Callaloo Soup

The Wednesday Window | Decorate

I've been getting some decor and storage up in my new office.

Yes. All Instagram all the time.

Full reveal of my new space {hopefully} soon. I still need to find a rug!

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I Think It's About Time For An Update

Hello friends! Here I am, here I am!

I am reporting in to say that our move went splendidly, and the new house already feels like home. Since we were lucky enough to have the movers do all the packing, this was the most stress-free move we have ever undertaken. I can also pat myself on the back a bit, for all the purging and organising I did before the move, which made it pretty easy to get things out of the boxes and back where they belonged.

We are all settling in nicely. Kieran has already had one week of school, and adjusted very quickly. Lucas starts his new job today, and since we got Internet acces already, I am now fully back up to speed again. Hurray!

In other exciting news, I now have joined the Instagram phenomenon. At last. My username is francinecallaloosoup. Tell me yours! Even if you're not a user, they have recently introduced online profiles, so I think you can now see my Instagram photos on the web! Here's a taste.

I am so obsessed with the app, that I haven't picked up my SLR in over two weeks! But I love the new scenery around here, so the big camera will be getting a workout soon.

I plan to get back into blogging with a vengeance, so look for regular posts this week.

I hope you've all been well?

We're Moving. Yes, Again.

Remember my recent Wednesday Window post about a road trip? That photo was taken on the day we went to look at houses in what will be our new town! (We found a great one).

Surprised? We are too, since it's only been 13 months since our last move. But Lucas found a better opportunity, and the fact that it is situated closer to the south of France (warmer days! more sunshine!), helped immensely to make the decision to uproot ourselves again so soon.

And I really do mean uproot, as this is the first time ever in France that I have been sad to leave the current place. We were lucky enough to have some awesome neighbours, as well as to make wonderful friends close by. Kieran really started developing friendships here, so I am also sad for him. I know he is still young and so will bounce back, but we are determeined to stay in contact with our neighbours and his buddies here. We will only be two hours drive away so it's not impossible.

We move in two weeks time, so things will be quiet around here after today. I'll update when I can, and I am hoping to soon enter the 21st century with a new phone, and Instagram to keep connected to my online world. In the meantime, here are a few photos of where we'll be moving to - in the Ardeche department.

I'm excited!

 

The Wednesday Window | Gorgeous Autumn Day

Favourites from my October Photo a Day Project

All year I've been seeing people take part in the Photo a Day challenge hosted by Fat Mum Slim. I've really wanted to try it, but you know how I am with dailies. Plus I don't have Instagram (I know!) But I took another look again when October started, and saw that I could also tweet my photos and upload them to Facebook, so I took the plunge.

I am happy to say that I am keeping up! Here are my favourites from the month so far

 

October 2nd - Lunchtime Play

October 5th - A Boy and His Shadow

October 10th - Sheer Joy

October 18th - Smiles at Sunrise

October 15th - Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?

October 22nd - Our playground

I'm already gearing up to do it again in November, and maybe I'll even join the 21st century and have Instagram by then.

Now I just hope that posting about it here won't jinx me! If you want to see all my photos, they are in this album on the Callaloo Soup Facebook page. You'll be able to see the photos without liking the page, but feel free to Like the page if the spirit moves you!

Have you ever done the Fat Mum Slim or any daily photo challenge?

The Wednesday Window | Troubadours

Pretty Packaging | When Appearances Do Matter

I love wrapping gifts so much that sometimes I think I look forward to that part of gift giving the most! I've shared some of my gift wrapping ideas before, and will definitely be doing another post about that as the holidays approach.

What's great about running my shops on Etsy is that I get to gift wrap my customers' purchases too! it's definitely one of my favourite parts of having an online boutique. For my vintage shop I love to use my stash of vintage supplies for packaging. Not only does it convey the feel of Callaloo Soup Vintage, but it's also a way of showing my customers ideas for using some of their purchases. Here are some packages that have been sent off this year.

Baker's twine, paper doily and butterfly confetti

Vintage book page and baker's twine

Glassine envelope, flower confetti and washi tape

Paper Doily and baker's twine

Punched book page hearts

Every package includes butterfly confetti and a thank you card

Paper doily and washi tape too!

I love confetti

And there are also little extras too!

 

Clown toothpicks :)

There's just nothing like receiving a pretty package in the mail, is there?

I Love Watching You Play

I read this article a few months back over on Hands Free Mama about this magic phrase.

“… College athletes were asked what their parents said that made them feel great, that amplified their joy during and after a ballgame. Their overwhelming response: ‘I love to watch you play.’”

She had an epiphany and started using the same phrase with her daughters. Well Kieran is not yet playing any team sports, but that phrase is still applicable. And I tell him so every chance I get. I am a big believer in him learning through play, and try to encourage free play as much as possible.

I want him to know that I take his play seriously and I've noticed that telliing him this, or paraphrasing it to say "I love to watch you read" or "I love to watch you draw" encourages him to spend even more time in independant play.

I am contantly amazed by the things he comes up with, and how engrossed he gets in his own little world.

He chatters non-stop, sometimes in French, sometimes in English. I don't understand half of his little scenarios but he is obviously having a grand old time.

I seriously love watching him play.

Have a happy and playful weekend folks!

 

 

The Wednesday Window | Cars & trucks & things that go!

The Wednesday Window | Road Trip