Back to Paris

Hi Everyone,

I usually go back to Paris after spending the holidays in San Francisco with my children. I stick around for a week or two after they leave, do some work, and then head back to Paris, to enjoy some more of the winter there. January is kind of a dull month everywhere, the weather is lousy unless you live in a tropical country—it's miserable everywhere else, people are tired after the holidays, partied out, broke after buying presents, and nothing very exciting is going on. For me, it's a great time to work. I work hard all year, especially in winter, so I can take time off in the summer to be with my kids.  But as wintry places go, Paris is a nice place to be in January. Often, it snows, which I love, the big sales are on, which is fun if you want to find a bargain, and the big Haute Couture fashion shows are at the end of January. Many of the big designers have closed and no longer do Haute Couture, and there are only 2 houses left that do couture, Chanel and Dior, other than some new designers that have appeared. And I go to the Chanel Haute Couture shows twice a year in Paris, so I'll be going to that and am looking forward to it. They'll be showing their summer clothes in January. And I love to comb through antique stores, and go to my favorite auction house in Paris, all good winter pursuits. And I enjoy winter evenings with friends, over quiet dinners. There is something very cozy about winter evenings, and I like staying home too, catching up on work, or puttering around the house. I always have a million projects, things I want to move or hang. Or change in the house. So I manage to keep busy on long winter nights. And mostly, I write in the winter, and will be working on outlines, and new books.

I haven't gone skiing in the winter for a couple of years, as my children are spread out and no longer go with me, and it's no fun to go alone. But that was fun too, for a lot of years. And I might go to the snow this year with some friends. It's fun to go on long walks in the snow. I've always been a cowardly skier, and was never a great one, and hurt my back years ago, so I don't ski, but am an enthusiastic supporter. I do après-ski extremely well, and have the wardrobe for it!!! I look like the real deal, even if I'm not. I took my youngest son to a place called Courchevel in France a few years ago, so he could ski (he's a fabulous skier!!) and we had a great time. But he doesn't have time for ski holidays anymore.

So I'll be busy in Paris in January, and am sure I'll find lots to do between bouts of writing. It's a good time to catch up on things at home, and even curl up and do some reading (which I do in summer, when I'm not writing!!!).

I hope your January is off to a good start, and I'm looking forward to a good year ahead. Last year was challenging, and I hope that this year will be easier for us all!!!

Much love, Danielle