What Ana Does

Souvenirs come in all shapes and sizes. For me, I was so excited to bring home these inexpensive fixtures we got at Ikea in Paris. They hung in the long entry hall of our Paris apartment and were the first light we flicked on when we got home. Of course I wanted to hang them in our home when we returned. Just After Hanging the Lights The electrician we worked with in our bathroom said we'd need new hardware, as European electric standards are different than the U.S. They recommended these pendants  that fit perfectly in the shades. And the electrician spent is last hour here hanging these three lights. And now they grace our back hallway and finish out the laundry room! The Back Hallway Lighting Improved Before: Ugly Little Boob Light After: Happy BIG Paris Light The bulbs give a soft light, so I may upgrade to a brighter bulb for the laundry room for a brighter room. But they're a perfect souvenir to remember our time in Paris every time I look up. ...

Oh boy I'll miss this view from our bedroom window.

We've lived in several apartment buildings in our past, including in Hoboken, the Bay Area of San Francisco and Ohio ... but our apartment here in Paris has been a very different experience in a few regards. First, it's been under some kind of renovation since we moved in. They've been adding a 6th floor (expanding the attic space into livable units) which included switching off the elevator to add a 6th floor stop that lasted two months. There's also continues painting projects and units that get renovated. For a 1903 building, it's a hum of construction activity. We also have a women who manages the building, much like a "super," called a gardienne . She lives in the building, near the front door, and deals with the constructions guys, trash, sweeps up around the building and vacuums the stairs. She walks dogs and does grocery shopping for the little old lady who lives next door. If there's an issue with the building, we see her. She knows (a...

The View of the "Grand Salon" in the Sun Lately, there's been a lot of talk about leaving Paris and returning home. For good. Yes, we knew this Paris expat position was for a limited time and contingent on David's job placement and career growth. We're so grateful for this experience, to begin with. Until Christmas break, our expectation was we'd finish out this school year and return to Illinois in July. But, after some meetings over winter break, it became clear that our move date will be even sooner. At first, I was devastated. Really. I absolutely love living in Paris, despite all the negatives ( post here ). For one thing, I have real friends for the first time in years . As an introvert, that's a huge thing. Being surrounded by other expat moms (and dads) who are trailing their spouses, it's easy to make fast friends -- and some meaningful friends, too. It's fabulous. I also figured out a good SAHM schedule that balanced qualit...

At the beginning of September, I created a list of goals for our first Fall here in Paris (you know I love a goals list!) and here's the update.  (Post: This Fall in Paris I Will...) I'm happy to report things are really starting to roll. Ballerina Alice First, I got the girls into some (not a lot) after-school activities. Alice joined a French ballet class -- as in not one person, including the teacher, speaks English. She's learning quickly. Leah decided to join the school soccer team, after almost two years off. And now that she's taller and so much more coordinated and confident, she's so good! I'm so happy she was willing to try again -- though, I think it had more to do with the friends who are also playing. For me, I found a yoga class, and friend, to take weekly. And a bootcamp class through another mother at school. Then, I committed to take up a weekly CrossFit class because it's something David loves and I thought we could eventually d...

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...

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 ...

I firmly believe the landscape guys in our local park place the sprinkler just right ... Shower Time ... so the statue looks like it's not a fan of getting sprayed by the water. I see it all the time, and each time it makes me chuckle. Thanks, guys! Related posts:  Read more about our Paris Apartment and neighborhood More posts that I labeled as "fun"

Because she's older, Leah got the room furthest from the master. It's also the only one with a (nonworking) fireplace and double ("french") doors. It's got a pretty view of the garden and connects to the main hallway, which makes it less private. In fact, it's probably used as an office or den. But it's the perfect 12-year-old space, we think. Leah's design direction was "fill it with rainbows." View from the Doorway  View From the Window Her Marble Fireplace With Faux Fire  I cleaned it up recently, so I snapped some photos. You can see the other rooms in our Paris Apartment by clicking here. It's been fun documenting the rooms for future reference.

First it was a scaffold, than hammering/drilling all day and bags of debris being pulled from the building. Than, yesterday, the noise got a lot closer. And today, it was just outside my door. If you've been following my InstaStories , you know what I'm talking about. Our apartment here in Paris is apparently going through some renovations. And, because my French is limited (and we've gotten no notification from our landlord), I actually don't know what the grand plan is.  But I've got a theory, based on what I've been able to piece together.  In the courtyard of our building (which was built in 1903) there is a fire escape/external staircase that goes all the way to the top floor. It's likely the "domestic stairs" used by the maids and cooks who lived in studio-like apartments in the attic of these buildings, and accessed the home they worked in by the kitchen door. Generally, servants were not allowed to use the doors and staircases r...

There are currently four neighborhood boulangeries I am bouncing between to pick up our daily baguette (always "tradition" and not "Parisienne"). And some days, a pain au chocolate. Yum! But not all bakeries are built the same. Here's a quick rundown of the four and their attributes. And, yes, they have proper names, but we don't use them. What I Call the Bakery: Mozart  Hours: Open all week. Closed on Saturdays. Only bakery open all day on Sundays. Baguette Quality: Not the best, but pretty good and consistent. Counter Staff: This one is crowded, so the ladies behind the corner like you to be brief and curt. No chip-chat. They get huffy if you need more than a minute to decide whether to add a croissant. What I Call the Bakery: The Other Mozart Corner  Hours:  Open all week. Closed on Sundays but open on Saturdays. Baguette Quality:  Inconsistent but usually slightly better than Mozart. Counter Staff:  Not as busy, so they're nicer. Will help ...

In the bedroom assignments for our Paris apartment, we got a small room with one window, but the largest closet. And it's nearest the full bathroom. It was the obvious choice. It's quiet and cozy and has a great view of the Eiffel Tower, especially at night. Other than the birds chirping that can sometimes wake me from a deep sleep, it's a great bedroom. I cleaned it up for a few pictures last month (before the trees got their leaves) while the sun was shining bright. It could use more art on the wall and maybe another small piece of furniture for books and picture frames, but it's pretty much all we need. And yes, our clothes actually do fit in that closet and bureau. Considering the walk-in closet we came from, that was a pretty big accomplishment. Related posts: More Paris Apartment pictures

We've got the guest room all outfitted, but we wanted to find other ways to get additional sleeping spaces for kids, too. I saw this daybed platform and mattresses in a catalog here and fell madly in love. I've never seen anything like it in the States, and it's so multi-purpose! You know I love a piece of furniture that can adapt and change as needed. Guest Daybed and Additional Seating We set it up as additional seating in the living room, but we'll likely move the mattresses to the floors in bedrooms for sleepover parties and the whole platform to another room for additional guest sleeping spots. Related posts: See more Guest Room posts 

Our first guests are here for the week and our guest room is ready to receive them. So exciting! Here's the BEFORE picture of our guest room. I was using it as an office and dumping ground for things I didn't know what to do with. BEFORE: Guest Room And here is the triumphant AFTER photo, with the new bed and grey linens from Ikea. I tried to keep to the grey and yellow color scheme, since those were the colors already in there or readily available.  Remember the other bed options I found? See them here . Unfortunately, the leafy trees now obstruct the view of the Eiffel Tower. But a fresh set of towels and a little sunshine coming through the windows... Welcome to Paris!  Related posts: See the progress on the Paris apartment Guest Room

I've been having fun digging through the history of our neighborhood called Passy here in the 16th district. Like every nook and cranny of Paris, it's full of history! Passy is Roughly In That Red Circle The Overview: Before it was swallowed up by the city of Paris in 1860, Passy was just a small village on the outskirts of the capital. As you might know, Paris originated on the two little islands in the Seine River, where the Notre Dame still stands, right around 3rd century BC. It was conquered in 52 BC by the Romans. And the original inhabitants eventually took back their city, and country, and crowned their first king in 987 AC. (I'm just summarizing here, from source .) As Paris prospered and grew, helped by the River Seine, it started to pull in the neighboring villages. Which eventually included Passy to the west. In the mid-1600s, hot springs were discovered in Passy attracting wealthy French and English families who built their country homes here. It...

Finally the wayward mattress was delivered this week, so all the big things in the guest room have been set-up. Hooray. And, guys, this is THE LAST thing I will order to be delivered while in France. Seriously. It's terrible and awkward communicating with the delivery men in a language I don't yet understand. Ugh. They call on their way, they call when they're downstairs. I have no idea what to say. I fumble over words. It's, ugh, challenging. BUT, had to be done. Almost Ready! It's pretty comfy, too! Just need a few accessories to finish it all up, and we'll be ready for our first guests. Stay tuned for the final "after" picture of this lovely room. Hooray! Related posts: Read more about our Paris Apartment

Our first guests will be here in just a few weeks, so I'm focused on getting our guest room up and running . Did you guess which bed we picked ? I had fun looking through all the options, but went with the upholstered grey and white bed. It's neutral enough but has a little pizzaz. It's nice to give a guest room a little personality. And the walls are grey, so it all ties in well. It's Sorta Houndstooth, But Not It was easy to assemble and felt sturdy. It's cute!  Now, the mattress is another story. I ordered it from the same store at the same time, but the delivery man didn't have it on his truck when he dropped off the bed. So .... as of today, it's MIA. (Gah!) And it's been challenging to find a customer service person who speaks English.  View from the Door. The Rower Will Need a New Temporary Home, Too The rug looks pretty cushy, they could sleep on that, right?! Just kidding! I still have time to get it here. I also need to pi...

In Paris, Alice got the smallest room. But it has the best view ... of the park and the Eiffel Tower (until Spring comes and trees obstruct her view). She also got a closet and an *on-suite shower/sink room.  It's a pretty sweet room! When we moved in, she took hours to set everything up perfectly. She had to arrange her photos, clothes and stuffed animals. And she badgered us until we hung up her dry-erase board and curtains. I recently "helped her" clean it, and took a picture to document the adorableness of this space. Alice's Bedroom in Pars * This apartment has two on-suite shower/sink rooms. What is that even called in real estate terms? Anyone know? 

I've never lived in a 115-year-old building, so I'm a total nerd when it comes to the little clues left by the original builders and owners. For example, in our kitchen there's this nice-sized cabinet that hangs into the courtyard of the building. It's got this vintage little lock on it and sits under one of the two kitchen windows. Windows Are Frosted in Kitchen Because the Courtyard Area isn't Pretty When we were getting the pre-move-in walk-through, the real estate agents joked we could use this cabinet until we got our fridge delivered. Because, yes, this was early refrigeration. A Look Inside Maybe it's because it's winter and the weather has been freezing, but the inside of this cabinet is definitely colder than the rest of the room. The glass and ceramic items we keep in here are chilly to the touch when we pull them out. It would have been a great spot to store cheese, wine maybe, and maybe cream. I'm just guessing. And, sure, I con...

Shopping for beds in a foreign land, when the only store I know is Ikea, has been a challenge. But the guest room needs a bed, so I've jumped in with both feet. Just for fun, here are a few of my options. Shop Name: La Redoute  They're currently having a big flash sale on mattresses, so the prices are not bad. I really like this mod-looking upholstered bed called Semeon, see it here . It's Not Chevron or Houndstooth -- Sorta Between Shop Name: Maisons Du Monde Then there's this pine bed that's also has a mod-feel with those great paperclip legs. And you gotta love the extra storage beneath. It's called the Cody, see it here. Eve Last, there's this British startup that sells a mattress-in-a-box, similar to those we have in America (Casper, I think is one) and all the ads I see for them -- I've always been very curious about them. I'm terribly drawn to the bright yellow color, especially with the grey bed frame you can add on, ...