Although I had initially set out of the make this a bi-coastal New Yorkaise/Parisienne food blog, my interests are slowly moving more permanently overseas. My boyfriend and I have started the process of getting hitched Parisien style! And a process it is! Before I can start gushing about boutonnières and Jordan almonds, like all things French, there is an endless stack of paperwork that needs to transpire before the wedding plans can begin. At this rate, I’ll need a notarized letter to get the handful of rambunctious Kaneloses into the country for the wedding. Although there’s a bevy of ‘How to Marry to French Guy!’ and ‘Yikes, I married a sexy Frenchman’ websites, none of them spell out the actual process. Falling in love is the easy part. Not to put a damper on the exciting prospects ahead by being so damn practical, but I will try to consolidate the months of the process into one whirlwind blog. But I promise it will be much more amusing than French bureaucracy alone.
So in brief, I moved to Paris weeks after college graduation! It was my way to learn a new language and escape the inevitable recession. I worked as a jeune fille au pair; the domestic right of passage for any wide-eyed expat girl! More on that later. When I wasn’t blow-drying this small child’s hair or cutting her chicken cordon bleu into small pieces, I was out-and-about in the fine city of Paris! Just months before I had planned to return to the States, I met C at my favorite little indie bar in the 11th arrondissement. There was beer in plastic cups and the Smiths were in the background. It was love at first sight. But more on that later. After two years of togetherness and several periods of long-distance, we are ready to take the next step to be together! And that’s where you find me here now pondering out loud how to get Sarah Burton to design my wedding gown…