A Parisienne in LA

I loved  the Bay Area to bits,and adapted marvelously to the way of life up there. We moved 3 years ago to LA and I have a hard time adapting yet.

If I was into short shorts, body cult, designer bags and very high platform heels maybe I would get settled more easily, but unfortunately, I am the quiet coffee shop/sweet bookstore/floral dress/comfort shoes kind of gal. I am not too fond of the beach. I am not too fond of the sun. I do value photosynthesis, but mostly in trees.
And since people here are very kind but very eager to teach me how to live ( because, hey, I am a foreigner and I come from a barely civilized place) , at some point, I got fed up. I needed out. So I decided to bring back a bit of Paris Village into my life , and went for: 

The Farmer's Market!! There is a very nice one on Santa Monica with fruits and plants and locals, on wednesdays there is mostly people who need food and not to show off. A part from "the photographer taking candid pictures" and various bunches of "wannabe top model trying to find non fattening food" it feels rather urban like Paris or San Francisco. I really liked it. I bought strawberries, succulents, and cute little radishes to cheer me up. They were delicious ( I didn't eat the succulents though).

I had a nice, fresh, green stroll, and I ended up with a very Parisian after market staple:

A nice espresso in a quiet , quiet coffee place. I went for espresso. I will stick to it from now, after 10 years of " let's adapt to America lattes", it was nice to go back to the Parisienne favorite " un petit café".

This is not a cup from my quiet coffee place. I won't show a picture of my quiet café. It took me 3 WHOLE YEARS to find a quiet place . A place with good music, nice coffee, and where nobody dares to YELL to his neighbor how fantastic of a life he has. I noticed that, for LA people, the less interesting the conversation, the louder the voice.  My friends Lisa and Joanne are very interesting people, so they are barely whispering. Once I heard a guy talking to a girl he liked : he almost screamed comments about this laundry list. This is unfortunately absolutely true.

So. I found a quiet place where I can doodle and they don't mind. I found a quiet spot and I am very happy!

The good news? Its means more posts and drawings for you! I love to work in cafés and I was a bit frustrated. I have a nice terrasse for summer days, but not much for the winter, and haha! This time is gone. Bring da sketch book.

I need to improve on my Parisian skills in LA. Any recommandations? I need a quiet parc with tree shade and nobody smoking crack, a quiet bookstore with a knowledgeable owner, and some floral dresses for giant me! 

bijou du jour

I began creating my own jewelry when I was a teenager. I love colors and it's difficult to find in stores. I quit for a while because I had a friend who is a jewelry maker and felt threatened when I created too. It was not a good friendship and I had to stop to see that girl: she was crazy on so many points anyway, it became impossible to handle. You should never stop doing art you love because a friend feels it's her territory and doesn't want you to compete. Friends are made for sharing and being happy about each other accomplishments.

Anyway , I took my jewelry paraphernalia to the dining room so I can have fun between chores. I am very busy in the studio, no room for fun!
This bracelet should be called "the pasta and writing lesson bracelet" , for obvious reasons. What's cooking, doc?

---------•••----------

Après un tout petit tour en France, j'ai envie de choses très Françaises qui n'existent pas chez nous en Californie...un vrai café au lait, des groseilles bien rouges, des bracelets avec des médailles en email de couleur , ou avec du biais Liberty comme à la droguerie. J'ai retrouvé ou commandé le matériel nécessaire pour les bracelets et installé un mini atelier sur un coin de table dans la salle à manger. Entre deux tâches je prends deux minutes pour moi. Cuisson des coquillettes, lave vaisselle en retard, hop une chaîne, hop un anneau...une minute par ci, une autre par là, je fais un bracelet en deux jours...je n'ai rien cramé jusqu'ici, on croise les doigts.

Médaillons achetés en ligne chez l'adorable Jisalée (http://www.alittlemercerie.com/boutique/perles_a_tout_va-175821.html), modèles avec biais La Droguerie, bracelet tricolore "nouilles et leçons" par moi, Delphine

Posté depuis l'iPad au fond du salon : pas de nouilles ce soir, il y a de la quiche, ça fait plus de temps pour poster...