The List: Paris.

Judge me if you want but I love making lists. They keep me organized and I love being able to cross things off them.

So, naturally I made a list of things I am going to miss about Paris and things I will be happy never to experience again and also what I am most excited for back in the good old USA.

Wanna know?? Here is the Paris List.

Things I will NOT miss about Paris:

The smell of PEE. everywhere.

Being confused 90% of the time. Ooh la la, French.

Freezing. All the time.

Being stared at for no reason.

The Parisians. They are a depressed, angry group of people. Just Parisians. Other French people are awesome.

Paying 6 euros for the world's worst cup of coffee.

French banks.

Being worried about people trying to steal my things all the time!

Everything being so small. It's like living in a miniature world.

My laundry taking 2 and a half hours for a normal cycle and then taking two days to hand dry. wtf France..really??

That's not sooo bad..right? Now for the positive!

Things I will miss most about Paris:

The FOOD! Bread, cheese, butter, pastries, wine, paté...all these things will never be the same for me. Ever. I will miss it dearly. This move might be good for my waistline though.

The buildings and architecture. This city is beautiful. Gorgeous. Romantic. Just an average building on any given street can be breathtaking. I will miss walking around and admiring the city and the feel of Paris.

The Seine. I love this river. I will miss running along it and having picnics with friends. I will miss taking photos of it every time I cross it. Its lovely.

The BIG city. I never thought I would love living in a city (Paris is the first city I've ever lived in) but turns out that I love it! It feels good to get out of the city from time to time but I really enjoy the energy and the endless amount of places to explore. You could live here your whole life and never know Paris completely.

The restaurant and culinary scene. The French take their food very seriously. Everything is FRESH and well prepared. The chefs are educated and truly love what they do. I will miss exploring new wine bars, restaurants and pastry shops whenever I want to. I will miss the big outdoor markets that are selling really fresh and wholesome produce. I love feeling like I am part of an industry scene here.

The Eiffel. No denying it. I love eiffel. Its beautiful and breathtaking from all angles. I will miss being able to see it whenever I want to and sometimes when I'm not even trying to.

The ability to travel. Its Europe's best perk.

The street food. Crepes, falafel, sandwiches...yum.

The inspiration that Paris gives to its people. I hope this feeling stays with me. I feel like anything is possible and I have Paris to thank for that.

Paris, je taime.

Spain: Madrid

Ah, the best weekend ever has came and went. I'm so sad it is over but I had the greatest time with two of my best friends. I am so thankful for these two and all the memories we have shared over the years. We had so much fun just talking, cooking, eating, drinking and being together like the good old days in college. We made our very first Thanksgiving meal for all their Spanish friends which turned out to be a success after a good amount of stress.

haha sorry for this photo it just makes me laugh everytime!

Jaime's poor parents got two seriously panicked skype calls from us concerned about the turkey that we were pretty sure was NOT going to be cooked in time. Just picture two of us holding up the turkey from the oven and Jaime holding up her computer to show her mom so she could diagnose the problem.  Needless to say, she has awesome parents who didn't judge our lack of domestic skills.

After Erin bit off all her nail polish because she was so stressed about the bird, we served up the successfully and thoroughly cooked turkey to their friends (some of whom this was their very first Thanksgiving meal!).

We went out dancing until the wee hours of the morning, stuffed our hangovers with delicious Spanish food and had a wonderful movie night in. Thai take out, Love Actually, PJ's, YouTube videos, and great friends...it was absolutely perfect.

I miss them and Spain so much already. I am seriously considering just moving in with them. It would be magical. Like living at Disneyland everyday.

I can't wait to start planning another trip to visit them in the next year because I know these girls are not leaving Spain any time soon. I love you Erin and Jaime! Thanks for the best weekend ever!

Thankful Thoughts Vol. 4: Miss Coco Marie

One of the best things about living abroad is that it brings people together. I have spent time with people here in Paris when we never even used to hang out back in California. Its really great to connect with people from your past and also making new friends. Coco is one of those girls. We went to SDSU together and were in all the same class (both hospitality/event majors) but we never became close. When I moved to Paris I got in touch with her for some moving advice and now we spend almost every day together. We had to travel across the world to become such good friends!

Funny how it works, right? 

Well, I am thankful for her and our adventures and I asked her to tell you guys what she is thankful for this holiday season. She has been living in Paris for over 2 and a half years and just made the decision to move her life back home. We are on the same flight back to LAX! So here she is, go check out her blog for more Paris secrets and amazing travel stories!

When Brittany asked me to write a guest post about all that I was thankful for I was excited and then hit with a feeling of worry. Why? Because trying to think of everything I am thankful this year seemed like an overwhelming task. Once I finally forced myself to sit down and crank it out, I was so happy I had time to think about my last year. Life is constantly going to quickly and I think there is less and less time to focus on appreciating what we have.

With this being my third Thanksgiving abroad, I am starting to forget what an awesome holiday Thanksgiving actually is. I mean yeah, of course any holiday that consists of eating all day, at least 3 different desserts, and some serious family time is incredible but Thanksgiving is more than that. It is just what this post has allowed me to do: reflect.

Being an expat is always hard during American holidays, but it is a prime example of one of the things I am most thankful this year: family. I don’t mean only family in the conventional way. When living abroad you are forced to create your own family here because you have nothing else. I have had many “families” while living in France and I am thankful for each one. I couldn’t have survived the hardships of being an au pair with out my fellow cohorts and this year I have found people who share the interests and goals as me (and can relate to our insane lives dealing with the French!)

And of course I am thankful for my actual family. I am SO thankful for Skype, Whatsapp, Heytell, etc. It is not the easiest thing living thousands of miles away but I could have never done this without the constant support of my family. They are truly my strength, cheerleading squad, and support system all wrapped into one!

I am also thankful for the experiences this year brought me. I did the impossible: I found a job in a foreign country, found a flat in the center of Paris, and got a work visa during the reign of Sarkozy. I traveled many new places, learned many new things, and made fabulous new friends. I fell in love over and over again with the wonderful city I could call home.

Although the hardest times of my life happened this year, I am grateful for each and every experience, good and bad. They all have taught me and allowed me to grow. So this Thanksgiving I am most thankful for my experiences over the last year and the people I have been able to share them with. Yeah, I may be giving thanks in a tiny flat instead of with my family and a plate full of turkey, but it doesn't make me any less appreciative this year. I am one lucky girl!

Happy Thanksgiving à tous!

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Happy Thanksgiving from Paris!

This is my first Thanksgiving away from home and probably the only one where I will be able to celebrate with foie gras, French wine, fish and pavlova while teaching my friend from South Africa how to draw her very first "hand" turkey. She needs to know these important life lessons.

I definitely am missing my friends and family back home. Especially when I Facetime with them and they are all together and knowing that even Mike gets to see my family and they get to see his family at the Turkey Trot this morning. It's great to know they are all together but there is a little bit of sadness being away from it.

SO, how do you cope with such a thing? Well, you hop a plane to Madrid to see your best friend. Problemo solved! I need to start packing because I leave tomorrow after work and I am SO insanely excited. I get to see two of my best friends and be a part of this awesome life they have built living in Madrid. I'm also pretty excited just to be in Spain again. (I studied abroad in Barcelona in 2008 and haven't been back til NOW!)

Happy Thanksgiving to all my wonderful American friends and family. I hope you enjoy the day and count your blessing no matter what part of the world you might find yourself in.

Netherlands: Amsterdam

This summer my brother and his two college roommates got to come travel around Europe together. Talk about a perfect graduation celebration, right? So I got to join them for a few legs of the journey. They started and ended in Paris, all four of us cozied right up in my little mini apartment. Their trip went something like - Paris, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Munich, Prague, and back to Paris. Not bad.

I got to meet up with them in Amsterdam and it was such a great time. When Brandon and I were backpacking in the summer of 2008 we tried so hard to make our way to this city but we simply didn't have time for it. Not that I'm complaining, that trip was incredible. So I was very excited to finally explore.

Amsterdam is one beautiful place. It is so clean! Its wide main streets, extremely friendly people and beautiful canals were enough for me to want to stay forever. We explored the Anne Frank House and the Van Gogh Museum - which was my favorite. We had some delicious Dutch pancakes at a place simply named: Pancakes! and of course we had our fair share of french fries. Healthy, I know.

We visited the famous Red Light District which is not nearly as crazy as I was expecting but still, seeing the girls working in the windows and doors was shocking and for me, sad. 

I could spend some more time hanging out along those canals. 

Time Flies

This year has been an adventure. One of the greatest years of my life I am sure of that. It has been full of excitement, challenges, new friends, old friends, love, FUN, traveling, pastry and so much more and it is about to start coming to a close. I can't believe it.

Sometimes it feels like I just arrived here and others it feels like I've been here for ages! It really depends on the day (I'm sure you other expats can relate to that feeling). I have less than two months left in France and it is getting to the point where I am trying to start really planning for my life back in the states. There is so much to do and not enough time to deal with it all, especially form another country.

Photo from my very first day in Paris

I'm having a lot of mixed feelings about moving home. Some days I am so excited to be back with my friends and family and in a comfortable place but other days I wonder how I could ever leave a place like Paris? I'm sure this is a normal thought process at this point but its not always the best feeling. I have accomplished, seen and experienced so much this year but I am always thinking of all the other places I want to see and things I want to do..but lets be honest - that list goes on for DAYS! I just want to do, see and eat everything possible! :)

I've never been good with goodbyes so I know saying farewell to Paris will be heartbreaking but I also know I have amazing things and people waiting for me at home. Paris truly is a moveable feast and I know it will stay with me for the rest of my life. I will always carry this city and this experience in my heart. But for now, I will try to indulge as much as possible for the next 8 weeks! (AH!...scary)

Ferrandi pastry class!

One thing I am very excited about it my upcoming trip to MADRID next month! Two of my best friends live there and I can not wait to spend Thanksgiving weekend with them! I have also loved Spain since I studied abroad in Barcelona in 2008 so I am very excited to go back and stuff my face with patatas bravas and sangria for days.

Granada, Spain circa 2008

Wondering what my plan is for life back in the good old US of A? Let's just say I won't be escaping the cold for too long. After a month of family time in the best place in America - California - I will be moving to Denver to be with Mike and Tay again.

Anyone know anything about the Denver area? I'm clueless!!

my loves