Nothing Terribly Interesting for the Moment

I am sorry I have not had much to report recently, it just so happens that I have not done anything all that interesting over the past couple days as work has been...well, trying. On top of that it has been visits to the dentist, running around and doing annoying day-to-day stuff!

But, for the sake of my faithful readers, I have planned a fantastic ladies night again next Sunday. There is a club in paris called ¨Pink Paradise." Yes yes, typically this is a men's strip club (to put it frankly) but Sunday night is ladies night! This includes, great cosmos, hair dressers, people to do massages and YES, POLE DANCING LESSONS! Basically, it sounds like a total friggin' blast so I am getting all the ladies together, WITH THE CAMERA, and we are going to party!!! WOOHOO!

Aside from that, there really isn't anything new to report except for the amazing health care system on behalf of the French government. I had the lovely experience of getting a cavity refilled (as the filling from the U.S. broke) and I walked out the door with a $40 bill. I don't ever remember going to the dentist in the U.S. and walking out with a bill like that even WHILE I paid astronomical costs for health insurance. Furthermore, it isn't through your company it is through the state so EVERYONE has it ALL the time! It costs a wopping $200 a year!! Well, gotta love France!

A bientôt,
Jennifer

A little bit of everything....

Well, I have so much to say today that I think I am going to separate it into separate posts. First things first, I have included a picture of Dillon. He is 12 year-old American Paint Horse (registered Sizzlin Point Blank) of mine who still lives in Chicago. A little girl bought him from me but UNFORTUNATELY doesn't have the time to ride him anymore. DILLON IS LOOKING FOR A NEW HOME!!! He is fully broken english but was previously western. He is fully qualified for jumpting as well (3ft+) and is amazing with young children and adults alike. I want to find him a GOOD HOME!! I miss him terribly and even considered bringing him to France with me however it just wasn't possible. This horse means the world to me and anyone who comes by this blog, who might be interested, LET ME KNOW!

Speaking of animals, I also wanted to bring you all a picture of Taetum and Boo. (Inspired by Nora). Taetum is my 5 year old Rottie who lives with Christopher in Chicago. She was my little angel and here you can see her playing with a 3 month old kitten named Boo who lives my little brother in Chicago. I guess this is my little way of saying,"Hey, I didn't forget about you guys!" I haven't seen either of them in over a year and I miss them tons and tons and tons.

Unfortunately, blogger is having a hard time uploading my pictures today, so I am going to tell you about shopping in Paris! That is exactly what I did yesterday - it really relieves stress!!! So Alice and I went on over to the other side of the Seine (takes a whole 5 minutes) and went to a lovely little area called Saint-Germain-des-Près. When I say lovely, I rather mean COMPLETELY out of my price range. Nonetheless, it is an amazing sight for the eyes and also happens to be the place where I get my hair done (yes I know, Mrs. Fancy Pants).

So, let's talk about place number one, Camille Albane, or more specifically George (my hair stylist). Okay, so yeah, it is totally freakin' kill my my hairstylists shows up in articles in glamour because he does the hair of famous people. I guess that kinda toots my horn. When you arrive, you are warmly welcomed at the reception, they give you your little robe and your ticket and you head straight upstairs. You get a lovely shampooing that smells and feels fantastic. It is hard to get up out of the chair afterwards. While you wait for George, you can sip some tea, read a magazine or even smoke a cigarette if you like. Why? BECAUSE IT'S FRANCE!!! WOOHOO!! The haircut is perfect each and everytime and best of all, George specializes in being NATURAL and keeping long hair LONG! I hate those stylists who get off on chopping off loads of hair like popping a virgin's cherry. I mean seriously... Anyhow, this place is fantastic and a great way to feel ultra-posh when you don't have tons of money. Luckily, I am under 25 so my haircut costs me 37 euros. Typically, it would be 95 for a simple cut and color. They are specialists in redheads, and Isabelle is definitely the woman to see!

Camille Albane
47, rue Bonaparte
Paris, 75006
01.46.33.59.57

Next, we have one of my new favorite of favorite stores called Lush. This also exists in the U.S. but if you haven't visited it, get your ass over there! It is olfactory heaven (or perhaps hell for some men). I don't even know where to start with this place. They specialize in handmade soaps and cosmetic products. The soaps are already divine, but as you make your way through the store, you begin to discover items such as bubbling bath bombs, massage BARS (that you don't have to wet to use, they are oils in bar form), Shampoos in the shape of bar soap that smell more than fantastic, and hand made face masks that are kept on ice because they are fresh! I mean seriously, I felt like I could EAT half of the products, but instead, I bought them! For me, i did go with the shampoo in the form of soap called Godiva! It is a shampoo that smells like Jasmin and soaps up better than any other shampoo that I know! Nothing like walking around smelling like a delicious flower! Just in case I wasn't smelling already amazing, I also bought something called Tendre Coeur which is a massage BAR that melts with the heat of your hands onto your skin leaves you feeling softer than a baby's butt! Of course I absolutely couldn't resist the feshly made masks, so I got myself one called Wow-Wow. This scrumptious hand-made oatmeal mask leaves your skin feeling soft and totally nourished! So, all in all, get your butt over there and pamper yourself! Hey GUYS, they have stuff for your too!

Lush
30, rue Buci
Paris, 75006
01 43 25 33 17

Last but CERTAINLY not least, Ladurée! This is a lovely little patiserrie that really isn't lovely, its more like extravagant! People go there for the macarons which i think is the same word in English. They are supposedly the best in Paris and until now, I am convinced. I have tried nothing else like it. You can read all about these little wonders on their website. It is also a great place to go for brunch and the service is excellent. It is definitely a super place to stop by for a girl's afternoon!

Ladurée
21, rue Bonaparte
Paris, 75006
01 44 07 64 87

So my faithful readers (however few you may be), these are my most recent visits and there is certainly more to come. I am going to push myself to make these reviews, give these addresses and if all goes well, add the pictures as well!

I hope my mixed blog works out well and is readable. I look forward to ANY and ALL comments! If anyone has any questions, drop me line!

Jennifer

News from the Everyday

So I come to my readers with news from Paris, the interesting things that have taken place over the past couple of days, and some of the not-so-interesting as well! To start with, i have included a picture Alice took of me at the end of a 12 hour day at work - notice the lack of make-up and the look that says,"I will eat you if you get too close." Alice thinks it is a great pic, so here ya'll go!

Let's see, it was "ladies night" on Saturday night after the super-macho bday of my bfriend on Friday night. Basically, the night started in the breakfast room of the hotel where I work with several bottles of wine, curling irons, makeup, etc... We spent a good couple hours getting both drunk and cute. After that, the girls went out for a night on the town with OTHER girls. To be more clear, to a lesbian club. Why, you ask? Why not, I respond... Its called le Pulp. So, upon entry, we saw this ENORMOUS butch picking a huge fight with an already enormous bouncer and not losing too badly. The rushed us in the door as she kicked the barricades in front of the club down. Great start to an evening out! We get it, and its girls on girls on girls on girls with a handful of overly-optimistic male spectators. At first it wasn't so bad, until you realized that the few guys that were there were most likely girls and there were like 80 percent butches which was slightly discouraging. Just for the hell of it, I tried dancing with this little cute girl, who looked ENTIRELY harmless and too young to be a full on lesbian. I WAS WRONG. Not only did she take little interest in me (I'm cute, no?) but she ended up at the bar about 30 minutes later fingering some other girl in a skirt on a barstool, yeahooo!!!! So much for my assumptions about age and lesbianism. So basically, i finished the night in a place full of girls, and morever, full of girls who like girls without really getting hit on 1 time!!!! I AM INSULTED. Alice, my girl-friend (not my girlfriend) explained to me that I was too "cute". In other words, i think i scream straight. Oh well, i tried not to take it to heart. All in all, the place was cute, the drinks weren't too bad but the DJ sucked major ass (or clit?). One of the reasons it was so crazy that night is because it was Techno Parade in Paris. All the clubs celebrate techno and everyone goes out to party and get trashed.

Monday, we got invited to go to a huge expo called Cosmeeting where everyone in cosmetics in Europe gets together to sell sell sell. Coming from the hotel, we said that we were interested in replacing the products in the bathrooms, blah blah blah. The people were totally stuck up except for this line from South Africa. We got out with a nice bunch of goodies and a great deal of making fun. Definitely NOT a do-againer unless you are totally in the industry (which I am not anymore).

Well, there is the story of Jen from the last couple days. Hope everyone is well and that you are all enjoying the Paris tidbits!

Jennifer

SOOooooo, last night I didn't get to go out because I had an "inside party" to attend! It was Nick's 35th birthday so we had a huge party at our place.

There is something that I can report to you about France however. I would like to report a phenomenon called "Singstar." Now, from what I have heard, singstar does not exist in the United States and I can barely imagine my life without it! (Okay, perhaps a little overly exaggerated!) Basically, for all those who are curious, Singstar is a karaoke game for the PS2! Basically you have songs that are on the game, so when you sing, it automatically judges if you are at a good tempo and if you are in tune. In the beginning, it is a little hard to get started, but this thing is totally FRIGGIN addictive. Any party, any group of people, it works like a charm. We have whole evenings with people who don't speak the same language who play their hearts out and have a total blast!

Even though this doesn't exist in the U.S., you can still get the U.K. version which is totally worth it. Yeah, there is some crazy english pop stuff on it, but when you are drunk enough, even that is fun!

So, I have included a little picture of myself! Why you ask? Because I am vain and self-centered....and I have virtually NO pictures on my blog ;)

Take care!
Jennifer

New Directions

Alright, given my extremely low blog turn-out, I am trying to think of ways to spice up my blog- life. God, only these days could an idea like that come up. I think it is going to be about Paris Hotspots, reviews, etc... Everywhere I go, everything I try, every bizarre thing I run across, I am going to put it up here. Furthermore, I have no idea how to get connected with other bloggers either, perhaps that is why I have such PATHETIC turnout...hmmm, we will see!!!

Off to brainstorm now!

Jennifer