The French Husband et Moi

  

18th century book

Photos and text: Corey Amaro

The other day I found an old book, the pages were barely hanging on, I asked the dealer how much? French Husband looked at the book, looked at me, looked at the dealer and shrugged.

He doesn't get the attraction to things on their last leg.

He doesn't understand that kind of reckless beauty.

His knees don't buckle at the sight of old junky stuff with a price tag…

BUT he does get me. He shrugged, then said, "I am certain it is going to look better the moment you take it home."

French Husband lets me do what I want with our home. He likes how I do what I do. Sure sometimes he pitches a fit about some little thing, like why he can't put a hammock in the living room, or why there isn't a comfortable chair in the house, or have post its on the refrigerator door.

Like I have said a million times to that guy of mine: We both have our passions, we both have our different hobbies that make us who we are… He likes to bungy cord off bridges, go down caves, ride with the wind and fly in the sky… And I like to create a home with falling apart old things from the brocante.

He gets his toys.

I get the house.

I get to hear his adventures without getting dirty or bruised.

He gets to come home, sit on a rickety chair, eat off a chipped plate and sleep with me between heavy linen sheets.

Harmony comes with give and take….. and a few odds and ends.



Comments

18 responses to “The French Husband et Moi”

  1. He’s a very lucky man, Corey!

  2. Marie-Noëlle

    You are his yin, he is your yang..!!!

  3. You really made me laugh with “why he can’t put a hammock in the living room?”
    And this “…sit on a rickety chair, eat off a chipped plate…” that is too, too funny!
    I can relate. My dining room looks great, beautiful table with six 19th century Louis XVI chairs in black. BUT, you can’t sit on any of them because the springs are completely loose. A guest would fall right in. They’ve been that way for a while (years), but why would I pay to fix them when there’s other great things to buy out there?

  4. Corey i am excited & had my first real brocante exchange. I found 5 spoons, 4 keys and an old book i wanted. when my French husband asked the price in french and the vendor answered him he burst out laughing. He couldn’t believe that i would want this old stuff, but more so that a man would ask so much for such junk. we paid less than half of what he wanted but i still think he got more than it was worth. but i smiled all day for my spoons, keys & book. my husband smiled all day for the memory of this funny experience and a happy wife. *

  5. Are those give and takes and marital harmony achieved easier after a glass or two of good French wine and a plate of great food? ;-). We have a saying “A hungry Pole is an angry Pole” and we also have a saying “through the stomach to the heart” meaning if someone is a good cook he/she will win hearts with their cooking.

  6. After 30 years of being together, my sweetie has learned that a thrift store is a better shopping spot for me than Neiman’s. That a torn fabric with a hint of toile, will set my heart soaring. I will sit four hours listening to 4 guys “try” to sing harmony. I rowed a boat through rapids and lived to tell the story. I have learned to bake a pie crust that is flakey, regardless of the calories or fat, and I have learned that one must have their own room to keep as chaotic as possible. That is what love is. Doing, accepting, encouraging, and loving each other.

  7. You have a good marriage. It has a nice balance of give and take.

  8. What a beautiful picture! It reminds me of the book markets in Lyon by the river every weekend – I’m having more trouble finding them in Paris. But I love your blog! Just stumbled across it and it seems like you’re living the dream! I’ve recently arrived and am writing about/photographing it too – this is my page! http://bisous-de-france.blogspot.fr/

  9. LauraInSeattle

    Oh, I just love you and what you have to say! Every day is a treat.

  10. You, truly, are…a very lucky woman. AND he, a VERY lucky man!

  11. 🙂 well said Corey! great give and take you guys have worked out!

  12. YOU said it just perfectly!!!!!!!Once again we have similarities!

  13. beauty 🙂
    I tend to think of myself as ‘wine’ because of the (stone age old) joke:
    How’s your wife?
    Like a bottle of wine!
    ?????
    Yeah, the older, the more precious she becomes….
    Did ring nicely with the dishevelled old book – barely hanging on – but precious (to some!)
    You put it nicely Corey – same thing here – HH does what he needs to do, the house and its content (and the garden) are ‘mine’… and we both are more than happy that way.
    Bisous, Kiki

  14. What a lovely memory to have + applause! xxpeggybraswelldesign.com

  15. it’s a good subject !
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  16. thanks for the post , if you wish tell us more next time about this topic . anyway it’s a good subject . go on 🙂

  17. You said it all, sister! I have to laugh because in Chicago I had a houseful of antique furniture and everyone thought it was so gorgeous. My 10 year old nephew, at the time, asked me if next time I bought a piece of furniture, could it PLEASE be a comfy chair to sit in. LOL the price we pay for pretty.

  18. I think I could have written this post! My husband likes to bike ride on the edge of cliffs or climb legit mountains that people have died on :/, and as for me…I get my thrills climbing into dumpsters and pulling out old windows and doors or bringing home old black and white photos of unknown people home from the thrift store.
    Somehow it works, doesn’t it? And both of us are better for it. I like to tell him that he gets me to try things I’d never do (like mountain biking on the edge of a cliff) and I give him a restful place to come home to.

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