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Personal: A Recap of January 2017


Paris Flowers Pretty in Pink

Paris Flowers Pretty in Pink

If you follow along on the newsletter this month I tried to give you a little recap of the week. This is going to be a more in-depth version and it should be a great reminder for me as the year moves on how far I have progressed. 

This Month’s Top 5 Posts In Case You Missed Them:

1. Paris: 5 Ways to order a Pastry in French

2. Book Club: January 2017 Bonjour Kale

3. Personal: Cuyana Bag Spill 10 things I always carry with me

4. Paris: A First look at Paris in the Snow

5. Personal: 2017 Goals

I started a butter count on my phone because as I started baking at the end of 2016 a lot more I realized how much butter I went through more than anything else. The French Onion Soup and Brioche use more butter than you would think. This month I only made two recipes the madeleines and also the brownies, so the butter count is at 1 package. I have a few recipes coming up in February so I will be able to up that butter number quickly šŸ˜‰

There was a challenge at my dance studio this month and the goal was to go to 20 classes in 30 days. I did 24 classes! This group of ladies is so motivating. We have a blast dancing together. 

Movies Watched – 1, which is way more than I did in 2016 so this is already progress. The last non-kid movie I saw in the theater was in 2015 and I can’t even remember what it was. I saw La La Land and wrote a little about it here

I didn’t travel at all this month which was a bit abnormal for me. I flew home from Miami in early January and haven’t seen O’Hare in weeks. I am staying put until mid-March which I am actually really excited about. I haven’t stayed put this long in probably years. I did book four flights this month so you know life is about to get busy and more exciting for us both. Two are birthday surprises for family members so keeping that a secret is HARD! I am pretty sure they don’t read the blog but just in case, you will know when they know. The third flight is to take a trip to somewhere on my bucket list which in the spirit of surprises I am going to keep that one secret too. I turn 35 in April so this trip is for me. The last flight is to Paris in September which I get to photograph I have never done before and I am staying a little while. I am not sure if I mentioned it yet but I am hoping to get to the Champagne region to capture the harvest. If anyone has suggestions or has connections. I am willing to pull my weight and pick grapes I just would love to see this in person! To finish up September I will be traveling back to see my friends in the South West of France at La Bruyle I fell in love with this Bed and Breakfast back in 2015 when I visited in May. This time around I am visiting in September and I have requested to cook in the kitchen to learn some of the recipes. Here is a little sneak peak at the house.


La Bruyle

Now let’s talk books! I finished Bonjour Kale and I started The Nightingale and also Bringing up BĆ©bĆ© as I wanted to search for other book club picks. This is more than I probably read for all of 2016 so already we are making huge progress. I have chosen a book for February which it was announced at the meetup on Saturday and in the Newsletter. Stay tuned this week for the next selection. 

Highlights: 

This is already getting long so I will try to wrap up. But honestly the biggest highlight this month was the meetup this past weekend. I loved meeting everyone in Chicago and I am really excited for this community to grow. I have heard from a few of you about wanting meetups in other cities. I do plan to visit NYC and Paris to host meetups. I will have to brainstorm on how to expand to other cities even if I can’t physically make it. I am thinking ” How to host your own Every Day Parisian Party” Please feel free to comment below and tell me where you are from and which cities I should visit for a meetup this year. 

Challenges:

I am always looking for ways to improve myself and the blog. It has been a challenge writing content and balancing the Etsy shop. Luckily the month of January is slow and I was able to do ok. I did create a content calendar for February that is already filled for the month with enough posts to keep you busy. Some posts had to spill over to March. I have gotten a lot of emails this past month and I want to write you all back and I will. They mean so much to me to hear from you. I would like to hire someone part time to help keep me organized more than I am (creative brain) and work smarter not harder. 

A huge THANK YOU to all of you for all of your support and for reading this blog! I couldn’t do it without you!! 

xo

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