Feels like home...

So these past few weeks have been quite eventful in terms of creating our nest and all that comes with it. The second day we were moved in, we found a note on our door from the neighbors downstairs. Knowing a thing or two about the Swiss, we figured it was an official note of complaint regarding something we had done (i.e. we played our music too loud that one night, Sophie was barking incessantly during their lunch hour, or they caught us throwing away our plastics or compost instead of recycling!!!). Instead, we had a note from our neighbor with an amazing cartoon of Sophie sketched on the side of the note. The note read,

"Hi There,

Sophie has been telling us to keep away from your door...Yet she's welcome to come along with you to our place for a drink and a delivered pizza (yes, I know delivered pizza is very glamourous for a 'first date'!). Hope you can come! Bye for now.

Marie + Daniel"

We ended up coming home too late to make it to our "first date," but we connected with them soon after. Since that initial meeting, I have spent most afternoons at Marie's or her at my place, drinking tea, talking about life, doing crafts, watching movies on rainy days, and practicing French. Marie is 28, from Lyon, France, speaks English perfectly, and loves life. She went to Art School and specialized in interior design. She has an eye for beautiful and eccentric things. She lives with her Italian boyfriend, Daniel, who is an engineer and designs space shuttles but plays in a rock band on the side. They are both obsessed with 60s music and mustaches.

Marie is currently in transition between jobs, so this week is her "vacance" and we had plenty to do! Marie reminds me of a French Julia Child. The first day we hung out, she took me around to all of the little shops in Chailly, introducing me to the shop owners. She would walk in and the vendors would light up, kiss her, and ask her to try this, or have a free (generous) sample of that. She would introduce me and they would lovingly extend their arms and kiss me as well (because a friend of Marie's is, of course, a friend of their's). She has shown me the "ins and outs" of certain places--"this coffee shop is expensive and the coffee is crap," "this place is owned by a brother and sister from Portugal--they make the BEST tapas," "this is a great place to take your man--quiet, romantic, and large portions," etc. With Marie, I don't only feel like I'm on "the inside," but I feel like I can let my guard down and be myself (while practicing a bit of French)! I love it!

Not only has she blessed me with friendship, but she devoted an entire morning and afternoon to help me clean/decorate my house! I have never even heard of a neighbor being willing to vacuum out your shoe closet, on hands and knees mind you, or search their attic space for additional furniture to "spice up" your bare dining room. I'm going to include some pictures of how it's turning out.

Aside from the great new friendships, I received great news from the vascular doctor yesterday! He said all of my veins looked healthy and he could find no residual clotting! I'm officially clot-free! We celebrated (with Daniel and Marie) with a Margarita and some Mexican food. I had been craving fajitas for so long, and these were deliciousssss. Anyway, Praise the Lord that I'm healthy again--and as a statement of "victory," I've been toying with the idea of running the Lausanne 20 k in April. I don't know if I have enough time to train (in that case, I might just run the 10k, then either the marathon or half in September), but I'm going to start trying nonetheless! We'll see.

Anyway, here are some current pictures of the apartment, and also a few from my night of Raquette + Fondue with the women of WestLake, as well as our Saturday afternoon in Montreux. Enjoy!

Dining Room/Guest Room [BEFORE]:



[AFTER]



TABLE FROM MARIE'S ATTIC:


ENTRY HALLWAY:


ENTRY HALLWAY LOOKING INTO THE LIVINGROOM (RIGHT) AND DINING ROOM (LEFT)


RAQUETTE SOMEWHERE NEAR FRANCE




WATCHED THE SWISS LONG-DISTANCE JUMPER WIN A GOLD WHILE EATING FONDUE (over 900 people ate fondue together after completing the Raquette course...the energy in the room while watching the Olympics was indescribable).



OUR NEW NESPRESSO MACHINE!





OUR SATURDAY IN MONTREUX:

a work in progress

"be patient, be patient, don't be in such a hurry..."
-my mother, singing in her own special way with a smile on her face

We moved into our apartment a little less than two weeks ago, and it's coming together slowly but surely. Now I know how spoiled we are to have had our stuff shipped from the States, delivered to our front door, carried up to our flat, and unpacked for us, BUT (ok, I sound really salty here) it has been a tad bit frustrating trying to find ways of furnishing our flat, organizing our stuff, and fitting an "American sized" life into a European sized flat (you know what I mean, Americans). Our IKEA adventure/catastrophe alone had me almost in tears--we rented a car for the night, ended up back at IKEA three times due to mis-communication (YOU TRY asking for a certain size, color, and model in a different language--yes I tried just pointing, it didn't work), then we missed the train home, waited in sub-zero temperatures for a little under an hour (poor Sophie had no coat!), and when we awoke the next day, we found that our bed was the wrong color, the slats were the wrong size, and some of the light fixtures were the wrong kind--uuuuuugh! Our good friend Kevin ended up loaning us his car so we could make the trek to IKEA for the fourth time in less than 24 hours. All in all, things are starting to come together--Nathan's meticulous side now has an outlet as he puts up light fixtures, measures walls for pictures, and assembles chairs and tables. I'm going to include some pictures of where we are so far (if only I had before BEFORE pictures--this place was filled with boxes, paper trash, BOXES, and more boxes). Anyway, here's where we are now:

Sophie and I cooking the local favorite, Rösti:


Nathan trying to keep Sophie warm when we missed our train from IKEA:


The front of our flat, facing the main road and square (our apartment in on the top floor):


The street our apartment faces (to the left is the main square in Chailly, to the right, keep heading down that road and you'll get to St. Francois square).


Sophie welcoming you.


Our new IKEA bed (our duvet cover was a KING instead of a FULL...of course it was!)


Probably the most "put-together" part of our apartment right now. Why? Because books are my favorite and most valuable possession (English teacher, holla!) This is
in our living room, the windows face the Alps and Lake Geneva.


Love this feather print on fabric. Made with love by the one and only, Eva Christensen (tip for the ladies--marry into a family with artists, this saves money and furnishes your flat with one-of-a-kind pieces that you can brag about to all of your friends).


Our little bar/extra counterspace in the kitchen. In a few weeks, I predict that both of these racks underneath will be full of wine (we are living in wine country people!). Nathan has discovered a store that has several varieties of the local wine under ten francs!


Our fridge with all of our dearest friends and family members:


Our stovetop:



Our bathroom:


Our hallway:


The end! What YOU can expect in the next few weeks--pictures of our dining room/guest room/balcony. Aren't you excited? I'm so excited I could eat Sophie's face off!

Janvier: Top Ten

Yesterday marked our one-month anniversary here in Switzerland. I decided to compile my "David Letterman-ish" top ten for the month of January.

10. Making La Suisse our home. Enough said.


9. The night Nathan and I went to the restaurant on Avenue du Simplon. It was far from fancy, small, crowded, noisy, and delicious. We had yet to eat out and had been here almost a week...it was our "first date," if you will. I remember thinking, 'it's going to be okay because I love this man, and we're in this together.' Plus, did I mention it was delicious?


8. The gorgeous music I hear almost everyday in the underpass of the train station. The harp, accordion, and Spanish ballads echo throughout the tunnels, giving impatient travelers and hasty commuters a reason to slow down and listen. It never fails to remind me of the beauty of my city--and that it's not always found in the most obvious places.

7. Nathan's account of a 40-something year-old woman in full business attire getting off of the train one evening after work. She pops a razor scooter out of her purse, hops on in her high heels, and zooms home.



6. Walking outside everyday and seeing the breath-taking mountains--they have a demanding presence. So gorgeous, so vast--they can't help but remind me of how they were created and by whom they were created.


5. The afternoon we spent with Kevin and Matthias, two friends we met at WestLake. Their multiple choice and True/False questions over Thai food. Their stories of proposals and how breast-feeding is essential for one's development over renverses (The Swiss cafe au lait) in Saint Sulpice. They are the living embodiment of 'welcome.'

4. Meeting Sarah. What a small world it really is! Who would've known that my dear friend Danielle had a great friend out here in La Suisse? She set us up to meet, and now it feels as if I have known Sarah for years! The first time I met Sarah, we spent 4 hours in a cafe talking like we were old friends. Nothing like using the term 'y'all' in a Swiss cafe--it just feels like home.

3. Saturdays (in Lausanne, or away). They usually consist of a European breakfast; croissants fresh out of the oven, pain au chocolat, flaky on the outside, warm and gooey on the inside and a Nespresso coffee to wash it down. They we head out to the farmer's market where the vendors fill the streets (up and down each small alley, and up in the main square, all of the cobblestone paths are littered with different types of fruit, vegetables, milk, meats, cheese, flowers, juices, home decor, musicians, etc!). The streets are bustling, people are smiling, dogs are faithfully waiting for owners as they taste the samples of nuts and mangoes and cheese and the proud vendors beam as they watch the shopper's grin and ask for a one of this and a kilo of that. We shop, we eat, we drink more coffee and people watch. We try on Burberry coats and gaze at Cartier watches. We walk past limitless options for dinner that night. We get lucky and walk into a restaurant that seems like a local secret, as it's crowded and loud and old ladies are cooking and serving all of the food. We get lucky again when we decide to go for an after-dinner drink and find a pub in an attic of a Bavarian Brasserie where we drink a generously poured Paulaner for only 5 franc. Then we ask ourselves...are we lucking out, or is this whole city filled with laughter, warmth, good food, and great spots? I think it's the latter.







2.Reading, blogging, learning French, learning about myself. (Here are a few pictures from my language class!)



All of this free time can either be useful or paralyzing--I find I've encountered both. But all in all, this has been such a sweet time of realization. Realizing who I am, what I can become (both the good and the terribly ugly), and how much I love this life and the husband I get to spend the rest of it with. Which brings me to my number one.

1. Nathan. My husband is the bravest, strongest, funniest, most patient and supportive person I know. What an amazing thing it is to go through this transition with him! To live, explore, be stretched. It has proven to be such an abundant blessing in our marriage and we've only been here one month! I can't wait to see where else this journey will take us--I know in the literal sense, we're checking out tickets to Greece :)


Peace out. And here's to a great February!