What We Said in France

France seems like forever ago and just a few days ago at the same time it's actually really hard to describe. School has been not so fun, and I have been exhausted 24/7. But hey whats new.

Here is basically 99% of the words that we said in France:

• Oui
• I literally almost fell asleep on this tour
• OMG Taken 3
• I want a crepe
• I want a French boy
• That's like _____ in US dollars. I can't even.
• Un peu
• Is there WiFi here?
• Why is the toilet not in the bathroom...
• eco ecNo (long story short, this hostel we stayed at this hostel that had lights that went out every 2 minutes because they were trying to be eco-friendly. We got really mad becuase we had to run to the light switch every 2 minutes, so we said NO to eco. Therefore ecno was born.)
• Oui
• We're going to a cafe later
• Moi AUSSI
• I have the nicest corres
• I just want to go to sleep
• Can I just say I lost my passport so I don't have to go home

 Here are some random pictures from my trip! I had such a great time and I am so thankful for the opportunity to travel to France with my friends, stay with an amazing family, and have great weather!

It's kind of depressing to be back home but it's good to be playing lacrosse again and finally catching up with school work.

Prom is in less than a month. #askme? #pleez?

XOXOXO,
Kels

La Vie en Rose

Coucou! Greetings from PARIS. Oui. Paris.

I have been in France for fifteen days and I leave tomorrow. This trip has gone by absurdly fast and I honestly am really sad that I will eventually have to leave this place and at the same time I am excited to once again experiences the comforts of home. One thing that I am really dreading is going to not only school but also lacrosse practice THE DAY AFTER I GET BACK. And did I mention I will get home late at night? Did I mention the 5 hour time difference? Oh I didn't? Yeah so there's that...

So what have I done in France you ask? For starters, Eat. Eat a lot. Basically 90% of my food intake has been bread and nutella. I love both, but even for me it is becoming a little bit absurd.

I feel like this represents my time in France perfectly. (I took this photo as a French woman was yelling at me "NO PHOTOS". I agreed with her, and ran out of the store.) Literally this country is obsessed with their bread, cheese, and wine. But hey, why not?

 

I have had so many different amazing French desserts. This country knows how to bake. Like I can't even. Crepes are amazing and literally so easy to find in France. I find it funny that there are literally so many cafes and boulangeries in France.Tonight (my last night!) someone in their family went to a bakery and literally got every kind of dessert they had. I had an amazing cheesecake with berry topping and this berry mouse/cake. SO GOOD. Some of my other favorite desserts have been macarons (which I ate sitting on the steps of the Opera), and the macarons filled with ice cream that I got at a restaurant with my corres, her sister, and my French mom. Also, something that I love in France is that they have these refrigerated creme brulee in little glass containers that you can buy. (Kind of like how you can buy jell-o in america). I have had, well let's see..... 6 of them here?

And literally I am so happy that I went out on a limb and ate a falafel. We went to the Marais district just to go to L'As Du Falafel, the "best place for falafels". I really had no idea what to expect, but now I am obsessed with them and I have been researching where to find them at home!

Every morning and practically every afternoon, my corres Hannah and I eat a baguette with nutella or occasionally jam and butter. When I get back to the good old US of A, I think I will try to do this more often. I will definitely try to buy more bread from bakeries and less bread from the grocery store. I know that some of the bread we have in America is just as good as the bread in France, but its just not as convenient. However, I definitely will try to make this a priority.

SO many people told me that I needed to try the best ice cream in Paris, from a place called Berthillon. One of my chaperones lived in France for about a year so she knew that she had to take the whole group. We really were all so excited, and it was amazing! I had salted caramel and vanilla in a cone and I wish I had gotten more! So amazing. A great memory.

My host family was so amazing to me in so many ways. I cannot express my gratitude enough. My corres let me sleep in her room for 2 weeks, while she either slept in her brother's bed (when he was away on a class trip) or shared her older sister's bed. They made all of their meals vegetarian. They only had a small meat side dish twice. TWICE. I cannot believe how good their homemade food was, either. Literally tonight we had this great radish and potato soup, french cheese, and later caprese salad. For lunch it was this absolutely amazing Oriental dish that was made from carrots, raisins, onions, and apricots. Literally their whole family are amazing cooks.

One of the most random things that happened to me here in France was that I met someone from my state the first day in France at Mont St. Michel. He said, "Hey UVA", as I was walking, because I was wearing my camo UVA hat. Turns out he goes to VMI (right near Washington and Lee), and is in the middle of studying abroad. I love when things like that happen.Its such a small world!

Yesterday was our last time riding the metro as a group, two days ago was the last tour we took! Today I took my final bus and metro ride I am so sad this is all coming to an end I don't even know what to do with myself. I really need to finish packing, but all I want to do is reminisce about my amazing and exhausting time in this country. I am crying because I don't want it to end. Now all that I can do is be thankful that I was able to go to this country and meet the people I did. 

Bisous,

Kelsey "Kelsea" (my new name according to Starbucks in the quartier latin)


P.S. In the upcoming days I will try to share more pictures and thoughts about my trip.

Packing for France

I am headed to France soooo soon! My parents and I have been brainstorming what I should bring, and this packing list was kind of the product of that! 

I have been working on this for a while, and I thought it was funny that my friend from "the Belle in Pearls" posted something similar to this recently! #France2k14

I am planning on bringing...

PANTS:  
- My tried-and-true skinny jeans
- Two pairs of black leggings (and maybe my grey pair as well)
- 3-4 pairs of my black Urban Outfitters high rise skinnies. (I swear by these. They're not too expensive, stretchy, and warm.)

OUTERWEAR:
- black vest (So versatile, I can wear basically any shirt I am bringing with this)
- Barbour jacket (my actual obsession)
- rain jacket

TOPS:
- 4+ long sleeve shirts
- Oxford shirt
- Patagonia fleece
- 2+ sweaters
- 2+ long sleeve tees for sleeping and running (I have to stay in shape for lacrosse)

SHOES:
- Riding boots (the perfect walking shoes for when it's cold outside)
- Wallabees
- rain boots

DRESSES:
-black sweater dress
-2 party dresses

Literally I am so excited and scared! Wish me luck!

XOXOXO,
Kels

Thursday Pinterest Day 6: France

I am headed off to France for my school's French exchange trip really soon and I have very mixed feelings. I am overwhelmingly excited to explore France with some of my good friends from school, but as a vegetarian who doesn't LOVE cheese, I am scared for the cuisine aspect of the trip. I am also kind of scared because I will be missing a week of school and two weeks of lacrosse to go on this trip, and I do not want to get too far behind!
 
I have been planning what I am going to bring, and I will share that with you soon! Hopefully the weather will not be too bad. My teacher told me that a few years ago it was cold and rainy all but one day of the trip! He also said it could be in the 50-60's or it might snow. I have really no idea of what to expect! Today I will share some of the pictures that I have found via Pinterest that are getting me really hyped for the trip!

Have you been to France before? Any advice for what to see or what to wear? I would love to hear anything you might have to say!

XOXOXO,
Kelsey

2014's First Weekend - Saturday Six

This post was originally going to be a Friday Five when I started it a few days ago, but it got pushed back so now... Saturday Six?

 

1. Painting Results: I got my light switch plate and mason jar that I painted a few weeks ago back, and I'm loving them! I put one of my Vineyard Vines stickers on my ceramic mason jar, and put some of my pens in it!

 

 

 

2.  I recently watched the movie "Take Me Home" on Netflix. Its a highly acclaimed romantic comedy with a much more "indie" feeling than most rom com movies I watch. It follows the cross country road trip of Thom and Claire in a fake NYC taxi cab. Great movie!

 

 

3. I can't believe that in three months I will be in France for the French Exchange. Like what?

 

 

4. Music: One of my recent artist obsessions is Bastille! I think that they are amazing! Besides their most popular song, "Pompeii", some of my other favorites are "Things Lost in the Fire" and "Flaws". I hope you check them out! All of those songs are off their album "Bad Blood".

 

 

I listen to all of my music through Spotify. If you don't have an account (it's free!) I highly recommend that you sign up! I think I might do another long music post soon.

 

5. This quote I found in the New York Times Sunday Styles section a few weeks ago. (The Styles Section of the NYT is actually my addiction.)

"I always tell him, ‘After we die, we have to find each other in our next life.’ I also tell him if I die before him, I really want him to fall in love again. But in our next lifetime, he has to find me, not her. That’s the deal." -Meghan Milewski

 I am not sure whether or not I believe in reincarnation. I have heard theories before that you are always reincarnated with your same family unit, with the members in different roles. It's an interesting topic to think about. No matter my thoughts on the subject, I feel that this woman's love for her new husband is so strong, it really moved me.

 

6. KJP and Sarah Vickers engagement: Okay if anyone doesn't know this power couple, let me introduce you! Kiel James Patrick is a New Englander and clothing and accessories designer. His site is here and this is his tumblr! His fiancé's name is Sarah Vickers, and she runs one of my favorite blogs, Classy Girls Wear Pearls. They have been dating forever, and they recently engaged! They have the BEST style. Also, they have all these amazingly stylish friends who hang out together and work together and do these extremely preppy and admirable things. (Can you tell how obsessed I am with them?!) I love her friend Sadie Zucchi's style the most out of their whole gang. I have been reading Sarah's blog for a few years now, I highly recommend.

 

Here's their engagement photo! (taken from KJP's tumblr)

 

 

Here are some of my favorite shots from Sarah's blog:

 

 

Trust me when I say that these aren't even all of her shoes. SO jealous!

 

 

 

 

 

 

XOXOXO,

Kels

 

 

 

2014 Resolutions & Organization

Hey everyone!

It's my first post of 2014 (on the first day of 2014)! Last night was pretty low-key in my house. I had some of my favorite Williams-Sonoma Pumpkin Bisque, which is only available in the fall (but luckily my mom found one and gave it to me for Christmas). I watched the ball drop, and whoop there is was... 2014.

I actually really liked 2013. It's been a really good year, but I am so excited for this year! In 2014, I will go to France with my school, the Dominican Republic on a service mission, hopefully to Europe with my family, and I know this summer I will be visiting tons of schools in preparation for my SENIOR YEAR (how am I already this old?!). I'll be applying to colleges this year. It's something that I cannot really wrap my head around!

I know that most people make resolutions for the new year, and almost always they are about diet, losing weight, and exercise. Although, like everyone else, I have those kind of goals for 2014, I think my main resolutions aren't going to be about those things. Here are my 2014 resolutions:

1. To try to be more outgoing, and more eager to take advantage of my final years at home with my family, and in high school!

2. Not mess with my hair. It's kind of a gross habit, and not something that I want to do.

3. Spend less time trying to impress people on social media. Who really cares if I lose a few followers or something like that? I shouldn't, and that's what I am going to work on!

4. Keep my room more organized, and not procrastinate as much!


Although my room is often what my mom calls "a disaster zone", my planner is very organized, and I thought that people may want to improve on their own calendar's organization for the new year!

Even though my school gives every middle and high school student planners, I prefer the Lilly ones much more. I have a Jumbo Lilly Pulitzer Planner. Because I have relatively large hand writing, and this is the perfect size planner for me. A lot of people at my school have the Large planner as well, it just depends on preference.

 

I use my Crayola magic markers religiously, and the main place that I use them (as you can see in the pictures above and below) is in my planner. I use them to bring attention to special days, and to box in any reminders. The pack that I got has gorgeous colors, they really brighten up my planner!
 

I mark the week with a K magnetic bookmark that I got as a gift. It makes it a lot easier, so that I can just flip to the week, instead of searching for it. Another thing I do is that I write all of my subjects (even days when I do not have that class) and highlight them in the same color. I highlight to separate them from the assignment. I put a box to the left of every subject, and put a check in it when I have finished that subject. I have done it this way for over 4 years now, and it really works for me!
 

Another little piece of advice I have about organizing is to use a backpack with different compartments, which helps me to be more organized than if I we're go use a tote bag. 

 (That's my backpack, from North Face... and my SAT book and new blanket that I got for Christmas from my mom!)

Another great thing to use are sticky notes! I use them to mark pages in books for English, where my notes start for a new test in History class, and countless other places! I just got new ones for Christmas! 

I hope this helps, and I hope your 2014 is going well so far!
 

XOXOXO,

Kels

Easing into the Holidays

It's been forever since I have been on here, and I hate that! I have had a crazy few weeks since I last posted. Here's what I have been up to in the last couple of weeks!

1. My amazing French exchange student, Hannah, left for France. We didn't have nearly enough time to spend together due to a crazy amount of school work and volleyball commitments that happened while she was here. I can't wait to visit her at her home in 2014!!

2. I went to my dad's college homecoming, and met with a family friend who is a freshman that college. We went to a football game and met tons of his friends from college. It was interesting to see it with all the alumni, and it showed me how you really do make life-long friendships in college.

3. I have been obsessed the show "Don't Trust the B***** in Apartment 23". Actually obsessed. In only a couple of days, I have watched almost all of Seasons 1 and 2! It's bad how much I love it! It's really annoying though because Netflix mixed up the order of the episodes, so some of them are in Season 2, but it puts them with Season 1 episodes. It has been my relaxing tool!

4. Volleyball is OVER! I am so happy to finally have more time to do my homework and BREATHE! I love my volleyball team and the friendships that I have made from it, but I am pretty relieved to have a season off. I think winter is the best season for me to be free because the holidays are my favorite time of the year, and I really get to take advantage of them! Plus, not that many of my friends do winter sports, so it is not like I am the only one that takes it off.

5. I visited W&L this weekend. I will write a post on this later today, but I LOVE IT. Can't wait to elaborate! 

6. I am currently putting together my Christmas list, and I am sooo excited to start buying presents for my family and friends. Ahhh!!!

XOXOXO,

Kels

Homecoming and Senior Night

This month has been so crazy! My French girl through school, Hannah, is at my house and is leaving Saturday. Yesterday was Homecoming, and the dance was literally 100 times better than last year. Last year barely anyone danced, but this year everyone was dancing! It was so much fun. After, I went to my friends house and we just had a really fun night! We won the football game too, so it was a great day! Friday was Senior Night for volleyball. At my school, Senior Night is the last home game for Seniors, and so the team celebrates by making posters with embarrassing pictures of each senior, and decorating them up in a theme! We dressed our seniors up as Disney Princesses, and I dressed up my senior as Sleeping Beauty. The day before Homecoming we also have a Pep Rally where the seniors from every fall sports team have a dance competition, and the volleyball team's dance was literally amazing. (So sad they didn't win!)

I got my dress and shoes from Free People. Loved them both!

I really like my French girl, Hannah. She's really chill and has great fashion sense. I will be sad to see you leave!

XOXOXO,

Kels

Long Time No See!

I have been so busy with school over the past three weeks I can barely take it! Volleyball is taking away from my study time, so study time is taking away from my free time. Anyways, here is a recap of the past few weeks!

 ^ The annual first day of school picture! I cannot believe that I only have one more left!

 ^ I have completely redone my tumblr page, it's a totally new theme! ( I also changed the banner on this blog!)

> I have asked my since-we-were-6-months-old best guy friend to Homecoming (with baby pictures!)

> I have gotten my mom's old car, and I have been driving to school (by myself!)

And I've done a lot of online shopping, and a lot of Facebook stalking the freshman in college who went to my HS. I cannot wait to be at college! It's so close, but so far away at the same time. We are starting to learn about the whole process in seminars held at my school over the next two days, and I cannot wait to hear what they say!

My IN-SCHOOL-Frenchie gets here October 14th! Her name is Hannah and I am so excited to host another person! As of right now, I am kind of excited for fall. I will be visiting Washington and Lee this November. I am so excited for Homecoming at my school, carving pumpkins, and eating lots of pumpkin pancakes (and other kinds of pumpkin flavored goodies).

XOXOXO,
Kels

Summer Recap

Summer is basically over for me, and has been for the last week and a half because I have had volleyball basically all day and the weather has not been very nice. So, I have decided to do  summer recap (in preparation for the hoards of people at school who will ask me what I did this summer).

JUNE:
-I visited Wake Forest (blog post here) and Davidson (blog post here)
-I went to Duck, NC with kHr.

-I visited William and Mary (blog post here)

JULY:
-I got my drivers license!
-I had a French Exchange student, Maélia, which was a life-changing experience. Through this, my family became really close with the other Frenchie, Alizée, and her host mWd's family. Even though the exchange itself was so exhausting and at times I thought I could not take it anymore, it was nice that I made a new friend from my area, and I always had someone to empathize with me. I will never forget either sister who came to my hometown for two weeks. (blog posts here and here)

-I went to a volleyball camp that really kicked my butt! I am glad I went, though because it really helped me get through tryouts.
-I freaked out over the new royal baby, Prince George!

AUGUST:
-I obsessively watched Desiree on the Bachelorette.
-I had the time of my life in Nantucket, my favorite place on earth.

Brant Point Lighthouse

Excuse the weird editing, it was really dark!

Last Day

-Volleyball Tryouts and Practices

And that's my summer! I'm sad its over, but I am excited to get Junior year over with. I'm ready for college!!

XOXOXO,
Kelsey

Au revior, Maélia & Alyzée

The French exchange students have left our homes. They are now off to Orlando to experience more of America with their younger sister and parents. I have learned to love both of them, even though at times they drove me crazy and practically to tears. Normally, an exchange would be nothing like these last two weeks that mWd and I have shared with these two French girls. When I get another French student in October, there will be planned outings through the giant group they are coming with, and school will give me some relief from their constant presence. These past two weeks mWd and I have worked our butts off to make them happy, not bored, and certainly not hungry. We have taken them to countless restaurants, including ones serving Indian, Japanese, Mexican, Bolivian, and plain ol' American food, as well. We have painted pottery, blew glass, went boating (practically every day), went to the beach, went to the pool, went kayaking, went tubing, shopped, toured museums. Together we watched both RIPD and the Way Way Back (my new favorite movie!). Maélia thought my family was probably crazy as we watched episodes of the Bachelorette, Teen Wolf, Duck Dynasty, and Keeping Up With the Kardashians. She laughed louder than all of us when we watched Sharknado and Project X. She learned to love Pitch Perfect as well as I do (I've seen it 8++ times). She now occasionally snickers, "vertical running", remembering Fat Amy. She's learned that my favorite flower is the hydrangea, and points them out to me whenever she sees one. Her sister, Alyzée literally made me smile all the time. I definitely have a soft spot for her. Maélia has seen my obsession with tumblr, and ice cream. She's learned to appreciate frozen yogurt and Starbucks. She's fallen in love with the American stores, everything from Forever 21 to Urban Outfitters. She taught me how to make her cupcakes, and I taught her how to make my favorite cookies. She learned just how obsessed I am with the royal family, and jumped for joy with me when Prince George Alexander Louis was born. She now knows that I am literally ALWAYS tired, which I told her probably ten times a day. She always had her camera around her neck, documenting her stay in America.

The girls were by no means perfect guests, by American standards they would be considered impolite and they literally harassed my brother, but no one is perfect which we all understood.

We now have so many inside jokes, such as "Sorry for you", "Banagram!", "Non Ouai/No way", and "Kill yourself".

They've taught me "Ouai gavée" (poor spelling), but definitley told me NEVER to say it outside of their hometown.

This experience has been truly life changing. I learned how important it is to put on a happy face, even when I am about to cry. I have learned that it is okay to express my anger, but never to them. Even though they were very different than I am, they were still girls struggling to express themselves in a new language, and people who only wanted to make new friends and learn about the American culture. I have gotten SO much closer with mWd's family (who were basically strangers to me before).

I will miss them so much, but I will forever cherish the memories we've made, and the new friends we have become.

XOXOXO,

Kels

French Exchange and Summer

I am so excited about Prince George! I was in the movie theater watching one of my new favorite movies, the Way Way Back, when he was born! Both my mom and my best friend kHr texted me "It's a boy" (they know me so well) and I just about died of excitement. I love this picture of my two favorite guys.

I cannot believe my frenchie, Maélia, is about to leave! I have gotten really close with both her, her sister Alizée, and Alizée's host, mWd. We have done so many things, but I feel like the main thing we have done is expose them to normal American cuisine and lives. They've met a few of my friends, and have seen all the local landmarks.

We made my go-to cookie recipe, modeled after Momofuku Milk Bar's compost cookies. Maélia showed me her favorite French cupcake recipe as well. Both ended up being delicious!

Maélia and me on her first full day in my hometown!

mWd and I after a great night out together!

mWd and her Frenchie, Alizée

The sisters

Alizée and I

Next week I am heading off to Nantucket. I am so excited to go back to my favorite place in the world.

XOXOXO,
Kelsey