FOURTEEN IS FOR FRANCE

With all that France has been through this year, I wish this post was more overtly political, but sadly, it's not.  Unless it's political to say I admire someone's way of life and living, which in a way I suppose is political at base.  Learning to respect peacefully another culture's way of being, and not allowing fear to affect the way we live our lives, both seem like two of the essential questions at the heart of world security today.

Like most of the free world, I've often admired the French from afar from the way they live, including but not limited to their food, drink, life philosophy, and style. Here are a few little jewels that have captured my fancy over the past few years, happily bringing out my secret Francophile:

-All the books by Mireille Guiliano, the author of the classic French Women Don't Get Fat.  It's the only book about "dieting" that I've ever thought was worth a damn, as her advice is practical, healthy, and relevant (the importance of eating seasonally, etc.).  She was written extensively on everything from French culture and lifestyle to fashion, and I heart her.  I can't say that I actually finished it, but French Women for All Seasons was on my nightstand for a while and I would love to get back to it.  Can't remember why it got bumped, but I definitely found it light and entertaining.

Emmanuelle Alt from somewhere on the intrawebs

-Emmanuelle Alt. This lady is so freaking hot and she wears the same thing all the time, bringing me back to the point that my life would be so much easier if I just had a freaking uniform.  Something to aspire towards in 2016.

-A Lover's Discourse:  Fragments by Roland Barthes.  Hot French philosophy, all the way.

-And for those people wanting to think more practically about finding and losing of love, La Seduction: How the French Play the Game of Life by Elaine Sciolino, the longtime Paris bureau chief of the New York Times.

-I've mentioned it in another Advent post, but Mademoiselle C is definitely worth the eye candy and the fact that it's free and fast on Netlflix.  And dang, is that lady french in, like, all the right ways.

-And finally, this piece which has been circulating about the differences between American and French girl's style.  The model, Camille Rowe, is actually really funny and it seems pretty spot on to me!