Currently July 2023

Currently | 07.16.23

Instead, I decided to run an anniversary sale on everything in Le Shop, something I haven’t done before.

Use promo code MWA15 for 15% off anything in my online store, no matter the price. 

In addition, when you purchase anything in Le Shop you can enter to win one of two prize packages I am giving away between now and the end of July. Just take your order number and enter it here.

I have two new physical products that I added to the shop. I went back into the vault and am selling several À-la-carte Maps that I have held onto for years. I have maps for Barcelona, Vancouver, and San Francisco left.

I also have an exclusive Twigs Paper Paris Notebook. This eco-friendly notebook was only available as part of a 3-notebook travel set with London and New York. But I worked out a deal with Twigs, bought out their stock of Paris, and have the last ones that will ever be available.

Now, onto July and what's happening in the Misadventures world.

Monthly Musings | Barbie

So let's talk about Barbie. As a little girl, I was actually very much a tomboy so I didn't play with a lot of Barbies. I was more the Bionic Woman, Wonder Woman, or Sabrina of the Charlie's Angels doll kind of girl. The new Barbie movie was just a blip in my peripheral vision when it comes to summer movies.

But then I came across this Architectural Digest video in which Margot Robbie tours the inside of the Barbie Dreamhouse and I found it fascinating. I always appreciate when directors such as Greta Gerwig go to obsessive steps to get a series or a film absolutely perfect when it comes to costumes and the set.

Time wrote about how Barbie came to life. The New York Times (paywall) published a great article on the history of the Barbie Dreamhouse as well. The Week wrote about the evolution of Barbie's design over the years. Finally, take a look at every Barbie-Inspired look from Margot Robbie's Press Tour.

And relating it all back to France, the team that approved the French movie poster for Barbie was probably not a native speaker, or at least someone familiar with a lot of slang as is explained in this article from InStyle magazine: The French ‘Barbie' Poster Is Going Viral For a Very Raunchy Double Entendre – hilarious!

More French ties:

More musings:

• My article about 5 things that Scarlett O'Hara taught me about life was mentioned in a Movie Web article.
• I really enjoyed this article that takes a look at what the Friends Finale got wrong.
• This is SO heartwarming! The Restaurant of Mistaken Orders .

Watching | Apple TV+

Every week we watch the new episodes released from our favorite French series on MHz Choice. (They are definitely losing money with us!) We burn through them very quickly. We only watch the French series, but they have series from all over the world.

I mentioned a few times in my Frenchie Friday email that we were watching Walking Dead as we had stopped at season 8 the first time around. We now remember why we stopped watching. And we have stopped watching again. We stopped watching at season 7. Season 7 episode 1 to be precise. The violence in an already violent show got to be grotesque and left a bad taste in our mouths.

That caused us to flip over to Apple TV+ by which time the entire first season of Silo was complete. We gobbled that up and moved on to Hijack which we are painstakingly watching from week to week. I hate watching shows this way as I prefer to have all the episodes in a season available to watch, but it is what it is.

We then watched Extrapolations which I loved. It was really interesting to see the world a few decades at a time. I kept imagining how old I would be and what I would be doing in the situations presented in the series. The last episode ends in 2070 when I would be 100 years old!

We are now re-watching season 1 of Foundation in preparation for season 2.

Also watched:

• Re-watched Eiffel (available with Amazon Prime) which we saw in France when it originally came out. It is a beautiful and poignant story about Gustave Eiffel during the time he was building the Eiffel Tower and once you see what the tower represents at the end, you can never unsee it.
• Movie-wise we watched Fast X, Guardians of the Galaxy 3, and Kandahar.

Can't Wait to Watch:

• Mission Impossible 6, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
• I am waiting until season 2 of Strange New Worlds is complete to watch
• Samsies for Just Like That are complete as I will take it with me on the plane to Paris.
  • If you are a fan of SATC, you might enjoy this article about Aiden.
  • Loved this article too: And Just Like That finally remembers what made Sex and the City great

Reading | Same Time Next Summer

I hope to finish this book and then start and finish Meet Me at the Lake this week while on vacation. Easy-breezy summer reading.

I added several new books to my Frenchie Finds Summer edition if you are interested.

Up Next…

• Famous for a Living
• Lessons in Chemistry

Best Bite | Fresh Summer Salad with Tomatoes + Peaches

Back in this neck of the woods, peach season and tomato season are well underway and we are enjoying the fruits of the North Carolina summer. I have already made my SALAD several times!

Last month I raved about the new Atkins Creamy Root Beer Float and wouldn’t you know it was included during the Amazon Prime days so I grabbed a case because I do not know if it is going to be a long-term flavor or not. I hope it is!

Working On | Paris Letters

Today I launched a new project called Paris Letters. I have teamed up with a wonderful new illustrator and created this monthly subscription. Each month you will receive a beautiful 3-or-4 page illustrated letter from Paris. It’s a way to dream and enjoy Paris every month.

There are 3 tiers of pricing:

• Month-to-Month $7.00 per month
• 6-Month subscription $6.00 per month
• 12-Month subscription $5.00 per month

Feeling | Excited

This week we are heading to the Roan Mountains in Tennessee to do some camping and hiking. 

We were supposed to be in Paris in March but the retirement restructuring demonstrations changed our plans, so now we will be leaving in mid-September. But from January to September is a long time without vacation when you work in corporate America, as I do.

Let’s hope it is a little cooler than it has been in the Raleigh-Durham area recently. Or what my Mom is experiencing in Phoenix.

We have been doing 7-9 mile hikes every weekend and 5-mile hikes during the week. We are building up our endurance for some longer hikes we are doing in the Southwest at the end of the year.

A month in France will also be good training! You can walk 10 miles in a single day in Paris without blinking an eye!

Published or Updated this month

• NEW: The History of Vichy Print
• NEW: Where to Find the Best Chocolate in Paris
• NEW: Tipping in France
• NEW: Things to do on the Phoenix to Tucson drive
• Updated: The Best Bags for Walking Around Paris
• Updated: Frenchie Finds Summer 2023
• Updated: Kanab Utah: A Paradise for Outdoor Adventures!
• Updated: Travel Essentials: Travel Gear, Travel Accessories + More

That’s my month, what’s CURRENTLY going on with you?

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