Paris – Francois et Moi

2014 Holiday Moving Announcement Cards

francoisetmoiblog@gmail.com — Mon, 15 Dec 2014 14:32:45 +0000

This year, we thought we’d be extra efficient (or lazy!) and send out our (loooong overdue) moving announcement as our Holiday card. I loved the idea of a little red Fiat with an oversized tree strapped to the top of it, as it reminded me of the cute, little ride we saw outside MERCI in Paris this spring. I looked high and low, but couldn’t find what I was looking for, so I decided to source the images and design one myself! I compiled the graphics and text in Adobe Illustrator (Powerpoint would work too!) and then had them printed at my local printer. Sadly, I had to blur out our street address which kind of ruins the look of the card, but you see, it’s the internet, and so privacy measures are a must! Here were my sources for the cards: Shutterstock Vector Images: Fiat & Tree Cursive Font: Little Days (free!) Paper: 100 lb Bright White Cardstock, Cut to the 5″ x 7″ size Envelopes: Papersource, A7 Envelopes in Lake Update: A few people have asked for card file without the personal information, so I’ve uploaded it HERE. Feel free to download and add your personal touches in Illustrator or Powerpoint! […]

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Weekend Soundtrack: French Favorites

francoisetmoiblog@gmail.com — Fri, 31 Oct 2014 13:05:33 +0000

Hello and Happy Friday to you! My colleague, LuAnne of Lilu Interiors, just returned from a fall jaunt to Paris, and her pictures and stories are stirring up some rosy memories of the City of Light. (Check out all her trip details on the Lilu Interiors’ blog.) Today I’m sharing my favorite French tunes (and one Italian one!) to keep the french-y buzz going into the weekend. Hope you enjoy! P.S. Happy Halloween! Apologies for completely glazing over it. (It wasn’t on my radar this year!)

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5 Parisian Shops I’m Dying to Visit

francoisetmoiblog@gmail.com — Wed, 06 Aug 2014 12:55:41 +0000

Lately I’ve come across several shops in Paris that have caught my eye, not only for their swag, but also their interior design and their neighborhoods. I’ve officially added them to my travel file and can’t wait to check them out next time we find ourselves in the City of Light! Housed in a 19th century fabric factory, Merci is a 3-story design general store, if you will, showcasing products from all facets: apparel, furniture, home goods, and jewelry. Throw in a literary cafe and restaurant and you’ve got yourself a full afternoon in design heaven. The coolest part? They donate all their profits to charity! Merci, 111 Boulevard Beaumarchais. Photo via Sivan Askayo. Okay so you can visit Le Labo in NYC, but how cool is their shop in the Marais? Not to mention their impressive host of naturally derived fragrances. Must go and smell the Rose 31. Le Labo, 7 Rue Froissart Photo via Vosgesparis. La Droguerie. A Parisian craft supplies mecca for the crafting inclined. Need I say more? La Droguerie, 9 Rue du Jour Photo via Mokkasin. Handmade in an antique Bastille workshop originally home to Napoleon’s silversmith, Astier de Villatte’s milky-white glazed black terracotta pottery celebrates classic forms inspired by 18th and 19th century […]

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Travel Files: Paris

francoisetmoiblog@gmail.com — Fri, 18 Jul 2014 13:05:28 +0000

I love looking back through our travel photos whenever I’m having a tough day, as they spark happy thoughts and help me move past whatever I’m feeling that day. Here are a few photos I came across recently that never made it onto Francois et Moi. I hope this quite random collection of Parisian moments help start your weekend off right, and perhaps give you a lift too if you’re in need of one. See you Monday!

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Springtime at Jardin des Plantes, Paris

francoisetmoiblog@gmail.com — Fri, 11 Jul 2014 13:19:25 +0000

I was minorly disheartened to arrive in Paris in early May and find that the cherry and apple blossom boom had already come and gone, but I got over it quickly as I was in Paris afterall. Not to mention I discovered these gorgeous pink numbers at Jardin des Plantes which were a great stand-in! Jardin des Plantes is the main botanical garden in Paris which includes a botanical school, zoo, and several science museums. We spent some time lounging on the lawn–yes, you could actually walk on the grass in this garden!–strolled along the promenades and enjoyed the acres of spralling flora and fauna–a late afternoon full of blooming inspiration!

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5 Days in Paris: DAY FIVE

francoisetmoiblog@gmail.com — Tue, 10 Jun 2014 13:11:32 +0000

On a whim, we decided to spend our fifth (and last!) day in Paris at Versailles after seeing a sign posted on the Metro the day before that said you could get to Versailles in 20 minutes by RER. So we hopped on the train that Wednesday morning, and arrived at the foot of the Sun King’s gilded gate in less than an hour. Who knew it was so quick and easy to get from Paris to Versailles?! We toured the palace and marveled at the beauty, grandeur and utter excess that is Versailles, and began exploring the grounds (which are completely free and open to the public!) when it began to rain. I was a little disappointed at first, but the rain ended up to be a blessing in disguise as it cleared a lot of people out, so you could really take in the beauty sans tour groups. After making our way down the Royal Path, lined with classical marble sculptures, we took a right at the Grand Canal and headed towards Le Petit Trianon and La Hameau de la Reine. By this time it was all our pouring rain, so luckily we […]

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Hooray for Friday!

francoisetmoiblog@gmail.com — Fri, 06 Jun 2014 12:44:37 +0000

Have a fantastic summer weekend everybody! See you on Monday!

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Le Refuge des Fondues

francoisetmoiblog@gmail.com — Thu, 05 Jun 2014 13:02:50 +0000

The Refuge des Fondues, a tiny, quirky, casual fondue place tucked into Montmartre just a few blocks off the Abbesses Metro Stop, where the menu is concise–cheese fondue or meat fondue–and the wine selection is simple–white wine or red wine–served in baby bottles. The restaurant is quite small with two long rows of tables running the length of the restaurant, and I knew we were in for an exciting experience the moment we walked in and let the server know we were ‘Deux pour le dîner.‘ He nodded, took two paces backward, made a gesture with one hand as if to say ‘Voila! Your table.‘ and held out his other hand for me to steady myself as I stepped up onto a chair, over the table and onto my seat against the wall. The server then pushed the table in towards me nice and close, and motioned for Ken to take a seat across me, shoulder to shoulder with our neighbors. As I mentioned, the wine is served in glass baby bottles, as a way to avoid the outrageous city tax on serving wine to patrons in open glasses. Drinking wine from a baby bottle sounds crazy, but it was hilariously fun! The fondue arrives in a big […]

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5 Days in Paris: DAY FOUR

francoisetmoiblog@gmail.com — Wed, 04 Jun 2014 17:13:03 +0000

I think our 4th day in Paris ended up being my favorite. We were really starting to feel at home, and at the same time we were also starting to let go, relax and really feel like we were on vacation. I’m not even sure if that makes sense, but I’m going with it! We began the day with a stop at the Jardin du Palais-Royal, another beautiful garden near the Louvre in the 1st Arrondissement. When we arrived, there was a group of elderly men playing what looked like American bocce ball, but other than than those dapper gentiles we were just about the only others in the gardens. It was so fun and unusual to photograph this urban oasis without the flow of people we were used to encountering. From Jardin du Palais-Royal we hopped on the Metro over to Musee d’Orsay. Prior to our trip, I had several people tell me that if I was going to check out one museum while in Paris, it had to be Musee d’Orsay. Beside the grandeur and beauty of the main hall of this former train station, Musee d’Orsay houses all the great Impressionist pieces from the 19th and 20th centuries. And it’s the perfect […]

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5 Days in Paris: DAY THREE

francoisetmoiblog@gmail.com — Tue, 03 Jun 2014 15:57:19 +0000

Biking is something Ken and I love to do at home, so we thought renting bikes in Paris would be a fun way to see the City! Paris has a bike sharing system similar to Minneapolis’ Nice Ride Program called Le Velib where you can basically rent bikes by the day or week. There are hundreds of bike stations throughout Paris where you can rent bikes, get where you need to go, then park them at any nearby bike station. We picked up bikes on the right bank of the Seine River at Boulevard Henri IV, biked down to the Bastille and then over to the Promenade Plantee, a beautiful elevated linear park built on top of an old railway structure. The original plan was to bike the Promenade Plantee as I could have sworn I read that it was a great bike ride, but when we arrived we realized bikes were quite frowned upon due to the narrowness of the walking paths. The name Promenade Plantee really should have been my first clue, but what can I say? Luckily, the bikes have built in bike locks, so we locked them up, and climbed the steps to this cool elevated green space. The […]

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Happenstance: Jardin des Tuileries & Pont des Arts

francoisetmoiblog@gmail.com — Mon, 02 Jun 2014 13:17:06 +0000

When Ken and I made our “must see” lists for Paris, Jardin des Tuileries hadn’t made the cut because we didn’t know much about this garden, so I guess it just wasn’t on our radar, but as we made our way home on the 2nd day, we happened to stumble upon it and decided to have a look. Jardin des Tuileries is a public garden located between the Place de la Concorde and The Louvre in Central Paris, with sightlines to L’arc de Triomphe. Similar to most of Paris’ public gardens, there are a plethora of green metal chairs and loungers for anyone to hang out and relax, a small pond and plenty of pristinely manicured foliage to admire. Paris’ gardens are impeccably maintained, but also super user-friendly–these green spaces really get used by a little bit of everybody! They always seemed to be bustling, but they’re so vast, and there are so many of them tucked in around the city that they never seemed over-crowded (maybe that’s the city-dweller in me talking though!). I don’t know if it was just that we had sunny weather most of the time, or if I’d been cooped up inside too long over the winter, but the gardens and parks […]

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5 Days in Paris: DAY TWO

francoisetmoiblog@gmail.com — Fri, 30 May 2014 05:20:45 +0000

Happy Friday everyone! I’m leading off the weekend with a detailed account of our 2nd day in Paris. Whatever you happen to have planned over the next few days, I hope you have a fantastic time of it, and I’ll see you on Monday! After a great night sleep, we were ready for a full day of adventure. We began our 2nd day in Paris by stopping in to Claus, a gem of a breakfast & brunch place located just northeast of the Louvre, for take away croissants and cafe. The interiors are beautiful–visually clean & classic, the service is friendly, and the pastries are heaven. If you’d like to sit in for brunch, they do have a salon upstairs, but it fills up quite far in advance (when we were there, it was already booked for the. entire. day.), so call ahead for a reservation. We decided to take our provisions and mosie down the block to a tree-lined square with benches to enjoy the beautiful sunny day before us. Claus. 14, Rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau 75001 From Claus, we jumped on the Metro and headed north to Les Puces de Saint-Ouen, one of the largest flea markets in Paris. When you come up from the Metro at Porte de Clingancourt the area is a bit disorienting. It’s a big intersection, and there are […]

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