The Language Barrier

Here's something I have to constantly remind myself of here in France:  I am a smart person. Really!  I swear.  I used to get As and stuff.  It's pretty incredible how quickly your confidence can deteriorate when you're living in a place where you can barely communicate.  I feel like an idiot at least 5 times a day.  Like yesterday, it was insanely hot and all I wanted was a nice glass of lemonade.  So while...

And We’re Back!

The hiatus is over!  The Hub and I had an amazing time back in California and I'm excited to tell you all about our adventures.  I'm lost in a sea of jetlag, unpacking, cleaning the house and stocking back up on groceries, but I didn't want to keep you all waiting too long.  Here are some sneak peeks of our week: The best things about being back in the U.S. was breathing some fresh...

Hipsta-Weekend

I made it through my first of two weekends here without The Hub.  It rained and rained and rained.  I got a few things done around the house, started Life, watched LMN (don't judge), met up with friends for dinner and drinks, and had a lot of fun playing with my new iPhone 4. Especially the Hipstamatic app which, as a former HTC Incredible customer, I've always been very jealous of.  Of course I snapped pics of...

Busy Day, Busy Bed Beard

I should start off this post by telling you all that I woke up at 6am today and immediately spent the next 10 hours enduring some very frustrating French bureaucracy.  So suffice it to say,  I'm pretty tired and cranky right now. Since Michael leaves for another long trip to L.A. again tomorrow (wah!!) we really needed to begin the process of getting our carte de séjour, or French residency card, before our...

Just Like Home

Remember yesterday when I told you that the weather felt almost San Francisco-ish?  Well, scratch the "ish."   Today has been a full blown San Francisco day with temps in the low 60s and a light, steady rainfall since late last night - I'm loving it!  I busted out my rainboots and took a walk to market to buy ingredients for beef stew. The rain brought out all the snails which was really...

Hump Day: A Year in Provence

I'm happy to tell you that the last few days here have been much cooler than last week.  Almost San Francisco-y (awww!) so we feel right at home.  It's been the perfect weather to snuggle up on the couch with a great bottle of red wine, which has been a nice change from our rosés. Before we left for France, my friend Leslie gave me a copy of a book she read right before she moved to France:  A Year in...

An Eggy, Woody, Winey Weekend

Things we did this weekend: Finished unpacking (we are so close to being done!) Set up our music station (currently listening to some Parliament as I type) Cleaned our balcony windows after getting egged. (are we still in middle school?) Saw Minuit à Paris in VO (super cute and we loved, but as far as modern day Woody Allen, I prefer Melinda and Melinda or Vicky Cristina Barcelona) Drank way...

French Bed Beard: Fig’s Diary

Hi Everyone! Are you as happy as I am that it's Friday?  I know I should probably tell you all about how I'm adjusting to my new home.  I should tell you how much I love my terrace and windows and blah, blah, blah.  That is all true, but I have other things on my mind.  You see, I've met someone. Her name is Teti and she's young, beautiful and Italian.  Her father is a surgeon and her mother...

The Hot Housewife

Oooohhhweee it's HOT here in the south of France.  For the entire last week the temperatures have been in the 90s, so each time I step outside, the blazing sun beats down on my bare shoulders causing me to sweat immediately.  It's the kind of heat I could only dream about in San Francisco and the fact that already happening in May makes me a little bit nervous for the summer.   We do not have air conditioning in...

Hump Day: Date Night

With the move about halfway to completion, I really felt that last night was time for a night off.  Everything's gone pretty smoothly (with the exception of a small snafu in the bed building process) but I was reaching my breaking point of unpacking and building.  Disorganization makes me absolutely crazy.  Even crazier than I already am.  When I was in college, I couldn't study in my room unless it was neat and...