Visiting Inky

Salut mes amis, 

When my session at Camp Doll Diaries ended, my parents surprised me with a bus ticket to one of my all-time FAVORITE cities in the world: New York City! My dear friend Inky had invited me to stay with her family for a few days.

It was SO GOOD to see Inky's apartment again! As soon as I got in the door, I bounded over to Inky's room. We stayed in there half the night talking, just Inks and me. Inky's moms literally had to bribe us out with cheesy vareniki for dinner - yum! Vareniki is the Ukrainian word for pierogi, a food my Polish half is very familiar with. I love those stuffed dumplings! My family usually keeps them on reserve for Christmas Eve, so it was really a special treat indeed to have them with Inky.

   

After breakfast the next day, I took the subway to Manhattan with Inky's friends Iris and Miko. Our first stop was to be the American Girl Place, but of course! I immediately purchased some iced coffee at the snack shop located there, sipping on it while I browsed the summer's new releases. I decided to shop lightly this time, only picking up a pair of the chocolate glasses and Kit's floral print dress, as well as the cello for Fair Hollow's music department. The cello was on sale for $18 - SCORE! 

Iris, Miko, and I decided to ride the subway over to the West Village for lunch. I was totally in awe of the West Village, and if I could choose a place in the city to live, this would be it. I really wanted to stay a bit longer and check out the new film Boyhood shown at the IFC movie theatre. Alas, Iris and Miko were pretty hungry, so we ate at a yummy Vietnamese restaurant. I had spring rolls on a bed of greens. For dessert, we stopped at the macaron place Inky's always raving about. It was SO hard to choose which macaron that I wanted, but I eventually decided on a lavender vanilla flavored one. It was purple and almost too pretty to eat!

After lunch, I parted ways with Iris and Miko. They were going to the Isabelle movie premiere later that day and had to get in line. Since we'd ended up back on 5th Avenue, I did some window shopping! I checked out FAO Schwarz, the Plaza Hotel (and all of the Eloise souvenirs!), and the Disney store. After wandering around for a while, I decided to stop at Bubba Gump's in Times Square for a light supper: fried shrimp, hush puppies, fried fish fillets, cole slaw, broccoli, and a tall glass of watermelon lemonade to wash everything down with! (Okay, maybe that doesn't sound light, but I had to share it with my chaperones!)

Then it was time for the MAIN EVENT (aka the reason why we came to NYC!): If/Then starring the one and only Idina Menzel!! I was so full of anticipation when I got in line at the Rodgers Theatre because I was lucky enough to have premium seating: Row E in the orchestra section! Yippee! You can probably see why I decided not to buy much at American Girl Place, but hey, Idina Menzel is that worth it to me. I have seen her in concert every 2 years since 2008, and I really couldn't break that tradition . . . now could I?

The show was beyond AMAZING! Idina blew us all away, particularly in Always Starting Over, my favorite song from If/Then. After the show was over, I met up with Inky and her mom, so I wouldn't have to survive the hustle and bustle that is Times Square alone! Somehow we made it back to the apartment to end the night watching a DVR'ed performance of Arcade Fire (my friend Nathalie's favorite musical obsession).

The next day was my last day in the city. Boo! I started the day early, so I could at least use every minute in the city to my advantage. First, I took a few selfies with Coral and Violet. It was so nice to see them both again, especially Violet, my "pretend twin"! Violet and I've met on several occasions, and she even visited my school years ago.

My sister Juliette is so envious of this photo of me and Coral! She wants to meet Coral so badly, but her summer ballet intensive keeps her from traveling as much as me (something I know Coral can relate to as well, haha). Anyway, I felt like a giant next to Coral! Inky always towers over me, but Coral is pretty short. That's all right. We all come in different sizes, yes? 

By the way, please excuse the quality of these photos. I really didn't want to lug my big camera on this trip, so I made due with my more compact one! Sometimes convenience wins out. 

After reconnecting with Coral and Violet, Inky and I set off for a day in Manhattan. Inky took me to her favorite toy stores in Greenwich Village, including Toy Tokyo! This is the store where Inks generally gets her UglyDolls from, and boy, did they have some neat toys! My chaperones picked up a few things for, I'm guessing, my birthday because they wouldn't tell me what! 

We had lunch at Veselka, this really neat Ukrainian bistro in the Village. We had the yummiest borscht (beet) soup, vareniki filled with sweet potato and broccoli/cheese, and a vanilla egg cream to top it off. Everything was delicious! 

After lunch, we made our way to the New York Public Library to play a bit on the front lawn. Due to its proximity to the bus station, we decided that it would be a good place to say our goodbyes. We took a few photos together (see Inky's blog post HERE) and promised to see each other again soon! 

It had been such a great trip for me! I nearly cried in front of everyone in the bus terminal while I was waiting for my bus to come. I have so many good friends around the country who I hardly ever get to see (and a lot of whom I've never even met in person!). The Internet is such a great way of connecting, but it's still not as awesome as getting to spend time with dear friends in person. Ah, well. Life is full of compromises, right? At least I have a way to talk with these faraway friends when I can't afford to travel. :P

Until next time,

Sophie

Camp Doll Diaries 2014!

Salut mes amis, 

This summer, I went to camp! I received a letter in the mail about Camp Doll Diaries, an away camp featuring everything from crafting to acting to sports. My sister Juliette busy with summer ballet intensives, Maman agreed to let me do something fun, too. Since I'd never gone to an away camp before, I was awfully nervous! I quickly submitted my camper registration forms and waited on pins and needles for my camper identification badge to arrive . . . 

                                     

. . . after what seemed like forever, it was time to pack for camp! I made sure to pack all of the essentials: shirts, shorts, socks, hiking shoes, and lots of clean underwear! Maman even surprised me with a special camp tee to wear on the first day. By the time I'd gotten back to the States (the camp bus was picking me up from school!), my nerves had subsided. I was more excited than anything!

Although my best friends Nathalie and Chiara had other plans, I soon discovered that some of my other Fair Hollow classmates had signed up for Camp Doll Diaries, too. I recognized Chiara's good friend Jessa right away, and we spent a lot of time together during the camp's duration. It turned out that Jessa and I were assigned to the same cabin, The Purple Butterflies, and that we shared an affinity for hiking . . .

. . . which is what we spent most of our time doing. Although we certainly dabbled in other activities, the camp's location was so picturesque that Jessa and I agreed to spend most of our time exploring the wilderness. When the weather was cooperative, Jessa snapped photos of me on our hiking excursions. I wanted to be able to share the beauty with my family back home, but of course!

We'd spend much of our time hiking by the river on those hot and sticky days. There were always little footbridges to cross, waterfalls to admire, and plenty of plant life to study. Wading in the river became one of our favorite summer pastimes. We'd perch on the rocks and submerge our tired, aching feet into the cool water for hours on end!

I should mention that we never went anywhere far without our trusty camp counselor, Lisa, nor without our hiking gear safely stowed away in our backpacks. We were obedient campers, I promise!

All in all, I was really pleased with my away camp experience. It was really enjoyable just getting to "disconnect" from the internet world for awhile. Sometimes you just need the break, you know?

Did you go to camp this summer? What was it like?

Ton amie,
Sophie 

Visiting Colonial Beach (or being in two places at once!)

. . .  because sometimes a girl just needs a day off to go to the beach! Back in May, I had the chance to visit Colonial Beach, a beach town in Westmoreland County, Virginia. Colonial Beach is home to the second-largest beachfront in Virginia, but - as soon as you step into the water - you will find yourself in Maryland! That's right, folks, two places at once (well, sort of). A long time ago, people would take advantage of this since gambling was legal in Maryland, but not so legal in Virginia. Gamblers took delight in casinos lining the piers, which is how Colonial Beach became known as the "Playground on the Potomac".

For those of you not the least bit interested in gambling (myself included!), there is an actual playground at Colonial Beach . . . and quite the fun one, I might add. The town is also home to the Alexander Graham Bell house (now a bed and breakfast) as the inventor of the telephone kept a summer home here.  Other notable residents of Westmoreland Country include US Presidents George Washington and James Monroe.

While I didn't think to bring my bathing suit, I contented myself with roaming the shoreline. The sand here is really rather course and covered in shells . . . not at all like the soft, warm sand I'm used to. I actually fell over once or twice because the shoreline slopes downward. Oops!

I spent the morning looking for interesting shells, dipping my feet into the Potomac River, and playing on some large rocks. It was great to get outside and explore, having been cooped up inside for far too long! 

Have you been to the beach this summer? What did you do there?


Ton amie,
Sophie

Le choix de Juliette

Salut mes amis, 

I have a lot of things to catch you up on. Where to start? Oh, that's right.

It was a cold Saturday morning in February, and I was looking at the valentines I'd received from my friends in the States. I was still on une interruption from school while grieving my beloved grandpère, and - despite the triste circumstances - I was still happy to be back in Paris for a little while. I can't believe how much I've missed my hometown! 

Juliette was prettying up in la salle de bains, the bathroom. Why, I don't know, as we weren't going anywhere, but she was in there just the same and was taking quite a long time.  What was she doing in there?                                            
I'd pretty much decided to open her valentines, too . . . if she didn't hurry up. I was that bored!  Just as I stuck my hand in the gift bag to pull out her jigsaw puzzle from Inky (merci beaucoup, Inky!), Juliette burst into the room.

"Et voilà!" Juliette said, raising her arms in a dramatic pose, "Que penses-tu? What do you think? I decided I'd had enough of being your twin. Je suis désolée, Sophie, but tu sais that my natural hair color isn't black. The dye was seriously needing to be retouched anyway, and I decided that I just didn't want to do it anymore. I like my dark brown hair! I also decided to give my eyes a break and take out the colored contacts. You know how much I adore Maman's green eyes! I'd almost forgotten that my eyes weren't brown. So . . . it was fun pretending to be twins, Sophie, but it's time I resume my own original look."

I'd blinked a few times to be sure that I wasn't seeing things. Nope, I wasn't. Juliette was indeed standing in front of me with her wavy dark brown hair and hazel eyes, the color which always reminded me of Maman's (I, on the other hand, received Papa's chocolatey brown eyes). I'd nearly forgotten how I'd convinced Juliette to dye her hair darker and to put on colored contacts. I'd always feared that my little sister was prettier than me, and she'd somehow decided to go along with my little plan to turn us into twins . . . 

. . . and yes, I did say that she's my little sister. We might as well be twins - we're only ten months apart! We do like to celebrate our summer birthdays together, but technically it's my birthday that falls on the 9th of August. Juliette's birthday falls on the 9th of June, and she'll turn 13 while I'll turn 14 two months later.

I know that this comes as a surprise to many of you. You've come to expect Juliette as my identical twin, and I'll confess that it was fun while it lasted. However, I hope you'll eventually come to love Juliette as she is truly meant to be. We're still close. Nothing has changed otherwise. Juliette is still my shy sister who lives and breathes ballet . . . and I'm still the less pretty older sister, but what can I say?

Ton amie,
Sophie

The Prestigious Liebster Award!

Salut mes amis,

Ça va bien? I know it's been a while. Since my last update, I've been busy catching up with ma famille (family) back in France. I've also had a boatload of schoolwork to catch up on via correspondence. I've just had no time nor motivation to blog. But, I'm back! I'd never leave for good. I promise to have a "real" update with photos soon, but this will have to do for now.  I was nominated for the prestigious Liebster Award by Inky, Susie, and Jessica. Merci beaucoup, mes amies!

 

For this award, you must answer 11 questions (per person who tagged you) and then tag 11 more friends to answer 11 new questions of your choosing. So, as I was nominated three times, I have 33 questions to answer. Fun, fun! So . . . let's get started. 

Since Inky nominated me first, I'll start with her questions:

1.  What is your favorite animated movie or TV show? Frozen! It stars my favorite American singer, Idina Menzel. I'm a sucker for all Disney Princess movies, but this one takes the cake!
2.  What is your favorite animal? Red pandas and foxes
3.  Which animal are you most like? Maman has always called me a busy little squirrel.
4.  If you had the chance, would you go into space? Sure! Just as long as my experience doesn't mirror Sandra Bullock's in Gravity. I'd love the chance to float around in zero gravity, see the Earth while standing on the moon, and eat space food! Maybe I should just go to Space Camp with Mary-Kate and Ashley?
5.  Would you rather go on a boat trip to Alaska or the Caribbean? The Caribbean! I've already been on a boat trip to Alaska . . . right, Marsali?
6.  What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
7.  Do you speak any other languages? Which ones? Oui, je parle français et un peu italien. French is my native language, and I also speak English (of course!) as well as the little Italian I'm learning in school. I know a smattering of Polish words, too, but not enough to write home about.
8.  Do you collect anything? If so, what do you collect? I guess you could say that I collect anything Eiffel Tower-related. It keeps me from missing home too much when I'm studying in America.
9.  What is your favorite candy? Just decadent dark chocolate pour moi.
10. What do you like to drink when you are especially thirsty? Orangina (carbonated citrus drink) or a caffè latte from Starbucks.
11. What is your favorite outfit? Of the AG outfits I own, one of my all-time favorites is the MyAG Pretty & Plaid dress. I also love my collection of Liberty Jane Clothing separates, especially my denim shorts which I wear quite frequently in the summer.

Next, I'll answer the questions from Susie:

1.  What is your favorite song from the 80's? Don't Stop Believin' by Journey? I'm not a huge fan of 80s music, to be honest.
2.  Who is your favorite Muppet? Miss Piggy
3.  Would you rather change your past...or know your future? Change my past
4.  Cotton Candy or Candy Apples? Cotton Candy
5.  Do you listen to podcasts? If yes, which ones?* To be honest, I watch more videos than podcasts. I might listen to The Nerdist on a car trip as I love who they choose to interview.
6.  Do you have any AG dolls? If yes, which ones? I have one, Cécile.
7.  Do you usually do weekend homework on Friday, Saturday or Sunday? Sunday. I'm such a procrastinator. If I have a huge project, I may get started before Sunday if I'm diligent enough.
8.  Are you a Rebel...or a Royal? Can't I be both a Rebel and a Royal, like Elsa of Arendelle? She's very much a Rebel, in addition to being Royal. I'm definitely more of a Rebel than a Royal, though.
9.  What is your favorite candle scent? French Vanilla, a classic ;)
10. What book are you currently reading? Isabelle, by Laurence Yep
11. If you could visit Star Valley (the doll town I live in) where would you go first: The Raspberry Flummery Café; the Star Valley General Store; or the Star Valley Salon? I'd probably be in need of a coffee after a tiring road trip, so I'd hit up The Raspberry Flummery Café first.


Finally, these questions are from Jessica:

1. Do you have any AG dolls? If yes, which ones? Yes, I have Cécile.
2. What's your favourite colour? Blue
3. What do you want to be when you grow up? A forensic scientist / police detective
4. Do you like my blog? It looks great! I will definitely check it out more.
5. Mattel or Pleasant Co? Mattel. I'm too young to remember Pleasant Company. ;)
6. Who is your favourite AG doll and why? I like Cécile best because she's French like me. We also have a middle name in common (Amélie)!
7. Are you getting Isabelle? I already did! I bought her as a gift for my sister, Juliette. Juliette and Isabelle both share a passion for ballet.
8. Do you sew clothes for your dolls? Me sew? Nope. I'll leave that to my mom and sister.
9. What's your favourite food? Quiche Lorraine
10. What's your favourite animal? red pandas and foxes
11. What is your favourite thing to do in your free time? Ideally, I like to travel to new places, near and far. I love immersing myself in history through museum excursions. I love hiking. I love shopping for souvenirs. When I don't have the opportunity to travel, I love spending time with friends and family, watching movies, and surfing the web.


Okay . . . I have no idea who to nominate. Which active blogger hasn't already done this tag? But, if you haven't been tagged yet, consider yourself tagged by me - just comment on this post so I know to read your answers!

Here are 11 questions to answer:

1. What's your favorite movie of all time?
2. What was the last movie that you saw in theatres?
3. Who is your favorite actor? Actress?
4. What is the one song that always seems to cheer you up, no matter how many times you listen?
5. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live? Why?
6. Do you have any pets? What are their names?
7. Are you left-handed or right-handed?
8. Do you have any siblings?
9. What is your favorite book?
10. Do you like the Harry Potter books? If so, which House would the Sorting Hat place you into?
11. Do you live in a house or an apartment?

Ton amie,
Sophie

A Special Gift

Salut mes amis,

I have some sad news. Mon grand-père, my grandfather, who went in the hospital over Noël, Christmas, has passed away. He never fully recovered after surgery and was in so much pain these past few weeks that I was relieved when he passed on. He is no longer in pain! It's Maman and ma grand-mère, my grandmother, that I feel sorry for right now. They are devastated! Juliette is pretty sad, too, and hasn't been able to do much these past few days. She sits around listlessly, hugging her bear, and crying all the while. She's so bad off that she hasn't even touched her ballet bag! It's all I can do to comfort her. I've even taken an official leave of absence from school because I can't bear to leave her side. It feels bizarre being back in Paris for longer than two weeks, but this is where I must be right now.

Before I left the United States, I'd picked up a belated Christmas present for my sister: an American Girl doll of her own! She'd been admiring my Cécile doll for quite some time, and I always figured that I was going to get her a Marie-Grace. However, when I found out that the new Girl of the Year for 2014 was a ballerina, I knew that she was the one! 

Juliette couldn't believe her eyes when I handed her the big, red bag, "Sophie, you really bought me an American Girl doll?! Aren't they extremely expensive?"

"Well, I know how much you've admired mine, and with two dolls, we can play together! Isabelle is the perfect doll for you; she loves ballet just like you do! I know she can't take the place of our grandfather, but she'll comfort you at least," I put my arm around Juliette, smiling all the while, "Now, go on. Open her up!"

Juliette carefully slid the lid off of the box, gazing at the doll that lay before her. Tilting the box upward so that she could get a good look at Isabelle's pretty hazel eyes, Juliette slowly began to smile. "Elle est très jolie, she is very pretty! And, ooh! She has pink hair streaks, my favorite color! Merci beaucoup, Sophie! I love her so much!"

After lifting her new doll from the confines of the box, Juliette gave her a hug. "I actually do feel a little better now. Thanks again, Sophie! You're the best sister a girl could ask for!"

I just smiled.

Have you ever given a special gift to someone who needed it?

Ton amie,
Sophie 

Sunday Lunch with a Friend

Salut mes amis,

On January 5th, I got to visit the American Girl store in the Washington, DC area! I hadn't been able to visit a store since my August 2012 visit to Natick, so I was pretty excited to see all of the new clothes and accessories that had been released recently. I also met Isabelle Palmer, Girl of the Year 2014. She's a ballet student from Washington, DC, and her story reminded me a lot of my twin sister's. I know she and Juliette would get along!

Isabelle and I chatted for a while, and when I started to get bored with all of the dance talk, I started playing with her cat, Tutu (seriously, who names their cat "Tutu"?!).  Isabelle also showed me all of the fun things in her design studio; I was particularly impressed with her sketchbook full of costume designs.

I said goodbye to Isabelle and wandered around the store for a bit. I decided to pose with the Isabelle photo op:

When the Isabelle area in the store became too crowded for me, I wandered elsewhere. I met Marie-Grace's sweet dog, Argos. He wanted to come home with me!

Finally, it was time to meet up with the real reason I came to the store: Inky! Inky and I have been trying and trying to meet up again since my visit to NYC, but our plans always fell through. I was SO EXCITED that I was able to meet up with her today. We decided to have a late lunch in the café. We had a lot to catch up on! She'd just gotten back from a trip to London, so - of course - I had to ask all about that.

After lunch, we decided to explore Isabelle's design studio together. Inky wanted to check it out for her friend Coral who also dances. When our guardians were out of earshot, we started whispering ways to sneak me back to NYC. Unfortunately, my guardian caught me before I was able to get into Inky's car, but hey, it was worth a shot!

It was SO good to be able to reconnect with Inky, even for such a short time. I wish I could see her more often!

Do you have friends who live faraway? How often do you get to see them?

Ton amie,
Sophie