summer days

Excuse my mini absence from the blog world...nothing too terribly exciting has been going on lately, so I didn't want to bore my readers! :) I'm a lady in waiting anyways; waiting for Yann to come here in September, waiting to meet the baby girl I'm working on growing...

So, one thing I have been pretty prolific in is making stuff. Below you will see something I am very excited about: my first little quilt! yea! I have been wanting to learn how to quilt for so long and finally I made it happen by signing up for a class at this amazing local sewing shop. I'm the youngest customer who is into the quilting classes, but I love hanging out with all those cool, old quilter ladies. They remind me of my grandma out in California; they have so much great knowledge of crafting and hand making all kinds of things. My first quilt is not perfect, but I learned the technique anyways and it will be cute for the baby.

Also, I had this adorable fabric for a while and I decided to make a little dress and bloomers for the babe. I actually really like how it turned out and I want to make a few others in different variations. It took a while because I was figuring out how to use my new sewing machine, but after this project I am in love with my machine! It works so well and never causes any trouble...knock on wood!

Also, for those far away that requested some recent pics of me and my growin' belly here they are below. I am about 24 weeks now so I had my mom snap a few pictures in the backyard. I just bought that tank top at Express when I was visiting my good friend, Abby in Orlando. It's not meant to be a maternity shirt, but it does accommodate the bulge quite well, with the side gathering.

Anyway, I am off to North Carolina on Wednesday with the fam for a couple weeks. I will be up there celebrating my b-day and my father's 60th B-day. My aunts and grandma are coming all the way from California and I am so excited to see them!
So, to all my Asheville peeps...call me and let's hang out!

Little projects

So, I have a new baby that I didn't mention before and it's my new Baby Lock sewing machine. Yann got it for me a few months ago for our one year wedding anniversary. We bought it at this really amazing local sewing shop because to buy the same caliber machine in France would have been outrageously expensive. So, I shlepped the new machine back to France with me a few months ago, when I was visiting home. And at every single security check at the airport from here to there, I had to explain what it was and take it fully out of the bag to run it through the x-ray machines. So, let's just say, it was an annoying thing to drag across an ocean. I set it up in our apartment in France, ready to make my first stitches on a little curtain project I was going to do. I plugged it in and was so excited to try it out. I turned it on, the computer on it beeped, made a weird noise, then to my horror, went completely dead. Dead! My new machine, costing a small fortune for us, and never having been used!! Ahhh! I burst into emotional, pregnancy sobs for a half hour on the couch...poor Yann felt so bad for me and was trying to fix the machine. Basically, what happened was my electrical power converter for Europe shorted out and fried the sewing machine. France has different plugs and power currents than us, so we had always used these converters just fine, but the machine was too high a voltage for it to handle.

Long story short, Baby Lock has amazing warranties and fixed it for free. I had to pay 12$ shipping, that's it! So, I just got my Baby back last week and I had about a million projects piled up in line to get sewed. So, below is a little project I just finished. I dug these vintage doll bunk beds out of our attic. They were in my mother's room as a child and they were in mine too, until I decided, as a 5 year old, that I should climb onto the top bunk and snapped the frame. Anyways, they sat broken and unloved in our hot attic, until I got them out and decided to rehab them.

They were an outdated wood color, so my dad and I sanded them and applied some wood accents on the headboards & footboards, and then painted them. I just finished up my first quilting class, so I decided to practice making a particular quilt block, by making two little quilted coverlets for the beds. Oh my; the weird projects I do when I'm not employed! But I think they turned out cute and will be a staple in our little baby girl's room until she outgrows them or breaks them, as I did! The quilt colors kind of match the crib bedding set we got for her. I can just picture her as a toddler, tucking into bed her little dolls and stuffed animals.











So, other than projects, not too much else has been going on. We went out on the boat today, and I almost had a darn heat stroke. People, have you ever experienced the type of humid, hot, brain frying heat that is South Florida in the summer? If not, count yourself very blessed. Basically, living in Florida for a summer is akin to living in Antarctica during the winter. It is just too extremely painful and uncomfortable to go outside. The advantage of a Florida summer, over an arctic winter, is that at least from your air conditioned house you can look out the window and see bright sun, and cheerful green trees. I know, I'm sounding a little over dramatic here, but maybe it's just that I lived in Asheville so long, that I became accustomed to the summers there. In North Carolina, in the summers, if you do become hot, you just head to a cold, refreshing waterfall and dunk yourself. Also, the nights are cool enough to enjoy a stroll around the block or even a campfire. You can have a nice, productive garden too, where as in Florida, your delicate organic herbs and vegetables would all wither and die under the scorching heat. It is intense and I'm just trying to stay inside as much as I can. Although, I love summer and I love to be active and do things outdoors, it just is too much for me right now. So, inside I stay, with many fun sewing projects and books to read. I've got my knitting classes, and my first sweater is coming along pretty good. I've been trying to hit the gym a few times a week too, to get physically ready to have this baby.

What to do for the 4th this year?

I think this year, I'm going to need to sit out the 4th of July festivities. I see everybody around me making their firework viewing, BBQ, and beach plans but this time around I just am not feeling like celebrating. A few contributing factors are: the fact that I can't drink ice cold American beer, it's unbearably hot here in Florida, and also I think all the loud exploding noises would freak out the baby in utero. Apparently, from the books I'm reading she can hear pretty much everything around my belly, but more diluted, like being underwater. So, I think the crazy, drunken 4th of July revelers will have to party with out my presence this year. To be honest, the holiday was never one of my favorites and I blame growing up in Florida on this. I'm more of a Christmas and Thanksgiving girl. It was just always so hot growing up in Florida in the summers, that standing outside in the swampy, steamy evening heat and lighting off firecrackers in the driveway just wasn't so enticing. Plus, this year our barbeque is out of order and so we can't even grill! That should be a crime to have a broken grill in the summer! But I think this year a friend and I are going to buck the trend of viewing fireworks over the water and head to the refuge of a cool, dark, and deserted movie theatre and then grab some dinner. But please, go out and celebrate for me! Grill, Chill and be merry!


I think it's kind of funny that we ordered our nursery furniture and I have no idea where to put it when it gets delivered in August. I have my room here packed full and my parents' basement in North Carolina filled too. Yann doesn't come until September so I'm going to hold off on getting a place until then. Therefore, we have a household full of stuff, baby and other that needs to be moved somewhere, but no place to put it all yet. Hmmm, And to top that off, I am 'nesting' like crazy. Have you experienced this for yourself ever? I would assume it's a girl thing, and especially for expecting moms. I am so wanting a place of our own, with a cute little second bedroom to create a nursery. And wait until you see this furniture and bedding I found; very adorable, but not overly girly. I am thinking about chocolate browns and greens for her room. I owned a house in Asheville for a few years and I really fell in love with decorating it and making it my own space. First, I learned so much about renovation and house projects, but after the major work was done, I was able to get in there, and pick paint colors and decorate. I was really into, (because I had to be) decorating on the major cheap. Where I was in North Carolina there were tons of little thrift stores where you could find vintage treasures galore. I think the little old ladies running these stores had no idea what some of those things were worth. There was a Humane Society thrift store in Downtown Brevard that was my little secret for the summer I worked as a ceramics teacher at a girls camp. Oh, I got so many cool things there. But I think at this point, I've collected lots of stuff, and now I just need a place for it all! Well, although I'm already more than half way through this pregnancy, I still have some more time to figure out where we will end up.



Tomorrow, my dad and I are hopefully going to finish up and photograph this cute little project we've been working on. So, check back soon and Happy 4th of July! Here is a virtual cupcake for you...

Dad's Day

Happy Father's Day! Too bad my dad has to work today, but tomorrow night we are going to celebrate both Father's Day and my parents 35th wedding anniversary by going out to eat and a movie. Can you imagine that, 35 years of marriage?! And since I'm living with the parents for the time being, I figure that I may as well crash their romantic evening too. Living with them again after such a long time of not, is weird and comforting at the same time. First, it is just temporary until my hubby arrives in about 2 months, but second is such a money saver for us at this point. We are hoping to buy a house in the not too distant future, and if I had to pay a big rent on an apartment, our saving money would be even harder. In fact, Yann is currently moving out of our apartment in Ventabren, France and he is going to move into his parents place too, in North France! We are in quite a funny situation for the next couple months, but c'est la vie!

I appreciate so much, my parents letting me stay with them. I was feeling like I was imposing on them when I first arrived in the States; after all I am married, 27 years old, and pregnant! I felt like maybe I should bite the bullet and look for an apartment until Yann got here. But after looking at some expensive, tiny places, I decided I should stick around here. It's a much better deal here at their house: I've got a cool swimming pool in the backyard, my dog can stay with no extra pet deposit, I have access to a mac-daddy kitchen with a Sub-Zero fridge and a big gas stove, monthly utilities are included, and cable and internet are abundant! What more could you want? Well, for one thing, more storage would help. I've maxed out my closet in my bedroom, and now my craft work space is creeping into the dining room. I have a growing 'rat pile' of baby things that I've slowly begun collecting. A disassembled baby swing, a stroller in a huge box, the crib bedding, some cute baby clothes I found on sale... oh my, I do look forward to getting our own place at some point soon!

Anyways, I want to give a shout out to my dad and my grandpa today! Love you guys!! My dad is seriously the greatest papa ever and I can never thank him enough for all that he has done for me. We have been through some hard times as a family, but he always pulls through for my mom and I and is our solid rock. I am so happy that I will be able to give him the greatest gift this year of becoming a grandfather. I cannot wait to see him holding his grandaughter for the first time! He will be an excellent grandpa, just like he is a father. And to my grandpa, Art, who I now get to live only one mile away from, instead of being separated by the Atlantic ocean, I am happy to be your neighbor again! I bring dinner to my grandpa, who is homebound, with my mom about every other night. It's so good to have this time with him, because I've lived far away for so many years now. He is 93 years old and still very mentally sharp; he's such a great guy and I'm so blessed he is a part of my life. So, Happy Grandfather's Day to you grandps!







Also, in crafting news, I have only one quilting class left! The four weeks went by so fast. It's crazy; when I am on a sewing machine hours can pass and it will only feel like a few minutes has gone by! The 3 hours class goes by very quickly, but I will have an adorable lap quilt for the baby finished by this Thursday. Can't wait to show you my first little quilt. I have really learned a lot of technique and about measuring & cutting fabric from my teacher. She is a major perfectionist, which is required in quitling. I am more of a 'wing it' type person, so her instruction is very good for me; she makes me rip out a lot of my seams! My sewing machine is in the shop broken, which is a whole 'notha sad story in itself, and so I have to figure out another craft to keep my hands busy. I found a great knitting for babies book and so this is my next undertaking...learn to knit, while my my sewing machine is in the shop! Knitting in Florida..why??? Well, maybe this winter will be cold here and I can find a chilly day or two to put a hand knit sweater on my sweet little baby girl.

So, today I used my mom's old Bernina machine to sew up these market tote bags. I have been going nuts with the amount of plastic bags in the United States!! In France, everyone has to bring their own bags to the grocery stores. There is no such thing as a free plastic bag! If you forgot your bags at home, you can purchase thick plastic bags at the grocery store, but then they are expensive. This forces you to keep a bunch a eco-friendly, re-useable bags in your trunk and grab them before you go into the store in France. It's such a simple, small act to bring your own bag there, but I have made a lifetime resolution to never use the plastic bags at the store. They are a nightmare to store at home and are just a nuisance overall. I made these for my mom, because she always forgets to bring her own bags and I had to do something about that!





See you later this week!

bump alert!

So, one week after arriving and besides missing my husband, I am very happy to be here! Already, I've had a full schedule which is a nice shift of gears from my tranquil French lifestyle. I had my first quilting class, in which we are putting together a baby quilt...how fitting! And I picked out all greens and yellows; you'd think since we're having a girl I'd be going for all the girly pinks. But, I think once you see the cuteness of this fabric I picked out, you'll understand. Plus, a girl can't have all pink stuff, right? Way too cliche for this future mama!

Also, I attended the first orientation meeting at our local birthing center. Very interesting and informative and I brought my parents along to get the scoop too. As they are both coming from a medical background, I think they learned a lot and had their eyes opened to the many alternative options to normal hospital birth. I will be hopefully doing all my prenatal visits there as well as my child birth education classes. And if all goes well with this pregnancy and it looks normal and healthy, I think I'm going to try to deliver here at home. The house I grew up in! How amazing would that be?! I'm really hoping it work out, because hospitals scare me! You go there if you are sick and pregnancy is not a sickness, right?

Anyways, I included a picture of my belly dated from today, as requested by Annie. It is me at about 18 weeks and the belly has started to pop. In fact, I had to make a run to Target today to grab some maternity clothes and some skirts with elastic waistbands. Oh, Elastic, I can already see that you and I will be becoming very close friends over the next 5 months! I was just going nuts searching through the closet, trying on everything to see if anything fit me still and nothing was comfortable. So, now I have a few more stretchy things to get me through the next month or two.





Have a great weekend and see you soon!

So, do you like my new title?

It's fitting, eh? The Back Home Blog. Though maybe not so terribly creative, but it does convey the simple fact that I am back at home here in the ol' US of A! The ol' red, white, and blue...oh wait; France's flag is red, white, and blue also. But you get what I'm saying here, right? Well, it feels totally awesome to be back, aside from the crazy feeling that I'm still moving when I'm actually standing perfectly still. (Thanks jet lag!) I tell ya, I did puddle up a little bit when I got off that plane in Washington D.C. and walked though to the customs line, where there was this big sign hanging that read "Welcome Home to the United States". Maybe they knew I was coming and wanted to give me a warm welcome message. There were some uniformed troops there guarding and I wanted to run up to them and thank them and give them all a bear hug. Big, strong American soldiers in their camo and with their cool buzzcut hair. I am very thankful for them and to be back here. Look at me; all patriotic now! What also adds to my new found patriotism is the fact that I love our new president!


The plane rides, all FOUR of them, were good overall. I decided to try to save a few bucks by buying a heavily discounted ticket on Orbitz. Hence, why I had so many connections. My first mistake was buying a ticket that departed from Paris. We live, like 8 hours away from Paris by car and my flight left very early in the morning, so we had to drive all the way up from Provence the day before and get a hotel room by the Charles de Gaule Airport. Apparently, my sweet husband must have been also trying to save a buck, because, bless his heart, our hotel room was not a pretty sight. I asked him if he was trying to romance me on our last night together for 3 months. Ha, ha. We spent the first 10 minutes in the room picking out little black hairs from under the pillows on the bed. yuck. But hey, we survived the night unharmed and he dropped me off the next morning at the airport for my flight on Aer Lingus. yeah, I said Lingus. I was a bit skeptical at first, maybe the name did it, but after taking the commuter plane to Dublin and boarding the Airbus 330 over to Washington I felt better about it. It was a brand new plane, it had little tv screens in the back of each seat, and I had the 4 middle seats to myself. Let me inject here, that I have become an increasingly worried flyer. I think it happened sometime this last year with all the flying back and forth to Europe and being on a flight that had major turbulence. I used to adore the whole process of air travel and dealing with airports, but those days are over. Especially, just right after the Air France crash in Brazil, I was just creeped out the whole time. I couldn't really relax enough to sleep and every time I dozed off we would hit a little bump and I would wake up with a start!


I was so happy to finally be on the ground in Tampa and I met my parents outside of baggage claim, and it hit me how absolutely exhausted I was. I was literally staggering to their car. Maybe it was all the stress of flying, plus the no sleep, plus the pregnancy factor. And when I got inside the car and saw that they had brought my dog, Rascal, I burst into tears. I guess it was just pretty emotional to be home and seeing that little ball of fur so happy to see me, just made me cry!

So, now I'm pretty well recovered and my parents took me out last night to celebrate at Ruth Chris's Steakhouse and I ordered a giant steak. Girl needs some iron and protein! My mom and I also had to return some things at the mall and we hit up the Gymboree store. (My first time in one.) And so we bought the baby some cute little outfits, but I told myself: No more buying! Because I imagine these little shopping sprees for the baby can get pricey. It's just so fun to buy cute clothes for your future baby girl, with her future grandma! And the sales were major anyways; in France those same clothes would have been double or perhaps even triple the price they were here.

So, my next post will probably be about the introduction class I will be attending on Monday at the Sarasota Rosemary Birthing Center. Looking very forward to that!

The sex revealed...

It's a girl!!! Yeah! :)