Lisa Anselmo's Blog, page 11

This is YOUR Year (If You Want it to Be)

“Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death!” Auntie Mame pronounces. “Live!” she urges her mousy assistant, Agnes Gooch. I’ve seen the film Auntie Mame about […]

Finding the Christmas Spirit in an Uneasy Paris

This holiday season in Paris was marred by weekly citywide violence that unfortunately became a regular part of the gilets jaunes (yellow vest) protests. To guard against further vandalism and […]

Paris, Four Years After Those First Bold Steps

Today in Paris, many shops were closed. The streets were nearly empty. But this wasn’t just because of the August vacations, where everyone leaves for weeks at a time; this […]

Dinner in the Park with 17,000 of My Closest Friends

I just had dinner in the park. With 17,000 of my closest friends. Okay, so the park was the Esplanade des Invalides near the Eiffel Tower. And the dinner was […]

It’s Always No Before It’s Yes

I was having lunch with a friend in a café in the 3rd arrondissement, and she wanted a fruit salad but it wasn’t on the menu. Still, we were regulars […]

Keeping House (In French)

This was originally written for my memoir, My (Part-Time) Paris Life: How Running Away Brought Me Home, published by Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin’s Press, but didn’t make the final edit for reasons of story flow. In this […]

5 Parisian (& French) Habits to Adopt This Year

Living in France has expanded my life—and my thinking. And while, for this American in Paris, there are plenty of causes for eye rolling, like the bureaucracy and constant strikes, […]

Christmas (Shopping) in Two Cities

This year, thanks to my schedule, I’m getting a dose of the holidays in both Paris and New York. I spent most of December in Paris, watched the holidays unfold: […]

HOLIDAY GIVEAWAY ON INSTAGRAM!

SPECIAL INSTAGRAM GIVEAWAY! I’m thrilled to partner with April in Paris Tours to create a special giveaway on Instagram. One lucky winner will receive a signed copy of my memoir, […]

The Little Book that Could: Celebrating Success with You

♥ Check out a special gift-with-purchase offer at the bottom of this post ♥ This week marks the anniversary of the launch of my memoir, My (Part-Time) Paris Life: How […]