adventures of an american housewife in the south of france

2012: Year in Review

So, I know I'm a bit late in this Year in Review post and that these types are posts are pretty superfluous, but I really wanted to do one anyway.  2012 was a really exciting year for us, for obvious reasons, and I wanted to have a recap of it that I could look back on whenever I want.  We continued travelling, spent a lot of time with friends and family, and most importantly, welcomed our daughter to the world....

Holidays in Montpellier, Part 3: Ramona’s First Christmas

Hmm, January 6th today.  Am I still allowed to write about Christmas?  I hope so because it was a special one - Ramona's first!  Last year we spent Christmas Eve driving home from our Italian Road Trip and didn't give a whole lot of thought to presents, stockings, or a tree.  But we wanted to do things differently this year, because even if Ramona won't remember her first Christmas, we will! We started off...

Holidays in Montpellier, Part 1: Thanksgiving

The holidays are here!  And we're just chugging along here in Montpellier.  It's been hard to get any "real" posts written but I wanted to just write a quick update and share some photos from our holidays so far. Michael's parents, Grandma Joy and Grandpa Todd, came over to France to celebrate Thanksgiving with us and meet their first granddaughter!  Their Grandparent resume is quite impressive, as they have a...

2012: The Beginning

Happy New Year everyone! We had a very nice, low key evening celebrating New Year's Eve at a friend's house, raclette style.  Raclette is a semi-firm, cow's milk cheese that is melted, served with slices of meat and boiled potatoes, and eaten with white wine.  I've only ever seen raclette served at restaurants using this table-side, electrical contraption: Little did I know that you can buy your own...

2011: Year in Review

It's hard to believe that another year has gone by since last year's Year in Review.  I had a rough start to 2011, but it was an important reminder of my mantra, no day but today.  As 2011 comes to a close, I feel very grateful for how this year has turned around and I'd like to share my thoughts with you all. I am grateful for my family.  For my family by blood, my family by marriage, and my family of...

Ciao & Auguri!

And we're back!  I hope you all had a lovely holiday with friends and family.  Michael's office is closed this week, so we've been taking it easy, relaxing and recovering after our 8-day, nearly 2,000 km road trip through Italy.  We traveled along the Cote d'Azur to Riomaggiore, up to Firenze, back down to Siena, and then up to Torino, before heading back to Montpellier on Christmas Eve.  I can't wait to tell...

Marché de Noël: Christmas in France

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas over here! I'm really enjoying how festive the town has become.  We've been going on a tour of the Marché de Noël, or Christmas markets.  About a week and a half ago, we visited the small, beautiful town of Annecy on the border of France and Switzerland and had a lovely time at their Marché de Noël. This past weekend, we visited...

Hump Day: Vin Chaud

About two months ago I started getting really annoyed that there was no apple cider here.  Not hot, not cold, not anything.  I whined about it a lot (just ask Michael).  I finally bit the bullet and just made my own hot apple cider on the stove whenever the craving hit, and I managed to get through the fall without too many tears. And now it's December and Vin Chaud entered my life, and I could give a flying...

A Thanksgiving-Birthday Weekend

Hello all!  I hope you had a fabulous Thanksgiving full of lots of good food and friends.  We had a nice, quiet celebration over here for our first "official" holiday in France (Easter just doesn't really seem to count!)  We definitely realized that Thanksgiving is a lot more fun and exciting when you get to spend it with all your family and friends, but we still managed to have a great day.  We even had our...

A Thanksgiving Guide In France

It's Thanksgiving Week!  It's Thanksgiving Week!  Hooray!  As you probably know, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.   To me, it really marks the beginning of the holiday season and I love everything about it:  the food, the festivities, and the thanks.  Usually, we celebrate an Orphan's Thanksgiving in San Francisco with 25 or so of our closest friends, but this year we'll be doing things a little bit...

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