The ultimate food profile! yeeehaaaa!

Wanna come and play?
It will take you, what, 5 minutes maximum, to answers the questions below... and it will tell us so much about your inner greedy you!

1. orange marmelade or nutella?
2. curry or cumin?
3. fish & ship (ermm..."chips" are not bad either! lol") or royal cheese?
4. rum, whisky or martini?
5. camembert or roquefort cheese?
6. beer or limonade?
7. red, white or rosé?
8. crèpes or galettes?
9. snails or oysters?
10. lasagna or pizza?
11. meat, vegetables or fish?
12. lobster or scallops?
13. pie or cake?
14. bbq or salad?
15. entrée or dessert?
16. garlic or onion?
17. strawberry or cherry?
18. your meat: rare, medium, well done ?
19. do you think presentation can really improve food taste?
20. something you eat everyday:
21. something your grand' ma used to cook:
22. your "speciality":
23. something you've never cooked but would like to:
24. Do you actually enjoy cooking?
25. can you clean a fish (le vider)?
26. what restaurant tonight, Chinese, Italian or Indian?
27. On the restaurant's menu, do you usually chose something you like or something new?
28. your worst memory from school canteen:
29. food in movies, which movie does that remind you?
30. For your worst enemy, you would cook:
31. for your best friend you would cook:
32. Do you have unusual lil habits with food?

My answers are right here
(and now that you know everything, do you think we are *food friends* ??)

pssshit: you answer here or there (on your bloggie), no rule! ;-)

The lil wolf might not sleep well at night

...but he has a gift for making his mama happy on daytime (erm most of the time!):P

He learnt to make bred the other day. He was very patient (the positive side of stubborn, no?)



It was simply delicious! So good that I had not time to take pics of the result!
But I love to see these lil hands working hard :)

JB, anonymous hero

JB is not the real name of our new neighbour.
JB deserted years ago his country when he was send to invade Cambodia.

3 times he tried to escape by boat.
At the age when teenagers only think (or should only think) about girls and parties, JB was confronted to death and war.
"For a time, we could not eat anything from the sea, we just could not. We feared to find a bits of the dead in our nets, in the fish stomach"

JB is one of the *boat people*. He was saved at the time by a French boat and arrived here seeking asylum.
He was welcome by a new family, got a new name.
Worked hard for 5 years to try to learn the basics in French language. He was then more lonely than ever, away from everything, everybody he knew. Not knowing much of life, except Death.

More than 20 years later, he is here, he just opened a little "café" at the feet of the building where we live.
He is a happy father, a most welcoming neighbour.



I don't think he'll ever be a billionaire, he only wants to make people happy, that's what he says.

His café is very small, 3 tables there. But it is one of the most comfortable place I know. The kind of place where you can feel good vibes, where people talk to each other. Such a warm place. And you would see JB's face, never saw a happier one! :)

Mermaid's calling

I must reckon the weekend has been really inspiring (must be the lovely smiles of a minilady I've met ;-)
I've just finished a new painting (below), I've started another one already, and I'm working on the candle holders at the same time.
I'm also thinking hard about the price of my paintings. People usually tell me they're not expensive enough. huhu...
But I wanna stick to this price range (between what 75 and 250 euros, more or less)... till I get really famous, that is!
What do you think?

Oh and people do not pay for the shipping or package, I include it in the price (which mean about 20 euros are offered, because I take insurance, etc)... which is pretty nice from me, huh :P


click here

For more details about this painting, it's in the gallery

Not sure your weekend plans can beat mines :P

I feel a bit tired today, and considering that in less than one hour I'll be lying down, massaged by professional Thai hands, I wonder if it can happen I fall asleep.

Do you know Thai massages? Are they *strong* or soft?
I will see! hehe
me lucky one!
(suddenly I feel all awake! lol)

Well then, I have another *plan* tomorrow...
We've actually planned to share croissants and pains au choc' with someone some of you know already.
If I tell you Butterfly, Sun, and MOON, does it help? huhu
Nooo?
Well then I'll give you another clue later :P

**update**

So I think at least 2 of ewes know which Moon I was talking about. For the 6 zillions others ;-), the clue is right here !


Now the Thai massage.
A Nirvana! The very best present I've ever had (thank you, my inspired other half)!
I highly recommend it, you just can't imagine how good it feels. The woman who took care of me managed to relax every tensed bits I had, that was incredible!
You can ask for soft or stronger massage, I asked for a mixture of that and it was just fine.
And all the oils she used, I know what it feels now to be a French fry. But in a much more comfortable way, huh! And all these perfumes, jasmine, orange blossom...(faints)

I left the place with a huge smile and feeling like floating above the bloody clouds :-)

Now I tell you, when I win lottery, I'll get that every week!

Attention please, my relatives -yes you, you and you too!-, kids and weak hearted ones should cover their eyes NOW. Below you'll find X rated stuff!!!


It's just that whether you're a bloggirl or whether you're not! I am one



(Pssshit: too bas I never check my stats, because with such a text AND pic, they're gonna get high! hehe)

cute, adorable, etc... but so STUBBORN !

That's Loup, and I know there is this time around 2 years old when they are literally building their own universe, limits, possibilities, liberties, territories, etc.

I'm there to help him, puts the limits when required, encourage him to get independent, etc.

But you wouldn't imagine what this angel's face is capable of!
Loup has just been roaring, crying, screaming, trying to break stuff, to scratch and bite us for 45 LONG minutes. And THIS happens several times a day!
Yeepeeee.....

You could think that after 45 minutes (including 30 minutes in his bedroom with shut door), he would be exhausted and would just "surrender". Oh nenene, it does not happen this way with my lil devil.

He will just refuse to accept he was wrong there, will get a stone face for more minutes and will refuse to speak to any of us. Alleluia!
lol

Talking of stubborn, Loup is not far from that:



...but Loup is a bit more, let's say... "intense" in his attitude :P

Anyone wanna join for baby-sitting? :P

I may be an old rusty dusty girl ...

...I'll still feel like a queenette today! hehe



the lil family by Lola

The devils have already worked hard for me! Yesterday before jumping into bed, they prepared *my* cake! Strawberry pie... Yummm!



And this morning, a lil elf (that you might recognise here) brought zillions of flowers! Yeepeeeeeee!


(sowwy for the bad quality pic, awful light this morning)

Later in the morning, when I found 40 minutes for myself, I decided to do something I've never done since Lola was born (5 years ago!!! oh la vache, ça date!): grabbed a book and went to the park . Wunnerful!



Phone calls, emails, comments, visits, surprises. I'm 34, and that's a detail. I'm 34 and I bless the BeauDiful sky for all the people that makes my life so precious.

Michele arrived earlier with orchids, so much beauDy in a couple of petals!



And then, there was my mom behind the door! She brought champagne, a ladybug ring for Lola and a great necklace for me, the old fart!



In the evening I could enjoy a perfect diner:







And got spoiled again, with most fashion-ista rubber boots! hehe (can't wait for rain now!)



and the cherry on the cake, something I did not expect at all!





On Saturday morning, I will enjoy a Thaï massage!


I must say I've had a great day! Do I really need to wait for another year to start again?

the "Oh my God" day! (first part)

When Martin, Mahie and I arrived in le quartier latin, we started walking on Boulevard St Germain.
Then we took rue du Four and guess who just stood in front of us with her boyfriend? (don't ask Martin, who did not recognize her of course :P)

Mishh Dita Von Teese! No kiddin! The 2008 Pin-up you know?!



She smiled at us (I swear it! lol) when she saw our ghost faces and open mouths! She was *fatal* but looked so much younger than on her professional pics! She was wearing a lovely green dress, she looked fresh, adorable and happy. Small too! Her boyfriend (very normal guy, I mean not weird, etc) looked pretty much in love :P
I wasn't a fan of her *look* before, but I've instantly changed my mind! Wattawoman! :)

and that provoked the first "Oh my God" of the series!



hehe

Then we joined Jenny, and it was really time for a drink. So we went there, on a terrasse of some nice expensive bar.
Well it seems we made some kind of right choice...

After 5 minutes, a young beautiful French actress walked with her baby in the arms, just near our tables. She was smiling to everybody, proud mama probably ;-)

Her name, Anna Mouglalis



She was really tall, had longer hair, no make-up, wore jeans and looks doing really fine!

Next one... ok, a bit less glamourous ;-)

It took us about an hour to find the name of this French singer!
Would you recognize him?



Not easy huh! But if I tell you Diabolo Menthe, maybe the French ones here will know! :)

And for the last one, I managed to take my cam for a pic!



Too bad I was too slow for Dita though :P
We did not know his name, but just found it on the internet: Stanislas Merhar, who played in several movies.
It seems he had some kind of bad hair day, huh ;-)

Well, I can tell you we had some great *oh my gawwwd* laughs with that!
But that wasn't the very best part of the day ....

A blogs' friends' gang in Paris

No there was not some kind of "bloggers" meeting yesterday, but a blog's friends' meeting! Which is completely different! ;-)

I first joined Mahie at Montparnasse. We've been blog's friend for a year maybe. Got on instantly very well! So amazing!
Then we joined Martin.
Came across lovely Dita, and had the huge pleasure of meeting Jenny!
Then we sat for a beer, well 2 actually, and started to share lots of giggles all together, that was really a precious moment!


Mahie, Jenny, I and Martin


the girlzzz (from Martin's perspective! he's ermm TALL! lol)

Then it was time to join the star of the evening, I mean Benoit! Yeeehaaaaa!!
We arrived at Saint-Michel at the same time as a fookin storm! Thunder and rain welcome us! Martin and Mahie courageously ran under heavy showers while Jenny and I waited just near :P

That was funny to meet each other while the elements around us were getting crazy (still thunder, more rain, more wind!)
We quickly joined a restaurant and I've had a most wonderful time there; everybody seemed relaxed and happy to be there. A gang of old friends, nothing less!

Benoit was in great shape and having a really good time in Paris :)
I did not expect to see him looking so well after the awful year he's had, that was another great surprise: feeling he was recovering pretty well!

We talked about everything, including physics (eeeck!) or food (phewww!)

Talking of food, it was really good! We had fois-gras, terrine de saumon, gaspaccho, chèvre chaud, blanquette, fois de veau, tartare, salmon, entrecôte, crème brûlée, fondant au choc, etc! Yuuumm!

Here are a few pics, not good enough I fear:


Martin and Benoit (talking cams), and in the middle: a bottle of delicious red wine from Vendée :)


Mahie discovering the pics Benoit had taken earlier


2 most charming creatures :P Mahie and Jenny !


Benoit, the Vendée's bottle, and Mahie :)

Later we went on le Pont Neuf to enjoy Paris by night (beauDiful)


And then it was really time ... for another drink!

I came back home with sore feet, but so happy to have met Jenny, Mahie and Benoit! That confirms totally that friends you make on blogs are already friends for real. You already know them, their life, etc. There can't be any bad surprise. Fantastic!

(happy sigh)

PS: Isa & Benoit, I've just tried the maple flakes!

Dellllicious!
Too early to try the ice cider, but will do too! :P

some kind of unique day

Yesterday was just incredible: stormy, happy, full of giggles and real REAL surprises!

(teasing: if you think all the stars are in Cannes right now, you are wrong, and I'm not only talking about the 5 of us, huh)

I tell you more as soon as I'm back!

The ritual

I don't know how it is for adults (probably the same, though we're not aware of it), but kid's life includes lots of rituals, doesn't it?!

I could name hundreds of them for Loup!

One I really like is when I take him to the kindergarten. He usually fights to not go there (sigh, even after, what... 8 months there!)

But the ritual of the "cats" helps a lot.
On our way to the kindergarten, we walk in front of a plumber's shop who gets 2 lovely cat. Loup spend a couple of minutes saluting them, presenting his sheep to them, etc. And they seem to like it :)



Rituals are helpful, yup. At the same time when you're in a rush, it makes things complicate, huh!

You name it, I read it !

Time for books'harvest around here!

We do that about twice a year with Martin, buy 15, 20 books and then get a good pile for half the year :P

I need your help here. I don't have much time to look for critics and get new ideas.
So here's the thing, I'd love you to name 1 book (the book that comes to your mind, one that you really loved, one that changed your life or whatever, but a good one, one only per person, that's the thing :P) ... and then I'll find the books you recommend me... That will be my harvest! :)

Ok, I'm ready, taking notes !

Which book should I add on my shelves?



PS:gimme at least 6 months for some feed-back, I'm not that slow, but days are too short ;-)

I don't know where to start

...a nap, a movie, a book, a drink ?
hehe

My lil wolf, that I love beyond anything, will leave in a couple of hours for 4 days.
Which means a most relaxing time for us (Loup is literally an energy eater, day and night!)

Today, after school I'll take Lola to Montparnasse for girlie shopping, tomorrow -if not too late- I'll invite goilfriends for an early coffee... later I go with Lola's school to some sport's event and then Martin will join us for a drink outside.

On Saturday, Lola will join her cousins, and Martin and I will have the huge pleasure to meet the supa goils Mahie and Jenny, and later Benoit, who crossed the ocean to spend a few days around here! Yeeepeeeeeeeeee!

I'm in such a happy-sunny-bananas mood!

I did not like (but really)

I would say our weekend was fantastic, because of the people there, because of the fun and sun.
BUT unfortunately there have been a few "but"...

When we arrived at the hobbit house, we knew our neighbours had started big huge works



Finally, our neighbours are not directly concerned, more the people working for them...The workers drive their big vehicles just in front of our house (there is no other way)

Of course they did not care about our flowers and just drove on them!



But the worst part was when we realized that our most lovely outside stairs were damaged! The upper part of it has moved, the stones are not sealed anymore! I guess they came with a big machine and when they turned or something..."BANG"!


Well too bad you can't see much on the pic!

So that was for the first day. Despite the boiling mood and the tiredness (we had left Paris earlier at 5.00am, I managed to finish (varnish, etc) the parquet I had started last time! :)

Then on the second day, we woke up as early to cross Brittany to pick up the boat (at the other end of the world), and there I really did not like the heavy rain we got!


(can you see it's fookin rainy?)

But then I loved (but really!)

The beautiful landscape we found when we arrived there, at the far end of Brittany



And once back, I LOVED watching the kids so excited to play on "their" boat!


click here

And on the next morning I really laughed when "Uncle Jeremy" joined us much earlier than he usually does..



...to show us with what his cat had been playing all night (!!!) in his bedroom!



Jeremy managed to save the very lucky lil one :)

The breakfast had started wunnerfully, and it was to be that way for hours, outside, with the sun and a cuddling one



As for the hobbit house, despite our lil trouble with the neighbours' works, I really loved the flowers growing on the stairs


click here

and the new small palm trees we've planted!



and all the flowers coming out!, including giant iris! A great surprise!





Oh and I loved to see how much Cesar had changed! His horns are getting huge! (Cesar, I see we won't have lambs this year, you're a big boy now, time to enjoy life you know!)


click here

And I finally loved this early morning landscape, the last one we saw before getting back to Paris


click here