Monday, April 19, 2010

Cooking, Seeing a movie etc...

(Eiffel tower apron)

I have been on a bit of a vacation from this blog for a while. Well, it was more of a sick vacation, as I didn't feel well the last week I didn't write. However, now finally back to feeling better, I have been back to cooking--something I have always loved. However, I now more than ever, cook everything from scratch and from the best ingredients I can afford.
I do not always make French dishes. On the contrary, I make French dishes, but also Italian, Asian, Indian, American etc. What I do differently while "living French" is I make sure to use butter not vegetable oil (which by the way I have never used--it used to be the healthier version, canola oil). I always always make sure to have a balanced meal. I also take more time to make a nice place setting to eat together, as I want to really enjoy my food. According to the book Entre Nous: A Woman's Guide to Finding Her Inner French Girl, this is a very French thing to do. Sitting down to eat, enjoying the food. And, not to insult anyone who may read or who has written a book about a French woman's diet, I want to make it clear I am not eating this way in hope that I'll lose a few. I am a healthy size 6/8 and proud of it. If I lose weight, that's life. If I don't, that's life. C'est la vie. I don't aspire to be stick thin, as the only time I was stick thin (between 21 and 23) was because I was literally starving myself in the dorm I lived in my college, since the food was so bad. I love food! I just couldn't find anything edible in my college, nor did I have the money to buy things to cook. So, naturally, I gained a little bit of weight cooking all my own things when I lived on my own and had a job to buy good food. I actually ate healthier, but I ate more, so I gained a bit of weight. I'm still small, but curvy and I like it that way. So, to make a long story short, paying attention to the quality in my ingredients even more than I have been doing is a benefit because I think it's healthy, but I don't care if I lose weight or not, as long as my clothes fit and I maintain my current weight. I am happy with the way I look now. And isn't that supposed to be a French saying, too? Joie de vivre? Enjoying life in this moment, just the way things are, just the way I am. I'm finding the joy in life, and how can someone find any joy in life if they don't enjoy food?
I also cut my bangs! I love them so much, and now going back to something more like my natural color, bringing my bangs back, and being more natural with my look, I actually feel more like myself! I don't walk around thinking I'm French. Although, I am now seeing this is the point. French women want to look and therefore, feel more like a great version of themselves. And although I got many compliments on my previous long red hair, I feel more confident and comfortable in my natural brown hair and even more so with my bangs back.
(poster for French film "Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot")

Aside from cooking and bangs, I plan to see an old French film tomorrow with one of my friends, mes amies. We are going to an historic theater that often plays independent and classic films. The movie is called "Mr. Hulot's Holiday" (Les Vancances de Monsieur Hulot) . It's supposed to be a comedy about a bachelor who stays in a resort and causes a series of events to occur. It's a comedy, so hopefully, it will be good. I love comedies and I'm a fan of old movies, so this one should be good. We'll see how it goes tomorrow. I'll write about the movie and do a mini review. Until then, I also plan to take photographs of some of the clothing I have been wearing. Although, I normally dress well, lately, I have been paying attention to make my style a bit more like that of the pictures of Parisians I see on various French fashion blogs I am a fan of. This will be a later blog I will write. Before then, I'll be writing about other things.
Bonsoir.

Anne

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