I started taking French lessons in 6th grade, as part of a rotational elective. And I was immediately hooked. My fascination for the capital city, Paris, grew and grew over the years, and I continued studying French for 10 years (I minored at The University of Texas).
My very first encounter with Paris was a layover in Charles De Gaulle Airport on our way to South Africa. I was like a kid in a candy shop, walking around reading signs, absorbing the dialogue going on around me. I loved it. Growing up in Texas meant everyone studied Spanish, so to be in a city where everyone was speaking my language was like a dream come true. I even ordered a drink on our Air France flight in French and smiled for hours after doing so.
A year later, I was looking for ways to spend an entire summer in Paris, but knew that I didn’t want to do a study abroad program and be tied to classwork and living with a family or in a dormitory. I reached out to a contact I had made at a prior internship, as her husband was French and had connections with businessmen in Paris. Through Meg, I found a part time summer internship with a company now named PetroWire. Luckily for me, my boss rented out a part of their gorgeous, large Parisian home, so my accommodation was taken care of as well.
At the first signs of summer, I immediately start adding berries and watermelon to our dinner salads. Sasha and I even have an inside joke about it, as he will ask every single day what we’re going to be eating that evening, knowing that the answer will be “summer salad.”
Isla’s first birthday photos by Paige of Awake Photography (more on 
Isla is at the age where she really enjoys reading books. For many months, I felt like I was sort of forcing them onto her, but now she’ll pick them up and ‘read’ them herself. She definitely has favorites, like 
