Using my Fun Finds

During our time in Norway and now France I have found some really fun things.  I have found several amazing shops lately.  Between my recent purchases and things that I found while in Norway, these are most of my pieces of china.  I had to take it all out of the cabinet to rearrange everything because it will no longer fit.  I realized that I love all of these pieces so much and I was inspired by a friend to start using more of them around the house.

This is our coffee/tea area in our kitchen.  Previously I had a basket in this spot that held all of these items, but it ended up holding a lot of other items that made it less than functional and not pretty at all.  This shelf is a recent find.  Can you believe that someone was throwing this shelf away?  I love the new look and it works so much better for our family.

  This chicken basket is from the Nobel Peace Museum in Oslo.  Until last night he has had a place of honor on the shelf in our living room.  Once I made the beverage area so much prettier I thought I would keep going and try and make our everyday more beautiful.  Here in Europe they do not refrigerate the eggs, this took some getting used to, but now I enjoy being able to keep them out.

Linking up with The Scoop!

February 10 on 10

"Once a month on the tenth taking a photo an hour for ten consecutive hours. Finding life and beauty in the ordinary things of our day to day! "

I struggle with the consecutive part of this challenge, but I still enjoy taking pictures through out the day.

9:40

Garrett watching a cartoon on the iPad.  

11:05

  We had to drive into Paris for our medical exam for our visa.  Today there was another Taxi strike, this involves blocking 2 out of 3 lanes on the interstate and driving at a crawl.  It made for a long drive.

1:57

The medical appointment went well and then we stopped for lunch.  I couldn't take any pictures in the facility, but here is a picture of the restaurant we ate at.  The owners were Italian and the food was amazing!  

3:48

As I have mentioned before the 2nd Tuesday of every month is a big trash day, so on the 2nd Monday of every month people start putting trash outside their gates.  Our neighbors have some pretty great trash, this treasure was across the street when we got home.  

3:51

On my way to the bus stop there is one house that has a hole in their gate.  This hole is where I take some of my best Eiffel Tower pictures so I hope they never fix it.

4:10

Now that our bus stop has been moved we come home a different way.  This is one of my favorite houses on our walk.  I am pretty sure this house has a spectacular view of the Eiffel Tower and they have this great yard on a quiet side street. 

5:01

This big boy is getting better at tummy time, but he is still usually not a fan.  He can roll about 2/3 of the way over.

6:00

Addie has hand written all of her Valentine's this year.  There was definitely a part of me that wanted to print off a cute Pinterest Valentine, but I am so proud of Addie doing them herself.

6:25

Garrett got Scout the dog when we was little.  When we got it I programmed everything with his name.  He has played with it off and on over the years, but he brought it to me and he face was lit up because he realized that Scout was saying his name!  

8:05

Jon is such a sweet Daddy, he has been helping Addison learn how to make her loom bracelets.  I love moments like this.  

Malachi's Fox Filled Nursery

I am so happy to say that Malachi's room is finished!  There is something about decorating a nursery that is so special.  I read the other day that the fox is becoming a popular theme for nurseries.  

Malachi's nursery started with this guy.  I found this fox at a toy store in Baerum's Verk, Norway before I was even pregnant.  I looked at this fox every time I went into the store and I thought he was adorable.  When we found out we were expecting I decided that I was going to splurge and buy this guy.

The rug was an Ikea find that I loved because of the foxy orange and the polka dots.  I purchased the rug in Oslo because I loved it.  The sunshine print in the large frame was on sale in a boutique in Oslo.  The sunshine was a gift from my Aunt Lorie that she found at Ikea.  

That giant hedgehog  is from Sam's.  My Mom, Nannie, has collected hedgehogs since I was a little girl.  We have ended up with a few hedgehogs of our own and I am a fan of the fox and hedgehog partnership.  

The lanterns are another Ikea find, they are hung from a branch from the fig tree in our yard here.    This recliner was a present from my parents when I was pregnant with Addie.  I can't even begin to add up the hours I have spent sitting in this chair feeding and cuddling my babies.  

The curtains came with the house, but my mom added the orange bands to them.  The dresser was a find from my favorite second hand furniture store here in Paris.

He is a close up of a gift that was made by a friend.  I love this reminder and I love my friend that took the time to make it for us!

This little metal shelf was a sale find from another boutique in Oslo.  The fox on the right is from a book store here in Orgeval, France.  The hedgehog is from Zara Home.  I knew I didn't need another stuffed animal, but he was just so cute.  I don't know what it is about being pregnant that makes me obsess over stuffed animals.

More foxes, the ones on the left are from Ikea and the one on the right was from a store in the Sandvika Storesenter in Sandvika, Norway.  The fox and hedgehog print is from Etsy.

Here is the view from Malachi's closet.  The crib is just the basic Ikea crib. Shortly after we moved to France, during the month of August, I wanted to go ahead and buy Malachi's crib.  I went shopping during August to try and get this crib from Ikea.  Unfortunately most of France goes on vacation during August.  That means the stores do not restock their shelves during this time.  I went to the store several times to get this crib and they were out of it every time.  I was starting to panic, I really wanted to have the crib purchased, assembled and ready for a baby.  This was just one of the learning experiences I had in moving to France while very pregnant. 

Shortly after we moved to France we were introduced to the song "What does the fox say".  If you have not heard the beginnings of the song, it was written and performed by two Norwegian brothers.  My kids all love the song and they received matching t-shirts from Nannie.  Unfortunately Malachi has already outgrown his t-shirt.  Isn't it cute?

Here is our sweet boy!  He is spending more time in his room now that he is getting older and he seems to love it as much as I do.  He is currently taking a great nap in his nursery so I must have done something right!

All these pictures took so much time Malachi needed a wardrobe change.  Here is sporting another gift from a friend, his monogrammed shirt.  

I hope you have enjoyed this walk through Malachi's nursery. 

I am linking up today with Jennifer Rizzo's Fabulously Creative Friday

A New Routine

I am so thankful that our big kids can ride the bus to and from school each day.  The only problem was the bus stop.  We live on the side of one of the few hills and Paris and our bus stop happened to be at the top of the hill.  Jon is a wonderful dad and takes the kids to the bus stop in the morning so I only have to make the trip once a day.  When I was pregnant I literally cried a couple of times at the thought of having to climb the hill yet again to go get the kids.
Now that Jon is traveling more for work I have had the experience of having all 4 kids up, fed and dressed and ready to climb the hill.  After the first couple times of that I had a thought.  Could the school add a new bus stop for us?  I stopped in at the office to talk to the bus coordinator and by the next week we had a brand new bus stop.  It a much shorter walk and almost all of it flat.
It may not seem like a big deal, but carrying about 18 pounds of love that is Malachi and pushing Garrett in a stroller while herding Ben and Addie across busy streets is stressful enough.
Another plus of our new routine is the view.  The sun is rising as I walk to the bus stop and back right now which is an added plus.

This is La Defense

Sacré Cœur 

and of course, The Eiffel Tower

This morning I took the big kids and I let Jon stay home with the little boys.  After I put the kids on the bus I realized that I was all by myself!  As a nursing mother, and a mother of 4 children that almost never happens.  I was able to walk down a flight of stairs and I was able to take some photos.  I am so thankful for my family, but I realized that I am thankful for a few minutes of solitude as well.