Month: December 2014

And just like that a year is over, a new one starting.

I’ve been putting a lot of thought into this next year.  What I want to do, how I want to live, etc.

I’d like to take the time to *enjoy* this upcoming year.  I quit my work at home job a few months ago, and since life around here has been so much more enjoyable.  The house is cleaner.  I am happier.  I have time to keep up with these 3 wild children of mine.  I’ve figured out a rhythym that seems to work for us, keeping up on everything that needs to be done around here.  I don’t know if this can last, nor for how long, so I want to savor it.

The other things I want to focus on this year are all, I guess, sub-titles under Enjoy.
I’d like to craft more.

I’d like to cook more, and hopefully master a few new recipes.

I’d like to go on long walks,

journal,

and take advantage of every season.

I tend to be really stressed about “what is next”.  What are we doing next, what is our next step, where we are going in life.  I’m hoping to keep that to a minimum this year, and instead enjoy what we do have, what our reality is now, and let things come as they may.  While I wish we did have a plan (I’d like to buy an old house/farm/maison de matîre somewhere in France, and settle in for the duration as the girls are starting to hit an age where moving will be harder and harder).  But, we aren’t quite there, yet.  Soon, I hope, and in the meantime we’ll keep on as we always do, and hopefully find inspiration, wonderment, fun and happiness right where we are.

So much to say!

This past weekend, we had my husbands Grandparents in the region.  They are in their eighties, and very traditionally French.  So, I try to make rather traditional, sit-down meals while they are here.

Au menu

Samedi midi- poulet rôti, haricôts verts, risotto aux champignons (roasted chicken, green beans, mushroom risotto)

Samedi soir- velouté aux legumes d’hiver (vélouté of winter vegetables)

Dimanche midi- entrecôte avec sauce aux bleu, frites maison (steak, blue cheese sauce, homemade fries)

Dimanche soir- crêpes maison (homemade crêpes)

And of course, every meal is started with an apéro (Champagne when the girls great-grandparents come) accompanied with various bits and bobs, and followed by a light salad, cheese, fruit and dessert, accompanied with wine.  Coffee, and a small square of dark chocolate to close out the ‘lunch hour’.   It can be a lot of work, but oh, so worth it.  We end with a full belly, usually a lot of laughs, and having spent typically, hours, around the table.

It is one of my favorite things about France, the rituals surrounding meals.  I’ve gotten a bit out of the habit of these long meals.  With 3 little kids, they aren’t always easy to put together.  But I’m finding my rhythm as a cook, and I hope that even as our family of five we can start enjoying more long, leisurely meals, all courses included.

Dimanche soir