Taking a deep breath of air...

Before plunging back again into my dissertation pages.

(Chère Ann, I can never thank you enough for introducing me to Yogi Teas a year ago :))

Petite annonce en français... Si une gentille couturière parisienne peut héberger une amie couturière américaine sérieuse et discrète pour une petite nuit samedi... Ce serait formidable. Je ne serai pas là et ne peux donc l'aider... Ca y est ! Une couturière généreuse a accepté, c'est génial !

I still haven't mentioned the lovely time I had with Karen and Trena last week. We met in front of Karen's hotel, which happened to be a minute from my workplace. (Except I hadn't been able to work there that day as planned when we'd set up our meeting: I had completely missed the fact that Pentecost Monday was back to being a bank holiday in France. Yes, that is how disconnected I am from the world right now.)
We went to Dalloyau for pastries that were little works of art and weren't even outrageously priced.

Trena looked absolutely adorable and pretty in her Burda dress with turquoise detailing. Trust me, she is even lovelier than she appears on her blog.
Karen looked très élégante in her black skirt and Burda tie wrap blouse – as we remarked, we have yet to find someone who doesn't look great in this blouse. Karen looked gorgeous in it.
We had such a nice and refreshing time chatting about sewing, our lives, kitties, and Paris.
Oh, and they both knew perfectly the writer my PhD is about, which was, wow... comforting and exhilarating.
Be sure to check out Karen's and Trena's Paris diaries - they're fun and detailed, even though I haven't had time to read through them thoroughly yet. :)

I am so bummed that Trena is looking for accommodation in Paris on Saturday and I won't be here - Sunday is Mother's Day in France and I'll be at my parents'. If any of you in Paris can help her out... Found!! Karen, who happens to live in the same street as me, generously offered Trena a place to stay. Woohoo!! Thank you so much, Karen, this is wonderful of you.

~*~

A resolution:
When I have finished my eighth chapter, I shall take a break and make a dress from Butterick 6582 (the slim version) that Sylvie gave me.

(I scanned my own cover as the picture on the Butterick website was such poor quality).
I shall make it in a remnant of Liberty fabric that I used to make this Vogue dress last year – turns out I have just enough of it left.

This fabric turned out to be a good investment... being small does have definite advantages, after all. A special gift deserves a special fabric, right? I've been dreaming about this dress ever since dear Sylvie gave me the pattern!

I am a wee bit annoyed at not having pictures of the Burda trenchcoat to share with you yet (and probably so are you...). Seb promised me 3 weeks ago to take pics of me in it during one of our walks across Paris. This hasn't happened yet, and he is now gone for two whole weeks (of course, this hasn't been helped by the fact we have had so little occasion to take our beloved walks together lately - by my own fault). I'm slowly resigning myself to say goodbye to the idea and to think we'll just have to be content with the grim pictures taken with my tripod in front of my usual white wall. Sorry, folks.
I adore wearing it!

~*~

I'm meeting with my supervisor tomorrow, and am toying with the idea of handing in BOTH my completed seventh and eighth chapters. I don't know exactly how I've managed this, what with last week's conference and all, but my eighth chapter may get fully done tonight, if I muster enough energy. It may be a bit insane. But, you know, it would feel so good to think that I have only one chapter left to write, however daunting this specific chapter might be.

OK, back to the saddle.
Forgive yet another mostly self-centered post. It seems I need to write these sometimes to check in on myself. ;)
Hope you're all having a great week. I miss visiting you, although I do try being a slightly more regular visitor than in the last couple of months. :)

Sending Paris sunshine to you all!