As Christmas approaches I say to myself… There is no need to fuss… take it easy… The children are all grown up… The decorating can step back a notch… Enjoy the festivities, live in the moment and relish the Christmas spirit… and cut down on the work… there is no need to go overboard… Wise… right? Does anyone ever listen to themselves? Not me.
In Paris I forgot all that wisdom… and struggled back to London with bags full of pretty decorations… baubles, I could not resist.. They were fragile, of course and had to be nursed and coddled like a baby… It is not as if I need decorations… but there was something about the decorations in Paris that tempted me… and besides, my eldest daughter was putting up her first Christmas tree in her first home… so that was the perfect excuse… the only one I needed… My emotional side got the better of me.
That is another thing… I also promised myself, because I travel every other week, that I would stop the transporting between London and France… no more carrying and schlepping through airports and train stations… Did I listen to my well thought out logic this week in Paris … No… Could I have found beautiful decorations for my daughter in London… Yes… The decorations made it back to London… so here they are… in London, bought from Paris and a couple will even travel back to Provence… Sense and sentimentality were never made to work hand in hand.
But it was worth it… We went out to London’s Covent Garden market and found her the prettiest tree… tall enough, wide enough… just right… A first Christmas tree is an important right of passage especially when she has more than a few of her mother’s sentimental feelings about Christmas… We decorated the tree together… around and around we went with the fairy lights and then the best part… we found exactly the right place for each and every ornament… Not too high, not too low… where they could be seen, where they could grab the light and sparkle as they should… We were covered in glitter… in our hair, on our faces… all over our clothes… all over her apartment… but that didn’t matter… I was so happy to share this ‘first’ moment with her.
Sense and sentiment… Sentiment will always be the winner with me… xv
Parisian Inspired Baubles
Arc de Triomphe || Bon Voyage || Bon Voyage || Eiffel Tower
