by napacalypse
Book Club Formulaic comedy about 4 older women (divorced, widowed, never married, and married) trying to get their groove back after reading the “Fifty Shades” trilogy. Jane Fonda’s character Vivian, out of all the stereotypes, is the most tiresome. Vivian is a successful businesswoman who has stayed as sharp in business as her plastic surgeon’s scalpel, and feasts upon an array of one night-stands … Read More New movies and a glass
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This spring has been cold and heart-numbingly rainy in the DMV–so many spring Lacrosse and field hockey games spent huddled in blankets and/or under umbrellas–that a glorious Memorial Day weekend seemed to pop out of nowhere. Doesn’t matter, I’m still ready—I think I’m more excited about school almost being over than the kids. I do dread the multitude of texts that I’ll get for … Read More Hello, summer! Or as we call it, the start of Rose´season.
by napacalypse
As Mother’s Day approaches, I thought I’d share the best things I’ve learned—mostly the hard way–on this journey. When you are making the baby’s crib, layer it with a waterproof mattress pad, a crib sheet, another waterproof mattress pad and a crib sheet. If the diaper leaks (and it will and it will be in the middle of the night), all you need … Read More Do you drink red or white with motherhood?
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The world is filled with books and blogs built to pay homage perfect French (or Parisian) lifestyles, homes, capsule wardrobes, and/or waistlines. I can be a curmudgeonly sort and on occasion point out that the wardrobes and waistlines are the product of a lack of closets and an abundance of ashtrays, not moral superiority. But, I too get sucked into the fantasy and have … Read More French homework
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Instead of souvenirs, I’ve started bringing back one thing I really liked about the place I visited. We’ve been very fortunate to have traveled to some great places and stayed in amazing hotels and I try to figure out what I could do at home that would remind me of how a place felt. One of my favorite places in the world is the … Read More Cabs and Copycats
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In the days leading up to our trip to Barcelona, every time I mentioned our destination, people who had visited promised us we would love the city. From family to the ticket agent at airport, everyone wanted to tell us their favorite sight and thing to do–and eating topped the list of things people wanted us to do! One of the best part about … Read More Barca, Barca, Barca…Everyone loves Barca
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Saturday–the Catacombs, the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, and the wheel-Roue of Paris We met back up with Cedrik on Saturday morning and he had pre-purchased tickets for us to tour the catacombs. Without advance tickets, be prepared to come early and wait in a line that can stretch around the block. Despite knowing that the catacombs were full of bones, it was quite jarring … Read More Dem bones and that Mona Lisa smile
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Friday- Versailles We took a taxi to Versailles, it should have taken about 40 minutes and cost (based on my internet sleuthing before we embarked) about 45-50 euros. Just outside of Paris, traffic ground to a halt for at least thirty minutes before our driver was instructed by the police to put his car in reverse and join the slow-moving train of cars carefully … Read More Let them eat cake…it’s a really long cab ride.
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Thursday at Musee’ D’Orsay On previous visits to Paris, we were unable to get tickets for the Museum D’Orsay, but had no problem on this visit. With proof of age, visitors under age 26 can get a discounted ticket and the museum accepts U.S. driver’s licenses as proof. The museum also has a coat check, free of charge, They only accept coats, no hats … Read More A day looking for the original selfie…
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Wednesday The Purple Truffle http://www.purpletruffle.com arranged for us to join food blogger and cookbook author Marion Flipo for a foodie tour in St. Germain. Our first stop was Eric Kayser where we enjoyed brioche with red-colored almonds, almond croissant, and a raspberry financier. Marion taught us that the boulangerie must be good at two things: bread, of course, and viennoiserie (what we would call breakfast … Read More If I were a French woman, I would definitely get fat.
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Tuesday Today was orchestrated by the Purple Truffle http://www.purpletruffle.com and Francois, our driver for the day, arrived at our hotel to take us to the Champagne region of France. As Francois drove through the outlying suburbs of Paris that turned into picturesque countryside, he elaborated on the history of the region and pointed out monument markers for WWI cemeteries, pastoral villages, and, of course, the … Read More Radicalized by champagne, and I liked it!
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Monday We found the best place to eat breakfast–Maisie’s Cafe. Tucked onto rue Mon Thabor, Maisie’s has gluten-free, organic food. We loved our avocado toast! For around 22 euros we had two orders of avocado toast, a filtered coffee and a house-made lemon cure juice. They were even kind enough to bring some almond milk for my coffee—American habits die hard. We had a … Read More Avocado toast and a demon in my cup
