bienvenue chez nous*

Along the line of my previous post, we're virtually inviting you over to our home. As we're living in a place many stones away and travelling doesn't come cheap, we won't be expecting any of my family members and friends to come a-knocking on our door any time soon (if ever :)

So I thought it'd be nice to show you guys where we live. Here's a grand welcome to all of you:

PS: outdoor photos were taken during spring which explains the bare trees

* welcome to our home

body double

Okay, I figure since none of my family members or my friends will ever get to see the pregnant and chubby me in the flesh, I've decided to 'expose' myself to you dear people, via the virtual world.

Here goes:

exhibit numéro un (halfway through pregnancy)

exhibit numéro deux

I'll probably post more pics towards the end of my pregnancy.

très cool!

Saw this ad on tv and I find it really cute. See if you can figure out the different languages used.

lets talk crap crêpes..

I had a sudden urge to eat warm crepes so I looked up the recipe, did some quick whisking in the kitchen et voilà, my crepe is born. I was a bit too eager to eat it and burnt my tongue from the hot oozing butter. Sinking my teeth into the warm sweet layers brought me back to Paris's streets where you can always find a creperie (crepe restaurant) or a crepe stand and get yourself a sweet or savoury crepe to tide your hunger.

The crepe is to Parisians what the burger is to Americans - the essential fast food. You can find crepe stands near all major sightseeing attractions. They are offered with a variety of yummy fillings. For a wider variety of fillings, try the creperies where you can have a filling, sit down meal for a bit more money. A great way for cheap eats while you're in Paris, I'd say.

words french

I (not so) recently found out through the cooking channel that the name for French toast in French is pain perdu (lost bread).. and I asked hubby if he knows what a French toast is and he said no. So that got me searching on the net for the origin of this dish.

There're different theories on its origin or how it got its name. French toast was said to originate as a way to use stale bread (especially French bread) to make it more appetizing by dipping it in egg and then frying it. Some people claim that this dish was called "German toast" in the U.S. before World War I and was changed to "French toast" because of anti-German sentiment. And then there's a story on how it was invented by an American man named Joseph French and then naming the dish after himself, hence French toast.

There are dozens of expressions in English which contain the word French... like french fries, french kiss, french manicure, pardon my French, etc. But are they really French in origin?.. apparently most of them are not. I did some quick search on the net and this is what I found:

- French fries or pommes frites (fried potato) as we call it here, is commonly believed to originate in Belgium while another theory on why it is so called is due to the manner the potato is cut, that is in thin lengthwise strips (to french).

- The french kiss was first known as maraichinage, a term to describe the prolonged, deep tongue kiss practiced by the Maraichins, inhabitants of the French region of Brittany.

- French manicure never had that much to do with the French, other than for the Parisian runway models who sported the look. It is an idea originated in Paris, introduced by Orly International, a nail care company.

- The phrase "pardon my French" is often uttered in an attempt to excuse the user of profanity or curses in the presence of those offended by it under the pretense of the words being part of a foreign language. It has been suggested that the French language is used because of the association of the French people with vulgarity. The phrase may have been reinforced as a result of World Wars I and II, at which time a lot of fighting took place in France. On their return from war, British boys continued to use the swearing that they picked up in the service, having learned it in France. Thus, they would ask their listeners to 'pardon my French'.

So there you go. Whether or not these explanations stand true to their origin, we'll never know but it was an interesting find, nonetheless.

and here they come..

The much hyped Heroes that Boboy went gaga about at one point on his blog, is finally aired on the French channel. It's the second week and already six episodes seen. True, we're usually weeks behind when it comes to airing the latest series or movies. But the good thing is, once it's on tv, they'll air not just one but three episodes in a row. So we're putting our usual 'DVD renting on Saturdays' on hold until we're done with Heroes.

On a different subject, we're having the wettest summer ever with the presence of rain almost daily. The temperature right now doesn't correspond to summer at all. Our plans to go picnicking or sojourning somewhere comes weekend, had been put back again and again. "Rain, rain, go away... and come back in spring!"

c'est les soldes!!

The month-long summer sale's here and I've already scoured through the racks for some new garb for my expanding tummy and erm, elsewhere. Found some nice stuff, though we really need to look high and low for some decent maternity wear here. They don't have much to offer for moms-to-be, to begin with. Perhaps we should swing by the nearest city for a better, wider choice.