An Ode to My Dream Apartement

For about 1/3 of you reading this post, you are probably thinking, "WE GET IT, ANNE, YOU LOVE YOUR APARTMENT! LET'S MOVE ON!" because I have bombarded your inboxes and/or social media with pictures and all-but-love letters in total infatuation with my new digs. For you guys, I'm sorry. For the rest of you all- I have found not only a suitable place to rest my head, but also my bonafide DREAM apartment! Now, if I can only figure out how to transplant this next year to DC!?  If you read the post prior to this one you know that this time last week I was feeling as though my Paris dream apartment may turn into a nightmare-ish youth hostel (love hostels, been there done that.. but not for months at a time!) or renting a bedroom from an unknown family outside of Paris. Needless to say, I am both happy and relieved with this ideal find!

In my defense, my infatuation with my new apartment may stem from older roots than this Paris adventure. Living in dorms for the past 4 years, amenities such as personal bathrooms and kitchens were not a part of my everyday life. Though I loved every moment of my dorm life (shout out to the Zoo Suite!) and it very much suited those unique college years--at 23 I am past due to learn (yes, that's the right verb, keeping it honest) to cook and enjoy a non-standardized living environment! With out a doubt, I couldn't have designed an apartment more to my liking. I have found  my zen spot I so desperately tried to create in New South Dorm (I've upgraded from fake orchids and peace flags!)

Not only is a double bed a welcomed luxury to my post-dorm life, it is a RARITY to have a bed, not a pull out couch in Parisian studio apartments!

The forchid is no more! This orchid lives!

I live in the arrondissement I most wanted to live in- the 5th (Latin Quarter) on the left bank, in what is known for: La Sorbonne (how convenient!), student life, the Pantheon, cafes, old Paris, etc. Anywhere in the fifth would have been FANTASTIC  but I happen to live on  RUE MOUFFETARD! (Click this link to read more about it!)  a predominately PEDESTRIAN street known for its permanent open air markets, cafes, and bars. It is often times referred to as the liveliest street in the liveliest neighborhood in all of Paris (insert my excitement here). I live near the cafe and market end, so I don't suffer from any nightly bar noise (which is sometimes a question once I tell a Parisian where I live), but have the luxury to walk 3 minutes to some of Paris' top rated, non-tourist night life (although I still love to see tourists occasionally taking pictures up and down my street)!

I am steps from (and on all sides surrounded by) patisseries, fromageries, poissoneries, flower markets, food markets, cafes..in fact I find myself laughing about just how quintessentially French my street looks as I daily walk up and down. Both my apartment and my street inspire me to a before latent, but newly discovered affinity for domesticity. Some may have (rightfully) questioned me ever wanting to cook, but the time has come- and in no better place than Paris! My ikea inspired kitchen helps:

Rue Mouffetard remains an ancient cobblestone street and was an ancient Rue to Rome. Many believe Hemingway's quote on Paris being a "moveable feast" came from this street, as a 22 year old married Hemingway LIVED UP THE STREET FROM ME in the 1920s.

My bathroom epitomizes the (I think) beautiful juxtaposition of my modern apartment from the ancient street of its location.

View from the bed to the sitting area (tv hidden) and courtyard(!) Oh, and from this courtyard one can walk about 400 yds to the steps where Gil is picked up by the 1920s car in Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris, if you've seen it. 

I have tried to exclusively shop and eat in my neighborhood since the move-- luckily it's not hard to do! Additionally, I went out here this past weekend (and had a ball!). Even still, I know it will be quite some time before I can know, let alone GO to most of the bars, cafes, and stores surrounding me!

Now that you've seen glimpses of it.. come see the real thing! I am looking forward to my friends and family taking advantage of my address for this year and staying with me--so come on over!
My first visitor will be this weekend with my childhood friend (through adulthood now, yikes)  Katherine arriving Friday! She has just moved to Rotterdam, Netherlands (what are the odds?!) and we are now  living much closer than the Millsaps/UK commute! Looking forward to it!