PutYourFlareOn

19 of 30 - Knitterly things

 

Sweet Georgia's Silk Merino Lace in Ultraviolet. Now available at L'Oisivethé! 

I haven't written very much lately about the tea house here on my personal blog.  I maintain a blog for the tea house here. And use Twitter and Facebook to post updates of things happening at L'Oisivethé. But lately things have really been taking off for the tea house and it's a part of my everyday life so I should include it in my 30 days. As many of you know, I dreamed of opening my own knit café in Paris. The first year I had L'Oisivethé, I ran only the cafe portion of the business.  Trying to learn every aspect and reworking the work processes to my standards.  I took my time incorporating the knitting portion of the business. I did market research and contacted potential  yarn vendors in the United States and a year and half after I opened my business I received my first shipment of yarn, ShiBui Knits. And 6 months after that my next shipments which increased my yarn stock to include 3 more North American brands, Lorna's Laces, Dream in Color and Sweet Georgia and I'm looking to secure one more at the end of the year. It's a very exciting time at the tea house. Sometimes it's hard to process it all with the arrival of BB happening at the same time. 

After I learned to knit, I'd sit around and fantasize about how it would be so awesome to just sit around and knit for a living. I am not an awesome knitter. I would categorize myself as an intermediate knitter who likes to try new things. As much as I love the actual gesture of knitting I love the who culture surrounded by knitting. Someone said something so true at knitting last night, they mentioned that we may not all be friends in real life but because of knitting we have a common interest and because of this common interest we'll always have something to talk about. It's very true but at the same time, I feel like because of knitting I have had a chance to meet people that I wouldn't normally of had the chance to meet and because of that I have made a whole new array of friends that I enjoy spending quality time with. And all this through what I do for a living... I am very grateful for what I have. I thank my lucky stars everyday. 

One of the French speaking knitters last night announced jokingly, "Ca ya est! le tricot est à la mode! " according to some major fashion magazines who have declared this lately. We all had a nice little chuckle over that because many of us who have been knitting for years already knew this! 

3 of 30 - I love cookies

I think cookies are the perfect dessert. They are small and you can eat a few and not feel too guilty. I always feel guilty after eating a big piece of cake or a dessert drenched in crème anglaise. Though so good I don't full enjoy because later I'm thinking I shouldn't have sopped up all that crème anglaise. 

But then there's the cookie and its perfect companion the glass of milk. My favorite is lait frais by Candia. I drink at least 3 liters a week. Milk has been something I've craved this entire pregnancy. 

So, after going to the Casino tonight I decided I needed to bake a batch of cookies. I have been curious about using pumpkin in cookies since I love it so much in bread and cakes. I whipped up these pumpkin chocolate chip cookies tonight and they are light and airy cakey-cookie goodness. Coupled with a glass of milk and you've got one happy pregnant lady. 

I'm taking a batch to knitting tomorrow night to let the knitters have a taste. I feel like I should add more spice to the mix but I'll wait and see what everyone else thinks. 

A few photo notes. I shot this with my 50mm f/1.8 lens and my speedlight SB-600. I haven't used my speedlight very much because I'm sort of intimidated by it. But it seems that I don't think to pick up my camera until the evening and the sun sets in Paris now about 5pm! So, I charged up my batteries for the speedlight and walked about the apartment and shot away. I'm pleasantly surprised how well this photo came out. I tweeked the exposure a bit in ACR but that's about it. I'm no pro but I think I'll start toting the flash around with me and try to learn as I go. 

Blogging in the work place

No chance of me being dooced.... 

Off chasing seagulls...

We're back from our week of rest at the sea. A week full of eating plentiful plates of seafood and crepes. Late night knitting and sleeping in until 10am. Chasing seagulls and sloshing around in our beach boots all the while the sea air washing away the wear of the big city on us. Time away always makes me realize how much the city wears on me but being away too long makes me miss my beloved City of Lights. It's good to be back...

As upcoming projects are starting to unfold unravel... March will be a month of great things. A second birthday to celebrate, wedding anniversaries, family visits and a great new direction for the tea house.

Knit, knit, knit...

I'm happy to have knitting back in my life again. For a while there I was juggling so much that I did not have time to eat or sleep let alone knit. But things are starting to settle down and I'm prioritizing my time better and back to the knitting needles I am.

For the past month, I have been showing a local artist's dou dous in the tea house. I had heard about her work from a friend in the neighborhood and had to have her show a little expo at the tea house. Her name is Eve and she runs Lili Grenadine, creations pour enfants. Hip, stylish handmade creations for your little ones.  Eve asked if I'd knit a few objects for her show and I was very happy to oblige. I pulled my friend, Irene, into it and we both turned out, in my opinion, some very cute creations for little girls.

I'm very excited to be showing these FOs at Eve's gallery show and I thank her immensely for the chance to do this. And who knows? Perhaps this could turn into something for the tea house. It's not like I have enough on my plate, right? But for now, I'm focusing on my Christmas knitting... and anxiously awaiting the arrival of my new needles!

Une tranche de vie

Today, I met a delightful American gal named Juliet who is friends with my friend, Sarah. Who I must say is as equally delightful as well. Juliet and Sarah happened to come in at the tail end of a huge lunch rush. I was a bit flustered after cranking out 17 couvert today all in the span of an hour and a half.  During this time I was quite lost in my work. I was on auto pilot making lunch, cleaning up, going through my scone recipe in my head while life on the other side of the bar was buzzing around me.  Juliet captured perfectly what was going on on the other side of the bar while I was busy working in the kitchen. The funny thing is I was actually aware of all this going on.  And it was such a pleasure to read her accout of this afternoon. This is a slice of life of my tea house.

I realize after reading Juliet's blog today that I want to remember these kinds of moments.  Je n'ai plus la flemme*... blogging, I am back.

*lazziness aside.... I no longer feel lazy.

We're on vacation...sorta...

Well, the tea house is closed for three weeks. We are taking a break from the everyday buzz of café life and replacing it with some manual labor that had got us using muscles we don't normally use and early bed times as my husband says, "on est couché aves les poules". Though we are not running off to some exotic location and soaking in the sun on our holiday but atleast we are doing something completely different than our daily routine and that has been a welcomed breath of fresh air for us. On changes les ideés...

Yesterday, we broke down the bar of the kitchen. It was done in half of a day. And a lot of fun. Big hammers. Plaster flying everywhere. Julien acting like a crazy karate guy breaking things. Good fun. We spent the other half of the day at Leroy Merlin buying various hardware needs and I walked out with loveliest chairs for my terrasse this fall. One is fuschia. Exactly what I imagined. Morning coffee sitting on my fuschia chair. Mmmm.  You'll see....

Today, we worked out the logistics of our mesurements with our hired handyman, spent the morning working out the numbers, well Julien did. I caught up on long overdue emails and also my out of control bloglines. Afterwards, Julien and I went to lunch at one of our favorite restos (mine for sure, Julien likes the Mexican beers), El Sol et La Luna and we were back to work by 13h.  Julien has run off to the harware store again to get the bar. I finished clearing out the kitchen of all the dishes and appliances so we can install my new horizontal inox refridgerator this afternoon. It sure is purty!   After that we'll varnish the bar and head home to Max at 7pm. We are hoping to get all the major stuff done this week so at the end of next week we will be able to go visit friends in Champagne and then off on a mini tour visiting Belgium and Netherlands with my brother, William, who arrives on the 15th.

But already, the break in the routine has been a nice breather for my mind. It's got me thinking about how I want to rearrange my week starting in the fall. Since we closed Sunday, I've find time to update the tea house blog. Please feel free to follow the progress of the work we are doing there. I will also have a fun slideshow video at the end of all the photos I've taken.

Alrighty, break time over... gottta go get freezer wiped down and moved before Julien gets back.

I have been sitting here trying to figure out a title for this blog entry and nothing is coming to my mind. I have been pretty lax on my blogging lately. Yes, I have been busy but I have had time in the evenings to blog. I often log into Typepad and stair at the Compose New Post page and my fingers are stuck. The ideas I had to blog about during the day when I'm busy baking or serving tea are all lost to me.  No time to jot them down in my moleskine. Fingers often covered in scone dough or cookie batter so I can't type. And then sometime I blog block myself by thinking that what I have to say is uninteresting and who would be interested in what I have been up to?

I think I'm just too much in my head and just need to write down my thoughts so I can access them later in time.

 - Today, I walked down a freshly rain soaked cobblestone sidewalk on my way to the tea house carrying a bouquet of sunflowers, two freshly baked baguettes and today's Le Parisien.

 - I met two readers of my blog today. One person a lurker from San Francisco who has never commented on my blog who found my through another friend's blog who had linked about the tea house.   The other visitor a woman and her husband from Vancouver who has been reading my blogs for years and leaves the most wonderful comments some which have really helped me through some dark times in my life and brought smiles to replace the tears.  I was thrilled to meet her. Hugs were given. She knit and enjoyed my homemade carrot cake. Really lovely to put a face to the familiar name that often appears in my comments.

 - I baked cream scones today. Seriously, these are the best scones I've ever made. I also learned from a customer who happened to be from Australia about Devonshire Tea. I am going to rename my Thé Gourmand, Devonshire Tea instead. And perhaps I will adapt the Aussie way to pronounce scone as /skɒn/ like as in John. Just because it's so cute. But I will not be making Vegemite scones as the woman suggested I could. My taste buds have not yet gotten used to the unique taste of Vegemite.

 - I thought about how I am a mother. Last weekend was mother's day in France and to hear my husband wish my Bonne Fete de Mamans made me feel really good. This role of mother is the most natural role my life has taken to date.  Through all my fears and worries in the beginning I can easily say that I am really glad that I became a Maman when I did. It was the hardest period of my life. I had just lost my mother and knowing myself I had to challenge myself. Challenge myself to advance and live life. And I knew that my mother wouldn't want it any other way.

Just a few of my thought today... enough to blog about? Who knows. But I do want to remember these moments.

Spring is here!

With the arrival of Spring, the light in the tea house is amazing.... This is the round the table that sits in the grande vitrine at the entrance of the tea house.

Epuisé

Tired.

I am so tired.  Exhausted. Drained. 

But somehow in the morning I find myself recharged and ready to start a new day.  The thought of going to my own kitchen in my own café still floors me. 

Another weekend has come and gone. This time no petage de plomb. It was a weekend full of coffee and couples. Students and sweets. Tea tasting and Twittering.  There was even a moment where both Lydia and I were able to sit down and have lunch together (which is rare). Sunday was fairly quiet, we had a steady stream of customers. .  Right at tea time the skies opened up and started to pour down.  Within in a minute, ALL of our tables were full. It remained full until we closed. I was home by 8:00pm.

If this is my new work routine?  I must say, I absolutely love it.

Café Characters

I'm going to start introducing to the blogosphere the people who are often seen at the café.  Of course, with their express permission.  You will see some of my Paris entourage for sure and some new faces of people who I have met through the café. These people have at one time worked for the café's previous owner. And with the sale of the café,  I have inherited a lovely network of people who truly are amazing. 

I'd like to first introduce you to Louisa.  My quirky part-time server who lives next door to the café. She helps me out on Mondays and Tuesdays.  There is never a dull moment when Louisa is around.

Petage de plomb*

*Or to blow a fuse (literally and figuratively)

Yes, it happened while we were in the middle a huge lunch rush. On a Sunday of all days.  For a moment there, the café was plunged into semi darkness. Only the light from the huge windows filtering through.  The clientele seemed unphased and continued on with their leisurely conversations.  A few looking over to me in the kitchen. I smiled and acted like nothing was wrong. Except that we had no lights in the kitchen, no lights in the bathroom, no dish washer and NO OVEN. The no oven part was worrisome as I use the oven to make the main course for the brunch which is the feuilletés and quiche.  While my staff buzzed around me, I continued to make lovely salade composé for the feuilletés that had been ordered. And watched calmly as they started to pull appliances out from the shelves to figure out another way to get some juice to them. A few frantic looks from my girls, I then figured it was time to call Julien. Within 10 minutes he was at the café with Maximilien in tow.  Good thing my lovely friend, Stefanie (Thank you, Stefanie!) and her husband were there to occupy my very busy 12 month old while Julien went to work.  A few minutes later we had light! The buzz of all the appliances surged on and were fully operational. Brunch was saved and all ended well. 

I was pleased to see that the books that I had brought over the night before were getting some use. Customers started pulling down books to thumb through to pass the time.  Exactly what I wanted these books to be used for. A Spanish couple mentioned to me they were happy to find that  had put a Paris guidebook on the shelf. While they waited for their œufs à la coque they jotted down places to visit later that day.

Standing behind the counter during my very first brunch rush was really surreal. I did not see the time pass except for when the fuse blew and those 20 minutes felt like an eternity.  But I kept cool, knowing that if I did not panic my staff would not either. I told everyone to smile and act normal and that all would be just fine.  I have been dubbed "zen" by my two part-time servers.  I like that. 

Our life revolves around the café kitchen

Touched

I arrived to work today to find this lovely bouquet of flowers waiting for me. These flowers were sent to me by a faithful reader of my blog who goes by the name of Tiffany.  Thank you so much! What a wonderful surprise to find these this morning. My eyes stung with happy tears as I read your very sweet note.  This bouquet quickly found it's home on one of my wooden tables. 

Again, thank you, Tiffany.  I am overwhelmed by your gesture.  I hope have a cup of tea with you someday soon.

Butterflies

I've got them. Big time. I feel like it's the first day of school or something. You know how you lay out your outfit for the first day of school. Well, I did the exact same thing. Threadless tee. Black skirt. Haven't decided on the shoes yet but I'll probably wear my old standard Converse All Stars.

The café fridge is packed. We have two of the three shipments of tea. We have good coffee. I'm going to make a mini fondant au chocolat this morning. I think we're ready to go...

I'll be twittering today from my cell phone as we do not have Internet.... yet. 

Have a good day, everyone! And if you're in Paris, stop by and say hi and stay a while. :)