I know it’s hard to believe, but we do have other things going on besides the Bonbon. Things like:
– Grandma is recovering! Thank you all so much for your kind words and thoughts about my Grandma. If you don’t know, last Tuesday my mom came home from work and found Grandma on the ground. She was moving and responsive, but couldn’t remember what happened or how long she’d been down there. She was taken to the hospital where they discovered she’d had a heart attack. She underwent a heart catheterization to determine exactly what happened, which was a little scary, but she got through the procedure just fine. They discovered some significant blockage, but because of her age, they are going to treat it with medicine rather than surgery. Grandma is doing much better and is as feisty as ever (she demands to put on lipstick before the doctor visits her room), I’m sure due to all the good vibes you all put out. So thank you!! She has a bit of a road to go and my mom has been at the hospital everyday taking care of her as she recovers. Please continue to keep them in your thoughts!
Grandma on her 90th birthday in June
– I celebrated my 31st birthday. I asked the Twitterverse if I could still extend my birthday power into a weekend long celebration, or if that privilege ended after 30. You all told me it was ok, so that’s what I did! I had a great start to my day on Saturday, waking from a dream that I played in a Steely Dan cover band (we encored with Reelin’ in the Years, obviously) before jetting off to the Czech Republic with Michael and Devon. In real life, I spent the weekend buying a few frivolous things for myself (like this, this, and this), getting a terrible pedicure (they just do NOT know how to do them in France!) and making Michael wash all the dishes. It was great! Michael gave me a beautiful Swarovski pendant with a pink crystal, for our baby girl, so I would always remember this birthday, right before our lives changed. We ordered pizza from our favorite place and, instead of having one silly birthday cake, I got four amazingly decadent pastries from the best bakery around, Soler Thierry.
clockwise – tarte au citron, tarte au fraises, opera chocolat, and rocher
– We hosted our last house guests before Bonbon’s arrival. Our SF friends Nate, Jess and their daughter Avery were vacationing with their family in Cassis and made a little side trip to visit us. Initially their visit was just supposed to be for the day, but thanks to a very annoying/serendipitous (depending which way you look at it!) mishap with Jess’s passport, they ended up having to extend their trip and stayed with us last night. This was my first time meeting Avery, who is 15 months old, and we just had so much fun! We went out to a nice lunch, walked around the city center to see the sights and then took the tram to Port Marianne to see the New Mairie, Parc Richter, and the Rive du Lez.
I stole this Instagram photo from Jess – me and Nate at the Place Peyrou
- I got a Mom haircut. Well, not a true “Mom” haircut, I promised Michael long ago I would never do that, but I did get a haircut that makes me look like my Mom! Which is not a bad thing, it’s just much shorter than I am used to and my stylist made it super straight. I think it will be a good change, because I don’t see many 15-20 minute showers in my future, and that’s about how long it usually takes to wash and detangle my huge mane.
39 weeks
– I’ve been making new friends. I’ve recently connected with a few other ex-pat bloggers and some women through my blog and it’s been so fun and really nice to hang out with some new people! Aidan took me to an English speaking tea last weekend, which was just lovely, Colleen (fresh from Napa!) and I have been meeting up for lunch, and Sabrina has been helping me navigate the murky waters of childbirth in France. And it’s been so nice to chat with Abby, who is also expecting a little girl, and commiserate about our communication barriers when dealing with the French system. I’m happy to have these new women in my life.
– I made Speculoos Cheesecake Bars. I am pretty much head over heels obsessed with anything speculoos these days. Recipe coming soon, and yeah, you want this one.
nom nom nom
À bientôt!
