New Adventures

This last year has passed so fast and brought about many changes for us. My apologies for not writing and keeping you all up to date. There were so many moments where I thought..."I really need to write about this"...but then life happened and it never got written.

We spent the last year living in the apartment below Marc's parents house and for all intensive purposes created a very "normal" routine. The girls completed their 2nd year at the same school, Marc coached for the local year-round swim team, and I continued to work with clients and build my online business. There were play dates, sleep-overs, and dinner gatherings. And there was the day-to-day tasks of grocery shopping, homework, and after school activities. In some ways it felt as if we could have been back home and in other ways...no...we were in France.

There were lots of "blog-worthy" moments. France continues to surprise me...and at times frustrate me! Some of these moments I will still share with you because they're just that good but for today I felt like I really needed to bring everyone up to speed on our latest adventure.

Since we arrived in France 3 Augusts ago we have been in transition. Looking for a simpler, less stressful life filled with more time with each other and with our girls. In many ways we have accomplished this. But with Marc coaching last year we saw glimpses of the stressful time-consuming reality we had left back in California returning. We knew this was temporary and was definitely not all bad (Lola loved having her Papa coaching her again) but we were keeping an eye towards the next step.

At first this next step was going to be Marc creating a swim school using Endless Pools. I'm sure this would have worked really well in the region we were living in but the more time Marc spent working through this business plan, the more he realized that he would be getting himself right back into a scenario where he would be working long hours and dependent on making enough money to support the rent of his facility. Plus we really wanted to find a house or property we could build on in the mountains and unfortunately the price of things was still way beyond our reach...meaning we would be locked into working a lot to make enough money to support the increased price of living in this region. This is exactly what we had left in California and we were really hesitant to jump right back into that same scenario.

So...the soul searching began...followed by lots of time meditating, journaling, and long discussions while walking along the lake. I started to get clearer and clearer about what my overarching goals were...and thankfully they were the same for Marc.

There were 5 goals that continued to be true for me:

1. I did not want to worry about money anymore!
2. I wanted Marc to be home more, not less.
3. I wanted us to live back in nature again.
4. I wanted space to have animals & grow our own food.
5. I wanted a house that would provide enough space for us, a home office, and the ability for us to host visitors (most importantly my family when they came to visit).

From there it just became a numbers game. How much money we had in savings from the sale of our house in California, how much money I can make each month with my business, plus how much money Marc brought home each month...with the intention that he would be changing his job sooner than later.

It didn't take long for us to realize that we would not be able to stay in Haute Savoie. The price of living, being so close to Switzerland, was just too high for us to not have to worry about money. This gave us permission to start looking in other areas of France. Where could we live where we would be able to meet our goals?

For the next couple months our evenings were filled with this question and lots of time researching online. We ended up narrowing it down to several regions (Dordogne, Correze, Haute Pyrennes), which then led to researching housing in those regions.

We planned our first visit with the girls the beginning of May to meet with a realtor and start to explore the area more intimately (neither Marc nor I had ever been to any of these regions before!). It didn't take long for us to immediately feel at home there. So much more space, a lot less people, and beautiful rolling green hills and countrysides.

The department of Dordogne is known for all of its castles! Here was one we toured in Hautefort.

So many charming villages! We stopped at this one for lunch.

It was right on the Dordogne River.

One of my favorite towns we visited was Brantome, a little French Venice. So pretty!

Marc and I planned another trip the middle of June and explored some of the neighboring departments as well to widen our search a bit.

More beautiful villages!! This one is Collonges La Rouge.

And this one is Turenne.

The beautiful view of the Valley from the castle tower.

Let's just say that as much as I like "adventure", heights are not really my thing. I was a bit nervous up here and by the time we got back down, navigating all those stairs, my thigh cramped up...ouch!!

In July, while the girls and I were in California, Marc returned for one more visit. During that visit, he found it! In the countryside of Correze, on the outskirts of a sweet village called Palisse. The place which checked off (almost) all of our boxes...plenty of space to grow food & raise animals (9.5 acres to be exact!), off the beaten path and surrounded by forest, close to a beautiful lake and village where the girls would go to school, and a house big enough for an office and guest room!

The trick of course is I wasn't there to see it, although he sent me lots of photos & videos, he was nervous to make such a big decision without me (understandably!) and ultimately we didn't really know very much about this area.

But here's the thing. Thankfully for Marc I'm always up for adventure and I fully trusted his assessment and intuition. It met all the points that were important to us AND it was still within our budget. And nothing in France moves quickly. Which means if we wanted to get there before school started we needed to start the process as soon as possible.

The rest, I suppose, is history. We took a leap and made an offer, which was accepted! The owner also agreed to let us move in before the sale was finalized so the girls could start school. Marc began looking for work and within only a couple weeks found something! The girls and I arrived back from California and within a week we packed up the first of our things (clothing & other essentials) between both cars and drove to our new home! 

Thankfully the house was being used as an Airbnb, which meant it was fully furnished and ready to live in, making it an incredibly easy transition for us. A week later the girls started school and Marc started his new job. A couple weeks after that we returned to Thonon to finish moving the rest of our things.

It's kind of hard to believe all of this happened in such a short amount of time but I am a really firm believer in both the power of manifestation and in trusting the universe. We were clear about what we wanted. We put it out into the universe. And we were open to opportunity. When it presented itself we took a leap of faith and went for it.

It's been 3 months and so far no regrets!! Now, this is not to say that some parts haven't been hard (I'll blog more about this soon) but overall we couldn't be happier and super excited about what lies ahead.

2017 Wrap-Up

It has officially been two months since I last updated our blog. I'm not exactly sure what happened. I've had every intention to add a new post every week and then something would always get in the way or take priority. Perhaps it's to be expected. Maybe even the novelty is starting to fade away. But the reality is I'm always seeing something or experiencing something that makes me think "I need to share that on the blog".

So.....it's a New Year and with that comes renewed intentions. For me, this includes getting back to posting on our blog.

I have a list of things I'm looking forward to sharing with you but for now I think I should just bring everyone up to speed on what we've been up to; or at least the fun stuff.

Some highlights from the end of 2017 included a birthday outing to an old castle, the first snowy days, and of course the holidays.

The end of November brought my birthday and a lovely day spent with Marc. We enjoyed a hike up and around a local castle, Castle Allinges. It's less than 10 minutes from us and we had yet to explore it.

The view from the castle was spectacular! The lake in one direction.

And the Alps in the other.

That evening, which just so happened to be Thanksgiving in the U.S., we gathered with the girls and Marc's family and enjoyed a delicious fondue and dark chocolate cake; my birthday meal of choice. I think I'm fitting in quite nicely here; at least when it comes to food preferences.

That said though, I think next year I may actually attempt "doing" a Thanksgiving here with Marc's family. Give them a little taste of American traditions. Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday and I don't think I can just give it up forever.

Shortly into December the snow arrived. It's always very exciting to see the first snow flakes fall. Having never lived with snowy winters, it's still super exciting to me, and the girls love it too!

The Sunday after my birthday, we joined Marc, very early in the morning, to head up to Megeve, a fancy ski station about an hour away from us, close to the Mont Blanc. He had a swim meet and I took the opportunity to see the town. It was also our first day in the snow this winter.

We walked through town in the morning; nobody was up yet so we had the streets all to ourselves.

We headed back to the pool for a bit, to warm up, and to meet up with Marc for lunch. When he had to go back to the meet then we headed back out again, making our way to the famous (well at least around here) 5-star hotel and restaurant, Les Fermes de Marie. On our way we passed an old cemetery and decided to explore it a bit. It was quite beautiful; especially with the snow.

You really must check out their website; it's pretty incredible.

We decided to stop in and warm up in their bar with some hot chocolate.

The prices were a bit........how do I say; extravagant!! Here's our 16 Euro pitcher of hot chocolate (which of course was amazing but still) and I enjoyed a 5 Euro espresso!!

And the first snow in our own backyard.

Of course the girls couldn't wait to go play in it.

Last year, much of my blog posts included food pictures. I'm still in awe how food is truly celebrated here; if not totally overdone at times. My apologies in advance that I don't have nearly as many food pics to share. I guess the newness is fading and I don't always remember to take a picture. When something becomes "normal".....well I guess you forget to document it.

Christmas Eve was spent "upstairs" with Marc's parents and his brother and family. Unfortunately poor Teah was sick and on the couch throughout most of the day and evening. She did not partake in the feast with us but rather dozed in and out of consciousness on the couch.

Our festive table!

My beautiful sister-in-law, brother-in-law, and nieces!

During the food break, we opened presents, and did hair.....you know; a bunch of girl cousins.....that's just what you do!

Even Ton Ton Marc got in on the action!

Showing off one of her new presents.

Cuddling with cousin Margaux.

We started the evening with champagne, foie gras, and oysters. Then eventually made our way to the table for smoked salmon, followed by escargot (snails for those of you not in the know) ;-).

We took a break after the escargot to open presents. Then back to the table for cornish game hen, gratin (2 different ones), and my one-contribution, a holiday inspired salad.

Bread and cheese of course followed for anyone that wasn't ready to explode and finally dessert; 2 different Christmas Cakes (Buche de Noel), coffee and dark chocolate.

As always, several hours later you finally waddle away from the table, literally feeling like you're going to be sick.

The next morning we enjoyed Santa surprises.

And eventually made our way back upstairs again to enjoy a Christmas lunch with Marc's parents; leftover smoked salmon, cornish game hen, and gratin with added green beans and salad.

The week that followed we enjoyed mostly lazy days at home. One of the days Marc and Lola went skiing; first outing for the season. Lola couldn't wait and Marc was excited too to try out his new skis and boots.

We headed up to Morzine to spend New Year's Eve at Marc's brother's chalet; about 45 minutes away. I always love being up there.

Before dinner we headed up to Avoriaz to meet up with one of Marc's oldest friends, Thierry and his wife Sandrine. Thierry and Marc literally grew up 2 houses away from each other and went all the way through school together. Sandrine and I do yoga together on Wednesdays. A really lovely family. It was nice to be able to celebrate New Year's with them.

I love my sister-in-law so much. So happy to have spent the holidays with them. We do pretty well with our mix of French and English but I cant wait until we can "really" talk; another motivator to get my French up to par.

After drinks, we headed back down to Morzine where the hours of eating began. First with oysters and sushi (that Marc had made). Then smoked salmon. Followed by quail stuffed with foie gras (really!) and salad. After that, we were all so full and it was already after midnight. At that point, only Marc rallied for bread and cheese and then rather than the planned dessert we stuck with oranges. Ugh! Amazing food but yet another night where we made our way to bed beyond stuffed and feeling a bit "sick". Yeah, intermittent fasting, to help us balance out all those decadent meals!!

All in all, a lovely way to wrap up 2017. Although I think I can speak for all 4 of us when I say we've truly settled into our new life here there are certainly still moments when I can't believe we're actually living in France. That we made this enormous decision to leave our "home" and start over in a whole new (well at least for me and the girls) country. 

Last year at this time I had no clue that all of this would transpire. It's actually a wonderful reminder that we never know where life will take us. If you're open to the adventure, anything is possible. I can't wait to see what 2018 has in store.

Wishing everyone a wonderful year filled with some new adventures of your own.