Boyfriend Boots?

I've always been a big fan of "boyfriend jeans" or the "boyfriend shirt." The look is simple, clean, feminine and sexy. Not to mention comfortable. You can pair either item with a variety of things for a great outfit.

But yesterday on my way to pick up Madame Tootle some goodies from Monoprix, I saw this store window for Aigle and had a good laugh.

Boyfriend boots? Such a cute concept BUT who has a boyfriend that wears these??? So far, the French men I see around the city all wear super skinny suits and pointy dress shoes. (They look quite dapper by the way).

Aigle is a brand I was not familiar with in the states and Sir Lancelot informed me that he used to wear their rain boots as a kid growing up in England. He's since shifted to Hunter Wellingtons. I will admit that Sir L. wears both Wellies and Uggs (but maybe not in Paris??) so while I relate to boyfriend boots - will other women?

I think rain boots with a skirt or skinny jeans are perfect for a rainy day and make a woman still feel sexy when schelpping through puddles. Given that Hunters were a hot trend in NYC last year, I'm overjoyed that Aigle has made this their fall shoe campaign (and you get a free bag professing your love for your boyfriend!) so that I will feel even more comfortable when I wear my Hunter boots everyday and everywhere in Paris when the official winter mist sets in.

Will I see more Parisian men showing off their knee high rain boots soon? Do they tuck in their suit pant legs as well?

Le Week-end #2

Bonsoir friends, Lady Lancelot here coming off of a gorgeous, stupendous weekend! I left Thursday French feeling confident (we did talk about food for three hours - what's not to love?) and spent the sunny afternoon lunching and wandering with the lovely Leoni (girlfriend of brother-in-law). Friday was Madame Tootell's 80th birthday, so the Lancelots spent the day at Hopital Charles Foix celebrating 80 extraordinary years.

I feel like Paris is giving me a lot of sunny days to stock up before the misty drizzles set in for the next six months. My sun bank is never full and I see right through this trick. Still, we enjoyed the outside to the fullest this weekend.

 Saturday was my first visit to Marche aux Puces - the world's largest flea market. It was absolutely amazing and the best day. There were three items that we were searching for and we found everything we needed! What a relief since I'm starting to plan Sir Lancelot's 40th birthday party at the end of October and want the apartment to look perfect. 
We found a beautiful dining room table made with 100 year old walnut (made by a lovely husband/wife team who live in the country with their babies and horses - I was such a sucker!) Eight walnut chairs from 1900 painted a mute grey with gorgeous detailing and a black wooden coat hanger from the 1920's - which will now be our new coat closet. We left so so happy with our purchases. I'm really excited to explore the market more when we aren't really on a mission. 
The chairs were delivered to our temporary apartment today - I have eight chairs just sitting everywhere, so if anyone wants to come over for dinner, you definitely have a seat. 

Saturday night we had an official date night which included wandering around the 1st and drinking lots of champagne at various cafes. Finally, Sir Lancelot and I feel like we're getting back into a rhythm which had been missing most of the summer - with his mother's illness and our move things just felt completely out of place. Nothing worse than that in-limbo time.

Today felt like summer! Gorgeous sunshine the entire day. For the second week in a row, we ran to the Bio marche on Boulevard Raspail. This place is amazing - I'm so excited to take my mom here when she visits in October. Unless it's Lady Moon, most organic produce can look pretty tired and there is not a lot of variety, but this market has multiple stands. For example, the stand that I loved last week was looking pretty tired today - have no fear - there was a better stand right next to it. Aside from the vegetables, there is organic meat and cheese.

Now for the big Parisian activity of the day: we tried out the Velibs for the first time. Velib is Paris' bike-sharing program and it is pretty fantastic. For just about 2 euros, you can ride around the city for a day. There are drop-off stations practically everywhere and it was such a great way to see the city. I even wore my "Paris market, bike-ridine with a baguette" dress for the occasion. Not necessarily the best idea since I flashed the world the majority of the ride, but it still looked cute. 

As always, the weekend has to come to an end and we're gearing up for a busy week ahead. Sir L is one of the leads on a fast-track new business pitch which will keep him pretty busy and I will find out if our shipment arrives on time. I'm hoping this Indian Summer weather lasts at least one more week so I have sunshine during week four of Paris.

Lots of love,
The Lancelots.

Chez Lancelot - Before

It's official! The #1 apartment choice is officially ours! We are so excited to move in and finally have all of our belongings on this side of the pond and make our new home. Sir Lancelot and I made a quick visit yesterday morning. We were relieved to find the apartment was exactly what we thought (after 10 other viewings they all look the same!) and we were able to measure so we can begin the process of buying a fridge and dishwasher - which will take some creative spacial planning in our kitchen. To those of you that gave us money for our wedding - thank you again.

Our move-in date is still TBD. It all depends on the the shipment which is currently still making its way across the Atlantic. The expected arrival date at the French port is September 28th. That does not mean it will actually arrive on time. Then it has to go through French customs - and given what it takes to open a bank account or obtain a cell phone in this country, I'm sure customs is anything but easy. Our hope is to move-in on October 5th... let me repeat: our hope. 
Here are a few before pictures - we're so excited to have all our stuff and put it all together!

Entryway leading to the salon and dining room.

Windows looking out to main street (rue de Saint-Senoch) from both salon and dining room.

Looking into dining room from entryway.

Disco bathroom with his & her sinks.

Second bedroom which will basically become a closet room since the apartment has literally ZERO closets.

Finally our amazing kitchen with a lot of cabinet space, a small table for Sir Lancelot to sit with me and chat while I cook and enough room for the one-day very much down the road, Little Lancelot.

Lady of Leisure

I live in Paris because of Sir Lancelot's job and therefore had to quit mine (boo hoo). Luckily because Sir L has a German passport, I will be able to get a residency/work permit relatively quickly (in French time that means 3-5 months) and can then look for a new job in the Parisian ad world. In the meantime, Sir Lancelot likes to frequently remind me that I am a "Lady of Leisure" or a "Dame de Loisirs" - at least that the translation I got from Google. 

Aside from the nine hours of French lessons I have each week, I pretty much have my days open to walk around Paris, explore restaurants and shops and eat lots of food. Don't hate me as I say this, but there are two difficult parts to being a Dame de Loisirs (a DL for short):
1) I was born multi-tasking and have not really relaxed since the day I started Kindergarten in 1989. So actually taking the time sit in a park for more than 20 minutes is challenging.
2) Making the most of my DL time requires proper research and planning so that my DL days are as efficient as possible. See? I can't let go of the efficient New Yorker in me!  This planning and research has be overwhelming and daunting so far but each day is getting a little bit better.

DL Semaine 1: 

Relaxed in this chair at the Tuileries and read my "Rough Guide to Paris" book to decide what to do near the area.

A first taste of Asian food in Paris at Higuma near the Louvre.  (Sarah, that beer at lunch is for you!)

Explored Le Bon Marche and their "So London" exhibit. Discovered this amazing English designer, Lucy in Disguise. I think she was a ad agency planner in a previous life because each of her dresses is a different cohort with a quirky insight on the tag. Her inspiration from different eras result in beautiful designs that bring together retro and glamorous. I know I will not be able to stop thinking about them and one might be a potential for Sir Lancelot's upcoming birthday bash?! My favorites were "Capone" and "Speakeasy." I just want to channel my inner Zelda Fitzgerald with the green dress below!

Lastly, I enjoyed a solo lunch of champagne and escargot at this lovely cafe overlooking Notre Dame. While it was in a more touristic area, it has lots of charm and a very sweet waitress who didn't mind me practicing my horrible French! 

Sir Lancelot and I are off to Barcelona until Saturday to complete the shipment of Madame Tootle's furniture. Off to the land of pimientos de padrone and cava! Bon week-end! 

Late afternoon

And just when you need it most - the sun comes out and leaves the perfect late afternoon glow that you only see in the movies.

Dedicated to...

Today's post is dedicated to my very dear friend, John Campanella.

Lovely day wandering around the 7th and I stumbled upon (that's code for I was lost) a little cafe in honor of my friend. The coincidence and that it was 5:30pm meant I had to stop for a glass of rose!

Unity

Although I was not in New York today, I felt unity. 

I felt united with the 25,000 women who met at the Eiffel Tower to run together in "La Parisienne." Groups of co-workers, friends wearing matching t-shirts and costumes. The energy was strong and spirits were high. What hit home for me was the Paris 9/11 Tribute at Trocadero that would take place right near the starting line - with massive white columns and the French and American flags waving next to each other.

I felt unity with the amazing turn out of crowds, despite the rain and cold, to cheer for us throughout the 6km course.

I admired the beautiful families uniting together and cheering on their matriarch with precious signs of, "Allez maman!" (Go Mom!) 

I even felt unity with Parisian boulangeries since I saw women running the entire race with baguettes!

I hope that this unity only continues - with Parisian women, New Yorkers and my fellow Americans. It should not be just an anniversary that brings people together, it should be each and every day. May this day be a new beginning for us to always be united and hope for a better world. 

Nothing better than waking up to the sun shining! Bon Week-end!

*Photo: http://pinterest.com/pin/16012090/

J'adore kale

But not this other stuff which I've coined "kale-cabbage."

The Google translation of kale is "chou frise." I'm not sure if this is accurate or not, but when I went into the "bio" store (code for co-op/organic/Sharzie type food), this is what they had in the "chou frise" basket.

When I first saw this last weekend, I turned up my nose and decided it look like kale-cabbage (new hybrid Lady Moon Farms?) and would not buy it. Then out of desperation for some sort of leafy green, I bought one head.

The best way to judge a good bunch of kale is whether it tastes good lightly steamed. I came home full of optimism that my kale-cabbage would be fantastic! Think again. I lightly steamed, added salt, lemon juice and a bit of olive oil (since I don't have any Umiboshi on hand here - it's on the boat with everything else we own) and to be honest, wasn't impressed. It had no taste, was too tough and after the first few leaves you can pull off, there isn't much green left on the cabbage part of the plant.

For fiber sake, this will be fine but will I be making a raw kale salad anytime soon? No and it was becoming SUCH a staple with my cooking.

Apparently there are two large "bio" markets on Saturdays in Paris that I'm going to try this weekend - in search of kale!

My friend Robyn just informed me that there might be a new cafe opening up in NYC all centered around Kale. http://bit.ly/nfBKuT Definitely won't happen here!

Too many tubs

Yesterday was the anniversary of our first date! September 6 will always be a day I hold near and dear to my heart. Although this year we were not able to celebrate (code for being nostalgic dorks) by rowing in Central Park and having dinner at The Waverly, we did partake in a milestone for our Paris life together.

Flat hunting.

Since I've never relocated to a different country and always tried to "work the rental system" (ha ha) in NYC, I'd never had the luxury of using a real broker and looking at 10 apartments in one day. Talk about overwhelming! It was a fun day but to be honest, I was pretty disappointed in what we saw. So many of the apartments each had something great about them but then a few things were off.

I love the idea that the "reception" area of a Parisian apartment should be the most glam - I know that our antique furniture will beyond impress any visitors as Sir Lancelot and I begin entertaining in France. The layout of a dining room/living room with big windows when you walk in is lovely and will make a wonderful home to come back to each evening.

What I don't understand is what your "guests" don't see...

Bathtubs in kitchens, bathtubs in closets of bedrooms (without a sink or toilet), a fridge that can only fit milk, a kitchen that only has a sink, three bathtubs - one toilet - all in various rooms, toilet in the kitchen, and the list goes on. So much space is wasted on bathrooms and bathtubs - and this for a country that has a reputation for being smelly!

In the end we found one apartment that we really really liked and put in an offer today (just renting folks!) and hope that the owner accepts! I'm sending all positive energy out in the universe that we can move in by October.

We finished the night by toasting to a productive day, our hopeful future home and to each other.

UPDATE: we got the apartment!!! Move-in day is hopefully early October!

HOW TO GET AN IPHONE IN PARIS

Or should I say, how not to get any phone in Paris.

As most of you know, I've been waiting and waiting to get an iPhone. I held out when Verizon finally announced it because I knew that within a few months, I'd be ending my American contract. So I continued to use my Blackberry "smartphone" and complain about the bad picture quality, the slow browser and the fact that you can't actually do anything with it. I told multiple people, "the second we get off that plane, we're going to a cell phone store so I can get an iPhone!!"
Not so fast...my 2nd taste of French bureaucracy.

After a pro-active visit to the store to see what documents we needed, here is what our iPhone document packet included. We were armed and ready to go!
*Letter from his brother stating that we live with him (since we will not have a permanent address until October)
*Colored photo copy of brother's passport
*Sir Lancelot's passport
*Three different utility bills from brother
*A special French bank slip from the bank account we'd opened the day before - you need this slip for any account you open so the company can always do direct debit
*A letter from Ogilvy talking about Sir Lancelot's job offer, salary, what he did in America
*A letter stating when he moved to America and what day we arrived in France

But no, none of this was good enough! A few of the letters were worded incorrectly - by one word. Plus we need to bring the bank card and a check with the special bank statement which will take around two weeks for us to get from the bank.

In the meantime, I'm heading back to the year 2004 or so and have a temporary flip phone!

Le Week-end #1

This week was full of French family, markets and my first (and clearly not last) taste of French bureaucracy.

Friday included three hours at the HSBC bank where Sir Lancelot was able to convince the bank manager that his brother's address would suffice so we could open checking accounts. After that appointment, I was spent for the day and rested until we went out for drinks & dinner with The Kooples and some of their friends. It's interesting how such small activities that are so normal in America completely exhaust me - adding the not speaking French thing really adds an extra layer.



Saturday was a full day of running near our apartment in Park Monceau (my first experience seeing the French run/stretch... their outfits are fantastic). Above is our local market on Rue Poncelet and Rue Bayen where we picked up the groceries for our first Paris dinner party (with The Kooples again...nothing like family!)

The boulangerie.

We are lucky enough to have this amazing (and apparently very popular to Parisians) fromager, Aleoisse, right next to the boulangerie above. Sir Lancelot and I treated ourselves (and our guests) to two amazing cheeses! One literally poured out of the wooden container because it was that fresh. We need to make sure this does not become a habit!

Chez Lancelot ready for our first dinner party - finally we have a dinner table... it's fantastic eating like a civilized bunch.

Sunday autumn evening rose at Da Da in the 17th. Wonderful close to a wonderful first weekend. I'm so excited for all that the upcoming week will bring!

What i have seen so far...
View from Madame Tootle's (Sir Lancelot's mum) hospital room at Hôpital Charles Foix

Taxi ride back from hospital. So lucky to have sun on our first day here.

This is nothing special. But for my first wake-up in Paris this little window put a smile on my face.

Branded Perrier sparking "terme" at little cafe next to our apartment. 

Sir Lancelot showing me my first local market (before Darty  - the Best Buy of France but so much better and before Monoprix - the Target of France)

The wine shop where our favorite rose is $30 less expensive than in America. J'adore France already!

Perfectly sized onions & radishes from our local market. Not out of the ordinary but still felt so different than buying from a grocery store off Sixth Avenue. Although I did not see any KALE!!

My new kitchen toy which will 100% change my life. I made my entire hot dinner in this thing. WHY are steamers not a fad in America?? 

My first Parisian dinner. Salmon with spring onions, garlic and lemon. Yes very simple but was a huge success for night #1!