Air Balloons

Wedding mania has begun! We've set the date: Andy and I are getting hitched in September. Laissez les bons temps roulez!

These dreamy engagement photos from Snippet & Ink make my heart flutter. They remind me that for years now I have wanted to go to the Great Mississippi River Balloon Race in Natchez. Have any of you ever been?

All photos by Nack Photography.

meandering

Source: Geological Investigation of the Alluvial Valley of the Lower Mississippi River, 1944

Wendell Berry

"A healthy culture is a communal order of memory, insight, value, work, conviviality, reverence, aspiration.  It reveals the human necessities and the human limits.  It clarifies our inescapable bonds to the earth and to each other."

--Wendell Berry, The Unsettling of America

la valse d'Emilie

I went on a long walk yesterday, and these are some of the things I saw.  In the little court-metrage I made (below) are parts of Paris all within a short, thirty minutes walking distance from my apartment.  The music is Yann Tiersen's "La Noyee" from one of my favorite movies, Amelie (see here).  Walking around with my camera rolling nonstop, I felt like Jean Luc Goddard in his scene on the Champs Elysees in Breathless (see here and here).


On this walk, I start at my apartment, go through my family's flat, down rue de Passy, then rue Benjamin Franklin to the Trocadero, the Eiffel Tower, then avenue Kleber to the Arc de Triomphe, with a glimpse of the Champs Elysees somewhere in there.  Enjoy!

le bon pain, le bon vin, la bonne vie

Whewwweeee has it been a while since I’ve written on this thing.  I’m glad to be back, though, and especially to be writing from France.  Paris, France.  Wow.  It still hasn’t gotten old saying, “I live in Paris.”  I live in Paris.

Blinkinfig has it right: In Paris, France it’s impossible to be lost; that implies being unhappy when you find yourself not where you planned.

Generally, I don’t think one can be unhappy anywhere in Paris.  Each quartier has a distinct personality.  Here in the 16eme, there is such small-town charm…walking around my neighborhood, it doesn’t even feel like I’m living in Paris; that is, until I turn a corner and find a magnificent view of the Eiffel tower.  I’m a bout de souffle every time I unexpectedly catch a glimpse of it.

For now, here are a few initial observations:

1.  Not only can you tell a good baguette by the way it sounds, a good baguette can forecast the weather.  No lie.  It’s like magic.  How neat is that?! (see YouTube: Neature Walks...)

2.  Color-blocking is really “in” this fall.  In particular, the French are quite into bright blue pants like this:

photo courtesy of Wendy's Lookbook

3.  If there were a Real Housewives of Paris, it would be in my neighborhood.  Picking up the kids after school is basically like standing in a sea of Hermes Birkin bags.

4.  The best bottle of wine I’ve had so far was 2€.

5.  There are RAVES in the catacombs of Notre Dame. (!!!!!!!!)

I'm obviously still on my honeymoon with Paris.  As the weeks go by, it's really going to settle in how far I am from my loved ones, so I really do hope this serves as a means to communicate with everyone.  Remember, I love emails and letters and skyping!!

save water, drink champagne

'nuff said.

ACHICALIVING

sister

Went to New Orleans for the weekend with sister.  Isn't she a beauty?

field notes: mississippi

The other day I went to Square Books to restock on my Moleskin journals, but instead my eye caught these bright Mississippi Field Note journals.  They come in a pack of three and provide a plethora of Mississippi facts on the back cover.  I really like the vintage/boyscout look of them.  

So, I bought a pack (of 3) for myself, and then I decided to buy another pack as a gift for the eldest son of the family with whom I will be living as a fille au pair next year.  I'm really proud of this gift because it's really hard to find gifts for 11 year-old boys!

I still need to find a gift for the little girl (age 7) and boy (age 4).  Ideally I'd like to give them a little piece of Mississippi (like these notebooks).  Any ideas?

5 wishes

So, it's summertime and I've had a lot of free time to......make lists of things I want.  Here we go:

1.  Isn't this Tangerine Kaftan from Topshop lovely?  I really want it.

2.  Big and Gold.  That's all.  Kenneth Jay Lane hammered gold necklace from Neiman Marcus.

3.  This is more of a fall item, but I am looking forward to having a pair of Isabel Marant Dicker Boots for the fall in Paris.

4.  This has been and will continue to be on my list for a long time unless someone decides to buy it for me or I inherit a lot of money from a long-lost relative.  One day I will own a Chanel Quilted Lambskin handbag.

5.  I recently bought my first bold red lipstick from Amy Head.  As lovely as it is, I'm ready to upgrade to this Chanel #64, "Enthousiast."

every pretty thing

A friend of mine from high school has a blog and I've become obsessed with her handiwork!  You can check out her pretty things on her blog, Every Pretty Thing, as well as her etsy shop, here.  I love these floral pieces:

real food

In my last post I mentioned that I will be reading Real Food: What to Eat and Why by Nina Planck this summer.  I typically eat healthy meals, but as a college student my hectic schedule often pushed healthy recipes out the door.  Now that I am a graduate (it still hasn't sunk in...), my goal is to re-inspire my menus with healthy and wholesome foods.

My friend Emily at Snacks and Desserts (which you should check out) has been a great inspiration.  This week I tried her latest recipe, baked egg in tomato cup, and it was delicious.  You can check out her recipe here.  Below are pictures I took while making it.  Basically, as it sounds, it is an egg in a tomato cup, with parmesan and a little slice of butter on top, then salt and pepper.  Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes based on how firm you want the yolk to be. 

 I paired it with a quinoa salad I put together using cooked quinoa (obviously), green onions, kidney beans, black beans, whole kernel corn, and cilantro.  I made a sauce with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, minced garlic, ground cumin, chili powder, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.  Yum.

summer reading

Summer reading has begun and I am so excited I decided to share my list with y'all.  If you have any recommendations for me to add to the list, do let me know!  I will have lots of down time to read this summer (I'm smiling really big right now :)  What's on your summer reading list?

I started this summer with Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Love in the Time of Cholera.  I have been wanting to read this one for a while.  I'm about half-way through and am LOVING it.  This is one of those books where after every single sentence I have to stop and reflect on the beauty of that sentence.  I read One Hundred Years of Solitude a few years ago, and in high school I translated several of Marquez's short stories from Spanish to English.  I think it's safe to say he is one of my favorite authors.  Ever.

Next on my list to read is my signed edition of Yann Martel's newest, Beatrice and Virgil.  I really enjoyed Life of Pi, so I am looking forward to this one.

 Who doesn't like Fitzgerald, seriously?  Last summer I read This Side of Paradise and I liked it so much more than I thought I would.  And of course, there is The Great Gatsby...I still haven't talked to a single person who didn't like that one.  So, this summer I will read The Beautiful and the Damned.  I doubt I will be disappointed.

 C. S. Lewis. Is. My. Favorite.  I don't want to take up a ton of space listing everything of his that I have read, but let's just say that I've read a lot.  Can't wait to read The Great Divorce.  It has been on my list for a while.  Aslan is on the move.  I get chills everytime I think of that line (please tell me other Narnians are reading this??)

 I don't think I would have picked this book had I not heard amazing things about it for years.  Kite Runner, please don't let me down.  You have a reputation to maintain.

 Real Food by Nina Planck isn't fiction.  In fact, it's very real.  Now that I am not a college student and have more time to cook meals, I am looking forward to reinvigorating my diet.  Although I already eat pretty healthily, I am looking forward to committing myself completely to non-processed foods.  So, this book is going to help get me started.

 Lastly, I am from Oxford, Ms.  I have grown up playing at William Faulkner's home, Rowan Oak.  Yet, I have only read a single novel of his (As I Lay Dying...which is incredible.  My mother is a fish.)  I am ashamed that I haven't read more, especially considering how much I loved reading As I Lay Dying.

best of cannes 2011

When it comes to fashion, Angelina Jolie can do no wrong.  Here she is in Salvatore Ferragamo.

Anja Rubik: stunning and mysterious.

Astrid Berges-Frisbey looking like a modern porcelain doll.  I love this look.

Here she is again...she really wears off-whites well.

Bianca Balti:

Bianca Balti again.  Not only do I love this dress, I LOVE the green necklace she is wearing.

Karolina Kurkova: 

Uma Thurman.  Black Lace.  'Nuff said.

Diane Kruger in Calvin Klein:

All photos from Harper's BAZAAR

Did any of you keep up with the fashion at this year's Cannes Festival?

GT

my.whole.body.hurts.from.dancing.so.hard.

Last night Girl Talk (my favorite) came to the Lyric and everybody danced his or her heart out!  This was my second time to see him AND, I'm proud to say, the second time I danced on stage with him.

Photos courtesy of Girl Talk

keira knightley

Keira Knightley is stunning with this hairstyle.  This is definitely a look that was taking hold when I lived in Angers two years ago (see here)...finally made its way to the states!  A good thing, because I really like it, even if I'll never be brave enough to pull it off myself :)

What is this style called anyway?  A relaxed bob?

Photos from the Vogue Diaries

paris totes

Okay, maybe I'm obsessing way too much, but I absolutely cannot wait to be in Paris!  Found these cute totes at Kasiadietz and had to share!  I especially love the rive droite et gauche totes.  They should make a 75116 postal code tote for when I arrive.  Elite.