mon dieu!

oh my gosh! has it really been over two months since i checked in with you all? i can't believe that the time has flown by so quickly and now we are at the eve of christmas eve! things have been so busy in my life that i just have barely been getting everything done that i need to but it's also been really, really great.

well, i just want to let you know that we are all doing just fine in my household. lorenzo and the girl are fabulous as always and lucie, roy and the kitty cats are all doing great as well. work is going good, just keeping me very busy. in fact i have a little bit of news for you all...in eleven days i will be heading to paris for maison objet! yes, it's true, my work is sending me to paris and i couldn't be happier. however, between now and then, i have a lot of work to do. i will be setting up and working our booth at the show in paris and then fly directly to new york to do the same at the new york gift show. whew, i'm already tired!

so while preparing to go to paris, i was sure to get a hotel in my favorite neighborhood, the latin quarter, to be close to my beloved shakespeare and company. i was so sad to hear last week that george whitman passed away at the ripe old age of 98. i was hoping to see him one last time. perhaps i will light a candle in notre dame for the old codger.


i think the best thing about this whole situation is that he had a daughter he named sylvia beach who has taken over running the store for him so i can rest easy knowing that it is in good hands (and i'm sure he can too).


if you have never been to shakespeare and company in paris, the next time you are there, you must go. it is a magical little world all its own.


and i am so excited to be staying right around the corner from the bookshop at hotel le notre dame.


this cute 26 room hotel was designed by christian lacroix and it is going to be my home away from home for ten days while i'm there. oh my gosh, i DIE!

so i promise, promise, promise that i will be better about checking in with you all-- my wonderful devoted reader friends and i will take lots and lots of pictures for you.

happy christmas to everyone and i can't wait to talk to you again soon.
XO

quelle bonne surprise

i haven't been able to participate in the french language community lately as much as i would like to. other than helping lorenzo's daughter with her homework, i'm pretty out of touch. i do think that i am going to have to head to france soon for a two week immersion class to get me back in line. what a bummer!

however, today during my lunch, i was scrolling through my favorites and clicked on the french word a day blog.

if you are even remotely a francophile, kristin's blog is a must. complete with the most amazing photos of the french country side and cities.

well, it seems mrs. espinasse just held her first reading at the famous bookstore shakespeare and company in paris. oh what a dream, could you imagine doing something like that? and what a charming post, i could just feel the butterflies she must have had.

it looks like she is out promoting her latest book and shakespeare was one of her stops. i'm just so happy for her. she truly is amazing.


kristin espinasse was raised in phoenix, arizona and quotes such memorable places as metro center. i liked her right away because of her upbringing, which is very similar to mine in the southwest. she then met her future husband and moved to france in 1992. she now lives in the south of france with her wine-maker husband and two adorable french children. what a rough life!

so go and check out french word a day. you will love it.

i'm watching...

i posted earlier today that i was anxious to come home to work on rearranging my bedroom and possibly moving my bookshelves into my room. well...lately i've really been wanting to go to paris so bad, this april will be five years since my last trip there. so i'm thinking about paris, and then books and this naturally reminds me of shakespeare and company which brings me back to before sunset.


the opening scene is filmed in my very favorite place in paris, shakespeare and company. and i just so happen to have this film at home so now i'm here watching it.


i stumbled upon shakespeare and co. while walking to notre dame one evening. it was a monday night and they were hosting a poetry reading. it was my first night in paris and i was way too nervous to go into the packed shop but i sat outside for a while and just soaked it all in, alone in the dark.


and that's when i started thinking about the bookshelves in the bookstore and wanting to watch the film to remind me of the bookstore...and this is why i can never get anything done!