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Happy Friday my birds!

Today I am back for a white and blue happy Friday with the brand Esprit. Indeed, the brand asked some bloggers to imagine looks and moodboards regarding what they thought about their summer collection. And as I am a bad student, rather than creating moodboards, I realized small sets to show what their white and blue collection inspired me… Obviously, it makes me terribly think about Greece. Unfortunately, I have never been there yet, and I would not go there and come back just for the occasion… Thus, because I did not really have time to shoot this happy Friday under the Greek sun, I imagined some scenes that represent all the things I would like to do there, in Paris, this summer.

Suitcase, Fleux. Poncho, Esprit. White cactus vase, Fleux. Paper birds and flowers DIY. Towel with polka dots, La cerise sur le gâteau. Blue glasses, ISA.

This summer, I want to take some time, to go to picnic in the Buttes Chaumont, to tame birds and drink litters of Curacao cocktails… Because finally, I think I love spending summer in Paris. Everything is quieter, the scorching heat slows down the frenzy of Paris, and I just enjoy seeing the city like this with its highlighted buildings thanks to the sunny weather.

I loved these last days under the scorching heat, the beginning of summer; I think that there is nothing that can make me happier than walking with bare begs and without any jacket, the hair drying on my shoulders… The night that is a bit cooler because of the stormy evening and the next morning, when the sky is blue again. I do not need much right now but a nice blue sky can change everything, and it makes me even more patient.

City guide of Paris, WallPaper. Towel, La cerise sur le gâteau. Dishes and matches, Fleux. Sunglasses, Jimmy Fairly. Cigarettes, blue oranges, DIY and shirt Esprit.

This summer, I really want to try all the Parisian little cafes’ terraces, I feel like there is only in France where you have this “terrace culture”, the chairs side by side to watch people walking and passing around… For few months, each weekend I want to discover Paris again, like a real tourist, avoiding my favorite districts… to have a boat trip (“bateau mouche”) on the Seine, to go up to the Montparnasse tower, to get lost in Montmartre… And fall in love with Paris, once again. 

Anyway, I am wearing a white pair of jeans, a striped blue shirt, a jacket by Esprit, a small vintage luggage and Patricia Blanchet shoes. And a blue satin little bow in my hair…

Jeans, Esprit. Book "Ça s'est passé un Dimanche", Radiooooo. Vase, bowl and box, Fleux. Headphones, UrbanEars. Paper moon, camera and collar, DIY.

Among the things I want to do this summer, I also would like to take Paris in picture as many times as possible because finally when I am on holidays, far away from my home, I have my camera around my neck to capture every corner. When I often ride my bike, I can see Paris passes before my eyes and at this moment, I realize that I am so lucky to live in the most beautiful city in the world, and I tend to forget it and I sometimes take for granted this atmosphere and this story.

So now, it is your turn! Tell me, what are your plans for this summer? I send you big kisses!

Translated by Coralie Clair

Pour lire ce post en français, cliquez ici !

 Hello my little kitties!

Last week, I was talking about a workshop that I did for LaRedoute during their press days. The idea was simple but complex at the same time. Indeed, the deal was to find a customization idea for a white t-shirt with a “Paris” theme. Well… I think that the customization exercise on a white t-shirt or a pair of jeans is more than difficult. To me, these pieces are so strong, raw and kind of sacred: we do not touch to a basic when it is well cut. Thus, when someone asks me to create a DIY like this, it always seems a bit complicated for me. However, the MacGyver inside me wanted to face the challenge! So a “Paris” customization… Well, I thought about doing an ascot knot on the white t-shirt and it was so nice to teach some of you the basics of sewing during this evening. It was a real pleasure for Laure, Charlotte and me, and since then I am a little obsessed with ascot knots… So the idea was to go further and further with us… And to imagine a drawing of an ascot knot, for any shirt! Now it is time for me to drink a nice smoothie with a straw because with a bow like this one, you will not be able to have lunch in an Italian restaurant. The perfect shirt to have a nice drink outside! Wait…

For this DIY, you will need:

• - a classic shirt, here it is from Asos,
• - a fabric in cotton (at least one meter),
• - the pattern of the ascot knot that you can download here,
• - scissors,
• - a pen, some pins, a sewing machine and an iron.

First of all, you have to draw and cut the pattern 4 times in the fabric of the color you want. You will have two parts for the front and two other parts for the back of the ascot knot.
Put the two front parts together with some pins to fix the thinnest sides. Do the same for the back.

Then, sew the parts together from one centimeter of the edge; it represents the seam-allowance and open your seams with your iron.

Take your scissors and cut the collar, just the upper part, not the lower one, it is important.

Cut also the collar stud (the last button) if there is one. Take the front part or the back one, it does not matter, and pin it to the collar stand. Find the middle of the back of you shirt and match it with the seam you just did before on the ascot knot.

Mark each side of the collar stand with a pen. Take off the pins and put the back and the front parts together on the right side with some pins.

Do a one-centimeter notch where you just create the mark, and use the iron to start to form a one-centimeter pleat. This is where we are going to take the collar stand’s shirt in between the ascot knot, once we will turn round the sewed collar.

Sew all around the collar from one centimeter of the edge of the fabric, and then do not forget to notch the curves of the collar and the lower corners of the ascot knot. Of course, do not sew the opening that we cut before, it will be also used to turn round the collar. Anyway, as we talk about this, turn round the ascot collar and iron your work.

Take your collar stand in between the ascot knot and sew from few millimeters of the edge.

And TA-DA! Tie a classic knot and here it is, a very Viktor and Rolf style shirt! I send you big kisses!

Translated by Coralie Clair

Pour lire ce poste en français, cliquez ici !

Hello my little kitties!

Today I am back with a new post that makes me very happy… These last days, with the launch of Wear Lemonade and all the DIY workshops, I did not really have time to have a break and test new stuff. It is not that it really missed me but I did not have time to think about it. It is like being reunited again with an old friend that I did not see for a long time… and I finally realize that I really missed him. This is what happened with the collaboration with &Other Stories. I met myself. On a Saturday, alone at the office. I unpacked a giant box full of &Other Stories beauty products (that I love) and I settled my workplace, the office was upside down and I tried new things, with pigments, nail polishes, smoke, ink and water. I acted like a chemist, standing on the desks, with my painted forearms and my messy hair… Pure happiness. I took a creative appointment with myself. So good.

For this reason, the day I received an email from this brand that is clearly swallowing up my money, I was so excited! Yes, really excited, dance of joy and Larusso who is always with me in those moments… And then, I said “okay buddie, now you need to find a nice idea”…

That was quite simple, I wanted to work on the images to highlight the beauty products. Because &Other Stories for me, it is above all, the real control of the colors, crazy ranges. When I am in the beauty section of their store, I feel like I am in a candy shop. And then, the atmosphere you have in their boutiques makes me think about a laboratory that creates happiness for the spirit. Finally, I think that it is the real shopping, because personally, when I go shopping directly in stores (and believe me, it becomes rare because of the e-shopping), I expect a lot of the customer experience.

I filled transparent caps with colorful pigments and glitter, like capsules of fun, played with droppers and pipettes, and then smoke for the “fun scientist” part. To sum up, as you probably guessed, I had so much fun doing those photos and I would like to thanks &Other Stories for their trust.

And as I also want you to have as fun as I had with color, I offer you the opportunity to win a box with 10 crazy colorful products! To participate, it is very simple; you only have to go on Instagram (if you do not have Instagram, you can borrow your little sisters’, nieces’ or children’ phone to multiply your chances)! You just have to post the photo of the article you want or regram the picture of my post directly on Instagram and add the #makeyourstories.
I will draw the winner at random next Monday at noon. I send you big kisses and see you all tomorrow!

Translated by Coralie Clair 

Pour lire ce post en français, cliquez ici ! 

I wanted to write this post about my studies because many of you sent me emails asking me what choices did I make and why. It is a bit crazy because thanks to you, I look back and wonder why I made those choices... In reality, I never did it before because I act more than I think. I do not rush into something blindly either, but I trust my feelings… I tell you.

Firstly, I am lucky because my parents always supported me, even if they saw me as an alien something, they knew that I would never be happy studying literature or economy… Because of the glitter dinosaurs, among others… For this reason, I was lucky because I never heard things like “You need to have a High School diploma in Sciences first”.

After an appointment with the guidance counsellor, I discovered very early the possibility to do an “STI” (Sciences and Technology of the Industry) Applied Arts high school diploma and I knew that it was made for me. I was in a country school and I worked hard to obtain great marks to enter a public high school that had this specialization. Yes you can also find this program in private high schools but when your father in teaching sports in a public institution, you cannot talk about them… Then, it was also very challenging to be accepted in public schools all the time. In third year (quatrième), my goal was to enter the François Magendie high school in Bordeaux in order to do the STI Applied Arts program. I made it, and I can tell you that it was not easy, more than 40 hours of class per week, a completely feminine world, lots of talented people, and of course, high school, the city and the hormones…

Then, I had to think about what to do after this high school diploma, and I remember an interview I had with my main teacher Mr Alain Garcia, that I loved, and my parents to talk about the possibilities I had for the future. I remember he told me that it would be tough, that I will have to persist, never give up and that if I were lucky, I would meet the right people. He was honest with me, and my parents were aware that their daughter’s future was in the hands of the destiny. And I was scared not to overcome my timidity to meet the right people.

I became more confident and I finally assumed the fact that I wanted to be a designer and enter Duperré. The Duperré ENSAA is one of the 4 Parisian public schools, with Estienne, Olivier de Serres and Boulle. It now always makes me think about the Hogwarts houses. However, when you are studying for your last year of high school, you have to create a file with all your academic documents and send it to the schools in which you can follow the different programs you want but always think about a plan B. For this reason, I had interviews in Roubaix, Cholet and Paris, for 2-year degrees (BTS) in fashion design, crafts and textile (DMA) and I also tried the Strasbourg decorative arts (where I failed…).

1^st year project at Duperré, about the white shirt, pictures by Mike Palace.

You should have seen me… during my interviews, with a little back shirtdress from H&M, red ankle socks and black plastic Salomes from Melissa… I also customized a red cardboard suitcase (same as my socks) with all my projects inside. I put red cherries wallpaper with a black background into the suitcase. I added some tricks to hang my notebooks… And I had a huge frame under my arm because it did not fit in the case, a REP on the roads of France, with my 12-25-discount card between the teeth. When I think about myself when I was 17, I can see myself as a tiny but brave person! Anyway, after the interviews, we do not have the answer directly; it takes weeks to know it and in the meantime, you have to pass your final exams… I was not an excellent student in high school, I kind of chose the classes I wanted to attend, and I preferred art classes to general ones. However, I succeeded and had my diploma with distinction even if I had a D mathematics… Nothing is impossible and when I was waiting for my diploma’s results, I also knew about the schools.

1^st year professional project “Grey matter” at Duperré. Pictures by Mike Palace.

At that time, my parents moved and the mailbox has been transferred so it took so long for the letters to arrive. One day in a morning, after having waited for the postman, I finally open the letter from Duperré and I cannot read it because I am so chocked and I cry so much; I am accepted if I have my high school diploma. I am sitting in the street, on the door threshold under the sun, I have no more credit on my phone (2006…) and I cannot tell anybody. Craziness, party at home, I can already see myself as a Parisian girl, my Erasmus.

3-year degree professional project “Anachronistic Heritage”, pictures by Garance Li and illustrations by Camille Grosperrin.

I enter Duperré and it is not that easy to arrive in Paris when you are still a little bird barely under age, I knew no one and then you have to realize that the school is here to teach you the rules of this sector, and not to find your own style. You have to come with your own personality in order to evolve. The school gives you the keys and tools to claim your own style but you are not going to become the new Alexander McQueen if you are not born Alexander McQueen. Thus, you have to pick the information you need in order to realize your project. It is very important and I clearly see this now when I interview some candidates from Duperré, that even if the education system is the same, the result is completely different, and I do not think that there is a “Duperré” touch. The school is not here to help you become someone you are not; it guides you to assert your own choices. And I think it is great but very hard at the same time; do not wait too much from the school because only you can create your educational process. Anyway, I obtained my 2-year degree in fashion design in 2008 and then I decided to do another additional study year (a professional one) also at Duperré, 12 months of training between Paris and the Marne la Vallée university, internships and free time to create my own fashion line that had to be presented at the end of the school year with a dissertation. I knew it was my last year and I did not want to have regrets. I worked so hard on my children fashion line and then in 2009, I got my diploma and came out first (top student). Just to say that you have many possibilities in life, and that in 2009 I never imagined that I would be here today, telling you my career story, but the only thing I remember is that you have work hard to reach your ambitions, listen to yourself and that what you already have is never enough… you have to aim higher!

3-year degree professional project “Anachronistic Heritage”, pictures by Nicolas Hidiro, more here.

Translated by Coralie Clair

Pour lire ce post en français, cliquez ici !

Hello my little kitties!

In another life, or as far as I remember, I have always been interested in business… When I was 8, I made rings with pearls but not simple ones. I created big rings with big pearls and other small gems in different colors. And then, right after, I sold them for 50 Francs to my mother’s friends and I launched new collections (just new colors). My father taught me how to maximize my time; that is to say, how to do two different things at the same time. DIY and my homework or pearls and cartoons. At that time, my pearls supplier was the drugstore. Thus, I developed a new skill: business! The drugstore was too expensive and if I bought my raw materials there with the money I earned, I could not buy all I needed to make the rings I already sold… I am 8, you remember, and I look for new suppliers in the streets of Bordeaux with my mom. I remember this store, which sold pearls in the Sainte Catherine Street near la Victoire (I was already wondering how feasible was the business model of this shop but I had not the right words obviously…). This place was the Grail! I was finally able to make profit to buy… more jewelry. Here we are, at 8 I also developed new aspects of my personality, paradox and contradiction.

Anyway, I have always enjoyed the fact that people could wear my creations and it was a real satisfaction.  And when I was 18, I launched my little jewelry and toys brand that I called “Bidiou and Co”. Among many other cute things, I made glitter dinosaurs earrings, I had so much fun at that time and the other day, when I saw these little plastic dinosaurs, I told myself that I had to show you!

For this DIY, you need:

• - Plastic dinosaurs,
• - White glue,
• - Vanish (optional if you use glue like DecoPatch),
• - Nails, links and earrings structures,
• - Flat and round pliers and a brush,
• - A bodkin, or a big needle for leather.

Take the bodkin or the needle for leather and pierce the dinosaur’s head (I promise, he will not feel anything) and thread the nail in the hole.

Then cut the nail to have a 1cm length, and create a circle with the round plier. 

Now thread the link into the nail and repeat these steps with the other dinosaur. 

Take the brush and the white glue or vanish, and paint the dinosaur. In a small recipient, cover the dinosaur with glitter and do not forget the corners.

 Once it is dry, add another vanish or glue coat in order to stick the glitter on the dinosaur. Tie the earrings structure to the dinosaur thanks to the flat plier.

And there we are! In addition, you can download the packaging here and print it in A5 format if you want to offer the earrings to someone you love because a sparkling dinosaur is like a talisman in the lemon religion… I send you big kisses!  By the way, for the Parisians, if you want to create your own earrings with me, I will be at the inauguration of the “mercredis du savoir faire” at the BHV Marais, from Wednesday the 10^th and it is open to everyone, all day long, I will be at the Paulette stand!

Translated by Coralie Clair

Pour lire ce post en français, cliquez ici ! 

Happy Sunday to you, my little kittens! 

I hope you’re recharging your batteries, as it should be on this Sunday, I just took a look at the weather on-line, and it appears that everyone will see the sun today! So I’m picturing you with your computer or iPad on your lap in bed, checking out what’s in the press, on the blogs, and on other websites, a toasty and a steaming-hot tea close by, and your sweetheart who is pumped up to clean the apartment ... Oh, the good life. I’m back today to give you a very simple decorating DIY, to bring a touch of Japanese style into your home sweet home, "the eternal cherry branch." Yes, when you say it like that, it seems to be a whole concept, but I think it brings a touch of poetry to any room, and you can do these small, paper flowers in any color you want, imagine your branch decorated with ten small, white balls ... Have fun, and oh I think it's Mother's Day very soon, if you're stumped for ideas, and pretty broke, grab your scissors! Speaking of Mom, the opportunity is too good not to tell you a bit about mine! She just finished her second novel, a sort of psychological thriller that I had trouble putting down! "Contrariété d'un gaucher" (Making a left-handed person write right-handed) by Martine THORRE, add it to your list of books to gobble up!

For this DIY, you will need:

• • -a pair of scissors,
• • - some thin, brass wire,
• • - tissue paper,
• • - a branch with nice off-shoot branches,
• • - a paintbrush and ink(s) and a little bit of water.

Start by cutting a strip of tissue paper of 10-12cm in width along the entire length of your roll, then fold you strip like a fan along the entire length. Your folding value must be equal to or less than 10-12cm in width to obtain a square, once the entire strip has been folded.

Then, keep folding your multi-layer square of tissue paper into a fan. But be careful, you must fold about 1 cm, and be sure it’s parallel to the edge where you haven’t already folded.

Once you have your fan, take about 20cm of brass wire and loop it around your fan at its midpoint. Using your scissors, cut each end, being sure to round out the corners.

And I can just hear you saying, "oh great, we’ve made bow tie pasta", but have a little patience! Now, turn out each layer of paper towards the middle of your butterfly bow tie. And then you shall see your flower take shape...

Twist your brass wire and maintain the length. For those DIY enthusiasts out there, this is actually the same way you make a pompom out of paper, with just one slight difference, for this flower, all the layers of paper are turned upward in the opposite direction of the brass wire, but if you want to make a pompom, you have to space out the layers of paper evenly, in an upwards and downwards fashion, in order to hide the brass wire.

With the rest of the length of  your brass wire, you can fasten your flowers to your branches and TA-DA! And here’s a little something extra ... If you have ink of different colors, dilute them thoroughly in some water and paint the ends of the petals of your lighter flowers.... Send us pictures of your finished products!

Translated by Ida Driscoll.

Happy Friday little kitties !

I hope you’ve taken the long week-end off and that you’re reading this from your beach towel. I’m writing to you from Cannes where I am lucky enough to be spending 36 short hours. The sky is an intense blue and I was thinking to myself how nice it would be to be on vacation, to wake up in the morning and say hey “what should I do today?” And what if I did nothing at all…?

;) that’s a good one, I am utterly incapable of doing that! I can do nothing for several hours but then I get bored. A few years ago when I was bed-ridden due to an illness, the doctor had told me I had to stay in the horizontal position for 4 days in order to recuperate, at the time I thought it would be easy, since I was really in really bad shape, but as of the 3^rd day, when I started feeling better, I found that time went by sooooo slooowly. So, since I was stuck at home, I decided to change the placement of my furniture: The definition of Resting, according to Lisa Gachet. What can you do, I realize I have an issue, it’s not that big a deal.

For me, the perfect day would be to wake up in the morning and take a long bath listening to Al Green. Make myself a smoothie with lots of fresh fruit, take the time to put lotion on my body from head to toe, and straight out do a face mask. Take my bike, because obviously the weather would be beautiful on this day, and ride crosstown to get a massage. Massage + lotion, I would be all slippery before it’s even noon, but whatever, that’s just a small detail. Have a late lunch with a friend on the patio of a restaurant or in the hidden garden of Café A. And then I’d read a good book, lounging along the canal. Paint my nails with a crazy color polish and head home to get ready to go have a drink with friends and my sweetheart, and walk home barefoot at the end of a long night spent dancing… And what about you, what’s your idea of the perfect day? 

Today I’m wearing a dusty-pink dress by Cos, a jacket made of French terry cloth by a great little brand Jour/né available here at l'Exception, a vegetal leather handbag from Matt & Nat, shoes by Patricia Blanchet and to wear underneath, because this dress is very see-through, a perfect, flesh-colored body suit from Princess Tam-tam.

Translated by Ida Driscoll.

Ooh la la my little kitties! 

Thank you! It seems so derisory and common to just write thank you, I wish I could invent a more powerful word to show my gratitude for your reception and the truly encouraging words we’ve received from you about our collection Wear Lemonade ! A year ago, I met Laure for the first time, upon a precious recommendation from Patricia, an amazing person who is in charge of various operations in the “Sacrés Coupons” boutique in Paris.

Laure came to meet me at my home, because at the time I already had a desire to try my hand at sewing patterns… But “real” ones, not thrown together as I had been doing up until that point. And in life, the hardest thing to do is accept when you can’t do something alone, and that in order to move forward and be legitimate, it’s better to know when to partner up. That’s why I wanted to work with a real designer who knows her subject well, and so I asked Laure to take care of the designs, we discuss how we want things to fall, what details and finishing touches are possible while maintaining simplicity and accessibility, that’s my hobby horse, to not scare off beginners…

And then Laure, with her long hands, traces, cuts and assembles the rough versions of the clothes, we try things on at the office, everyone puts in their 2 cents and we validate a final version of the garment. Then, Laure, Queen of Patterns (her new title) modifies her patterns on paper, scans then vectorizes them, so they become the sewing patterns of Wear Lemonade…

In reading your feedback, comments, suggestions by email, the idea of the Wear Lemonade collection came to see the light of day… A collection of patterns, yes, but also the finished garments for those who don’t have the time, or have two left hands, or are allergic to the sewing machine…I think that subconsciously, I always knew that this would be the logical next stop in the progression of things: picture a parallel wardrobe, practical, in which you feel pretty but not like you’re in a costume. In short, a kind of ephemeral collection of indispensable clothing that feels so good like lemonade. 

Once the designs and spec sheets were done, we had to seek out garment factories, and this was not an easy task because every month the units come in very small quantities and it is complicated to find factories that accept to work on our project without quoting us astronomical prices, given our limited quantities. And I have another hobby horse, the prices, and I suspect that this is not within the reach of every budget but as you already know, we are not Spanish or Swedish big dogs ... But still, I wanted our prices to be fair, commensurate with the work done on each unit, the materials used, and the limited quantity of products. If you’ve looked through our product spec sheets, you noticed that all was Made in France or Made in Portugal. In an ideal world, I would have liked that our sweatshirts be manufactured only in France, but I wanted us to do our own baggy cut, with a wide neckline, a "sexy" sweatshirt with weft-terry embroidery that I just love, but in France the offer to work on sweatshirts is quite poor and it is rarely possible to develop your own cut.

Today, everything we do is Made in France, Made in Paris even, but if by some unfortunate circumstance our workshop couldn’t fulfill our orders or if tomorrow we find a workshop in Europe which would do a great job of sublime quality, with a super ethical charter, I reserve the right to opt for the manufacture of our collections elsewhere in Europe. It's really important for me that I tell you this, because I'm not particularly attached to Made in France, I am delighted that we currently have this label, but quite honestly, for me, there are two things that take precedence over all factors, and that is the quality of work and materials, as well as the working conditions of the employees doing the handcrafting...

For this launch, I wanted to pay tribute to the great DIYs that have been presented on Make My Lemonade over the past 3 years, remastered versions at the expert hands of Laura, the Frida dress, the Perfecto Mona, and the tutu Ava... The garments are produced in two color versions, a standard version and a printed version of our own patterns that we have developed just for the occasion.

To make all this possible, we had to have a real e-shop! And we were fortunate to work with Colorz agency, who were able to “lemonize” our e-shop website. Charlotte has been working with me for over a year and a half now. In reality, she’s the head of operations at the studio and is also in charge of online sales, so she's the Queen of the e-shop! Today, there are still some small glitches to work out, image adjustments and such, but it’s in the process of being perfected. By the way, as of next week there will be another payment mode available, credit card (yippy!!!) and Paypal will no longer be the only way to place your orders! In short, do not hesitate to send us your comments, your opinions are very important and help make us better!

So, we'll be back every month for a new item in a limited edition, and when it's gone it's over, but if you really want a certain item, you’ll need to get sewing! See you tomorrow little birdies, for a Happy Friday post!

Translated by Ida Driscoll

Happy Monday my little kitties!

The recipe for avocado toast is not all that revolutionary nowadays, I’m using our food feature as an excuse to speak to you about myself… I think the personality trait that defines me the most is my impatience. I spend my life saying things like “I can’t wait”, “I’ll be happy when the day comes,” “in such a rush to be there.” That’s the way I am. When my sweetheart met my Mom for the first time, he asked her to tell him what my biggest flaws were….Instead of replying that he would discover them sooner than he thought, she told him: Lisa is stubborn and above all, impatient. And it’s funny because at that moment, it occurred to me that I had never perceived my impatience as a flaw but rather as my driving force. And then, I realized that over time, this thirst for speed, this need for a quick result, has gotten worse since the arrival of the internet in my life.

Today, I will not talk about my impatience at work because in my opinion, I could actually write a novel or at least a long post about it. But I realized that this chronic lack of patience was seriously starting to make me sick, in the literal sense of the word. It’s been a while now that I’ve been wondering more and more about my eating habits, what is good, really good for me, beyond what we read  in magazines, about the latest diet trend, but about how I feel inside and what I really need. And lately, I’ve found that I often do not have the patience to wait for a meal to be ready. The first scenario is: I snack on the ingredients until the meal is ready and I also eat the dish once it’s cooked, so I eat twice. Second hypothesis, I prefer to opt for fast food by default instead of firing up the oven, so I eat junk food, okay, so it’s lack of patience and laziness in this case. And the last scenario, which for me was the thing that changed everything, is that sometimes I come home late and I'm tired and hungry, but I prefer to just go to sleep rather than simply taking 5 minutes to reheat some food… So I end up not eating at all. In short, it is really about awareness ... So I want to work on my patience, and I think I will start making progress with that by paying more attention to what I put on my plate.

Here are 3 recipes for those renowned avocado toasts, super easy to make, for the stove-top-impatient ones out there.

First variation: On whole wheat grain bread, spread a layer of cream cheese, then a layer of radishes cut mandolin-style, and a half avocado thinly sliced, add a trickle of olive oil and a pinch of flaxseed. Make yourself two toasts like this with a cold soup and a small green salad with some slices of Grisons beef and you’ve got yourself a first-class, express lunch.

Second idea: On whole wheat grain bread, place some grapefruit sections mixed with small avocado cubes, place thin slices of cucumber and sprinkle with sunflower seeds and chives. In ideal accompaniment to this super fresh variation would be to add some crab crumbs or large cooked shrimp, or arugula to your toast, topped off with an apple, carrot, ginger juice, and a yogurt!

And my favorite for last: On whole wheat grain bread, mash up half an avocado with your fork, add about 10 dried cranberries, and poach an egg, (what do you mean it’s too complicated? Watch this video, it is NOT to be missed!) and sprinkle some poppy seeds on top…Enjoy your toasts with a tomato salad or a small plate of shredded carrots, a yogurt and a bowl of strawberries, and you’ll be in business!

And what about you, do you have any quick, healthy recipes you take care of yourself with?

Translated by Ida Driscoll

Lorenzo P. with his paper weapon and his lemon outfit...

Happy Saturday my little cats! 

We are finishing off this week with a new edition of good people... This feature, if you are not familiar with the website, was made to introduce people to you who are dear to me, who inspire me, who have an exceptional story…And today I would like to talk to you about Lorenzo Papace (pronounced “papAchay » and not “Papassssse”). So, who is this Lorenzo P, you ask? Well, he’s an extraterrestrial, a completely crazy being, awesomely crazy. Director and composer, I first discovered the work of Lorenzo 5 years ago, at a time when he was amusing himself doing parodies of the French blogosphere with his acolyte Vincent Pianina on their website "Le petit écho malade". (The sick, little echo).
In each of their posts, the boys showed proof of their limitless ingenuity for spoofing French “influencers” with finesse and irony. I invite you to take the time to get lost in their
archives…Since then, the boys continue their collaborations making totally bonkers videos, “Super Nickel” and “The complete guide to zero knowledge,” but most of all, they partner up to make videos for the Orsay Museum but also on other projects for Arte filled with off-the-wall poetry. They create everything, from music to design, including playing roles as actors! If you ask me, this duo of artists is pure magic, the union of two fantastic worlds making for endless creative possibilities!

So, a few weeks ago, I managed to break free from my daily routine to meet with Lorenzo in Lyon where he lives. He greeted me dressed in all yellow, with an orange, plastic skateboard under his arm and rings on every finger... He said he wanted to dress like a lemon for the occasion, I mean how could you not love this guy on the spot? Lorenzo opened his home to me, and I discovered in front of my very eyes that this man is just totally passionate and above all, talented. Lorenzo is kind of like a Vishnu of the arts, he is a composer for his band Ödland, but I think I can safely say that his band is a great excuse to create a universe, his very own playground. Lorenzo is also a lover of paper, he is able to create set designs of absolute finesse in order to tell fantastic stories which he thinks up himself, and then sets to music! Quite a little genius, I tell you.

I love his perfectionism and his way of imagining that nothing is impossible. He is capable of leaving for months on end to travel by train around Europe, taking thousands of photos, kind of like one big scouting mission. And then he leaves a few years later, with all the members of his band to shoots all the music videos for their album, one video per country, this album is called Sankta Lucia, with a total of 15 countries visited, and that many crazy videos to go along with it... I give you this depiction of him and hope you like it, in any case Lorenzo, thank you for making me feel welcome and showing me all your toys!

•   - " Important” Question: Could you tell us your story?

I grew up in a town outside of Lyon. I started studying piano at the age of 4. At first, I didn’t like it, I would cry. At 12 years old, I realized that I could express my emotions through music and I thought that was cool. After earning my high school diploma in Science, I turned towards Applied Art and Design, first with a refresher course, then with a BTS in Spacial Design and finally with a DSAA in Interior Architecture, all in Lyon. As soon as I finished school in 2008, I started working freelance so I could do all kinds of jobs, big and small. I tried living in Paris for a bit, but ultimately returned to my hometown. Upon returning, I quickly wanted to form a music band, and that has since become my number 1 passion.

•  - "Sky is the limit” Question: What’s the craziest project you’ve ever worked on? 

Going to Bulgaria with Ödland to film a retro-futuristic video at the ruins of the former HQ of the Communist Party (video here). It was so crazy! The small roads of Bulgaria are as beautiful as they are dangerous. But it’s true that the 5-week trip around Europe camping outside, covering 5000 kilometers, by way of the backdrop of Venice, the hill of crosses in Lithuania, the cemeteries in Poland, the castle in Sissi, the villages of the Czech Republic, the antique market in Budapest, the ruins in Sarajevo, the mountains of Greece, while bathing in public pools and at sketchy highway rest-stops, in order to film 15 videos for the Sankta Lucia album, that too was my most unforgettable mega-adventure!

•  - "Boy Scout” Question: What advice would you give to young travelers whowant to do this kind of trip?

Your best plan would be Interrail. Forget about comfort, we need much less of it than you would think, and have fun! If you are up for it and you don’t have much money, here’s my advice:

• . buy an unlimited 3 or 4-week ticket
• . just take a back pack and a folding bicycle, there’s no extra baggage fee to pay if it’s folded.
•  . sleep in a seated position or laying down on train benches
•  . plan on overnight trips of 7-8 hours, you’ll be forced to zig-zag all over the map of Europe, but it’s no biggie, it will feel all the more like a roller coaster, like getting lost.
•  . visit a new city every day on your little bike and backpack on your shoulders, you’ll definitely see things!
•  . go to public pools to wash up, 2 or 3 times to you a youth hostel if you can’t handleit anymore.
• . take a buddy with you if you need something to share in the hard times. Whenthere are 2 of you, you laugh about it instead. But don’t travel with a big group. You’ll look like tourists, and you’ll be less in tune with the country and its people.
•  . Don’t wait until your situation is stable to leave, otherwise you’ll never leave. 

• - "Guinness book" Question: How many instruments do you know how to play?

Then only instrument for which I received formal, classical training is piano. It opened me up to music, to its secrets and history. With all the other instruments I pick up, I feel like I’m just fiddling about, I get a kick out of it and it takes me away. I also take great pleasure in working with other musicians, composing for and with them, rather than doing everything by myself. Meeting people through music is a blissful experience.

• - "Trick" Question: What is the worst gift anyone could give you?

Yikes, that IS a trap! I’m hesitating between a ticket for a pilgrimage to Lourdes and a portrait of Lukashenko, the President of Belarus. And at the same time I think that both gifts would make me laugh my butt off. Oh no, great, now I’m afraid my friends will really think about doing it!

• -"Unconfessed” Question: What question (never before asked) would you like to be asked?

It’s the question to which I will not have an answer. I’m thinking, but I can’t come up with anything. In fact, that’s probably why we Homo sapiens need each other. Asking questions and giving answers all alone is no fun, there’s no element of surprise. The last woman on Earth will have lost her taste for interviews.

• - "Madame Fortune-Teller” Question: Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?

Impossible question, but I’ll go along: Either in Stockholm, Warsaw or Naples, with my band, trying to do what makes me happy, in a Europe since destroyed by Right-wing extremists.

• -"Survival” Question: If you could only bring one object with you on your trip, besides your lemon outfit, what would it be?

My Praktica reflex camera! It’s really my favorite travel item. I love silver-film photography and am just bummed out that it’s becoming more and more expensive of a process.

• - "Remembrance of things past” Question: What is your first musical memory?

I think it’s Via con me by Paolo Conte, which my mother listened to a lot. It might just be my imagination, but I get the feeling I had heard it even before I was born. In fact I think my very first memory EVER is a musical one. Our first perception of the world is through the sounds we hear, and that’s surely what binds music to our subconscious. I also remember my grandma pretending to be an orchestra conductor, with classical music blasting, it was great!

• - "Current events" Question: You’re back from a trip to Paris for a concert, what is your next big project, a new album with Ödland, a new video with Vincent, spill the beans!?

Yes, I’m in the process of making an album with Ödland called Comète. For the first time ever, we are introducing electronic sounds into our acoustic environment, and it’s like a renaissance for us. So, I’m super excited about that! If all goes well, we’ll be filming the video in Sweden. And for the whole month of May, Vincent and I will be filming the opening credits to the documentary Les aventuriers de l’Art moderne (The Adventurers of Modern Art) in stop-motion. It will be broadcast on Arte in November, that’ll be a first for me. It puts a bit of pressure on me, but it’s a good stress. I spend my time creating and filming a mini, paper-version of Paris.

• - "Peter Pan" Question: Would you have any advice to give us on how to never lose our inner child?

To never worry about it haha! No, seriously, you should probably put your passions at the center of everything, exercise your curiosity as if it were a muscle, and above all, never let yourself be alienated because of work or what others think of you. It’s easier said than done, it’s a form of resistance…

Lorenzo, thank you for these lovely moments! And you will see him again very soon on Make My Lemonade as a guest for a special Paper DIY! 

Translated by Ida Driscoll

Happy Monday folks, 

I hope you had a delicious weekend….Today I bring you a recipe for Matcha-tea Belgian waffles. So, I don’t know if you remember some time ago I told you about an awesome restaurant called IBAJI, where I had tasted black-sesame waffles, it’s like out-of-this-world good, tied for first place with ice cream mochis on my taste scale. I wanted to find a recipe that came close so you non-Parisians out there, and those of you who don’t feel like waiting hours to be seated in a restaurant, could make it yourselves. Well you know what? I combed the rue Sainte-Anne, the “Paris Stores” and other Asian grocery shops in the 3^rd, 1^st and 9^th districts, to no avail, there seems to be a shortage of black sesame in Paris, at least in the east of Paris, since I didn’t make it all the way to the 13^th district. Maybe Tang Frères has some left, but the fact remains that I was gutted. And since I often get fixated on things in my life, I decided to forego the black sesame, and say oh well, and decided to make them with Matcha tea…And wouldn’t you know, it’s exponentially better! With a bit of vanilla whipped cream on top and BINGO, a perfect snack, or maybe an alternative breakfast dish…

For approximately 6 people (makes 2 waffles per person):

• - 500g of flour
• - 2 pinches of salt
• - 4 eggs
• - 42g fresh baking powder, a small packet
• - 20 cl milk + 1 tablespoon superfine sugar
• - 1 full tablespoon of matcha tea
• - 250g slightly-salted butter, melted
• - 250g sparkling sugar
• - 1 packet of vanilla sugar 

This recipe is very simple, you just need to have patience between steps, allow time for the dough to rest and rise ... Start by melting the fresh yeast in the 20cl of warm milk with the superfine sugar. Meanwhile, put the flour in a large bowl, make a well and slowly add the diluted yeast, butter and 2 egg yolks (save the whites on the side), mix well, you must knead the dough for at least 5 min. After obtaining homogeneous dough, cover the bowl with a damp cloth and let rise 30 minutes. After the elapsed time, beat the egg whites until stiff with a pinch of salt. In a small bowl, mix the Matcha tea, sparkling sugar and vanilla sugar all together, and stir this colored powder until it becomes a batter, mix well then add the whites gently Take the wet cloth and cover the batter for 30 minutes. Patience, patience. Heat your waffle iron and drop a big tablespoon of batter on each side of the iron, cook your waffles for about 2 minutes. Let them cool on a rack and enjoy!

Translated by Ida Driscoll.

Hello my little kitties! 

And yes, you are not dreaming, it looks like the blog has changed somewhat in the last few days…Well, nothing too crazy, I grant you, but still! Personally I love it, haha that’s convenient, don’t ya think? I think it’s refreshing, much like a new coat of paint on the house before the summer comes. I didn’t want to shake things up too much, I just wanted it to be the same but a better version…Do you like it? To inaugurate it, I’m back to my old ways with a bit of street style…

Everything in Yellow and Blue, I felt like singing “In Yellow and Blue” a bit like if Jeanne Mas were colorblind… In short, this weather has made me euphoric; knowing that I can wear a jacket mid-season gets me pumped! And I found the perfect, blue trench coat at COS. I think it looks so great, this velvety gabardine practically holds itself up…As you’ve probably seen on Instagram, I just can’t take it off…

And then while were taking the photos yesterday, we came across a post office and I thought to myself, I totally match. So I tried to climb the mailbox to sit on top of it but it wasn’t happening, with the heels, overalls…it was too complicated. So, no, this is not a post sponsored by the Post Office, even if subconsciously, I might have been inspired by it…What are you gonna do, inspiration is actually everywhere you look!  

For this post, I’m wearing white overalls from Lab Dip, lemon-yellow Sarenza pumps, obviously with sailors socks from My lovely socks. A super soft J.Crew, sweater, a balloon handbag by Bea Buehler and my blue lemons from Jimmy Fairly, which are now available on the website and in all their boutiques!  And I almost forgot the Karuna Balloo flower in my hair. Big kisses from your devoted postwoman!.

Translated by Ida Driscoll