Recipe : Quiche Lorraine

If you have been reading my blog, then you would know that I am from France. However, I've never really mentioned where from. My region is called Lorraine, you may have heard about Alsace-Lorraine before, well that's pretty much it. 

My place is located in East of France, 2h away from the German border. If I can, I will try to show you a few things from my place but for now, I thought I would share a few recipes of traditional and local food. There are so many though and I wasn't sure where to start but I've finally opted for a Quiche Lorraine, which is something you probably know already. 

I thought it would be interesting to show you how easy it is to cook and maybe this will inspire you to try it at home.

QUICHE LORRAINE

Ingredients : 

• Shortcrust pastry
• 200g of bacon
• 50g of grated Cheddar
• 150mL of crème fraiche
• 200mL of single cream
• 3 eggs
• Salt and Pepper

Instructions :

Pre-heat your oven to 190°C

Roll out the shortcrust pastry and place it on a fluted flan tin covered with baking paper.

For your filling, start by cutting the bacon in small pieces and cook it in a frying pan until they are golden and slightly crispy. 

Scatter the bacon and half of the cheese over the bottom of the pastry case.

Mix the creme fraiche and the single cream together with a fork. Beat the eggs and add them to cream mix. Add some salt and pepper, the rest of the cheese and pour in your pastry case.

Cook in the oven for 30 minutes, the top of your quiche has to be slightly golden. 

Let it cool down for a few minutes. 

You can serve it hot or cold, it will be delicious either way! I served mine cold with some salad on the side. 

Blog's 1st Anniversary Giveaway!!!

This month marked something rather important for me, this blog's first anniversary. Now, I know I have been a bit inconsistent with my posts over the year but I've never felt the need to blog so much than I do now, so I am in for a while.
I thought I would organise a little giveaway to celebrate this and I hope you guys will like it. Although I would love it to be international, this giveaway is for UK residents only.

WIN A £20 BOOTS GIFT CARD !!

I'm hosting this giveaway on Rafflecopter so I'm assuming you all know how it works. Good luck to you all and please feel free to have a look at some of my posts while you're here.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

An afternoon on the lake

One of our friends has a speed boat and with the sun who finally decided to come back, we thought it was the perfect excuse to use it for the first time this year. Normally, I always find an excuse not to go, simply because I am very sea-sick but this time, Mr. T and his friend managed to convince me to go with them. They love wake-boarding and kneeboarding so these two always try to go whenever they can and I have to admit I was a bit curious to know what it was like.

I had no idea of what to expect. Was I going to be sick the whole time? Well, you will be glad to know that I was perfectly fine. It took me a few minutes to adjust to that slow rocking motion, but when we were at full speed, I couldn't have been feeling any better.
We rented a lake for 4 hours at Russel Watersports in Eversley, Berkshire and it really is worth it if you own your boat. If you don't, you always have the option to rent one or just opt for jet skies which are so much fun too!

Anyway, I thought I would show a couple of photos instead of writing about it.

Help, all my friends are pregnant and married!

Have you ever had this feeling that everyone around you is either getting married or expecting a baby, all pretty much at the same time? I have! Especially now, it feels like these past 6 months have been a succession of weddings, invites for future weddings and babies announcements.

It never stops, when you least expect it, another one comes up. The latest one having occurred just yesterday… I got back from work and Mr. T came out of the kitchen to casually told me "Oh, have I told you about J and D? They're 13 weeks pregnant." As much as I am happy for them, I also have to admit that there is a tiny hint of jealousy in me. I know I should never compare my life to someone else's but it looks like I can't help it. Everyone is buying their house, they are all engaged and they all are planning or already expecting babies. Which makes me wonder if my turn will finally come. 

Photograph: i love images/Alamy

At the moment, I have to work really hard on being able to trust Mr. T again. He's done something stupid, I can't trust him anymore and I am mad at him for that. So bloody and incredibly mad! I act like everything is better now but they aren't. It was always going to be a matter of days before we would go back to where we were. Sadly, this wasn't a very good place. Definitely not the kind of place where you can plan seriously on getting a house or even talking babies. This is killing me so much on the inside, I feel absolutely empty but I believe, and hope, things will get better. They have to! Because despite everything, I still want the future I imagined for us both. 

But back to the point, I don't know if it's something that comes with age but it's funny how I've just realised the amount of my friends who are pregnant and married. We're all pretty much 25 years old, or slightly more so I suppose this is the time when it all happens but wow, this is quite impressive. My Facebook news feed is slowly getting full of photos of bumps, new borns and white dresses. Seriously, when on earth did that happen? It feels like we were at school just yesterday, writing letters to each other on our notebooks or talking about boy crushes.

Any of you feel the same way? Or have been at some point?

A weekend in Devon #2

As I finally got a weekend off, we decided it would be nice to go away for a couple of days so naturally, we went to Devon in Mr. T's family cottage. The weather was meant to be okay and we definitely could use some family time so off we went on Friday night.

Now, I already blogged about what we're normally up to in Devon, so this time I thought I would make a little video. It's not great as the camera I used is getting a bit old and used, but it did the job. I hope you enjoy watching.

Technology is a passion-killer

Source : Google Images

Last night, I was in bed with the boyfriend (let's call him Mr. T from now on) and once again, I found myself very annoyed by the fact he was on his iPad, ignoring me completely.

Everyday, he comes back from work and goes straight to either his iPad, checking all the updates on social networks and then spend hours on eBay. In all fairness, he does have a bit of an addiction for eBay but jeeeez, I just wished he could get his eyes off of his tablet for 5 minutes and actually have a conversation with me. When we go to bed, his phone normally takes over the iPad for one last visit on Facebook/Snapchat/eBay/instagram before he goes to sleep, leaving me frustrated.

I have tried many things to get his attention. I explained to him how it made me feel, but still no reaction from his part. I have tried to turn it off while he was using it but he would just get annoyed with me. I have even tried to be a cheeky girl and going to bed under-dressed but still, nothing! So many attempts but yet, nothing has changed.

So I'm starting to think that maybe, it's just a normal thing nowadays. Maybe, technology has invaded every couples' relationship, ruining any hope of intimacy and complicity. Mr. T and I used to be so passionate about each other, especially him but then time flies and it seems to fade and be replaced by stuff like that. Well, that's rubbish! I don't like. I liked it a lot more when he used to drop everything just to cuddle for a little while. Sadly now, it's like it doesn't matter anymore.

Having said all that, I do feel grateful for one thing. He's not too bothered about video games and football. THANK GOD FOR THAT! This might be one of the things that I genuinely feel so thankful for because if it were one of his hobbies, then I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have any chance of communicating with him at all.

What about you girls? Do you feel like technology has taken over the passion in your relationship as well? What do you do about it? Any tips will be gladly taken...

You know you work in a hotel when...

Having worked in a hotel for a year, I now have a pretty clear idea of all the pros and cons of a job in hospitality. Sadly, there are more cons than pros…

The biggest being that working in a hotel pretty much entails you to put aside your personal life. You will either have to work very early or very late, as well as weekends. Forget about bank holidays and Christmas, they are the busiest times in the year so you don't stand a chance if you ask them off. 

This job has been a real struggle in my relationship, as I am working most evenings and weekends, meaning I barely see my partner. Just like me, he is exhausted when I come back home, therefore we just eat and go straight to sleep. Weekends are the worst, they are the days where I just want to be home with my boys but can't, because I have to be on shift at 7am or up until 9pm.

Unfortunately, this is the lifestyle that comes with the job and this is very unlikely to change anytime soon. 

However, there are many other things that you should be prepared to deal with, should you wish to work in a hotel one day. Basically, you know you work in hospitality when...

• … you don't have a personal life anymore. Your friends are now people from the staff.
• … you see drunk people, who had a bit too much fun in the bar, starting to dance on tables, in the lifts, etc... Loud and messy, they are pretty bad but not the worst.
• … you have to clean after dirty guests. Now, THEY are the worst. They mess up with your mini-bar, leave rubbish on the floor, blood or other substances on the bed sheets, wine on the walls… Recently, I came across an used sanitary towel left on the floor. Housekeeping can quickly become a nightmare.
• … you slowly become scared of your own phone. When you finally have a day off and your phone rings, this can never be good. Half the time, you're sure that they are calling you to come and cover for someone else.
• … you can't remember the last time you had two days off in a row.
• … waking up at 4am is standard practice. 
• … you check in musicians. These are a very special kind of guests. They normally are a mix of everything that you hate in guests. 
• … everyone in the hotel is starting to date each other because we spent so much time in this place.
• … your partner think he/she is dating a ghost.
• … you have a speech ready for guests who think they know how to do your job better than you.
• … you find a couple at 3am doing their business in the toilets…!
• … you work 150 hours a month and still earn peanuts.
• … you run to the closest shop to buy 20L of orange juice because they ran out in the brasserie for breakfast.
• … you realise what date it is when you day dot your products.
• … you feel you had a very good day when no one actually shouted at your face. 
• … you're meant to finish your shift at 4.30 but you're still there at 5.30 and nowhere to be finished.
• … you walk around the hotel with 5 different card keys in your pocket.
• … you know most people in town by their drink and food preferences rather than their names.

Driving to France with a dog

"Are we there yet, mommy?"

I just got back from France where I spent a week visiting my family and for the first time, I brought my little Woody with me. I am not going to lie, I was very nervous before leaving... Not only was I going to be on my own, driving for 10 hours, but I had a puppy at the back of my car to look after too.

I wasn't too sure of what to expect so I prepared myself as much as I could and it really helped on the grounds that it was also horribly hot when we arrived on the French soil. 

Here are a few tips that could help you one day if you drive to France with your dog. 

• Book in ADVANCE! Seriously, plan well ahead! This is very important, purely because they won't let you cross if you don't have all the paperwork ready. I'm not sure about cats, but for a dog to go to the continent, you only need to pay an extra ticket for her. However, when you come back to the UK, this is where you need to be careful. Your dog must have been microchipped, had the rabies vaccinations at least 21 days and a tapeworm treatment (given by a vet) between 1 and 5 days before you return in the UK! Everything has to be stamped, signed and dated in your dog's passport.

• WATER! Bring loads with you. And I mean loads. My dog drank about 1,5L because of the heat. We didn't plan it to be so hot and I am so glad I had two big bottles with me.

• Make sure your best friend is comfortable. I drove for more than 7 hours and I can't imagine anything worse than an uncomfortable dog at the back. If they are comfy, they will be more than happy to lay there and have a nap. If your dog tends to be sick in the car, consider asking your vet if they can help with that.

• Stop often. Because it was so hot, I stopped every hour. I was mostly concerned about Woody dehydrating so we had 15 to 30 minutes breaks every hour. Just enough to give him some water and walk him to stretch his legs.

• Have everything ready in a place where it's easy to access. A spare lead, harness, a blanket, bowls, food/treats… I put everything at the front, so it was very easy for me to reach without having to remove bags and suitcase.

• Feed your dog with light meals. Just for practical reasons, you don't want him to die for a poo when you're in the middle of the motorway or worse, stuck in traffic!

• Get your dog a car belt. They are very easy to use and it could stop your dog from jumping to the front or distract you while driving. There is no law that will force you, but it's a question of safety, both for your dog and yourself. Otherwise, you can also crate him in the boot.

• Book a room in a dog friendly hotel if your journey is very long. It is best to stop and go progressively.

• Make a list of vet surgeries, dog friendly places to stop and rest. Don't wait until something goes wrong before trying to find a vet, you'll thank yourself if you already know where to go. Bring along your insurance paperwork too and anything related to his health that could become relevant.

Meeting a horse for the first time

Tired and very hot after a long journey. Nothing better than cool tiles.

Oh no, I am homesick...

Here it is again, that horrible feeling. I am homesick. 

For those who don't know it, I am French and have been living/working in the UK for about 3 years. Now, I never really used to be homesick but since last year, it keeps hitting me very badly and quite regularly. Thankfully enough, I have my lovely boyfriend and my beautiful dog here for me but there are things that I miss desperately.

My cousins, my sister and myself a very long time ago.

I miss my family so bad that it hurts sometimes. You would think that Facebook is a tool to make things easier but it actually makes it even harder for me as I keep seeing photos of my family gathering together and I am here, 700km away, missing absolutely everything. 

Our family has always been very close, especially my cousins and I. We all grew up together in the same small French village, which brought us very close. In fact, I see one of them almost as my brother. We have spent so much time together that it was very strange when I first moved to the UK, but I eventually got used to it. Obviously, we've all grown a lot since the time we used to build tree houses in the woods or go to our grandparents house to nick some strawberries from the garden and we've all started to build our own families but there is this bond between us that keeps getting stronger and stronger as time goes on. 

Gathered for our grandparents 60th anniversary!

To be fair, it is all my fault. I probably should have never left my village in the first place but then, I would have never met my boyfriend and lived all of these cool experiences. It was such a satisfying thing to do, get out of my countryside to live a little, discover new things, new cultures… 

But now, I just wanna go back to my peaceful village in the eastern French countryside and build my life and family there.

Lil' Sister

I don't know if it will ever be possible. My boyfriend can't speak French and really struggles to learn it, so it seems very unlikely that he could find a job over there. He has his own family and friends here in the UK, so it would also be not right if I asked him to leave them all to follow me in France. 

People don't realise how much I wish we could have a life back there. Things are so much easier, so much more quiet and peaceful. There is no drama, just a nice and simple family life. We could build our house there, have children (another thing that is currently a lot on my mind), have more dogs, enjoy the nice weather, have a swimming pool in the garden for the children, go and visit my parents every weekend instead of twice a year. I want my mother to see her grandchildren growing up.

This is my dream. This is all I want. Is it too much? 

Puppy is growing fast!

8 weeks old

9 weeks old

10 weeks old

12 weeks old

13 weeks old

14 weeks old

15 weeks old

17 weeks old

A weekend in Devon

I am very lucky to have a boyfriend who owns a small family cottage in Devon. During the year, the cottage is for rent to anyone who wishes to have a break in the area, but when it's available, we always try to make the most of it by coming whenever it's possible. 

Funny fact is : this is where my boyfriend took me for our second date. No need to say that at first, I was terrified by the idea of staying in this family cottage when I barely knew him. But eventually, he managed to convince me to go with him as there also was a meteor shower occurring on that weekend.

Obviously I will never regret saying yes to that weekend because two years later, I am back in the cottage with the man I love more than ever and our adorable puppy. 

Anyway, Devon is such an amazing place if you're looking for somewhere calm and resting. The cottage is in North Devon so we normally go to Bude where you can go on very nice walks on the beach. This is great because most of the beaches are dog friendly so we got to enjoy it with Woody. And he LOVED the sea. It was also funny as he got surprised by a couple of big waves and he refused to go back in the water after that. 

On the other hand, if you're a city person, you may find Devon a bit boring as you always struggle to find signal on your phone, everything is miles apart and it's all about living in the quiet countryside and go on long walks or work in your garden. 

I've grown up in a place like that, the only difference was the small bakery in my village. But apart from that, I know perfectly what living in the countryside is like and I used to hate it. Actually no, that's a lie. I used to love it as a child, then hated it as a teenager. Which was one of the reason I left it and moved to the UK at 17years old. But now, I'm 24 and this is definitely a lifestyle that inspires me again. I apparently give the impression of being a city girl, but I'm really not anymore. I'm looking forward to quiet days in a calm and big house with massive garden, surrounded by the woods and endless fields. This is not for everyone and to be fair, I was convinced for a long time it wasn't for me either, but today this is all I want. 

Either way, if you ever get the chance to go to Devon, I strongly advise you to visit Bude. It's a great little town, with many beaches. By Sainsbury's, there is one long and beautiful beach that you will love. Car park is only 50p/hour. You also have the possibility of going up the hill where you will find a beautiful café and cliffs to walk on.

I said "I'll love you forever", he replied "I believe that"

Love hurts. I don't know if that's the case for everyone but it is for me. My boyfriend and I have been together for two years now, which doesn't seem that long when you think about it. But two years are definitely long enough to make you fall in love deeply with someone and I do love him profoundly and devotedly. Now, I have no doubt that he loves me back but as a man, his way of showing it sometimes lacks of subtlety. 

A couple of days ago, we were talking about future and random things when the topic eventually changed to wedding. His parents are divorced and this is something that truly upset him, even nowadays, 10 years after it happened. Their divorce has such a big impact on him that he doesn't believe in marriage anymore and doesn't see the point in it, which is understandable. But I do see the point and I really want it to happen one day. I do want to be his wife and change my name to his. Call me old-fashioned, but I want him to see me in a white dress and hear him say I do. 

Which brings me back to the conversation we were having and when I tried to explain to him that every person was different and it was up to us to make it work, he didn't seem that convinced. Obviously, this is not something that we can change overnight but it is very painful when you, then, say that you will love him forever, and his answer is a simple "I believe that". Slap me in the face and spit on me if you like, my ego and heart would have been less hurt by that. He did try to save it by saying he loved me a lot, but I just couldn't forget the fact that he wasn't able to tell me the same, that he wasn't sure if he would love me forever.

I'm scared of this constant threat that he might just stop loving me one day, that he just won't find me funny and interesting anymore, that he will want his freedom back and not have to worry about someone else but himself. I can't see my future without him and according to him, he doesn't his without me either but he can't tell me that he will love me forever. 

Love hurts, and I don't know if this is how it's meant to be. Does that make me stupid to hope that he will want me to be his wife one day? Does that make me an idiot to hope that he wishes for us to be forever together. 

Oh, that need to write again...

I am back on this blog, and hopefully this time I will manage to be more consistent. Having said that, those past few months have been quite eventful for me, so much that there was just no way for me to sit down and write posts on here.

JOB

I spent loads of time working and focusing on working extra hard to get noticed by my management and I believe it worked out pretty well as I got a promotion. Even though it's not a dream job, I got promoted to Supervisor. Which implied a training and extra hours at work to get around everything I needed to learn.

Then Christmas came and it was like a super duper mad time. I work in Malmaison Reading hotel, in which we have a wonderful bar and brasserie so obviously, it got very busy with all the Christmas parties. It was tough and there were days where I was working from 7am to 10pm but it was all worth it as I also got an award from the company for my hard work. This was so rewarding and seriously encouraged me to carry on working hard.

CHRISTMAS

Fortunately, this madness eventually ended and I got to go back home in France. Icing on the cake, my boyfriend came with me to spend Christmas with me and my family. That was the first time he was coming in France with me and therefore, the first time he met my family. I'm not sure he enjoyed it too much when he ended up in a room with my 8 uncles and aunties, along with my 10 cousins. This was especially hard for him as he can't communicate with them at all, he doesn't speak French and never learnt. I have tried to teach him a little but he quickly gave up. Which isn't very promising for a future living in France. If anything, I think it comforted him in the fact he was better off staying in the UK, but we'll see about that in due time.

DOG

We have a dog! I told you that in a previous post, but since then it actually happened and we are now the proud owners of a fluffy Golden Retriever puppy. It's been hard work. In fact, it's been extremely hard work but that's what puppies are. There was no way things were gonna be easy. But he is learning a lot and training is going well. I probably will write a lot about him because my life seems to revolve around him. He's a baby after all, he requires a lot of attention and time, but I'm more than happy to as I love him to bits. Oh and by the way, his name is Woody. 

Selling your stuff on eBay

As I was telling you in my last post, my boyfriend and I are currently going through hard financial times as he just lost his job and I've just spent two months in a row not working. Fortunately enough, we aren't to the point that we can't afford food, or anything like that, but it definitely isn't easy as we need to buy a car in about two weeks.

So I had to make some decisions to find money and the hardest for me was to sell my stuff. I started with my collection of CDs. I know it probably sounds childish, but this was a very hard decision to make because the collection was dear to me. So this is how I sold my 300 CDs to MusicMagpie and I am now carrying on selling stuff on eBay.

I had never sold anything before on eBay, so this was completely new for me. I can't explain how happy I was when I realised the process was very easy. It has a lot of advantages, but I did find some bad points to it.

Bad points : 

• Fees. Although that sounds pretty fair to pay fees to be able to sell your stuff on their website, it's already annoying to know you're selling it for peanuts, but it is even more when a part of the money is going to eBay and Paypal.
• Buyers who take ages to pay. Although most buyers are serious and pay almost straight away, some others are really not bothered about paying. And obviously, that freezes the whole process since you can dispatch the item until it's paid. 
• You can't always sell internationally. For me, as a French person living in the UK, I found it pretty annoying that I couldn't sell my stuff in the UK because my eBay account was set in France. You need to have a minimum of sales within your country to be able to start selling abroad. Which I found very inconvenient as a lot of my stuff is French and would interest French buyers only (DVDs for example).

Good points :

• Easy. As I said, it's very easy to use and it's extremely convenient. You just fill in your advert, which you can do from any device (laptop, iPad, iPhone, anything that has internet basically) and you publish. Done! Altogether, it takes you about 5 minutes to post your ad, which is amazing.
• Once your item is sold, it's very quick and easy to post. When the buyer has paid you, you get a notification telling you it's done, and you have access to the buyer's address. All you need to do is dispatch the item and confirm it's done.
• Feedbacks. I love feedbacks, I like the fact that someone can tell whether you're a good seller or not. I personally base myself a lot on feedbacks when I buy something online. So that's why I find it important to be able to give and receive feedbacks. eBay let me do this, as a buyer and a seller, which is great as you can feedback someone who has never paid you or on the contrary, has been a great buyer.
• Sort your stuff. Although it is a bit heartbreaking for some items, at the end of the day it allows you to sort your stuff out. I had some many things which I was never using and were just standing in a corner gathering dust, so it's quite nice to get rid of them. I got to sell some clothes for example, which made space in my wardrobe.

I've been a bad blogger

I've been a bad blogger over the past couple of weeks, I just got completely overwhelmed with my new job, a quick return journey to France, old flatmates coming back in the UK to visit and my boyfriend loosing his job.

So far, my new job is going pretty well and it has been a very intense week for us. It is a brand new Starbucks store so we had to get everything ready for the opening and also find some time to deal with all the promotion and sampling to attract new customers. But altogether, it was pretty fun and very interesting to see the process of opening a coffee store. Plus, I really enjoy learning everything and being a barista is a proper art, not just a job.

I also had to bring my car back in France, which wasn't easy because I love my car. But it's a French car, and I could no longer insure it in the UK. This was a bit of a last minute thing as well, so I had to book some time off work and fortunately enough, my manager accepted. The good thing is that it allowed me to spend some days with my mother and sister, which was very nice as I don't see them very often in the year. It's terrible how I miss them. But I'm finally in a good place, in which I feel ok with the fact that I chose to move to a different country. But anyway, it was a long drive but hopefully I won't have to do it again for some time. 

Now. Let's go back to the subject.

I can't believe I let so much time since I last blogged. Life can be so hectic sometimes that I forgot how easy it is to get overwhelmed by things.

I feel like I don't have a proper routine yet and it gets difficult to balance work and personal life. It was especially hard when my boyfriend came back from work on monday and announced he got fired. Not the best time for this.

It wasn't his fault of course, and I supported him as soon as he told me. But at times when we're meant to buy a car and we had finally agreed on taking a dog, it definitely took us off-guard. Hopefully, things will sort themselves out and we can go back to our old quiet and happy life.

________________

FRANCAIS

*************

J'ai été une mauvaise blogueuse ces deux dernières semaines. Je me suis complètement laissée submerger par mon nouveau travail, un retour éclair en France, mes anciens colocataires qui sont venus me rendre visite en Angleterre et mon Jules qui a perdu son travail.

Jusqu'ici, mon nouveau travail se passe bien et cela a été une semaine vraiment intense pour nous. Il s'agit d'un tout nouveau café Starbucks donc on a dû travailler dur pour s'assurer que tout était prêt pour l'ouverture, sans oublier que nous devions aussi gérer toute la promotion pour attirer de nouveaux clients. Mais dans l'ensemble, c'était assez amusant et très intéressant de voir le processus derrière l'ouverture d'un café. En plus, j'adore apprendre tout sur le café et ça m'a fait réaliser qu'être barista est un art, pas seulement un job.

J'ai aussi dû ramener ma voiture en France, ce qui n'a pas été facile car j'adore ma voiture. Mais c'est une voiture française et je ne pouvais plus l'assurer en Angleterre. Tout ça est tombé un peu à la dernière minute, du coup j'ai dû prendre des jours de congé au boulot et heureusement, mon manager a accepté. L'avantage est que j'ai pu passer quelques jours avec ma mère et ma soeur, ce qui était vraiment sympa puisque je ne les vois pas souvent dans l'année. C'est incroyable comme elles me manquent. Mais au moins, je suis finalement OK avec le fait que j'ai décidé de déménager dans un autre pays et que je dois désormais y rester. Bref, j'avais donc une longue route à faire mais normalement, je n'aurais plus à la conduire avant un bout de temps.

Bref. Revenons à nos moutons.

J'ai du mal à croire que j'ai laissé passer autant de temps depuis mon dernier post. La vie devient parfois tellement mouvementée que j'en ai presque oublié à quel point il est facile de se laisser submerger par tout ça.

J'ai le sentiment de ne pas avoir de routine du tout et ça complique beaucoup les choses car je n'arrive pas à trouver un équilibre entre travail et vie personnelle. Cela n'a pas non plus arrangé les choses quand mon Jules est rentré du travail lundi dernier et m'a annoncé qu'il s'était fait virer. Pas au meilleur moment, j'ajouterai...

Ce n'était pas sa faute évidemment et je l'ai soutenu à la seconde même où il me l'a annoncé. Mais quand on sait que l'on est bientôt censé acheter une voiture et que l'on était enfin décidés à adopter un chien, tout ça nous a vraiment pris de court et va nous ralentir dans nos projets. Espérons que les choses s'arrangeront d'elles-mêmes et que l'on pourra vite retourner à notre train de vie tranquille et heureux.

We are getting a dog...

YES! 

Super awesome news, my boyfriend and I have officially decided to get a dog. After begging him for months, showing him some Youtube videos and hanging a Golden Retriever calendar on the fridge, he finally gave in and said it could be a good idea to welcome a little puppy in our home. 

So I am now looking everywhere on the Internet to find some good breeders in the area. As you may have guessed already, I want a Golden Retriever. I've always wanted one (like, ALWAYS!) and I almost bought one two years ago but eventually didn't because that's when I moved to the UK and wasn't sure of where I was going to be staying. Looking back on it, I'm glad I didn't because it gave some time to settle down, find a place, and now I also have my boyfriend with me.

Although I am extremely happy and excited, I have to admit I am a bit scared at the same time. It is a big commitment I am willing to make, in the sense that a dog is a massive responsibility. But it also is a strong commitment to have as a couple, and this is what scares me a bit. I'm scared that it's going to make us fight or make us become estranged from each other.

So these are things worrying me, but at the same time I believe it will be a very good test for us. After all, I was scared before moving in with my boyfriend and it turned out to be an excellent thing for us as a couple. So now that my hormones are playing up, I feel that it might a good way to see if it will ever be possible for us to have a baby someday. Because let's be honest, having a puppy will be the closest experience to having a baby.

I will keep you updated on our progress to finding our perfect puppy.

____________________

FRANCAIS

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OUI!

Méga super nouvelle, mon Jules et moi avons officiellement décidé d'adopter un chien. Après l'avoir supplié pendant des mois, lui montrer des tas de vidéos sur Youtube et accrocher un calendrier de Golden Retriever sur le frigo, il a finalement cédé et a admis que ce serait une bonne idée d'accueillir un petit chiot dans notre chez-nous.

Donc me voilà en train de rechercher partout sur Internet de bons éleveurs dans le coin. Comme vous l'avez surement déjà compris, je veux un Golden Retriever. J'en ai toujours voulu un (genre, TOUJOURS!) et j'en ai presque adopté un il y a deux ans mais ne l'ai finalement pas fait car c'était à l'époque où je venais d'apprendre que je partais travailler en Angleterre et je n'étais pas sûre de l'endroit où j'allais habiter. Quand j'y repense maintenant, je suis contente de ne pas m'être lancée puisque cela m'a permis d'avoir plus de temps pour m'installer, trouver un logement et j'ai désormais mon Jules avec moi.


J'ai beau être extrêmement heureuse et excitée à l'idée, je dois admettre que je suis aussi un peu inquiète. Après tout, il s'agit d'un engagement important dans le sens où un chien apporte de grandes responsabilités. Mais c'est aussi un fort engagement en tant que couple, et c'est ce qui m'inquiète un peu. J'ai un peu peur que cela nous pousse à nous disputer ou nous éloigne d'une certaine façon.

Donc ce sont les choses qui m'inquiètent, mais en même temps je pense qu'il s'agira d'une excellente épreuve pour nous. Après tout, j'avais peur avant d'emménager avec mon Jules et cela s'est avéré être une chose excellente pour nous. Alors maintenant que mes hormones font de leur siennes, j'ai le sentiment que cela sera un bon moyen de voir s'il sera jamais possible pour nous d'avoir un bébé un jour. Parce que soyons honnêtes, avoir un chiot sera l'expérience la plus ressemblante à celle d'un bébé.

Je vous tiendrai bien évidemment au courant de notre avancement dans nos recherches du parfait toutou.

Reprendre le travail après une pause de 2 mois

Going back to work after a 2 months break

(Scroll down to read the post in English)

Vous souvenez-vous de cet article que j'ai posté il n'y a pas si longtemps que ça? Bonne nouvelle, j'ai trouvé un travail! Il m'aura fallu beaucoup de patience, mais j'y suis arrivée, je suis désormais barista chez Starbucks. On ne peut pas non plus dire qu'il s'agisse du travail de mes rêves, mais en attendant, ça fera l'affaire. D'autant plus que c'est beaucoup plus compliqué qu'on ne le pense... Mais bref. Me revoilà donc au travail après deux mois à rester assise à la maison. Autant vous dire que ça fait un choc. 

Je viens de finir ma première semaine de formation et le plus dur a été de me recréer une routine. Ceci dit, le problème avec ce travail, c'est que les horaires varient énormément. Tu peux commencer à 6h du matin, comme à 14h, donc il est assez compliqué d'entrer dans une véritable routine mais c'est faisable. Je commence doucement à reprendre mes anciennes habitudes et je ne saurais vous dire à quel point cela me fait du bien. Ne pas travailler, c'est évidemment assez sympa d'une certaine façon mais ça vous donne beaucoup trop de temps pour réfléchir. Et quand je réfléchis trop, en général ça ne finit jamais sur une pensée positive. Le pire était surtout de me sentir inutile, je me sentais presque coupable de devoir rester à la maison pendant que mon Jules partait au boulot à 7h chaque matin. J'en suis arrivée à un point où je passais ma journée assise sur le canapé toute la journée, ne sachant absolument pas quoi faire pour m'occuper. 

Ce qui m'a poussé à me demander si j'allais me retrouver à nouveau dans cette situation le jour où je prendrai des congés de maternité. Mais quand je lis tous ces blogs de courageuses mamans, il n'y a vraiment pas besoin d'être Einstein pour voir qu'elles n'ont pas du tout le temps de s'ennuyer. Bien au contraire. Mais je me dis aussi que le retour au travail après un tel congé doit être mille fois plus délicat, car tu viens juste de passer plusieurs mois à porter un enfant, le mettre au monde et apprendre à vivre avec durant ses premiers mois... Je m'attends déjà à lâcher de nombreuses larmes le jour où cela m'arrivera. 

Quoiqu'il en soit, quand tu te retrouves à ne pas travailler pendant une période relativement importante, on s'y habitue plus vite qu'on ne le pense. Et si j'ai apprécié le simple fait de pouvoir reprendre le travail, j'ai physiquement eu beaucoup de mal à m'y remettre pleinement. Je me plaignais d'être fatiguée quand je ne bossais pas, mais alors autant vous dire qu'aujourd'hui, je suis absolument morte de fatigue. Au point où je suis bonne pour dormir à 20h tous les soir. C'est triste à 23 ans... Mais dieu que ça fait du bien de travailler. On a beau se plaindre, mais un travail apporte beaucoup sur le plan personnel. Et j'ai hâte de voir ce que la vie me réserve sur le plan professionnel. 

Je rêve personnellement de travailler dans l'événementiel, mais c'est loin d'être gagné. 

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ENGLISH

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Do you remember this article that I posted not a long time ago? Good news, I have a job! It took me a lot of patience but I did it, I am now working as a barista for Starbucks. I can't really say that it's my dream job, but for now it's alright, it's good enough to pay my bills. All the more since it's way more complicated than it seems... But anyway. Here I am today, going back to work after spending two months sitting at home. One might as well say that it was a bit of a shock.

I've just finished my first week of training and the hardest was to make myself a new routine. Having said that, working hours for this job can vary a lot. You can start at 6am, or 2pm, it's never the same so it can be quite hard to organise a real routine, but it's manageable. I'm slowing starting to go back to my old habits and I can't say with words how good it feels. Being off-work is obviously quite nice in a way, but it gave way too much time to think. I actually over-think a lot, and it never ends on a positive thought for some reason. The worst for me was to feel useless. I was almost feeling guilty about having to stay at home while my boyfriend was leaving for work at 7am every morning. I almost got to the point where I was spending my days sitting on the sofa all day long, not knowing what to do anymore.

Which made me wonder if I was gonna end up in this situation again when the day I have to take a maternity leave will come. But then I read all these parenting blogs, written by brave mothers, and you really don't need to be Einstein to understand they don't have the time to get bored. Quite the opposite in fact. However, it makes me realise that going back to work after a maternity leave must be a thousand times harder, because you've literally just spent several months carrying a baby, giving birth to him/her and learn how to live with your baby during his/her first months. I am already expecting to be crying a lot when this day will come.

But whatever happens, when you spend a rather long period of time not working, you do get used to it very quickly. Even though I really appreciated the simple fact of being able to work again, I seriously struggled physically. I found it very hard to get back on track. I was complaining of being tired when I wasn't working, but I have to admit that today, I feel absolutely shattered. To the point that I find myself in bed at 8pm every evening since I started working again. Which is quite sad at 23 years old. But god it feels good to work. We may complain a lot about it, but a job brings so much on the personal plan. I just can't wait to see what life has in store for me on the professional plan. 

I personally dream of working in Event planning, but it's far from won.

Mesdames, que se cache-t-il dans votre sac à main?

Ladies, what do you carry in your handbag?

(Scroll down to read the article in English)

On dit que le sac à main d'une femme en dit beaucoup sur sa personnalité, et c'est très probablement vrai. Le mien change beaucoup en fonction de mes humeurs et de l'occasion pour laquelle je l'utilise. Mais on a toutes un certain nombre de choses que l'on retrouve absolument toujours dans notre sac à main, un peu comme s'il s'agissait de notre kit de survie.

Je vous invite donc à découvrir ce qui se cache dans le mien, et n'hésitez surtout pas à partager ce qu'il y a dans le vôtre!

• Un porte-monnaie : qui contient toutes mes papiers importants. Autant vous dire que si je le perds, je suis mal barrée. 
• Une paire de Ray-Ban : mes lunettes qui me sont fidèles depuis plusieurs années et que je ne changerais pour rien au monde. Elles sont d'une très bonne qualité et extrêmement confortable.
• Des bonbons : La plupart du temps, j'ai un paquet de chewing-gums pour les cas d'urgence, mais j'ai aussi très souvent des bonbons Love Hearts par pure gourmandise.
• Un petit miroir de poche : que j'ai utilisé une seule fois dans ma vie mais je le garde quand même. Sait-on jamais...
• Un stylo : l'outil indispensable pour tout le monde. On a tous besoin d'un stylo à un moment donné et on est bien contente de l'avoir à portée de main.
• Mes clés : de maison et de voiture.
• Ma pilule : Je ne pense pas que vous ayez besoin que je vous explique pourquoi j'ai ça dans mon sac.
• Un baume à lèvre : J'ai les lèvres très sèches, donc j'ai toujours un baume sur moi. Je prends toujours un Labello ou un Nivea, je trouve que ce sont les mieux et je les adore.
• Des écouteurs : Je me rends au travail en bus, donc ils sont là pour que je puisse écouter de la musique sur mon iPhone les matins.
• Un livre : Je suis actuellement en train de lire "Billy and Me" de Giovanna Fletcher. Je vous le conseille en passant.

Qu'en est-il pour vous? Que trouve-t-on dans votre sac à main?

__________________

ENGLISH

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It is commonly thought that a woman's bag says a lot about her personality and it's probably quite true. Mine changes a lot, depending on my moods and the occasion I am wearing it for. But we all have a certain amount of things that we systematically carry in our handbag, under any circumstances. It's a bit like it is our own survival kit.

So let me invite you to discover what's in mine, even though it has nothing exceptional, and don't hesitate to drop a comment to tell me what is in your own handbag!

• A purse : it contains all my important papers. One might as well say that I would get in real trouble if I were to loose it.
• A pair of Ray-Ban : I am very faithful to my sunglasses, I've had them for years and I absolutely love them. I wouldn't change them for anything in the world, they are great quality and very comfortable.
• Sweets : Most of the time, I only have a packet of chewing-gums for emergencies, but I also carry (more often than I should...) Love Hearts sweets. Just because I'm a bit greedy from time to time.
• A small pocket mirror : I have used it once in my life only but I'm still keeping it. Just in case, you never know...
• A pen : I think carrying a pen is essential for everyone. We all need one at some point in our everyday life and I am always happy to have one within reach.
• My keys : House and car keys obviously.
• Contraceptive pills : You probably don't need me to explain why I've got these in my handbag...
• A lip balm : I have very dry lips, so I need to have one at hand all the time. I always go for Labello and Nivea lip balms, I like everything about it.
• Earphones : I take the bus to go to work, so they are here to entertain me. I just plug them onto my iPhone, listen to music and temporarily forget about everything else.
• A book : When I'm not listening to music, I read. At the moment, I am reading a book from Giovanna Fletcher, it's called "Billy And Me". I actually would like to recommend it, it's really good.

And what about you? What do you normally carry in your bag?

Recette : Rochers noix de coco

Recipe : Coconut Macaroons

(Scroll down to read the article in English)

J'adore cuisiner, surtout tout ce qui touche aux desserts et biscuits pour le gouter. Mon Jules est d'ailleurs un grand gourmet et il a surtout un faible pour les sucreries donc il me réclame ainsi très souvent de lui concocter un petit quelques chose. Ce que je fais toujours avec grand plaisir, donc je pense que maintenant, je posterai régulièrement des recettes que je fais pendant mon temps libre.

Ces rochers noix de coco sont terriblement délicieux, on en devient très vite accro. Craquants à la surface et moelleux à l'intérieur, ils sont tout simplement un must pour tous les fans de noix de coco.

Ingrédients pour 20 rochers :

- 2 blancs d'oeufs

- 125g de sucre

- 150g de noix de coco

Procédé :

• Mélangez tous les ingrédients dans un saladier en verre.
• Faites cuire au bain-marie jusqu'à ce que le sucre ait fondu et vous devriez obtenir un mélange qui se tient bien et relativement tiède. 
• Recouvrez une plaque de papier cuisson. 
• Formez des petits rochers et placez-les sur votre plaque.
• Placez votre plaque au congélateur pendant 1h.
• Faites cuire au four à 150°C jusqu'à ce que les rochers soient dorés.
• Laissez-les refroidir un peu avant de les décoller de la plaque.

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ENGLISH

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I love cooking, but I love baking even more, especially cakes and biscuits. My boyfriend is very greedy and he also have a very sweet tooth so he's always asking me to bake him something, which I always do happily. So I think that from now on, I will post more regularly some recipes I enjoy doing in my free time.

These coconut macaroons are awfully delicious and you can easily get addicted to it. Crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, they're a mush to anyone who likes coconut.

Ingredients for 20 macaroons : 

- 2 egg whites

- 125g of sugar

- 150g of coconut

Instructions :

• Mix all the ingredients together in a glass bowl.
• Put the bowl over a pan of boiling water and let it cook until the sugar is dissolved. You should obtain a warm mixture that holds well together.
• Cover a baking tray with baking paper.
• Form the macaroons with a spoon and place them on the tray.
• Place the tray in your freezer for 1h.
• Bake them in the oven at 150°C until they start to become golden on the top.
• Let them cool down before you start removing them from the baking paper.

L'adoption, en seriez-vous capable?

Adoption, could you do it?

(Scroll down to read the article in English)

C'est en regardant le programme "16 And Pregnant" que m'est venue l'idée de cet article. Comme son titre l'indique clairement, "16 And Pregnant" est un programme télé qui suit des jeunes adolescentes de 16 ans, qui sont accidentellement tombées enceinte, tout au long de leur grossesse jusqu'à leurs premières semaines en tant que mère. Dans la plupart des épisodes, le père quitte la mère, ce qui n'empêche pas cette dernière de tout de même garder le bébé. Mais il y a certains épisodes où le père reste et s'avère être même d'un grand soutien.

Je viens de regarder un épisode où ce fut justement le cas et j'ai été très touchée par la relation de ces deux adolescents. Il n'y a pas un seul moment où le couple ne se sert pas les coudes et malgré leur jeune âge, on voit clairement qu'ils sont tous deux pourvus d'une certaine maturité. Dès le début de la grossesse, ils réalisent qu'ils n'ont pas les moyens de donner une vie confortable à leur bébé et envisagent alors une possible adoption du bébé.

S'ils admettent que c'était probablement la meilleure solution pour eux, on voit bien qu'ils ont tous deux énormément de mal à l'idée d'abandonner leur bébé après la naissance. Malgré cela, ils s'en sont tenus à leur décision et ont finalement trouvé un couple très agréable pour l'adoption. A la naissance, j'ai particulièrement admiré la patience de la jeune mère, mais c'est surtout le père qui m'a touché le plus. A la seconde même où le bébé est né, on le voit littéralement s'effondrer en larmes sur la mère, en lui disant qu'ils peuvent le faire et que tout finira par s'arranger. C'est incroyablement touchant, surtout quand on le voit ensuite se relever et demander pourquoi le bébé est toujours dans la pièce. C'est là qu'on ressent à quel point il est difficile pour lui de ne pas pouvoir toucher son enfant.

Au final, le jeune couple demande quand même à ce qu'ils soient les premiers à porter leur bébé. Je pense que c'est à ce moment là que la mère réalise alors ce qu'il va se passer, et j'ai eu énormément mal pour elle en voyant son visage s'effondrer à la seconde où on lui a tendu son bébé. Pire encore quand c'est le père qui le prend et est incapable de le garder plus de 5 secondes sans pleurer. Vient alors le moment où les parents adoptifs entrent dans la pièce et le jeune couple leur tend alors le bébé. C'est en voyant la joie de la mère adoptive (qui est malheureusement stérile) que l'on réalise alors que c'est un mal pour un bien. On a mal pour le jeune couple qui souffre de devoir donner leur enfant, mais on est heureux de voir ces parents adoptifs être au 7ème ciel quand ils ont leur nouvel enfant dans les bras.

Personnellement, j'ai souvent réfléchi à ce que je ferais si je devais accidentellement tomber enceinte et je dois admettre que si cela m'était arrivé à 16 ans, j'aurais très probablement opté pour l'avortement. Tout simplement parce que je suis absolument certaine à 10000% que je serais totalement incapable de mettre au monde un bébé et ne pas le garder. L'idée me brise le coeur rien que d'y penser, c'est tout simplement inconcevable. Dieu merci, je n'ai jamais eu besoin de prendre ce genre de décision. Mais c'est aussi pourquoi j'ai trouvé ces deux adolescents absolument admirables car il n'y a pas eu un seul instant où ils n'ont pas pensé à leur enfant. Tout ce qu'ils ont fait était dans le but de lui donner une vie heureuse et confortable, peu importe la douleur qu'ils allaient devoir traverser. Et vraiment, je trouve que c'est une action incroyablement remarquable, et je leur porte beaucoup de respect pour cette raison.

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ENGLISH

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I got the idea of writing this post when I was watching « 16 And Pregnant » on TV. As the title clearly says, the program is about 16 years old girls who accidentally became pregnant and they follow them from the beginning of the pregnancy to their first months as mums. In most episodes, the father eventually leaves the mother, which doesn't prevent her from having the baby anyway. But there has been a few episodes where the father stayed and was a great source of support to the mother.

I have just watched an episode where it was actually the case and I was extremely moved by the relationship between these two teenagers. There wasn't a single moment when the couple doesn't help each other, and you can clearly see they both are quite mature. As soon as they were aware of the pregnancy, they realised they couldn't afford to give a comfortable life to their baby, therefore they started considering a prospective adoption.

If they both agreed it probably was the best option for them and the baby, it was obvious that they were both hurt by the idea of giving up on their child after the birth. Despite this, they still managed to stick to their decision and eventually found a nice couple for the adoption. At birth, I particularly admired the young mother's patience, but I was especially touched by the father. At the very second the baby was out, you see him literally dissolve into tears on his girlfriend, telling her that they can do it, they will be fine and things will get better with time. It was incredibly moving, especially when he stood back up and asked why his daughter was still in the room. That's when I realised how hard it was for him to be so close to his baby and yet, unable to touch her.

Eventually, the young couple asked to be the first ones to hold their daughter. I think this is when the mother fully realised what was going to happen, and I really felt for her when I saw her face falling apart when she was given her daughter. It was even worse when the father couldn't hold her more than a few seconds without crying. Then came the moment when the adoptive parents entered the room and the young couple held the baby out to them. When you see the joy in the adoptive mother's eyes (who was unfortunately infertile), you realise that all this is a blessing in disguise. We really feel for the young couple who is extremely hurt, but we're also happy to see the adoptive parents being in heaven while holding their new child.

Personally, I often thought about what I would do if I were to get accidentally pregnant and I have to admit that if it happened to me at 16, I probably would have opted for an abortion. Purely because I am absolutely sure at 10000% that I would have been totally unable to give birth to a baby and not keep it. The idea literally breaks my hearts and it's just inconceivable in my mind. But it is also why I find these two teenagers absolutely admirable, because there wasn't a single moment when they weren't thinking about what was best for their baby. Every single thing they have done was in order to ensure their child would have a happy and comfortable life, no matter how much pain they were about to go through. And really, I think this was something amazingly remarkable and I have a lot of respect for them for this reason.