent coating when spread on a surface in a thin coat.

(Before: the choices)

Welcome to my own personal version of 50 Shades of Grey. So it seems only fitting that I went with the color that is situated between S and M, "Gres Naturel". I do love the drama of P, and will use that for the WC.

(after)

(the mantel before)

(the mantel after)

(before, although at this point, I had already painted the bottom half white. It was margarine before, just like the wall)

(after)

In order to take a proper after photo of the living room, I need a few main items:

1. Credenza- inspiration: like the wood one in the far right hand corner of this photo:

 Or, in enamel like the one on the right hand side of this photo:

2. Coffee table- inspiration: like the white enamel one in this photo below, with a place to store things. Ideally, one with wheels so I can move it around. That is so key for small spaces:

or acrylic, like this one from Muji, with a space for magazines:

Or maybe a wood coffee table, if I can find one that I love. And with wheels.

3. Chair(s): tbd
4. Standing lamp: tbd
5. Some sort of storage for extra blankets and pillows: tbd

Limboland

(new pad in the 11th)

I've been in Limboland for a while now. This is the place where an air plant, such as myself resides when it has no home of its own. No place to establish my own root growth. And always able to pick up and bail at a moments notice.

Par contre, I have been actively searching for a house to buy in Bourgogne. So I have hesitated to search out a new place of my own to rent in Paris so that my options remained open.  I've been renting my friend's apartment in Paris the past couple of years, which means living among all of their stuff. It was never really my space, Not really able to fully unpack my bags, settle in, and create an environment that suits my lifestyle.

It has been such a HUGE blessing to have this opportunity... a readied apartment with all the things I needed. Internet. Phone. Fantastic location. No contract, and the ability to move quickly on a Bourgogne house purchase, when and if that happens. 

But I am ready for more in Paris.

I want my own space. I want to create my own aethetic. I want comfort. I want a level of legitimacy in my residence here. As much as I would have loved to stay in Limboland while I figure the Bourgogne house purchase out, these other needs are more pressing.  I can't wait it out anymore.

New living area (with too much furniture and dingy walls)

They say that finding an apartment in Paris is more difficult than finding a soulmate. Virtually impossible, they say. So when this opportunity fell into my lap I felt like I needed to jump all over it. I am happy to report that I now have an apartment of my own in a new neighborhood. It has more room, working fireplace, a long balcony, and my favorite feature, a bathtub! And the proprietere is giving me (measured) permission to give it a makeover.

View of the current kitchen (taken from balcony)

Bathroom (with large ship tile art from Portugal, apparently)

I am doing the Queer Eye for the Straight Guy thing right now by completely refreshing the place. New paint, new curtains, new furniture, new art, herbs in hanging baskets, olive trees for privacy, and a new kitchen. As much hard work as this requires, it has revived my creativity ten fold. It also helps that I have a fabulous friend who is as excited about this makeover as I am. In fact, he may have single-handedly turned this into a really fun project.

Here are some before shots, and I will definitely post the after photos when I have them.

This kitchen is going bye bye (new kitchen will be installed next month)

Living space with too much (granny) wicker furniture