Le 23 novembre: Joyeux Anniversaire, Inky!

Yesterday was Inky's 11th birthday. Joyeux Anniversaire, mon amie! Last year, she wished for a birthday party with an Ugly Doll theme. This year, that wish came true. The party room was decked out with everything Ugly Doll - an Ice Bat cake, a room garland, and party games.

Violet and I were the only girls in attendance which is okay because small parties are definitely the best. :)

We started out by playing the game that Piper suggested - Pin the Eye on the Ice Bat! As Violet and Inky blindfolded me and spun me around a few times, they challenged me to see if I could place the eye in the correct spot.

I didn't come close, but Inky and Violet assured me that it's all in the fun.

As for presents, Inky received an Ice Bat hat from Violet and a really sweet gift from her parents that you'll have to read about on her blog. Of course, I didn't feel right showing up empty-handed - without a present for Inky - but what could I do? The Valdez girls invited me to their birthday party, too, and I didn't have a present them either. It's not like I can tote birthday presents around all year, waiting for birthday parties to attend, but still, I kind of feel bad. :/

Anyway, forgiving that, I had a great time at Inky's birthday party, all dressed up in yet another of Inky's special Liberty Jane outfits. And doesn't Inky look really nice, too? The t-shirt dress looks stunning on her. I know she doesn't like to wear dresses all that much, and this one is a nice "dressy-but-not-too-dressy" option. :)

~Sophie

Visiting Manhattan with Inky!

On Thursday, November 18th, Inky had to go into Manhattan for a Nutcracker rehearsal, and I decided to go with her. While she was rehearsing, I walked around Central Park a bit, taking in the sights and sounds of Manhattan - the crazy cab drivers, the adorable little dogs on leashes, the hustle and bustle of the approaching holiday season.

We planned on meeting on the steps of the Koch Theatre - where the NYC Ballet performs - and there we settled to talk about our day. Inky told me about her ballet rehearsal and how excited she is about being a polichinelle in the upcoming Nutcracker performance. Hearing her talk excitedly about ballet made me long for dear Maman and my twin sister Juliette.

Maman was an esteemed ballerina who performed many times at the Opéra de Paris (now the Palais Garnier) and even at the Lincoln Center here in New York. When she met Papa, Maman started teaching ballet at a private school in Paris. Of course, Juliette lives for ballet just as Maman does, and while I literally cannot dance a step, I've come to appreciate it myself. I guess I take after Papa!

So I was very thrilled to see the Lincoln Center and stand in the same place that Maman did in her youth. I had Inky take a few pictures of me, so perhaps I will send a few copies to Maman and Juliette in my next letter home? I'm sure they'd love that!

I was also thrilled when Inky lent me her fabulous Liberty Jane outfit for the day. Isn't it lovely? It reminds me so much of the wardrobe I left back in Paris. I forgot what it was like to dress so classy, so élégant et à la mode.

Inky and I ended the afternoon in Manhattan at the New York Philharmonic. We wandered around a bit, hoping to spot someone famous (or perhaps a time machine to go back in the past and see Maman?) before heading home on the subway.

Pourquoi est-ce que j'ai une envie subite à danser? Pourquoi est-ce que je manque la vie métropolitaine maintenant? Pourquoi est-ce que je manque mes parents et ma soeur maintenant?

Why do I have a sudden urge to dance? Why do I miss the metropolitan life right now? Why do I miss my parents and my sister now?

New York, je t'aime, mais j'ai déjà la mal du pays parce que tu me rappelles de Paris...où ma famille habite.

New York, I love you, but I am already homesick because you remind me of Paris...where my family lives.

...c'est bizarre parce que je n'ai pas la mal du pays normalement! It's weird because I'm not normally homesick!

~Sophie

Jamaica Bay!

Last weekend, Inky took me to one of her favorite places in New York City - Jamaica Bay! It's hard to believe that the city could house such a pretty wildlife refuge with all of the cement and skyscrapers, but NYC is full of surprises after all. :) It's located within Brooklyn and Queens on the southwestern tip of Long Island.

The salt marshes surrounding the bay are home to migratory birds and other wildlife. Inky wasn't sure if we'd be able to see the birds, given that it's already autumn, but they hadn't migrated yet. It was neat to see them flocked on the bay.

And, finally, isn't this photo of me great? I love the background showcasing the pretty changing leaves of autumn.

~Sophie

Pumpkin Carving w/ Violet & Inky!

On Halloween, I found myself wandering the streets of New York City, frantically looking for my next host's apartment. You see, I'd never been to NYC till now, and I was a little nervous. I really haven't walked city streets since leaving Paris anyway.

But I was even more nervous about making a good impression on who I was about to meet. Je sais! You're probably wondering how extroverted me could be nervous about meeting someone new. After all, I've met dozens of nice girls over the past year, and I've never been nervous about meeting anyone. Why start now?

As I rounded the corner, I felt fairly sure that I was approaching where I needed to be, and when I saw a familiar face, my earlier suspicions were confirmed. I smiled, glad that I had gotten to the right place and that I wasn't too late.

Hearing my approaching footsteps, the girl I'd recognized turned towards me. Smiling, she called out my name, "SOPHIE!" At once, my nervousness faded, and I responded by calling out her name, "VIOLET!" I ran over to my friend (as best I could with a heavy suitcase in hand!) and gave her a hug. It'd been over a year since we'd first met back in Utah, but we definitely hadn't forgotten one another.

Suddenly, we both got quiet and looked to the other girl standing with us. For a minute, we just looked at each other until Violet spoke up, "Inky, let me introduce you to Sophie Moreau! Sophie, this is my best friend, Marina. We always call her Inky!"

Of course, Inky and I have been blog friends for quite some time now, but we haven't had the chance to meet until now. We greeted each other warmly. "Hi, Sophie!" "Salut, Inky!"

Then Violet suggested that we go up to Inky's family's apartment to start carving the Halloween pumpkin. Heading to the festively decorated living room, we gathered the supplies that we'd need and started in on the process.

We chose the nice, softer pumpkin over the harder one, and pretty soon we had this:

A pretty neat jack o' lantern! Now all we had to do was insert a tea candle and turn out the lights to see our pretty jack o' lantern glow.

I must say, this was probably the best Halloween I've celebrated yet! My classmates usually skip the whole pumpkin carving thing, but I think it's pretty fun. :)

~Sophie

Autumn Fun/ Meeting Haley & Ruthie!

While I was in CT, Haley arrived!

Since we've been blog friends for a while now, I was so glad that we were finally able to meet in person. :)

On October 2nd, we spent the day watching some go-kart racing together. We also checked out this pretty beach:

Haley and I also got to meet Ruthie. Ruthie lives on Water St., where I visited earlier this summer. I didn't get to meet Ruthie then because she was out traveling herself - she even visited my school back in Virginia!

Ruthie arrived in time to accompany us on an apple-picking expedition on October 10th. Three traveling girls on an adventure together! How often does that happen? See the apple-picking album HERE.

On October 16th, Molly J., Ruthie, Haley, and I all got dressed up in Halloween costumes to attend the 20th annual Keene Pumpkin Festival in Keene, NH. Haley chose to dress as a 1950s girl in a cute kitty skirt while I opted to dress as a magician. Here we are in our costumes, and behind us, you can see the tall scaffold of lit jack-o-lanterns:

To see more pictures from the Pumpkin Fest, click HERE.

Also, the photo-story from the Star Valley Block Party that I attended is up over at Cherished Playtime! Check it out, if you have the time. Jess also has a web-show episode covering the event.

If you're up-to-date, I suspect you know that I've since moved on to a new host. I'll post about that soon. ;)

~Sophie