First outfit post !

CALM YOURSELVES, it's exciting I know.

Cardigan and Brogues: Zara sale. Old and broken belt: Dorothy Perkins. Skirt: Warehouse. Dress (worn as a top): charity find, and shortened. Watch: charity find. Necklace: made from a keyring.

OK, this is my first one, and it's clear that I haven't found a decent place to take the photos yet- no one to take them for me ha ha. I'm rather limited in my little Paris boxroom so I'm afraid in front of the toilet door it will have to be (will move the rubbish bin out of shot next time...)

So how does this work then?

I LOVE this skirt. I've had it about a year now and I can wear it with pretty much anything. It's the perfect shape for tucking shirts/tops/dresses into and the perfect colour to put with anything. It's not the best thing to wear if I'm feeling a little bloated after a big meal but the elasticated waist makes way for it (and also probably why I was able to buy it in a size 10)
My turquoise dress is another favourite, one of those things I keep going back to. I can wear it in the day with a skirt/jeans/leggings, then dress it up with tights for the evening. I found it a couple of years ago for around £3- it was ankle length but the pattern and colour is so lush I just took it up. It tends to get shorther and shorter everytime I wash it, but it's so versatile it doesn't really matter.

This was going to be a longer post but I am super duper tired and need to think of some tongue twisters for my year 9 class tomorrow afternoon... right now I'm watching My So Called Life and absolutely loving the clothes and soundtrack, and the fact that Jared Leto looks good again. I think that may deserve a post of its own...

KM
x

The English are waiting and I don't know what to do

A few more pictures from my snap-happy weekends in Paris, these ones are a tad cloudier and grey than the last, but today was absolutely blazing hot so I'm hoping last weekend was a one-off!

We métro-d up to the 18th and visited the Musée de Monmartre, with free audio guides! The lady said they could be put "in English" but we were determined to have them in French, but it did mean I could only concentrate on one thing at the time, studying the photographs and paintings, or on what the audio guide was telling me. So I have decided they're not all that great. Unless they are totally free.

We also visited the Salvador Dali museum, which was great. I don't really want to upload many pictures I took of the pieces as the photos do not do them enough justice. However my favourite was a painting from a series he did based on Alice and Wonderland:

 I couldn't even tell you why I like it, I just do. There were of course other amazing pieces, such as the ol' elephant with the crystal on its head and the Mae West settee. I particularly liked the series of black and white photographs and accompanying interview with Dali which was hung on the wall as you walked up the exit stairs.

On a side note: I have just discovered that my camera does have a self-timer ! So it's not quite as rubbish as previously thought. I'd quite like to present a few of my favourite bits and pieces and clothing, but I feel that it's more likely to be completed back in the UK, when I have much more time and a full wardrobe, not the 5th of a wardrobe I have here full of "practical" things for work.
Having said I'll have more time, I am currently applying for a lot of summer jobs, so we'll see. I could really do with both the money but also something to do for 5 months before going back to university ! Fingers crossed...

I was listening to this beauty of a song when I began this post, hence the title:

The National- Mr. November

KM.
x

Les dimanches

Last weekend was the first Sunday of the month. That won't mean much to many, but if you are a piss-poor student living in Paris for a short period of time you will know it as the day when everything is free to visit! In the words of Brian Butterfield, you can literally do anything for 24 hours. Not quite, but last Sunday 6th March it was pretty roasting for end-of-Parisian-winter standards so we actually went outside and had a bit of a nosey about, exactly four weeks after we'd last bothered to do it.

We then commenced the longest walk I'd walked in a fair while, from the Arc de Triomphe and down the Champs Élysées, down to the Seine at Pont Alexandre III and along to the Notre Dame, via the Petit Palais and a cheeky wander outside the Louvre. Then a pop into the Shakespeare + co., before a quick tour of the crypts in the Panthéon finishing up with tea and merangue in the 5e.

'Sup Rousseau, how's tricks?

Yesterday (tuesday) I had a few over in the evening to my tiny room for a pancake feast ! They were all very successful, my final one being a particular masterpiece:

Lemon juice, banana, blueberry jam, apricot jam and sugar, heart attack :)

More importantly, it was International Women's Day aswell. I had a gander at the Guardian pages celebrating 8th March and became jealous over some events that I won't be able to attend this weekend !

KM.

Coming out of hibernation

Bonjour!

I'm not sure why today of all days I decided to write a new post. I'm still undecided whether I want to continue writing a blog or not; something that I haven't been able to decide for a few months. That and having a hectic life, believe it or not. My last post was before I moved to Paris for my 7 month stint as an assistante d'anglais in a secondary school. In general, everything is going ok. Now. It was a very intense and gruelling first 3 months getting used to the job, the city and with a heck of a lot of housing problems. Since I became finally settled in January, I've had university work and having fun in Paris to catch up with. I'm getting on with it now (despite another looming essay for univeristy) but I'm still...not, scared, but wary at least, about Paris. I love walking round it and going to the museums and sitting down to have a drink, but the amount of people still overwhelms me a tad. I love city life, but I've never liked London much so I have concluded that perhaps HUGE cities aren't my thing. Brighton, Cardiff...perfect. Smaller, incredibly chilled out places. I am enjoying aspects of my time here but I can't imagine living here for much longer, as it's complete sensory overload all the time and I'm exhausted. And that's just from my free time, not even my job!

So, that's the main reason I haven't blogged about the amazing city I'm in. I've been distracted, but even then I don't think I would do it justice. There are plenty of beautiful blogs about Paris that perfectly caputre it much better than I ever could, as a British girl only here for half a year. I have pictures of course, vast amounts of them, and they are of stunning things and places, but the time has passed from when I remember taking each individual one and uploading them all now would be silly.

I read a lot of amazing blogs on a daily basis, written by creative and funny people who seem to know what they're talking about. This is why they are interesting reads. So I decided today that I would try and write a few posts (I have given up "wasting time" for lent, so I'm trying to be better organised, for 40 days at least) and see where they lead. If they keep fading away, then I'll just stick to being an admirer of other people's blogs; something that is incredibly fun. But I do promise that every time I will write about my experiences; about things that I know about. I have been thinking "I'm missing a great opportunity here, I need to write about Paris!" But I don't know about Paris. I know about music, about being a student, about films, about low-end thrift fashion, about issue I give a dman about, about being a cheapskate, about Lewes, Brighton, Eastbourne, Cardiff... so that's what I'm going to try and concentrate on.

I'm here for another 6 weeks; it's at this point, however, that I realise how much of Paris I haven't seen. I'm talking about all the tourist thigns I've completely missed out on, and have to cram in now, so expect that to be the subject of the next few posts. Tourist Paris through my crappy digital camera as I rush around the city frantically.

I'm quite looking forward to it, actually.
KM.

Planning my wardrobe for the Parisian winter

Well, my camera died. That was obviously going to happen, by any stretch of the imagination. So the post on my purchases from the sunday boot fair will have to be another post- the camera has been fixed but I have to charge it now which could take forever. This is just proof that I am, as stated, not very good with technology. At all.

Instead, here's some pictures of Zara's adorable A/W 10-11, in shops and online now. I never usually count Zara as one of my favourite or most visited high street shops; I never really considered it "exciting" enough for the prices it charged. My mother wanted to visit it when we were shopping in Brighton last week. I'm not sure whether it's a transformation with the shop or me, but I stepped inside and wanted everything. EVERYTHING!

For those of you who know me: this isn't exactly what would be considered "my" style. I can usually be found in bright colours, ditzy florals, pattered tights, sequins, lace... and nearly always in dresses/playsuits/skirts (I hardly ever wear trousers) with a coloured belt thrown in and a giant flower in my hair.

So, with two weeks to go until I move to France, and therefore with no money to spend until I get paid/my grant comes through, now is not the best time for a complete wardrobe overhaul. But I have been thinking about the bitter Parisian winters (which have probably already started) and when I picture myself on a grey frosty day, walking down the boulevards with a café au lait, or sitting inside a brasserie with a spirit of some sort and a good book.. I am dressed from head to toe in Zara.

 

The colours are pretty simple really, but it's the mix of textures in the layering that keep it interesting. Fur is always a good thing in my books (fake, of course) as is floral print and high-waisted with belts. I've never thought I'd like anything in "camel", but it looks quite striking when it's strong material such as cordorouy, matched with denim and chunky sheepskin. It works if it's balanced with sheer neutrals, soft berries and retro prints. I think it's a look that can be considered casual as well as professional but can also be dressed up with the right items.

I just need to find some money to fund my complete wardrobe change for France. Luckily, Zara is a European shop so I could always save the splurge for Paris... (along with the new and huuuuuge H&M opening up on the Champs-Elysées...eek!)

KM.

P.S. I realise I've put the picture of the wooden clog sandal up twice, and that they're used in a further picture. But that's because it is probably my favourite piece. So similar to Hasbeens! But for around 1/3 of the price ; )

Je n'oublie personne!

This is just a post to say that I am still alive and living well and an apology for not updating enough. I am still trying to find the best way to upload pictures other than just attaching a file, aswell as trying to find a way of uploading songs that doesn't require being html-competent. This may take a while.

Tomorrow I shall (attempt to) put up some pictures from a camera, as opposed to from the internet. Exciting times! Practice makes perfect, trial and error, etc, and soon this will be a well thought out and well layed out blog: a joy to behold.

For now I am busy with preparation for France- forms, emails, phonecalls, hotels, housing, packing, organising my life in England before I leave it all, meeting up with my friends and finally, for the most of this evening anyway, stealing about 10,000 films and TV shows from OB in case I become a social recluse with no friends and have to spend all of my time obsessively watching movies. Let's hope not, but you never know.

On a side note, I shall be messing around with the layout/colour scheme for a very long time, I think. I am both very fickle and OCD about these things, so please excuse me if it keep changing.

KM.

I'm beginning to think you prefer France 92100 to me

So, this is an incredibly overdue post. I found out the area which I'm moving to for my year abroad nearly a month ago, but August has been HECTIC (parents away for half of it followed by Greenman festival- I would write a separate post on it but I didn't take any photos myself and the only ones other people took were of blurry stages, muddy days and my friends getting drunk...and naked).

Back on the ranch... Boulogne-Billancourt. Heard of it?

Cheating, maybe, but it includes everything useful about the place. 5 miles au coeur de Paris, 15 mins on the Métro into the centre. The British Council gave me a pretty good hand to deal with, I think.

Lovely, n'est pas? Of course these images have all ben captured on brilliantly sunny days so hopefully I'll get some grizzly grey ones of my own up here soon (!).

I can't hide from it: ANYWHERE in Paris or the surrounding areas will be an expensive place to live, but everything else makes up for it- the history, the sights, the museums, the monuments, the cuisine, the fashion, the music venues, the films, the lifestyle... and perhaps most importantly for me, the JOBS.

Did you know that this video is filmed in Boulogne-Billancourt? Lucky me!

And that THIS MAN originates from there? I need to get my night-vision goggles out... (that's a joke. Maybe.)

Gaspard Ulliel

 I wonder if he's looking for a lodger for a few months...?

KM.