The other night, the boyfriend and I came upon a documentary about a group of French high schoolers who were selected to put on a performance of "Romeo and Juliet" in one of Paris' most prestigious theaters.

Hearing the play performed in French, I realized once again how much… Read full post »

At 4:15am on Wednesday, March 14, I woke up breathing hard, launched from dreams into a panic attack.

This isn’t particularly unusual for me.  But unlike the normal incomprehensible anxiety, this time the attack’s cause was very clear.  “You’ll be all right,”… Read full post »

In 1930, Josephine Baker, one of my heroes, stepped onstage and sang, “J’ai deux amours, mon pays et Paris.” (“I have two loves: my country and Paris.”)  Until then, Parisians knew American and resident performer Baker exclusively for her exotic looks/… Read full post »

As some of you know, the boyfriend is very involved in Napoleonic battle reconstitutions.  This past weekend, he and his fellow reenactors made their annual trek to Craonne, site of a battle in 1814 (and also nearly one hundred years later, during World War I).

I'm happy to say that, due… Read full post »

Usually when my sister sends me an email, it’s a link to something she thought was funny, or a picture of one her pets wearing some kind of costume.  Nothing prepared me for the troubling message I got yesterday. 

In the subject line, I read “Caboodle Ranch”.  … Read full post »

Yesterday, OSer Candace (aka Femme Forte) posted this fun OC.  It reminds me of the Proust Questionnaire, which I did this summer, but few of the questions are the same.  So, I decided to go for it. If you haven't yet, why not join in the fun?: 

1. Your main trait:&nbs/… Read full post »

A few hours ago, the boyfriend came in from the kitchen and said, "There's a pigeon dying on our windowsill."

Now, as some of you might know, I kind of have a thing for pigeons. I know they're not the cleanest of animals, but I love watching them, and I think birds… Read full post »

Those of you lucky enough to catch the Oscars last night (here in France they were only aired on a pay cable channel that we don’t have…sigh….) probably saw the funny, handsome Frenchman Jean Dujardin win Best Actor for his role in The Artist.

As he accepted his award, Dujardin&r… Read full post »

Hi guys,

After a good amount of planning and deliberation, I am coming to the NY area in mid- to late March, sans the boyfriend (for budget and cat-watching reasons).

While I'm there, I would LOVE to meet up with those of you who live in or near New… Read full post »

There had been whispers about it for decades, usually among feminists, occasionally echoed by female politicians.  This fall, the issue came into the spotlight again, touted by women’s rights organizations Les Chiennes de Garde (Guard Bitches) and Osez le féminisme (Dare Feminism),… Read full post »

I sit up as the alarm goes off.  In front of me is the window, its curtains drawn back.

He stirs beside me.  "It's snowing outside," I say.

It rarely snows in Paris, and in the time I've been here, it's never snowed like this.  The flakes fall soft and dense… Read full post »

For Christmas this year, my in-laws gave me a book called Dans les fôrets de Sibérie (In the Forests of Siberia) by Sylvain Tesson.  While they may have chosen it because it won the 2011 Prix Medicis Essai, and is a well-written and enjoyable book, I couldn’t help but think it… Read full post »