Janice MacLeod's Blog, page 10

The book cover hath arrived, plus the obvious 20% off Black Friday event and some Paris Letters

 

Ta daaaa! A whole book of Paris Letters awaiting your perusal. How sexy is THAT?

A few other cover options that were considered…

Pas mal, as they say. I like how that Eiffel Tower looms in the back.

Very springy.

And of course, the beloved Seine.

But it was a café that won, in the end, and it looks good with these other two books in the series. .

 

You can pre-order it online and off. It will arrive just in time for spring, around March 2021. Read all about it and where to pre-order here. 

Now back to us, you and me. You, dear reader, and me, lazy blogger. I feel sometimes that so much time goes by between blog posts that when I finally do get to it, I have so much NEWS to give you and not much in the way of pretty pictures and funny thoughts. C’est comme ça. 

Speaking of… Black Friday sale in the shop… 20% off Nov 22 to Dec 2. Etsy shop is standing by to take your order. 

This is the letter that graced the cover of DEAR PARIS. It oozes literary Paris café scene. It’s about feet.

I love my stamp man. He’s a hot older dude who can barely stand how I care so deeply for worthless stamps. This was the March 2020 Paris Letter.

The November Paris Letter is about silent monuments around Paris. You don’t even realize they are there until you’ve done a deep study of Paris. Then you realize the glorious thought behind this museum city. It features a clock that is outside the main post office, obvs.

 

January’s Paris Letter featured perfumes of Paris. The paintings turned out so nice, I’m going to offer a note card series in the shop… but currently the paintings are in a pile somewhere in my office. My sister was looking for something in my office and laughed that the Eiffel Tower painting on the cover of DEAR PARIS was slipped in a pile of papers titled VARIOUS. I know you have piles like this. Admit it.

This is the August 2020 letter titled The Dancer. I don’t usually write what the letters say in my blog posts, but this one is nice and I love this broad, so here it is:

Dear Áine,

I’ve been tracking The Lady. Her window faces my window. Our courtyards are divided by an ivy-covered stone wall so that we cannot see into each other’s courtyards but we can talk to each other from the windows. She calls out for her cat, I peer into my courtyard and report if the cat is on my side. She is a good mouser—the cat, not The Lady. I don’t know her name and by now it’s too late to ask. She’s ancient and wears a pillbox hat wherever she goes. I spoke with her on the street and asked if she was going on vacation like most of Paris in August. “Too old,” she said. “Don’t want to spend the money to struggle on stairs by the sea. I have my own stairs in Paris for free. I just hope I don’t die in August. No one will be here for the party. All on holiday!” I asked about her health. “Same! But at my age I could ‘expire’ at any moment.” Then she went “Pouff” with her hands.

So I’ve been keeping an eye out for both her and her cat. I have also recruited Christophe to report when he sees her on the street. Today I saw her dancing at the Sunday market. Every Sunday on rue Mouffetard there is music, dancing, and a sing-a-long. She was dancing with a handsome man. She had a sparkle in her eye that led me to believe there might be other reasons she’s not interested in going anywhere any time soon.

Janice

PS “Screen door slams, Mary’s dress waves. Like a vision she dances across the porch as the radio plays.” – Bruce Springsteen, Thunder Road

And here’s the December Paris Letter, which is also the last one… as in ever. Incroyable! 

 

Many have already received their final December Paris Letter. I sent it early because 1) the post office told me to, and B) I was excited to get it in the shop for this silly Black Friday event, and iii) to feel the feelings of being done a very big project.

When I sent out my final letter of the Paris Letters series, I felt the usual relief at being done a giant pile of mail, but also peace, like the air around me was thick with loving kindness. I don’t know if it was emanating out from me or me coming into contact with something, but there was SOMETHING in the air. I thought I’d be more sad about it. The grief might arrive in January when I prep to send out a letter and… do not have a letter to send.

Why on earth would I quit this job? 

I know. Sending letters is the best job ever. And to be the first who made it a success on Etsy, well, that’s a feather in my cap as well. Now people are sending out all kinds of fun letter subscriptions.

Why would I end this wonderful thing?

Simply to do other things. It takes a lot of time to whip these out. I’m focusing on learning these days. I’ve been revamping my site and am gradually moving to another platform. Gone will be the glitchy wordpress plugins. Oh rapture!

Over at yonder new website, I’ll be offering fun courses on all kinds of great things. I’ve often wanted to teach writing, creativity, hatching evil plans, but the learning platforms were clunky and tiresome. Now, technology has caught up to my vision. It’s gonna be fan-ecourse-tastic!

I’d also like to get back to blogging. It’s funny how life works. A blog starts, it becomes a platform for a letter writing business that gets so big that the blog goes quiet. I’d like to just blog even though some say it’s all sooooo 2015, but I don’t care. I love it. And in this modern age, I created a letter writing business with letters sent in the mail, so I’m kind of into reverse technology. Stay tuned for that.

In the meantime, head over to the Etsy shop and take care of your holiday shopping needs. Save 20% on everything until Dec 2.

Thanks, reader. You’re the best.

Paris Letters for March, April, May, June and July, and drumroll please…

My ability to list and share my Paris Letters has corresponded directly to the date daycare was closed due to Covid. Note to self: Toddlers are not good office assistants. These are all in the shop now… finally. Also, scroll down for an even bigger reveal…

March 2020: Stamp Man

This letter is about a charming moment I had with my stamp man in Paris… the guy who I turn to for pretty old stamps. I’m still not sure he likes me, but he puts up with me.

April 2020: The Flower Shop

My flower lady is a master bouquet maker. Watching her whip up a bunch of flowers is dizzying and magnificent.

May 2020: Sundials of Paris

Did you know Paris has more sundials than any other city in the world? Many are hidden by overgrown vines or shadowed by newer buildings, but they are there. This letter is about the glorious scavenger hunt of searching for sundials.

June 2020: Train Stations

Trains come, trains go. Friendships come, friendships go. This letter is about the tricky art of traveling with a friend and how it can be the catalyst for ending a relationship.

July 2020: Writer’s Cafés

Paris is not only the ultimate city for writers, it is also the ultimate city for avoiding writing. This letter reveals why.

If you would like any of these letters personalized to you and sent in the mail, head over to my shop. They also make nice gifts.

Oh, and one more thing:

That’s right. New note cards featuring that darling of monuments, the Eiffel Tower, that has recently reopened.

*Thunderous applause*

Super exciting. I listed these and a bunch of other sexy note cards over at the shop to slake your travel cravings. Now you can get them all in whopping 5×7 for longwinded moments of literary brilliance.

*Happy dance*

Extremely last minute Mother’s Day gift: Letter writing kit

I uploaded some printables at my Etsy shop so you can print these with your printer at home, wrap a ribbon around it, toss it on your mother’s porch and BAM, you’ve saved a Pandemic-laden Mother’s Day.

I don’t know what I like better. Making the art or making the idea collages that go with the art. So pretty.

Look at you with your smart mom bun writing letters. Currently, my mom bun is more of a mouse bun, but my hair is growing lush and wild after the ol’ chemo business. I think cancer survivors are the only people very keen on not getting their hair cut right now.

In other wonderful news, Paris Letters is a Kindle Monthly Deal. So for the month of May, it’s cheap as chips. Plus, it is price matched so get it at your favourite ereading store. We all could use some armchair travel these days.

The most delightful photo of the book, from the beautiful, inspiring blog madefromscratch.

These days, I find myself volleying between extreme activity and extreme lethargy. There is no in between. But with books, you can feel both extremes at the same time. Thanks, books!

 

Quarantine Crafts: Printables for creative fun at home

So I was going for the daily constitutional walk with Amélie. She is mastering the tricycle and is super exasperated by our self-isolation. She pedals, I walk. We feel lucky to have a place to walk as so many in this world are truly stuck inside. Saw another parent on his yard with his two yard apes. He was working on a garden box. I asked how it was going.

“Can’t get ANYTHING done with these two around!”

And so, that’s how it’s going. Sometimes, as I watch Frozen II again, I wonder how much I would have been able to accomplish during this time indoors in my life before a toddler. Or maybe I would have squandered it away looking at exponential graphs online.

My friend Terry shared this online. I don’t know who made it, but it’s the most accurate chart I’ve seen lately.

Luckily (luckily?) Christophe’s work is closed for so we can quarantine together in a toy-filled, TV-noise bubble of crumbs.

These days are strange.

I keep feeling out of breath, but only when I look at the charts, so I’ve simmered down on the chart gazing and started… scrapbooking.

I know…. I know.

Look. You’ve got to use what you’ve got. And what I’ve got is a toddler, art supplies, and nowhere to go.

Oh how hopefully we all were when we bought our little day books back in January. Oh how we would fill them with quotes and lists and all kinds of Things… To… Do. So, now what?

There’s a lot of heartbreak out there these days. Making art is one way to keep the mind occupied. I find that I’m somewhat in union with something when making my scrapbook pages. Ideas on what should go where reveal themselves as sparks of AHHAHAHHAHA YES. A sticker pops out, or a sketch, or an old paper from a book. And then, after some time of glueing and arranging, that thing vanishes and I can’t make anything nice.

It’s hard to explain the whoosh in, then the whoosh out. Even those on in spiritual realm can only take so much scrapbooking.

To help you get started, if you’re so inclined, I’ve listed some of my most popular art on my shop as digital offerings for you to download and print at home. I’ve included note cards, labels, stickers, and full pages of art for printing and framing. Personally, I like to write letters on them to send to people these days.

For so many of us in the world, getting the mail becomes the highlight in the day. Look at this gorgeous letter someone wrote with Paris Letters stationery…

The swooshy capitals have me swooning. It’s a prettier letter than I can write. Especially in between picking Cheerios off the floor.

Download some digital art for your printing pleasure over at the shop. And stay home.

A writer’s life is basically always self-quarantine

It has been a long time. I’ve never gone so long without blogging. I miss it so. Really. I even had a dream last night that my mom asked me if I was ever going to blog again and she never asks in real life.

And I’ve received sweet, kind messages:

I also worry when I don’t post, especially after the ol’ cancer situation. People are thinking the worst.

But the truth is very very different.

First, I got a book deal!

Second, I got a book DEADLINE!

Third, I did get the flu and a cold, which didn’t help. No COVID-19s over here. Just regular old germs from toddler toys and winter life.

But now the book deal is signed, the book is in the publisher’s hands, and I’m well enough to bleach everything in sight. So with singed nostril hairs, I bring you the Paris Letter I did in October. (I have catching up to do.)

Our girl is looking into the middle distance, thinking very deep thoughts like, “This dress is itchy,” and “I’m always cold.”

And from November…

This letter is about looking for all the evidence of Paris being designed for horses. All the archways, all the courtyards, all the stables and places to park your horse and wagon. They are all still in Paris. You just have to know what you’re looking for. Example, I’ve been through the Louvre countless times and never realized I was walking through a stable:

Then came December and a cute little romantic moment I had with a stranger over a pepper grinder. That doesn’t sound right, but I assure you, it was a cute, innocent moment. Many of these moments can happen in Paris if you walk around with glee, which is often the case with me. Because… PARIS!

January and the transit strike, when you had no choice but to walk around:

This letter talks about how all the major fashion houses created perfumes to basically finance the rest of the show. Does this mean the government should design a scent to fund the pensions? I’m not sure how well that particular eau de toilette would sell.

And before I knew it, we were in February. Here’s a letter about my sweet friend Vincent on St. Vincent Day.

Speaking of sweet men, March brought another lovely moment with yet another older gentleman in France. This time, the stamp man.

I didn’t realize the older gentleman theme, but in Paris there are a lot of older gentlemen, and usually they are the bartenders or cashiers, people with whom one must interact. Anyway, this is a letter about me and my stamp man… the guy who sells me a lot of worthless but pretty stamps.

I’ve listed everything in the shop. A reminder, 2020 is the final year of these Paris Letters, after 10 glorious seasons. You can subscribe for the final 9 months over at the shop.

The Lost Letter (and a quiet little Black Friday event)

The LOST letter, not the LAST letter. The Paris Letters project began a café in Paris. But I suppose it started much earlier than that, around the time my friend Áine (Pronounced aahn-ya, rhymes with lasagna.) moved to… Chile? Japan? Ireland? Or maybe when I moved to Los Angeles? Somewhere in there we started writing letters back and forth. Great missives about—I’d like to say our travels, but no—our love lives. What he said. What she said. It was all very juicy stuff for the young ladies that we were.

Facebook reminded me today that Áine took this photo 12 years ago when she was visiting me in California. The Secret was all the rage and I was performing one of those Power of Attraction acts… pretending to kiss my future husband. Ugh! What actually happened was that I was kissed by a tick on my backside and later had a round of antibiotics to deal with the Lyme Disease welts. True story.

In searching for this photo, I came across The Áine Scowl:

Slightly amused. Slightly not.

 

I saw Paris for the first time with Áine.

And this is the moment I saw the Eiffel Tower for the first time… not knowing that I was 2 km and 2 years away from the lovely Christophe. He was so close!

When I finally did show up there 2 years later (and 20 steps from Christophe!!!) I sat down at a café and started writing a letter to Áine. These letters morphed into the Paris Letters project. Even now, many years later and over 200 letters down the road, each letter is addressed to her first. Except for one.

This is the letter written in March 2014 featuring Café Papillon. This letter was written to a lady named Patricia. She subscribed to everything I had… and she subscribed well in advance. That means that when I wasn’t sure if I had more than 12 letters in me, she had already subscribed to the next 36 so I’d better think of something. She definitely, quietly, pushed me along in this project. I never met her. Never talked to her. But there she was quietly supporting the craft with her enthusiastic purchases. There was a moment in time when I had a series of love letters, which were about great love stories set in Paris. I had but one subscriber left: Patricia. On the day I wrote the letter, I was sitting in a café (Quelle surprise) and thought I should take it home and make a copy. But I was on the other side of town, my feet hurt, and the post office was nearby. Plus, I never thought I’d need it for the anthology I’m currently creating. I folded the original, stamped it, and popped it in the post. I often wondered about that letter. I had long forgotten what I had written. Hoped it made sense.

Years later I received a email from her husband, letting me know that she had passed away. He had found all the letters tucked in a drawer, including this particular letter. He told me that they were once in Paris on vacation and he encouraged her to look me up, but she was too intimidated to contact a real author. (Hey I put my Burberry pants on one leg at a time just like everyone else).

Just kidding. I don’t wear pants.

Thankfully her daughter Bernadette was able to send this humble author a copy of the lost letter many years later. Now I continue to send letters to Bernadette, but I write them for Patricia whose ghost, I hope, is peering over Bernadette’s shoulder to read the latest missive.

Here’s the letter:

March 2014, Paris

Dear Patricia,

I think we are in the clear. The winter in Paris has been mild, which means the expat community has been avoiding discussions about the weather with their shivering compadres in North America. Poor North America has had a rough go of snow this year. Last year at this time, I was stuck at an airport in Warsaw due to a blizzard in Paris. And now trees are in bloom. The patio chairs have also been dusted off. Usually just the smokers puff and shiver outside. But now, long bright afternoons mean bustling terraces galore. There is a dark side to all these balmy spring days. The pollution levels are so out of control that the transit system was free this weekend to encourage motorists to hop on the Métro instead. I took a few free rides, but have spent more time on urban hikes. It’s easy to do when one isn’t weighed down by winter gear. The spring rain shows up, too, and I’m fine with that. Helps the flowers bloom. This great weather is almost too good to be true. I keep thinking the temperature will drop suddenly, so I haven’t put my winter scarves away just yet… though I’ve dusted off my sunglasses.

Janice

“About as simple as it gets.” Anthony Bourdain, sitting at Café Le Papillon in Paris

***

In other news, I would be remiss if I didn’t tell you about the Black Friday business happening over in my shop.

And…

The email are so loud today, non? ALL CAPS highlighting BLACK FRIDAY. It’s all a bit much. I find myself sorting through my emails just to look for something not so aggressive. That said… with this sale, the final big sale of the year, you save about $44USD on the 12 month subscription (20% off, plus free shipping) until Wednesday, December 4. It’s a big sale, but there is only one year left of the Paris Letters project, so I’m hoping you’ll join me as we wrap up Paris. Speaking of wrapping… the letter subscription and note cards make nice pressies for your Paris loving pals. Find out more in the shop.

Listicles: Top 12 Paris Letters of all time

I just recently discovered the word Listicles. Isn’t that the funniest word ever? It refers to articles that are really lists… Top 10 This and Top 10 That. It got me wondering about which of my Paris Letters is are the top sellers. Turns out, there are clear winners according to you, dear reader. And because my Etsy shop stats are easy to navigate, I thought I would present the top 12 Paris Letters. Voila!

And in more detail…

1. Montmartre. This sweet letter made it all the way to National Geographic Traveler. Way to go!

2. Les Deux Magots. Would this letter have been as popular without the weirdly named café? The answer is yes, because it is on a wonderful pedestrian-friendly corner and the light shines down mid morning in an oh-so-magical way. Plus they serve hot chocolate that is just as thick as Angelina’s. You heard it here folks. This letter is about famous writers who sat at the café. And yes, I sat at the café when writing this letter. But I’m not famous. I mean, a lot of people think I am, but not people who know me.

3. Hemingway’s Apartment. A lovely little side street and major thoroughfare of his book A Moveable Feast.

4. Bookstores and the Flâneur. Seems the books are a popular choice for letter readers everywhere. This is a letter about strolling around Paris and popping into bookstores.

5. Shakespeare & Company Café. This is a new-ish café next to the famous bookstore of the same name. And it’s packed. Decent coffee.

6. Eiffel Tower on Bastille Day. I think this is a popular one mostly because of our darling Eiffel Tower. This was the original sketch that I plopped on my book covers, too.

7. When the Seine Floods. It floods all the time. Makes fun headlines. And media-induced panic. Most residents doesn’t worry too much about it unless the tops of the bridges start getting wet.

8. Notre Dame in Spring. Featuring our darling spires that went up in flames this year. I wrote this a few years before the event.

9. Carousels & New Year’s Traditions. Paris parks a bunch of carousels around the city for the season. They were creating InstaShooting long before Instagram.

10. Zelda & F. Scott Fitzgerald. Ah yes our fiery pair of literati. This is about the lovebirds sitting in Paris cafés and dreaming up articles and books. Right in many of same cafés that still grace Paris boulevards.

11. Paris Lamps and November. It is so flippin’ dark in Paris in November. It feels like the sun goes down by 3 pm. Maybe this isn’t true, but it sure feels like it. The bright side is that the lamps glitter up the streets… pun intended.

12. Christmas Markets.I think Christmas markets hypnotize a person into buying things they don’t need… goopy melted cheese things, itchy mittens and scarves, boxes of stale chocolate. But like a moth to a flame… I cannot… help…. myself.

If you want to buy them for you or a friend. I made a bundle over at my shop. Sent flat in one package and personalized to the receiver to make it easy for gift giving under the tree. And that’s not all…

The Silver Collection is the 12 second place winners (so 13-24) Many of these haven’t been out as long as the Gold winners, so haven’t earned their online street cred yet.

I almost called the Bronze Collection the Artist’s Choice Collection because these newer letters have a bit more experience behind them. And I have a soft spot for Bronze, since Canada wins so many of them. *happy face sad face*

The holidays hath begun. Let the listicles commence! Get your Top 12 Paris Letters over at the shop.

My Paris Studio, October Paris Letter & Paris Street Note Cards

I could design note cards all day long. It is my absolute new preferred activity when I’m in my rabbit hole that is my office… or is it a studio? Calling it a studio makes it seem like there are walls of supplies artfully displayed and yet totally handy:

Source: Design Sponge

Or a massive island in the middle where I cut things with fancy cutting boards, and of course light flowing in from a massive window:

Source: Apartment Therapy

Or even good posture when painting, like this girl:

Source: Christine Moore Photography

None of this is true. My office is a room in the basement where I pay bills, guests sleep, printers beep, boxes are piled as neatly and as out of the way as possible, and yes, where note cards are designed. There is a small window that I could crawl out of in case of emergency. My office is NOT Pinterest worthy. Nor is it even blog worthy. But it works.

I was researching Paris hotels for a little something I’m writing. I came across The Eiffel Writer’s Suite at the Lutetia.

At over 2000 Euros a night, I’m not sure many writers are writing here. I’m not sure I’d even want to, but it would have probably been warmer than the place where I actually did write books and letters. Voila… a glimpse at me writing in my Paris studio: (Kristin Lau Photographer) 

My “studio” was also my kitchen counter.

I’d have to pull out everything, write, and put everything back in a box that I stored on the shelf under the TV.

Then we would eat. Then clean. Then I’d pull out my box and begin again.

Box contents.

And art supplies artfully displayed. *snort giggle*

At least the books were artfully displayed.

I was so… flippin… cold when writing my book. I’d have to write, then go out to a café and warm up, write a little there in my journal, then come home and type up what I’d written. I wasn’t one of those who took their laptop to the café in Paris. It’s done, I suppose, but it’s not as prevalent as in other countries. Nor it is very safe to whip out your laptop in Paris. But I didn’t mind this type-walk-write-type routine because Christophe worked just up the street so we would have a mini summit. Usually we talked about food… and when he’d be home so I could clean up my writerly mess.

And it was a very nice day when I brought him the book for the first time. You can find out where to get it here.

Since then, I’ve had another book and a side gig of creating note cards along side the original side gigs of creating Paris Letters and writing books. The October 2019 letter is about Fashion Week, which happened earlier in the month.

It’s mostly about the fashion show on the street outside the actually fashion show. One word: Tentacles. Subscribe at my shop to get fun letters like this sent to you every month. I’ve also listed the new set of Paris street note cards.

They are, once again, brought to you with a rainbow of envelopes because I’m so in love with the hues. Plus I think there is a nice pop of vibrant WOW when it arrives in the mail with all the other boring white envelopes. Makes a nice pressie along with the other Paris street note cards sets:

Get them and more over at my shop.

I realize that is a lot of note cards, but what can I say. I’ve got an inspiring studio.

Vintage Finds: The All-Occasion Box of Greeting Cards

It’s easy to let your day pivot around what you discover on Facebook Marketplace. You could be casually scrolling through photos of your friend’s dog, then happen to click on the Marketplace button and BOOM!

I found an estate sale that I HAD to see. Why? Because in the background of all the photos was an orange and green shag carpet.

And the wallpaper…

And the light sockets!

And paneling… holy moses was that ever a THING.

Two words: TIME CAPSULE

This house was decorated ONCE in the 60s. In the corner of the sewing room (!!) I found this:

The holy grail of vintage estate sale finds.

That’s a Woolco W, people. Prepare yourself for a flurry of vintage art, old fonts, and a lot of exclamation marks.

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–

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There were plenty of Get Well cards. It was pointed out to me that people don’t generally send Get Well cards. That could explain why there were very few birthday cards. Oh the evolution of communication! (Thankfully we still have the exclamation mark!)

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The paper is just regular folded paper. Nary a 176g/m2 in the bunch… that’s tech talk for “card stock.”

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Wait for it…

A pop-up!

Oh PLEASE… Fine. I will. Since you said please.

–

Get-Well… get it… well. WELL. 

Exclamation.

A scalloped edge… nice touch. 

You!

Another PLEASE.

PLEASE!!!!

WELL!

DAY! I feel yelled at after reading these all in a row. 

–

I don’t think “Some things are here to stay.”

Soon!

But only a “GET-WELL” wish in quotations. Thanks for nothing.

–

“Perky”

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You… Random Caps Are Always A Little Weird.

For FRIENDSHIP’S Sake!

!

Nothing says congrats like this still life. –

Nothing says love the idea of the husband rooting around in her greeting cards to find a note for her.

That was a dollar well spent. As for me and my letters… the October Paris Letter is out the door. I just LOVE October. So much so that I made a personalized version of one of the autumn note cards. It’s avails at the shop! (Exclamation!!!!!)

I think I had too much coffee. Or too many well-wishes.

Métro Signs, the September Paris Letter, and a note card for you

If the beginning of September is all about going back to school, the end of September is about putting away summer. I’ve swept out the last of the beach sand, the pool toys are now spider hotels in the garage, and I spent all week CANNING. I know. Who is this stock piling freak before you and what has she done with Janice “the one suitcase” nomad? Well, I blame a love of salsa and a gift for growing tomatoes. I’m not going to show you photos. It seems all we do these days is Grow the Thing, then Share the Thing on Social Media. I can tell you one thing. I’m glad tomato season is over. I popped the final lid on the jar, ripped out the last of the greens, and put the garden to bed for the season. Everyone is getting salsa in their stocking.

All that red tomato action in my kitchen got me thinking about Paris and Métro signs, those exquisite rouge beacons that seem to say “Come here and let me take you. Your feet seem tired.” Feet always seem tired in Paris. I haven’t gone a day in Paris when I didn’t marvel at how feet can be so tired and sore at the end of a day, then be completely healed and ready to spring into action the next day. Feet are miracles. And after my canning episode, my feet felt like they had traipsed clear across Paris instead of the reality of pivoting back and forth between counter and stove.

There are over 300 Métro stations in Paris so wherever you are, chances are, you’re near a station. After a quick scan of my photo library, I came across just a few signs. There are oh so many.

Typique.

Same but different shades of green. Why? Qui sait.

This was taken from inside a bus. I was more excited about the Pret a Manger in the background. The chocolate mousse is sublime.

Straight and skinny.

Voluptuous at night.

A feast of taupes by day.

I love the swirls so much on this one that I sketched it out with my new fountain pen.

And then added THAT to the September Paris Letter, now in the shop. This letter is about a nice moment on the Métro, parenting in Paris, and how the whole city seems to bow before you when you’ve got a kid along. People that once brazenly stepped in front of you in line must now insist that you go ahead in line. It’s the Paris you only wished for in your wildest dreams.

I’ve also popped a few more note card sets in the shop. If I could spend all day in my studio designing note cards, I would. And since the Paris Letters are ending in 15 letters, I might just do that. Qui sait.

A little known thing about writers. We LOVE naming things. We name book titles, animals, and fictional characters constantly. Since I’ve been making note cards, I’ve been adding all my fictional characters. This one is Lester Sinclair… how debonaire. He has great hair and looks good in a suit but he’s a complete disaster with talking to the ladies.

All orders between now and September 30th will include a free card featuring this lovely vintage typewriter. Yours will not say Lester Sinclair… unless that is, in fact, your name, which would be wild. Order at the shop.