Misplaced Texan

On being (and feeling) pregnant

2012-02-09T20:12:00.000+01:00

The paper-thin emotions that come with pregnancy have finally snuck up on me. I find myself crying in my car while listening to a not-so-touching NPR piece; I get a lump in my throat reading through poop stories from new moms; and even thinking about future plans for our little family after our daughter is born has me balling my eyes out on the couch. I’ve always been a little on the emotional side, but now instead of being moved by profound thoughts on life and death or stories of tragedy, little pieces of life affect me in a way they never did before.

All that emotion spattered with a random moodswing here and there has made me a pretty unstable pregnant lady. It's not easy, but I try to keep my moodiness in check when I can and take in a few breaths or just keep my mouth shut when I know I might be tempted to fly off the handle or say something I don't really mean. Luckily, life is really good at the moment. Aside from a few, mostly work-related stresses and some lack of sleep, things are going really well for me. I'm half-way through my pregnancy, and so far, no major incidents. I have an unusual, constant pain and some numbness around my ribcage, but it's not uncommon and nothing I haven't been able to ignore or somehow deal with.

I will say, though, that I don't love being pregnant. I'm usually pushing my body to the limits when I can, so giving up my physical autonomy and not being able to pick up my own luggage or move furniture by myself has not been easy. And, I miss beer and eating food without being scrutinized by everyone and their mom on whether or not it's "good for the baby." It doesn't help that my friends decided to open up an awesome bar with my favorite Belgian beer on tap right when I found out I was expecting, either.

But, I know I'm lucky that things are going as well as they are and I'm grateful for that. All the little bits that I don't like about pregnancy could hardly mask the anticipation and excitement I'm feeling about meeting my little girl. I hear expecting moms say this all the time, but never did I think I could grow such an attachment to someone I haven't met yet. Every little thump she makes inside my belly makes me fall more in love with her, and I can't wait to finally hold her and look at her and tell her in person how special she is to me and Gui.

* * * * * *

At 21 weeks!

Sun Day

2012-01-31T01:51:00.000+01:00

Austin has not disappointed us in the weather department lately. Winters are as mild as I remember them, and aside from the random thunderstorm or two, we’ve been spoiled with sunshine and warmth for most of the season. But, weekends are the only time Gui and I have to spend together in the gorgeous daylight since the sun sets by the time we both get home during the week. So, we try to make the most of our weekend days together and usually start them as early at 7:00 am.

This past Saturday, we spent time with friends during the day and caught a Master Pancake screening of Back to the Future at Alamo Drafthouse in the evening. Gui’s been dying to see the show, and grabbed tickets as soon as they went on sale. It was fun to get out and laugh along with a room full of 80s kids at one of the most influential films of my adolescence. I couldn’t believe how many funny bits and how much product placement I totally missed after watching it dozens of times over the years!

On Sunday, we made some breakfast, caught up on news and made a quick stop at the hardware store before lunching en terrasse. I got a craving for frozen yogurt (I miss Pinkberry!) and soon discovered how delighted the little bean in my belly was when I indulged in some. She wouldn’t stop bouncing around after every bite. She’s been so active lately that Gui’s been able to feel her elbowing around in my stomach, too – mostly in the evening, but every so-often she’ll get going after a good meal.

And, my belly is starting to show now, so I’m starting to get the double-takes from strangers who see me and wonder what to say. I haven’t really changed much about the way I dress, though and I’m lucky that I can still fit in most of my pre-pregnancy tops (although my bottoms called it quits many weeks ago). Having a friend my size who’s 4 months ahead of my due date has been such a blessing. Between her and my sister, maternity hand-me-downs have saved me from having to step foot in a maternity store.

Here are a few belly shots (not the kind that get you drunk) plus a bonus photo:

Maman vs. Mommy

2012-01-25T07:09:00.000+01:00

Gui’s favorite Sunday routine includes catching up on the piles of Economist magazines which he seems to never have enough time to read anymore. When he comes across an interesting article – something related to my previous job, political gaffes or other ridiculousness – he dog-ears it for me to read later or pulls me out of my knitting coma to tell me about it. Lately, he’s been adding topics on parenting to his bookmark queue, and last weekend, he came across this article about the difference between French and American parenting styles.

We were in the middle of making breakfast, so after I read the article, we sat over eggs, bacon and coffee and discussed our personal critiques and compliments on the subject. It’s true, I’ve always wondered how French parents were able to feed their kids exactly what they were eating at exactly the same time everyone else ate – not a separate meal served earlier. And, I’ve always admired the way French mamans can look so great while pushing (and sometimes carrying) a stuffed stroller through the metro and onto buses. And, even though we always seemed to visit right around l’heure de dodo, I can’t ever recall seeing a parent struggle to put their kid down for a nap or bedtime.

But, those are just my observations. When Gui and I first found out we were expecting a baby, all sorts of questions started coming up – between us and from curious friends and family – about how we planned to raise our kids. Obviously, the language thing is a big deal. We want our little girl to be fluent in both French and English (among other languages), and it was never truly a question for us that we would speak to our child(ren) in our respective mother tongues. It wouldn’t feel natural for either of us, otherwise.

Regarding education, we are talking about moving back to Paris in time so our daughter can start school in France. There are pros and cons for us on both sides of the whole American versus French education discussion, so we aren’t limiting ourselves one way or the other. Frankly, it’ll mostly depend on where we want to be at that time. We’ve talked about the possibility of our moving around, to and from France and in and around Europe in the future, and we both agree that while stability is important, children aren’t so fragile that they can’t adapt to and even learn from living in different places.

Going back to the article, I think what Gui wanted me to appreciate the most from it was the way it described French parents as having the authority, period. We’ve talked about this before and I’ve always argued that I feel like parents here do have the authority; I don’t recall my mom ever making special meals for us either and when one of my parents told me I couldn’t have or do something, I knew better than to ask why or throw a fit. But, what the article so clearly described was the way American parents today seem to feel like they're expected to explain why mom says to stop being rowdy or why dad says go to bed, while French parents don’t go into explanations or sugarcoat their commands. It’s a difference I never really remarked before, but one that became so crystal clear to me after reading the quote made in the article of the apologetic-toned American parent asking the child if it’s ok to throw sand at someone. It just sounded so silly put into writing. Why would the parent be asking the child?

But, what I may find silly, someone else may find relevant, and as with most differences of opinion, that's what makes the world go round. The most wonderful and terrifying thing about becoming a parent for me, is knowing that I’m growing (both literally and figuratively) an entirely individual human being that will learn about life mostly from observing me and Gui. It’s what makes being a parent such a special responsibility, and it’s how we end up having so many colorful personalities and perspectives in our world. I don’t know yet if my parenting style will curve more toward the “American” or “French” method (it will likely be a bit of both), but I am eager to give my best at being my daughter’s mother and hopefully learn heaps about myself and Gui in the process.

I’m curious, though, what were your thoughts on the article? If you've had any experience with French families with young children, how does their upbringing compare to yours?

Today changes everything

2012-01-19T21:51:00.000+01:00

Today, for the first time, Guillaume and I got a sneak peek of our little baby growing inside my expanding belly. Our petite fille seems to be doing well in there, all curled up with her ten fingers and ten toes and her big, beautiful round head full of brains. She weighs about twelve ounces right now, which is on track for my due date of June 16th.

Seeing her little skeleton for the first time and knowing that she is actually a “she” makes this pregnancy finally seem so real. I was lucky to have had a really calm (although exhausting) first trimester, and despite my bulging belly, I haven’t felt much movement yet. Having a visual of what’s causing all the fuss down there makes my heart beat with anticipation and swell with love. Now, it’s just a waiting game until we get to meet our sweet girl with whom we can’t wait to spend the rest of our lives calling her our very own.

Here she is ...

A perfect profile.

Two of the sweetest feet I've ever seen.

Waving hello.

A brain, a nose and two eye sockets.

Paris wrap-up and a petite annoucement

2012-01-14T03:18:00.001+01:00

We had such a fantastic time in Paris over the holidays. Everyday was jam-packed with visits to see friends and family, and we were even able to get in a few pit-stops to some of our favorite hangouts and restaurants. As anticipated, I ate my weight in foie gras and probably did a little too much shoe shopping.

Paris was not nearly as cold this winter as the last (thank goodness!), and we even lucked out with quite a few days of sunshine. Most of our time was spent in the city or surrounding suburbs, but we trekked out for a couple of days to Gui's grandfather's place in the almost-countryside and spent New Year's Eve with friends in Normandy. The days flew by, though and before we knew it, we were back on a flight headed west with luggage filled to the brim and smiles on our very fatigued faces.

This visit was particularly special for Gui and me...we recently discovered that we'll be expecting our first petit bébé early this summer, so we won't be going back to Paris to visit for at least another year. We are so unbelievably excited to add a new member to our family (and I can't wait to be a maman!), so it was such a treat to share in the excitement with Gui's family and most of our closest friends while we were in town. Although, it's a little unreal to think that the next time we're back in that city, we'll be with a little one in tow. C'est fou!

As promised here are some pictures from our trip (including one with my new bump).

Long Overdue

2011-12-15T06:27:00.012+01:00

It’s so hard for me to believe that the Christmas holidays are upon us and in 1 short week Gui and I will be en route to Paris to celebrate Christmas and ring in the new year with our family there. I am beyond stoked! I’ve already started a VIP list of places to visit and a seemingly endless list of things to bring back. It’s so funny how the tables have turned now that I’m back in the land of ~~plenty~~ Target Supercenters; I miss things like foie gras, baguette sandwiches and French hot chocolate instead of mac 'n cheese and salsa verde.

Time has been traveling at warp speed these past few weeks. Last week, I finished my final exam for the accounting course I’ve been taking, and I have to say I’ve never felt so free! Between night classes, homework and study-time, I’m happy to have some time back to myself again. Thanksgiving seems like it just came and went; Gui’s dad and step-mom came into town for that week, and, along with Gui, they experienced their first ever Thanksgiving in America. We enjoyed a beautiful feast at my uncle’s house full of family. It was a strange feeling not being in charge of hosting for once (I hosted Thanksgiving in Paris 2 out of the 3 years I lived there), but oh, how I’d missed my mom’s cornbread stuffing and banana pudding!

Of course, we were eating and entertaining non-stop while Gui’s family was in town, so time just flew by. And, now it’s December. For the first weekend in December, I flew up to Kansas to partake in a Christmas tradition for my sister and nephews – the Nutcracker Tea Party. I’d been dying to go with them ever since my sister started the tradition back in 2008…I mean it doesn’t get much cuter than watching my nephews all dressed up, drinking punch from champagne coupes while enjoying the ballet. And, the ballet performance (by an academy of 10-18 year-olds) was totally impressive, too. Watching it made me wish I’d been girly enough to learn ballet when I was a kid.

Here are a few photos of our Thanksgiving feast and from my time in Kansas. The next time I post, I'll either be in Paris or just returning, so stay tuned for Paris photos galore!

Chez nous

2011-11-05T14:37:00.007+01:00

It’s taken some time and lots of effort, but Guillaume and I have finally mostly settled into our new home in downtown Austin. Little by little (or more like lots by lots), we’ve been acquiring the furniture and supplies needed to fill up the corners of our space. When we started looking for an apartment, we had grand ideas to live in Clarksville in a large but charming space with an extra room and lots of storage. What we ended up falling for was a brand-new, 765-square-foot condo located downtown with one bedroom and no storage. Not one closet. We’ve eventually made do.

The tricky part about our small space is that we do a lot of living in one, large open space. So, we started with the all-important living and eating areas where our open layout called for larger pieces of furniture to distinguish the two spaces while keeping the floor plan cohesive. The most difficult decision we had to make was how we were going to cover up the 20-foot wall that spans the length of our living and dining areas. We searched high and low for the perfect bookcase and when we’d just about given up, our friend, Carolina, sensing we were near defeat, sent me a link to The Brick House where she’d stumbled upon the perfect solution to our problem: the DIY Ace Hotel shelving unit copycat.

I’d heard that doing things like this with your spouse can either make or break you. Well, if there was ever a home-project that defined our marriage, it was this one. From the beginning, we’d decided to take our time accumulating and altering the supplies before diving into the project. But, once we’d had everything ready to go, I’d become suddenly busy with work and without a moment to work on the shelf. Then, when things didn’t come together like they were supposed to, I became so frustrated with the project that we nearly abandoned it. Obviously, we didn’t, and now we have a lovely place to display our treasures and a physical testament to the strength of our relationship. And, I’ve learned a lot about myself, too.

So, after our DIY shelving unit accomplishment, we gradually started pulling everything together and slowly but surely, it’s mostly all fallen into place. There is still a rather blank canvas in the bedroom, but we've got a few plans to add our own touches to it soon.

The park and bike trail behind our building give us the feeling of having the outdoors at our back porch (quite literally). We’re within a stone’s throw from many of our favorite restaurants, entertainment and watering holes, not to mention our friends’ homes; which means we spend most of our weekend not driving a car. And for a couple of commuters like us, that makes our world just a little bit brighter.

Enter chez nous.

That odd-looking tripod in the corner? It's going to be a lamp someday. We hope.

Finally! A cuisine Américaine.

The currently very plain bedroom. We're installing closet curtains today (finally), but we still haven't settled on what on earth to do with the headboard space. TBD very soon though.

"The" shelving unit. A true labor of love.

Gui has officially become a Texan.

Maman's in town

2011-09-27T05:15:00.009+02:00

Gui's maman arrived on Friday for her first visit to Texas. She'll be here for a couple of weeks, but we've been making the most of her time here already. This past weekend, we drove out to Lockhart for some good Texas barbecue and later that night we had a blast playing some intense games of bingo at the old VFW. We spent all day Sunday brunching with friends chez nous and enjoying some sun poolside before chowing down on a plate full of tacos.

We've been trying to cram in everything we love while she's here and this week we're planning a trip to Barton Springs, some divine dining at Uchi and hopefully a trip out to Fredericksburg and Gruene (pronounced "green"), where she can enjoy some small-town fun. Gui and I are both working most of the week, so she's been exploring a bit on her own, too. During a few of her walks, she's noted that everyone here has a dog, people go running at any time of the day despite the record temps, and folks say "hello" when they pass you on the sidewalk. So far, I'd venture to say that I think she rather likes Texas.

East Coast

2011-09-20T06:04:00.017+02:00

Over Labor Day weekend, Guillaume and I had the opportunity to spend some time exploring Philadelphia and Shelter Island, NY before spending an evening in New York City where his gracious aunt and uncle welcomed us into their beautiful home. Much of our time was spent on-the-go – in a train or car or on foot – but it was a welcome change of pace from our current car-centric lifestyle.

Philadelphia was lovely. We spent an entire day walking around town, indulging in sidewalk cafes, street art and fancy supermarkets. We ended our day trip with a dinner at Tria – a local wine bar that we had stumbled across on our way to the hotel. The food was stunning, the service was correct and the beer and wine menus took us back to visits in Belgium. A clever concept, executed to perfection.

The bulk of our weekend, though, was spent taking in the island life of one of Long Island’s most north-eastern land masses, Shelter Island. We were thoroughly spoiled by Gui’s aunt and uncle who let us squat on their beachside vacation where we ate inappropriate amounts of lobster, tasted amazing local wines, basked in the sun on the Atlantic and hung out with the quirky locals. I managed to get in a Long Island iced tea during a lunch break at the local biker bar, and it was honestly too strong for this Texas girl to finish. Long Islanders are no joke.

Before hopping the train back to Philly to catch our afternoon flight back home, we spent a night in NYC, walking around Tribeca and SoHo on a mild, late-summer evening. Spending time in the city made me nostalgic for big-city life; for urbanity; for Paris. I never knew I could love living in a big city before I lived in Paris, and now I almost feel like there's no other place that feels more like home.

Philadelphia

Rocky

Statue of Columbus sculpted by Gui's great-great grandfather

Tonton et tata

A New York view

Holy hiatus, Batman!

2011-08-17T02:20:00.008+02:00

I really didn't mean to be gone for so long. Everything just kind of happened all at once and I found myself struggling to keep up. I'm not big on bullet-points but I think it's the best way to tell you about what I've been up to since my last entry on July 5th:

Working. That's right, folks! I am an official, contributing, tax-paying member of this world once again. I've got health insurance and everything (although, we'll be sticking with Gui's health plan since it's much cheaper and way better)! My job? It's at a company I worked for before I left Austin back in 2007. Back then, I was working in the legal department dealing with contracts and stuff, now I'm assisting the VP, working with buyers and running reports. Admittedly, it's not my dream job, but it pays the bills and I'm having fun so far. Not to mention getting free goodies for my hair. Have you ever used a hair dryer with a Ferrari engine?

Getting ready to go back to school. I've decided to finally give it a go and take a few classes to get my CPA. Classes start next week, and I have to admit that I'm kind of terrified. Accounting? Haven't done that in ages. But, I'm kind of stoked that I'm finally doing something I've been saying for so long now I wanted to do. I just hope I don't find myself feeling like I'm way in over my head - especially since I'm plunging in with 3 classes in the first semester. Gulp.

Moving into our own place. I feel like I've been moving for a century now. Tuesday will be a month since we "officially" moved into our own place, but we're still barely settling in. We have about 30% of the furniture we need - still working on getting a bed, some shelves and more seating options. The place is a brand new construction, and we had it a little rough at the beginning of the month with developers falling through on warranty issues for repairs, so now, we're aiming for September 1st for when we'll finally be "settled" in. Honestly, we really, really love our new place. It's a small (13 unit) complex in an unbeatable downtown location, with lots of modern charm and brand new everything. I just can't wait to have time to sit back and enjoy the space.

Waiting on people. With moving, comes lots of waiting on people to come by and hook things up, deliver stuff and repair things. We've been doing lots of that lately. Our new place has no closets, so we had someone come in and install a shelving system, then there was the mess with the internet guy who finally came by 3 weeks after ordering the installation, and the water guy to find out why our water isn't working and the couch delivery guy and the bed delivery guys, etc. The hardest part about waiting was not having internet to pass the time. My iPhone was getting a lot of love until the cable guy finally came to install the internet.

Spending time with family. I got to see a lot of my mom over the summer (perks of being a school teacher), and it was so nice to have her here during such a hectic month. She helped me out a ton during my move, and we caught up on life over lunch at good ol' Luby's. My nephews also spent some of their summer vacation in Austin and Guillaume and I were lucky enough to spend a lot of time with them while they were here. It was so much fun kicking back like a kid, staying up late eating junk food and splashing around in the pool all day. It had been about 7 months since I last saw them, and I couldn't believe how much they'd changed! Still cute as ever, though.

So, I'm back now! I feel like I've been away from blogging so long that I don't know where to begin! But, I have lots to say and share (going to Philly in a few weeks and the belle-mêre is visiting soon), so do stay tuned.

Le Tour d'Austin

2011-07-05T22:21:00.013+02:00

Gui and I just got back to Austin from a whirlwind weekend in California (I'm sifting through 500+ pictures, so much more on that later), but before we left, we participated in the annual Urban Assault Ride through Austin. It's a bike ride with pit-stops all around the city and fun obstacle courses throughout. The whole thing is sponsored by New Belgium Brewing and started 9 years ago in the Live Music Capital. I remember missing out on all the fun last year when we were still 5,000 miles away in lovely Paris, but this year our friend Melynda gifted us the registration to the event for our birthdays and we've been counting down since!

A couple of weeks leading up to the ride, Gui and I started taking a cycle strengthening class in preparation. Even though it took me 4 classes to be on pace with everyone else, it was hands-down the smartest thing we did to prepare for the course. Even as early as 8 a.m., riding for 20-something miles during the summer in Austin is no easy task (well, at least not for a beginning cycler like me).

We managed to keep a good pace, though and with the encouragement of our friends Melynda and Carolina who were a team all their own, we finished the ride 152nd overall out of 540+ teams, and 76th out of nearly 300 coed teams. I've never done a ride like that before, but it was wonderfully organized and the obstacles at each stop were so much fun that I hope we can make it a yearly event. The best part for me was remembering routes that I'd long forgotten and discovering how much more bike-friendly Austin has become since I've been living on the other side of the world. The worst part: remembering how hot it gets in Austin in the summer.

Ready to ride.

Relaxing at the after-party - waiting for the other teams to arrive.

Our prize.

Yay, team Pamplamoose!

The one in which I brag about Gui

2011-06-20T21:45:00.010+02:00

There's been a lot of commotion going on these parts lately, mostly due to the fact that my husband is seriously awesome. I don't brag about him often enough, but I know everyday how lucky I am to be stuck with someone as clever and kind as he is. When we first started out as a legally wed couple in France, he was always supportive of my learning French and seemingly endless job-search. And, he never stopped believing that I shouldn't settle for a job that I was over-qualified for simply because of the language barrier nor just for the sake of finding a job. In the end, he was right, and I know that the confidence he had in me to be successful in France at the very least motivated me to find an amazing job there.

So, when we decided to move back to Austin, I knew he might face the same type of barriers that I faced in Paris. We tried to prepare ourselves for a long-term job-search here, but as the days have been ticking by and the market seems to be drying up, all of our planning has been starting to feel extraneous. More recently though, Gui had been having much more success and over the past two weeks, he was getting calls and interviewing for jobs that were precisely what he had hoped to find in Austin. He was particularly excited about a position that involved working with lots of engineers and learning completely new technology, so he made every effort to be perfectly prepared for his interview with this company. Going through the same motions as I did back before I interviewed at my last fancy job, he sought advice from friends in the business, thought long and hard about how the American-style interview process would be, gave it his all and hoped for the best.

This week, he received a call from the company reassuring him that they wanted him on the team, and this morning, they contacted him again to officially offer him the job. What a relief! If Gui could name his dream job, it would likely be this one. He's obviously happy, but I think he's even more excited than he's leading on. I, for one, am a seriously proud wife - he was able to do in two months what took me over a year to do in France. Brilliant, smart, funny and good looking? I definitely got the better end of the deal here.

Taking time out

2011-06-11T17:57:00.006+02:00

Guillaume and I have been non-stop job-hunting for the past month. It gets pretty feverish being cooped up all day long in front of a computer, writing cover letter after cover letter, making phone calls, emailing contacts, sending out resumés, etc., etc. So, we've been trying to balance out our time with outdoor activities, visits with friends, cooking, crafting and other non computer-related events. Here's what we've been up to:

Hanging out at the library. One thing that I didn't realize I missed so much while I was living in Paris was having access to a public library. There are twenty-three(!) public library locations in Austin - the main one being less than a mile from our house. When we're feeling a little bored and want to take a respite from computers and filling out applications, we bike over to the Faulk library to resuscitate our brains. It's unbelievable how many books I want to read and check out and I'm in utter awe of how many knitting, sewing and craft books I now have at my fingertips! I do try to restrain myself from going overboard, though because the more books I check out, the more I have to trudge uphill with me on the way back home.

Cooking. It's funny how coming back here has made me realize how much I miss French food. Just the other day, I was daydreaming about foie gras and toast. We've been trying to cook when we can, although it is more difficult than we thought it would be to resist invitations to lunch and dinner at our favorite Austin eateries. But, I've been referencing my current favorite cookbook to kill some of my cravings, and I have to say, that Dorie Greenspan sure knows her French food! My soupe pistou was the perfect way to eat up bountiful summer veggies and I can't wait to whip up the orange-amande tarte that taunts me every time I open up the book.

Crafting. Well, technically, I've been crafting, not so much Gui. He mostly just goes somewhere to chill out with a few beers and friends. Some girl friends and I have started meeting each week to knit, sew, crochet and embroider over food, wine and witty banter. There's lots of oohing and awing over each others' projects, and I've already learned how to do so many new things since we started sharing ideas and starting new projects. It's been a great way to wind down and interact with some creative filles after a long day's work.

Exercising. Gui has been testing out the neighborhood gym pretty regularly now. He bikes there, meets up with a friend and spends an hour or so pumping iron (or whatever they call it these days) before riding back home in 100-degree temps and arriving at the front door drenched in sweat. I've been riding to the yoga center just a couple of blocks away, but somehow I've managed to get home in a much drier state than my counterpart. Anyway, it's been really good to get out and sweat after being holed up for hours on end. It's also been good training for the bike "race" that we've got coming up. Honestly, I couldn't be more terrified of falling on my face, both figuratively and literally during this race, but it's been a motivating factor in my willingness to get out and commute on 2 wheels when I can. And, I've thoroughly convinced myself that we've chosen the hilliest neighborhood in Austin to live in.

Paris, I miss you

2011-05-31T06:29:00.009+02:00

I was browsing through some blogs and came across this adorable, artsy and inspirational blog written by a San Franciscan in Paris. Her photos of Canal Saint Martin, pastries and bread from her local boulangerie and the marché all made me nostalgic for my former home. I browsed through some of my blog archives to relive a little bit of springtime in Paris, but it only made me long even more to be back in our old quartier.

I do love being back in Austin, but my heart is starting to understand the concept of being torn in two. I spent the past weekend relishing in family time - attending barbecue after barbecue with aunts and uncles and cousins and family. It's what I remember longing so much for when I was living in Paris and I felt so lucky to be here for all the fun this time. I've also been so happy to bounce around town, soaking up the Texas rays at the pool, catching up with friends over a margarita or Negra Modelo, knitting and learning so many new crafts with my über creative girl friends.

But, then there's Paris. In all it's gorgeous springtime glory. And, oh how I miss bike rides to the Eiffel Tower and picnics by the Seine and strolling from café to café and walking home from work with a perfect view on La Grande Dame de Paris! Of course, I miss my friends and family there, too and knitting nights and les happy hours. I wish I could be here and there all at once.

Did I mention that I turned 30 a couple of weeks ago? Perhaps that has something to do with all this nostalgic banter. I celebrated with fancy drinks, a lovely dinner and then crazy karaoke. I had so much fun and then woke up at noon the next day wondering how on earth I got through more than half of my twenties doing that same routine every weekend. I guess getting older is a lot about reflecting back and looking ahead at the same time, and I think that's the process I'm going through right now. I'm so excited about all the adventure of making a life and home here, and although I do find myself checking the rear-view every once in a while, I'm so happy to be living in the moment, bracing for what's next.

Some snippets from my birthday.

This time last year...in pictures.

Portlaaandia

2011-05-12T04:40:00.000+02:00

So, as previously mentioned, Gui and I spent a few days in Portland last week with a couple of friends from Normandy who'd been traveling around the West Coast for the past few weeks. We'd never been to the city some say is Austin's twin sister from the north, so we decided to take advantage of the timing and squat on our friends' vacation just a little.

I have to say, the city is pretty brilliant. We were infinitely grateful for the lovely, sunny weather we had the first day and the seldom showers we had the second and third days. Apparently, it had been raining for 30 days straight before we arrived, and I've got to admit, I don't think I would have been as enamored with the city if it had been so rainy. Still, during the times that it was a little grey and misty, I couldn't help but still feel happy to be there. I think the lush, green surroundings suit the cold, wetness very well - so much so that I found myself still ooing and awing when the sun was shaded by the clouds and the windshield wipers came on. Unlike Paris, which is made to be seen in the brilliant sunlight or clear, dark night, Portland is just made for the dreariness.

We hadn't planned anything for our time there, so we spent our days going where our hearts pulled us, and for the most part, our hearts stayed in the center and east-side of town. I loved the vibe and charm of the residents, and the mélange of old and new, rustic and modern that reverberated throughout the streets. Portland has a much more "old-town" feel to it than Austin does, but I still found myself sighting similarities between the two cities. And, I definitely felt at home there.

We rarely visit places that require a stay in a hotel (we usually spend our vacation time visiting friends), but we stayed at the Jupiter Hotel this time around and quickly realized we'd made a great choice. The rooms are nice, but the best part about the hotel/motel is that it's right in the middle of all the action. I think its closest Austin counterpart would be San Jose Hotel on Congress, just a little more rough around the edges.

All-in-all, the trip was a major success - we ate, we drank and were certainly merry. We caught some amazing views from the Japanese garden which is tucked into the side of a mountain, and Gui and I took a trip to the coast where I fell in love with the lovely, quaint seaside town of Cannon Beach. We even visited a cheese factory in Tillamook and tasted some amazing cheddar before continuing down the Oregon Coast Highway and heading back to Portland. Of course, there was the obligatory trip to Powell's bookstore (we went twice) and lunch stops at the famous food carts downtown. My favorite places were the little local craft shops filled with beautiful handmade treasures and plenty of inspiration.

I admittedly visited Portland with high expectations, but I was no where near disappointed. I do wish that some of the shops stayed open past 6pm, but the fact that there is no State sales tax in Oregon totally makes up for that.

Cute shops everywhere.

Feeling a little robbed by this one.

Gui getting ready to devour his maple syrup + bacon Voodoo doughnut.

Heading to the food carts!

Food cart food (I'd already eaten the kimchi).

Food cart burrito.

Tillamook cheese factory. Yum.

View of Mount Hood and Portland proper from the Japanese Gardens.

Tranquility is the Japanese Gardens.

The drive out to Cannon Beach.

Cannon Beach

Lovely food and ambiance at The Farm Café

Last hot chocolate of the trip.

Good night, Portland.

My maintenant

2011-05-01T23:15:00.003+02:00

Man, have we've been busy these past few weeks! Our shipment finally made it from Paris to our apartment in Austin - all 350 kilos of it! We spent an entire, exhausting day sorting through it all, deciding what needed to be unpacked and what needed to stay boxed up until we get more permanent digs. In the end, only a measly 2 boxes were completely emptied out and the rest was left boxed up until we have our own space and enough room to unload it all.

We've also been spending quite a bit of our time polishing up our resumes and scouring the web for job openings and career opportunities. Job-searching is a full-time job in and of itself and as the days go by, it doesn't get any less intimidating. It's still very early on in our search, yet, so we're still confident about the market and the leads we've encountered so far.

But, the most interesting way we've been spending our time is exploring our new, old city. We've been having a blast getting to know the community around us, discovering new places and revisiting old favorites. This past Saturday, we spent the day with friends celebrating Eeyore's Birthday which has been an Austin tradition for as long as I can remember. I hadn't been to any sort of American-style festival in such a long time that I didn't even know what to expect. This was the perfect way to spend one of our first Saturdays back in Austin, though - with fun-loving people on a sunny day eating local food, drinking local beer, just having a good time in the hot Texas sun. I remember now how much I love celebrating for the sake of celebration; how much I love being outside in the sun; how much I love turkey legs!

Saturday was also the first time Gui and I got out to ride our bikes out together. His bike came in on the shipment from Paris, so we'd been waiting for its arrival to hit the hilly neighborhood ensemble. Riding in Austin is nothing like riding in Paris - the cars are so much bigger and so much faster here, that it really pays off to search out the most bike-friendly routes before hitting the street on two wheels. We didn't ride very far, but it was a good taste of what we should expect from city biking around here.

And, tomorrow morning we're heading to another bike-friendly city - Portland! We're taking advantage of the few free days we have while we have them and are meeting some French friends in Portland before they make their way to Austin on Thursday. It'll be a short trip, but I'm seriously stoked about finally meeting a city I've heard so much about! I've no doubt there will be much to report back on.

Our stuff!

Drum circle.

Unicycle football.

Potato sack races!

Costume contest (featuring Thing One and Thing Two).

Petit à petit

2011-04-18T14:42:00.000+02:00

Little by little, Gui and I emptied out our small, French apartment, selling, packing and shipping everything we'd accumulated over these past 3 years in preparation for the big move. It's a little crazy sorting all of our belongings into "take" and "leave behind" piles, but a lot of the stuff that had been taking up precious (and expensive) space in our closet or under the bed should have been sorted through long ago. We managed to whittle our lives down into four suitcases and 350 kg of stuff in 20 boxes that's (hopefully) going to arrive in Austin soon. It's hard to believe that we had so much stuff to take back, especially since we're not bringing any furniture, but I guess that's what happens when you add four seasons of clothes for two people plus the minimum kitchen, bathroom, bedroom and sentimental items.

During our last week in France, we made the tour de Paris saying goodbye to friends and family who made our life in France so special. Shakespeare's Juliet couldn't have said it better - parting is indeed such sweet sorrow.

And, now, we're here! Although we anticipated many airport complications, the ride over was totally smooth (we've certainly become experts at packing exactly 23 kilos into each suitcase). Now, we're settling into our temporary digs, sorting out a car, bikes, bills and taxes, (re-)learning about our new neighborhood, seeing friends & family, and trying to breathe. Our big shipment hasn't arrived yet, but last we heard, it will be arriving on the flight from Paris to Houston today and if we're lucky, we'll have it delivered sometime this week. It'll be good to see some familiar items from our previous home which, sadly, already seems like a lifetime away.

We've been stocking up on the home essentials at Target, and we did our first grocery shop at Central Market yesterday. So. Many. Choices! It's still a little odd to be on our own again, not living out of suitcases, but we're staying excited about what's ahead and looking forward to more exploring once the dust settles in a week or two.

Besides a few, expected bumps in the road, all is going according to plan so far, and we're hoping it continues while we start our job searches in earnest. There is so much to consider, but being back in "weird" Austin is giving us both the energy and inspiration that was lacking before. Can't wait to share the adventures ahead!

Gardening with friends.

Zucchini blossoms waiting to be picked and fried up!

Our new (and temporary) apartment.

The view from the balcony.

The first meal.

My new ride, Olive.(Love her!)

Soaking it all in

2011-03-20T22:40:00.012+01:00

Since making the decision to move back to Austin, it seems our time in Paris has been passing by at warp speed. There's much to do in the next few weeks in terms of packing and selling and shipping and moving, but there are also so many people we must spend time with and so many things we must do just one last time as bonafide residents. I doubt we'll check off all the once-more-before-leavings on our to-do list, but we'll be making every effort to soak as much up of this city and our friends and family as we possibly can for the next 22 days that we're in town.

Today, being a perfectly mild first day of Spring, we decided to spend some time in one of our favorite quartiers in Paris - the Marais. We rarely go there on any other day but Sunday because, honestly, it's where all the action is happening that could possibly happen on a Sunday in Paris. And, of course, everyone's favorite fallafel shop in the Marais is closed on Saturday, making Sunday the most obvious choice for a visit. Being the incredibly boring creatures of habit that we are, Gui and I have rarely strayed off from our L'As du Fallafel-followed-by-Pozetto routine, and aside from a slight detour in between the two, today was no exception.

After having our usual at L'As, we had a look in at the Salon du Vintage that was being held just down the street. The space was pretty small, so I was worried about getting in, but we happened to come at a very good time when the line was moving quickly and managed to get in practically right away. I was hoping to find a lovely dress or blouse to take home as a souvenir, but in the end, most everything I liked was too big. Still, there was loveliness all around, and I was especially impressed with the beautiful vintage furniture for sale. (If only I could take it with me!) Near the furniture was an odd collection of dressed up animal head mounts just asking to be photographed. I'm not sure if head mounts derive vintage status the same way clothing and furniture do, but I sure was happy to have stumbled upon the curious collection.

The rest of the day was pretty much routine: gelato and coffee at Pozzetto, a walk down rue Rivoli and a bus ride home along the quai, stopping at Place de la Concorde, Trocodéro and the Tour Eiffel. Regular Sunday stuff that won't be so regular soon.

Making a move

2011-03-03T21:21:00.016+01:00

Alright, alright, I know I’ve said it before, but this time it’s for real. As sad, exciting and terrifying as it is, we are definitely doing it – we are leaving Paris and moving to Austin. And soon.

We’ve finally decided to take a chance on Texas and move back to the city where we first met. We have friends and family and a little history there that we’re really looking forward to making a part of our lives again.

This isn't the first time we've planned to move back, but this time, we're really doing it. The first time, just as I had resigned to the fact that I’d never find a decent job in Paris, my current job just kind of fell into my lap, and we took it as a sign that it wasn’t the right time to move. It was originally supposed to be only a year contract, but my boss created another position for me to stay on another six months, thinking that by then he’d be able to finagle a way to add me as a permanent part of his team. Well, my 6-month contract is ending the last week in March, and although I'm fairly certain I would have been offered an opportunity to stay longer or permanently, I don't know that I would have been 100% happy to accept the offer knowing I wouldn't be earning to my full potential nor pursuing all that I could to advance my career at this point.

As for Guillaume, I think ever since the idea to move to Austin sprouted, he’s had his heart set on going back, and ultimately, I left it up to him to make the final decision. Working as a consultant, he just finished his mission with the company he'd been working for over the past 3 years, so it was decision-time for him, too. What it really came down to is this: Take what we're offered at our current jobs, move to a new apartment, stay in Paris and maybe think about moving back to the States in a few years, or seize the moment, move now while we have nothing to lose, knowing that even if things don’t work out or if feel like we made the wrong decision, Paris would still be here. So, friends, we chose Austin.

Honestly, we're very happy in Paris. I’m far from the homesick wreck I was only a year ago, and we have great friends here, a nice apartment, our favorite hang-outs, a very nice life. But, at the end of the day, we both miss the pleasures of living in a lively, young city like Austin. We want to wind things down a bit, be outside more often, under sunny, blue skies, riding bikes to the park (even during the winter), grabbing a slice of pizza in our flip-flops, coming home after work to sit on a terrace and chat with friends.

Neither one of us has snagged a job, yet, but we have a few ideas and are working to set things in motion quickly. We haven't found an apartment, but we've been looking, and let me tell you, it is not easy to find a place in the area we want to live in, even with a decent budget. I guess Austin's always been a popular destination, it's just become even more so since we've been gone.

I'm a little scared, a lot worried, but mostly excited. I don't expect the transition to be harrowing, but cramming our lives into a shipping container and several check-in bags and replanting our roots 5000 miles away won't be a breeze. I've never lived in America as a married woman, and I feel like a totally different person than I was when I last lived in Austin.

Living in Paris has given me the opportunity to test my limits, embrace my personality and learn an entirely new way of living. It’s also opened my eyes to the wonderful world of social networking which has led me down so many paths to many different and beautiful people and places. There is loads to do to get ready for our move that’s a mere month away, but I'm making the time to treasure my moments here and savor my last few days of being une vraie Parisienne.

Roman rêves

2011-02-28T19:19:00.000+01:00

So, we spent the weekend before Valentine's Day in Rome with another couple from Paris and a couple of Italian friends who we met while they were studying in Paris. Besides the typical indulgences of pasta, wine, coffee and ancient ruins, we were given a good dose of culture from the perspective of the city's most adorable Roman couple. Francesca and Giuseppe took us under their wings for most of the weekend, drove us around the lesser-known areas of the sprawling city and shared with us their favorite corners of ancient and modern Rome. It was a perfect weekend!

The weather held up nicely - chilly but sunny - and the apartment we rented for our three-night stay had a perfectly narrow balcony where we took in the colorful rooftops and hazy skyline of the Eternal City. I mostly spent my time scheming up ways of making my Italian dreams come true and reveling once again in all the beauty and culture that I fell in love with the first time: charming people, coffee for the gods, perfect lighting, delicious food at every turn and beautiful views from every angle. I love that Romans call me ragazza and flash a hearty smile in passing. I love the slowness and ease in everyone's step, the sun-washed, bold colors every building wears proudly, the plethora of fruit trees, the distinctly different colors of the sky throughout the day and the shadows and light the sun casts on ancient doorsteps. There's almost nothing you can't love about the city.

Too bad the Italian I knew the last time I was there was no where to be found. I couldn't remember a word to save my life! It was pathetic and slightly depressing. But it reminded me how much I loved speaking the language and how much I miss it. Gui and I picked up a few Italian language books before heading back, and we've decided we'll start by learning a few words everyday. We figured, we might as well get a move on if we're going to be retiring there someday!

Pretty much sums up my sentiments for the city. Love.

Finding Japanese Vintage & Friendships in Paris

2011-01-31T14:06:00.020+01:00

Did you know that Paris is home to one of the most extensive collections of vintage Japanese dresses this side of the globe? My friend Jule and her partner Noël run an Etsy shop based in Paris and dedicated to selling vintage Japanese treasures they find while adventuring abroad. I met Jule after stumbling upon her Etsy store while I was searching for Paris-based vintage sellers. I fell in love with a gorgeous patterned dress and asked her if she would mind me picking it up from her home instead of having it shipped. She graciously obliged and I got to check out her "Atelier", including part of the beautiful collection of clothes she showcases in her Etsy shop.

Jule hand-picks every dress from her favorite vintage boutiques in Japan and South Korea and brings them back with her to Paris. She let me have a sneak peek of the mountains of dresses she returned with in November from her latest trip east. Many of the items from her first collection were pieces that she had collected from her time spent living in Japan and part of her own personal wardrobe. This time around, she seemed to focus on what her buyers are looking for and so far, she has not disappointed.

I have purchased several dresses from L’Atelier de Jule and I have to say that each one is a joy to wear. The garments I own are one-of-a-kind pieces that reflect my mood and make me feel amazing and unique in an often uniformly colorless city. I bravely wear my buys to work and each time I do, someone inevitably notices its uniqueness and pays me a compliment. Men who wear dark suits everyday and women whose color palette is limited to navy blue and black are curious to know the stories behind my clothes.

Jule has a keen eye for fabrics that are impossible to find in modern garments and beautiful patterns that recall a colorful era of playfulness and whimsy. She is also a lovely person whose friendship I have come to treasure like so many others I have created since living in Paris. It’s funny how being an expat kind of emboldens you to meet people and make new friends – something I never made an effort to do while living in my hometown where friendships are established over many years. From tea-house owners to international podcasters to vintage clothing sellers, the friends I’ve made in this lovely city are undeniably full of talent and drive. Their passion inspires me everyday and I can’t help but wonder how deficient my life would feel without their enthusiasm and creativity to motivate me.

You can find me on Etsy under "MisplacedTexan" - join my circle and see some of my other favorite shops, including Gloaming Designs owned by yet another talented Paris-based friend.

If you’re in the Paris area and would like to pick-up a dress or try on a few, contact Jule at julesatelier [at] gmail [dot] com. (But beware, you might go home with more than what you came for.)

Jule with her wardrobe.

Coats in every pattern and color.

Packed full of beautiful goodies.

Waiting to be photographed.

How I'm wearing it - a few of my favorite purchases (and one I really, really want).

My maintenant

2011-01-28T17:00:00.008+01:00

Lately, my days are filled with

phone calls to dad to see how he’s doing after having a triple bypass last week,

Shortly after returning from our New Year's Eve trip to Austin, my dad had a mild heart attack that ended with him having triple bypass surgery. I flew back to Austin to be with him, my sister, brother and the rest of my family to support him before, during and after the operation. It was a terrifying experience - for him and for us, but I'm happy to report he's continuing to recover very well from the surgery. I've been calling him just about every evening to get a rundown of how he's feeling and check up on him. Living abroad is never harder than when hardship or tragedy befall far-away family, and I know I could not have gotten through it without the endless support of my friends near and far.

knitting, knitting and knitting,

I can't stop obsessing about my knit projects. There's always SO much I want to knit and never enough time to do it. Right now I'm working on 2 big projects but filling in my cravings with smaller ones, like this striped shawl and finished hat. Wouldn't it be nice if we could all just quit our day jobs and do our hobbies for a living?

3. browsing Etsy and my favorite shop, Jule’s Atelier (more on this later),

4. planning a trip to Rome that promises to rekindle my love of all things Italian,

Gui and I are planning to spend Valentine's Day weekend in Rome with another couple we're friends with. I'm so stoked! I've been using BBC Languages to try and refresh my memory of the 3 years of Italian I've managed to completely forget. It's amazing how little I remember of a language I loved learning and speaking so much. Hopefully, it'll all come pouring back into my brain once we're sur place, but I'm not holding my breath.

5. cooking, eating and indulging.

After restocking the fridge last weekend, I got back into the swing of cooking this week. From salmon vapeur to yummy eggplant napoleon (inspired by my friend, Kristin), it felt good to be back in the kitchen cooking up hot meals after eating mostly on the go when I was with my dad in Austin. Gui and I spent Saturday doing our own things, but met up for a late lunch at our favorite little brasserie/coffee-and-ice-cream-shop on Ile Saint Louis . I decided to go all out and order both my favorite coffee drink (café viennois) and a new dessert that I just couldn't pass up after seeing the guy next to me finish his plate - pain perdu à la sauce caramel beurre salé with a scoop of Berthillon moka ice cream. And that was just dessert - I had a plate of boeuf bourgignon to start!

Weekend wrap-up

2011-01-11T19:42:00.010+01:00

Here are a few photos from a lunch we had with friends last weekend at a South Indian food chain called Saravana Bhavan. The rue du Faubourg-Saint Denis just off of the Gare du Nord metro and train station is the heart of "little India" in Paris with shops chock-full of colorful saris, ghee-filled desserts and favorite Indian DVDs. As usual, our friend (and food guide), Animesh, gave us his expert opinion on what to order and we had at it. I ordered a traditional southern dish (that nearly everyone else at the table also ordered) and a mango lassi. The food was excellent, but I think I've learned that North Indian food is more my thing. And so is meat. This place is great for a vegetarian looking to spice things up in Paris, though, so if you haven't been and are into trying something new, I highly recommend it.

Digging in.

Listening to directions from our food guide.

Loving her mango lassi.

Yummy sweet coffee.

Yummy HOT coffee.

Take 1 (pay attention, Guillaume!)

Take 2.

We grabbed a few things at the Indian market around the corner (hair oil and shampoo for me), had a strange and scary encounter with a Hells Angel dude (don't ask) and thus ended a lovely day spent with friends.

The rest of the weekend was spent mostly catching up with friends we didn't get to see before Christmas - one couple who had a baby girl on New Year's Eve and another who surprised us with the announcement of their little one on the way. And then, in keeping with tradition, we stopped by beau-père's place to cut into a galette des rois and determine who would be king or queen for the year. It was my second galette so far this year, the first being the one I had earlier in the week with colleagues where, out of everyone on our floor, I ended up with the crown. This time, we each had a 1 in 4 chance at getting the title, but fate decided that I needed a king and Gui ended up finding the fève in his slice of galette. As King and Queen, we've decided to rule the land with both venerable (but cheerful) reason,

...and upstanding, noble character.

How I got here

2011-01-07T13:32:00.031+01:00

More and more, I’m finding that blog readers and people I meet are curious to know how I came to live and work in Paris. Of course my main reason for moving to the City of Lights was because Gui and I picked Paris to live in once we decided to get married. It was either Austin or Paris, and for us at the time, Paris was where we wanted to be.

Admittedly, I jumped into expat life without really considering the consequences of living in a French-speaking country, but living abroad wasn’t a completely foreign concept to me. Despite having grown up in the same town for nearly all of my childhood, I’ve always been pretty much at ease with traveling and adapting to new living environments. As soon as I saved up enough money and was old enough (at the ripe old age of 21), I picked up and moved to England for 3 months to be near friends and to participate in a workshop at the London College of Fashion. It was a mind-blowing experience to live outside of my country for the first time, to see just how different life was on the other side of the globe. I almost immediately fell into the swing of British life: I ate lots of curry, I had a housemate that was never there, I hung out with friends at pubs, took the train to school and back, hauled my groceries on the bus. I lived a totally independent life much like the one I’d been living in Austin, only without a car and full of new places to discover.

Then, a couple of years later, while studying Italian at university, I entered into a student study abroad program. I lived in Rome for a summer with an Italian family and went to language and culture classes every weekday with my professors from back home. I became close friends with some of the other students in the program, and I adapted to the slow-paced, laid-back Italian lifestyle effortlessly (I mean, who wouldn’t be happy taking 2-hour breaks in the afternoon and eating pasta for hours at each meal?). Living in Rome was a totally different experience than living in England, though – there was a slight language barrier and many cultural differences that although I quickly embraced, were far from the norm of English city life. I kept a short livejournal of my time in Rome that you’re welcome to take a peek at.

So, knowing that I'd already done it before, I felt pretty prepared to tackle life in a new and foreign city a little more than 2 years later when I moved to Paris. I've briefly archived the ups and downs of my expat life in Paris on this blog, but suffice it to say that adapting to the French language and culture was far more difficult than it had been for me to do when I was in Rome. I had never studied French before coming here, and I felt defeated enough by it most days to stay holed-up at home in front of the internet and CNN. Eventually, I got over it, and after taking a class at La Sorbonne, I felt fueled with enough knowledge of the language to work on it in earnest in my daily life.

Finding a job proved to be a different story, and I was rejected numerous times for jobs that I was otherwise qualified for in my mother tongue. What's more is that many companies wondered why an American with a degree in political science would want to work doing something non-political. It was tough.

So, the question I'm most often asked ("How did you get your current job?") is arguably the most difficult to answer only because it seemed to happen purely by chance. After acquiring enough French fluency for general conversation, I found a listing for a job matching my skills on cadreemploi.fr and I applied for it immediately. I dedicated hours to coming up with the best script to describe myself and qualifications in French for the interview - every single night up until my interview, Guillaume and I literally practiced a dialogue of possible questions I'd be asked and how I'd answer them. When the big day finally came around, I was more confident about this job interview than previous ones simply because I was well prepared, I knew I was qualified for the position and they had requested my CV in English.

I was also lucky in that I already had the right to work in France as a spouse to a French citizen, which I know is not the case for everyone whose heart is set on moving here. Honestly, I'm not very well-educated on the subject of how to get a work visa independent of being married or "PACS'd. In fact, I only know of one person, my friend Juliet, who was able to have a company sponsor her for a non-English teaching/non-au pair job in France.

So, besides the whole getting married thing, I guess I don't really know I ended up in Paris. I've always been a sort of free spirit, wandering around trying to figure out my little place in this big world. Still, I never would have imagined I'd be living here - I never dreamed about living the French life nor thought much about sitting in a café where great writers once toiled over their lifelong works; I never fantasized about picnicking at the Champs de Mars under the Eiffel Tower, sipping wine and speaking French. Yet, here I am. Even though I never dreamed about having a life in Paris, I've come to appreciate what it means to live in such an envied city and above all, I've discovered another place in this big world to call home.

* * *

Below, I've listed a few resources I found helpful when I moved to Paris, including job search websites and language school info. If you're interested in studying French while living in Paris, either as a beginner or at an advanced level, La Sorbonne offers courses for all levels, some of which, I believe, qualify to obtain a long-stay student visa that also permits students to work part-time while studying. I'm no expert on the subjects of how to move to France, the French visa process, or where to find a job in Paris and I only know what I know from my own personal experience living here. What my experience tells me, though, is that in Paris there there seems to be a decent job market for bilingual (French/English; French/Chinese; French/Italian) administrative assistants, lawyers and accountants. That said, I have Anglophone friends who work as translators, writers, graphic designers and computer programmers in the city, so anything is possible.

If you have a specific question that you think my experience may be relevant to, feel free to leave it in the comments and I'll do my best to answer it or point you in the right direction.

Living in France:
Expatica
AngloInfo
Expat Forum
Transitions Abroad
Getting Married in France
The Katia & Kyliemac expat podcast
The Paris Blog
Chez Loulou has recently written some wonderful tutorials on how to move to France (a must read for any American who wants to live in France)

Job Search sites:
cadreemploi.fr
pole-emploi.fr
Fusac magazine for anglophones
OECD recruitment site

French classes:
La Sorbonne
Alliance Française

On December and a new year

2011-01-02T02:13:00.006+01:00

Whew, what happened to December?! Gui and I spent the first couple of weeks of December planning and organizing our Stateside trip and the last two weeks were all about travel, family, and friends. The last month of 2010 just flew by, n'est-ce pas?

Christmas was really lovely. It was so great to see three of my nephews so happy and excited to open their gifts, and even more ecstatic to play with every one. They are all growing up so quickly, so it's always a cherished moment to see them so stoked for Christmas and family time. My sister, her husband and my mom cooked up a delicious and beautiful meal of salmon, prime rib and all the fixins that will definitely go down in the books as one of the best yet. It's always a given that we'll eat well during the holidays with family, and this Christmas was no exception. Overall, our Christmas was just fantastic, but the days following weren't without their drama (that I wish was as easy to forget as it was to materialize). So, Gui and I changed our plans at the last minute and decided to spend New Year's Eve in Austin, despite knowing that most of our friends would be out of town or already have something planned for the occasion.

I don't know if it's because we're getting older, or if it's because it's getting old, but we've been keeping things simple when it comes to celebrating, which is why we were so happy to accept a dear friend's invitation to a family & friends house party to ring in 2011. We got to catch up with some of our friends who stayed in town for the holidays and even with a few who were in town just for new year's eve. It always makes me happy to be back in the city where I grew up - to see how it's changed and prospered since I've been gone and to reflect on the lifetime of memories I have made there. The weather was, as usual, beyond perfect and we tried to squeeze in as much outdoor time and as many meals of Tex-Mex and other Austin favorites as we could.

In the end, I was glad that we amended our plans and passed through Austin. It was a treat to spend more time than was originally planned with my mom, step-dad and little brother. And, I was really happy that I got to see my other brother, my dad and one of my adorable nephews that I would not have otherwise had the chance to see before too long.

I'm looking forward to what will become of 2011, and although I do so with a slightly heavy heart, I'm mostly hopeful and optimistic. At the beginning of this year, I am as happy as I've ever been - I have the most amazing husband who I absolutely adore, every one in my family is healthy and I have built beautiful friendships with so many people all over the world that I am thankful for everyday. But, there is still much to sort out, including some very big plans for early this year and some healing for a wound left wide open. Still, I'm excited for the adventures that lie ahead and for all the hope and inspiration that a new year brings.

Twice the thanks

2010-12-02T14:30:00.008+01:00

Well, as usual, the Thanksgiving weekend was a whirlwind of indulgence. At the very last minute, I decided to cash-in a few of my vacation days and take Thursday and Friday off to prepare a mini feast at our place with a few close friends. We had already made plans to celebrate with a large group of friends on Saturday, but I couldn’t deny my urge to keep up the tradition of cooking a warm meal of all of my favorite Thanksgiving dishes on the same day my family back in Texas would be doing the same. So I did.

I managed to scavenge all of the ingredients I needed for green bean casserole and grandma’s cornbread stuffing, plus some cranberries for cranberry sauce and a perfectly-sized turkey for the 6 guests that joined us at our table that evening. I also whipped up some mashed-potatoes, corn and a little turkey gravy to go along with other sides, and I had the foresight to bake up another batch of oatmeal raisin cookies to supplement my botched first attempt at a pear tart (next time I’ll make my crust in advance).

All in all, a wonderful dinner was served among friends. We busted out the good wine and toasted a bit of champagne to all that we’re thankful for in our lives. It’s so easy to get caught up in all the little things that are missing in our homes, wardrobes and wallets that we rarely stop and reflect on all the wonderful people that we see everyday. To me, Thanksgiving is a day made just for that – remembering to be thankful for the people we share our lives with. I was glad to be able to do that twice this year, which merely reinforces the fact that I’m one lucky girl with lots of friends - near and far.

And, now we’re gearing up for Christmas. It makes me so happy knowing that in just three short weeks, I’ll be snuggling up and lounging around with 3 of my 4 nephews! Hasn’t this year just FLOWN by?! It’s kind of crazy how quickly summer became fall and fall became winter, and once again Paris streets are lit with festive Christmas lights and decorated sapins noël. Just yesterday I saw a full-on Disney Christmas show from my office window with Mickey and Minnie singing and dancing to holiday music in front of the fancy hotel across the street.

And, in case you missed it, it’s become a veritable winter wonderland in these parts. Although we’ve avoided the piles of snow other cities up north have experienced, we’ve had our fair share of frozen flurries and snowy white rooftops. Despite the frozen temps, I’ve been rather prepared for winter this year – looking forward to it, even. I think it has a little something to do with the whole “urge to settle down” thing I mentioned recently; I guess lately I'm just a little more content with going with the flow of things. (Let's hope that lasts!)

We overdosed on tryptophan all weekend.

I love leaving the office to stroll down the decorated street under snow flurries.

Stuck in hibernation mode

2010-11-14T14:10:00.004+01:00

I can't seem to get out of this "nesting" mode (no, I'm not pregnant). Everyday this week has kind of felt like Groundhog Day - the movie, not the holiday. Paris weather is so predictable in November: rain and gloom and not much else. All I want to do is be at home, near a warm oven or lit fireplace, knitting, reading, cooking, eating and just hanging out with family.

Last week, we had a lovely family lunch at my father-in-law's house. Gathered around a table of roasted lamb and beau-pere's famously divine gratin, we celebrated November birthdays and toasted to being together for another delicious meal. For me, it marked the beginning of holiday family feasting, something I look forward to more than anything during the last couple of months of the year. Since then, I've caught the cooking-and-baking bug, and from beef pho to today's oatmeal cookies, my poor oven has been working overtime with no end in sight! Just thinking about our upcoming Thanksgiving dinner and pre-Christmas get-togethers has my brain flooded with recipes and my eyes and taste buds on sensory overload.

I've managed to get a bit of knitting and reading done in between all of my culinary attempts, but besides trips to the market to stock-up, I haven't really left the house. It helps that Thursday, and by default, Friday were holidays, but once a new, full week begins tomorrow, I'll have to go back to my regularly scheduled outings (i.e. work), which really puts a hamper on my cooking plans. C'est la vie!

Homesickless

2010-10-29T13:47:00.006+02:00

How did three months turn into three years? Have I really been in Paris for that long? It’s funny how what started as a three-month visit just kind of quickly became living here indefinitely. And, man, is it amazing how much has happened in three years! I’ve gotten married, landed a good job, learned French, and I’m starting to finally recover from what felt like perpetual homesickness.

I’m not really sure if it’s a good thing or not, but those constant lingering urges to return to my homeland, to be with my kinfolk and back on the range have finally abated. Don’t get me wrong, I still miss my country (and family and food), but not with an overbearing intensity that brings me down so low that I can’t relish in the happiness of my current home. I imagine that much of my change of heart has to do with how I've really started to adapt to a new culture and new language. I feel like I can finally say that I’ve learned French. I’m not fluent by any means, but I live comfortably now in a language I avoided listening to just three years ago. I spend my day having conversations in French with my colleagues; I don’t need to bring a script with me every time I run an errand; and overall, I feel more confident in expressing myself.

On top of that, I've come to just accept France for what it is. It was hard at first for me to balance out the good and the bad, but I feel like I've approached a point where all the negative things about living here can be trumped just enough by the positive. People are generally rude, but they also generally dress well. Black beans and pinto beans cost an arm and a leg, but wine is cheap as dirt. It's super cold in the winter, but the city is drop-dead gorgeous in the fall. And so on and so forth.

Also, I think a lot of these new feelings about my life here are a product of my slight anxiety towards my approaching 30^th birthday. It being about half a year away now, I’m starting to get the urge to settle down, create some permanence and stability in my life. Besides Gui, there really is nothing keeping me here or pulling me there, and it’s not like he’s any clearer on the subject of where we should land. While he's looking around for a new gig, I’m still waiting for some confirmation on how things are going to proceed with my job. We’re both itching to get into an apartment with more space and ideally, we’d like to buy our next abode or at least be a bit closer to ownership. While I'd love to announce that we have a plan, for the moment, nothing's in the works for a big move either here or there. I do, however, feel some big changes coming on, and I think these next few months into the new year will provide a lot of insight about how our next three years will pan out. Stay tuned.

Breakfast knitting and high tea, or Saturday

2010-10-18T21:36:00.007+02:00

Fall is here, everyone! It's so fall right now that it's practically winter! The light is changing, the leaves are browning, and all I can think about cooking these days are soups and stews and chicken pot pie. I'm finally getting back my knitting mojo, too, and I've already knocked out a quick scarf to celebrate the cooler season. Right now, I'm working on a lovely red shawlette that I can't wait to throw around my neck for a little extra color on those inevitable grey days. I'm pretty lucky to have an amazing set of tricopines* that keep me inspired and give me a reason to self-indulge in my favorite craft at least once a week. Our tricothé knitting nights happen every Wednesday, but Aimee's been testing out Saturday morning breakfast knitting at her tea house, and it seems to be a big hit so far. Believe it or not, I'm loving having a reason to start my weekend off bright and early - there's something so comforting about waking up on a crisp fall day to sit around and knit with a big cup of tea and a handful of friends. I tried out the new tricot matin for the first time this past weekend, and it couldn't have been a more lovely experience. The Saturday morning light was so gorgeous that I couldn't help but pull out my phone to snap a few photos on my way to the tea house. We spent the morning catching up with each other, sipping on hot drinks and fondling the most beautiful yarn in Paris. Saturday morning heaven.

And, as if the day wasn't already amazing, I had a date with another group of girlfriends at the Hôtel de Crillon for afternoon tea. Yes, I'm talking about that hotel - the one that's all kinds of fancy schmancy with rooms starting at more than 500€ a night (or so I hear). I've been dying to have a fancy tea with friends ever since I arrived in Paris, and my friend Ebonie generously organized the whole outing.

We all arrived in our finest teatime attire for what proved to be a so very lovely experience. We couldn't have been better accommodated, even after a couple of us (which may or may not have included me) arrived a few minutes later than everyone else and needed to add two chairs, which very obviously blocked an important walkway. Every single person was so nice and charming and totally friendly, that even if we hadn't been served the mountainous plates of food we were served, it would have still been a great experience.

Included in our teatime menu was a silver théière full of our choice of tea, a plate with generous sized tea sandwiches (smoked salmon on poppy seed bread, bloc of foie gras on soft brioche and chicken breast on fresh baguette), and of course, a plate full of sweet cakes and breads and cookies, with one fancy gâteau each. Everything was seriously delicious, and it was more than obvious that butter was not in short supply in the Crillon baker's kitchen. We spent more than two hours around the coffee-sized table pretending to be part of a Jane Austen novel and relishing in the grandeur of the moment.

Just as we were leaving the hotel, we spotted Carine Roitfeld, editor-in-chief of French Vogue standing outside looking all fashionable and Parisienne - which for me was the icing on an already sweet day. Tea and knitting in the morning, afternoon tea at a fancy hotel, then I was off to a house party with friends. Just another day of life à la française! It really is too bad everyday can't be Saturday.

*tricopines = tricot copines, or knitting friends

Snippets of a beau weekend

2010-10-10T23:08:00.007+02:00

We had such a fun and sunny weekend that we barely managed to capture any respectable pictures. 'Guess that's what happens when you're having too much fun. But, here's a little recap of what we were up to along with the few pictures that we did sneak in.
Gui and I had some folks over on Friday night to share a magnum of Moët Impérial that's been chilling in the fridge for months now. We hadn't had a "special" occasion to merit drinking it before (do we really need one?), but we decided it was high time we cracked it open, so we invited some friends over to help us drink the 1.5 liters of champagne goodness. There was food, laughter and general debauchery, and really, what more can be asked for a Friday evening?

How about receiving a lovely goody package from home? My sister mailed me a box of stuff I'd ordered online and had delivered to her house, and when I got home Friday evening, it was waiting there for me to open it up. It felt like my birthday! Besides finally getting the three pairs of shoes and purse that I'd ordered months ago, my sister threw in a cute Texas t-shirt and some candy corn. But the best surprise was finding some handwritten love notes from my nephews in the box. Can they BE any sweeter?!

On Saturday, the sun came out in full force so Gui and I grabbed some lunch out and did a little window shopping before heading out to a family soirée. We caught up with the cousins, did a little dancing and enjoyed another round of champagne. It was a nice evening complete with red wigs and entertaining slide shows. You know, just another run-of-the-mill French family gathering.

We were blessed with another gorgeous day on Sunday, so I roamed the Champs Elysées with a friend in search of the perfect jeans. Coincidentally (ahem), I stumbled upon the newly opened H&M flagship and a huge sale at Gap in between having a caramel macchiato and warm cinnamon roll at Starbucks. Needless to say, I took a few treasures home with me from my little excursion on the Champs, and so ended the beautiful weekend!

I never feel like weekends are long enough, but this one seemed to be an exception. I think the Friday night shindig and the full days of sun helped, but I felt really revived and refreshed come Sunday evening. Which really does wonders for early Monday mornings. I know it's a lot to ask, but I'm really hoping these blue-skied days hold out - my weekdays could really use more beautiful weekends.

In case you were wondering

2010-09-23T13:24:00.004+02:00

To give a brief update on my job situation, I’m still employed (hooray!), but in the end, the type and duration of my new contract was not exactly as I’d expected or hoped. I’ll be doing slightly different work than I’ve been doing so far, which is definitely the upside of it all, but for now, my contract is only valid through March 2011, and that kind of sucks. I’m hoping that my future will be a little more solidified way before the end of my contract, though, so keep those fingers crossed!

Despite its brevity, there are still quite a few advantages about my new contract, like learning about an entirely different and more interesting side of our department, getting to check out some ventes privées that I’ve never been to before, and staying on the same team with all my cool colleagues. But, the greatest thing about my “new” job is that I’ve moved to an office with a much better view and much better light. The light seriously changes everything! When it’s really sunny and I’m having my morning espresso at my desk with the window slightly open, it feels like I could be sitting on a second-floor terrace. Well, maybe that’s a stretch, but it sure puts me in a better mood than sitting in my former much darker office that was shaded by trees. And I’ll have a perfect view of the Christmas lights once they go up in December, which I used to have to admire from someone else’s office.

It’s all about the little things.

Fall fashion à la française

2010-09-16T12:53:00.011+02:00

I was really surprised, but kind of excited when my sister sent me an email with the following question inside:

so what is the fashion scene like in paris right now for fall? What's hot for fall and what items can i pass along to my friends who keep asking me about this? thanks!!

PS keep in mind we are moms so keep it practical and everyday. :)

I never thought about answering a question like that on my blog before, but thinking about it made me realize it might be a topic that interests my friends and other readers, so here I am.

Paris is almost always rated as the best dressed city by travel and fashion magazines, and I never really paid much attention before, but I guess it's a pretty accurate assessment. I think the reason Parisian women seem so put together is because they're usually very confident in what they wear - from the suited-and-heeled businesswoman to the quirky, colorful Bellevilloise, women here wear their clothes with confidence.

Much of it probably has to do with the classic silhouettes that are everyday staples of a Parisian wardrobe, too. At my office, I notice women tend to wear the same few, but special pieces of clothing, then mix them up, add accessories, jackets and different shoes to create multiple outfits. It's a habit that I kind of struggle getting used to, as I've always tended toward the side of fast fashion and fleeting trends.

So, here are some fall trends I'm excited about seeing around the city as the temperatures drop. We've already had a few cooler days and cold nights, so some folks have already been pulling out the warmer threads giving us a sneak peek of what we can look forward to treading the cobblestone soon.

Over-sized sweaters, tapered khakis, and brown wedges are all the rage lately. I've been seeing people sporting this look lately and I'm thinking about jumping on the bandwagon! Of course the marinière shirt is a staple in any French woman's closet, so I'm pretty sure it'll make an appearance underneath chunky sweaters this fall.

If I could wear jeans to work, I'd love to throw on a pair with tall, neutral boots and a leather jacket. Ladies here seem to love their leather jackets and every time I see someone with a cute black one like this one, I'm always reminded that I don't have one. (Ahem...Christmas is around the corner.)

'Speaking of work, I don't think I've ever seen a woman in my office not wearing at least one piece of black clothing. Once the weather starts to get chilly, the black tights and boots come out and summer is officially declared over. I like the black-on-black look, but sometimes I just feel so morbid wearing all black to work. So, I'm loving all the muted jewel-tones I've been seeing in the vitrines along Avenue Montaigne that I think people will be brightening themselves up with this fall.

And of course, there's the infamous trench. I love my trench coat and don't even know how I lived in Paris for so long without one! It's such a staple of life here, that no one even bats an eye when they see someone else wearing the exact same one on the bus or in the metro. Also, I love that colored tights are making a comeback and I'm already on the hunt for the perfect blue ones. Hopefully, Parisiennes will embrace the trend so I don't end up looking like a colorful clown in a sea of safe black.

(click on pictures to find out more about the items)

Weekend warrior

2010-09-12T20:52:00.008+02:00

September has proven to be a pretty busy and stressful month so far. Between la rentrée, birthdays, births, weddings, parties and the lingering uncertainty with my job, we've barely had a chance to breathe. I keep skipping out on knitting nights and many of my creative indulgences have been sitting on the back-burner waiting for things to slow down. Gui and I hadn't even gone grocery shopping since we came back from holidays more than a month ago, and we'd been eating out or stopping by Franprix for odds and ends when we needed them. Among other things, I'd been really craving some sewing time and a leisurely trip to the marché.

So, when Friday rolled around and there was nothing I had to do or anywhere I had to go, I decided I would soak up a relaxing weekend by doing only the things that make me happy. No stressing over the daunting and dubious week ahead; no rushing to get anywhere on time; no waking up too early; no fussing and no anxiety. Unfortunately for Gui, he still had things planned for the weekend - projects he was working on with friends, fantasy football dates, etc., etc. But, I didn't let that ruin my lax weekend, and he happily indulged with me when he could.

We had a late breakfast on Saturday morning, followed by some knitting time and lazy computer time. The weather was incredible, so we decided to ride over to the Bois de Boulogne, not more than 2.5 miles away and try to rent a little boat to paddle down the small lake in the Bois. The bike ride up there was a bit challenging - there were some uphill moments that really showed how out of shape I am, but it was a nice and quiet ride.

We found the boat place and went out on the lake for a little less than an hour, taking turns with the paddles and enjoying the green and open space around us. It's such a beautiful park, and for a moment Gui and I both felt like we could have been back on Town Lake in Austin rowing our canoe out like we've done a few times in the past. Before we headed back, we walked around a bit and decided we'd come back more often now that we know how close it is to have a break from the hustle of busy weeks and the noise from the city.

Gui had somewhere to be in the late afternoon, so I hung around at home, resting up from the tiring bike and boat rides, while working on some sewing projects and browsing around Ravelry. I got a huge craving for gelato and once Gui was back, we headed out to Grom for some seriously delicious scoops of pear, lemon and coconut sorbet. We hadn't eaten dinner, yet, so we wound up at a wine bar along the quai and had a quick meal there before calling it a fantastic day.

This morning, I finally got my marché fix and had some friends guide me through their bustling neighborhood covered market that's not so far from our place. I came home with bundles of fresh produce (enough to feed about 10 people for the week), some beautiful lamb chops and freshly ground beef from a very popular butcher, and a poulet roti that we devoured for lunch. It's so nice to have fresh food in our kitchen and meals planned for the week again!

We rounded off our Sunday with a quick trip to the Marais to look for a bike, but realized we came too late when we got to the neighborhood bike sale and there were literally 4 adult bikes left! I've been looking for a bike for forever, so it was a little disappointing. But, having treated ourselves to some Starbucks beforehand and taken a little stroll around the quartier, the trip wasn't a complete wash.

Now, Gui's rushed off for another one of his engagements, and I'm just taking in the last few hours of calm before an eventful week begins. My work contract technically ends on Friday, and with no new contract yet to be signed, I'm once again finding myself at a crossroads. Only this time the paths are really undefined for the moment. I should have some answers by tomorrow, but I'll be surprised if there is anything less than chaos all week. Which makes this past weekend all the more lovely, in a very calm-before-the-storm kind of way. I'm just hoping the storm doesn't last long, and that it won't bring any rain - fingers crossed.

My first flea market à la Parisienne

2010-08-31T19:19:00.011+02:00

There are so many things to do in and around Paris that I have yet to venture out and try, like canoeing in the Bois de Boulogne, touring Versailles, viewing the city from the top of the Centre Pompidou… So, I've decided to finally start checking things off my list, starting with something I have been dying to do since I moved here: visit a Parisian flea market. I got the courage to head to the Marché aux Puces de la Porte de Vanves after a recent trip to Caen where I saw first-hand exactly how to negotiate for the goods I want. At a small vide grenier (neighborhood yard sale), my friend, Marie, managed to get 2€ taken off the price of a vintage camera by simply asking. Who knew it was so simple?

So, off I went last weekend to try my hand at sifting and negotiating. I started early, knowing that the stands pack it up and close up shop by about 1 pm. My original plan was to take a walk-through once and then go back to buy things, but I was meeting someone at noon and couldn't take all the time I wanted in the end. So, I strolled through, stopping at the tables with folded printed fabric, painted porcelain plates and ceramic coffee pots. I saw some beautiful antiques at reasonably high prices as well as some totally unaffordable junk. Everyone was pretty friendly, though, and I generally felt comfortable eyeing over their tables and examining their goods. A woman pushing a small cart scurried through the crowds offering cups of hot thé à la menthe and vendors conversed with one another about their recent holidays. I was surprised to see so many anglophone vendors, and I even overheard one guy's phone conversation about how he wasted so much time last week talking to a guy for 2 hours about the massive wooden cart he was selling before the guy walked away saying he was uninterested. It was clear he was sorely bitter about this.

At the start of the day, I had made a mental list of what I wanted to find, but I also told myself to keep an open mind about finding treasures that were not on my list. I got pretty lucky, and about 20 minutes into my flea market adventure, I stumbled upon a lovely old alarm clock - one nearly identical to the vintage clock that I have in my "Favorites" on Etsy. I wound the clock to check if it worked, and when I heard some tic-tocking, I asked for the price. The lady said she bought it for 25€, but was selling it for 15. There was no way I was paying that much, so I told her I'd give her 10€ if that was alright and after a slight customary hesitation, she agreed and I walked off with this lovely timepiece:

(sorry for the crappy iPhone pics - my digital camera's still broken)

I was really proud of my negotiating abilities and it felt like a victory not only in the purchase I made, but also in the proficiency of my verbal French. I kind of already knew how much was too much to pay for a clock like that, and I think that was what made me so confident to suggest a lower price. Now, I know to come armed with information!

I spent a long time sifting through boxes of button cards before finding a couple of grey plastic button bundles for a Euro each. I nearly caved for an old, rusty coffee grinder that was in totally workable condition (another item I have favorited on Etsy), but I just told the guy selling it I’d think about it. Sadly, I didn’t get to dig as much as I wanted and I passed up so many racks of vintage clothes to save time. But, I must say it was quite a lovely first experience, and I’m so glad to have finally done it. I plan on going back many times now that I have a feel for the place and ambiance, and hopefully I’ll stumble upon more good deals just waiting to be made.

A perfect lunch

2010-08-20T13:44:00.013+02:00

I've lived in Paris for nearly three years now, and I'm a little ashamed to admit that there are still not many things that make me nostalgic about the city. Of course, the Eiffel Tower at night takes my breath away, and the colors of autumn and spring make me feel hopeful, but my connection with the city is not yet strong enough to make my heart pound. Still, I have had some very perfect moments in my life here that I've found myself getting caught up with - ones that produce a feeling of utter, raw happiness in my soul and cause an involuntary smile on my face or chuckle in my belly. Today, I very simply made a moment like this. One that I will probably attempt to repeat in the near future, but will likely fall short of doing.

It was my lunch hour and as it usually goes, I had no idea where I felt like eating. I tend to come to work starving, but completely lose my appetite by noon. I'm weird. So, as I've been doing all week while everyone else in my department is still on holiday, I set out and went where the wind took me. Well, the wind today (lovely as it's ever been) took me to Bert's, a little, well-known lunch hotspot of sorts where I've been only once before. I got excited to see the big bags of Pepperidge Farms Chunk cookies, Tim-Tams and Reese's peanut cutter cups on the shelves next to endless assortment of cold salads and dessert cups.

I picked out my lunch (paprika chicken fusilli and pineapple pieces), took it to-go and had every intention of returning to my office to eat in front of the computer when I spotted an empty, lonely green bench in the square nearby. As I sat and ate my lunch, I watched and judged the passersby - the tourists on vacation looking for their next destination, the American interns heading back to the office after lunch, the busy businessman running to make his meeting, the tired security guard on his smoke break. Everyone had their perfect place in this scene. I looked up and saw the green leaves of the tree shading me outlined in orange against a piercing blue sky. Autumn is so close now. The wind was cool and the sun was warm, and I felt the quiet rumble of the metro echo through the bench seat every five minutes. This is Paris. This is the city that I'm starting to love and feel a part of - a reflection that until that very moment would not have been true.

As I finished my pineapples, a young city worker in a neon yellow vest and green jumpsuit rolled by me with his wheel barrow full of shovels and wished me a genuine bon appétit. I knew that this type of interaction could only happen in such a perfect moment, and after giving him my thanks and wishing him a good day, I sat back on my bench, felt my heart swell and smiled. Perfection.

Un jour à Bruxelles

2010-08-17T11:07:00.000+02:00

I know I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: Paris is so quiet in the month of August! Besides the hoards of tourist at every turn, there are virtually no locals left in town. It’s hard to make plans without first calling to see if the place you’re headed to is open or closed for the next 4 weeks. Even during the work week I’ve been disappointed after walking to some of my favorite lunchtime haunts only to see a closed-for-vacances notice scribbled on sheet of paper and stuck to the front door.

So, Gui and I decided to get out of the tourist-laden city for a bit. Realizing that we’d only just come back a week ago from a full week of holidays, we were still itchin’ to do some traveling before la rentrée and in anticipation of fuller workloads at the end of the month. Belgium is practically down the street from us - the same amount of driving it takes us to get from Austin to Dallas - so, that’s where we spent our Saturday. At first, we couldn’t decide between Bruges and Brussels (we’ve already been to both), but eventually headed towards Brussels so that I could relive a little of the first trip I ever took there in 2008 with Gui and some of my closest girlfriends.

I was pretty amazed at how much I remembered and recognized from my one single night spent there over 2 years ago. It was warmer this time around than that first February trip, so we sipped a beer on a terrace, ate moules-frites and boeuf à la bière among the locals, grabbed some nutella gaufres and strolled around the streets and parks of the city without any rush or fuss. We had no idea that we were coming to the city during one of its most popular weeks – the week of the Flower Carpet – so we were surprised at how big the crowds were in the Grand Place. We didn’t spend too much time there, opting instead to visit some greener areas of the city I’d never seen before.

There was a lot going on in town, though, and we came across a music festival (Massive Attack and some other groups were playing), a park full of people and even a few pianos in the street. It was an interesting daytrip, though much of it totally unexpected. In the end, we came home with full and happy bellies, a trunk full of beer and a few bags of our favorite chocolates. A day well spent if I do say so myself.

Taking flight


Gui loves his Kwak

The flower carpet at the Grand Place

a little gaufre for Gui


street pianos

Manneken pis

Vacances

2010-08-05T17:56:00.000+02:00

So, half of our vacation is over. It's a sad reality, really, but we're making the most of the precious few days we have left before we take on a desolate Paris Monday morning. We spent nearly five glorious days basking in the sun on the Cote d'Azur. Gui's grandmother (Mamie) has a lovely home on a small piece of land a bit west of Nice and a short drive away from the celebrated city of Cannes. We soaked up enough sunshine to get us through the rest of our beach-less summer; our lunches were made of the freshest summer fruits and vegetables, picked directly from the enormous garden each and every morning; and we relished in our free time spent reading, knitting and napping by the pool, on the terrace and in the comfort of Mamie's domain.

We spent one day on the beach in Cannes, where we people-watched, sunbathed and dipped our sandy toes in the refreshing blue sea. The beach is so magical, isn't it? I could seriously spend my life trotting around from beach to beach, taking in the sun and rolling in the sand with a good book. I'm not much into swimming around in salt water with marine life, but I can't think of any better place in the world than a sandy beach with cool, clear water within arm's reach - heaven on earth.

I got a lot of knitting and reading done during our long, leisurely days, but I admittedly spent a good deal of the late afternoons snoozing to the sounds of far-off crop planes and mountain winds. The coolest thing about the south of France I found, was how varied the landscape is - mountains, sea, farmland - it's all there. And I found myself in the rare circumstance of feeling overwhelmed with absolute calmness and tranquility, which I wholeheartedly reveled in.

We did run into a few snags along the way though, in the form of my sensitive skin's allergic reactions to weird, country insects. A wasp flew into my chest as I was running out to the pool, which scared the crap out of me. I'd never been stung by anything other than a mosquito, and man, is it painful! Mamie brought out some fleur de lis petals and I rubbed them on my wound until all was better. Nature versus nature, I guess. Then, the day before we left, I broke out in some sort of rash along my collarbone and upper arms. We never figured out what it was, but it went away and came back the next day only to go away again. There's no sign of it now, so we're chalking it up to over-exposure to the sun or something.

Now, we're in the lovely center of France. It's not exactly in the middle of the the big hexagon, but it is kind of in the middle of nowhere. We're here to celebrate a wedding of a friend of my father-in-law and to finish off our week of vacation in the countryside with a bit of R&R. The landscape is tremendously beautiful here, but the cool winds and sweater weather is a stark difference from the hot sands of the French Riviera. I plan on lounging around, finishing my knitting project and catching up on some True Blood before we pack it up and head back to Paris on Sunday. I heart les vacances!

Herbs that came home with us from Mamie's garden.

Creative project fail

2010-07-18T00:06:00.000+02:00

It's so nice to take a day off to do nothing. And, that's exactly what I did on Friday. Wednesday was the fête nationale in France so I had the day off, and I worked it out with my colleague to take advantage of the empty office and take a long weekend. I didn't have anything in particular planned, but I ended up being really productive around the house. I even made a skirt! I haven't sewn in ages, but I wanted to use up some fabric I've had stocked up for a while, so I found this tutorial and gave it a go. Well, I think I'm a little rusty from being out of the game for so long, and I ended up with a skirt more in the size L range than my more usual size, XS. I took my measurements and all, but I think I over-compensated for my waste size, thinking I would go larger in case I needed room to grow. So, I ended up with a poofy, green, bag-of-a-skirt that adds on about 20 pounds to my lower-half...and that's just never flattering.

It's not horrendous, but even the my fashion care-less husband remarked right away that it was way too big for me. I think I'll save it anyway for a day when maybe it might be wearable. I really like the color, and I think it'd be cute as a maternity skirt, so maybe I'll save it for that far-off day. I'm just glad that I know now how to measure for my next skirt, which I plan on making very soon. (Will keep you posted on how that turns out.)

Entre temps

2010-07-15T22:11:00.001+02:00

What can I say? I just haven’t been in the mood to write. I feel a bit like I’ve put half of my life on hold to focus on the other, lacking half. But, that’s kind of the ultimate human struggle, isn’t it? You plan and then you do. Plan and do. And for me, it’s teetering on the brink of impossibility to be able to balance my wants and needs, my pleasures and responsibilities, my dreams and reality. So, I stay focused on one for now and hope that one day balance will just come.

We’ve been in a bit of a limbo here these past couple of months, trying to solidify some real next steps to take, but just waiting on the light to turn green. Mostly, we’re just waiting to find out if my current contract job will evolve into a permanent position. It wouldn’t seem like this one little detail could make or break our plans, but it kind of already has. The odds are, we’ll be hanging around Paris for at least a couple of more years – before all the baby-making and home-buying starts – which is just peachy for both of us, but kind of puts a 180-degree spin on all the plans we previously made (i.e. the ones that involved packing it up and moving it back to the Lone Star State). We’re keeping our fingers and toes crossed that we’ll have a finite answer by the end of this month, but, well, it’s France, and that’s kind of asking for a lot.

But, it’s sunny in Paris. I mean, really sunny! And hot, too! We had a hard winter and it seems summer isn’t letting its colder competitor take the Harshest Season of the Year title with ease. Gui and I left for two weeks to Dallas/Kansas/Austin when the skies were an unyielding gray and the metros were still rank with urine and not repulsive body odor. But, it seems we brought the sunshine and heat with us on the flight back and it’s been pretty non-stop since then. We’ve been spending the long summer days mostly enjoying each other’s company – doing lots of necessary admin stuff, restocking the fridge, cooking and organizing, planning and pondering, and even a little soldes shopping. Two weeks isn’t very long to be away from home, but it’s always a little more difficult to get back into the swing of things after a trip to Austin. Our friends and family, of course, spoiled us to no end, making it so hard to leave them behind until our next visit. If only life was a vacation, right?

Which reminds me, we’ve got another week of holidays planned soon. We’ll be heading to the south of France to spend some time by the pool and in the ginormous vegetable garden (yay!) at Gui’s grandparents’ house. Then, we’re off to Aubrac for what will surely be a lovely, countryside wedding (horses included). We had planned to get out of France and maybe hit up Italy with a friend, but we just couldn’t work out the logistics to make it work. Next time, I suppose.

I leave you with a few photos to meander through and a promise of - at the very least - some great vacation photos from the south of France! (The last 3 photos we took on Tuesday from our bedroom window - fireworks celebrating France's fête nationale.)

Au revoir, Lost

2010-05-21T14:36:00.002+02:00

I'm looking forward to posting a bit about this past week and what's been going on in my little life in Paris, and I will soon. But, for the moment, my mind is so preoccupied with thinking about the season finale of Lost, which will air in the US on Sunday.

I'm not usually nutty about stuff like this, but for some reason, I feel kind of emotional about the finale. I saw an interview that "Kate" (Evangeline Lilly) did on The View a while back, and I think she really made a great point - that Lost is a show that focuses on so many universally-emotional and personally-important questions that other shows in our generation don't address. And, I totally agree. It's had its shaky moments and outlandish plots, but something about it just sings to me - and to so many others, too, it seems. It could be that watching someone else's interpretation of the ultimate answer to the ultimate question - why are we here? - just seriously entertains me. But, I think in some ways, it's a little more than that, and something about "getting to the end" and "finding out what happens" helps me move along in my own little journey to find the answers I'm looking for. And, well, I think that's worth getting a little emotional over.

I found this really great clip with very candid mini-interviews from the cast-members of Lost about what the show has meant to them and how they feel about it coming to an end.  I think the cast are even sad to see their characters go.  (FYI - there are NO spoilers here!)

Feeding my spirit

2010-05-15T20:52:00.003+02:00

Paris is full of creativity, creative people, inspiring scenes. So many friends I have made here have inspired me to feed my creative passions that I never really knew I was starving. From knitting, to cooking, to sewing to blogging, I have found so many outlets to express my point of view and creativity that I might never have otherwise known about. My knitting group has the cream of the crop of creative types in Paris, and I'm truly inspired by them every time we meet up. I met my friend Abby at Tricothé and she is seriously creative - she turns all kinds of objects into beauitful treasures, and she seems to find magic in the most everyday of items. She has a perfectly charming blog where she posts her thoughts and musings on the very simply lovely life she leads in the city of lights. This post is inspired from the Marché Photo of the Week series on her blog, and hopefully it will become a regular on this blog, too.

This past week brought the devastating news of the passing of one of my dearest aunts, an incredible, bold and loving soul who taught me that many of life's grey days could be brightened with a funny joke and a hearty laugh. After a few days of grieving and reflection in hibernation, I finally left the apartment to live again. The sun came out this morning, and we took to the marché to embrace its warmth and energy.

My Aunt Clare loved to cook, and she introduced me to so many new flavors and recipes in my younger years that inspire my culinary endeavors to this day. My first manicotti, my first split pea soup - she was a whiz in the kitchen who influenced my palate and fed my creativity at the stove. Her spirit of life and her passion for sharing delicious food with the ones she loved will always resonate in my heart and in my kitchen.

Today's marché finds (Marché Président Wilson):

sliced speck and fioccia 

mozzarella di bufala

white onions

green asparagus

limes

eggplant

bean sprouts

spring onions

fresh parmesan  

arugula

Thai rice noodles

jasmin rice

freshly ground beef (not shown)

On this week's menu:

White chili

Shrimp pad thai

Mom's baked spaghetti

Asparagus chardonnay risotto

Italian meat, mozarella, onion, arugula pizza (crust recipe)

Eggplant parmesan on buttered linguini

Eur-woes

2010-05-06T13:58:00.002+02:00

Since Gui and I travel at least once a year to the States, we try to track the movements of the Euro against the US Dollar so we can capitalize on the best exchange rates for our trips. We've usually been pretty good about exchanging our currencies at really favorable rates, which lets us spend a bit more when we're visiting and going out in The Land of Plenty. Back in November, we talked about exchanging our fancy European money while it was towering over the dollar at about $1.50. But my overly-confident optimism kept our Euros in the bank and our American bank account stagnant. Since then, it's all been literally downhill for the Euro, and we'll likely be forced to deal with a relatively even, Dollar-for-Euro exchange rate while we're visiting next month. Which sucks.

While I'm clearly no expert on the subject, it wouldn't surprise me to see the Euro pan out flat against the Dollar in the coming months. With all the uncertainties surrounding the Greek and Spanish economies (and the French one, for that matter), the Euro seems to be holding less and less water these days. Luckily for Gui and I, we don't have a problem subsisting on 79¢ tacos and $1 Lone Star. America The Great, indeed!

Graph tracking the Euro against the dollar from BBCnews.com

Rain + Monday = Nothin' to do but frown

2010-05-03T22:53:00.002+02:00

Today sucked for no good reason. It was rainy. It was cold. It was Monday. And everyone seemed to be wearing their grumpy pants. Karen Carpenter is familiar with this rainy Monday phenomenon, it seems, and somehow, hearing her sing it kind of makes me feel a little bit better.

So, here's to sunny Tuesday...

Fun in the sun

2010-04-27T21:50:00.004+02:00

Since last Friday, the sun has been shining as bright as it ever has in Paris, and Gui and I have been taking full advantage of the beautiful weather all weekend. Our friend, Juliet had the foresight to plan a barbecue on the most perfect day we’ve had all year, around which we gladly planned our weekend. Our first stop on Saturday was at my favorite local marché (on Avenue Président Wilson). Although Gui doesn’t agree with me, it totally beats out the Avenue Versailles marché which is held on Sundays and is about 15 minutes closer to our apartment. It’s not like it’s really a “better” marché, but to me, it just seems more authentic…more “French.” And, besides being fooled by fake farm-fresh eggs, the products just seem nicer – and the people do, too.

It was a perfect morning for some marché shopping, though, and after gathering all the necessities (and a few luxuries in the form of 50€/kg cheese), we hopped on a metro back home where I worked-up a batch of my mom’s version of my Aunt Mary’s potato salad. We headed over to the barbecue as early as possible to take full advantage of the glorious sunshine and fresh green grass, which can be really hard to come by ‘round these parts. Everyone was all laughter and smiles, and as delectable as the assortment of grilled burgers and American goodies was, the best part of the barbeque was easily the company. Give us an imported barbecue grill, a plush, green yard, and lots of sunshine, and nothing can stop us from being the happiest people in Paris.

Yay sun!

Sunday gave us a few more clouds than Saturday, but Gui and I didn’t let them stop us from going through with our plans for a bike-ride to the Eiffel Tower. It's been a long time since we've been bike-riding, and I've always wanted to see how long it would take to get to the Champs de Mars from our place, so Gui hopped on his bike (generously given to him by our friend Justin who returned to the States) and I rented a velib', and off we went! All I can say is, man, do I need to work out more! The half-hour bike ride there tired me out a bit, but the crazy uphill ride back to our apartment is what really got me. We took our time, though and enjoyed the spectacular views along the way. There really is a magic in the Paris air during Spring, and it somehow just wipes the slate clean from the grim memories of a bitter winter. Vive le soleil!

Vente privée

2010-04-21T23:37:00.001+02:00

One of the many perks (and quite possibly the best one) of my job includes priority access to many vente privées throughout the year. A vente privée literally translates to "private sale," but saying it in English doesn't quite give off the same meaning as when I hear it in French. I'd compare it more to a special few days when guests can shop a brand name at their leisure and pay for their items at a very generous employee discount. Sometimes, this means that the sale will be full of past seasons' collections or off-colored and blemished items, but that is not usually the norm.

Last year, I attended my first vente privée in Paris, and it was such an adrenaline rush. Usually, a huge line forms before the sale begins, and depending on the brand's popularity, it could continue throughout the day. Most sales are held in spaces or warehouses specifically designed and purposed for such, which means they are professionally staffed with people who run these kinds of private sales for a living. Nothing but wallets and cell phones are permitted on the selling floor, so a mandatory coat and purse check is the first place to visit after showing your invitation and ID to the security guard at the door (once you've finally made it there). Then, you grab a massive plastic bag and fill it with as many shoes, purses, wallets, and clothes your heart desires before finally sorting it out into "keep" and "sadly leave behind" piles.

There are no dressing rooms to try your clothes on, so oftentimes, you'll catch a glimpse at someone's undies or see people posing with their hangered treasures in front of the few mirrors available. Most bags, shoes and haute couture items are placed on shelved walls guarded by staff members who stand in front of the shelves and behind a table of display bags. You can usually grab what you want from the table, but if you notice something sparkling on the shelf, you can simply ask for it from the staff member.

As much as it all sounds like such a privileged and organized event, it can get pretty ugly. I went to a sale a few weeks ago on its third day of opening (vente privées can last anywhere from one to five or more days), and could not believe the chaos that normally respectable ladies were causing ... for fabric bags, no less! The staff can only stock so much on display, so the rest is left hidden "backstage" in cardboard boxes that don't give any indication as to what's in them. For deal-desperate shoppers, this means that as the day goes on, there will be more stock with possibly newer items available for sale, so, someone's dream bag could be trapped in a cardboard box and not come out until the end of the sale. And, that's what these "ladies" were hoping would happen for them if they waited and pushed long enough. Despite there being limits on how many bags and shoes can be purchased, these women had gobs of handbags well over the limit and had invited every friend, neighbor and cousin to come with them so they could amass the most stock possible. I could barely stand the insanity, so I left empty-handed from that sale and swore to never again wait to come when the invitation is extended beyond the employees of the company (it's usually open to anyone with an invite after the first day).

There are a few "big" brands that everyone looks forward to but are really strict on the amounts of items you can buy and whether or not you can bring a guest (you usually can't for the popular brands). And, as for the prices, well, they're quite good considering the brand that's being sold and the retail prices that the items would normally sell for. But, these are expensive goods we're talking about here, so it's kind of just relative.

My job has definitely fed my desire for fancy purses and logoed shoes that I never really had so much before. Women at my office are often dressed head to toe in recognizable designer threads, so walking around in my Zara dress, H&M heels and Gap handbag doesn't turn many heads for the right reason. And, mostly I'm OK with that. I never buy everything I want, but I often rationalize my rare vente privée splurges by reminding myself that every Parisienne needs a nice handbag (or four) and that I won't have access to the sales once my work contract is up. Now, rationalizing my need for three more handbags to Gui, well that's another story, and obviously, he's no longer sensitive to my so-called "need" to fit in.

My latest splurge.

My latest sacrifice. (So sad.)

Busted!

2010-04-13T23:28:00.000+02:00

As I went to toss out what I thought was an empty Nerds box left on our foot rest/ottoman/coffee table, I discovered that the little box was not empty at all. I pulled out the contents, at first thinking that there were maybe some clumped-up Nerds left to be eaten (after all, they did come from my sister's leftover Halloween stash), but soon realized that hidden inside the closed-up little box of apple-watermelon Nerds were three inconspicuously-folded candy wrappers (two chocolate squares and one Almond Joy).

Of course, there's nothing wrong with Gui eating all the candy he wants (except for maybe our dentist bill), but this comes after I kind of, sort of made him feel bad for eating one of the prized chocolate-covered Peeps I brought back for the Ks to try. (Now, they'll just have to share one smushed, chocolate-covered Peep between themselves - which, I have a feeling Katia might be fine with). I didn't mean to guilt-trip him when I told him that he ate someone else's Peep, but I guess he must have felt bad about it enough to want to hide anymore evidence of his indulgences.

Since I've been back, we (but mostly Gui) have polished off a large bag of almond M&Ms, all 5 or 6 boxes of Nerds, half a pack of 3 Musketeers and a bag of Ghiradelli raspberry-filled squares. To say that Gui has a sweet-tooth is an understatement, but I have to admit that my crazy Target sprees contribute. Maybe it's just because I know how his big, blue eyes will be all a-glimmer when I reveal my stash of sweets that's the real reason I bring so much back with me. Does that make me a good wife? Or am I just your run-of-the-mill sweets pusher?

The evidence.

Our stash.

Auntie to the rescue gets rescued

2010-04-12T00:06:00.001+02:00

So, my spontaneous trip back to the good ol' US of A seems to have pushed me back to the side of sanity, which is precisely what I had hoped it would do for me. I can't even explain how much of a difference it's made to my nerves to have a few consecutive days of real life family - drama and all - back in my life. Even pulling an all-nighter on the plane-ride back and going to work for 5 hours just after couldn't bring me back to the funk I was feeling before I left.

Besides soaking up the giggles and snuggles and cries and shouts of my loveable nephews, I also got a little "I-just-need-to-be-an-American-and-do-American-things" in while I was visiting my sister in midwest America. It ain't Texas, but I still managed to find a delicious plate of enchiladas, tacos, rice and beans to grub on pretty much as soon as my plane slid onto the tarmac. I made a few Target runs, browsed through the local Banana Republic, J.Crew and Nordstrom stores, grabbed a couple of Starbucks cinnamon dolce lattes (which haven't made it onto the Paris menus, yet), stopped by Michael's and an LYS to check out the yarn scene, ran through the Taco Bell drive-thru, and had breakfast and three lunches at Chick-fil-a. Oh, how I missed thee, Land of Liberty!

I'll admit that it felt a little awkward being back at first - it's so much easier to be somewhere that doesn't require a bit of reflection about how to phrase a sentence before speaking. But, the awkwardness didn't last long and I fell back in the sadle in no time. The weather was pretty cooperative, save for the couple of nights of violent winds and rain that kept me awake. Luckily, it cleared up before Easter and I got to watch the boys hunt for eggs and fly kites.

I even got in a bear surgery while I was there. It's tradition for my dad to give his grandsons a bear when they're born, and they've become the boys' doudous, which of course means they take quite a beating after the years of being dragged around everywhere. Well, my nearly 6-year-old nephew asked me if I could stitch-up his bear (of the same age) in a couple of places because he'd had a bit of wear-and-tear. So, Dr. Auntie held a surgery and made Mr. Bear (as he's named) as good as new! I could tell my nephew was so honestly happy afterwards to see his Mr. Bear all fixed up. But, he had no idea how truly grateful I was to be there to do that for him. My last-minute planning couldn't have been better timed!

Doctor, patient and loved-one after the bear surgery.

My new, sweet nephew!

Love him!

Squeez-a-licious!

Banana splits!

Being good boys at church.

Egg hunt!

Showing off their loot.

At Target with the gang - my sister is Super-Woman. Love her!

Dernière minute

2010-03-30T20:11:00.000+02:00

I'm not really a last minute kind of gal. I like to plan ahead, make reservations, shop around and do everything I can to ensure that whatever is happening is done so in the smoothest and most efficient way possible. I don't mind saying yes to a last-minute invitation or hop off to a movie or dinner on the spur of the moment, but when making plans to, say, host a party or take a trip, quick decisions make me nervous and wary.

This weekend, though, I caught the most wretchedly dire homesickness that I've ever had in my life and nothing could coax me out of my funk. Gui and I grabbed happy hour and a movie on Friday evening (Alice in Wonderland in 3D - beautiful film but the jury's still out on the storyline and oddly-added solo dance), and then had some Tex-Mex for dinner, but I could barely eat from being so run amok with thoughts about my family and how much I miss them. Everything reminded me of my nephews and my far-away friends - now mostly parents of little ones - that I don't see often enough. I felt awful and tried doing things to distract myself, but nothing worked to deter my thoughts.

On Sunday, we had lunch with Gui's dad and sister at the same place we took my mom to on her first and only trip to Paris, and I struggled to keep it together. It was hard to stay composed when they asked how I was doing, how my job was going, and how my family and new nephews where getting along - normal stuff. My heart was totally longing to be near them, to hold my new nephews and run around like a kid with the others. Gui and I talked about our trip in June and all the things we'll do while we're there, all the people we'll see. But, in doing this, we realized how little time we'll actually have to see everyone we want to see. Between Kansas and Austin and Dallas and the traveling between each, two weeks is just not enough time.

Monday morning rolled around and I was in such a foul mood. I dragged myself out of bed, threw on the first black dress I saw, tights and boots, trudged slowly to the bus without much care about the time or my tardiness and then, with immense difficulty bonjoured everyone in the office and sputtered off a lie when they asked how I was doing. I just couldn't be bothered with the day; with anything. How did it get to this?

Despite my lingering Monday workload, all I could think of was leaving - leaving the office, leaving Paris, leaving France. Just leaving. I was so incredibly sad and felt so incredibly guilty about being so sad. All I could think of was going home - being home with my parents, sister, brothers, nephews, friends and their babies. I just wanted to be near them all.

So, as an act of desperation, I checked flights to Texas and flights to Kansas and realized that I could visit my sister (and brother-in-law and 3 out of 4 of my nephews) in Kansas by cashing in on our frequent-flyer miles and paying about half the normal price of a ticket. Originally, I thought about going for a long weekend - taking advantage of the Monday holiday, I could leave Friday night and come back on Sunday, but Gui thought that was just too crazy. He reminded me that I work in France, and when my contract is all said and done, I still won't have used up all of my paid vacation and RTT (days accumulated each month that act like paid vacation). So, I guiltily asked my boss if he would mind my taking a few extra days off - even though I'd already taken two days the week before, and he was totally cool with it. More than cool. He waved his hand and told me to take whatever days I need to and not to worry about any asking in advance. I was elated.

I don't know if this last-minute trip will make everything better or if I'll return with a renewed feeling of positivity and happiness, but I know it will do me some good. Just knowing that I'm leaving on Thursday morning to finally meet my new nephew and see my loved ones has already made such a difference in my mind. I've never planned a transatlantic flight so spontaneously before, and this time it's not about how smoothly everything goes or how efficiently my time is spent. Once I see those toothy grins and hear those hearty grunts from the sweetest boys in all the world, my thoughts will be light-years away from the trifles of time and economics.

Auntie's on her way! See you soon, cuties!

Time off

2010-03-28T17:55:00.003+02:00

So, the ski trip that I was so stoked for didn't happen. We planned to be in the Pyrenées for a long weekend, but when we got news that the trip wasn't happening, we called up some old friends in Caen and headed north for the weekend. It was really great to get away from Paris for a bit. Our friends, who are a French couple we met in Austin, have a comfortably spacious house with a garden and well-equipped kitchen that we took good advantage of while there. Juliet was looking to take a break from the city, too so it turned out to be the perfect solution to our botched original plans. I really needed a break.

While we were in Normandy, I finally got to visit Omaha Beach and the American Cemetery. It's such an astounding visual memorial that we couldn't really appreciate because of the rain that followed us there. I'm really glad to have finally been there, though - I had never before fully understood the magnitude of devastation that the befell the courageous American troops in France. It was impressive.

The rest of the weekend was spent eating and drinking and being merry with friends. And when Gui and I returned on Sunday night with a full Monday off ahead of us, we decided to bounce around Paris on a sublime, sunny day. After grabbing fallafel and coffee, we spent most of the day in the Jardin du Luxembourg and Jardin des Tuileries just soaking up the spring sun.

Our (rather successful) attempts at Mexican Martinis

Tuileries and Place de la Concorde

I just wish the sun wouldn't be so fleeting around here. It's warmed up a bit, but the days have been mostly grey with patches of sunshine, and it would be really nice if spring just sprung already! Despite my complaints, I am pretty happy that I can still wear my tweed wool sweater that was finished just in time to greet the giboulées de mars (the French version of April Showers or June Gloom). I'm really proud of my first attempt at sweater-making, and I'm getting as much wear out of my new knit as the weather will allow.

The one where I’m on the K&K podcast…

2010-03-11T14:05:00.003+01:00

…and stuff.

Gui and I were recently invited to the top-secret, velvety-drape-lined K&K boudoir to be guests on the ever-popular podcast hosted by fellow Paris-based expats, Katia and Kyliemac. We’ve known these lovelies for some time now, having met them through the shrinking circle of expat friends that we’ve been lucky enough to have made here. They’re a rather dynamic duo who dish the dirt on life as anglophone transplants in Paris and offer tidbits and advice on how to survive the often bittersweet streets of this bipolar city.

I’ve always secretly wondered what it would be like to be a guest on their show – if costumes were the preferred dress code attire and if cocktails and pineau really did pour freely. Now I gladly know that the answers to my thoughtful queries are indeed, yes and YES.

Gui and I enjoyed bottomless Muffin Manmade rhum-rhums while recounting the tales of how we met, how we managed a long-distance relationship and how we eventually got to Paris. They refilled our glasses and we stayed to record a second episode where we talked about cultural differences in the workplace. It was loads of fun, and I even learned a bit about Gui that I never knew (like how much he missed the morning taco-truck at work).

I’ve got to say, it’s a little unsettling listening to my recorded voice (which I think sounds like a mix between valley-girl and cowgirl), but the K&K team have really got their technical shiz together! Listening to their show is such an indulgence that I gladly make time for and being on the show felt like a real honor. Walking home after such a fabulous time spent chatting with friends, Gui remarked on how great of a souvenir the podcast will make for the future us and our eventual offspring. And, he’s so right.

I'm linking our podcast debuts here, but the K&K website has every episode from 1 to 324, and you can also subscribe to their biweekly shows on iTunes (like I do)!

Click here to listen to episode 323

And here for episode 324

Is Paris hardening my heart?

2010-02-21T21:22:00.003+01:00

The other day, a busy and rainy Sunday afternoon, as Gui and I were leaving McDonald's to get on with the day, a young boy stopped me and asked me if I had a euro. We were still inside the McDonald's when the boy approached me, and I had to ask him to repeat himself because I wasn't really sure what he said the first time. When I understood that he was asking me for a euro, I told him, "no," continued walking out of the restaurant and then proceeded to feel like the scum of the earth.

Being asked for money from strangers has just become part of my daily life as a Parisian city-dweller. I come across homeless people on a regular basis, and I've managed to grow a thick skin of indifference, knowing that my usually overly-emotional self is just not suited for denying a beggar some change. But, it wasn't until I firmly and quickly rejected this child's bid for a bite to eat that I realized how cold and callous I'd actually become. I walked by the McDonald's again a few minutes later and saw the boy sitting at a booth eating a burger. I wanted to cry.

A friend of mine makes it a point to give food and not money to beggars he encounters on the streets and in the tunnels of Paris, and I generally agree with that approach. But, rarely do I find myself with an extra piece of fruit or bag of chips in my handbag, and sometimes it's just not all that practical for me. And, I realize the trouble with handing out cash to people when they ask for it; that there's an organized ring of criminals who make people beg and take their money, but how am I supposed to pick and choose who I help and who I don't help?

I understand now that I should have asked the boy what he wanted to eat, bought him his Happy Meal and made his day instead of flatly rejecting him a slice of happiness that I could so easily have provided. But what if someone older had approached me instead? I might have felt less guilty knowing I'd said no to an adult and not a child, but is that morally OK?

There are a lot of things that I have changed about myself to adapt to living here, but I refuse to let my moral compass be one of them. Of course nobody has asked me to change, to become a different person or to conform to the norms of my new social setting; any changes I've made about my personality or my habits have solely been self-imposed. But, I'm realizing the high price my need to "fit-in" has cost me, and I don't plan to continue paying it.

If I can spare some change to make someone happy or buy a cheeseburger to feed a hungry boy, there's no reason I shouldn't. I won't be able to feed the world or make everyone happy, but at least my humanity will remain intact, and really that's the only thing that fits in everywhere.

My maintenant

2010-02-21T17:05:00.008+01:00

I thought I'd (once again) take a cue from my sister's fancy blog, and get things caught up around here. So, here are a few things that sum-up my right now:

I'm loving that the days are getting longer and the temps are getting milder. Although we've had a few intermittent weeks of crazy-cold snowy days (and we're still hanging around the 40s and 50s), it seems like we may be saying goodbye to the worst of winter as we roll into March. It definitely makes me happy to leave work and still see so much lingering daylight - the promise of springtime in Paris so easily makes the stresses of a long workday disappear.

My stroll from work.

We bought our tickets to visit Texas in June and it couldn't come soon enough! I'm dying to meet my new nephew, Jacob and see all of my other nephews and family!

Gui and I have been getting back into the habit of Sunday brunching. Le brunch is apparently the "it" thing to do in Paris, so we try to get out and about as early as possible to avoid the long lines. We just re-established our brunching routine 3 weeks ago, and so far we haven't had a bad meal, yet. I never knew how close a mouth-watering plate of eggs benedict and huevos rancheros were until now!

Eggs benedict from Coffee Parisian

Huevos Rancheros from The Studio

I've been spending every spare moment I have clicking my needles away to finish my first adult-sized sweater that I'm proudly making for yours truly. It's been a really fun project so far and I haven't even yet arrived at the fun part - the patterened yoke!

[ravelry link]

My French is still progressing, but I realize weekly how far I still have to go when it takes me half an hour to write a short email.

We finally booked our train tickets for a long weekend of skiing with friends in March. I've never been snow skiing before, and I'm pretty stoked about having my first go at it in the heart of the Pyrénées mountains.

I'm waiting for some new clothes pattern books to arrive in the mail - I plan on taking advantage of my proximity to French fabrics and will be jumping back into sewing this spring. My dust-collecting sewing machine will finally get the attention it deserves!

I've been missing my Texas friends a lot lately. I dream daily about being back in Austin, getting together for dinner or pints or weekly yoga clases and simply enjoying each other's company. I really miss the spontaneity and ease of my life there, but knowing it's not such a far off dream keeps me focused on my right now.

2010-02-09T22:19:00.002+01:00

My sister emailed me about this Superbowl commercial, and I have to agree with her, it's pretty cute. Gui saw it, too, and we decided that despite it's slightly corny, happy-love-googly-eyed theme, the message is actually pretty relevant. Our relationship would be totally different without the world-wide web (as my mom likes to call it). Whether it's lame or just regularly accepted nowadays, the internet is a really large part of my life, and I don't know if I'd be brave enough to live so far away from the people I love without having it as my lifeline. I'd say Google definitely struck a chord with this one.

The REAL reason French women aren't fat

2010-02-01T20:18:00.007+01:00

So, I'll just go ahead and explain this "phenomenon" to put to rest all the theories being tossed around by curious weight-watchers. It's not because they eat smaller portions or stay away from sugars and fats; it's not even necessarily because of good genes or, as my husband's grandmother puts it, "French people are made differently." But, the real reason women mostly come in size small and medium here is because living in a country where public transportation is fundamentally necessary to live, running after buses and trains and metro cars is just a daily way of life.

When I was first applying for my carte de séjour, I remember being asked during my mandatory medical exam whether or not I exercised. I thought about it for a moment, and decided not to lie, so I told the doctor that since arriving in France, I'd stopped doing yoga, but felt like I got enough exercise just going from place to place. He must have thought that I was either joking or incredibly lazy, but it was absolutely true.

Counting how many city blocks I've either walked rapidly or run through today, I can honestly say I've registered at least a mile. Easy. And that's including getting lucky enough to catch the bus. Let's see, I ran about a block to catch this morning's bus. Walked at least another 2 city blocks through the metro station before running to get to the last car (which is closer to the exit at my destination station). Then I walked the 7 minutes, or 3 Paris blocks from the station to work, then another 4 blocks to get lunch and come back. And, I made the return trip all over again, but took a detoured bus that required me to run another city block to catch the right one before walking the couple of blocks home. And that's on a lazy day! I came straight home after work today and went to lunch closeby. Add, to all this fast-paced commuting, a 10-pound purse, a coat and heels, and you've got yourself a real work-out.

One could argue that my eating habits have changed too, but I can honestly say that I never deny myself any gastronomic pleasure (except for those few days during the Christmas break after I fed myself to the point of sickness...I'll be nice and spare all the details). I love food. LOVE IT. But, in France I've found that although the quantity of food I eat has not changed, the quality and type of food most definitely has. Rarely do I eat processed or fried foods, but I've never eaten so much dairy (cream and cheese mostly), sugar (hello, patisseries and chocolate!), and foie gras in my life! Most of the fatty foods I used to eat in Texas have been replaced by more natural fatty foods, and perhaps that also has something to do with it. I've seen French women eat me under the table (even a certain 70-something mother of my father-in-law), and I never go out to eat with a French woman without having dessert (lunchtime is no execption). But, as much as I'd like it to be so, we're not having a box of fried chicken and crinkle-cut fries or cheese enchiladas and a Coke. So, I guess it all kind of balances itself out.

I'm not too dumb to realize, too that my freakishly, self-diagnosed high-metabolism has a lot to do with my staying thin, but I also know that I'm not immune to gaining weight. My genes are not as generous as they may appear, and after my all-you-can-fit-in-your-gullet stint in Texas this summer, I was feeling the push against my waistline when I returned to l'Hexagone. Of course, none of this is probably true in any scientifically proving way, but after being here for a couple of years now, it's my observation and a good explanation for why the stores can't keep any small sizes stocked. I'm convinced if every French woman could drive where and when she wanted, there'd be a lot more x-smalls and smalls on the boutique racks. And, in an effort to find more clothes in my size round here, I plan on reminding every woman I know in Paris about this Friday's World Nutella Day. No self-respecting [French] woman can resist this. Miam!

February 5th, 2010

Out of the woodwork

2010-01-26T20:20:00.006+01:00

I've been thinking a lot about my blog lately; my poor, neglected, orphaned blog. I think I want to jump back on the wagon and rediscover the therapeutic benefits that thought-disposal provides to my tangled-up, conflicted expat emotions.

There's quite a bit of stuff going on round these parts lately. I'm still working on Fancy Street, with fancy people in their fancy clothes, speaking their fancy French. My French is still not quite so fancy, but I have to admit it's improved substantially since the last time I blogged. I can generally hold a telephonic conversation now, and my vocabulary list has expanded at least two-fold. I often hear myself speaking and think of how impressed my girl friends back home would be, being fancy French-speakers themselves. I still improperly conjugate my verbs and say things like à bientôt when I should really say à toute or à plus-tard, but to that I say, "whatevs." At the office I'm still pretty much the outcast, alien American that people kind of look at suspiciously, as if waiting to see if I'll explode or bust out in song and dance. And, at least once a week I find myself in culture-shock hell and wishing I could hail a cab to the airport to jump on the first 14-hour flight headed West. But mostly, I'm getting the hang of the Paris version of the daily grind and find comfort in the habits that I am used to and the skills that set me apart from everyone else (that mostly being my English-speaking talent).

And, it's still winter in Paris, so I'm hoping that has something to do with some of my work woes. This year, winter has been pretty rough on me. I've never gone so long in my life without seeing the sun or wearing flip-flops. I'm going to blame this rant on my lack of vitamin D, but seriously, summer could not come any sooner! (Man, do I sound whiney!) Besides the gloomy, frigid weather of late, Paris folk don't get any warmer or friendlier in the wintertime either, which is why I stocked up on paperbacks from WH Smith yesterday to hide my face behind during my somber morning metro rides. There's nothing worse than staring at a car-full of grumps in the morning before the first coffee's been poured.

But there is light at the end of the gloomy, snow-filled tunnel, and it comes in the form of les vacances! Gui and I are planning our winter, spring and summer trips right now and just thinking about the possibility of a beach and a tank-top in my near future has got me snubbing the cold. We probably won't be headed anywhere warmer until March, but I think I can handle a few more weeks of hoofing it under cloudy skies if I have a sandy towel and umbrella-topped cocktail to look forward to.

We already know that we'll be going to Texas in June, though. If I could take more than a couple of days paid vacation before then, we'd be going in March, but c'est la vie. Besides the obvious reasons of seeing family and friends, Gui and I will be going back to the States in June to "activate" his immigration visa. He applied for the visa in August last year and after going through the process at the embassy in Paris, he recently received the literal stamp of approval to live and work in the States, which requires him to enter the US within 6 months. We're really excited about moving back, and we're hoping to get a date worked out and plans set in stone once we're there in June. There's still loads to sort out, but thankfully, we have some time before my work contract is up to work out the logisitcs and make some decisions. I do already know, however, that whatever date we decide on moving back, it must be before next winter hits. It's pretty clear that my Texan blood just isn't cut out for this big-city winter!