I know I’ve been a very naughty blogger and neglecting my blogger duties (please don’t fire me), but I have a very good reason:

I’M GOING TO PARIS.

And this isn’t just any ol’ trip to Paris… This is a WORKING trip to Paris. As in, a client is actually paying me to go to Paris.

(I’ll give you all a moment to rethink your current career choices before I continue.)

Basically, a client here in DC has a flat near the Eiffel Tower that she needs redone. The challenge is that she rents it out when she’s not using it, so it has to be decorated to her tastes (infused with my aesthetic), but also in such a way that it can still serve as a rental unit. That requires finding inexpensive designer-looking things — and buying a sleeper sofa of some kind.

The tricky part is I only have one week. (And I don’t speak French.) And I need to sell everything that’s currently in the apartment before I can bring new furniture in. (And I don’t speak French.) And they don’t have Craigslist. (Did I mention I don’t speak French?)

As I’m sure you can imagine, I’ve been spending a lot of my time recently in various stages of panic.

Ok, so maybe just one stage of panic: The main one. But I’m sure you can all understand that this is a serious undertaking.

Oh, and did I mention this is being filmed for a short documentary? No? Well, it is. The subject of which I can only assume is the mental unraveling of a creative. If they’re hoping to catch me crying on camera, then they will probably end up with more footage than they need. BUT! In exchange for my undoubtedly greatest embarrassment, they have agreed to give me little snippets to post on my blog for all of YOU, sweet friends! I don’t think you should have to wait in suspense for an opportunity to laugh at me. No, you should be allowed to laugh at me right away! And often!

When I accepted this job, I immediately had an image in my head of what the apartment should look like:

However, when I showed this image to my client, she said she wanted more color. She then provided me with the following images as inspiration:

This woman loves color and so I love her. The end. I created a Pinterest Board with inspirational images and furniture/decor from local Parisian sources that I’ll be checking out when I arrive. Unfortunately, the apartment currently looks very different than the above photos:

I see a lot of painting in my future.

Now that you all know what’s about to go down, I hope you all follow along for photos and videos of the progress! I arrive on March 1 and Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are going to be filled with Paris flea market finds, painting how-to videos, and lots of other fun surprises that surely won’t seem fun to me at the time. And if you have any friends or family in Paris that might want any of the above furniture for a bargain price, please put me in touch! In the meantime, I’ll be trying to learn French with my Duolingo app and seeing how many throw pillows I can fit in my suitcase. A bientôt!