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Posts Tagged ‘French’

  1. Life essentials

    April 25, 2012 by Audrey

    I am a big fan of Joy The Baker. Not only I can’t wait to have a kitchen to try her recipes, but I also thoroughly enjoy reading her quirky personal posts. One of them, Life Essentials, lists a few (ahem) things that, to her, are essentials. A list… of course, my heart skipped beat and it inspired me to make one of my own.

    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?

    Category Lifestyle | Tags: ,,,,,, | 2 Comments

  2. First impressions

    April 1, 2012 by Audrey

    Sunday morning wandering at an Old Car show

    It’s Sunday afternoon, here in Lyon. The sun is shining. I’m comfortably set-up on my (king size) bed, on the second floor of my grandmother’s house… I’m officially moved back. I sometimes have to say it out loud because it still hasn’t completely sunk in…

    The flight to Lyon (via London) was a breeze. British Airways is a pretty good company to flight. When they don’t lose your luggage… Which this time, they didn’t. Couldn’t believe how easy it was to go through customs once in Lyon. The immigration agent barely looked at my passport and there was NO ONE inspecting luggage. It took me about 10 minutes from getting off the plane to meeting up with my uncle. What a change from PHL. France gets points.

    My first order of business was to get my cell-phone set-up and internet installed at my grandmother’s. There, I ended-up being able to exchange my iPhone 4S for a brand new iPhone 4S (the US one was locked), and get a bunch of goodies with it. New phone cost: $0. Total monthly bill for cable TV + landline (with pretty much all possible calls included) + Internet WiFi + cell phone (lots of call time, unlimited text, unlimited internet): $110 (half of what I paid if you add Comcast & AT&T). France gets points.

    Saturday night, I was invited for a dinner party at a friend’s house: home-made pizza, wine, and conversations on the value of symbolism. Total cost $17 for the bottle of St Joseph I brought. Excellent time catching up with friends, and brain stimulating conversations. France gets points.

    Now, I had to go to my grandmother’s car insurance to get registered on her car insurance (until I get my own)… We were missing a paper and I suggested that I could email it. The girl’s response left me speechless: “We don’t have email here.” U.S. gets points.

    Category Lifestyle | Tags: ,,, | 2 Comments

  3. Halloween at Tiffany’s

    November 1, 2011 by Audrey

    Just like every year, come September, the question on my mind is what will I be this year for Halloween? Just like every year the headache last probably until October 15th. I hate last minute decisions on costumes.

    A good costume, in my opinion, should reflect something personal; have a story beyond the disguise. I have had some good costumes over my years in the U.S.

    I was a cowgirl (American archetype) when my American friend, A., was a French girl (with stripe t-shirt, beret, baguette, the whole 9-yards).

    I was “Frenchy”, the Grease character.

    I was the Little Red Riding Hood, with my 6’4 student as the Big Bad Wolf.

    I was Magenta, as a tribute to one of my favorite movie: The Rocky Horror Picture Show; and as another play around the French theme (French maid outfit).

    This year, my first idea was to be Colette, the French flight attendant on the new ABC series Pan Am. I love the 1960ies style. That was not thinking as original as I thought… Before I could figure something out, all the flight attendants were gone. And when I say “costume”, I really mean minimal piece of clothing that shows more flesh than fabric. I would have really loved to dig up a vintage blue suit but that didn’t happen.

    After spending a Sunday afternoon researching possible Halloween costumes and spending time at Masquerade, I could not bring myself to wear any of those pre-packaged slutty outfits. Just couldn’t.

    So I raid the little girl aisle for a tiara, picked up a couple sets of white beads, long black gloves and a cigarette holder from the 1920ies aisle and grab a paper cup from my favorite coffee shop… And there we go! A tribute from Audrey to Audrey. Not too bad, right?

    Category Lifestyle | Tags: ,, | 1 Comment