March 2019 – Toppsy Turvy

Smile

Published on March 26, 2019March 29, 2019 by Kristin1 Comment

I’m getting better at driving in L.A. But parallel parking? That’s a whole other can of worms.

Don’t blame me–blame the southern school system into which I was thrust while all my Midwestern friends were taking drivers ed in school.

Guys, it’s difficult not to be in a good mood in Los Angeles. The sun is shining, it’s not too hot (yet), people are wearing sunglasses indoors, there are food trucks everywhere. I mean, come on!

Sometimes when I’m in Atlanta I listen to this song

on repeat in the mornings to get my mood into the right space, but here I don’t even have to do that! I still do, though, because this song is magical. If you want an instant good mood, just blast this song when you wake up. That’s it, you’re done–you’re happy as f*ck now.

And if that’s not enough, L.A. will send you uplifting messages throughout the day.

This past weekend we did go to the Griffith Observatory at night, and it was pretty but there weren’t that many stars visible. The planetarium made up of for it, though. Beautiful. We also found some good French restaurants. My favorite, so far, was Oriel Chinatown.

I also went to The Row store, which is my favorite clothing brand that I can’t afford. That’s okay, though. I just buy secondhand, which saves my bank account and the earth.

I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to go to the store, though. The Olsens have great taste, and I had to see it firsthand.

I live.

Alright–I’m hungry and there’s a taco truck somewhere with my name on it. G’bye!

Bonjour, Los Angeles

Published on March 23, 2019 by KristinLeave a comment

The Bae is in L.A. working for a few weeks. That means that I am in L.A.–not working. Not technically, anyway. But I am working at trying to discover the L.A. French scene. I don’t know what that looks like exactly apart from French restaurants, but…I’m working that out. On Monday I’m gonna go to the French Alliance in Los Angeles and see what they can tell me.

Until then, I’m going to the usual haunts. Yesterday, I strode down Rodeo Drive to the beat of Pretty Woman playing in my head. I didn’t buy anything–I didn’t even go into any of the stores. But it was still fun for me! The weather is lovely and I’m getting the chance to figure out my L.A. fashion vibe. I’m thinking Nicole Richie but a little less bohemian. I already packed a stupid amount of kimonos, so I think I’m on the right track.

I also went to the Glossier store yesterday. It was beautiful! I wanted to leave with everything, but I was good and only bought another bottle of the body wash because I was low.

I planned on going more places yesterday, but driving alone in a new (and crowded!) city turned out to be more stressful than I had anticipated. Every time I parked the car safely at my destination I breathed a huge sigh of relief.

This weekend I have lots planned, though. We are definitely going to the Griffith Observatory, but at night so I can see some stars in the sky! And I have a couple of French restaurants I wanna try. Right now we’re leaving to hike Bronson Canyon. I’m not complaining because it isn’t too hot and I should be able to get some nice photos out of it!

À la prochaine !

The Bright Side

Published on March 20, 2019 by KristinLeave a comment

I feel like I’m flailing in my French fluency goal. I am studying every day (almost), but I don’t know if I’m getting anywhere. It’s difficult to know without tests of some sort. And there is also no plan. I guess I follow my study book chapter by chapter, so there’s that. But how do I test my improvement? How do I know if I’m really advancing? I still can’t understand most of my favorite French movie (Priceless). I understand some of the French YouTube fashion videos that I watch, but not enough to celebrate or anything. I’ve started increasing my listening time, and after about forty-five minutes my brain fights me every step of the way. After an hour, my brain is like

and I can’t cajole it back into submission. Maybe if I split up my listening sessions–one hour in the morning, one in the evening? I don’t know–it’s pretty annoying. IT’S MY BRAIN! It should listen to me! Understand this fucking language, brain!

I gave up sugar four days ago, so I’m taking everything a little harder than usual.

I bought a French decor magazine a couple of weeks ago, and I didn’t know like seventy percent of the words in it. How is that even possible?! That’s probably my fault for limiting my French listening to Barbie and Caillou. Not the most sophisticated vocabulary, right? But…everything else is so hard to understand!

Today I hung out with my friend, Julie, who is French, and that helps a lot because I can understand her and when I can’t she explains things so that I can. It’s just bizarre to me that I can understand a lot of what she says, but everyone else is so difficult to decipher. Why won’t my brain stop betraying me? I’ve always been so good to it.

I should really switch the narrative and frame all of this in a more positive light, huh? I understand some French YouTube videos. I can talk with Julie in French. I can listen to forty-five minutes of French. I know thirty percent of the words in my French decor magazine. I can understand a lot of Caillou and Barbie en français. These are all things I couldn’t do a few years ago. Perhaps my brain is not betraying me. I mean–it is being stubborn…but then look who it belongs to.

Okay, yeah. I should learn to be more positive. That’s just really tough to do on your fourth day without sugar!

À bientôt !

The Robe Can Wait

Published on March 19, 2019 by KristinLeave a comment

Remember when India Arie sang “sometimes I shave my legs, and sometimes I don’t/sometimes I comb my hair, and sometimes I won’t“? I HAVE NEVER FELT MORE SEEN.

I’m currently lying on the bed trying to decide if I should do my hair. I mean… I assume so, but I don’t feel like it so I’m looking for any feedback that says it’s not necessary. Tell me what I want to hear, guys. Agree with me. Please.

I don’t know how it happened but I agreed to go out tonight. On a Tuesday. For a while I thought about how I could get out of it, but then I remembered that I just bought a(nother) pair of snakeskin boots, and this could be a good opportunity to wear them. Are we all aware of my chronic condition that doesn’t allow me to walk away from snakeskin in a store? I can’t do it. I am physically unable.

Anyway I’m gonna wear my boots and my boots dictate that I wear a smoky eye and a smoky eye mandates some big hair.

I don’t make the rules.

Not gonna lie, though. When I went to search for that Beyonce gif, I typed in “Beyonce Hair” and every single one that popped up made me want to do my hair. I should’ve done that hours ago.

One of my best friends got a promotion, and we’re going out to celebrate with her. We’ve all gotta wake up early in the morning, so I don’t foresee us being out all night. But if we are, I guess that’s okay. Celebrating a friend is more important than (one night’s) sleep!