Category Archives: Expat

Springtime in Paris

Posted in American in Paris, City of Paris, Expat, Outdoors, Paris, Parks and gardens, photography, Pretty!, tourist by

Spring time in Paris 2014 I literally wrote “Sprintemps” in the title before correcting it to “Springtime”. I think my franglais has gotten a little out of hand. But that isn’t the subject of this post. Or is it….

If you listen closely in the beginning of Springtime in Paris, you can almost hear a collective sigh.. Aaaaaaaaahhhh! The light comes back and we all feel a release of pressure as we emerge from under the gray skies.

I wanted to illustrate Paris this Spring; not that it needs doing… for Pete’s sake, every blogger and their brother is posting pretty blossoming photos of Paris these days. But really, it cannot be helped when you live here. This isn’t to say that living in Paris is all cherry blossoms and pink sunsets…far from it. Paris also includes in the package : tired legs, aching feet, angry fellow metro passengers, (enjoy this funny parody about an “incident” on the metro), pushy people on buses, pushy people everywhere, umbrella wars when in rains, unreliable transportation, interminable lines at any public service office, insurmountable amounts of paperwork in order to get anything done… oh people, I could go on for at least 100 more of these… but that’s not the purpose of this blog post. Or is it…. Continue reading →

A Makeup Artist’s View on Haute Couture

Posted in beauty, City of Paris, couture, Culture, Expat, mode, Paris, Paris Fashion Week, photography, Pretty!, Style by

I am thrilled to present a Paris Fashion Week haute couture show review from the darling and dashing makeup artist Charles Gillman, a British expat who has been making magic in Paris for three years now. I was lucky to get to work with him in a wedding modeling shoot and on my own Sweet Life in Paris video. And now he has been so kind as to lend his “plume” to Prête-Moi Paris for an article on Defined Moment’s Spring-Summer 2014 couture collection.

And without Further ado!

Post by Charles Gillman

Charles Gillman

Defined moment’s show – 22nd January 2014

This winter I’m a makeup artist in hibernation, I’d spent most days nipping out to see clients and then whipping back home to spend my life by the Nespresso machine, as well as gluing my eyes to my laptop. Yes, Paris is fine-looking all year round, but it seemed easier and more tolerable from behind the window, avoiding the wind whipping, falling over undersized dogs and having disputes with fellow Parisians on the metro about ‘who got to the seat at the outset!’ (all these things are frequent occurrences.)

DM1(1)
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Treize – New Secret Spot in Paris

Posted in American in Paris, bon plan, brunch, Charming, City of Paris, Delicious!, Expat, Foodie, Paris, parisian, Restaurant, Tea, vintage by

Treize Laurel Sanderson was one of the founders of the wildly successful Sugarplum Cake Shop and was the heart, soul, and sunshine of their tea salon… We were all sad when she left the Paris baking/eatery scene, but that didn’t last long! She’s baaaaaaack! And she has created her own little place that is full of her contagious and addictive charm and warm cheerful hospitality, serving up her fantastic recipes for lunch and brunch, and that amazing carrot cake she is so well known for.

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Girls Guide to Paris party

Posted in American in Paris, Blogs, Events, Expat, Fun, Paris, tourist, travel, trendy, Uncategorized by

Gathering a slew of Paris bloggers and personalities for a coupe or two of bubbly at a fashion boutique on the Faubourg Saint Honoré,  seemed like a fabulous idea to me. Sign me up!

MKorsBoutiqueParis

Towards the end of November Girls Guide to Paris threw a cocktail party at the Michael Kors boutique on the Faubourg Saint Honoré to promote their GO Card wich gives you exclusive access and discounts around Paris….what a fabulous place to have a coupe and mingle with other expats, bloggers and fashion people… Continue reading →

Christmas gift shopping with the French

Posted in American in Paris, bon plan, Expat, Funny story, Holiday, Paris, rant, shopping, Uncategorized, Video by

Christmas decorations up already at Le Village Royal #Paris. Kinda early non? In Paris, stores often add extra opening hours to their schedule so everyone can have more hours to spend their cash on their friends and loved ones for the holiday gift giving frenzy. But it never seems to be enough for this conflicted hallmark-holiday-poo-pooing population. I can’t even tell you how many French people have said to me over the past decade that Christmas has been over commercialized by the USA, yet there they are squeezed in the boutiques like sardines trying to find the best deal on presents or the perfect indulgence for giving.
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The Champagne Social!

Posted in American in Paris, Expat, Fun, Luxe, nightlife, Paris by

So thrilled have attended this luxe and sparkling soirée hosted by two fabulous ladies :  New York transplant, Paris expat, the fabulous, the hilarious, the bubbly Lisa of Ella Coquine; and native-New Yorker, author and absolute doll Cara of The Champagne Diet. She is a best selling author and life coach from New York City who encourages women to live their most effervescent lives and celebrate themselves and this was her first trip to Paris! OMG!
What better way to celebrate such a life event than with a champagne party.

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Words & Wine with Juliette Sobanet

Posted in American in Paris, Book Review, Expat, Paris by

image I had a delightful evening recently, over on one of my favorite streets in Paris in the 6th, hosted by Sylvia of Finding Noon, and Lisa of Ella Coquine.  These two fantastic Paris expat bloggers threw a wonderfully chic and informal evening of wine and cheese and a presentation of Juliette Sobanet‘s new novel…presented by the lovely author herself!

Miss Sobanet is a lovely charming young woman who is a French teacher turned novelist, and was seemingly very much at ease explaining her latest work to us; reading from it and then answering all of our questions about her writing process and how she became a novelist.

She told us about self publishing on Amazon, how she uses Pinterest to brainstorm and inspire herself for each character, how she finally left her day job to write full time, and her love for France. Continue reading →

Someone Once Told Me

Posted in American in Paris, Expat, Paris, travel by

Mario and MeMario of the blog/project : Someone Once Told Me, asked me to participate in his endeavor and met me earlier this Summer on the Pont Alexandre III. I offered him a phrase out of my expat life. One that means something to me. Check it out on the link just above.

Mario, He’s a very cool guy with many ideas and LOTS of energy. He’s…um traveling the world, yep, the world, with his concept.

Photo by SOTM - Mario Cacciotolo

Photo by SOTM – Mario Cacciotolo

Watch out! He may head to your city soon and ask you what someone once told you!

This vs. That aka NY vs. Paris

Posted in American in Paris, City of Paris, Expat, New York, Paris by

It is a popular thing to love New York and Paris, these days. With Laduréee planting itself in the big apple, and Parisians gobbling down hamburgers at all the hip new eateries in the city of lights (Scwhartz, Lefty, Chibbie to name a few) the fans of these cities seem, to me, to be more and more mixed. Parisians will gush about how New York is tellement cool, and New Yorks will sell their left arm to move to Paris.

And then there are sites that love to compare the two. The blog Le Manhattan recently tried to sum up the differences in an article titled : The 5 Most Important Differences Between Paris and New York. I thought it was a pretty decent attempt albeit a bit of a generalization when analyzing the differences and which ones are preferable or not. But I applaud the desire to go deeper into this tale of two cities comparison.

I on the other hand, am going to light hearted route!

Since we now live in a culture of images and most people only read a quarter of the words placed on the computer screen in front of them (not a scientific figure, mind you, and if you are reading thus far, then merci!), and most people’s attention span can only last long enough to wait for their bandwidth to calculate their click on the “like” button… (me included) … Well I will just offer up a few fun images to incite more of this nonsensical competition that is all silly and mirthful and all in good fun, between the two cities.

MandM

Serving millions per day

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Wild Weeds in Paris

Posted in bon plan, City of Paris, Culture, Expat, Free, Outdoors, Paris by

The city of Paris often has interesting ideas of new expositions” to offer free to the public on the place in front of the Hôtel de Ville (4th arrdt). This time it is a temporary weed garden, or as they call it un jardin éphémère des herbes folles (crazy grass!)…

P1220170 Continue reading →