celebrating joyful living every day. and dachshunds.
Bonjour! Last year, during the throes of another COVID winter and pregnancy, L'Husband and I celebrated Valentine's Day at home with romantic homemade mini pizzas followed by chocolate fondue for dessert. Today's post shares some photos of our meal and ideas for your very own fête à la pizza. We all know chocolate is traditional… Continue reading Romantic Pizza for Valentine’s Day
Think for yourself, or others will think for you without thinking of you.” – Henry David Thoreau Bonjour! Let me preface this post by saying that when I entered the wet and wild world of parenting, I knew nothing about children and child-rearing. Scratch that: I knew less than nothing. The learning curve was steep,… Continue reading Why Do We Make Parenting So Complicated?
Bonjour! Thank you for being a part of Joie de Vivre this year! I started 2022 with some bold plans and a commitment to posting once per week - which I mostly did. I also revisited and revised my Joyful Living Mission Statement to reflect my personal values of authenticity, sustainability, and joy. As we… Continue reading 2022 Blog Year in Review
Bonjour! October is Depression Awareness Month. While I typically focus on food, fun, and family on Joie de Vivre, I also like to write about self-care and wellness. As I’ve learned over the years dealing with my own anxiety, and especially after pregnancy and giving birth, caring for mental health is just as important and… Continue reading Postpartum Depression and My Cry for Help
Bonjour! October is Depression Awareness Month, so amid posts on recipes for Halloween candy bark and Halloween decorations, I would like to share my experience with the baby blues and postpartum anxiety. As I’ve learned over the years trying to deal with my own anxiety issues, and especially after pregnancy and giving birth, caring for… Continue reading Baby Blues: I’m Not Sad, I’m Tired
Bonjour! Today’s post reshares my recipe for Halloween candy bark, originally published in fall 2020. Enjoy! As summer slides into fall, leaves change color, and Halloween approaches, I start to anticipate all the fun planning, decorating, baking, and gift wrapping I get to do in the coming months. Not only is Halloween the official kickoff… Continue reading Recipe: Halloween Candy Bark (Repost)
The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away." – Pablo Picasso Bonjour! I founded Joie de Vivre in 2019 to celebrate joyful living everyday. Joie de vivre is a a French phrase meaning “joy in living.” I write about ways to incorporate simplicity and pleasure… Continue reading Joyful Living Mission Statement, Revisited
Bonjour! Today, I will not read or listen to the news. I will not look at my calendar, or my day planner. I will not worry about how much I weigh, or how I look. I will not check work email. I will not even think about laundry. I will not let my stomach/back/headache stop… Continue reading The Perfect Day
Bonjour! The change of summer to autumn always has me looking forward to seeing the leaves change colors, decorating with pumpkins, and wearing flannel anything. Today’s post features a simple recipe for a tasty apple fritter cake with maple icing - just in time for fall! I love apple fritters and had fun tinkering this… Continue reading Recipe: Apple Fritter Cake with Maple Icing
Bonjour! I spend a lot of time at home by choice - I’m a natural-born homebody - and by necessity - the COVID-19 pandemic has me (mostly) sheltering in place with a newborn, a dachshund, and my reentry anxiety cranked up to eleven. I’ve always loved being at and making a home. When I was… Continue reading My Happy at Home Basket
Bonjour! It’s National Dog Day! I’m excited to spend some extra time cuddling with and doting on Le Chien, my michevious miniature dachshund. Belly rubs and new toys are in order. Maybe I’ll even bake some special dog treats! L’Husband and I got the hound almost five years ago, when he was eight weeks old.… Continue reading Happy National Dog Day!
Bonjour! There are lots of fun things about motherhood and parenting that I expected, like newborn snuggles and tiny clothes and feeling like a whole new person while at the same time feeling exactly the same. And right now, at twelve weeks old, I love watching Le Bébé discover the joy of playing with his… Continue reading Adventures in Babywearing
Bonjour! The hound is exhausted. He’s knackered. He’s spent. Why, you ask? Dear reader, Le Chien has a new baby. And bébés are a lot of work. There’s the feeding (and inspecting used bottles for remnants of formula). There’s the diaper change (and wondering why the tiny human is so wiggly and stinky). There’s bath… Continue reading Having a New Baby Is Exhausting… for the Dog
Bonjour! As I recently explored in a post about how Le Chien adjusted to having a little brother, having a new bébé changes everything. It turns out tiny humans need a lot of stuff. Wait; allow me to rephrase. Tiny humans need A Lot of Stuff and It’s All Impossible to Put Together. Fewer things… Continue reading How to Clean a Baby Bottle in 800 Simple Steps
Bonjour! Having a bébé changes everything, not least of all for a family pet that’s used to being center of l’attention. Not only do the parent or parents have to learn how to take care of le nouvel ajout, but any animals also have to adjust to new sights, sounds, smells, and routines. I stuck… Continue reading A Dachshund and His Baby
Bonjour! Spoiler alert: Being pregnant is gross. Naturellement, I was thrilled to actually be pregnant and experience the magic and mystery of having a healthy bébé growing inside of me. But I was also exhausted and generally uncomfortable, what with ongoing morning sickness and nosebleeds and charley horses and insomnia, to name but a few… Continue reading Pregnancy Survival Kit
Bonjour! Part of my commitment to joyful living and an organic and eco-friendly lifestyle includes using household products sans synthetic fragrances, such as laundry detergent or bath soap. Today’s post shares how make your very own all-natural air freshener with essential oils. Making your own room spray is eco-friendly and better for the air quality… Continue reading How to Make Natural Air Freshener with Essential Oils
Bonjour! During my pregnancy, I thought a lot about how to have a more positive mental attitude as part of my commitment to joyful living. I realized my bad habits of centering negative thoughts and vibes was not only dragging me down and holding me back from living my best life, but sending bad energy… Continue reading Positive Daily Affirmations
The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.”Coco Chanel Bonjour! Now that the tiny human is here, I am in full recovery mode from pregnancy and childbirth. I expected many aspects of self-care in the fourth trimester, such as healing stitches, resetting hormones, and baby blues-slash-crying (oh, the crying). I also greatly… Continue reading Unexpected Postpartum Pleasures
Bonjour! The tiny human is here! Le Bébé was born on a certain day weighing a certain number of pounds and ounces and measuring a certain number of inches! Sidebar: For now, I’m loathe to share online the personal identifying information of a minor child with no agency to manage their own privacy. For more… Continue reading Hot Mom Summer Has Begun!
Bonjour! One of the reasons I knew my spouse was The One was his sense of humor. L'Husband is funny and lighthearted, a classic class clown and jokey jokemaker, which suits his easygoing personality and balances my tendency to be a little Uptight. C’est vrai: At least fifty percent of our conversations are based on… Continue reading What I Need My Partner to Say to Me During Labor & Delivery
Bonjour! As part of nesting and preparing the home for le bébé, I’ve been shopping for maternity clothes and decorating a nursery. I've also readied my hospital bag and found a car seat and other baby gear (who knew tiny humans need so many accoutrements?). And I’ve been searching for some gender-neutral baby clothes to… Continue reading The Quest for Gender-Neutral, Organic Baby Clothes
Bonjour! I recently had the pleasure and good fortune of seeing a small group of friends and family at my bébé shower. After two-plus years of COVID and feeling like I’ve been pregnant forever (okay, eight months), it was my first real party, and I was so excited and thankful to bring people together and… Continue reading A Gender-Neutral Baby Shower
Bonjour! It's dachshund takeover week at Joie de Vivre! This week's blog post is brought to you by Le Chien, miniature dachshund extraordinaire, who has noticed some, erm, "changes" around la maison during my pregnancy. Check out these tips for introducing your dachshund (or any other suspicious pet) to a new bébé! ~~~ Something is… Continue reading The Dog Is Suspicious of My Baby Bump
Bonjour! This past January, I had the unenviable experience of taking Le Chien to the emergency vet. Things happened very quickly. The little fellow started looking a bit peaky mid-afternoon, just a little tired really, and then proceeded to slink behind the family room couch to vomit twice. And then twice more. After Round One,… Continue reading A Trip to the Emergency Vet
Bonjour! When my friend, Ryan, was pregnant with her second child in 2018, I flew from Milwaukee, Wisconsin (my home at the time) to Birmingham, Alabama (the state where I grew up) to attend her baby sprinkle. It was lovely to visit one of my former home states, to see daffodils blooming in February, and… Continue reading The Problem with Mommy Drinking Culture
Bonjour! One of the pleasures of pregnancy has been le nesting (cleaning! organizing! shopping!) and preparing the nursery for le bébé. And wearing stretchy maternity pants. And napping. And eating snacks. But I digress. Once L'Husband and I knew we were good and pregnant after fertility treatment and the first trimester, we were comfortable investing… Continue reading A Dachshund-Approved Car Seat (and More Baby Gear)
The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.” – Pablo Picasso Bonjour! I founded Joie de Vivre in 2019 to celebrate joyful living everyday. Joie de vivre is a a French phrase meaning “joy in living.” I write about ways to incorporate simplicity and pleasure… Continue reading Joyful Living Mission Statement
Bonjour! In honor of the first day of spring (yay!), today's post shares a simple homeopathic recipe for soothing seasonal allergies: organic ginger-lemon-honey tea. Since they're predicting the 2022 allergy season will be a doozy, we'll all need some extra self-care. I'm planning ahead so a sore throat and runny nose won't diminish my usual… Continue reading Recipe: Ginger-Lemon-Honey Tea for Seasonal Allergies (Repost)
Bonjour! To put it mildly, the world is going to hell in a hand basket. It’s been a long two (plus) years during the pandemic. And it’s okay to feel drained (emotionally, physically, grammatically) and take a relaxation moment to rest and restore. Building off some 2021 musings on self-care, today's post shares some tips… Continue reading Self-Care Tips for Pregnancy
Bonjour! Let me start by saying that I love Peanuts and Snoopy. Always have, always will. Snoopy is essential to adding joy to my life. Thus, it should not shock those of you who know this about me that the nursery for le bébé will have a Snoopy theme. And L’Husband gets it. He knows… Continue reading Yes, Our Nursery Has a Snoopy Theme
Bonjour! Let me tell you, dear reader, that pregnancy is a journey, full of surprises, challenges, and excitement. The learning curve for me was très steep; I’ve never been pregnant before and knew little about what it entailed except maybe “morning sickness” and some sort of rumor about “labor and delivery.” After years of thinking… Continue reading The Untold Glory of Maternity Pants
Bonjour! I started Joie de Vivre - a French phrase meaning “joy in living” - in 2019 so I could write about some of my favorite things, from food and travel to ways to incorporate simple pleasures to make everyday living more joyful. Over the years, my priorities and focus have evolved to include caring… Continue reading What Is Joyful Living?
Bonjour! It’s the beginning of a new year and I’m feeling (oddly) invigorated. Languishing in a fugue state during the last two years of the pandemic (le sigh) makes me crave a fresh start, eager to embrace life again. A few things precipitated this unexpected but exciting turn to new positive outlook: Settling in to… Continue reading 2022 Goals: Sustainable, Organic, Mindful
Bonjour! Happy New Year! Bonne Année! I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for a refresh. It’s been a long two years of pandemic and political tragedies (a long, long two years; le sigh) and I need a new, more positive outlook (and some extra self-care). One way I’m getting to reset button it… Continue reading 2022 Plans for the Blog
Bonjour! I'm sharing this a week later than intended, but I was making rather merry at home last week while on staycation with L'Husband and Le Chien. Better late than never, right? Le wink. Something about the end of the year makes me nostalgic, from that back-to-school feeling that starts in September (even though I’m… Continue reading 2021 Blog Year in Review
Bonjour! Merry Christmas and happy holidays from Joie de Vivre! I hope you and your loved ones have a fun, safe, and healthy holiday and new year. In this time of giving and gratitude, remember to give to and be grateful for yourself too. Le Chien lounging on Christmas morning. This year, L’Husband and I… Continue reading Merry Christmas from Joie de Vivre
Bonjour! To celebrate many things - namely, being young and being alive - L’Husband and I recently spent the night in Chicago. In addition to the large, real concerns of the pandemic, political turmoil, and social strife (le sigh), it’s been a busy year for ma famille, from selling a home in Vermont to purchasing… Continue reading Christmas in Chicago
Bonjour! We're officially in the throes of the holiday season, which has me hankering to decorate, bake, make chili, and wrap gifts. The holidays are a festive time but also a portent of the gray, cold winter to come (at least in the Midwest of the United States), which has me planning ahead to make… Continue reading A Cozy Hygge Night
Bonjour! As the holidays approach, I get Very Excited about the coming season of gift-giving, decorating, and extra treats (edible and otherwise). And, as per usual, I am limiting les excursions out and about due to the persistence of the pandemic and my own (mild to moderate) reentry anxiety (vaccine booster notwithstanding). So entertaining à… Continue reading Easy Holiday Appetizer: Honey Goat Cheese and Fancy Crackers
Bonjour! As I posted recently, I love to decorate my house, especially for the holidays. Just in time for Halloween, today's post shares a simple and tasty dessert inspired by the spookiest season. Hold on to your hats, because this dessert is easy, it's sweet, and it's fun! Les Ingrédients 1 box chocolate pudding mix1… Continue reading Recipe: Halloween “Dirt Cup” Dessert
Bonjour! Fall is officially here - though it's 85 and sunny in the middle of October here in central Illinois (le yikes!). Regardless, I am in hardcore decorating mode (see, e.g., a recent birthday party for a naughty dachshund), elevating my paltry, generic fall decorations (a few leaves here, a miniature pumpkin or apple-cider candle… Continue reading Halloween Decorating to the Max
Guten Tag! We're continuing the German takeover of Joie de Vivre to celebrate my love of all things deutsch, from Brotzeit to breakfast to Orangina. (And you can even find some German treats at Wal-Mart, le score!) Oktoberfest season is upon us, and what better way to usher in fall than with a German Oktoberfest-themed… Continue reading Oktoberfest Birthday for a Dachshund
Guten Tag! It’s time for another German takeover (the good kind… too soon?) here at Joie de Vivre. Thanks to a long-standing friendship with one of meine Lieblingsfreundin, Christiane, I love German food and culture, including a Brotzeit spread for dinner and making my own Orangina. And since I'm not travelling much (i.e., at all… Continue reading German Breakfast Box
Bonjour! As summer winds down and I settle in to my new home and work routine, I'm trying to take quiet moments for simple pleasures where I can find them. I love being outside in nature, especially by the water (how I miss Lake Champlain in Vermont!), so when my aunt invited L'Husband et moi… Continue reading Pancakes at Clinton Lake, Illinois
Bonjour! As we approach the end of August, yards are starting to look a little crispy and gardens a little shaggy. But many flowers are still blooming and the trees still have leaves, so I try to enjoy what splendor of the summer season remains. I come from a long matrilineal line of green thumbs… Continue reading Late Summer Garden
Bonjour! I’m finally getting back into a writing groove after a busy month settling into a new home in a new state after a whirlwind of house hunting. (Check out our road trip from Vermont to Illinois here and here! I even flew on an actual airplane!) And I’m going to level with you, dear… Continue reading A Dachshund Explores a New House
Bonjour! Y'all, it has just been forever since I wrote anything for Joie de Vivre! In the last month, L'Husband started a new job, we drove halfway across the country with Le Chien, and we moved into our new home in Illinois. It's been a lot of unpacking, organizing, cleaning, decorating, and yard work .… Continue reading Camping Out in a New House
Bonjour! I love to travel in Europe and look forward to doing so one day … in the far and distant future (though I did fly recently, le yikes!). Travel opens the mind, changes the routine, and introduces new ideas and ways of doing things. And the food! In the meantime, I enjoy incorporating what… Continue reading International Food Finds at Walmart
Bonjour! Once summertime rolls around, L'Husband and I take on the task of bathing Le Chien ourselves. It's lovely to get outside and splash around in the sunshine, and the whole process takes less than fifteen minutes. Le Chien is not a huge fan of water (le shock) but a few extra treats go a… Continue reading To Bathe a Dachshund
Guten Tag! Welcome to the official Dachshund Takeover of Joie de Vivre! Because my puppy parents abandoned me for Two Weeks to gallivant from Vermont to Illinois, I am taking over today’s post. I won’t be ignored. I am the center of attention. And why, you may ask, did my dog mom abandon me so… Continue reading Dachshund Staycation with Nana and Papa
Bonjour! After more than a year holed up at home, L’Husband and I venturing forth and driving from Vermont to Illinois. A recent post recapped some of the highlights of Day One of the drive from Vermont to Pennsylvania. Today's post continues the fun and covers Day Two of the drive from Pennsylvania to our destination of… Continue reading Road Trip, Day 2: Pennsylvania to Illinois
Bonjour! After more than a year at home, L'Husband and I are on the move. Our first trip since moving to Vermont in Fall 2019 turned out to be a road trip back to central Illinois. Sadly, Le Chien did not join us, and we drove out over two days with an overnight stop in… Continue reading Road Trip, Day 1: Vermont to Pennsylvania
Bonjour! One of the mantras of my childhood - in addition to the D.A.R.E. message “Say no to drugs” - was reduce, reuse, recycle. (Hey, it was the Nineties!) In honor of Earth Day, today’s post shares tips for easy, eco-friendly updates for your daily routine at home or at work. These new habits are… Continue reading How to be Eco-Friendly at Home
Bonjour! I love to bake from scratch (sometimes), but I also like to take the semi-homemade route (most of the time). Today’s post shares a recipe for almond Danish using pre-made almond paste and puff pastry... because making paste and pastry from scratch is a lot of work (le sigh) and perfectly tasty ingredients already… Continue reading Recipe: Semi-Homemade Almond Danish
Bonjour! It’s starting to feel like spring in Vermont, and I’m eagerly anticipating warmer weather, more sunshine, and a visit to le lac (and my COVID-19 vaccine). Today's post shares some pictures from a campfire picnic on the shores of Lake Champlain in South Hero, Vermont, a fun way to get outside with family and… Continue reading Campfire Beach Picnic on South Hero, Vermont
Bonjour! As we come up on one year of quarantine and staying at home, I'm thinking about ways to incorporate yoga tips into my work routine. I tend to sit rigid at my desk, hunched a the computer, without taking enough breaks to stand up, shake it off, and make time for self-care. Today's post… Continue reading Yoga Tips for the (Home) Office
Bonjour! “Mindfulness” is a popular word to throw around but a difficult one to understand, let alone put into practice in daily life. It is the notion of being present, and therein lies the challenge: what does “being” present even mean? The Buddha teaches us not to dwell on the past, not to worry about the future,… Continue reading Daily Mindfulness
“Sometimes, the most productive thing you can do is relax.” – Mark Black Bonjour! If you’re like me, you value feeling “productive” – start one more project, fold one more load of laundry, send one more email. As fulfilling as being productive seems, it has some disturbing side effects: racing thoughts, feelings of inadequacy, and… Continue reading 4 Ways to Relax Today
Bonjour! Today is World Yoga Day! The goals for most yoga practices are to undo tension, rest, breathe, and release chronic muscular holding. As I loved to remind my yoga students, softness is not weakness! Rather, the point of yoga is to open a channel of energy, find release, and allow positive change to manifest.… Continue reading 4 Restorative Yoga Poses
Bonjour! This year, I am trying to focus more on self-care and not let winter get me (too) down. Part of my journey to yoga practice and yoga teaching was meditation. I never really got into meditation because it requires a level of patience and persistence my hyper-nervous monkey brain lacks (le sigh). That is,… Continue reading 5 Easy Meditations for Relaxation
Bonjour! If I learned anything in 2020, it was to let myself slow down and rest without feeling guilty for not being "productive." Shaking off the shackles of the "law school" mentality, which equates success with how much money you make and how many hours you work (le sigh), has been a years-long struggle. As… Continue reading Self-Care in the New Year
Bonjour! Happy Inauguration Day! It was a bright day in America, a wonderful day to focus on hope and unity and to welcome the future. After four years of discord and division, of hatred and hauteur (le sigh), we can truly start to heal and enact meaningful change for racial justice, the pandemic and economy,… Continue reading Oh Bernie, My Bernie
Bonjour! As January trundles on, and we sit in the United States watching and waiting to see how representative democracy will respond to the president inciting an insurrection, I’m doing one thing I can to stay sane: Decorating. While I have put the Christmas decorations away, the tree remains. With its charming twinkle lights and… Continue reading A Cozy Vermont Winter
Bonjour! Happy New Year from Joie de Vivre! I can’t believe 2020 is over and we have a fresh start, a blank slate in front of us. I haven’t felt the turnover of the year this keenly since the 1999-2000 calendar flip, another unique moment in my lifetime. Only now, the stakes feel much higher:… Continue reading 2020 to 2021: Looking Back, Looking Ahead
Bonjour! It's the most wonderful time of the year! As we struggle toward the end of a very long and very scary year, I am trying to stay positive and spread some holiday cheer. Yes, I am eagerly anticipating the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine and the transfer of power in the White House. Being… Continue reading Holiday Decorating Extravaganza, Part Deux
Bonjour! I don't know about you, but I've been planning my holiday decorating for over a month, or at least since Halloween. Since we are not exactly going in and out of each other's homes right now (le sigh), today's post is a guided virtual tour of how we're getting festive. But before you do… Continue reading Holiday Decorating Extravaganza
Bonjour! As excited as I am about the result of the 2020 presidential election, I admit to feeling some post-election blues. I was so nervous about the showdown between president-elect Biden and Trump that I ran high on adrenaline and anxiety in the weeks running up to election day. Now that day (okay, fine, election… Continue reading Post-Election Blues
Bonjour! My love for French language and culture often inspires me to create a taste of France chez moi. I was lucky about to visit Paris in 2006, after I graduated from the University of Alabama, and still dream of visiting again one day (le sigh). In the meantime, I find ways to recreate elements… Continue reading Le French Picnic Chez Moi
Bonjour! As summer rolls into fall, I’ve spent some time switching my closet over to my fall and winter wardrobe (which is not as fancy as it sounds). This changeover also gave me the opportunity to reorganize and clean out some closets, one thing that brings me great pleasure. This post shares some of my… Continue reading Closet Organization
Bonjour! On a recent Saturday, L'Husband and I pulled together an easy, simple petit déjeuner français. One of the most overwhelming things about the pandemic and quarantine for me is not knowing when and if life as we know if will ever go back to normal. Being stuck at home, feeling like I cannot go… Continue reading Breakfast in Paris
Bonjour! This post celebrates Joie de Vivre’s first anniversary. I started this blog one year ago this week, just shy of my 35th birthday. To celebrate, Joie de Vivre has a fresh look. I updated some style, design, and layout elements and created dedicated pages for food, travel, joyful living, and work. I'm also experimenting… Continue reading Happy First Anniversary, Joie de Vivre!
Welcome to another installment of How I Work! How I Work #9 introduces Christiane Scheller, 36, the Director of Marketing and Corporate Communications at Scherzinger Pumpen in Furtwangen, Germany. Chris writes, “I was responsible for all marketing activities including the organisation of trade shows and events, print media, online marketing, and corporate communication strategies.” She… Continue reading How I Work #9: Christiane in Germany
Welcome to another installment of How I Work! How I Work #4 introduces Sheramy Tsai, 42, of South Burlington, Vermont. She is a bachelor’s prepared registered nurse who has practiced in many fields, most recently school nursing. Sher describes her job as “Registered Nurse/ Nurse Manager/ Writer/ Producer/ Mom.” Sher writes, “In addition to being… Continue reading How I Work #4: Sheramy in Vermont
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