An afternoon in Versailles

Today is the first day of the end of Paris. Last night I celebrated the end of my internship at Sébastien Gaudard's Patisserie des Martyrs. I can't believe it's over.

Naturally, this has got me reminiscing about the past year and everything I have done and experienced. The incredible people I have met and grown to call friends. I feel SO lucky to have gained this experience and these beautiful memories that I will have the rest of my life.

Of course there are things I might have done a little differently. Especially, I would have learned French BEFORE coming here! But I wouldn't change my experience. Paris will always be mine. It will stay with me forever. Just as Hemingway said...

While looking back on the year I found these photos that made my heart smile. The beautiful weather of Spring in Paris and a great afternoon with friends making a fun meal in Versailles.

As you (may or may not) know, our pastry group comes from all around the world. We made an international lunch and it was delicious! We had French, Brazilian, Vietnamese, American..all kinds of delicious things! 

I will miss times like this and I hope to keep in touch with these wonderful people I have met here and grown to consider my "Paris Family". Unfortunately, the time has come to go our separate ways but I will cherish these memories. C'est la vie. 

Thankful Thoughts Vol. 5: Friends

Before I get started I have to admit to you that I am writing this while I am sitting on the ground in my apartment literally right next to my heater. I can't move from this spot or I will turn into a frozen person and perish. Oh, Paris.

So, moving abroad has made me think long and hard about a lot of things in my life and about the world the live in. Friendship has been one of the biggest. Moving away from all your friends will really show you who is true and who maybe is not. Not that these people are bad but the truth is that people grow apart and even though its awful to drift, that relationship will be a part of you in some way for the rest of your life.

I am thankful to have such incredible friends and even more thankful that I only have a few BEST ones. Those girls that I know, without a doubt, will be there with me forever. I might not have seen a lot of them for almost a year but I love them so much and am so blessed to have friendships that can stand the distance. We make each other laugh for days, listen to each other's silly problems and really stand by each other when things get tough. We accept each other's weird habits and stupid moments and don't really question it because we understand. Together, we can conquer the world.

I can't wait to see them all in just a few short weeks.

Manda and I are counting down until she can tackle me at the airport...I'm preparing myself.

Brit and I are anxiously awaiting a long overdue sleepover.

Megan and I have a full calendar of events coming up next year...can we do it all?!

Erin and I will be enjoying our American delicacies together and thinking of our homes in Europe.

Nicole and I have so much to catch up on. I can't wait for our date!

I can't wait to see these girls and all my other lovely friends. A year brings a lot of changes: new jobs, new homes, new engagements, travels! We have a lot to catch up on.

Now I just have to convince Ashley to come to Cali!

Thank you girls for being my soul mates and making my life full of fun, excitement, silliness and love and sharing such amazing memories with me. I love you!!!

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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Quarter Century Club

I am officially a member. Yesterday was my 25th birthday! Eek, seems like a big scary number. I remember when I was younger and I thought I was going to have all my shizz together by this age. Nobody tells you that those chances are slim. I thought I would be in a stable, steady job making enough money to pretend I am a real adult but lets be honest, that is not where I am right now.

Where I am is SO much better than that. Of course I still think about settling down and making a living but I could not be more happy about where my life has led me up to this point. I mean, how many people get to do what I am doing? Live abroad in a beautiful city to pursue their dreams? Have so many friends and family come and explore Paris with me? Have found the love of my life and irreplaceable friendships? My life is pretty dang good if you ask me. So, as scary as 25 might sound I think it will be another incredible year. I'm excited to see what comes my way and embracing all that life is!

The best part of my whole birthday was seeing one of my BEST friends! Erin and I have been PIC's since she rushed Gamma Phi in 2006 and the love/obsession was made public during big/little week and we've been having a blast ever since. She just recently moved to Madrid to teach English and lives with her little/my grandlittle and they are living the dream over there. I can't wait to (hopefully) go to see their home next month!

Erin stayed all weekend and her face definitely made me cry when I saw her. I am so lucky to have her in my life. Not only is she a great friend but she is an inspiration and has taught me a lot about life, happiness and friendship. Thank you for being so amazing little!

To celebrate we got all our Paris friends together for dinner at a local Argentinean restaurant for empanadas and ice cream. It was great to finally have everyone together again.

Thank you to everyone who helped me celebrate and wished me happy birthday! You are all amazing and I'm so glad to have you in my life!

Merci beaucoup! 

PS- Old age is taking its toll. I am now sick in bed with a fever and the works! Worth it though. But the recipe for this tart will be coming soon! xo

When I think about home...

I think of San Diego. Even though I grew up and spent 17 years of my life in Orange County, California I really identify more with that beautiful city down south. I moved there to go to college (aka: best four years of your life) in 2005 and fell in love.

It is big, beautiful, casual, sunny, happy, free, new, old, exciting, relaxing..everything you could ever want. I have not found a city that I feel such a strong connection with as I do with Sdeezey. I have found myself really reminiscing about life in SD lately. I can actually feel my body longing for it. I think I'm just looking for some comfort and familiarity, maybe? I hope that one day I will be able to build my life there, we will see! Until then, I will be visiting it as much as possible when I am back in the US.

A friend of mine posted this on facebook this morning and I thought it was a great video and it made me miss this city even more! It really captures the energy and beauty of San Diego and shows you some hidden gems like one of my favorite parks - Kate Sessions. Click here to check out the world's finest city in hyper-speed! It's a beautiful video, worth the click, promise!


A quick little skip down memory lane? Okay, if you insist! ;)