A 20/20 View of the New You
Well, here we are in 2020. The turn of the year is often a time of reflection and contemplation. From this vantage point, we have a crystal-clear view, one only […]
Author Archives: Lisa Anselmo
Janet Hulstrand on Demystifying the French
This article is part of my series, “Meet the Expats.” This time we’re talking to author, editor, and writing coach Janet Hulstrand, who lives in Essoyes, a village in Champagne. […]
The Big Spring Clean Chez Moi (& Chez Toi)
A few days ago, I started to tidy up my Paris place to prepare for a visit from some New York friends. My apartment is only 258 square feet (24 […]
10 French Words that are Now Part of My Everyday English
They said it would happen but I didn’t believe them. Back when I was just visiting Paris, I’d heard some expat friends tossing random French words into their English conversation […]
This is YOUR Year (If You Want it to Be)
“Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death!” Auntie Mame pronounces. “Live!” she urges her mousy assistant, Agnes Gooch. I’ve seen the film Auntie Mame about […]
Finding the Christmas Spirit in an Uneasy Paris
This holiday season in Paris was marred by weekly citywide violence that unfortunately became a regular part of the gilets jaunes (yellow vests) protests. To guard against further vandalism and […]
Paris, Four Years After Those First Bold Steps
Today in Paris, many shops were closed. The streets were nearly empty. But this wasn’t just because of the August vacations, where everyone leaves for weeks at a time; this […]
Dinner in the Park with 17,000 of My Closest Friends
I just had dinner in the park. With 17,000 of my closest friends. Okay, so the park was the Esplanade des Invalides near the Eiffel Tower. And the dinner was […]
It’s Always No Before It’s Yes
I was having lunch with a friend in a café in the 3rd arrondissement, and she wanted a fruit salad but it wasn’t on the menu. Still, we were regulars […]
Keeping House (In French)
This was originally written for my memoir, My (Part-Time) Paris Life: How Running Away Brought Me Home, published by Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin’s Press, but didn’t make the final edit for reasons of story flow. In this […]
5 Parisian (& French) Habits to Adopt This Year
Living in France has expanded my life—and my thinking. And while, for this American in Paris, there are plenty of causes for eye rolling, like the bureaucracy and constant strikes, […]
Christmas (Shopping) in Two Cities
This year, thanks to my schedule, I’m getting a dose of the holidays in both Paris and New York. I spent most of December in Paris, watched the holidays unfold: […]
The Little Book that Could: Celebrating Success with You
♥ Check out a special gift-with-purchase offer at the bottom of this post ♥ This week marks the anniversary of the launch of my memoir, My (Part-Time) Paris Life: How […]
Paris is Closed for Vacation
“Is anyone left in Paris?” I wrote on Facebook. “I’m so bored I could cry.” Bored in Paris you say? Well, yeah. It’s possible. Particularly, when it’s August, and all […]
Resistance is Futile: On Giving in to Greatness
I’m back in Paris after Part I of my U.S. book tour. It’s been an incredible time on the road, something I could have never imagined for myself three years […]
For Ma
As another Mother’s Day passes, I pause to think of my absent mother, or Ma as I call her in my memoir, My (Part-Time) Paris Life. We lost her in early February 2011 […]
Samantha Verant on Making a French Family
Welcome to the second post in “Meet the Expats,” my series promoting other undaunted foreigners who have chosen to call France home, and brave expat life. Author Samantha Vérant (Seven […]
Five Years On
Five years ago today, I found the apartment that would become the vehicle for my life change. This is the first year I will be in the apartment to mark this […]
On Letting Go
As I write this my heart is lead. I am heavy with the weight of attachment. I wrapped my life around an idea, threw myself headlong into something destined to end […]
New Year, New Beginning
Every January 1st, we promise ourselves a better life. This year will be different, we say. We stretch, we dream, we hope. But usually, around March, we shrink back into our old shapes, […]
In Paris, Christmas with a Little Cheese
“Don’t go to the Christmas village near Champs-Elysées!” my friend Fabien chided me in a message. “It’s so contre-facons, so fake!” Well, yeah. Sure. It’s totally cheesy. That’s the whole […]
Celebrating My Book Launch—Carrie Bradshaw Style
After two years of writing and planning, launch week for my book, My (Part-Time) Paris Life, was upon me. And that meant it was party time! I had visions of […]
It’s Here: My (Part-Time) Paris Life, The Memoir
Well, it’s here. After two long years of hard work, my story has been released to the world. [Gulp!] Inside this pretty cover design by Kerri Resnick at St. Martin’s Press, […]
My Paris Memoir is Nearly Here! (Yikes!)
A box arrived from my publisher, Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin’s Press. It contained copies of my book, My (Part-Time) Paris Life: How Running Away Brought Me Home. This is really happening. […]
The Surprising Story Behind My Book’s Cover Image
Many people have asked me if I designed the cover of my upcoming book because, well, I’m a creative director and that makes sense. I didn’t. My book jacket was designed by […]
Life Lessons from the Water Fairy
I honestly don’t know how to tell you this, but, well…I sprung a leak in my apartment. I hear you all, the collective thwack! of your jaws hitting your tables. “What?” you’re […]
Coping in a World of Fear
Paris, Brussels, Orlando, Baghdad, Nice. The Donald is a Nazi! Hillary is a criminal! Police shootings, mass shootings, NRA, RNC, GMOs, Brexit, ISIS—ahhhhh! Stop the world, I wanna get off. I was finally finding center after my mother’s […]
Coming Home (Again)
Nearly two years after I was ousted from my little Paris apartment by destruction and mold thanks to a leak from the upstairs neighbor that took 18 months to fix, my luggage and I moved back […]
The Saga of My New Little Paris Kitchen
If you’re following along, you know I’ve been planning a kitchen update chez moi since 2013. But between the rising exchange rate at the time followed by a leak that made […]
(Re)Renovation Part II: The Healing Begins
In early 2014, signs of a leak began to distort the wall in my entryway. It would take nearly two years and an order from the French courts before that leak […]
