A family week-end at the B's

Last week-end, I came back to my parents for a couple of days. I haven't seen them since I started college a month ago and it was great to come home ! Guillaume came with me and we have been lucky enough to enjoy the lovely weather. 

Home Sweet Home

I particularly enjoyed being outside. I have noticed that I got really upset about living in a city. When I was in Dublin, the noises, the traffic and the crowd made me nuts. I needed to get out in the countryside at least once a month to see green and landscapes. Have some fresh air. I guess I am a country girl after all, even if I found it really uncool when I was younger. For me, the country was boring and there was nothing to do in my area. But I see things differently now and I really cherish my countryside, my region and nature. I particularly love it during the fall season, as the leaves fall and the colors change. I had to go to an appointment early in the morning last Friday; it was just amazing to see the fog mixing with the first rays of sun, the trees turning to gold ... I am proud of where I come from. I guess it's part of growing up, accepting where you come from and feeling attached to your roots !

After my doctor appointment in the morning, we decided to have a walk in the afternoon. We took Ben with us and drove to a small village near my parents'. My pup was SO happy to get into my car and go out for a walk. Since it was not really the week-end already, there was nobody there. It was really quiet and we could fully enjoy the landscape. Plus, it was lovely out there: sunny but not too warm, walking near the river under the trees. It was a really nice walk and we even took a small boat to cross the water.

On Saturday, we had a feast for my birthday. As usual, my family gathered to celebrate, except my brother who is in Canada and my godmother who was working that day. But this year was a bit special as one of my uncle, his girlfriend and their baby boy were visiting us. I met Tom, who will turn one this week-end. It was the first time I was seeing him as they live in the West Indies and it was Tom's first trip to France. He is a funny little boy, always smiling and willing to play. He is full of life and started to walk only a few days before coming to visit us ! We had a great time, having some appetizers in the garden on Saturday evening and a lovely dinner cooked by my Dad. On Sunday, we had our last barbecue of the year and we spent some time in the garden before heading back to our place.

As usual, this week-end went too fast ! I did not even had time to realize I was there that it was already over. It was nice to get some fresh air and be with my loved ones. I already cannot wait for the holidays in three weeks !

September Goals

Hey y'all !

September has always been a big month for me. First, because I was born in September and secondly, because it is the back to school season. Therefore, this month always means that I can have a fresh start in the school system but also in my personal life. Like New Year's resolutions, September is the opportunity to make some changes in my lifestyle and start over.

But before listing my new goals for September, let's get back to August's !

August Goals:

• Write my thesis and my report ✓
• Sign up to the public library ✓
• Go to the farmer market ✓
• Have breakfast in bed  x
• Order pizzas from Domino's (missed them too much !) ✓
• Go to the beach ✓
• Donate blood ✓
• Loose weight  x

Frankly, I am surprised I did so many things last month ! I usually plan to many things to do and never achieve them. Of course, I still struggle with my weight ... But I keep working on it ! I really focused on two major goals: being reunited with my family and Guillaume, and my studies. And guess what ? I finally catch up on my assignments ! I gave my thesis and report back last Friday and had an oral exam this morning. I don't have to rush anymore and can start my (hopefully) last year of college peacefully ! So now, what about the coming month ?

September Goals:

• Write a post per week
• Organize a birthday party with my friends
• Be more supportive with Guillaume
• Find an internship
• Answer my emails more often
• Be more serious about loosing weight
• Start saving money

I am aware that I am not posting as much as I should, but now that I respected the deadlines for my homework, I will have more time to devote myself to the blog. Also, I will be celebrating my 22nd birthday in a couple of days, and it will be the opportunity to meet up with my closest friends ! Moreover, I feel that I need to be there for Guillaume. He finished his last year of masters and will have his thesis defense in a few weeks, so it will be a big deal and a lot of stress. Guillaume is also looking for a job at the moment, which is much more complicated than we thought it would be. I think that he is going to need me and I have to be compassionate.

What about you ? Do you like September ? It is not Fall in France already. To be honest, the weather is a lot nicer than it was in August ! We are having a late summer and we are still enjoying a bit of sun before the new season !

Happy birthday to the sweetest little girl !

About eleven years ago, at the beginning of January, I found a piece of paper in the playground of my school. There were nothing but numbers written on it: 30/01/2003. I thought it was weird, as this day did not happen yet and I threw the paper away. But on January 30th 2003, a couple of days later, my little cousin Zoe was born. I already had other cousins from my age, but Zoe and I have a special connection. We get on well like friends, despite our different ages. Our family keeps thinking that she is a mini-me and that we look a lot alike. Through the years, I have spent most of my summer holidays with her in Ireland, and I ended up living at her place last year. We like the same songs and the same tv programs and unconsciously, she does the same things I did when I was her age, like performing during family dinners or when there are guests. When you see Zoe and I walking together, you could think we are sisters, even if she is ten years younger. And to me, she is like the little sister I never had.

Christmas, 2007

You should know that Zoe is Irish and French. She speaks English fluently but she used to have some difficulties with French, which was really funny when she tried to pronounce some French names with the letter "r" or made cute grammar mistakes. She is the sweetest girl I know. Zoe is only eleven, but she has such a big heart ... When she comes to visit my parents, she buys some sweets and she is like "Are you sure EVERYONE loves it ?". It is so funny because I have never met a kid of her age who likes buying gifts and presents for other people. She always gives her toys and old clothes to other children who come from large families or gives them to charity (well, except the bed she had as a baby because she wants her children to have it ! Yes she does !).

One happy family, June 2013

She is only eleven, but she is very gifted. Since she was a toddler, she always said: "When I will be older, I will be a mother, a singer and a teacher !". The fun fact is that she still believes it ! She is good at school, even if we speak French at home and no one speaks Irish. She also has a wonderful voice and sings in her school's choir.  She will also be performing in an opera in March and I am so happy to be there to support her !

Last year, when I moved to Ireland for my semester abroad, I had some of my friends in the same college. She knew all of them. When she first met Guillaume, she asked him so many questions that she probably knew more stuff than I did ! She knew his sisters' names, their age, how many uncles and aunts he had ...  I like that she gets on well with Guillaume. I remember when he came to visit last year, I found them chatting in my room about Harry Potter and kids books, it was so funny ! Zoe cares about her family and her friends, but in the good way. One day, when she was upset, I asked her if it was because of school. She told me that one girl was messing with her and I asked her if that was the reason why she was sad and she said: "No, I just don't want to do my homework. I don't like this girl, so I don't care what she says about me." Well, I should take that as a lesson ! I think it's unbelievable to hear that from the mouth of an eleven years old girl, especially in our society in which what people think of us matter so (too ?) much. 

Yesterday, my baby cousin turned eleven, and I had to write something about her and how amazing she is. 

I hope she will read this someday and understand how much I love her. Happy Birthday Zoe ! :)

Turning 21 !

Twenty one years ago, a little girl was born in front of an ocean ... Twenty-one years ago ? Already ? I remember when I was eight, I told my mum I would live the house when I would turn eighteen, so I would become a famous singer and live my life. Ah ah, how silly I was ! I am now twenty one, and I never really left my parents' home. It had been a family joke ever since ! My aunt loves to remind me that story by singing Charles Aznavour's song "Je m'voyais déjà" ah ah. I perfectely remember when I turned fourteen, when I started to become a young girl. I remember when I turned eighteen as well, surrounded by my loving family.

This year, I was really excited to go home for this special week-end. Especially because I have been away for three weeks. I had a great time last week, I was spoiled. On my birthday, Guillaume offered me many little things from my favorite decoration shop, Maison du Monde. He also wanted to bring me to the restaurant, but I have decided to stay home, order our favorite pizzas and watch Game of Thrones ... That was awesome, just to be the two of us, without no one around ! I really enjoyed spending such quality time with him ... And on Wednesday evening, four of my good friends came over for an "apéritif" (which is typically French, we basically eat finger food and drink wine all night). It was nice to see them and to keep seing them that often ! 

Family ♥ 

I had class on Friday and on Saturday morning, so I was not able to come home as soon as usual. During my course on Saturday, I was really excited to see my family, my dog and spend the rest of this short week-end with them. We arrived there around 4pm and lucky me, the weather was lovely. We spent some time in the garden, dressed the table and get everything ready. My dad is an amazing cook, he cooked the finger food and a lovely Couscous. The cherry on top was my birthday cake he spent the week to bake ! I LOVED IT ! I used to have this same cake when I was a little girl !

Parfait au chocolat ... Perfect !

Well, it was a really quick week-end ... Only 24 hours at home. I am so sad I didn't have enough time to take pictures of the garden, enjoy the indian summer we had that day and have a stroll with my lovely dog ! I was quite home sick and blue when I got back to our flat. I don't know if I can call it "home" as my real home will always be my parents' ... Anyway, Guillaume was there to cheer me up and cook lasagnas :)  

Sleepy Benji