The Big Move FAQs
Thank you for your patience! I’ve owed you this post for a few weeks. Here’s a long Q&A about our move. Why we chose to move. Why we chose to move to France. And why it might have seemed out of nowhere to you (but not to me).
Q. What prompted such a sudden move?
A. I know it seemed sudden, but we actually started planning the move in earnest during the fall of 2018 — a full year ago.
…A Few Things
Hello, Friends. How are you? What’s happening in your life? We’ve been here in France for two weeks and are still settling in. This week was full of more required + practical stuff. The kids had physicals so they can participate on the swim team (practice starts next week). Ben Blair joined the local gym. Today, we meet the kids’ music teachers and we’re looking at a couple more houses. And we still have a couple of big tasks to complete: We need to finish setting up our French bank account. And we need to make a decision on a car.
We’re not sure on our weekend plans. We may take a daytrip to Brittany, or we might try and knock off a few more to-do items on our list.
Ready for some weekend reading? Here are a few things I’ve wanted to share:
…Recipe: Spaghetti with Chicken Meatballs
When Lindsey told me she had an excellent recipe for chicken meatballs she wanted to share, I was like, “Chicken meatballs? For real?” I was very skeptical and was prepared to give these meatballs some raised eyebrow or maybe some side eye.
But now that I’ve see the recipe (the ease! the flexibility!), I’m like, “Hey Ben Blair, when are we trying these?”
Come see. Here’s what Lindsey says:
…Living With Kids: Jenny Newcomer
Jenny and her family seem to have figured out how to live a happy life. They live in a gorgeous cabin in a small mountain town in Southwest Colorado. They are raising two amazing kids and run their own goals/planner company, Commit30, from their home. Jenny believes in spending as much time outdoors as possible — and they even have a treehouse, a pond, and a zip-line to get everyone outside. I think you’ll love this peek into their lives. Welcome, Jenny!
…Real Estate in France
So we’ve jumped right in and have been looking at French real estate. And the biggest difference by far (versus looking at real estate in the U.S.), is that in France, you work with several different real estate agencies.
The agency that lists the house? They are the only ones who can show you the house or sell you the house. So if you like five different houses that are listed with five different agencies, that means you’re going to be working with five different agencies.
So far, I don’t mind working with several agencies — it makes the realtor-buyer relationship feel much less intense. But it’s also a bit strange because it feels like no one is helping you get the best price. The agency that’s showing you the house, helped set the price for the house, and they want the house to sell for the highest possible price.
…A Few Things
Hello, Friends. How are you? How was your week? I know I already mentioned this, but it felt so strange not to share a weekend link list last Friday, and I’m happy I get to share one today!
Our weekend plans? We are visiting four houses that are for sale. We are test driving a 7-seater Peugeot. We’re going to an art show on Saturday night. And there’s a big Vide Grenier in town this weekend too. Vide Grenier translates to “empty attic” and it’s basically a huge community yard sale.
And here are a few things I’ve been wanting to share with you:
…Living With Kids: Chelsea Farmer
Chelsea Farmer’s home is full of color, pattern and personality. Chelsea’s home feels like it would bring a smile every time you walked into it. She has a unique style and she owns it. There is so much life and so much charm in this house. I can’t wait for you to get to take a peek inside. Welcome, Chelsea!
…Hello From France
Hello, Friends. Thank you so much for your patience as I took a week to tackle some just-moved-to-another-country-tasks. I sincerely appreciate it. I feel like there’s so much to tell you, so I’ll just dive in.
We arrived last Wednesday evening (August 28th) and checked into an Airbnb that we’ve reserved through the month of September. We did our best to stay up until normal bedtime hours, but ended up waking around 3:00 in the morning with jet lag anyway. : )
…Living With Kids: Andrea Ryan
Andrea Ryan and her family live in a wooded part of Rhode Island, where you can see the gorgeous greenery out every window. And as you can tell by the giraffe print chair, Andrea loves design and isn’t afraid to make a bold choice here and there. Come take a peek inside her beautiful home. Welcome, Andrea!
…A Few Things
Hello, Friends. How are you doing? How was your week? Ours was pretty intense. The movers packed and loaded the house onto a truck on Thursday and Friday, and then transferred the truck contents to a shipping container on Friday afternoon. (We didn’t ship our household goods to France with the last move, so this is something new and different and I will definitely write up a post all about it.)
Friday night we checked into a hotel and June got to try out her Mermaid tail and monofin.
Saturday we spent taking care of a few difficult last tasks at the house, and Oscar added a plaque to his Eagle Scout Project. I was feeling quite overwhelmed by the end of the day and went to see a movie — Peanut Butter Falcon — on my own. (I really liked the movie.)
Today (Sunday) is Olive’s birthday. She’s 18!! Ben Blair went to a bakery early this morning so we can do breakfast in bed for Olive as soon as she’s had a chance to sleep in for a bit. : )
We got confirmation that our passports and visas will arrive on Monday. Crossing my fingers that all goes smoothly. On Monday we will also tackle a list of tasks like hand in our van lease, close/transfer our utilities accounts, weigh our luggage, and get snacks for the plane. Monday is also Ralph’s birthday!
Then we fly to France on Tuesday.
I wasn’t online much this last week, but I do have a few things I want to share with you:
…A Little News
A little news: Next week we are moving back to France! No, for real. We are.
I have lots to tell you and I’m working on a longer blog post about it now. But here are a few initial notes:
1) We’re headed to the same town in the Normandy region we lived in before (same school too). We’re planning for one year and then we’ll evaluate if we want to extend our stay — which is what we ended up doing last time.
Living With Kids: Thea Rattner-Pietig
Today’s home tour features Thea, a mom of 2 living in Connecticut. Thea’s story is a reminder that life doesn’t always work out the way we expect it to, but may work out the way it should. It reads a little bit like a romantic comedy — Thea’s best friend’s little brother, who she teased as a kid, and then dated for a bit in her early 20s, is the person she ended up with after her first marriage ended. Thea’s home is classic and elegant, and feels so livable. You’re really going to love it. Welcome, Thea!
…A Few Things
Hello, Friends. How are you? It was a fun education-focused week at the Blair House. Monday was the first day of school in Oakland, Ralph registered for classes for this semester — they start this coming Monday. And Maude arrives home from New York this evening. Her classes start Monday after next. (That’s Olive above, pictured on her first day of Senior Year — she gets to attend high school for two weeks before she heads to the South of France where she’ll be an Au Pair this year.)
This weekend, our big event is Oscar’s Eagle Project. He’s building a Little Free Library that will live near his middle school, and he has recruited members of his troop, and other friends and carpentry-tool-owning grownups to help. : ) We’ll also be helping Maude go through her things, so she can move into her near-campus apartment next week.
How about you? Has back to school season hit yet? Or are you still enjoying summer break? Either way, I’ve got some terrific links for you this weekend. Here are a few things I’ve wanted to share:
…What Were You Almost Named As A Baby?
Last week, someone on Twitter posed the question: What were you almost named as a baby? It got me reminiscing. Both Ben Blair and I had almost-names as babies. I was almost named Shoshana — in fact, I swear there’s some document in my baby book that lists the name Shoshana, written before my parents settled on Gabrielle. (I should go find my baby book and remember what it is! Also, I know it’s not a baby picture, but that’s me above. I think I’m age 3 or 4 in this image.)
Here are the names of me and my siblings: Jake, Rachel, Sara, Joshua, Gabrielle, Jared, Jordan, Salem. Do you think Shoshana would be a better fit in that grouping?
…Living With Kids: Ann Farnsworth
Note from Design Mom: This is a home tour from October 2015 that you may have missed. It’s full of wisdom on parenting and aging and loss. I needed a dose of Ann’s perspective today, so I’m republishing it.
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Ann is so great. I read her words, and they fill me with such warmth. I love when people have dreams and add them to their daily to-do lists.
If you’re a young parent or just dreaming about kids, I hope you find Ann’s words to be a sort of manual. (I don’t want to spoil the ending, but it’s all going to work out as it should. And you’re going to be great at this.) If you’ve been parenting a while or even grand-parenting, you’re going to love this, too. Ann’s words are like a giant hug and a pinch of inspiration.
Please jump right in to hear about this big family and how their well-worn house helped grow them all. Welcome, Ann!
…Cruelty for Cruelty’s Sake
Perhaps you missed this story if you’re not much of a news watcher, but last week, on the first day of school in Mississippi, ICE raided a poultry processing factory and rounded up 680 immigrants. Even though the raid was planned well in advance, there was no warning for the affected families. Which means their kids came home from the first day of school to find the house locked and their parents gone without a word.
You may have seen heart-breaking footage of these children, who are American citizens, crying and begging for their parents back.
Please note: The raid was planned in advance. But the planners did not call Child Protective Services so that they could prepare to receive these suddenly orphaned children.
This is cruelty for cruelty’s sake.
It may remind you of this passage in Anne Frank’s journal:
…A Few Things
Hello, Friends. How are you? How was your week? I’m writing this from somewhere above 10,000 feet, headed back to Oakland from New York City. We had a fabulous time! What a treat to watch my kids get reacquainted with the city, and to see Maude confidently navigating her way around. You can see all my stories from our trip here.)
This feels like an important weekend. School starts on Monday so this is the official end of Summer Vacation. We were able to get Oscar’s class schedule before we left, but registration for Betty and June happened while we were in New York, so Monday could be a bit stressful as we sort things out.
One happy thing for Monday, while we were in New York, I took the kids on one-on-one back to school dates so they could pick an outfit out for the first day. So even if there’s some red tape to scramble through, they’ll be feeling confident. : )
Ready for your weekend links? The two biggest stories I was following this week were about the El Paso and Dayton mass shootings, and about the ICE raid in Mississippi where 680 immigrants were rounded up. I have separate posts drafted on both of those stories, so watch for those. In the meantime, here are a few things I’ve been wanting to share:
…Living With Kids: Jaclyn DiMaggio
Isn’t it great to meet people from all over the country and learn about how their lives are so similar to your own, but also different in their own way? I can’t wait for you to meet Jaclyn today. She and her family live in Baltimore, Maryland.
Baltimore has had some ugly things said about it in the news lately, but hearing Jaclyn talk about it it sounds amazing — urban, but family friendly, full of museums and restaurants and parks. Jaclyn is getting towards the tail end of “toddlerhood” with her kids, and speaks really lovingly about that fun and crazy phase of life. Welcome, Jaclyn!
…New York City!!
I’m writing this from SFO. I’m sitting with Ben Blair, Olive, Oscar, Betty and June. And we are about to board a flight to New York City!!!! This is our official summer trip and we’re super excited about it.
In April 2009, after living there for eight years, we said goodbye to New York, and walked across the Brooklyn Bridge one last time. It’s almost unbelievable to me, but in that whole decade, I’m the only one who has traveled back to New York. I end up going for work once or twice a year, but no one else in the family has had any reason to go back. So strange to think about. I mean, three of our kids were born there!
…A Few Things
Hello, Friends. How are you? Did you have a good week? Happily, my mini-high school reunion stretched a bit and we ended up getting a third day together. So yesterday (Friday), we drove to Muir Woods National Monument (pictured above) so we could see some gorgeous redwood trees. I hadn’t been there in a couple of years and loved being back. It feels like a sacred spot to me.
Ben Blair flew to Utah very early yesterday morning — he’s speaking at the Sunstone Summer Symposium in Salt Lake City today. And Olive took care of everything during the overlap and beyond. Turns out I did not get enough sleep during the mini-reunion and was a bit wiped out when I got home. Hah! And Olive made sure the younger three made it to swim team practice, ordered pizza for dinner, and gathered them to watch a movie after dinner. Everyone stepped up and were such good sports. Gosh we have wonderful kids. I appreciate them so much.
I didn’t get much time online this week, but I was still able to gather some excellent links for you. Here are a few things I’ve been wanting to share:
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