What Ana Does

Option 1 for the upstairs hallway is the built-in desk along the wall . By purchasing a countertop and laying it across two cabinets or drawers I'd have a quick, long desk. And by adding some trim and paint, I could get a custom built-in look. ( See the Before picture .) Here's some inspiration from Pinterest (search "built-in desk diy"): Built-Ins Aspirations Here's my quick little layout of the plan... Looking through some sites for materials, Ikea seems like the obvious spot. The countertops there are inexpensive and we can match the pine that's all over the house. For $139, that's a total win. And base cabinets are around $250 and come in variety of colors, but once I got the color combinations right it would definitely give me a more professional look. Maybe a white front? Link http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S89036699/#/S49036842 Or I could think outside the box a little and find two nice cabinets to anchor th...

This green hallway is at the top of the stairs and is between the girls' bedrooms. It's a hallway we walk through everyday and everyday I roll my eyes at the lack of order and function. I love to store books here and the kids' masterpieces on this little DIY art hanger ( here's how to make it ). But, otherwise, this space is a disaster. My own little pit of despair and it's slowly driving me crazy. Even from Paris. The plan for our first full week at home is getting cleaned up for all our upcoming visitors and this is one spot I really want to focus on. First, I want to repaint. White, probably. Second, I want to find a plan for this space that includes built-ins, so it looks really clean and on-purpose. Not a storage area for random things. I have two options I've been thinking about a lot. Option 1: Do a built-in desk along this wall. Coincidently, the original plans for this house includes a desk in this space but the original builders opted o...

For a very long time, David has been dreaming about buying a Jeep Wrangler. Just a fun third car to drive to the pool or beach, out for ice cream. Have his girls' hair blowing in the wind and enjoying a summer day out. For reasons only he understands, this dream took on some movement while we've been in Paris. He's been scouring ads for months, understanding pricing, milage, wear-and-tear, etc. and all there is to expect from a used Jeep. Yup, it's our first weekend in the States and he found one that fit in his criteria. It's a 2008 in olive green and it was love at first sight. For a used car, it's looking pretty good. Soft top. Manual transmission and all. My argument was, this is as good as it's going to get, it's in the budget he set aside and it's ready to go. I'm not spending all my Saturdays in the States going from one dealership to another looking at subtly differences in used cars. After long deliberations, it's ours! And ...

I called the open time between when school got out and when we left for the States "Camp Paris 2018" ( see first post here ). I worried about keeping the kids busy and there are still a ton of sights in Paris on my list. So, off we went. And, I will add, we didn't wait in line anywhere. Maybe the first week of July is the best time to visit Paris? Who knows!? It wasn't all good news. The girls staged a mutiny after the first week, refusing to go to another monument or museum. Sigh. So, we spent more days than I care to admit to watching movies, crafting and hanging out around the (very warm) apartment. Such is summer, I guess. Here's a breakdown of the places we DID see ... Parc Zoologique de Paris (also known as Zoo de Vincenne)  Link:  https://www.parczoologiquedeparis.fr/ Price: 50€ for 1 adult, 2 kids Summary: Loved it! Even though it was 40 minutes on the metro from our apartment (on the opposite side of the city), the ride felt quick. Maybe beca...

This week we're heading back to the States! We'll check on our house, catch up with friends and get lots of family visitors. And, I'll admit it, bask in the cool air conditioning. (I'm a traitor to the environment, I know.) While packing this week, I started thinking about  my absolute essentials are for transatlantic air travel,  and I was able to narrow it down to three vital items I always have close at hand. 1. Essential Oils, 2. Mints, 3. Noise-Canceling Headphones 1 - Essential Oil. I have a "breathe blend," but tea tree oil works well, too. If I notice the air is getting musty or my nose is getting plugged, a quick sniff or a drop on my wrists is a perfect refresher and pick-me-up. The smell is just so pleasant and crisp. Alice enjoys feeling more relaxed with a little lavender on her pulse points, as well. 2 - Mints.  You won't believe how multifaceted a mint can be on a flight. Like the essential oil, it will banish the stale air, clear...

Food waste is just another road I'm going down these days. Did you know the average American throws out on average 40% of the food they buy?!? That's a staggering amount! So, I'm trying to look at what we toss and what I can save. I don't have composting available in Paris -- at least, I don't think I do. I've read some big cities offer composting but my French is not quite up to asking around, ya know?! So, it's really up to me to buy and cook only what we'll eat. With kids and odd schedules, etc, this is a challenge, but it's certainly worth the attempt. In my research, I found some really good tips on wasting less food. Those tips include menu planning and shopping with a list (which I've been practicing at for years). And buying only what you intend to eat in the next few days -- instead of stockpiling. This is especially useful for produce that spoil fast here in France, because it's super-fresh. Then there's the idea of...

What a weekend to be in Paris! On Saturday we celebrated Bastille Day (not called that here, it's formally "la Fête nationale")  by catching a glimpse of the military parade and air show at the Champs Elysees. The weather is glorious, if a little hot and humid, so the whole city was out waving flags. We didn't get a great view, but we loved walking around the city with so many of the roads closed to cars. That night, we braved the crowds and headed to Pont de Grenelle (an easy 15 minute walk from our apartment) where we have a great view of the Eiffel Tower, for the fireworks at 11pm. (We looked in to going up onto our roof, but didn't feel brave enough to knock on the door of the 5th floor neighbor or use the rickety scaffold.) We should have listened to Alice and headed toward the Trocadero, because our view was lousy and the crowds were getting rowdy. We hightailed it out of there before it was over. We saw some video the next day, and it looked lik...

This week I've been thinking about the plastic-free swaps that are slowly getting added to our home. One thing I read a lot is the misconception that you need to "buy all this new stuff" to go plastic-free. And that's kinda silly. I mean, the idea of buying a lot to become sustainable is a little   contradictory, right? Chances are, you have a reusable water bottle and canvas shopping bag rattling around the house -- or you can probably ask a family member for one -- and you've just created a pretty good swap. While I DO like shopping, I'm also a touch frugal. So, I'm swapping out plastic items when they're ready to be replaced with more renewable versions. Here are my latest three: First up, replacing our plastic toothbrushes for bamboo.  I've been buying  Preserve toothbrushes , made of 100% recycled plastic, mostly yogurt cups, but wanted to switch to a sustainable material. Bamboo! This Bam and Boo company offers a 3-month subscription ...

Last Fall, I was really overthinking my bag/purse strategy for Paris. I'd done urban living before and I knew I wanted my hands free to steer a scooter, drag my grocery trolley or just pick up cute shoes at a store. But other than some kind of backpack, I wasn't sure what to get. Here that post: My Paris Purse Predicament . There were three bags in the running. And overthinking these purchases is definitely not a new thing for me. I finally choose this green canvas bag made with vegan leather from a Brooklyn company CanopyVerde via Etsy ( buy it here ). For the last six months, this backpack has come with me everywhere. It's gotten soaking wet. And full to bursting with milk cartons (and, let's be honest, wine bottles). And it's been with me on the streets of Italy, Spain and Belgium. Dave hates that it doesn't have lots of pockets and organization inside (he loves pockets) ... there are times at a checkout counter that I spend several minutes digging thro...

Maybe one of the things I'm digging so much about this plastic-free venture is getting to be a little creative and crafty. It's a fun challenge to figure out the better choices and make them. When looking through the bathroom for easy swaps, I zeroed in on those little cotton pads I use to remove mascara and swipe on face toner.  Harvesting cotton, pressing it into little disks only for me to use it once and throw it away!? Plus, I'm spending 5€ for a plastic bag of them every few months? I can do better. A little Pinteresting found a quick step-by-step to make these reusable pads. You can find better direction here , but basically I.... 1 - traced circles in color flannel fabric using a water glass. 2 - Pinned three pieces together. 3 - Used a tight zig-zag stitch on my sewing machine to close up the edges. 4 - Last, I trimmed around the edges and repurposed a pickle jar to store them.  Nothing to it. I wash them with the kitchen rags on a hot water setting....

We've lived in Paris through some of the coldest temperatures ... and now some of the hottest! This weekend it hit 90 and we were all feeling a little melted. We spent the morning at a fountain in a public park, until the crowds (and heat exhaustion) chased us home. And back home, there's a whole mess of strategies behind keeping the apartment cool without air conditioning, which is a rare amenity in these old building. Finding the right combination of fans, keeping out the hot sun with aluminum shutters, turning off lights, not using the oven and finding a cross-breeze is all mixed in. Sometimes we'll just open up the window and hope a pigeon doesn't pay a visit. Bonjour! Frozen grapes, ice lollies and smoothie drinks also help keep us feeling cool. I can't complain, since I was begging for warm weather when the temperature dipped below freezing and I was a walking icicle on treks back from the market. (Though, I didn't have to worry about the yogurt ...