• Paris,  party party

    Post Post Post Paris Post

    Post Post Post Paris Post

    The fuss about Paris is finally over. I’ve officially taken down my six foot Paris map. I’ve washed and dried and boxed the last wine glass from last night’s party. With a sense of bittersweet conclusion, I am wrapping up my obsession with all thing Parisian and bidding the creative movement a respectful au revoir.

    So how was the Post Paris Party? It was great! I think I scored an A- in ambience (the red light bulbs totally worked!!! Thanks dayment), a B+ in food (actually my mom gets an A+ in food because the Croque Monsieurs were delicious! But I scored a D- in kitchen clean up and that brought the overall food grade down a bit) and maybe a C in guest attendance. I would have gotten a D in guest attendance because about four people turned up MIA, but one of my very most favorite bloggers drove here ALL THE WAY FROM NORTHERN CALIFORNIA!!! Now that’s dedication.

    She not only gave me extra credit points in guest attendance but she totally made up for the people who just dropped off the planet after they rsvp’d. (Isn’t that weird when that happens? I hope they are okay.) Normally, I wouldn’t notice but it was a smallish party and I didn’t want Leah to drive all this way and then think I’m socially retarded. But I didn’t have to worry because there were just enough people to fill every chair and at one point, all join into the same conversation at once. That was cool. Plus, Toby was way more comfortable with the crowd issue being under control. He and I differ on the whole “the more the merrier” thing. It was perfect actually.

    It was such an honor and a privilege to finally meet Leah! My first impression? She is so tall! Like model! And drop dead gorgeous too. I mean, I knew she was pretty but I never expected a super model to come to my party. I gotta say it: she’s smart AND pretty! I think her ex-fiance needs his head examined. I should probably stop going on and on because I know she’s going to read this and then she’ll feel obligated to write something really complimentary about me. As it is I’m waiting for her blog post as if were an opening night restaurant review. We’ll see if she’s honest and reports on the cat puke.

    I think I pulled it off though. It was a bit sketchy in the beginning. How is it that no matter how much you plan and no matter how early you start preparing, guests will always arrive before you’re ready? Nobody was early early or anything but I just didn’t have my sh– together. I really got ambushed with the whole setting up of the projector. Which is totally my fault because I could have been planning out the cord issue and such, so many days ago. The Things (the kids I babysit) came over exactly at the same time I was setting up the very expensive borrowed projector. It was scary. There were cord issues and instability issues and add little feet running and jumping… I nearly had a heart attack.

    Earlier, when my trusty Audio/Video friend came over with the projector, he gave me very specific instructions to make sure no one bumped it or the table it was on OR spilled anything anywhere near it. He told me that if I broke it, I would have to replace it because it belonged to a friend of his and apparently it was the best on the market AND it cost two grand. Yikes! No pressure!

    The projector was the best though. Without it, the party would have been snoresville. It was really fun to see all 677 of my Paris pictures up there on my wall while my very own sound track played. Maybe I’m being partial, but it was my dream Paris Party come true. Outside of hiring my own squeeze box player from the metro, it was as close as I could possibly come to bringing Paris into my living room. With the red lights and the cool summer breezes coming through our wide open windows, I was temporarily a French girl again.

    After I got the projector safely tacked down and cords covered with a durable rug, I was able to focus properly on the Things. They were adorable, the darlings of the party really. Thing One drew me a picture of the Eiffel Tower and greeted me with a hearty “Bonjour Mademoiselle!” that nearly cracked the cute-o-meter in sweetness. She must have been practicing in the car ride over. Thing Two loved his toy Twingo car that I got him and made himself quite comfortable with the girls on the patio. He’s a little flirt. When the Things left, Thing One kissed me on both cheeks, properly Parisian style. I love those Things. I totally forgave them for all the running and jumping and yelling and helping a little more with lighting of the candles than was probably safe for a four and three year old.

    The sad thing is: I was so busy being hostess and party girl, talking my head off about Paris, that I didn’t take any pictures! Stupid me! I insisted on using real dishes and not paper and plastic (cause that’s so disgustingly American) so there were several times where I was a bad hostess doing dishes in the kitchen instead of mingling like I should have been. We did bring out the polaroid camera and played around with that, but most of the guests took their snap shots home with them so all I have left to post are the rejects. Thank goodness my mom took a minute away from sweating over the stove in the kitchen and snapped a quick shot of me and Leah. See she really was here! How cool is that?!!!

    I took some shots this morning of the left overs.

    Until next time Paris!

  • Paris,  travel

    Home Again

    Home Again Home Again

    I’m back. I think I left my heart in Paris. If not my heart then definitely my sense of timing. I’m eating dinner for breakfast and breakfast for dinner… I’m all mixed up. I had thought, “jet lag-schmetlag! I don’t get jet lag. That’s for sissies”. And it’s true on the way to Paris I was so excited I didn’t sleep for two days. I was so excited I wanted to be up and walk the streets at night and in the early morning. Those late late hours and early early hours were hours I would never want to miss. There is nothing like getting to know a town than you do in the hours that everyone else is sleeping. Who needs sleep!

    So yesterday at six in the evening, which felt like afternoon now that the sun is staying up so late, I thought I would just sit down on the couch and snuggle with my cat Pounce for a few minutes. I had no idea that I would fall DEAD ASLEEP for FOUR HOURS!!!!! Oh my! I put my head next to his purring body, felt the soft evening sunlight on my eyelids and then when I woke up two minutes later it was pitch black middle of the night! What happened? I totally meant to put up a blog post, cook dinner, finish wrapping all my Paris souvenirs. I had no intention of going to bed at 6 in the evening!!!!

    I guess that explains why I was yawning so much yesterday in the middle of the day. I’m still on Paris time. And I want to go back.

    There are two things left that I didn’t get a chance to blog about. One was meeting Anne and her fantastic purse. And the other was a chocolate shop.

    But first about Anne!!!! Where do I start? Anne is so funny and amazing and she speaks perfect English even though French is her first language! I think it should be required reading that before you go to Paris you get yourself acquainted with a Paris blogger and then you shove all shyness aside and actually meet them!!!

    Here is where I would like to go on and on and on about the beauty of blogging and how it has opened up a whole new world of like minds for me. I never knew I would make a friend in Paris. But now I have and it’s the coolest thing ever. Now I have someone I can write to and help me plot my next return. Seriously I’ve been thinking of all kinds of outrageous plans to get back to Paris.

    We met for tea and I must have asked her a thousand questions. All the secrets and mysteries of the French people have been revealed to me. So it REALLY IS okay not to tip your waiter more than 50 cents and the reason French women are not fat is because they don’t eat pastries EVERY DAY! All those croissants and pain au chocolates I’ve been eating are for special WEEKEND BREAKFASTS! Ha! But she said it was okay in my case since I am “on holiday”. Good to know, good to know. It was so fun to actually meet Anne. Now I just have to figure out a way to get her over here!

    The second thing I didn’t get a chance to blog about before we left was the chocolate shop. We had intended to go to this chocolatier that Coquette blogged about, but there was an ill disposed woman cleaning the glass doors when we arrived and she didn’t seem too keen on letting us in. So we walked a few blocks and went to the French boutique of this Dutch choladier instead. I’m so glad we did! I don’t care if the chocolatier is based in Holland… the chocolate is divine!

    The shop was an experience in itself. On the street level there were rows and rows and rows of pretty little chocolates all lovingly placed in the display counter by hand. A funky floor and wacky wired chandelier completed the decor. There was a whole second story where you could drink seven different kinds of hot chocolate and I am still moaning softly, “why why why didn’t we just go upstairs and try some” but we didn’t. We did however meet the funniest English speaking chocolate shop worker ever. He whistled while he worked, he tied ribbons with flair and he made jokes about our lack of knowledge of chocolate.

    My mom said she wanted the same box of chocolates that I bought except in milk chocolate instead of dark chocolate not realizing her grave error of comparing dark chocolate to milk chocolate. They ARE NOT THE SAME and should not even be compared he informed us. We laughed and tried to explain that no, we didn’t think milk chocolate was the same as dark, we just wanted the same size box. He winked, wrapped up our purchases with ribbons and bags and sent us happily on our way. Oh, I almost forgot! His eyeglasses were upside down! They were designed that way. He told us that he collected glasses and wore a different pair every day. If only I lived near by and I could pop in every day to see them!

    So now I’m back and I’m looking at my own home town through tourist eyes. It’s good to be back but it is even better to know that deep down in my heart I will always be a world traveler.

    These are just a few parting shots.