A Little Bit of Paris in My Life

"When a girl is tired of Paris, she is tired of Life." I found this aphorism quoted on a notepad some years back, and at the time it seemed the perfect gift for the secret Santa gift exchange at work - the recipient was, in fact, a girl who now lives in Paris.

Lately, though, I felt that I was craving a little Paris in my own life. Daily I would walk - or run, on those days I was afraid of missing my bus - past Edmonds own little mini-Paris, the charming Daphne's. About the size of a decent walk-in closet, Daphne's spills out onto the sidewalk in the summer, with two marble-topped tables tucked behind a wrought iron fence to create a cozy space amid the pedestrian traffic. Daphne's is basically a one man show, but that man is dressed in a white dinner jacket and tie, suavely offering wine, beer, and nibbles in his cozy shop.

Charming as Daphne's may be, I've rarely been; aside from work I just don't hand around in Edmonds. But I had fond memories of my first, and, until yesterday, only visit there a couple of years ago with Amy V, so when I realized Amy would be winding up a class in Edmonds around six o' clock last evening, I asked if she'd like to meet for some wine and conversation. She happily obliged.

Now Edmonds is a far, far cry from Paris, and sitting outside with a view down Main Street doesn't exactly make the U.S.A. melt away. But it did feel rather chic, sitting at a sidewalk cafe nursing a glass of vinho verde and snacking on olives. And who knows how many more chances there will be to enjoy such an evening outdoors this season? It may not be Paris, but Daphne's has just enough je ne sais quoi to make any evening feel a little bit special.

Celebrating Monday

The past weekend was a whirlwind of events - I'll get more into it later - and now, late Monday night, I feel that the weekend has finally come to a close. Each year at Europe Through the Back Door the individual departments have their own small Christmas parties, and the Tour Department is no exception.

Tonight, the eight of us headed out to Arnie's on the Edmonds waterfront, sticking pretty close to home this year. (A couple of years ago we drove through a windstorm to get to Palisades in Magnolia, during which Tara and I saw a stop sign uprooted and blown across Aurora Avenue, and Lisa and Heidi got locked out of Lisa's house where they had stopped before heading to the restaurant, leading them to break down her front door. Comparatively, tonight's event was pretty mundane.)

After three and a half hours of food, wine, conversation, and exchanging gifts, I'm still finding it a bit hard to wind down.Of course, coming home to a spectacularly dirty kitchen is something of a wake-up call. But for the moment I'd rather think the about the laughter (and even a few tears, although thankfully not for any tragic reasons) and bask in the afterglow of what was, perhaps, just a little bit too much to eat - good thing I don't do this every night!

Tomorrow it will be back to the daily grind, but at least Keith got Tara some new 80s music in the gift exchange, and I'm sure the addition to our work soundtrack will keep us going strong.

Buy Not, Want Not

We are now officially more than two-thirds of the way through Buy Nothing Month. My biggest fear at this point is the fact that we are almost entirely out of cheese... and I made a promise to myself not to buy more before October! Seriously, we are almost out of cheese, except for some Parmesan and a small piece of pepper jack. Still, I think we can make it.

While I've been pretty strict on the food front, however, I can't claim no other expenses have cropped up. The problem with a moratorium on spending is that following through requires a good deal of foresight. We've just had one significant expense and other, smaller costs are bound to be incurred before month's end.

The (relatively) large recent expense was due to the fact that we took the car in for a tune-up on Friday. Luckily only minimal work was needed. But why take the car in now? Couldn't we have waited another two weeks at least?

See, there's where planning comes in to play. Next Thursday we'll head off on a road trip to Pasadena, and considering we hadn't taken the car in for a tune-up since we bought it a year and a half ago, neither Michael nor I felt comfortable driving such a distance without making sure everything was in order. We could have done it sooner, but the fact is either way we'd be paying for it.

The same goes for a couple of other upcoming expenses - buying a wedding gift and hostess gifts, for example. Since our friends' wedding is the impetus for our trip, and since we will be staying with family and friends at various points along the way, these are also expenses that can't be postponed.

Am I complaining? Not at all. We've been planning this trip for some time; it's not going to break the bank. And while buying gifts for others may violate the literal definition of Buy Nothing Month, I'd say it in no way violates the spirit. It's one thing to be frugal, but another to be miserly. With that in mind, I'm off to face the last eight days of Buy Nothing Month. Cheers!