The Bold Soul: A Writer's Life in Paris

Why I live where I live

Inspired by my friend Maria's post today, where she introduced me to Sunday Scribblings, here's my own dossier on Why I Live Where I Live (although it's far less interesting a story than Maria's!) I live in Hackettstown, New Jersey, which is in Warren County in the green and hilly northwest corner of the state. This part of New Jersey looks nothing like what many people think of New Jersey if the only part they've ever seen is the area around Newark Airport, the Garden State Parkway or the New Jersey Turnpike (if you say "What exit?" I'm going to have to hurt you). Hackettstown dates back to 1754 when the first house (on record) was built. The town was founded by John Hackett (those guys loved to name towns after themselves in those days) but was not incorporated as Hackettstown until 1853. Here's a photo of my mother's house. My room is the one in the front left corner... picture me sitting at my desk typing this blog post. I grew up in the outskirts of this town, in what is technically Mansfield Township but with a Hackettstown mailing address. (Here's an aerial view of our neighborhood.) My parents... Read more →

Closet full of clothes, nothing to wear

It's the age-old dilemma. I have an event to go to tomorrow, and suddenly realized I have NOTHING TO WEAR. How this is possible when I have a closet full of clothes, I don't know. The real issue, of course is that I have nothing to wear that I feel attractive/comfortable/good in. Carrying way too much extra weight and not having all that much success recently with my weight loss program, the clothes that I seem to prefer would look good on a 125 lb woman but not on ME. The look I love is something clean, feminine, professional, chic and sophisticated. I'm not out to look like I'm 22, but I want to look like a woman of a certain age who has her act together, both smart AND sexy (smart IS sexy!) This is a writer's conference. There will be editors and agents and publishers there, as well as many, many aspiring and experienced writers. It's located in Manhattan. So the fashion look I most love is perfect for this setting... except that the look I love does not love ME. When you're overweight, it's hard to like how you look in ANY clothing, no matter how much... Read more →

Treating the feet... and putting the brakes on my shoe addiction

"Feet" continue to be a running theme (pun intended) in my life this week. Never one to let some pervy foot freak get in the way of me treating my feet to some great new shoes, I spent part of this afternoon casing a DSW store near my friend Wendy's house (Wendy has a bigger shoe addiction than I do but lucky for her budget, she had to stay home and study for her college course finals today). I went specifically to find some shoes that I could wear to the ASJA Writer's Conference in NYC on Saturday. I had two requirements: comfort, and panache. I'm planning to wear jeans with a dressier top and jacket -- deciding casual chic is probably the way to go with this event -- and I will be on my feet much of the day, so the comfort is a must. And the panache? Well, it is New York, after all. I came back with three pairs of shoes: two that I can choose from for Saturday, plus a pair of glittery spring green thong sandals, just because. For Saturday, I've got a pair of black pointy-toe slides with a kitten heel from Aerosole,... Read more →

How NOT to put one's best foot forward

Yesterday, while in the bedding department at Walmart, shopping for a new bedspread for my sweet little 93-year-old grandmother, I heard a man's voice behind me: "Excuse me, but where did you get your shoes?" I turned around to see a clean-cut, well-dressed man who was in his late 20s or early 30s, clean-shaven, smiling pleasantly. He complimented me on how well my shoes matched the rest of my outfit. At first, I thought he was flirting with me,... until he kept going on and on about the shoes and how well they matched what I was wearing. Getting more and more uncomfortable, I thanked him and started to walk away... something seemed a little "off" to me about this conversation. Men -- normal ones, anyway -- don't give a rat's ass about women's shoes. And while I could entertain the notion that a man might compliment a woman's shoes as a way of hitting on her, it quickly became clear to me that the man was more excited about the shoes themselves. As I kept trying to edge my way down the aisle in the opposite direction, he kept talking. Said he worked at 9 West and wondered where... Read more →

The kettle's on the boil, and we're so easily called away

One of the things I have noticed recently is how hyper-sensitive my body and psyche seem to be to certain types of stress. In particular, I'm referring to stress I feel when I have a lot of things on my To-Do list. Now, most of you who are either parents and/or working in the "real" word (i.e., you have a 9-5 job or something close to it) are probably saying to yourselves, "Yeah? You're stressed over your To-Do list? So what else is new? That's a way of life for me!" And you'd be right, of course. To-Do lists and stress are a sad fact of life for the vast majority of Americans. Having a job with a boss and coworkers that you might or might not like all that much... having to commute to/from said job... having to meet deadlines and work overtime at said job... and on top of that, having a family to take care of and grocery shopping and laundry and soccer practice and dance recitals and cleaning and taking the dog to the vet and on and on and on, ad nauseum -- that's our lives, right? Welcome to the American Dream. We sometimes wear... Read more →

A Monopoly on Americana

Atlantic City, New Jersey, has certainly seen better days. Once a mecca for beach-lovers and home to the Miss America Pageant since 1921, the city is not doing so well lately. The casino industry, which was supposed to be the salvation of the city, has mostly kept the wealth within the industry rather than it funneling out into the community. And this year, the Miss American Pageant officially jumped ship as well and moved out of town for good. Now, it seems the city's last claim to fame is about to fade away, too. Because Monopoly is also going to abandon Atlantic City and is setting its sights on making the 70+ year old board game a more comprehensive representation of America. The game's makers are launching a "Here and Now" edition this fall, one which will replace all the original Atlantic City street names with national landmarks and famous locations. If you want to help drive the final nail in Atlantic City's "Monopoly" coffin (it's the end of an era!), you can even vote for your favorite landmarks through May 12th at www.monopoly.com, and those with the most votes will be included in the new game. Famous places in... Read more →

Sunday sox and chick flix

One of the benefits of being single is that you can relax when you're home alone on a Sunday afternoon, without having to worry about shaving your legs, putting on mascara or lip gloss, or when you last had a pedicure. Instead, you can put on your comfiest sweats and warm fuzzy socks, and read a good book or have your own private film festival... which is what I've been doing today. Being a movie lover as long as I can remember, I have a pretty big movie collection of my favorite "classics". I actually like seeing a movie over and over if it's something I really enjoy... so on a day when I'm tired and just want to veg out, I don't even need to go to the video store -- I can just pull a DVD out of my stockpile, pop it in the machine, pop some popcorn to go with it, and tune out the world. After last week's Tax Deadline Dash and Easter with the family, it felt good to just have a weekend to kind of do what I want, with no commitments to worry about. Is it nice to have a lazy Sunday when... Read more →

Littlest signs of spring

I never knew holly bushes had clusters of these tiny yellow flowers... look how delicate and beautiful they are! We seem to have violets (purple, white and bi-colored) sprinkled everywhere you look in our lawn... Read more →

God Save the Queen

For my friends over the pond in Britannia, I thought I'd focus on events there rather than in France or the U.S.... I just read that Queen Elizabeth II is 80 years old today! She looks in remarkably good health and can you believe she had something like 20,000 birthday cards and 17,000 emails wishing her well? (It's not too late to send your best wishes! I just sent mine -- how often do you get the chance to wish a Queen a happy birthday? -- so make that 17,001 emails.) Maybe the secret to that kind of longevity is having the support of thousands and the fortitude to endure during 53 years on the throne, and still counting. She's had to put up with a lot, too. The world has changed since she took the throne. Her son's infidelities with Camilla, the divorce, Princess Diana's untimely death and having to help her young grandsons through losing their mother, all the Diana and Fergie stuff the Queen clearly didn't like (these modern women today, how dare they have minds of their own!)... but she's still there, isn't she, so she must be doing something right. No disrespect intended, but do... Read more →

For movie buffs in Paris

Paris made the NY Times again today with "City of Lights, Camera, Action", all about Paris's love affair with le cinéma and the spring film exhibition, Paris au Cinéma, now through June 30th at the Hôtel de Ville. If you're in Paris or will be visiting in the next couple of months, you might want to check out some of the coming attractions. There's a phone number in Paris for more information about the exhibition. Don't forget to print off the article - the Times doesn't always keep online articles available for free for very long! Moi? I love movies and I'm eagerly awaiting the U.S. release of The DaVinci Code on May 19th. It's my 45th birthday that day, so I'll be enjoying it at the movies and especially will love seeing the scenes shot in and around Paris. I'm expecting good things with Tom Hanks, Audrey Tatou and Sir Ian McKellen in it and Ron Howard directing. Read more →