Entry

Here are some photos of our finished entry way.




The house portraits were a big hit at the party!

Party Time

Saturday night we had our housewarming party. Almost six months after moving into our apartment, we were finally ready to have guests. Plus, this was the first real party that we had ever thrown since arriving in Paris five(!) short years ago.

On Wednesday evening we finally all the extra 'stuff' (aka tools) down to the basement. There hasn't been so much as a screwdriver in the apartment for four whole days!! Without all the tools on the bookshelf and a workbench in the corner, we were finally able to unpack some last boxes and move around the furniture. We really had no idea how large the room would feel. It's absolutely huge!! Makes me wish we had gotten the three-seater sofa that we didn't think we'd have room for. Saturday morning Erik changed the slipcover on the sofa from the stain inviting white to the chocolate brown colour that we had originally wanted. We are really happy with the colour, and I think it makes the sofa blend into the room. Also, Erik thinks it looks delicious, with the caramel coloured throw pillows.

I have to admit I was a bit nervous before the party. Would anyone show up? How many people were coming??? Did we have enough food? Luckily, everyone showed up, there was lots to eat and drink, and I think people had a good time. All the empty space in our living room turned into a dance floor as the evening wore on, and we're still surprised that none of the neighbours complained.




Ready to party!


The bidet reborn again as a beer cooler.


Dancing the night away

Bye bye beige!

Surprise!! An unfinished outlet hiding behind the bookshelf.



Finally finished, Erik installed the light fixture. It gives off ridiculously little light. Like none at all. Plus one of the little shades broke.

Progress

This weekend was a big weekend. Erik finished the electricity! Completely done!

Here I am showing off the finished panel.

And just for fun, here's what it looked like before:

Oh, how we'll miss the big piece of cardboard in the front hall. Notice the wine bottles on the floor holding it shut. It's all class chez nous.


Behind the cardboard. Looks like fun!


Now that the electricity is done, we were finally able to get a lot of tools out of the living room, and set up the second white bookshelf.


Here's a shot of the whole room. Still lots of junk cluttering up the space, but it is starting to look huge! And now we have this long, bare wall to decorate. Any ideas? It runs the entire length of the room, with only the radiator to break it up.

Last weekend Erik took the door off the kitchen. It was taking up a huge amount of space, and was totally unnecessary. Now there's space for a narrow counter or shelf, or maybe a stool....

Before

After. I think it's quite an improvement!

Do You Fondue?

We do!

Thomas and Julia invited us over for fondue last night. It was lots of cheesy fun!

Vladimir got right into it!

Christmas 2009

I finally got copies of the pictures that Julia and Thomas took on Christmas Eve at their house. Enjoy!

Bordeaux, en photo

We spent this past weekend in Bordeaux, claimed to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world....






We took a bus tour out the the Medoc region of Bordeaux and visited the Pichon-Longueville winery.


This is what we tasted:




This kind of reminded us of Japan. We were in a coach bus racing along tiny roads to get to the second winery.



We stumbled upon a couple of impressive churches: St Andre, above

Ste Croix


We had a seafood feast at Le Petit Commerce for lunch on Sunday


We took a walk along the water, and Erik stopped to do a couple of chest presses



We snapped this picture, happy to know that even France has a Degrassi St.

We also had a fantastic lunch on Saturday at the Brasserie Bordelaise, and snacked on the traditional Bordelais treat of canneles (I'll let you google that one. I'm afraid to find out exactly how much butter they contain). We viewed the excellent exhibition at the Galeries des Beaux Arts that featured art depicting Bordeaux back in the day.


Oh, and are we the only ones who think that the city has made a poor choice for their logo?

Just Another Weekend....

...that started with bowling. Which meant that the rest of the weekend was a little less productive than we would have hoped, but there were still things accomplished, so here's your Sunday recap:


-Doors are finally on the closet. Only took, what, like three months?


-Towel hooks in the bathroom. Kind of fun.


-Paella for dinner. We used some Valencian rice that we picked up when we were there, and used this recipe, and it was delicious. We also happened to have a bottle of Spanish wine to enjoy with it, and it made a nice end to a much too short weekend.

New Years in Amsterdam

We spent our New Years in Amsterdam this year with our friends Julia and Thomas. It was a great couple of days, full of Champagne, walking, fireworks and cheese. Oh, and a shot or two of Genever.

First beer of the trip at the Cotton Club.


A pretty night shot. A canal, and the Nieumarkt castle in the distance.


The very steep steps up to our bed and breakfast.


Erik getting a snack from a vending machine store.


Shopping for New Year's Eve dinner.


Happy New Years!