bon weekend

terrain-en-blanc-fleurishing

 

Bon week-end and happy Francophile Friday mes amis! Le Dîner en Blanc is on the horizon (in Philadelphia and many other cities), and I’ve rounded up some info and my archived posts on the subject. The dinner with friends that began in Paris over 30 years ago has become an international sensation, and is a highlight of summer for me. Sadly, we’ll be missing this years festivities due to coinciding vacation dates, but we hope to be back in 2019. You can read about our experiences below, and learn more about the dîner en blanc inspired tablescape you see above (styled by moi). Wherever you are in the world, if you attend the magical evening, I do hope you’ll tag #thefrancophiles and share your experience!

BON WEEKEND

terrain en blanc

dîner en blanc philadelphia

dîner en blanc inspiration board

our dîner en blanc experience on steller

the “secret dinner in white” 30th anniversary

six (times two)

henry-et-marie

handm

 

These two are officially six…can you believe it?! We kept things simple this year and had a lovely French-inspired birthday picnic at a favorite local park. We got lucky with the weather and managed to avoid the crazy hot temperatures. We tend to shy away from outdoor activity when it gets to be over 80 degrees, if I’m being honest. Why did we have July babies?! I’m kidding – Cancers are the best (both my parents are that sign as well) and the fact that they were born late on the 13th means that they were technically born on le 14 juillet, aka Bastille Day to us (the French don’t call it that). It was a Francophiles dream come true to have my babies born on such a significant French holiday – it was an unplanned emergency c-section, and it was fate. You can read their birth story here, should you be interested. Back to the picnic…

 

bastille-day-picnic

picnic-bites

bastille-day-birthday

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our loft

black + white loft living

 

In 2015 we sold our home and rented this industrial loft while we awaited a green light to move abroad. The green light unfortunately never came, but we embraced the new chapter and the opportunities it afforded us. One of the biggest perks (for me) was the chance to live out my dream of living in (and styling) a loft. While I’ve shared little sneak peaks here and there, I’ve never shared the main living areas…until now! Situated in a historic factory (circa 1850s), the property was converted into condominiums in 2010. The architectural details and light won me over – enormous windows, exposed brick, original wood floors and beams…it’s the stuff loft dreams are made of. It was a fairly blank canvas, and while living smaller as a family of four was a challenge, I had a lot of fun with the space.

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dc with kids

smithsonian-garden-with-kids

magnolia blooms D.C.

magnolia blooms in dc

 

We made a last minute decision to tourist around Washington D.C. with the kids for spring break – along with the rest of the world, ha. The cherry blossom festival was happening, despite the fact that those beauties hadn’t bloomed yet. However, the magnolias were in peak bloom, and we found the most beautiful grouping of them in the Enid A. Haupt garden. Situated on the Smithsonian grounds, it’s on the way to the museums and I highly recommend strolling through, any time of year. It was a bustling spot of course, with everyone jockeying for position to get their best gram. I managed to capture this one despite having one adult and two five-year-olds who weren’t as keen to spend the morning blossom hunting. Thankfully they indulged me with a few photos in the garden before we went off to see the sites…

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