My cute presents II- things for Miss Seven

These little ants are marching across the back of the lunch tin!!

The emu stamp also comes with a rolling stamp to make little emu tracks. I put in the ipod headphones so you could see how TINY those lip gloss cupcakes are.
This little sequinned galah will make the most PERFECT Christmas present.

My cute presents- activities for Miss Seven

Tasteful Australiana- a contradiction in terms??

I've had French friends for nearly 10 years and am well used to searching for that unique, Australian gift. The christening/housewarming/birthday/thank-you for letting me live in your house for 2 months present must be light, travel hardy and not scream "I bought this at Melbourne International Airport just before boarding."

I have been hunting for an entire collection of such presents for my nannying family for well over 6 months now, and have at last decided my hoard is complete. Here are photos of some of my finds. And yes, I'm aware they're not all totally Australian-y. But those ones were just too cute to leave behind.

The Beginning

I have always ALWAYS wanted to live in Paris. To know its laneways and intricacies the way I know Melbourne's.

But how to make it to Paris? How to survive French bureaucracy? How to fund this glamorous life in the city of light for 12 months?

I was prepared to arrive in Paris, sans job, sans apartment, avec nothing but my wits and pennies. For a non-EU citizen, however, that's a pretty difficult path to follow, so I started job hunting in earnest at the beginning of 2009.

I have since found the perfect job, for the perfect family, in the perfect location. I'm going to nanny a French family for 12months.

At first, I investigated nannying as a means to an end- smoothing a path to a life in Paris. Quickly, however, I became attached to the idea of nannying itself. Nannying offers a rare invitation into the intimate family life of another. It's a chance to share culture, to teach language, to inhabit the world of childhood fancy once more.

My blog title is a play on a popular French children's book series: Le Petit Nicolas. I know from my previous French travels that my name is considered a boy's name in France, and garners considerable consternation wherever I go. We shall see how well it copes this time around in France's most cosmopolitan city, Paris.

I look forward to sharing my Parisian life with you in both words and pictures. Please, suivez-moi as I become that icon of the French park: the au pair.