I Love Paris in the Springtime.

A quick post - The Captain and I are in Paris and I am overwhelmed by all the beautiful little vignettes I see. I'm posting a few pictures of things that inspired me - around the city or from a couple of brocante (flea markets) we stumbled upon. Feel free to use these images (double click to enlarge, then right click and "save as"). Shoot me an email to share your creations!
More to follow - off for more adventures in the morning. I'm amazed at how lovely this city is - fantastic archecture, beautiful balconies, wonderful cafes - Paris, je t'aime!

May is for Graduation and Paris!

We just got back from California, where Daughter Number 2 graduated from law school. She's smart, funny, beautiful, and caring , and I'm not at all surprised at how well she's done. She was a thoughtful, smart , organized and fashionable little lady as a child! She wrote stories before she went to school, organized her younger sibs activities (sometimes more than they wanted!) , and went through a stage of never leaving the house without ribbons in her hair that coordinated with her outfit. Now she's all grown up and we're so proud of her.

(image from another great blog, Flea 52)

Today we are off to Paris - a fantastic birthday gift from our kids. It's our first time, so we've been pouring over travel books and maps. The Captain is a fan of Google Earth, so we've taken several "virtual" tours! I've also been pouring over one of my favorite blogs, Tongue In Cheek, and determined to find some of the fantastic brocantes she haunts. I'm not all that interested in fancy fashion shopping in Paris , but I am on a mission to find some old cards, letters, buttons, lace, string - little lovelies. I love old paper, fabric, buttons, small unidentifiable doo-dads, and if perchance there is also text or numbers involved, I'm practically verklempt!

I do plan a new diet while in Paris - the one that involves mostly pastries, pots-de-creme au chocolat, cheese, wine, and bread. Vive la France!

Retail Rant

While blog-hopping, I came across Estella - a trendy kids' clothing store with some very cute things. But, really, sweat pants for little girls (I mean LITTLE, like size 2) that cost $115.00 !?! Unless those little pants are made of spun platinum, this is just plain crazy ! And more importantly, who on earth would buy them, considering that the little lady wearing them would outgrow them by Tuesday ?

When it comes to sweat pants, I agree with Jerry Seinfeld - wearing sweat pants in public tells the world you've given up. To paraphrase my grandmother, buying $115.00 sweat pants tells the world you have more money than brains!

There are some lovely little things here. If tempted to spend $115.00 on one item for your toddler's wardrobe, I'd suggest the dress pictured above. It's a steal at $115.00 , (marked down from $160.00) and in 100% silk, the perfect fabric for a toddler . It is pretty darn cute, much nicer than sweat pants, and qualifies for free shipping. Hurry - operators are standing by!