Lockdown in Paris: Day 2
Catastrophist \ kə-ˈta-strə-fist \ noun One who imagines the worst-case scenario as something so completely horrific that it borders on the absurd. A catastrophist usually starts by asking, “Yeah, but […]
Tag Archives: Paris
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
My (Parttime) Paris Life 