Ma fête d'anniversaire avec ma famille!

Salut mes amis!

Le 9 août a été mon anniversaire! Je suis 14 ans maintenant. Cette journée, Juliette a eu une surprise pour moi: elle a préparé ma nourriture préférée! Elle a invité ma meilleure amie, Maëlys, à partager cette fête avec nous  . . .

It was my 14th birthday on August 9th! Juliette surprised me with a special feast full of my favorite treats. And, if that wasn't enough of a present, she invited ma meilleure amie, my very best friend, to join us! Now, I know what you're thinking. Doesn't Nathalie Thibodeau have the honor of being my best friend? Sure, she is . . . en Amérique! Nathalie and I have had the pleasure of knowing each other since I first started studying abroad, but there is one girl who has known me my entire life. That is Maëlys Marie Lefèvre!

Like me and Juliette, Maëlys (pronounced "MY-elise") lives right here in Montmartre. She attends our school, Collège Antoine Coysevox, and has been in many of my classes since only the beginning of time. Isn't she gorgeous? Her mother immigrated from Haiti to study in Paris, only to meet and fall in love with a very handsome Frenchman. After opening une boulangerie-pâtisserie, a bakery/pastry shop, together, they had Maëlys and lived happily ever after. Maëlys likes to bake with her parents and produces the best macarons I've ever tasted, sure, but baking is a mere hobby for her. Her real passion is music. She's a devoted cellist and is determined to pursue a professional career in music one day. She's enamored with the idea of attending The Juilliard School in New York City and the idea of visiting America in general. She's like I was several years ago - she's never stepped out of France and has a natural curiosity for the world. I'm sure she will go far in life, but for now, I'm just happy goofing off with her as I celebrate my birthday!

After Maëlys and I greeted each other, we sat down to enjoy the meal that Juliette had worked so hard to prepare. We sampled fresh bread and cheese, candied fruit, fruit tarts, and chocolate-covered strawberries. There was a bottle of sparkling water to wash everything down with - yum! For dessert, Maman had ordered a chocolate truffle cake, which smelled wonderful. I couldn't wait to try a bite.

I felt like a queen sitting at the head of the table. I certainly looked the part! Juliette had dressed me in one of my finest dresses: a blue frilly frock loaded with sequins! Juliette chose a coordinating dress in pink for herself.

Here's a close up of our food. Doesn't everything look delectable?

Maëlys really enjoyed the chocolate-covered strawberries! 

When we'd finished our main course, Maëlys and Juliette sang "Happy Birthday" to me. I made the best wish I could think of and proceeded to blow the candles out. Er, right. I pretended to blow the candles out. In her haste, Juliette had neglected to put candles on the cake, but I turned a blind eye. She'd gone through so much trouble to arrange this little fête that candles didn't really matter at all!

Once our bellies were full from the chocolaty deliciousness, we decided to open presents. Maëlys eagerly pushed hers forward first. It wasn't wrapped, but I didn't care. She had given me a whole box of macarons!

                                                                                  

I couldn't wait! I untied the ribbon and pushed my way through the delicate wrapping paper, trying to pick a flavor to try first. I knew I couldn't go wrong with pistachio, my favorite. I savored each dainty bite, trying to make the macaron last as long as possible. If there's one thing that I dislike about macarons, it's that they aren't big enough! At least I had a whole box to myself . . .

Before I could devour another macaron, Juliette pushed her present towards me. She'd wrapped it in a shiny silver box adorned with a gold bow. What had she given me?

When I took off the lid of the box, I found the contents as shiny as the wrapping. Of course! My sister always outdoes herself when it comes to presents. She'd given me a gorgeous pair of gold and crystal earrings. How elegant! She said that they were swarowski crystals and that the earrings had been custom made just for me. Won't I be the belle of the ball when I wear these? 

She also gave me a matching earring and bracelet set, made with dainty pink and white beads:

The next present was sent all the way from Canada! Nathalie would never forget my birthday, but I think that she and Juliette were in cahoots when it came to selecting my presents. She sent me another pair of earrings! These were silver and in the shape of the Eiffel Tower.  I smiled, remembering how much I'd complained to Nathalie about Grace Thomas' exclusive earring set and how much I wanted them for myself. She is so thoughtful!

There were two more presents left, one from my American host sister and one from my parents. I decided to open the one from my host sister, Maura.  She'd packaged it in a huge gift bag filled with white tissue paper. What could it be? Reaching deep inside the bag, I pulled out a thick booklet of stationary. Cool! Merci beaucoup, Maura! I'll take this as a hint that I need to write a letter to you, right?

Maman, who had been hovering nearby with camera in hand, handed me the present from her and my father. It was wrapped in a familiar-looking burgundy bag, which meant that I had been saving the best present for last. I had dropped several hints about what I wanted throughout the summer. Were they listening?

Yes! My parents bought me Grace's City Outfit from American Girl! Hooray! I have been wanting this red sweater since it debuted in January, and the shorts are really cute, too. I can't wait to wear this outfit to school this year. Merci, Maman et Papa! 

So, here's my entire present haul. I think I made out pretty well this year! I got a new outfit, a stationary set, three pairs of earrings, a bracelet, and a whole box of macarons! 

 We concluded the birthday fête with a few more photos. First, here's one of me with both Juliette and Maëlys:

Then we took individual portraits: 

 Finally, Maëlys and I took a photo together:

 

Thanks for celebrating my birthday with me! Tell me, what was your birthday like this year? What presents did you get? If your birthday hasn't come yet, what do you want to do to celebrate?

Ton amie,

Sophie 

La Nuit de Noël

Salut mes amis, 

A few weeks ago, I boarded a plane for Paris! Since my twin sister, Juliette, has been taking advanced ballet classes at the Paris Opera Ballet School, my family decided that it would be easier for me to fly home for the holiday season (versus all of them coming over to the United States). I honestly had no problem with that - this is actually the first year I've flown home for the holidays! I hadn't been in France since . . . since, well, never mind how long! Needless to say, I was SO EXCITED to finally get a chance to return to my hometown!

In France, we celebrate more on La Nuit de Noël, Christmas Eve, more than on Christmas Day. This year, both sets of my grandparents joined us (even my paternal grandparents from the Bourgogne region!). While our parents and maternal grandparents were busy preparing la Réveillon, our special Christmas Eve dinner, our paternal grandparents took Juliette and me out for a day of "window-licking." What is "window-licking," you might be asking? It's the literal English translation of faire du lèche vitrines, which means to window-shop! Most stores aren't open on Christmas Eve, but Juliette and I think that window shopping is just as fun - especially during the holiday season! Our grandparents took us over to le boulevard Haussmann, a wide tree-lined boulevard in the 8th and 9th arrondissements where world-famous department stores like Printemps and Galeries Lafayette are located. Just like the stores lining New York City's 5th Avenue, the stores on le boulevard Haussmann set up elaborate holiday window displays and adorn themselves with lots of festive lights. It was quite thrilling to link arms with Juliette and skip down the sidewalks, glancing up every now and then at the storefront windows and drooling over all of the designer clothes on display. When our feet got tired, our grandparents led us over to an open restaurant, where we ordered a mug of chocolat, hot chocolate. We lingered here for a while, telling our grandparents about life in the United States, Juliette's ballet classes, and simply our thoughts about current events. We don't get to see our paternal grandparents very often, though our maternal grandparents live right here in Paris. It was great to be able to catch up with them!

After our day of window shopping (and - consequently - being on our feet for a long period of time), our apartment never looked better! The sapin de Noël, Christmas tree, was up and decorated, and so many delicious smells were emanating from the kitchen! Juliette and I couldn't help but smile as we ran around, taking it all in. When Maman finally caught up to us, she too was smiling - I guess our enthusiastic feelings were contagious! Maman pulled us into her arms and told us to go into our chambre à coucher, our bedroom, because there were surprises for us waiting there. Surprises? Already? Our parents normally don't allow us to open presents until after midnight, a tradition many French families like to follow, unless . . . maybe . . . these presents were intended to be worn this very night! Juliette and I exchanged glances. We both knew what would be awaiting us in our bedroom: new clothes for Christmas!




Juliette found a lovely purple party dress draped on her bed, while I found a glamorous red velvet gown on mine. Do you think they resemble dresses sold at American Girl? These are even better - they were custom-made especially for us!


Wriggling out of our plain everyday clothes, we wasted no time in putting these dresses on and finding appropriately matching shoes and jewelry to go with them. 

Once we were all dressed and feeling like princesses all the while, Juliette and I waited for our parents and grandparents to ready themselves. Next on our holiday agenda was attending a mass service at the Sacré-Coeur, the Roman Catholic church right in my own backyard - well, right in Montmartre, the arrondissement where my family lives. 

After mass, it was time for La Réveillon, our special Christmas Eve meal. We French call it La Réveillon (the awakening) because we are staying awake late into the night to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Consequently, the meal is long, and there is plenty of food to go around! This year, we munched on escargots, foie gras, and smoked oysters as appetizers while we waited for the main dish - the turkey - to finish cooking. La Réveillon is a bit like American Thanksgiving in that, traditionally, a turkey is served with cranberry sauce and gratin dauphinois (potatoes). Of course, there was also plenty of vin (wine) and fromage (cheese) to go around!

Because our maternal grandmother is Polish, we like to incorporate Polish traditions and cuisine into our Christmas Eve celebration. In Poland, Christmas Eve is called Wigilia, which is from the Latin term vigilare (to await). As Polish tradition dictates, a special prayer is said at the start of the holiday meal. We then exchange a special bread wafer similar to what is used for Holy Communion (oplatek). Each person present takes a bite of the bread, beginning with the parents and older relatives and ending with the youngest. With each bite that is taken, wishes for good health and success in the new year are exchanged. Dinner begins after the prayer and the exchanging of the bread. A white tablecloth is spread on the table, and an extra place setting is set for an unexpected visitor who would not be turned away (i. e.  Baby Jesus). A true Polish Christmas Eve dinner doesn't include meat, but as the French Christmas Eve dinner does, we overlook that! This year, my family served carp (fish for Wigilia is to turkey for Thanksgiving!), pierogi (dumplings filled with sauerkraut, cheese, or prunes), noodles with poppy seeds, and kutia (boiled wheat, poppy seeds, and honey) to honor our Polish side.

The best part of La Réveillon is the dessert and one French Christmas Eve tradition that is never overlooked in my family! Have you ever had a slice of the Bûche de Noël, the Yule Log? It's a pound cake that has been rolled up and frosted to look like a log of wood, and it's delicious! Juliette and I were so stuffed from dinner this year, but somehow we both found room enough for a slice of cake.

After dinner comes the best part: presents! Juliette and I like to leave our slippers out where Père Noël (Father Christmas / Santa Claus) can find them and fill them with treats. We still kept that tradition up this year - we are not too old yet! We also had a few presents from friends to open, but our traditional French grandparents would not let us open them until after midnight!

When we were finally allowed to open presents, Juliette and I made a mad dash over to the sapin de Noël, the Christmas tree. We each grabbed a present and tore through the wrappings, so eager we were to see just what our friends and family had given us.

Wrapped in a pretty floral box, Juliette found a white corduroy jacket and coordinating black corduroy skirt. Doesn't it look like something Coco Chanel would've designed? We thought so. This was a gift from our paternal grandparents for both of us to share.

My friend Sadie was kind enough to send me a long-sleeved black shirt and a green choker necklace - both of which she made herself! Merci, Sadie! Thank you! I especially love the necklace; the color is so pretty.

My next gift was from my best friend, Nathalie. Oh, what could it be? 

I ripped off the gift wrap and uncovered a book called Real Fitness! Of course! Nathalie, the athlete, is always trying to get me to exercise more . . .





 Nathalie sent Juliette a gift, too:

When Juliette tore off the gift wrap, she found a Hello Kitty blind bag! Cutting the mysterious package open revealed this Hello Kitty figurine holding a lollipop; isn't she cute?

Finally, Juliette and I found the last gifts of the night: two identically wrapped boxes with ribbon bows. There was no difference between them, except for the color of the bows on top! Certainly whatever was inside one of them had to be the same as what was inside the other . . . right?

Ever curious, we inspected the packages further. They were from our good friend, Inky! And isn't the Paris-themed gift wrap just perfect for us?

Neither of us wanted to rip the special Paris-themed gift wrap, so we took extra care unwrapping the gifts from Inky. Once the gift wrap was off, each of us found a plain white box. Inside the box, however, was something furry . . . something orange and furry! But what could it be?

Squishables! Squishables are some of Inky's favorite toys, and she sent us each one of our very own. I got a red panda, while Juliette got a fox. Cool! Thank you so much, Inky!

After we played with our new toys for a while, Juliette and I went to bed two happy campers. We had a great Christmas Eve together, filled with family, fun, and festivities. Our Christmas Day was spent at home enjoying each other's company (and the leftover food from the night before!).

Did you have a nice Christmas? Chanukah? Whatever it is that you celebrate? What did you do to celebrate? What kind of presents did you receive?

Ton amie,
Sophie