bonjour, from France!

Dress (wearing an XS) Sandals. (on sale!) Bag. Sunglasses.

Hello everyone!

I’m so sorry to have been so quiet these past couple weeks.  I had very good intentions of getting all kinds of great content up on here for you while on our trip, I really did.  So many wonderful things to write about and share with you, all about our travels, how we’ve done it, where we’ve been what we’ve packed, as well as things on my mind and my heart as we escaped our everyday routine and took our little family on this (often wild) adventure.  But the internet has been so unpredictable, and most evenings, by the time we returned to our airbnb, got everyone sorted out and tucked into their beds, I pretty much only had enough energy left in me to collapse on the bed and fall into a deep and luxurious sleep.

I hope you can forgive me my inconsistencies, but I am so glad that I have given my family all my attention for these almost 3 weeks that we’ve been away in my favorite place on earth.

I love Europe so much.  I always knew I would, long before I ever came here, and the more time I spend here, only deepens my adoration and appreciation for the beauty and culture of places formed by a millennia of history.

I have so much to share with you over the next few weeks, but today just a couple fun things and random thoughts on my mind, since it’s the weekend!

(BTW, I hope you are having a great one!)

All the Airbnb’s we’ve stayed in have been so inspiring, I want to go home and rethink everything in my own house.  They’ve taught me so much about balancing minimalism and charm, and the subtle art of adding character by embracing a space’s perceived imperfections.  I am so excited to go back and look at our old farmhouse with new wider eyes.  I would love to start sharing more of my journey with our home on here.  Is this something you would like to see?  I’ve often kept that part of my life off the blog because it’s a work in progress and I have a tendency to not want to share things with you unless they’re perfect, or at least good, but this trip has made me want to throw all that ridiculousness out the window.  Would you like to see more of that on here?

I only packed 3 pairs of shoes for the whole trip (19 days) and I’ve mostly worn only 1 pair!  It is the most magical pair of sandals in the world.  I wore sneakers when we were in Switzerland and the second pair of sandals one other day (same brand just as amazing) but 90% of the trip it’s been this one pair of sandals.  Basically, I have become a capsule packing ninja warrior.  I will share a lot more about this very soon, but if you are traveling I cannot more highly recommend packing Borns for your trip.  They are stylish shoes you can actually walk all day in and your feel with still feel amazing.

I’ve worn this English Factory dress (picture above) several times now on our trip.  I love this brand so much, and their new fall pieces are lovely.  Can’t wait to order a few once I get home.  Have you ever bought anything from English Factory?

I have a work trip to California about 2 weeks after we get home that I have not even started to think about packing for… I’m usually so prepared for upcoming trips, but I’m not used to traveling quite this soon after just getting home.  I am excited to go back to my home state for a few days, though.  I haven’t been back in 3 years.  Anyone in California?  What’s the weather like right now?

I honestly haven’t once thought about fall style for the last few weeks (which is so strange for me, usually by august I’m positively dying to pull out my sweaters) but I was so focused on all our travel details and packing for summer in Europe that it just wasn’t on my radar.  But today in Provence is was breezy and 72 degrees and I swear my heart did a cartwheel.  I’m supposed to be packing up so we can head up to Burgundy in the morning, but instead I’m googling fall styles.  Are you a sweater person?  I cannot wait to pull out my boots and jackets when I get home. (Somebody tell New England to welcome us home with cooler weather!)

Have you been following along with our trip over on Instagram?  If not, make sure you head over there and see some of what we’ve been up to!

My husband and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary on Wednesday.  I can’t believe it’s been that long.  It feels like yesterday, and also a lifetime ago that we started our family, if that makes any sense.  What a happy thing to be able to celebrate it in Europe with all our kids.

Also, I want to know what you would like to see in September on here.  What kind of content, questions, trends, etc.  I feel like I am going to explode with all the creative energy I feel after this trip and I need an outlet, so send along requests!

And Happy Weekend!