crafty mum in changing places

French Friday (even on a Saturday...)

Dear readers and friends of Paris, the last week I gathered some more things to share about Paris and the preparation for our trip this summer: books, links and paper goods. 

I've been looking for some Paris related books around the house and made two stashes to share with you:

I have to admit there were originally two staples but you know me:

1. It was too high and I could not take a nice picture. and
2. The colours were too mixeds so I had to make two out of the one...

The outcome was quite heterogenous in subject (apart from the Paris theme) as you can see.

But there is also some prevalent theme there: Paris and the Lost Generation. And when I picked up the worn out and yellowed copy of Ernest hemingway's "Paris - A  Movable Feast", I opened the book knowing I had it for so many years know and also knowing I would find a date in ther: When I was a teenager, I started noting the year and the location I read (and reread) it somewhere on the first pages:

So it was 1983 then - I turned 16 and came back from Paris for the first time. I loved learning French at school but I did not like Hemingway's writing. But because the book was about Paris I had to buy it. I read it in one sitting and loved it. I found out about "Shakespeare and Company" and Sylvia Beach and also that so many writers and artists formed a circle back then in Paris (Including F.Scott Fitzgerald  whom I loved reading as a teenager). So it was totally exiting for me. 

It was then back in 1989 when I studied Literature at University after my apprenticeship at a Newspaper when I reread it and dug deeper into the subject and included Gertrude Stein, Djuna Barnes and so many more to my reading list. And I never really got tired of them!

I will reread A Moveable Feast (and add another date and location to the book - reviving this tradition I once started and gave up for whatever reason) and I am already rereading Gertrude Stein's "The Authobiography of Alice B. Toklas" on my Kindle when I am out in a Cafe or waiting for the children at school.

I will leave you here with the book theme but will come back to it in some of the following posts. Tonight I will watch "Surviving Picasso" again because Markus hasn't seen it back then.

 

But now to one of my favorite topics: Paper ( or shall I say Papeterie?)

I got this lovely weekly scheduler at a bookshop here In Seoul. I won't use it as a scheduler that much but I love the papes and Photos. So the children will be using it for their Paris diary this summer and we will continuosly using some of the pages in our crafting and also in the project life album.

I really canot wait to get my hands on them and use them!

And here is more beauty made in Korea:

A set of mini postcards in a metal tin. 

Can you imagine what to with all these cute things? Writing letters, packing presents, scrapbooking etc....

And just in case you might want to know about the must have ingredients for a Parisian cafe, then hop over to this blog post  and have a look! I The cafe is located in one of my favorite streets of Paris: rue Vielle du Temple. 

And how about you? Are you a Paris lover? Have you been there? Are you dreaming of going there? 

I'd love to hear about it!

Enjoy the week end!

Yvonne (written the French way - bien sur!)

 

 

Weekend bliss

Weekends are just wonderful! Pure family time and relaxation most of the time. More time for conversation, games, books, crafting, hugs, walks and good food. 

Moritz was having a sleepover party at a friend's house and Pauline also had a guest. And now that there were two girls and just one little boy in the house it all turned miraculously quiet - and Pink! The girls were playing dressing up and they were ballerinas and princesses - a thing Pauline normally dos not indulge into. With two boys in the house they are playing Robin Hood or Agents or something mor action-typish-boyish.

They watched "Drei Haselnüsse für Aschenbrödel" - the Czech version of Cinderella. It is an all time classic from the times when I was a child. The film is from 1973 and still is full of magic. And because it was freezing cold outside with snow still on the trees it was a perfect thing to watch. Maybe some of you know this gem - I just don't know the English name for it. I love that in this version Cinderella is self sufficient and can ride a horse and help herself all the time. She is a modern Cinderella in some respencts. And when Prince Charming told her she will be his wife she answered: "I think you forgot something! You did not even ask if I want to!"

That definitely would not occur in a Disney version...

The weekend photos for the Souvenir Foto School are also ready to show:

Home for us means also a sleeping dog in one of the rooms. So I had to incorporate George somehow. So "D" is for dog!

With someone like him around you you can really relax. He just shows you how to do it: Bathing in sunlight, doozing off...

And then to "E"

When I told the children about this course they wanted to share their ideas about what to capture around the house  for a certain letter. I told them it has to be something typical, something we always live with day to day. Moritz said:  "So for "D" it is "dark chocolate" then!" I loved this idea! But unfortunately the last dark chocolate we had in the house has been eaten somehow last night with some pistaccios, cashews and a glass of red wine!

So he brought his dictionary. Having only had 1 year of English at school  his vocabulary is still abit limited in this language. The children made a list of things to photograph for each letter in the alphabet. I am happy they found something with "Q" and "Y" and "X" already!

So noe "E" will not be peaceful sleeping furry friends but the opposite: I got some drumbells recently to do some weight training due to my commitment to Cathy's class and because of my bad bone situation. I like "playing" with them and I think they are quite sexy as well. (I have to have some incentives, don't I?)

Well, enough of them! But believe me: I could go on and on like that! Who would have thought I would find pleasure in taking pictures of weights??? Come on, it is still lazy me, wanting to sit on a sofa with book in hand all day! But they got me. Now I am looking for a fancy workout mat. It just doesn't work on a Kilim. I tried for the last weeks but we keep sailing through the room, the kilim, the Hula Hoop and I!

But to not give you a totally wrong impression of the eventually new me, here are some books I am reading and I can only higly recommend: 

See, I am still on the sofa, reading! Quite an ecclectic mix but that is how our life is here... 

I will now hurry to bed and take my small library with me! Hope to see you soon again here! Sleep well!

Yvonne

 

 

 

 

 

Projects

Hello again!

These resolutions and challenges I put on my agenda this year seem to develop in a good way. I am taking photos for the Souvenir Foto School:

"B" is for books: I cannot imagine a life without Books! Scenarios like in  Fahrenheit 451 would be a nightmare for me (and I would not even be able to memorize them as they did in the book - i am so NOT good at it!). So there have to be photos of books in my next litlle mini-album about the new home!

"C" is for Chrocheting: There are several baskets scattered around the house with wool of some sort in it. Sometimes even with unfinished projects (who would have guessed?) So today I took one of these and took a photo of this unfinished project aka Pauline's granny square blanket from last year AND I started finishing it. I hope to have it finished by Sunday evening... Then she can use it for snuggling under it whilst reading on her sofa.

I am off to finishing a book right now. Tomorrow will be a day for playing board games with the children, new photos for the assignment and for finishing my next week of project life.

See you then!

Yvonne

 

It looked like springtime...

Yesterday it really looked like springtime when I took the children to school. The sun was coming out and I ignored the temperature sign on my car showing minus 10 degrees and drove straight to the Han river to go for a spontaneous walk. I thought I could go for 30 minutes and then head over to Yeouido to check out Paul Patisserie, a gem I knew from my time back then in Istanbul. 

My walk took not 30 minutes but one hour. I am glad I did it. One words for 2012 is health and what is better than an early morning walk by the river in the sun? but of course, to minimize the health effect I went to Paul to have a croissant and a cappuccino. I have been  limiting myself to 2-3  cappuccinos a week for a while now. This was a special treat: sitting in the Patisserie, having some of my books at hand (Big big Thank you  to Markus ' parents for giving me a Kindle for Christmas!  - it is great to have my books available in a second!). 

I am currently reading "Living the savvy life" by Melissa Tosetti, "Pictures at an exhibition" by Sara Houghteling and "Wild Things: the Art of nurtutring Boys" by Stephen James. And yes, I am a parallel reader. I definitely need more than one book by my side!

And on my way home towards the mountains I have been listening to this in the car: 

 

 

 

Life is good! Has it been good to you lately?

Yvonne

 

Baby, it's cold outside

Hello again! It is freezing cold outside. 

I am definitely not a winter person. But because of new standards for a healthier life we walked downhill through the woods to Samcheong-dong the other day. Pauline is also always a little grumpy when it comes to going for a walk. She loves Sports but not walking. But once she is in motion she loves it. On our way to the forest we've been greeted by a friendly little helper of the street worker in our area:

This really is the country of cute (and I did not even start showing you all the cute paper goods....).

The footpath  to the national park starts near our house and we can walk all the way down to Samcheong-dong through the forest. In the middle of the walk you have a wonderful view over Seoul. It looks amazing when the lights are on!

I am thankful and happy we chose to live here! We are surrounded by Green and have a big city at our feet. 

And for healthy living; do you remember I started the habit of trying a new recipe every week? I kept that but was less diligent when it came to the mail thing. There weren't that many letters posted every week. but you should only start one new habit at a time and wait a few weeks until it really turns into a habit, right? Babysteps!

The new recipe for last week was oven baked Ratatouille from the "River Cottage veg everyday" cookbook I got myself for Christmas. I am not such a fan of Ratatouille but my husband Markus loves it. For me it is a bit to sour if cooked the normel way. But I thought it would be a bit sweeter because the heat from the oven might caramelize it. And so it is. It is more creamy and sweeter and absolutely amazingly yummy! If somebody wants the recipe, please contact me! It is so worth it and super easy to prepare because it is roasting all by itself. You just need to cut the veggies and toss them!

And this week I'll try another one from the book: "Mushroom risoniotto". 

Doesn't it look yummy? I will try this out tomorrow after a few rounds on the ice skating rink with the children. The best thing about the recipes is that there is no fuss in making them. You don't need to prepare things for a long time or need to memorize an elaborated recipe with a lot of ingredients. Not that I don' like elaborated recipes but when time is short like sometimes in the evening it is perfect to have a new recipe at hand that is quickly prepared. 

I will tell you if it was as delicious as the last one.

What did you try out this year? Any new vegetarian or fish recipes?

Wishing you a lovely evening! I am off now to a tomato-mozzarella-pesto-salad-baguette prepared by Moritz. He is our baguette- and Panini-maker in the family. Jakob is the salad guy and tea-maker and Pauline just enjoys...

Yvonne