Ever Thought (Dreamt) of Moving to the French Countryside?

 Good morning! I hope your day is off to a good start. If you were here, I would offer you a piece of rhubarb pie that I made with the rhubarb from our backyard (does this classify as "living off the land?").  I would, except you know it's all gone. We are a family of pie-eaters. The swimsuit season, here in Seattle, is much shorter than other places in the country… and we're just not feeling the pressure yet (wink).

 Something I will share, however, is a dreamy (yet real!) story of an adorable American family of eight (yes, 6 kids!) who moved to the Normandy region of France. The Blair family lived in France for 2 1/2 years and had quite the adventures (beginning with an episode on House Hunters International)!

Image by Gabrielle, DesignMom

I had the privilege of corresponding with Gabrielle Blair when I took part in her "Living with Kids" home tour series (Living with Kids - Julie Thomas). Gabrielle has an amazing eye for design and all things creative. Though Gabrielle and her blog, Design Mom, is hugely successful, I appreciate Gabrielle's graciousness and down-to-earth style. 

I loved her answer to her reader's question, "How do you do it all? How do you achieve work/life balance?" Gabrielle writes, "This is my most frequently asked question. And the answer is: I don’t. Not even close. In fact, on some level, I believe the whole idea is a myth. If my blog is really good on a given week, then you can bet my house is a wreck. If my blog seems a little bleh, then it’s guaranteed we’ve got a lot going on at home. If you know me in real life, then you know I work in my pjs as often as possible and that I’m a very typical mom. As each new child joined our family, I had to learn to be a more flexible and lower my expectations another notch."

I know you will love reading about the Blairs' experiences in France. Happy reading!
 The Blairs in France - First 6 Months.