Happy Monday to all! This post is about a week too late, but c'est la vie. Last week I was boarding an airplane solo (after having a difficult and mildly destructive time with airport security), and heading back to the land of pastries and fashion!

I've been in Paris for only 4 days, but have finally settled into a comfortable routine of managing my au pair duties, exploring the city during my free time, and taking language classes at a school nearby. This weekend will mark the first 48 hours I will have all to myself, and I could not be happier!

Keeping in touch with my loved ones back home has been easier than expected: I am lucky enough to have wired phone in my room and complementary calls to the US, which makes life much more enjoyable is Skype is acting up, or if something immediate comes up.

Everyone has been asking about my life here, mostly my apartment, so I'm posting a few photos of what I encounter on my daily walk. (This is not everything, by far, but enough to start off with.)








xox,

Among the many things that are strange about living in France, most involve the bathroom (le WC). The biggest adjustment so far has been learning to live with a toilet in a separate room from my shower and sink, which is quite common in France. My own apartment here lacks a toilet: I share with two neighbors. The toilet is right next door to me which has been convenient for me, and has not yet become a noise problem.



























The toilet paper in Paris is pink, which I absolutely adore. I'm even considering using it to decorate my sparse apartment for the time being. Today I got found the center of the roll was strange as well: instead of being a plan brown tube, I found mine was printed with words and pictures in bright blue ink that encouraged me to "me jeter dans les toilettes." My apartment isn't the newest one on the block, so I decided not to flush the tube, figuring that any possible maintenance problems would definitely be traced back to the new American girl. Instead, I decided to turn to trusty Google.fr to make sure this whole thing was legitimate.

Basically, Aqua Tube seems is an environmentally friendly way to dispose of your toilet tubes that everyone in Europe seems to a-d-o-r-e. They've got a website where you can learn more, and if you like, you can download an Aqua-Tube themed iPhone game. Oh, Europe.

xox,

After an unsettling start to my day, I managed to be quite productive and complete a few necessary tasks including: registering for my yearly metro card (la carte imaginaire), taking a brief placement test and registering for French language courses three times a week (subject: Art History) and navigating the neighborhood to drop the boys off at their sporting events. On top of that, I mailed some overdue post cards at the local post office around the corner, and managed to take a some-what decent ID photo required for my metro card at a photo booth (photomatique) in the local indoor mall.

City living is much more exhausting than I am used to: I forgot how taxing it can be to navigate unfamiliar streets (especially on a schedule) or to go 12 or 13 hours without stopping at home. Not only is the weather unpredictable, but packing smartly is imperative so that you don't find yourself with an uncharged cell phone or without your schedule and trusty journal.

Among the many things I love about being here, my most favorite (yet most bizarre) has got to be the smell of the city. There is an odor to Paris that is both familiar and strange: I cannot explain it completely, but the scent is quite unique. I was once told that Parisians do not obsess over the size or condition of their homes because it is the place they spend the least amount of their time: Parisians live their lives outdoors. Not only have I finally conquered my jet-lag, but I have quite a bit of free time to myself before and after my first day of classes. I look forward to finally exploring the city I love so much!


xox,

Like many of my friends and every twenty-something I've met, I change my hair style whenever I'm feeling sad/bored/unhappy/[insert appropriate adjective here]. 


However, for the last year or so, I've been pretty happy with my bottle-blond color and side-cut bangs. After ten-plus years of turning to the hairdresser in times of need, it is time to recognize how I handle problems and choose a less physical, appearance-altering manner. 


So whenever I need a boost, I turned to my new favorite miracle product. I'd never used anything from the Kérastase line until I was gifted a bottle of this Lumiere Nutri-Sculpt. Don't let the fancy-pants name fool you, this stuff really works. 

After all of my posts about Paris, the day has finally come to make the big move! While the rest of the world is eating/sleeping/working off their New Years Day hangovers, I am on my way to airport, heading to Charles De Gaulle airport!

Part of me is excited to start a new life in the city that I love so much, while the other part of me is looking forward to the complimentary champagne completely worried about everything that could go wrong. As I settle in to my new life, I expect that I will throw myself into school work, being a great au pair and decorating my petite apartment in efforts to relax.