Since Nichole is the writer among us, and I echo her sentiments completely, I am going to lift exactly what she said about me in her post today and swap out my name for hers.

I could write ten paragraphs about why I’m so happy to have finally met Nichole of Little Brown Pen two weeks ago, but I’ll get right to the point: She rocks. 

When I met Nichole two weeks ago at a restaurant in Paris, I made a promise. I said, "I am trying not to be a 'gusher', anymore" What is a "gusher" you say? It’s someone who carries on and on about friends in our online world, to the point of no return. Don’t get me wrong I’m all for feeling the love for another, but I’ve changed my tune over the years. This is simply due to the fact that  I’ve made friends with people online, as we all do, and proceeded to gush on and on  about them, only to find they really are not who they present themselves to be on their blog. I become aware of this either because over years of interacting with them, they come to reveal their true character or I meet them in person and really get that they are not "their blog". 

Why am I telling you all of this in a blog post about poppies? So you know why I feel free to gush on about Nichole. No, really. A new American friend,  I met in Paris. Nichole is her blog and more. She is as about as kind and genuine as you can get. I only wish I lived by her so I could visit with her all the time. I think I might just have to move to Paris part time so I can be her neighbor. Her love for the city is infectious as are her beautiful photographs that she shares on her blog and in her Etsy shop. She captures what I now, having spent a month there, love most about this city. Not so much the touristy places, but the true essence and beauty of everyday life in Paris. Having been a follower of her blog for a while, I couldn’t walk through the city without recognizing a Nichole "glimpse of Paris" every where I went.

During our four hour visit over wine and cheese,  Nichole mentioned that she had just taken a photograph of poppies that morning. She said they reminded her of something an impressionist would paint, and she noticed that I was dipping my toe back into some impressionist inspired painting. When we both returned home, she shared the photograph with me and {how can you not be inspired?}  Voila! a new painting for you and a collaboration between two friends who now share a similar love for Paris.

The original painting will be available for sale at the upcoming ETA LA 3 show here in Los Angeles, opening June 12 and it is available now as a print over at the shop.

You can visit Nichole at her blog and her Etsy shop.