Immense gratitude.

 

Doc and I have been completely blown away by the amount of well wishes and thoughtful gifts from kind friends near and far since Miss Oswin Jade's arrival almost 3 weeks ago, and we can't express our gratitude enough.

 

 

From offerings to pick up groceries for us, or to just come by and hold Oswin for an hour so I could sleep or take an uninterrupted shower, we truly are lucky to have the people in our lives that we do. One of our friends even brought us over a full Mexican dinner of tacos, refried beans and fixins, and prepared it for us in our home, and held Oswin while we ate. Tasty hot food, a cold beer, and good company while juggling a newborn's schedule is a premium that we didn't think we could afford for another few months, so the meal (and gifts of a bottle of cerdon and an adorable wooden puzzle for baby girl) were greatly appreciated. As Tom Robbins said in one of my favorite books, Jitterbug Perfume, "Never underestimate how much assistance, how much satisfaction, how much comfort, how much soul and transcendence there might be in a well-made taco and a cold bottle of beer."

 

 

In addition to all that, since when did all of my friends become such master knitters? One of my sorority sisters from back at Penn State, and owner of the etsy shop PRIMknits, sent us an adorable raspberry colored turban for Oswin, and fellow expat buddy Angie from over at "How to Eat Stale Bread" and "When in Rhone" made her a pair of booties, a hat, and a little wrap sweater. I love knowing such talented people!

 

 

Our friend Sara blogging from over in the LPV (of Sara in Le Petit Village fame) gave us a shout out as well on her Expat Escapades! A shout out in the blogosphere at only 19 days old? You're on to big and amazing things my little girl!

 

 

So, for all those who have wished us well, sent your good energy and positive thoughts our way, we thank you.  You've truly warmed our hearts and made this transition to parenthood smoother than we could have hoped.

 

A la prochaine friends...

 

Honey

Things Making Me Happy: 27 weeks edition

 

{July 1983}

 

It's hard for me to truly believe that we are now just under the 3 month mark of when we anticipate having a little chubster of our own. And after looking at that picture can you believe I was actually 3 weeks early? Good lord.

 

Things Making Me Happy Right Now:

 

1. Baby punches: It's almost like Homekid does new and exciting weird things on the new week milestones. Yesterday, once we had officially reached the 27 week mark, I started feeling what for the first time felt like arm movements, and not just kicks. I can't be certain that they were specifically arm movements persay, but it was the first time I had felt any movement high on my belly, as everything else has been low kicks thus far. It doesn't hurt, but the dance party was definitely enough to stop me in my tracks. Being that this kid is half Philadelphian I can only imagine the straight up knock out punches I'm going to be receiving in the next three months.

 

{Bonjour little avocat!}

 

2. Gardening: We welcomed a new little avocado tree up to the windowsill this week! Just goes to show you should never give up on your plants. I left this little pip in the care of Doc a year ago when I left for Bikram Yoga Teacher Training, and it was one of the few things that truly looked dead when I returned to SwitzerFrance. Rather than toss it, I started adding water to the almost empty pickle jar that it was residing in, and low and behold this spring a new shoot sprouted up from the dry, brown, dead-looking one. What a little toughy pants plant.

 

3. Gardening experiments: Things are happening in my newest gardening experiment, mentioned in a post earlier this week. I can't believe how quickly I have things to report, so make sure to check back on Monday for a status update on how my attempts at propagating fig cuttings in water are going.

 

4. Pinterest: Of all of the social media outlets, pinterest, you have my heart. It's the one venue where I don't ever feel like I'm wasting my time, as I always come away feeling inspired and motivated to bake something, create something, or go somewhere new. And sometimes to buy things. Ok a lot of times to buy things.

 

{Pic via here.}

 

{Pic via here.}

 

5. New swag: I picked up some new pyjamas this week from a store called "hush" in the UK. I've been getting down about my nighttime attire as at this point I can only wear Doc's shorts and a baggy tank top to bed, and I'm starting to feel a little like a slob. I bought them with the anticipation of wearing them as a little treat at the hospital in the fall, and once we bring Homekid home, but to my delight they actually fit me now! (Thank heavens for really adjustable waistbands...) My parents treated me to a full pj set, and I also picked up a pair of pj pants (on sale no less!), so I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of fall so I can actually wear them and start feeling a little more like myself again. The pyjamas are so soft and lovely, if you're in the market for a new pair check them out!

 

 

6. Ice-y Pops: I don't think any explanation of this is really necessary, except for maybe 1000 exclamation marks. Not only have I never seen these in France, but they are also bio (organic for all my Americans out there) and sugar free. I'm not an anti sugar person, but I think when it comes to certain things like juices and in this case frozen juices, it's just not necessary. Let the beauty of the juice flavor shine through I say! We're going to buy a few more boxes of these this weekend, so long as they have any left...

 

Things I'm Not Loving Right Now:

 

1. Fatigue: And I don't mean like "oh I could take a nap" fatigue, I mean "let's just take a break and sit on the stairs for a minute fatigue." If nausea, light-headedness and general fatigue were the bane of my existence in the first trimester and a half, extreme fatigue has been my enemy since then. Last week I was a total rock star and did a bunch of yoga (the Bikram pregnancy series), walked, gardened, and lifted light weights. This week I've spent my time wishing I had the energy to do just one round of dishes. Poor Doc.

 

2. Summer Heat: We had thunderstorms the last two days which cooled things down a bit, but it's supposed to go up to 30 C in the next few days. And for some reason the only thing I've been wanting to do lately is bake. Go figure.  

 

 

3. I miss coffee. Like I really really really miss coffee. And not even the caffeine aspect, but just the taste. I love everything about the way that coffee tastes. I love everything about the process of making coffee, and enjoying coffee with friends. It's such a social thing for me, and I miss our Saturdays spent drinking coffee and espresso all day.

 

4. Stroller shopping: I'm pretty sure this is the most confusing thing to buy in the whole wide stinkin' world. Is the car seat separate? Can it be snapped into a base? Does it need an adapter? The adapter costs how much?! How long can they stay in that seat? Then we need a different seat?! How much does this cost?! And we can only use it for how many months? Oie veyishmeir. Can we just stick to buying adorable clothes please?   

 

Happy Friday everyone! Any cool plans for this weekend?

 

A la prochaine friends...

 

Honey



Styling the Bump and Things Making me Happy: 25 weeks

 

 

When I was back at my parent's house in April/May, my parents spoiled me a bit. My mom surprised me with a few new pieces from some local shops that were non-maternity, but flowy enough that they could work as I get bigger, and bigger and bigger. I'm very lucky for this because up until this point, I didn't have much that would have worked at that point (or my current point for that matter) in my pregnancy, aside from some of the aforementioned items.  

 

 

Dress: Free People (non-maternity)

Belt: Same one I've been rocking the last few weeks, skinny skull belt from a little shop in Manhattan Beach, CA

Flip flops: Havaianas

 

And while on the point of pregnancy...

 

Things I'm loving right now:

 

1. I've been wanting to get a hot water bottle for what feels like forever (I have yet to see an electric blanket here), and we finally found my dreamboat one this weekend at a local shop:

 

 

I've never used one before but I'm excited to, at least once the temperatures cool off again for those 8 and 9 month pregnancy aches and pains.

 

2. Cherry Pitter:

 

 

Again, something I've been coveting for some time now. Man did it make a difference, compared to pitting them by hand. And it's perfect for someone like me who has a penchant for saving seeds. We used it to prep cherries for pickling, which hey, bt-dubbs, I'll be sharing that recipe this week, so make sure to check back!  

 

3, Les soldes! We were able to score the drawer knobs for Homekid's dresser/changing table for a fifth of the price! We've finished the project completely now, so look for a Before and After post  tomorrow!

 

Things I'm not loving right now:

 

 

1. I've been breaking a lot of things lately, not on purpose of course. It's like I'm a bull in a china shop or something. An hour before people showed up for our 4th of July BBQ I knocked over the entire drying rack of wine glasses and shattered 3 or 4 all over the counter and kitchen/living room floor. (Which of course came shortly after the conversation "Wow, I really wrapped ALL of our glassware in bubblewrap for the move that didn't happen, didn't I?") Then yesterday, of no fault of my own, I opened the fridge and somehow a large bottle of what I can only imagine would have been a delicious german beer fell out of the fridge door and onto my foot. Luckily there was no blood, but the bottle shattered everywhere. I did have to pick two small pieces of glass out of my foot though, and our floor smelled like I had mopped it with beer. Ugh.   

 

 

2. I'm not sleeping well, at all. You'd think after our hike on Sunday I'd have slept like a baby, but it turns out that when the baby is actually in your belly it's hard to get comfortable, even when trying to get a very well deserved night of beauty rest. Between not being able to get comfortable and the temperatures being in the upper 70s/lower 80s again, I'm not exactly jumping out of bed in the morning. Two tower fans for the whole house can only do so much... 

 

3. Flies! I love that our windows don't have screens, but for about a 6 week period in the summer it becomes the bane of our existence. We are straight up surrounded by cow pastures and wheat fields, so our open windows at this point of the summer are like big "bienvenue" signs for horse flies and soon-to-be mosquitoes to wander and stroll about our place.     

 

A la prochaine friends...

 

Honey



Things making me happy right now: 23 weeks.

 

 

Slow drip coffee. Thank yous and mercis galore to my doctor for giving the go ahead to have one cup of coffee a day. Needless to say I've found the biggest mug possible and drink it over a period of about an hour.

 

 

Non-maternity clothes that still fit. I've been patting myself on the back for the last two weeks for the smart purchases that Past Honey has made. Thank you Lululemon, American Apparel, Puella, Onzie, Petit Bateau and a host of blousy silk shirts from Cynthia Rowley, Rory Beca and SYLK. You make a girl still feel normal and stylish, despite an ever expanding baby bump. I'll never complain about any of your high prices ever again. Fingers crossed that as I enter my 6th month of pregnancy on Thursday that you all still fit. (Please please please!!!)

 

 

Les soldes. Hell ouai, it's on it's way. Can't wait to dig in and pick up some affordable/adorable clothes for Homekid, and maybe a little something for mama while we're at it.

 

 

A husband who listens to my crazy ideas and helps me follow through with them. I'm really good at coming up with plans and projects, and sometimes not the best at following through with them in a timely fashion. Doc on the other hand is Dr. Efficiency. He painted the dresser for the nursery this weekend, and as soon as we can decide on new drawer pulls I'll show youse that before and after.

 

 

Fig trees. They just make me happy. And several of ours are getting figs, despite the cold weather we've been having.

 

 

Fig tree pen pals. This is pretty much exactly as it sounds, except that the pen pal is not an actual tree, but my mom. Today I received a healthy little stack of pictures (taken from a disposable camera, bless her little heart) of my fig trees and the rest of The Beach Orchard back in Southern New Jersey. I can't wait to continue to receive my little monthly updates via the snail mail!

 

{You know some weather is rolling in when the Salève completely disappears!}

 

On that cold note, thank you for the cooler mountain weather France. The lightning and thunderstorms at the end of last week were awesome, and helped bring the temps down. I've got enough discomforts to deal with right now, and it's nice to wake up not covered in sweat.

 

Being serenaded to sleep at night by cowbells. There really is nothing like it.

 

 

Books in English.

 

 

Wild poppies. They're blooming everywhere right now in our little village and I just love them to pieces.

 

{I think he's holding the crib right there?}

 

Nursery planning. It's safe to say that both Doc and I are in total nesting mode, albeit in our own little ways. I've been making etsy shopping lists and planning the room out in my mind, while my physicist husband went ahead and measured out the dimensions of the room, and then proceeded to make to-scale paper cut outs of the furniture we already have or have picked out. To be honest I'd have been surprised had he not done that.

 

Things that I'm not loving right now:

 

It's officially difficult to put socks on. And shoes.

I miss unpasteurized yogurt.

And unpasteurized cheese.

And unpasteurized salt butter.

And dried meats.

And I'd kill for a nice glass of dry red wine.

Or a Jura white.

And maybe two cups of coffee.

I also miss running.

And my bike.

And hiking. Damn I miss that mountain behind us.

I could also deal with not being completely exhausted all the time.

And the back spasms.

Le sigh.

 

A la prochaine friends...

 

Honey