simple pleasures

things that are bringing me joy these days:

cooking something, then watching Shane wolf it down (this is the only sure-fire sign that he likes it)

Sunday afternoon naps

having an empty laundry basket (this does not happen very often, but it’s amazing when it does)

thinking about being able to hold my soon-to-be-born niece or nephew in my arms

SUNSHINE (even if it’s cold sunshine)

walking through our house and thinking “wow! we own this!” (well, techincally we won’t “own” it for another 29 years and 2 months, but at least we’re slowly getting there)

the view of the Olympic mountains as seen from Beacon Hill on my way to work in the morning

the falafel plate from Falafel King on 1st Ave, complete with the most garlicky hummus you will ever taste

the soundtrack of “Once” piping through my ipod

coming home each night to a husband that is always eager to greet me with a hug and a kiss

the buttery, flaky deliciousness of a pain au chocolat at Cafe Besalu in Ballard (this is a recent discovery - thank you Jack and LaVerne!)

new episodes of Project Runway

the sound of French being spoken

occasionally taking time to sit back and breathe deeply

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itching.

I’m getting itchy. Not wool-sweater-itchy, but stuck-in-one-place-itchy. Maybe it’s all of this staying indoors lately (due to the incessant rain which feels like it will NEVER STOP), but now more than ever, I want to go someplace. Someplace far away. Like Paris, or Portugal, or maybe Switzerland? The European vacation that Shane and I promised ourselves we would take before we start a family seems to keep getting pushed back. I know that this is largely due to the fact that we chose to pursue a different dream several months ago and bought a house, and I wouldn’t take back that decision for the world, since our home and our neighbors have been such an incredible blessing to us, but a mortgage payment does seem to make a significant dent in the travel fund. Thus the itchiness. I keep reminiscing about the year I spent in Paris, which was so enlightening and wonderful and full of surprises. Around every corner was a fantastic cafe or a beautiful cathedral or an old tile-roofed, stone-walled, wrought-iron railinged apartment building. And I was able to do things like hop on a train to Brussels at a moment’s notice, to keep from letting that one remaining day on my Euro-Rail pass go to waste. The luxuries of student life abroad… But for now, we must be patient. And save. And dream about that picture-perfect day that we will someday spend again in Paris. It might go something like this:

Roll out of bed sometime between the hours of 9 and 10 (in typical Parisian fashion), shower, and step out onto the narrow sidewalk outside our room on Rue de Rosiers. Grab a pain au chocolat at any of the dozens of bakeries at our fingertips and walk across the Pont Marie to take a seat along the bank of the Seine to enjoy our flaky, buttery, chocolaty croissants. Find the very spot there on Ile Saint-Louis where Shane proposed (the first time), and enjoy a sappy-but-precious romantic moment. Part of the afternoon would have to be spent at the Centre Pompidou (a contemporary-art-lover’s dream). There are paintings there that have the ability to literally take my breath away… The rest of the afternoon would be devoted to aimlessly wandering and sitting on cafe terraces, sipping espresso. Maybe grab a falafel sandwich and swing by Place de Vosges to lay on the grass and people-watch for awhile. And once darkness falls, seeing the Eiffel Tower is a must. Touristy as it is, it is still beautiful, especially at night. A 2 or 3-hour dinner of French cuisine, a stop at the courtyard of the Louvre (this building lit up at night = wow!), and we will fall into bed contentedly exhausted. How lovely it is to dream…

Taken from the top of one of the towers of Notre Dame. So many gems to be found within those narrow streets…

Mmmmmm-hmmmmm…

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