Hello, Friends! Any fun celebrations for you tonight? It’s so cold here that we are delighted we get to stay in with our kids. The big kids are going to have a Lord of the Rings movie marathon from 6:00 to midnight. The smaller kids are going to watch movies on the laptop till they fall asleep. Baby June will be in bed around 6:30. : ) We’ll eat lots of junk food and bang pots and pans on the front porch when 2011 arrives.
Don’t laugh, but I let the kids pick out all those pre-made appetizers you find in the frozen aisle — mozzarella sticks, jalapeno poppers, mini-corndogs, pizza bagels, mac & cheese wedges — for our feast tonight. Yikes! I think we might be sick tomorrow.
I’ll be back with my regular posting schedule on Monday. In the meantime, here are my Babble links to keep you company.
I’ve decided Thursdays will be my days to write about our France preparations and share anything practical we’ve learned. Updates this week: We bought our plane tickets — whoo hoo! And we’ve been piling up a stack of books about France and French culture.
One thing I’ve read is that snacking is not really done in France, and that meals are a bigger deal than they are here — at some fast-food restaurants there are even cloth napkins! Also, apparently it’s custom to eat with a knife in your right hand and a fork in your left. I tried it tonight and I need practice. : )
Hello, Friends. Did you have a Merry Christmas? Are you enjoying the winter break with your kids?
We are trying to make the most of our precious week off. In the morning, while June naps, we accomplish as many move-related-tasks as possible. In the afternoon, we make sure the older kids get to do something fun — like ice skating or visiting the zoo. In the evenings, Ben Blair and I read (mostly, we are devouring books about France) or hit a late movie. Or both.
How about you? Are you fitting in some fun travel time this vacation? Or are you spending your week cozied up at home?
P.S. — Am I the only one coveting this new craft room furniture by Martha Stewart? Forget about a ball gown, this is what I want from my fairy godmother instead.
Hello, Friends! Can you believe it’s December 24th? I’ve been waiting impatiently for this day all week long, and it’s finally here. I am spending the day with Ben Blair and the kids. We are whipping up a feast and getting ready to put on The Nativity this evening (we’ll be wearing the rad dress-ups my sister made for us). For me, Christmas Eve is almost as fun as Christmas. Are you the same?
I write a daily post for Babble’s Family Style blog. Here are this week’s posts:
- What a sale! This market sling was $129 — now it’s $38.60.
- I want a stack of these for Baby June.
- If I have a spare minute during this break, I’ll be reading this.
- Something cool to do with your favorite image.
I’m semi-signing off for next week. I’m sure I’ll pop in for a bit, but posting will be light. I’ll meet you back here for a full posting schedule on January 3rd. I miss you already.
If you’re celebrating Christmas, I hope yours will be merry and bright. Oh come let us adore Him!
Would you like to know about the house we are renting in France? It’s a house with a name instead of an address — which makes me smile every time I think of it. I’ve never lived in a house with a name! It’s called La Cressonnière and it means “watercress”. (Incidentally, to honor the name of the house, I have been looking up watercress recipes — if you have a good one, please let me know.)
The house is in the Normandy region, about 1/2 hour from Caen. (In Caen, you can catch a ferry to the UK.) It’s big enough to fit our family, it has an artist’s studio and a beautiful garden. There’s even a piano — so my kids can continue their music studies while we’re there. There’s an older part and a newer part of the house. The older part is 17th century. The newer part is 18th century. : )
Ben Blair visited the home a few weeks ago to check it out in person, see what the countryside is like and how easy it is to access Paris. He loved the house and brought us lots of video so we could get to know it too.
Peter Oyler designed these child-size cardboard chairs called Rip + Tatter. The look of them appeals to my industrial-looking-furniture-obsessions. What do you think? Do you like the look or are they too messy for your taste?
We know that this move to France is going to be really stretching, and overwhelming in lots of ways for all of us, but especially for our kids. So to help get them thinking about it in a positive way, we’re putting together little France kits for each them to open on Christmas Day. I’m thinking we’ll bring these out later in the day, when everyone is feeling mellow and the Christmas morning rush is over. I’m hoping the kits will get some good conversation happening and that the kids will be able to share any hopes, concerns or worries they might be having about the move.
Each kit has:
- a passport cover — and their passports, which (hooray!) arrived two days ago
- a book about France, or a familiar book in French like Goodnight Moon/Bonsoir Lune
- French candy
- and a black wool beret — of course!
Isn’t that fun? I can’t wait to see the kids in their berets.
Shopping for passport covers has been delightful. I don’t actually like using a cover myself, but I feel like I’ll need to be able to pass out specific passports quickly (among the stack of 8) while we’re traveling, so I thought it would be fun to assign out a color or pattern for each child. Here’s what I’ve found:
Here it is. Our fifth sibling gift project for Christmas 2010. And I think it turned out charming. Oscar made photo snowglobes for each of his siblings (and one for himself too).
We had every thing we needed for this project right in our house, expect white PVC pipe. So we stopped at True Value and picked up a 1 foot length of pipe for .33 cents, then we were ready to go.
If you’re looking for an easy last-minute gift your kids can make, this is a great one. A fun project for big kids or little kids.
I’ve been scouting out sweaters for my kids because I keep hearing that sweaters are essential for Normandy weather. I think the options at Toobydoo are fantastic. (Oscar does too.)
Do your kids like to wear sweaters and layers? Or is it a challenge to get them dressed at all?
We like to add a new Christmas book to our collection each December — but this year, I completely forgot until this morning. So now I’m on the hunt for something really excellent that I can pick up at the bookstore this week. Any recommendations? I’d love to hear if you have a must-read that [...]
Hello, Friends! Thank you for the encouraging responses to our big announcement. You guys are wonderful! I haven’t met our landlord in France, but I think she’s wonderful too, because she sends charming emails. This morning she wrote that she was finishing up her Christmas shopping in Paris and that it was especially sparkly this [...]
Oh my goodness. We’re really doing it. We found a house and sent off our contract and security deposit last night. So. It’s now officially official. WE’RE MOVING TO FRANCE! Next up: shopping for plane tickets. We’re aiming to move on February 1st. Which is just 6 short weeks away. I’m so excited I can hardly [...]
Hello, Friends! As I’ve mentioned one thousand times, we’re trying to make a year abroad happen for our family. Intel AppUp℠ caught word of our prospective adventure and asked what kind of apps (if any) our family will use to make the transition easier. There are a bunch, but the first one I thought of [...]
Today’s second giveaway is sponsored by Blue Hour Designs. You could win a $100 gift certificate to their gorgeous shop. I’m such a fan of Blue Hour Designs jewelry. The designer, Alysia Sánchez Melnikov, makes such pretty creations and each piece is handcrafted with recycled precious metals. Right this minute I’m wearing the duality ring and I [...]
I’ve got two terrific giveaways for you today. The first is sponsored by Big Picture Classes. They are offering two readers a free seat in their 12-week online workshop called Yesterday + Today (valued at $99 each). Wow! Big Picture classes is the go-to source for high-quality creative workshops online. The Yesterday + Today class is [...]
There was a video crew at my house from 9:00 am till 6:30 pm. I’m officially beat. And wearing too much makeup. : ) I didn’t have time for a full blogging session today, but I saw these images and thought you might find them interesting. Dowling Duncan re-imagined US currency in a vertical (and [...]
Welcome to Gift Guide #6. It’s my very last gift guide of 2010 (it’s not a giveaway, but I will have 2 giveaways posted on Thursday). Hopefully, it will help you finish off your shopping in a glorious manner. I decided to theme this one Home & Hearth. Then I filled it with all sorts [...]
For Christmas, Olive has been working on custom leather patches for her siblings. She’s adding the patches to hats. She is halfway done with the project and I think they’re turning out really, really great! It’s been fun to see how easy it is to burn the leather. I can imagine making all sort of [...]
Hello Friends. Here are some really wonderful images to give your week an early burst of inspiration. Artist Yeonju Sung created a series called Wearable Food, including these images made from tomatoes, chives and bubblegum. Aren’t they striking? Would you say they’re more appropriate hanging in a kitchen or a dressing room? : ) You can [...]
My name is Gabrielle Blair. I'm a designer and mother of six (our new addition was born last May). We are spending a year abroad in France. I post on where design and motherhood intersect.
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Here's something fun. Our family was featured in an episode of House Hunters International! Spoiler: we choose the gorgeous French Farmhouse. It's called La Cressonnière and we take pictures of it all the time. If you're curious, try these links:
