... my mother in law gave me for my b-day ?

A bottle of maple sirup which she knows I don't like (but Thierry loves it, so that what really matter to her) and a package of cookies that are full of assorted nuts and of course... Yes, you've guessed right, chocolate. She also added a tiny amount of cash, less than half she'd given me last year.

My question is : why did she even bother ? She bought one thing I'm allergic to, the other that I don't like (and yes, she knows I'm allergic to chocolate and don't like maple sirups and anything sweet for that matter). And she gives me a ridiculous amount of money, hardly enough to buy a dress at H&M maybe... It's insulting. You either give a proper sum for a b-day or nothing at all. 

I know I sound ungrateful, but she's loaded, she constantly gives money to charity, so when she gives me half of what she gave me last year, it's clearly her way of making me feel cheap.

Oh and to top of it off, she added a couple of sneaky remarks about how it was weird to see a woman over 30 with really long hair.


FUCK YOU.

Blythou out.

My birthday loot deserves to be photographed... My friends really know what I love or what ?

Today, i've received a Hello Kitty top and an Emily The Strange top plus a lovely stripey scarf from Stephanie and a wonderful sexy pair of Jean-Claude Jitrois leather pants from Ginger !

I feel like a hot chick, all of a sudden !

Blythou out.

Me me me me !!!!

Yesterday, Isaline/pimpampoum and her bf Fred gave me my birthday present : It's an actual cooking lesson from a Japanese chef ! I'm thrilled ! The class includes recipes with tofu, shitake mushrooms, omeshu, etc.

Expect loads of photos. If I can, I might even sneak in Blythou or another Cooking Mama's little helper...

Blythou out.

I wish I were with you to celebrate it properly but we'll have a paaaaarty next time we meet !

Blythou out.

Christmas' Eve has been amazing... We started by celebrating Baby Margaux's first birthday, but more on that in a separate post.
We then watched Ratatouille in 35 mm in the newly set up screening room that JM has designed in the basement of their house.

And we had dinner with the bestest wines possible... A '69 Sauternes and a '95 Cadillac. I'm usually a red wine, hard liquor or dry white wine kind of drinker, but I couldn't resist the lure of such little gems. I even followed the advice of wine experts JM and JF who told me not to spoil my palate with a gin and tonic before. I didn't even have a smoke to fully enjoy the wine.

Yes, we Frenchies are dead serious with our booze... You'd be serious too if you had tried those two. Since the wine was fabulous, we didn't drink too much and didn't feel like crap on the next morning.

And we got spoiled, I have to take a pic of my Christmas loot.

But even though I didn't really pig out like most people do on holidays, I felt horribly guilty yesterday. I ended up exercising for two hours to shed off the extra weight I could have gained. Today, I ache and hurt with every muscle (and I worked out first thing in the morning, too), but I don't hate myself for being too weak at least !

Blythou out.

Blythou (the real one, you know, the little plastic person) has an important message to deliver to her smallest, cutest, most lovable friend :








I still can't believe our smallest, cutest and most lovable friend is already a big one year old girl !!!!

She's changed all our lives for the better. Yes, I've said it before, but it's true.

Strangely, being very close to Margaux hasn't made me want a baby... Because I don't love her as some generic, cute baby. I love her as a small person with her own personnality. I'm often torn between wanting her to be a baby forever and wanting her to grow up so we can share more things (and not only Blythes and Littlest Pets).

Anyway... Have a fantastic birthday, Margaux ! Blythou and I are baking you a cake and we'll soon be around to smother you in kisses and cuddles.

Blythou out.

Extended week-end with Tibi and Yata was heavenly and very fun... Loads of dolly talk & gossiping, the way I love it.

Diner with friends on saturday, got some more birthday loot, including, YES !, a bottle of Mansinthe, the official Marilyn Manson absinthe (thanks again, Ginger, you're truly one of the best), an angel Stitch and a collectible statue of Tweety dressed as Elvis. Stitch, Elvis, Manson, booze and Tweety... My friends know my strange tastes, no doubt about it.

I'll post pics of the week-end (with humans and dolls) today. That is if I don't feel too down. I always feel kind of blue after friends leave. And today being monday doesn't help.

Blythou out.

Our week-end with 11 yo Alan has been great fun. We've played more board games in two days than in the last 10 years or so. We've visited the Paris sewers and yes, they do stink. And we've already decided to do it again next month. Not the sewers, but inviting Alan to stay over.

On Sunday, I celebrated my 25th (yeah, right) birthday in our new favourite haunt, a small bar near Rude Manor called L'Orange Mécanique where they know how to mix a margarita. I got spoiled. Besides Mr Blythou's presents, my friend Travis gave me a limited edition paper dress with my favourite photo from the book we did together. And Lara commissionned an artist to design a 60s inspired poster to commemorate the event. It should arrive soon, but I've seen the smaller version, which is truly amazing.

Art for my b-day. Can I ask more ? No, I just feel lucky sometimes.

I also received lovely gifts from various American friends, including a great t-shirt from Anita, Fred Flare goodies and bamboo yarn from Gretchen, etc. And some booze, a Nara postcard book and I've probably forgotten a few things from my friends in Paris.

Tomorrow, Tibi and Abba will arrive. And we have a surprise guest coming for a last minute visit. Massive amounts of alcohol will be consumed this week, I'm afraid.

Blythou out.

I've just acquired not one, not two, but THREE Longchamp handbags in one go. Plus a wallet for good measure.

Two bags were on sale, like the wallet and the full priced bag is a birthday gift from Mr Blythou.

I've become hopelessly addicted to Longchamp since I got my retro brown bag thanks to Travis. He's created a monster on that fateful day. I've been thinking that if I only buy one Longchamp bag per year, it'll be less expensive than buying several crappy ones as I always do.

See ? I'm saving money actually. I'm a good housewife ;-)

Blythou out.

Here's a little message from Poison Ivy, the Rude Manor girls, the furry monsters, Thierry and myself :




Blythou out        

From the plastic girls, the furry kids, Thierry & myself !

With teletubby hugs too !

Blythou out.

It's one of the cutest photos I've taken in ages. I took Abba along to Lilika's 1st birthday party. Both babies had a wonderful time chasing each other on the floor.

And Sakiko, Lilika's mother, was thrilled to meet the puppy and gave her a couple of presents !

Blythou out.

It's Thierry's b-day today... But we won't go out to celebrate it in one of our favorite restaurants because the French team is playing tonight and the streets will be packed with drunk soccer fans with painted faces and wigs.

We both loathe soccer. Not the game, really, we don't care. But what surrounds it. You know, the rampant hooliganism, the racism shown by some fans towards black players, the fanatism surrounding that whole event, the fact that, if you don't care, you're considered like a traitor to your country, the all-night long revelling with stupid songs, cars honking, the general lack of sophistication that seems to spread like a wildfire in summer, you know, people wearing footie jerseys everywhere... YUCK !

On a different note, I tried some slim Levis jeans. I'm ashamed to say I did it purely to check how I looked in those very unflattering pants. Turns out I looked a lot better than I expected. I hate the extra tight, 80s look, so I won't buy those... but I was glad to see I could pull that look off. My vanity will kill me. How, I don't know yet. But it will, you'll see.

Blythou out.

Thanks again to all of you for all the wonderful b-day wishes...

This is the latest card I've received, drawn by our friend Jean-Marc, who's got a killer sense of humor as you can see. I thought I should share this with my Blythe friends from all over the world. Enjoy !