moment: la boheme

a moment
a friday ritual, a single photo (cheat! cheat!), 
no words, capturing a moment from the week
a simple, special, extraordinary moment
i want to pause, savour and 

remember.

erica

xoxo

inspired by soulemama

au revoir paris

it has been such an amazing visit...

paris is truly spectacular.

after a month of touring and getting to know the city...ian and i are sad to be leaving.

i am going to miss all the cathedrals and the parks,

ian is sure to miss his favourite boulangerie,

meanwhile, all my children can think about is seeing harlow very soon. 

(we've all miss our furry friend!!)

for our last evening,

we took a trip to the eiffle tower

and waited for the lights and the twinkle.

it took forevaaaah to get dark...

but it was sooooo worth it!!!!

au revoir paris!!!

erica

xoxo

thrifted threads: paris black

welcome to another

'what i wore wednesday'

i'm linking up with lindsey and the ladies for some fashion fun.

it is our last full day in paris

and the weather has cooled to a beautiful range between 21-24 degrees celsius.

yesterday, with such optimal walking temperature,

ian and i must have walked close to 20 km.

for our adventure day,

i wore this thrifted black tunic top over my favourite cut offs.

easy and super comfortable !!!

i've looked...while there are quite a few vintage clothing shops, 

i have not found any thrift stores in paris.

however, i have bought a couple of single euro scarves 

from a local market vendor for souvenirs.

this last pic was taken just 5 minutes from where we stay,

isn't it so lovely?

luckily, we get to pass by it on our route to and from town.

wishing you a wonderful wednesday!!!

erica

xoxo

fun stuff: sunny

my sunny scrap blanket is growing slowly these days

we leave for home in two days

yet we find there is still so much we want to see of this city.

here is the blanket by the back window of our rented apartment,

looking out into all our neighbour's shuttered windows 

and our little courtyard down below.

the shakespeare & co. bookstore was giving away a pile of books last week.

if you take in account the number of tourists that have descended upon the city,

the chance of us picking up one of those free books was less than winning a lottery.

well, the stars were aligned for me that day...because i picked up two paperbacks.

i have started reading both...

so far, they are pretty good reads.

what are you knitting? reading?

care to share?

erica

xoxo

joining frontier dreams and small things

rose meditation

i've been practising since we got here...

before we left victoria for this trip,

i watched a youtube video of eckhart tolle discussing ideas from his book a new earth.

he mentioned using a flower to bring spaces of awareness into your daily life.

 so i've been practising since we got here...

every time i see a rose during our long walks,

i stop, breath, feel the aliveness of the rose, feel the aliveness in me,

and remind myself that all there ever is...is the present moment

because paris is full of beautiful rosescapes 

(especially around the cathedrals!!!)

it is a wonderful way for me to become present and aware during my day.

and if by chance i don't find a rose, 

i do the meditation with hollyhocks too!!!

erica

xoxo

islands of silence

we have been walking for weeks...exploring all the little corners of this great city.

the tourist season has definitely reached its peak,

and we move through the streets among millions with their cameras.

 within the city core, we have discovered and visited at least twelve cathedrals

each unique and so beautiful in their own way.

the thing i find most striking about them

is the silence within their doors.

you know that feeling when you walk into a forest,

or come to the edge of a vast ocean,

or reach the peak of a mountain top,

and all the noise in your head is silenced by the sheer awesomeness of your surrounding,

one (at least i do) gets that here 

when one steps into these gothic cathedrals, paris' islands of silence.

during our daily excursions, 

we make it a point to visit one or two,

to sit down and absorb the restorative powers of these quiet, peaceful spaces.

wishing you all a wonderful weekend!!!

erica

xoxo

feed the starving writers

we looked for it for days before we found it

there it was...across the bridge from the centre of the universe (a.k.a. notre dame)

there are little signs that says "no photos"...ooops

i seriously didn't see them (until our third visit) and neither did all the other tourists.

it is such a magical space full of wonderful books.

the upstairs is a library and a couple of really quaint sitting areas

with several desks and typewriter vignettes. 

this is ian's favourite spot...

to view the bell tower of the notre dame,

to read some of the books from the library shelf,

to visit with the albino cat

and to chat with some of the interns.

did you know that this bookstore runs a program where young writers can stay for free on a bed in the apartment if they work in the shop and write everyday?

our place is only a 15 minutes walk from the shop...so we pass by it frequently.

yesterday, they were giving away a big pile of books.

we all walked home with a couple of good reads to take to the park later that afternoon.

erica

xoxo

moment: montparnesse

a moment
a friday ritual, a single photo, 
no words, capturing a moment from the week
a simple, special, extraordinary moment
i want to pause, savour and 

remember.

erica

xoxo

inspired by soulemama

standing water lilies

the best time to check out the gardens is first thing in the morning

when the air is still fresh and cool enough so

one can stroll slowly in the full sun.

we were doing just that...in the jardin de plantes,

when we found the city's collection of ponds.

at the far end of the garden 

was the most stunning display of standing water lilies!!!

the lilies were standing tall and erect...some of them came to my shoulder height!!!

i think they are magnificent,

do you?

erica

xoxo