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 […]
Author Archives: Lisa Anselmo
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 […]
The Book I Was Destined to Write (In Spite of Myself)
In 2014, my life would change forever. I had decided to leave my beloved job, then a day later, received an email from a woman named Kat Brzozowski from St. Martin’s Press/Thomas Dunne Books wanting to discuss turning […]
10 Things I Miss About Paris When I’m in New York
I feel very fortunate to be able to live in two of the greatest cities in the world. But there are some downsides. Here, in no particular order (unless it’s […]
Drying Out in Paris
No, I’m not talking about that kind of drying out. In fact, after the intense month I had in Paris, I think my wine consumption may have ticked up a bit. I’d […]
It Was the Best (Half) Day in Paris—Ever!
This is the first in a series of profiles of expats in France, including noteworthy Parisians, who’ve taken risks to create the life they want. This one features photographer Carla Coulson, an […]
My Paris Apartment—4 Years Later
Four years ago, on St. Patrick’s Day, I found the tiny apartment that would change my life. I’d arrived in Paris for one day, saw six apartments, and picked one […]
The (Re)Renovation
Well, here we go again. And a mere four years after what was supposed to be the one and only. But a leak in my neighbor’s shower—a leak he refused […]
Is Ruin Really the Road to Transformation?
The department store below my New York apartment has been under construction for a year and a half. Seven days a week, from 7:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m., they jack-hammer […]
How Paris Does Christmas
A few weeks ago, a friend posted this on Twitter: “Parisians: even though you’ve seen it in the movies, unless you ONLY hang out in midtown, NY doesn’t really do Christmas […]
Peace in Provence
A fire blazed in a large fireplace at the far end of a grand salon with 10-foot beamed ceilings. Two overstuffed sofas flanked the hearth, begged to be lounged in. […]
Shaken, not Stirred
It’s been one week since terrorists shook up our world in Paris, hitting the heart of the popular district I call home. I’ve tried several times to write, but cohesive […]
Paris in the Greige Zone
A friend was complaining to me about her building’s hallways, specifically, the color they’d chosen to paint the apartment doors and accent trim. “It used to be a beautiful burgundy red. […]
Losing My Bold Soul Sister: Grief & Gratitude in Paris
“I’m so glad we’re friends.” These words were spoken to me by my Paris “sister,” Lisa Taylor Huff. They were followed by one of her long, hard hugs. I’d spent part of the day with […]
Fixing a Leak in Paris Takes Only 18 Months
Well, it’s done. (I think.) The leak that leaked all over my Paris apartment has finally been repaired. I’m pretty sure, anyway. You can’t blame me for feeling dubious. This has been carrying […]
The Re-Entry
For Americans, Labor Day marks the end of summer. In France, it’s similar, with September seeing the return of a flood of vacationers, many of whom have been away much […]
A Nomad in Paris, Part V: What I’ve Learned
Five months in the City of Light have come to an end. These last months were just the latest along this road I’ve taken, one where being uncomfortable and unsure […]
A Nomad in Paris, Part IV: Bright Lights, Loud City
Welcome to the third apartment in my journey as a nomad in Paris. And what a difference a few blocks makes. To catch you up, I’m scrounging around Paris for […]
The Longest Day (of Music) of the Year—Fete de la Musique
It’s past 2:00 a.m. and a 10-piece brass band is still kicking out the jams on Rue Crussol. The hoots and whistles of the crowd they’ve gathered bounce off the buildings in […]
A Nomad in Paris, Part III: A Tiny, Happy Place to Belong
Not caught up? Read Part 1, and Part 2. The last few days are winding down in apartment #2 on this nomadic journey of three Paris apartments in three months. The first […]
Nurturing
The first of my three rental apartments in Paris came with a terrace fitted with three window boxes of geraniums. At least they resembled geraniums. Something like geraniums poked out from dirt so hard […]
On a Beach in Nice—Against My Will
I’m sitting under a flawless sky on a rocky beach in Nice on the French Riviera looking out at a clear aqua sea. The waves are slapping hard against the […]
A Nomad in Paris, Part II: My Patch of Heaven
If you’ve read Part I of my nomadic journey, you know I’ve been kicked out of my apartment by a leak in a neighbor’s flat that has rendered my home unfit. […]
A Nomad in Paris, Part I
Back in August of last year, I wrote about a leak in my building that rendered my little Paris home uninhabitable—mostly because of high levels of dangerous mold. I had […]
The Paris Souvenirs You Should Be Buying
If you want to take home a real piece of Paris, you won’t find it in a souvenir shop that sells tchotchkes from China. And honestly, do you really need […]
How Paris Does Groceries, Part II: Foods that Moo
Here, the second offering in a series about grocery shopping in Paris. This post: Dairy. Grocery stores, you ask? Mais oui, mon ami. What can be found in Paris grocery chains, would only be found […]
Watch My Story on House Hunters International (Again!)
If you missed the debut of my episode of House Hunters International, it’s airing again, October 3rd at 11pm e/p on HGTV. Leopard Films documented the story of my search […]
My (Parttime) Paris Life 