life list: make my own ice cream.

stickygooeychef

Ampersand85

coco cake

did you ever read american girl stories when you were young?

we were big fans at my house

ever since reading how 

samantha made ice cream 

in a home made ice cream maker

i've wanted to do that

i'd make fresh strawberry

or vanilla bean

or mint chocolate chip

or peppermint

mmm

what flavor would you make?

ps.

here i stumbled about a recipe for chocolate thin mint ice cream

yes please.

a+

alli

a shitty easter.

since easter is this sunday,

i've taken the opportunity to talk about it

with some of my classes.

the youngest and the oldest

everyone has something to say.

in france, tradition is that

les cloches

bring the easter candy to little children

anxiously waiting easter morning.

bells!

not an easter bunny

although you see rabbits everywhere anyway

all the boulangeries

 and patisseries

are filled with chocolate fish

chocolate ducks

chocolate bears

i decided to not necessarily go into 

the religious side of easter,

but rather let the kids bring it up if they wanted to.

which most of them did

they explained to me that jesus was

resucitated...

ressucité

resurrected

three days after he died. 

in one of my 6ièmes classes, the youngest ones

a curious boy interrogated me

'madame, why are we talking about rabbits is it's about jesus?'

how do i describe that to a ten year old?

even in my own language, i feel weird about it

while i was still pondering how to answer this curious guy

the class started yelling out their own thoughts

'maybe jesus and the rabbits deliver the eggs together'

'but why do we have eggs? where do they come from?'

and then came the show stopper

from the corner

un petit malin

who yelled out

'non, non, ce sont des lapins qui chient des oeufs!'

apparently, the rabbits shit the eggs, and then deliver them.

originale, n'est-ce pas?

the class all looked at me

wanting to laugh

knowing they shouldn't

that little guy had a note written to his parents that day

but i have to say

A for Creativity

although if that were the case, 

i think we would enjoy easter egg hunts a lot less...

a+

alli

le weekend.

deliciousness.

which would make this, heaven.

me, about to try to caramel beurre salé macaroon.

caramel and salted butter.

sounds a little strange.

guarantee you it is nothing but wonderful.

catching up with ryan.

i've now seen him in four countries.

austria, gemany, france, and the us.

mmm!

copacabana night with the assistants.

alright, i look excited to be there at least.

the first pictures are from my trip to lyon,

last wednesday.

to try this fabulous macaroon shop

and visit my friend Ryan, studying French there.

one of my favorite cities, 

wish i could have spent more time there!

also, as a side note- 

i don't usually like macaroons.

but that store changed everything for me.

it seems fitting

that every time i write a post about the weather

the opposite rolls in as soon as i finish the post.

i blame my 'i love spring' post

for the rain we had all weekend

made me want those rainboots i never bought

even more!

and regret the fact that i left my parapluie

in the teachers lounge for the weekend.

sunday i walked under the raindrops 

to palm sunday mass

in france (and maybe a lot of europe?)

they don't celebrate with palms, 

but buis, boxwood.

easter's only a few days away!

which doesn't seem possible.

what did you do this weekend?

stay out of the rain?

a+

alli

falling in love.

hello!

i know i haven't been here very much this week.

but it doesn't mean i haven't been thinking about it!

so many things to write about

the week just kind of got away from me.

yesterday i strolled along the streets of Lyon

one of my favorite French cities

(besides Paris, obbbbviously)

visited with a friend from college

talked about languages yet to learn

cities yet to visit

today i got some exciting news

looks like i'll be moving back across the atlantic

come next fall

try my french alongside les quebecois

see if they can understand my "France French" and vice versa

very exciting!

in other news, 

i am absolutely falling in love

with spring

which has decided to come and stay for awhile

the smell of the air in the evening

the sun shining through the windows in the morning

stars speckled above my head

riding my bike home in a light sweater

beaune is vivant again

the first time i ever came to france,

i was 17

i'll never forget driving through the countryside

in a van full of rowdy americans

and a french teacher trop content

to be back in la france

windows rolled down, driving next to sunflowers

arching to gaze at the sun 

listening to a guitar strumming calmly,

watching the rain move across a valley

the noise, a whisper at first and then a roar

completely content

that was

the first time i fell in love with france

but every spring, the wave of nostalgia that comes with the budding flowers

and warm breeze

is so strong.

it's like i'm falling in love with the season

the atmosphere

the culture

all over again

and i'm loving every second

is there something you fall in love with every year?

as strong each time as it was before?

a+

alli

photo.

le weekend.

hand woven baskets.

garlic. fruit. sun dried tomatoes. and an awesome hat.

garliccc.

fresh fruit.

fresh flowers.

sunday walk in the park.

the funniest ducks i've seen in awhile.

instead of sitting in the river, 

all three were sitting at the edge of the road

unfazed by the passing cars

content sitting in the sun.

vines getting ready for spring.

fresh fruit at the market.

flowers smiling in the breeze.

les beaunois wandering with their wooden baskets

full of market goodies.

roasting chickens

cheese, eggs, fresh loaves of bread

flour sprinkled on checkered towels.

beaune is coming alive again!

lovely spring weather

means spring coats

ballerina flats

and sunny bike rides.

what was the best part of your weekend?

a+

alli

quirks.

I feel most myself when my hair is curly

Or when I’m wearing my red coat

I’ve gone on a morning run on my birthday every year for at least the past 5 years.  It’s a tradition.

I’ve lived the last two years of my life in two languages.

I love my feet.  Especially my toes. 

When people ask me how long I’ve been learning French, I never know what to say.  Honestly, I remember French teachers coming to my Kindergarten class at Montessori school, but I feel weird admitting it.

I hate listening to people eat.  You shouldn’t take it personally, I hate your noises just as much as the next person. 

I passed the exam to get my pilots license 7 days after my 18^th birthday.  My flight examiner’s name was Albert Halbert.

I have an inexplicable and irrational fear of things falling on me.  I’ve never really voiced it out loud, but I’m often thinking of what could collapse or fall down on me from way high above.  It’s a completely illogical, I’ve never had anything fall on me before.  Knock of wood.  Too much Wiley Coyote cartoons as a kid.

I always notice how people walk.  Strangers, good friends, colleagues, relatives.  If their feet point inwards or outwards when they step.  If they walk slow or fast. 

My sister and I still have this unspoken rule about who sits in the front seat when we ride in the car with other people.  Her on the way there, me on the way back.  Even in our twenties.

what are some of your quirks?

what makes you, you

the ones you keep secret

or the ones you readily admit to

anyone else with a fear of falling pianos?

can't wait to hear :)

a+ 

alli

life list: go to the batting cages.

honestly,

i'm a little ashamed to say i spent 

14 years

of my life so far in the midwest...

and i've never been to the batting cages

silly

but true.

photo.

one day i'll go

put on a helmet

a glove

wait for the pitch

and see how i do

i'll be a little sad 

not to run the bases though

or have any caramel corn or a budweiser

or a hot dog

who wants to come with me?

a+

alli

le weekend.

the wonderfully sunny montpellier sky

doors.

picnic spot.

roomies!

THE assistants.

roomies take 2.

march, folks.  MARCH.

sunnnnny.

afternoon carousel ride.

on a vitamin D high.

winding streets.

great company.

i did some amazing things this weekend.

i wore a tshirt

i let the mediterranean tickle my toes

i got a SUN BURN!

i didn't see ONE cloud

i wandered around a wonderful city 

with absolutely wonderful company

we sat at cafés

sharing funny stories

being obnoxious

soaking up the time we have left with each other

every time i put my hands in the pockets of my coat

i can still feel sand from the beach

a lovely reminder of the weekend

and a reminder that i'll have to go back

sometime soon

i stocked up on my vitamin D

which is a good thing since it's cloudy today

now off to start my work week

this weekend i have a concert

i'll be singing a solo 

for the first time since high school

wish me luck!

what does your week look like?

teach for the world.

a school in Haiti

3 cups of tea

and this article here, which appeared today in the nytimes

these are just a few reasons i want to be involved in education

it talks all about an idea stemmed from 

the peace corps 

and teach for america

this idea of sending americans not only around our country

but around the world

to teach in classrooms

to experience another way to live

it's a combination of the

eye-opening experience of traveling

and the humbling and patience-inducing experience of teaching

sometimes all we need to remember is 

understanding.

empathy, or even the effort to find empathy...

shouldn't that be the ultimate battle? 

read the article, tell me what you think!

i would hop on board a team for teach for the world

in a second

a+

alli

life list: sew a skirt

along with cooking an extravagant homemade meal all from scratch

having my own vegetable garden

and 

writing (and maybe illustrating?) a children's book

one day i also plan to sew a skirt. 

maybe even this adorable one

how cute is that?

i would make mine in red

with polka dot material for the pockets

pair it with a striped shirt

some navy flats

or strappy gold sandals

a pair of sunglasses 

summatime please!

it even has a link to a tutorial, that i miiiiiiight be able to follow 

never mind that i'll have to learn how to use a sewing machine first...

got a birthday gift idea, madre : D

here are some more pictures that make me wish i would have taken drawing classes at some point

another life list item!

photos via the hidden seed

interestingly enough,

a teacher

and author, of a children's book

also she has a fabulous collection of shoes

:D

still working on your life list?

share with me!

a+

alli

what kind of normal?

ever stopped to think how your life changes?

what you consider normal, or what once was?

routines. 

habits.

languages.

hairstyle.

friends.

passions.

putting on a left shoe first or the right.

peanut butter toast with a cup of coffee.

or granola and yogurt with green tea.

having 16 hours of class a week.

12 hours of work a week, instead.

sometimes changes are incredibly obvious.

moving 1500 miles across the country 6 weeks into high school.

having an address in another country.

other times nearly imperceptible.

thinking in a different language.

a different fruit at the supermarket.

a new favorite color.

but are the only important changes, the ones that are startlingly obvious?

i like to believe that changes... the important ones 

start as a very small

teeny tiny voice

with no chance to pinpoint.

over time they grow, until 

one day with no pressure or prompting

you just know.

something has changed.

i know it's not always like that though.

i think there's something romantic in the thought, the belief

that sometimes the smallest seemingly insignificant things 

are really the heart of everything.

so listen closely

look twice

what's changing in your life?

what's normal now that wasn't before?

a+

alli

ps. 

you will laugh at me when i tell you how i thought of this post.

because it wasn't technically anything small

when i was unlocking my bike today to ride home from work

i heard something loud and boisterous rolling down the road.

a diesel motor chugging against the wind

and without looking i knew what it was

six months ago, i would not have thought that was normal. 

but today i could have told you without looking.

odd how perceptions change, isn't it.

photo.  

le weekend.

happy monday afternoon!

well, i'm hoping that monday finds you doing well.

it has been realllllly winnnndy here recently

making bike rides and non-ponytail hair a little complicated 

:O

here are a couple of pictures from my weekend.

lunch with a professor, where i tasted my new favorite fromage

which was a littttle bit like this

a visit to a town called autun

its cathedral and a museum with lovely red walls

a walk along the ramparts in the wind

yummy chicken drummies in the oven 

autun museum. 

i liked the floor even more than the displays :)

that's a mosaic!

rawr.

outside of cathedral st. lazare

this was really the only light in the cathedral.

it was kind of gloomy

pretty windows.

a clock with the wrong time :)

pretty courtyard, back in beaune

a nice surprise in the hidden courtyard.

finishing up day one of my work week.

this weekend i'm going to hop on the TGV 

and cherche for some mediterranean sun

down in montpellier!

the last time i was there was last november

to visit a lovely friend 

and even then, the sun was gleaming

so tell me, how was your weekend

?

a+

alli