dear {France}

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France, you have gotten under my skin. When we are apart I think about you endlessly. I study your language and hope you noticed that this last visit that it rolled off of my tongue just a bit easier. Next time we see each other, I promise it will be even better~

There are so many things I love about you. When I land in your beautiful jewel Paris, I immediately feel at ease – it is beginning to feel a little bit like going to a second home. Your beautiful language fills my ears, your music humming along in the background. Your gentlemen are so well put-together, with their classic fashion. Your women seem to have walked off of the pages of a fashion magazine. The last time I left you, I went straight to my hair stylist and asked her to cut over 12 inches off of my hair to give me a short style like the many I had admired on your streets.

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I love the first time I step into one of your wonderful boulangeries – the smell of fresh baguettes filling the air. My first bite of a flaky croissant, or one of my favorite meringues takes me to my happy place. There is something magical about the comfortable relationships that your people have with those that provide their food – from their butcher to their baker to their fish or cheese monger. Oh how I would love to do all of my shopping in your markets and small shops, then wander home with my basket of treasures to create something wonderful in my kitchen.

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love my french markets

more from this fabulous cheese shop soon!

France, I will be honest – I do love where I live. I love my “first” home – it is as close to a perfect fit as I imagine possible. However, every time I visit you, I want to bring home so many things and make them a part of my already wonderful existence. I want to spend more time getting to know my own butcher and cheese monger, and to shop there more often. I want to rearrange my priorities – spend more time planning meals, creating simple yet delicious dishes that my family will love. I want to decrease quantity and increase quality. I would like to slow down enough to really look around and appreciate what it is in my life that I love, and then focus more on that and less on the things that don’t matter as much. I know that this won’t be easy. I know that I will find myself feeling pulled back into the “more is better” attitude that permeates American society. However, I am blessed with friends who also aspire to bring a bit of you here, and appreciate the values that you hold dear.

I will be back, I promise. Hopefully sooner than later…
bisous
xx

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the bird man of Notre Dame

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