LouLou meets...Lisette Loves

It's Friday, I'm really happy about that and I'm also really happy to bring you a new LouLou meets interview. Today it's the turn of Lisette Loves, a lifestyle blogger based in the UK, who I have been following for a while now. What I like about Lisette is her cheery attitude which is perfectly demonstrated through her Thankful Thursday series, but if she needs to be serious she has no problem with that. Girl is also a passionate baker and foodie, so that automatically makes us friends. Hope you enjoy and happy weekend! Lou xxxxx

Hi Lisette, welcome to the blog! Can you tell us why you started Lisette Loves?

I actually began Lisette Loves because when I was in my second year at university one of my best friends and housemate, Laura, was diagnosed with cancer. It was a place to escape to - my own little place where reality could fade away a little. I also found great comfort in the blogging community, everywhere I turned there were so many kind words and so much support. Having a blog is like have a little online scrapbook.

What motivates you to blog?

I can't even explain it. I just love it. I feel like I don't need anything in particular to motivate me, I just really enjoy taking photographs and so blogging feel so effortless.

What do you like about the British blogging community?

We keep it real! Particularly the lifestyle blogging community, lifestyle bloggers can throw the nitty gritty in with the beautifully curated outfits and delicious looking recipes. We always make time for each other and help each other out when times get tough. I've always been supported by the blogging community, in times which were almost unbearable and I owe so much to them.

The reality of living in any big city, even one as pretty as Paris, is that there will be things which are not so agreeable about it. Could you describe some positive (and negative) aspects of daily London life, based on your personal experience of the city?

Positive? THE FOOD! Oh my lordy, the breadth and quality of food available is unreal. I love living in such a 'melting pot' city where so many cultures blend together to create the most incredible food scene. Another great thing is that each part of London can be so unique, it is almost like a different city depending on what part of London you are in. The worst thing about London is probably a mix between the horribly sweaty morning commute and the lack of starlight. Having lived in the countryside I still feel a sense of sadness when I look up at night and can't see the stars because of the light pollution.

Your favourite recipe (both to eat and photograph)?

Every week I have a different favourite! I think my favourite recently has been my pancakes recipe, but generally speaking I tend to have one favourite photo from each recipe. My infused honey was another one of my favourites to photograph because I had all morning to do it so it was lovely and relaxed!

Your favourite comfort food recipe?

MASH POTATO! I know it isn't really a recipe, but when I feel sad or stresses mash is my best friend. Creamy, smooth mash with a dollop of mustard is always amazing.

Your favourite cookbook?

At the moment I would have to say my favourite cookbook is Hemsley + Hemsley. The introduction to the book goes into huge depth about why and how you should eat certain things. It is so informative and interesting, and I read it cover to cover the day I received it.

One thing on your bucket list?

To go to a Costa Rican sloth sanctuary! Generally speaking one thing on my bucket list is to go on adventures. I didn't do regular gap year of travelling but I would love to give it a go.

I really admire that you’re in a long-distance relationship – do you have any tips for readers on how you and your boyfriend make that work?

Being really honest - we always make sure if there is anything we need to talk about, we do and don't ever bottle it up. Making sure you don't give up your own life is something else which is really important. My boyfriend loves golf and I make sure that he regularly plays at the weekends. While he is doing that I will go for a walk or spend the morning with my friends and family. It seems minor but over a long period of time you run the risk of resentment boiling under the surface and no one wants that!

I’ve been listening to the BBC4 Desert Island Disc podcasts recently. So, in the very unlikely scenario of you being sent to a desert island, please tell us: 

- one book (or magazine) you’d choose to take with you; 

Perhaps a little controversial and not for the reasons you might expect - The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins. Religious views aside it is the way Dawkins puts our existence into perspective. The thought that in a billion, billon planets in the Universe if there was a one in a billion chance of life in the universe there would still be a billion other planets which could potentially hold life! How crazy is that thought!

- one luxury item;

Emma Hardie moringa cleansing balm. I cannot go without it!

- one piece of music; 

Gahh I can't decide! Fleetwood Mac Go your own way or Hozier Foreigners God 

- one social media application you’d like to keep. 

Instagram, hands down my most used social media application.

Massive thanks to Lisette for taking the time to be a part of the series and for sharing some of her beautiful photos with me. I think she would love you to go and say hello on Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter or YouTube.

Comfort food, French style

This post appears in the second issue of the Seventy Fifth magazine, published in April 2015.

Growing up in Bradford our comfort food was corned beef hash. I can't claim that it's a Yorkshire tradition but in the Binns household we ate this stew on a regular basis during the cold and dark winter months. Boarding school dinners didn't make the grade in comparison and there was no Jamie Oliver campaigning for us back then, we just had to battle with all the starchy food and overcooked vegetables.

At university I managed to do the opposite of most students: I slimmed down and ate pretty healthily (the drinking is another matter but hey, youth). I was also incredibly active, walking from student halls to lectures and fitting in a gym session most days. Then I moved to France where I promptly embarked upon a love affair with cheese and we have been on-off for the past five years.

Hard cheese, soft cheese, creamy cheese, blue cheese, raclette, tartiflette and fondue: a whole universe of fromage opened up to me and I have now swapped the corned beef hash for tartiflette. It's very easy to make - I can say that with confidence because it's often JB making it - and is great during the winter if you have last-minute guests or just fancy cheese and potatoes in the same meal.

Ingredients

• 6 medium potatoes (sliced fairly thinly - peeling and potato type at your discretion)
• 2 onions
• 2 cloves crushed garlic
• 2 handfuls pancetta
• 1 reblochon cheese
• olive oil
• salt
• oz freshly ground pepper
• 1 splash of white wine (optional but really it's mandatory)

1. In a pan, fry the chopped onions in a small amount of olive oil until soft then add the thinly-sliced potatoes. Constantly mix everything around on a low heat.
2. Add the smoked pancetta to the pan. Continue to stir until the pancetta is cooked.
3. Add the wine and stir everything together so it can soak up the wine. Add salt and pepper.
4. When the potatoes turn golden, take your baking tin and smear garlic all over the base.
5. Add a layer of the potato/onion/pancetta mixture then take half the reblochon cheese (cut through the middle) and place it on top.
6. Add another layer of the potato/onion/pancetta mixture and top it off with the other half of the reblochon.
7. Cook in the oven for 25 minutes at gas mark 5.
8. Serve and imagine that you’ve spent a day on the slopes getting a full body workout.

My good friend Maryana painted the image - isn't she talented? It was so kind of her to oblige me, thank you Maryana! xx

The Seventy Fifth

I was really excited when Evangelina's email landed in my inbox asking me to do a feature on The Seventy Fifth, a new magazine aimed at Paris expats. I first discovered Evangelina by reading her article on Vagenda Magazine (about French men's behaviour towards women) so feel confident that she will do a great job. I'm going to hand you over to Evangelina so that you can learn some more about her plans for The Seventy Fifth.

Hi Evie, could you explain the meaning behind the name of the magazine?

France is divided into regions and Paris is in the seventy-fifth, hence why all post codes here begin with 75..., so it refers to the fact that it's a Paris-based 'zine.

How did you end up in Paris, launching and editing a magazine?

I work as an au pair in Paris and although I love my job I didn't feel like I was contributing anything and I wanted a creative outlet. I’d interned at a newspaper on my Erasmus year and really enjoyed it and I tried to find something similar here where I could contribute my writing,  but there wasn’t really anything that didn’t require fluency in French. I thought it would be really easy to just start my own magazine [haha!] I posted something on Facebook asking if anyone was interested in starting a publication and I got over fifty emails that day so I wasn't the only person who felt that way. Generally I get the impression that au pairing is a bit of a stop-gap for people who are unsure of what to do next, it certainly was for me after I finished my degree, and so there are a lot of talented people here in Paris who want to share their skills and experiences.

Who can contribute to The Seventy Fifth?

Absolutely anyone! You don't have to be an au pair, the magazine is just about being young and the hustle and bustle of city life.

What are your hopes for the magazine?

First, I hope to get Issue 2 printed via our kickstarter campaign! In the future if we could be stocked in little independent shops such as Shakespeare and Company that would be a real milestone for me.

Your weirdest Parisian experience?

There's probably quite a few! I can’t think of anything specific off the top of my head but it would take quite a lot to shock me now. I see people during the day peeing in metro stations so…

Your nicest Parisian experience?

At the moment I keep thinking about when I first arrived in August and I spent the daytime drinking coffee in parks and the evenings drinking wine by the Seine. I can’t wait for Summer to return!

One word that describes your Paris? 

Effervescent.

Something you would miss about the city if you moved away?

The view from my window, it looks different every time. It's really cliché but when I wake up in a morning and look out of my window I really can't believe how lucky I am.

Here's where you can get hold of The Seventy Fifth on line. Enjoy!

What's in a name?

The other week on Twitter I came across an article via The Local, one of my go-to sources for French news in English. A couple in the north of France had been forbidden, by a court of law, to name their daughter Nutella. Yes, the chocolate spread that you cannot keep in the house because it's always gone within seconds and puts you at risk of diabetes or obesity (or both). Another couple, also from the north of France (remind me never to move there) tried to name their daughter "Fraise" (strawberry). They were also stopped, which gives me faith in the French legal system - they're doing something right. It is great that we have moved beyond the tradition of just naming our child/ren after saints/religious figures (no pressure kids) but have we gone too far by choosing fruit or towns/cities (I'm looking at you Apple Paltrow and Brooklyn Beckham)?

I had a look at the top ten baby names for girls in both France and the UK for 2014 and it was reassuring to not see anything too controversial on the list. Emma (France) and Sophia (UK) were the number ones: I like both those names very much. My own name made the top ten in France - apparently it's retro and therefore making a comeback - yet it didn't even make the top 100 in the UK list. Growing up, I didn't really like my name because I thought it was boring: my mum's other choice was Jessica, which I wanted badly at the time due to Sweet Valley High (although in reality I was more of an Elizabeth). Now however, I really like it - I'm Lou or LouLou with my friends and Louise at work where the tone is more professional.

Recently over dinner with some of my expat friends, they voiced mild distress at hearing their name sound totally different when pronounced in French. That's something I don't have to deal with as my name works well in both French and English. It's something I think about though as the subject of children's names comes up with JB every now and again. We obviously have to find a compromise between our French and British identities: I'm not going to be happy with traditional French names such as Amaury or Raphaelle for example and JB would shut me down if I started talking about Roderick or Daisy. Whatever we settle on, JB will naturally use the French pronunciation and I, the English one. Will this mean future therapy for our child/ren, thanks to mum and dad calling them different versions of their name and talking to them in two languages? No, I'm counting on the children just taking it in their stride.

Pseudonyms are an interesting concept. Some sought anonymity (Charles Dickens/Boz) whilst others used it to hide their gender (George Eliot/Mary Anne Evans, George Sand/Amantine-Lucile-Aurore Dupin) as a way to bypass sexism and get their writing published. Famous people have cast off their birth names whilst climbing the glittery ladder of celebrity (Helen Mirren is actually Ilyena Lydia Vasilievna Mironov and Lana del Ray is Elizabeth Woolridge Grant when she's pottering around in her pyjamas). The title of this post is part of a quote from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet "..."What's in a name? That which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet." Juliet is basically stating that she loves Romeo for the person that he is, and not for his name (Montague) which makes him a rival to her family (Capulet) and therefore prevents them from being together.

Ultimately the baby name, and the significance behind the choice, is down to the mother and father. It's not for parents or children to decide for you (thanks for that Flora). The internet is on hand with various advice that you can take or leave as you wish. But do feel free to get involved and put your foot down if you hear me throwing out tartiflette or schokobon - both perfectly delicious food options but highly inappropriate for a child. 

Lou xx

Happy new year

My first post for 2015. Happy new year to you. I’m writing from New York, a last minute trip that came about due to JB’s work and luckily my schedule allowed me to join him. It’s really the best of both worlds as I get to wander the streets during the day, stopping for coffee (and a break from the bitter cold) at places I have found on Trotter, before joining JB for dinner and our chosen evening activity. Perhaps I don’t sound like the most exciting traveller but I’m keeping a similar schedule to the one I have in Paris. Instead of being in the office for eight hours however, I’m outside wandering the city and connecting with people (thank you Instagram).

The year 2015 got off to a horrible start for Paris, with a terrorist attack on the Charlie Hebdo office that resulted in 12 deaths. Two days later I flew to New York, leaving Paris behind in a state of absolute shock and sadness. I am still gathering my thoughts on this horrible event so am not quite ready to put things down in writing, although I hope to at some point. The one thing I will say now is how overwhelmed and touched I was to see the Parisians, and France, unite immediately both on social media and in person. A vigil was held the very same night of the shootings at Place de la République, an incredibly fitting symbol, to honour those who lost their lives.

Coming to New York was comforting for me: yes, I felt guilty leaving my friends behind in Paris but being with JB was very important to me. I'm revisiting old haunts (Strala Yoga studio, Central Park and New York Public Library) whilst discovering new places (the West Village neighbourhood, new coffee shops and Brooklyn Botanical gardens). Instagram has been a wonderful source for useful addresses and making connections with people based in New York, something which has given me much food for thought and left me feeling inspired. One of my aims when I return to Paris will be to maintain the excitement for collaboration and creativity that this city just seems to burst with. Setting myself lots of resolutions that will not ultimately be achieved doesn’t appeal to me (been there, done that and failed at it multiple times) but I’m positive for 2015 and have big hopes. I’m also going to try and be more thoughtful with my actions and words. How about you?

Lou x