PHOTO HOMAGE TO MY MOTHER

It will probably take me a couple of months to finish blogging about France. I'm slow, but here is a quick little series of photos from Paris, which represents my attempt to fulfill my mother's wishes not to take a picture without a person in it. She thinks it's boring. So while I ran around Paris by myself, this is how I took photos. :) Love you Mom!

picture of the Seine and Musee Orsay and my face.

picture of the Louvre and half my face.

picture of the the Sacre Coeur and yes, my face again.

Outside of the Louvre

Christmas Lights on the Champs Elysees and ME

Provence -- Arles, Aix-en-Provence, Gordes

We spent the next couple of days driving around Provence -- Kudos to Mary Ann for her skilled driving. The view from Gordes

The amphitheatre in Arles

Arles again.

Next Stop -- Les Baux-de-Provence

We traveled from Avignon to Les Baux, a stunning hilltop town in Provence that was recommended to us by many people. THANK YOU! This may have been my favorite town -- www.lesbauxdeprovence.com. Besides being beautiful, the history is deep.

VIVA LA FRANCE!

So France was amazing. Love it. Want to move there. Been depressed all week that I'm home. Sign of a good trip I think. We started in Provence and ended in Paris. I'll do this in pieces so here is the first one . . .

AVIGNON -- the first stop. We flew into Paris and took a train directly to Avignon -- gateway to Provence. We were exhausted, but we managed to get our car, get lost, and eventually find our hotel, which could not have been more perfectly located. It was the Hotel de L'Horloge and I would definitely recommend it. We visited the Palais des Papes, but mainly just wandered the adorble streets and tried out our terrible French. We also went to church here, which was such a cool experience. The people were amazing. Here are a few pics of Avignon.

AUR REVOIR

I'm on my way to France on Friday for the Thanksgiving holiday. Three days in Provence. Three Days in Nice. Three days in Paris. If anyone has any recommendations of places to go, eat, things to do, etc., I'm all ears. I'll post pictures upon my return!

A Special Treat for a Monday

OBAMA! OBAMA!

I feel hopeful!

I thought I'd share this article I read yesterday. My favorite line in it is from I love this quote from Rama Yade, France's black junior minister for human rights. She says, "On this morning, we all want to be American so we can take a bite of this dream unfolding before our eyes."

Free Halloween Card from The Black Apple

I discovered this artist, Emily Martin, on one of my favorite websites, http://www.etsy.com/. I have these cute little bandits hanging in my kitchen.



Emily is generously offering this free Halloween greeting card to everyone for download. Go here to download. You can explore more of her work on her blog: www.theblackapple.typepad.com

Pumpkin Cake!

I made this pumpkin cake, using two bundt cakes, for my friend Sarah's pumpkin-themed birthday party. I'm not much of a baker, but I was pretty proud of this little number.

My Grandpa

My mom found this great old picture of my cousin Grant and I with our grandpa. I love it. Grant and I were his first grandkids so he's only in his 40s here. He is one of my heroes, and some of the fondest memories of my life are with him as a child -- trips to Goleta Beach or to the Club or to UCSB to go swimming in the pool. We share a love of books, politics and music, and I feel so lucky to be his granddaughter. He is still very involved in his community, writes book reviews for the local paper, and provided impetus for his city government to lower carbon emissions and to make the city more "green". In short, the man is wicked awesome!

photo tribute to october. i love october.

art on wednesday!

I love Wayne Thiebaud's art. It's inspired by his youth -- his mother was a baker and his uncle, a cartoonist. I was talking to my cousin Brit about him the other day and then came across this children's book, "Counting with Wayne Thiebaud", and thought it was so so cute. So on this Wednesday, I am sharing with you my love for Wayne!

Here are a few of my faves:

BRILLIANT SHOWING OF NONPARTISANSHIP

you say it's my birthday!

Yesterday was my birthday and my family and friends made it an amazing day -- or days rather -- of celebration. Growing up in the Nelson home,your birthday wasn't just one day -- it usually lasted at least a weekend if not a whole week. A HUGE thank you to family and friends, near and far, for making me feel so loved on this "prime" birthday of mine. From the yummy Ledo's pizza to the delicious turkey dinner -- the Cajun Dancing to the performance of "you say it's your birthday", it was all so amazing! LOVE YOU ALL! Here's a little picture chronicle:

A marvelous Mom-esque cake by Cubbie Nelson!

Present opening! You guys shouldn't have!

Bryan's distraction plan prior to blindfolding me!

see?

Blindfold removed, but eyes still closed.

Eyes finally opened to small portraits of yours truly. Please note that the artists were not allowed to look at their papers while drawing. Here are a few favorites.

I'm so pretty!

The note on the back of this one assured me that I was actually prettier than this. :)

This one was my favorite courtesy of Jenica.

I don't know if it was compassion on me or worry that they'd burn the house down, but they scaled down on the number of candles they used. Thanks guys.

Friends!

More friends!

Ben was so excited about my birthday he could hardly contain himself!

Blue hair and blond curls courtesy of mommy!

and not to be outdone!

And the highlight of the evening! My very own performance by these lovely ladies! Sorry the video quality is poor, but you'll get the idea.

THANK YOU AGAIN!!!!

Come Fly With Me

Where my flatware has gone, I'll never know, but it has become necessaryto replenish. I found, via Domino's website, this great vintage airlineflatware from www.fishseddy.com. It's adorable! I know - how excitingcan knives and forks be? Well, I'm easily pleased.

See? So cute.