Mornings

My complete and total inability to be a morning person is well-documented, bordering on infamous. I hate spending the night at other people's houses because I feel pressured to wake up early, but frankly I just don't function well before 10:00 a.m.

So when I found myself awake at 5:45 yesterday morning, thanks to the dimwits screaming and making noise out in the street, I assumed I'd go back to bed. I was as surprised as you probably are that I didn't, but it's turned out to be a really nice day.

For instance, I started out by finding out what my street looked like at 5:52 in the morning.

Can't say I've seen this before.

After a cup of hot tea, a little bit of yoga, and a quick shower, I took a walk by the river on my way to the market to pick up supplies for dinner. I learned what the Loire looks like at 8:00 a.m. It's actually very pretty, although much more deserted than during the day.

Disclaimer: This pic got a little help from PicMonkey to looks its best.

Pretty

After hitting the market, I went to my favorite bar for a little cafe au lait and reading. I feel the need to point out that a "bar" here is any establishment that serves only beverages, but not food. They can serve coffee, tea, soda, etc., as well as alcohol (which Bar Tourangeau does), but just no food, in case any of you were worried I was drinking at 9 a.m. (cough, cough, Mom).

But the caffeine (and ADD) kicked in after about an hour, so I decided to take a walk...which quickly devolved into a shopping trip.

It started innocently enough. I wanted a hat to keep my face (slightly) shaded and to conceal the bad/dirty hair days. I was aiming for H&M, but it's pretty far from our place, almost to the train station. On the way there, I passed Camaieu and saw this lovely orange dress on a rack by the front door. Naturally, I had to stop in.

I should also point out now that a really nice feature of French stores is that they list the prices of whatever is in the window. So if, say, I come across a dress I like but the sign says it's 245 euros, I know definitely not to go in. But when the sign says 19.99 euros, sign me up!

I tried on a lot but came out with only two things, the orange dress and a lovely teal blouse. Well, after that I decided I wanted a teal/blue necklace to go with the orange dress. That led me to I Am, where I didn't find a blue necklace but I did find a hat as well as a gold feather necklace.

I still wasn't satisfied - I wanted a blue necklace, but I started wandering back home because I was getting hungry. Then I ran into Pimkie, because I saw this dress in the window. We may live in Greenville (well, sort of), but I have a deep, deep love for Charleston...and all its pineapples, the symbol of welcome. I had to try on this dress. And in the process of doing so, I found a lovely pair of orange sandals and an orange/coral necklace to boot. #winning

At that point, I really did need to call it a day. I don't go shopping often, but when I do I wind up buying several things at once. Below are my spoils of war:

The clothes folded in the back are Brian's laundry

I learned a valuable lesson today at lunch: leftover baguettes do not make good sandwiches. I'm pretty sure that if I had pulled up the rug and tried to eat it, it would have been less tough and chewy. Buy the baguette fresh at lunch, then eat the rest for dinner, and repeat the following day. Now you know.

Then I - get ready for it! - did three loads of laundry. This is what that looks like, if you were curious:

Exciting, huh? Towels not pictured. Then I vacuumed, because next Monday we get our first visitors! B's cousin and her friend are coming to Tours on Monday. Although technically they had booked a trip to Paris before they knew we were moving to France, they're still the first people who are coming to see us, so I think that counts. And just a few days after that, B's parents will arrive. Needless to say, I'm excited. I'm SO ready to play tour guide.

I'm not sure this post actually has a point, besides me rambling, but if I had to choose I'd say that maybe, if I've got the energy, getting up early has its perks. I've crammed an awful lot into one day. But no promises if I'll do it again tomorrow ;)

xoxo,
E