From that year, my hunger for TV series was never to be satisfied. I literally absorbed hours and hours of the good, the bad and the ugly.

1994: Before anyone knew about it in France, I brought back Friends from a trip to the United States. I found the videotapes (subtitled) in a store (it wasn’t on TV yet) and I would lend them to my entire office. I have 7 seasons on Friends on VHS; it was taking an entire shelf on my wall.

1999: Sex & The City‘s opening credits was my ringtone. At the time, it was still only a showing on a little cable network in France. No one had heard of Carrie Bradshaw…

2004: With millions of Americans, I get sucked into the mysterious island of LOST, and for six years, watch and re-watch hoping to understand more, to see something I didn’t see before, to verify a theory found on the Internet…

The French have a tendency to look down on other cultures because they are not “old” enough… But there are two things Americans will ALWAYS do better: TV series and rock’n roll. In the United-States, TV series are a form of art. Really. Nothing will ever compare to them. On one of my visit to France while I still lived in Philadelphia, I stumbled upon Law & Order Paris. This spin-off of an American anthology made me cry.

You must be wondering why I’m speaking of American series when the title of that post is about a British one…

After watching hours of what best America has to offer: Battlestar Galactica (4 seasons + some special episodes), Rome (2 seasons and a heartbreak when I found out that would be it), Arrested Development (the most stupidly stopped series in the history of American series…. But they’re making a movie… YAY!) and many more that I am not as proud to list (I’m still a snob); I realized that there was a close challenger to the American domination: Great Britain.

There’s nothing more eclectic than my taste in TV series and there’s nothing I’m attracted to more than british accent… Hello Coupling, hello Torchwood,  and hello my latest dear friend: Downton Abbey. I got on the DA bandwagon a little late compared to some, all brought up by social networks, and giving in the latest trending subject was the best thing I’ve ever done. This show is fascinating and surprisingly humorous; plain FREAKING AWESOME. And it won’t be back until September 2012 at the earliest…

Lately, with Mad Men and True Blood, it is the show I am missing the most when it’s not on. And since I moved back to France, it’s not like the choice is here to keep me waiting…

Dear, French series producers and other network programmers, please contact me. I can help.

I didn’t feel like I was doing anything extravagant… How could she, a working-mother-of-two, wonder how I could fit everything into a single-working-from-home-free-as-a-bird life? I have no obligation to anyone but my clients, the administration (once in a while) and myself. I don’t have anyone depending on me, and someone else is making my meals… How can I NOT fit it all in?

Well, if you noticed, I took a 10-days hiatus from blogging. Why? Because Y. was right to be doubtful. It appears that I’m no wonder woman and that I have to stop putting everything at the same level. Obviously, after taking a short break to visit my parents, I short-circuited. Was I drowning myself into work and all that good stuff to avoid looking at the reality: I have no idea where my life is going? One can think so. I don’t know. All I know is that if I want to keep my sanity and keep everyone happy: clients, friends, family… I’m going to have to do some serious prioritization.

Enters “the bucket theory”. It’s a classic from time management training and it’s time for me to use it. That’s how it goes: how do you fit big rocks, stones, sand and water in a bucket? You only can if you start from the bigger items. Fill your bucket with water first and you won’t be able to add anything else to it!

Same thing goes with my days; putting my bucket together would look like:

1. The Rocks:
Weekdays: my clients. Whether they’re French or American; whether it’s about working on projects or working on administrative stuff to get the business going, or even attending networking events. This is my #1 priority.
Weekends: my friends and family. Time with others is always time well spent.

2. The Stones:
Me, myself and I: doing the things that I like and the things that I need. Feeding my creative side by taking time for reading, writing, going to the movies or seeing an exhibit; taking care of my body by not skipping the gym – 10K here I come!

3. The Sand:
The not-so-fun stuff that needs to get done: grocery shopping, cleaning the house, running errands, doing all this administrative craziness…

4. The Water:
The fillers. Everything else.

If I can stick to that plan, I should be in good shape, right?

How do you manage your time? What’s in your bucket?

An opportunity to borrow my mother’s cute Fiat 500 and retrace Coco Chanel‘s (whose biography I am currently reading) steps in Roquebrune Cap Martin where she owned a vacation house. It was a beautiful sunny day in an amazingly inspiring country side. En images…

So, from totally whimsical to absolutely serious, here is in a complete lack of order what is essential to me…

Freedom: The ultimate luxury. Freedom to move, freedom to love, freedom of speech – there is no flavor of freedom that I don’t find essential.

My iPad: Because it replaced my books, my magazines, my CD & DVD collection, my planner, my notebook… Because it keeps me organized, alerts me when something needs to be done, entertains me when I travel, allows me to chat with my friends around the globe or to splurge on a new pair of shoes, keeps me connected with my social networks and let’s me work remotely without weighting a ton.

My iPhone: See iPad. Add make phone calls and tells me how to get where I need to go.

My nail polish collection.

Sunshine: Since I moved back to France I saw very little of it. It has been cold, rainy, windy… A perfect November weather. I am digging deep into my willpower savings not to get depressed. That’s when I realized how much sunshine is important to me.

Hugs: French people don’t hug. It’s sad.

My family: I see a lot of sadness around me lately and it reminds me how much I cherish my family and how important it is to give them my time.

A French Press: There’s no better coffee in the morning.

Yoga.

Chanel #5.

Jazz music: In the large sense of the term. There’s a really great radio station around here, Frequence Jazz; it reconciled me with listening to the radio.

Peanut Butter: But of course, if you know me, you know that.

Cats: Hearing them purring under your caress is the best and most relaxing feeling in the world. You were wondering about that photo, weren’t you?

Black patent leather stilettos: Because they make pretty much anything look sexy.

The Internet: Without it, we wouldn’t be here, chatting, would we?

I’m sure I forgot things here and there…

What are your life essentials?

There are wisteria bushes in my grandmother’s garden. I wish I had taken the time to stop and smell them when I first arrived.

But I didn’t.

Because, since I arrived, most of my time here, it rained. So I run in and out of the car, pass the wisteria, look at it and think: next time I’ll take the time. Next time I’ll stop.

How late will that wisteria be in bloom? It’s already starting to crumble.

How long will it rain? It seems like it will never end.

So, a couple of days ago, as I was coming back from who-knows-where, running out of the car, in between storms, I got closer to the wisteria, took a picture and inhaled deeply.

All I could smell was wet grass, no soft and velvety wisteria fragrance. I was too late.

I don’t know if the wisteria will bloom again (I vaguely remember it as being a summer flower) and if I’ll get a second chance. But if I do, I promise I won’t miss my second chance. Life does not give them that easily so it’s important to seize them, whether it’s something as light as smelling the wisteria, or as scary and challenging as starting over.

And then there are the second chances that you wait for all your life, the ones that might never come. For all those ones that you might not get, seize the ones you do.

According to my grandmother:

Breakfast should be sweet, and it should be light. Hers: a coffee and a little brioche; mine: eggs & veggie omelets. She cringes.

Lunch should have at least an appetizer and an entrée. Hers: salad + meat or fish + vegetables + cheese and/or fruit (on a light day). Mine: salad or soup and 1/2 sandwich. She cringes.

Soup at lunch is a blaspheme. Soup is made to be eaten at dinner.

Doors are made to be closed. I just can’t seem to remember that rule.

The washing-machine is HER territory. If I want to do my laundry, I need to ask her first how to use it.

Wet clothes go on the drying rack a certain way. In a certain order. With a certain distance between them.

Washing dishes (by hand, we don’t have a dishwasher) is and art. I’m not allowing her in the room if I do it (when I find a way to sneak in during her nap time and do it) because she’s getting palpitations seeing how I do it.

Vegetables are made to be cooked “au gratin”. I bought microwavable steamed veggies one day and when she realized they were steamed, she ended-up putting them back in the freezer and making a zucchini gratin instead.

TV is made to be watched 2 networks at a time, skipping at each commercial break. Of course, there’s a schedule (and Monday’s Cold Case always make me home sick but I can’t tell her that).

Now, there’s one habit where we ‘re getting along just fine: tea time! We moved it from the 5:00 p.m. traditional British way to our own 4:30ish p.m. It give me a little break from writing/answering emails/doing geeky stuff on the computer and it breaks her afternoon. It’s our time to chat (no TV games to watch), to reconnect and to recharge our batteries. It’s the time  where we’re not terribly matched roommates but we’re back to a loving grandmother/granddaughter relationship. And it’s for those moments that I am glad I made the decision to come back.

• It all begins
• Week 1
• Week 2

Many developments in week 3… Which makes me want to say to all the girls (and guys) out there, when you try online dating, give it a little time. The first week is slow, the second week is overwhelming, it’s the third week you start to find your marks and smooth sail. This week, I smooth sailed real good! I even went on my first official date. But I’ll get back to that…

I’m really starting to become interested to know some of the guys better. The whole kicking some out at the end of the week is now more of a detail and the choice was not difficult to make this week.

So, what happened?

Remember how I spent most of my week 2 talking to Gran? At the end of the week, we discussed moving the conversation to Skype (chatting)… We tried. We missed each other a couple of times. I use Skype mostly for work and didn’t have it open all the time. So, I kept it open for him to catch me when I was in front of my screen, but that wasn’t enough. It fizzled. I didn’t write him off because I still thought he was a nice guy, and I give him the benefit of the doubt: maybe he found a job and suddenly became busy.

In the meantime, I made some new contacts. First was Stef, whom quickly became a strong contender, and even got to the phone conversation level. It’s a big step for me: I HATE the phone. But he was able to help me relax and the chat was mostly fluid. Turns out we often hang out at the same bar. We agreed to stay in touch via text-messages. Which we did. Once. Since that (Thursday), silence. Again, not too worried about it. I might very well meet him out one night randomly.

Then was Art, whom actually got to first date, yesterday. I was a little worried, and the fact that he has four kids scares me a little… Several times, I felt like backing out and inventing any plausible excuse. But that would have been unfair to him. He has been the most straightforward and ballsy and for that I give him a lot of credit. The date was actually charming. We went for coffee at the Museum of Art (his choice – points here), he was dressed to the T. (again, points), and the conversation was easy. I gave him one hour (another one of my rules: always make other plans, in case the date is really bad, or really good), and I would be willing to give him more. Did I bore him to death with my rant on “I don’t like that everything is closed on Sunday in France”? Probably… I have some progress to make on the first date level as well… Hopefully, practice will make perfect…

Finally, to be noted is Olivier, whom I have been exchanging many emails with… This one is a writer! Several emails every day… but he’s fun, and guess what, he can dance! Who would have guessed I’d find someone with some sort of ballroom dancing past (not mentioned on his profile).

In the end, I made a big cut with 4 out: Cal, who has met someone; Scuba, Phil and Aldo who didn’t seem interested in me whatsoever. Oh well…

Still in the run are:

1. loic, 37 years old
2. art, 37 years old
3. virgil, 37 years old
4. phoenix, 42 years old
5. ted, 36 years old
6. gran, 34 years old
7. stef, 38 years old
8. elf, 36 years old
9. pierre, 37 years old
10. james, 42 years old
11. horus, 40 years old
12. olivier, 39 years old

Soft cut at the end of the week, only one of them will fall…

"Zip" - Allen Bentley

Bridgette Mayer is a girl according to my heart: strong, passionate, creative… We met several years ago when I fell in love with the art of Allen Bentley. How could I resist those beautiful paintings, full of sensuality, that represented dancers? When I first saw them I knew, I had to have one. I started with the beginner-art-buyer size… something not much bigger than my iPhone. It was all I could afford then and it was like a little treasure… A year later (and a better job stability in a decently paying company), I splurged. I bought the big-girl painting… the type you need A wall to showcase; and ever since, I never looked at it with an ounce of regret. It brightens up my days, puts a smile on my face and give me a sense of pride for owning something so beautiful.

Because I’m fascinated with Bridgette’s career and because I know fine art is not something anyone would splurge on that easily, I asked the gallery owner a few questions that I wanted to share with you.

Did you always want to work in art?
As a young girl I was very creative and was always making things and collecting things. When I got to college luckily my parents made me get a job to pay for books and my expenses. As an Art History major at Bucknell I decided to get a job in the art gallery at the University and fell in love with the work.

Tell me what influences you when you pick a new artist for your gallery?
My taste and intuition influence me when I pick a new artist. If I feel like I have found an incredibly talented and hot artist I will sign them on. Sometimes I watch artists for a few years to see how their work and talent will develop and if it will develop. If it does I usually sign them on.

How did it feel when you bought your first piece of art?
I bought my first piece of “real” grownup art during the first exhibition I curated in my gallery.

What was it?
It was an amazing collage by Rebecca Rutstein. I just had to have it and I had anxiety that someone else was going to buy it first. I realized, hey wait, this is my gallery and I can buy it first!! Since then I have bought many incredible works by the artists I represent and I am very proud of my collection. I plan on passing it on to my family and already have started that as I am addicted to collecting and I am running out of room!

What would you recommend to someone who is thinking about buying their first artwork?
Go for it but first make sure you buy from a respected gallery that has been open for a few years. Ask around and see what people think about the gallery program. Have the art dealer tell you why they represent the artist you are thinking about buying.

Which artist would you love to see on your home walls?
Jean Michel Basquiat

3 words:
Tea of coffee? Coffee!
I collect… The best contemporary art!
Favorite city? Paris

If those words triggered any questions, feel free to put them in the comment section and I’ll make sure to ask Bridgette. And to browse through wonderful art check Bridgette Mayer Gallery’s website.