enceinte de 7 mois

Comme annoncé il y a quelques mois sur IG, le Rital et moi nous sommes fait le plus beau des cadeaux pour fêter nos 10 ans : un petit Tortellino pour décembre !

Je ne vais pas me transformer en blogueuse maman mais suite aux nombreuses questions reçues lors de l’annonce de ma grossesse et aux nombreuses questions que je me suis moi-même posées lorsque j’ai su que j’étais enceinte, j’ai décidé de vous faire un article sur le sujet.

J’ai donc regroupé les questions qui sont le plus souvent revenues. J’espère que cet article vous sera utile. :)

Es-tu tombée enceinte rapidement et était-ce prévu ?

Oui, nous voulions profiter à fond de notre vie à 2 avant d’envisager d’avoir un enfant. Nous avons fêté nos 10 ans cette année et nous sommes dit que nous étions enfin prêts à fonder une famille.

Cependant cela faisait plusieurs années que nous nous étions dit que nous voulions partir au Japon avant.

Cela n’a finalement pas été possible car j’ai eu la chance de tomber enceinte en seulement quelques mois, je vous en parle un peu plus longuement ensuite.

enceinte de 5 mois 

Quels ont été tes premiers symptômes ?

Je suis désolée cela ne va pas être glamour mais je suis une grosse mangeuse et n’ai jamais eu de problèmes digestifs.

Lorsque j’ai commencé à avoir de grosses brûlures d’estomac après les repas je suis allée voir un gastro-entérologue qui d’après les symptômes m’indiquait que je devais souffrir comme beaucoup de femmes d’une colopathie. Il m’a donc conseillé de ne plus du tout boire d’alcool et prescrit des médicaments que j’ai pris pendant 1 semaine sans aucun effet positif. Finalement cette pseudo colopathie m’a bien servi ensuite une fois que j’ai su que j’étais enceinte pour justifier aux gens pourquoi je ne buvais plus d’alcool sans qu’ils se doutent de quoi que ce soit (même ma famille ne s’est doutée de rien).

Un matin je me suis réveillée en étant très faible, j’étais incapable de me lever et me sentais malade. Je me suis même fait engueuler par le Rital qui pensait que je le faisais exprès car c’était à mon tour de sortir Sticky. Mes règles avaient quelques jours de retard j’ai donc acheté un test de grossesse le soir-même qui s’est avéré positif.

Petit à petit les problèmes digestifs ont disparu et les fameuses nausées sont apparues (les nausées s’apparentent à une gueule de bois carabinée qui dure toute la journée) et une extrême fatigue (sans oublier l’apparition d’acné et bien d’autres incommodités).

Moi qui ne fais d’ordinaire jamais de sieste, je dormais dès que j’en avais l’occasion.

Nous avions déjà acheté les billets pour le Japon mais nous avons finalement décidé d’annuler notre voyage car nous n’aurions pas pu en profiter pleinement, jétais vraiment épuisée. Nous avons donc préféré aller nous reposer en Italie et j’ai bien fait car je n’ai fait que dormir (les 9h de voiture n’étaient probablement pas une très bonne idée). Heureusement au 4^e mois les symptomes se sont estompés et j’ai retrouvé la patate. J’ai de la chance, j’ai je pense une grossesse pas compliquée et n’ai jamais eu de sautes d’humeur.

enceinte de 2 mois

Comment et quand l’annoncer à la famille et aux amis ?

Cela est très personnel car certaines personnes veulent attendre que les 3 mois soient passés avant de commencer à en parler et d’autres veulent partager la bonne nouvelle dès le début. Je suis un peu dans la 2^e catégorie car si ma grossesse s’était interrompue au cours des 3 mois, j’aurais de toute façon aimé avoir le soutien de ma famille et de mes amis proches.

Le sort a fait que certains de nos amis l’ont même su avant nos propres familles. En effet, nous avions une soirée de prévue avec un groupe d’amis avec au menu : vin, charcuterie et fromage…

Quant à nos familles je n’ai pas pu l’annoncer moi-même à ma belle-famille qui se trouve en Italie et aux USA. Le Rital qui était aux USA à ce moment-là l’a annoncé à sa mère et sa grand-mère de vive voix et l’a annoncé au reste de la famille en Italie par Skype. Heureusement il avait filmé la scène donc j’ai pu vivre cela à distance et c’était très émouvant.

Quant à ma famille nous leur avons annoncé un peu plus tard car nous avions cru à un oeuf clair au moment de l’écho de datation (on nous fait faire une écho de plus en plus tôt ce qui n’est pas forcément une bonne idée car il suffit qu’elle soit faite trop tôt pour qu’on s’imagine le pire). Heureusement dans mon cas l’écho avait été faite trop tôt, nous avons bien pu entendre son petit cœur une semaine après et nous sommes précipités chez mes parents le soir-même peur leur annoncer la bonne nouvelle.

Nous avons cependant attendu l’écho du 1^er trimestre et les résultats concernant la trisomie 21 avant de l’annoncer au reste de nos amis ainsi qu’à nos collègues.

A partir de quand ton ventre a commencé à se voir et à partir de quand as-tu senti ton bébé bouger ?

Je dirais que mon ventre a vraiment commencé à s’arrondir à 4 mois et demi lorsque j’ai senti le Tortellino bouger. Je n’ai pas senti les papillons dans le ventre comme certaines le décrivent mais plutôt des soubresauts. La première fois que je l’ai senti, c’était en regardant un épisode de Stranger Things. :)

Mon ventre a continué à grossir doucement mais progressivement. Cependant c’est lors de mes vacances de cet été en Corse qu’il a doublé de volume en l’espace de quelques jours. Il paraît que c’est normal car c’est lorsqu’on est le plus détendu que le ventre se développe le plus rapidement. Je suis aujourd’hui à 8 mois de grossesse et il paraît que j’ai un petit ventre mais pourtant le Tortellino fait déjà 2,9kg, comme quoi la taille du ventre ne veut rien dire.

enceinte de 8 mois

S’habiller n’est pas trop compliqué ?

Lorsque mon ventre a commencé à se voir c’était l’été donc c’était assez facile de m’habiller : je portais beaucoup de pantalons larges à la taille élastiquée et des robes amples.

Cela a commencé à se compliquer à la rentrée quand les températures ont baissé. J’ai donc investi dans quelques vêtements de grossesse sur Emoi Emoi, Envie de Fraise et surtout H&M mais j’arrive encore aujourd’hui à porter quelques robes et hauts qui ne sont pas des vêtements de grossesse. C’est le cas notamment des photos ci-dessous mais également de toutes les tenues de cet article sauf la robe noire en dentelles juste au-dessus).

Quels sont tes essentiels grossesse ?

Le coussin de grossesse est à mon sens un indispensable que ce soit la nuit pour mieux dormir ou en journée pour soutenir le dos (même le Rital me le pique). Il pourra même servir ensuite pour soutenir le bébé pour l’allaiter, donner le biberon ou même comme couffin. J’ai choisi celui des Babilleuses sur lequel j’avais flashé en regardant l’émission de La Maison Des Maternelles, mon émission préférée depuis que je suis enceinte (tous les jours à 9h sur France 5). :)

Ensuite j’adore mon bola de la marque Aismée. Il s’agit d’un pendentif qui émet un doux bruit de clochette (c’est très léger donc pas du tout génant) qui apaiserait le bébé tout au long de la grossesse et même une fois né. Je ne sais pas si cela fonctionne réellement mais j’aime également son côté esthétique et cela peut permettre aux gens dans les transports d’identifier plus facilement les femmes enceintes. J’ai choisi le modèle Nuée d’Epi blanc (offert par la marque) qui ne me quitte plus depuis que je l’ai reçu. Je le trouve tellement chic, je l’adore.

Enfin pour ma part je dois porter des bas de contention car j’ai des varicosités qui sont apparues et qui ont disparu dès que j’ai commencé à les porter et pour soulager les crampes aux mollets (un complément de magnésium aide bien également).

As-tu continué à faire du sport ?

Avant de tomber enceinte j’avais enfin réussi à faire du sport de façon assidue depuis quelques mois et j’y prenais enfin goût.

Je pratiquais 2h de Swedish Fit par semaine et je faisais 20 min d’exercice sur l’appli FizzUp les 3 autres jours.

Les résultats étaient là : mon corps était plus sculpté et même si ce n’était pas le but, j’avais perdu 4kg.

Lorsque je suis tombée enceinte j’ai arrêté la gym suédoise car les cours auxquels j’assistais étaient trop cardio mais j’ai continué à utilisé l’appli FizzUp en adaptant les exercices et j’ai également fait des exercices adaptés aux femmes enceintes en regardant des videos sur YouTube (notamment Ludy Go Girlzz).

Cependant, plus les symptômes s’intensifiaient et plus j’avais du mal à continuer, j’ai donc fini par lâchement abandonner au 3^e mois de grossesse et je n’ai jamais eu le courage de reprendre.

As-tu des envies alimentaires particulières ?

Au tout début j’avais essentiellement envie de gras type fast food et glace mais heureusement ça n’a pas duré longtemps. Depuis je n’ai plus eu d’envies particulières (et je n’ai jamais eu de dégoûts alimentaires) mais j’ai toujours aussi bon appétit. J’en suis aujourd’hui à +11kg mais je n’ai pas l’impression d’avoir pris autre part que dans le ventre.

Quels sont les applis que tu utilises ?

Au départ j’ai beaucoup utilisé l’appli « Alimentation grossesse sereine » car j’étais perdue et ne savais pas ce que je pouvais et ne pouvais pas manger (je ne suis pas immunisée contre la toxo).

Maintenant je suis calée sur le sujet donc je ne l’utilise plus vraiment.

Ensuite j’utilise l’appli “Ma grossesse Doctissimo” pour suivre ma courbe de poids et le suivi de grossesse par semaine.

Enfin, l’appli que j’utilise le plus c’est “BabyCenter – Ma Grossesse” pour le suivi de grossesse, pour faire un self-bidou toutes les semaines pour voir l’évolution de mon ventre et pour discuter avec d’autres futures mamans qui sont au même stade de grossesse que moi sur les forums.

As-tu adapté ta routine beauté ?

Cela faisait plus d’un an que j’avais sensiblement changé ma routine beauté pour en adopter une plus naturelle.

Cependant quand j’ai su que j’étais enceinte j’ai fait un tri drastique dans les placards de ma salle de bain et ai tout jeté (l’équivalent de 2 gros sacs poubelle) mis à part les quelques produits de bonne qualité que j’utilisais au quotidien c’est-à-dire principalement des huiles végétales Arome-Zone.

Voici à quoi ressemble ma routine beauté du soir :  démaquillage à l’huile de jojoba que je rince à l’eau, puis nettoyage de ma peau avec la mousse nettoyante Nominoë pour finir par une goutte d’huile de jojoba sur le visage pour hydrater.

Ma routine beauté du matin : nettoyage du visage avec la mousse Nominoë, une noisette de gel d’aloe vera sous les yeux puis une goutte d’huile d’argan pour hydrater et enfin un peu de crème solaire teintée de la marque Laboratoires de Biarritz pour éviter le masque de grossesse l’été et avoir bonne mine l’hiver (cet été j’ai d’ailleurs utilisé les crèmes solaires de cette marque). Je me maquille ensuite les yeux mais je ne mets rien d’autre sur ma peau.

Pour le corps j’ai commencé avec l’huile de massage vergetures de Weleda, mais je n’aimais pas l’odeur du produit donc j’ai ensuite utilisé de l’huile d’avocat pour limiter les vergetures et du lait végétal pour hydrater le reste du corps matin et soir. Je suis maintenant passée à l’huile et à la crème anti-vergetures Joone qui sont également très bien (je vais également tester leurs couches).

Autres produits chouchous : dentifrice Lavera, déodorant Schmidt’s, gel douche Weleda, baume pour les lèvres Crazy Rumors (j’ai celui à l’amande et non seulement il est 100% naturel mais en plus l’odeur est juste dinguissime)…

Je précise que je ne suis en rien sponsorisée par Mademoiselle Bio ni Aroma-Zone, c’est juste que je n’achète mes cosmétiques plus que chez eux. :)

Vois-tu une différence de comportement chez ton chien et n’appréhendes-tu pas trop l’arrivée du bébé avec ton toutou ?

Figurez-vous que Sticky a été au courant de ma grossesse avant qu’on ne l’apprenne nous-mêmes !

Depuis ses 6 mois Sticky est propre malgré de rares accidents. Elle a pourtant subitement commencé à faire pipi partout dans la maison dans des quantités impressionnantes et tous les jours, elle a même une fois fait pipi devant moi en me regardant droit dans les yeux. On a appris ensuite que c’était parce qu’elle sentait mes hormones et marquait donc son territoire. C’est fou ! Cela n’a duré qu’une semaine heureusement. Depuis son comportement est de nouveau normal si ce n’est qu’elle me lèche le ventre de temps en temps.

Je ne suis pas très inquiète quant au comportement de Sticky vis-à-vis du bébé car avec mon neveu elle a toujours été très douce avec lui, même quand il lui prenait ses jouets ou lui tirait les oreilles. Il en est de même avec les enfants de mes amis. Cependant on s’occupera forcément un peu moins d’elle donc elle risque d’être un peu déstabilisée mais on va faire notre maximum pour qu’elle ne se sente pas trop délaissée. A mon avis elle va surtout poser sa tête sur nos genoux pour qu’on s’occupe d’elle comme elle le fait déjà lorsqu’elle réclame un câlin. Mais nous n’allons bien sûr jamais laisser le Tortellino seul avec elle quand il sera petit. On a déjà une barrière qu’on mettra à l’entrée de la chambre.

D’ailleurs si vous avez des bons conseils à nous donner pour que la cohabitation se passe bien entre un nouveau-né et un toutou, n’hésitez pas. :)

enceinte de 4 mois

Gynéco ou SF ?

J’étais au départ suivie par ma gynéco mais elle était très froide, je ne pouvais pratiquement pas échanger avec elle. A partir de 5 mois j’ai été suivie par une sage-femme libérale et quelle différence ! Le contact est beaucoup plus facile car elle est chaleureuse, prend le temps de répondre à toutes mes questions et je peux lui envoyer des sms à la moindre inquiétude. Je regrette de ne pas avoir été suivie par elle dès le début.

Allez-vous choisir un prénom francais, italien ou franco-italien ?

On souhaite un prénom court qui se prononce facilement et de façon identique (donc il ne doit pas y avoir de « r ») en français, en italien et en anglais.

Cela limite les possibilités mais je pense qu’on a trouvé.

Je ne voulais pas en parler à nos familles de peur qu’elles nous influencent, surtout que nous n’avions qu’un seul prénom en commun qui nous plaisait mais nos familles ont fini par deviner et il plaît à tout le monde.

N’hésitez cependant pas à me proposer des prénoms, on ne sait jamais, nous pouvons encore changer d’avis. :)

As-tu des concept stores à conseiller ?

• Smallable
• Fleux
• Le Petit Souk
• Les Petits Raffineurs
• Manipani
• Berceau Magique
• Zü
• Le Petit Sixième
• Le Petit Florilège

Vous trouverez ci-dessous quelques unes de nos premières acquisitions ainsi que les premiers cadeaux reçus.

Body croissant (tissus 100% oeko tek) acheté sur l’e-shop Miniatures Factory – peluche de la marque Jellycat achetée chez Smallable 

la fameuse poussette Yoyo+ de la marque Babyzen (offerte par la marque)

Tétines Bibs en caoutchouc naturel, chaussons Mouettes en cuir naturel Emoi Emoi X Easy Peasy (offerts par la marque), hochet tigre tricoté à la main Main Sauvage

Transat Levo de Charlie Crane modèle hêtre/Cloud Moumout’ (offert par la marque)

Couffin de mon enfance, couverture qui appartenait au Rital quand il était petit et peluche offerte par la grand-mère américaine du Rital

Enfin j’en profite pour partager avec vous quelques photos du shooting grossesse faites par mon amie photographe Hana Lê Van (je ne vous montre que celles-ci car les photos sont assez personnelles donc je préfère garder les autres pour moi). D’ailleurs si vous cherchez une photographe professionnelle c’est la personne qu’il vous faut !

Voilà j’espère avoir répondu à la majorité de vos questions mais si vous en avez d’autres n’hésitez pas à me les laisser en commentaires, je me ferai une joie d’y répondre et si vous avez des conseils à partager n’hésitez pas également. :)

En tout cas il était temps que je vous publie cet article car je suis aujourd’hui à J-14 donc le Tortellino peut désormais débarquer à tout moment !!!

You guys asked for it so here it is. The first and only article written by the Boyfriend.

When we got Sticky we underestimated the amount of work and dedication we would need to put in. I had a dog growing up and taking care of her was literally a “walk in the park”. But, after just a few weeks with Sticky I realized it’s one thing to train and take care of a pup when there are 4 people splitting the chores in a house with a garden and it’s another thing doing the same thing in an apartment with half the people.:)

Don’t get me wrong… Sticky is an amazing dog and we love her to pieces. It’s basically impossible not to give in to her puppy eyes!! ☺

These 2 pictures have been taken by the breeder (le Moulin de Majurie) where we got Sticky. She’s the one on the left. :)

This article is called “being trained by a dog” because ultimately we had to make more changes in our lifestyle than Sticky had to. She’s almost seven months old now and we still haven’t gotten into the swing of things.

Having said that, we have learned loads from this experience and since you asked, here are some pointers on living a happy life with your pup.

Anger management

If there’s one essential skill you will need in order to happily coexist with your hairy 4 legged friend it’s Anger Management. Frustration, despair and downright nose blaring, jaw locking anger can easily become part of your daily life if you don’t accept the fact that raising a puppy takes time and self-control. Having someone else to help you is great because it allows you to separate yourself from your pup when you need to relax and/or blow some steam off.

If there’s one piece of advice I can give you it would definitely be: laugh instead of crying. Sure you’ll look like a crazy person but hey if it keeps you from living a few miserable months why not give it a go. Try to find the humor in each situation… the way she looks at you when she’s pooping in your living room or how happy she is after she just destroyed your shoes laces.

What I personally found the most challenging is the biting and potty training.

Biting is a phase (it lasted for 4 months in our case) and we’ve been pretty lucky. I’ve heard of owners that get their hands munched on well beyond the first year of the puppy’s life. Be firm, reinforce the behavior you like and sometimes pretend like your puppy really hurt you (whine like a dog)… again people might think you’re mad but who cares if it gets results!!

Potty training is a whole different ball game. People will tell you that once you understand your dog’s potty habits you’re good to go… to some extent it does help (after a meal, after she wakes up…) but the reality is that you’d better get that rug off the floor and have toilet paper and white vinegar ready to go at all times (don’t use bleach because dogs find the smell similar to that of urine and don’t clean in from of your dogs.. it could become a game for them). We used to not get upset and not yell at her the first few months but now that she knows where she can and can’t do her business she faces the consequences of her actions… ‘nough said.

Obviously it’s not always Sticky’s fault… which leads me to my second point.

Set yourself and your pup up for success

I won’t spend a lot of time on this point because there are a lot more qualified people out there that can tell you everything you need to know about positive reinforcement training. What I can tell you is this: the easier you make it for your dog to understand the quicker it will learn.

The catch is that this might mean taking your puppy out every 1-2 hours when it’s young so that there are less chances of it going potty in the house…

The second rule of positive reinforcement is to…  guess what… REINFORCE ☺. Treats, petting or play time anytime your puppy does what you like!  

If you want to learn more about this stuff have a look at this YouTube channel.

I’ve spent countless hours going through all the videos.

Controlled destruction

If you have a dog like Sticky, chances are you had to deal with hyperactivity… this usually leads to your cute little puppy transforming into a creature from hell. Destruction, barking, biting and running around are just some of the symptoms of what I call the PUPPY CRAZIES.

While I haven’t found a fool proof solution to deal with this we have found some ways to reduce these symptoms.

1. A tired dog is a happy dog. Walk, run, play with your pup until it can’t take it anymore
2. Nap time. Help your dog rest by confining it in an area where it feels comfortable. A quick tip:if your dog has a hard time calming down you can tie her to something heavy next to her bed. Sticky didn’t like it at first but it did force her to relax… 
3. If all this doesn’t work… GIVE YOUR PUPPY SOEMTHING TO DESTROY

We’ve given Sticky cardboard boxes, plastic bottles, wrapping paper and anything else that is going into the garbage and makes a relatively easy mess to clean. You don’t need to spend a lot of money to make a dog happy ☺. 

A quick tip: the less stuff you leave around the less chances you have of finding coming back home to this… :)

If you want to buy toys make sure that your dog can’t swallow them and that they don’t make too much noise… it will drive you insane… :)

Tools of the trade

Actually a dog does cost a lot of money but it’s up to you to spend it for the right reasons. Fancy toys and training gadgets are, in many cases, a waste of time and money. Having said this here is a list of things that I think are worth investing in:

Leashes: we have 3 a short one, a flexi 5 meters leash and “THE BEAST”… a 10 meters flexi leash. It might seem like a lot but we use all of them depending on the context.

The short leash is great if you want to tie your pup somewhere and is good for leash training. 

The 5 meter Flexi is great for walks around the block as it allows you the right level of flexibility and control for day to day activities.

“THE BEAST” is my favorite leash. It’s by far the toughest and it just feels good in the hand (the 5 meter leash feels a bit flimsy). It’s great for walks in the park or for places where you can give your puppy more freedom but still need to be able to control her/him.

A whistle: training Sticky to come back when we blow a whistle was really easy and soooooo gratifying. It’s hands down my favorite tool.

To train your puppy blow the whistle and give her a treat. Repeat and increase the distance. DONE! (yes it’s that easy).

If you don’t want to invest money in a dog whistle (they’re not expensive) you can obviously work on your recall without it. The trick is to WALK AWAY FROM YOUR DOG and make loud and happy sounds! Chasing your dog will only create the opposite effect of what you want as she/he will see it as a game. Try it in a your house or in an enclosed area the first times until you get the hang of it.

A crate: we initially bought Sticky’s crate when I needed to take her for a 9 hour drive. She was 3 months old and I needed to be able to focus on the road versus having to constantly check on her. It soon became one of our most used items. You can use the crate to calm your dog down, separate you while you need to do chores around the house, potty train… the list is endless.

Here’s the catch… All of this will work only if your puppy LOVES it’s crate. There are loads of video on Youtube on crate training

BONUS CRATE TIP: you can use the crate as a fence between 2 rooms in your house. Sometimes you just need to separate your puppy from you but still want to keep an eye on what he/she is doing and want to give her a bit more freedom.

The Kong: we work during the week and seeing us leave in the morning is hard on Sticky. To make things a little bit less stressful for her we give her a food stuffed Kong. It’s great because it keeps her busy while we slip out the door and, since she doesn’t see us leave, she doesn’t start crying as soon as we’re gone.

Living with Sticky has been an amazing experience so far. Sure it’s been tough at times and it requires a lot of self-discipline but the bond you will build with your dogs will be worth it.  Sticky has made us more sociable (it’s amazing how much people are willing to talk to you when you have a dog) and has changed the way we live our life for the better.

The only thing I can tell you is this: be sure you’re willing to change the way you live when you get a dog. Be sure you’re willing to change your priorities and dedicate yourself to raising a dog. If you do this then you will have no regrets and you’ll be the happiest dog owner in the world. Sticky is full of life, energy and gives us unconditional love every day… it’s her way of saying thank you for all our hard work :)

I love these 2 pictures above taken by Maïa.

Hey, Aurélie speaking again. The Boyfriend is not a dog expert but he loves them and is very passionate about dog education so I hope it helped you in some way. Of course he didn’t talk about everything so if you have questions don’t hesitate to ask them in the comments, he will be more than happy to answer them. :)

The Boyfriend and his favorite tie from Hackett

I’m sorry, I’ve not been blogging since 3 weeks because I had some family issues but most of all because I didn’t have time and here is the main reason.

Let me introduce you to Sticky our adorable cocker!!! Why Sticky ? Because she’s following us everywhere and in French we use the expression “pot of glue” to describe this.  The picture above has been taken at the breeder when we first saw her, she was just  2 months old. Today she is 3 months old.

We are already crazy about her even if she likes to bite our feet and had some crazy moments when she runs everywhere in the appartment. She’s learning very fast and is growing even faster!

Last weekend she mad her first trip with the Boyfriend : Paris-Milan by car  (a 9 hour drive)! I joined them in Milan just for the weekend at my parents-in-law but she’s staying with the Boyfriend for 10 days. I miss her already. :(

I hope you’re not tired of seeing my mother-inlaw house because I love taking pictures of it, especially during Christmas season (she is American and you can see it, she loves Christmas and can make her house even more welcoming). Here are “some” pictures of our lovely weekend in family with Sticky.

It’s a fake Xmas tree. I usualy don’t like fake trees but I must say that this one is really nice and so well decorated. All the ornaments are handmade by members of the family. I love it!

The panettone, is a Milan speciality which is eaten at Christmas.

My Aigle boots are my best friends to walk Sticky.

After going round the house several times and playing in the garden, we took Sticky to nonna’s (grandma) to meet the family. Everyone loved her! We also took her for the first time to a restaurant and she was very nice.

Finally she strolled in the streets of Milan very slowly because she kept smelling everything and we’ve been stopped every 100m by passers who wanted to pet her. That is what being irresistible means. :)

All my previous posts in Milan are here, here and here and all my favourite Milan spots are here.

What do you think of our little beauty, are you also in love?

See you soon for some new Sticky’s adventures and in the meantime let me wish you all a very merry Christmas. See you in 2016!

Two years ago I published my 1st blog post (you can read it again here)! It’s crazy how times goes by so fast!

I’ve started this blog without knowing if I would like to blog and how long I would do it. Two years went by and I still love blogging, maybe I like it even more and I hope you still like to come stroll here. Don’t hesitate to leave me a comment to tell me what are the posts you prefer or what posts you would like me to write about.
It’s not always easy to combine my professional life (I’m a legal counsel for a French company), my personnal life and my virtual life but for now I can more or less handle it and I hope i will be able to keep doing it for a long time! Happy birthday to my blog who is not a baby anymore. :)

In my first post and in this one I made you discover the farmer’s market next to my parent’s (la cueillette du Plessis) where I like so much to go especially during fall. I’m taking you there again to fill up on vegetables to start soup season.

On internet I can read everywhere that fall is the favorite season of bloggers, how awesome it is to be able to roll yourself in a blanket with a tea cup in your hand and bla bla bla. I might disappoint you but I hate fall, you keep getting sick, days are getting shorter and shorter (taking pictures during the week becomes a nightmare when you work in an office all day), I hate wearing layers of clothing  and then to have to undress myself like peeling an opinion (I’m dying of heat every time I’m going inside the metro) and so on and so forth. My only comfort is that I can eat raclette again (if the Boyfriend could express himself here, he will talk to you about the raclette story where I stuffed myself with 10 pieces of cheese with potatoes, meats and tutti quanti, he tells it to everyone) and being able to go to the farmer market for our futur soups.

First destination : apple trees because these apples are nothing like the ones you use to find in supermarkets, they are so juicy!

Always match your nail polish with what you eat : « Big Apple Red » of OPI. I tried the semi permanent nail polish at the Nail Collection salon and it lasted 1 month !

Refrigue puffer vest (old collection)

Petit Bateau cardigan (old collection)

2nd destination : courgettes. Well, we found one so huge that one was more than enough and starting 1kg there’s a fixed price which explains why we paid 1€ for a 3,8kg courgette!!! You should have seen the girl at the cash register where we brought it “But where did you find that?!” It’s a good thing I like courgette because we are gonna eat it for weeks!

Little surprise: the last strawberries of the season were still delicious!

Last destination: cucurbits of course!

Well, I must admit that fall colors are quite pretty. ;)

Mango blouse, Monoprix pants and Bobbies boots

On top of that I’ve discovered a new passion: strolls in the forest to pick chestnuts (of course I’m not talking of the inedible ones on the picture above). Only God knows how much I love chestnuts like chestnut cakes, chestnut cream and my all-time favorite yoghurts: Maronsui’s)! It was even more fun doing it with Dingo who was supposed to help us finding them but instead, preferred picking up tree branches 10 times bigger than him (or the dog who believed he was an ant). :)

Let me take this opportunity to show you my new derbies that I feel madly in love with from the brand Eponyme. They are so confortable that I have the impression of wearing slippers and they are so pretty!  elles sont tellement confortables que j’ai l’impression de porter des chaussons et elles sont magnifiques ! This model is limited to 100 numbered copies (I have the n°75).

You may have recognized my beloved yellow sweater of & Other Stories that I’ve already shown you 2 years ago here.

Nothing remains except cooking them so if you have good advices on how to properly do it or good chestnut recipes please tell me.

Ok, ok, fall has its merits. :) Have a good fall weekend my friends!

On March 89 I was having a fake cup of tea in a colourful plastic cup with my friend Popo.On the 18th of July 2015 I was her bridesmaid for her wedding. Who would have thought this would happen? Since 89 I moved 5 times so we have not been neighbors for a long time, we don’t have the same friends anymore and we don’t see each other very often but despite that we never lost sight. I was very moved when she asked me to be part of her bridesmaids, what a wonderful proof of frienship!

100% rustic:

It was the 1st time that I attended a wedding from someone close because nobody gets married around me so I knew this would be a day that will remain engraved in my memory and I was right.

The whole day was magical, pure emotions in an exceptional place with a beautiful bride wearing a stunning dress made by the talented Violette Tannenbaum! Yes I know I am not selfish with compliments but trust me I’m not exaggerating.

We attended a rustic wedding we all dream of. Where? In the Creuse department and I can already hear the negative comments from here : “there are more cows than inhabitants”, or “it’s the arse of the world”… but it also means no traffic jams, no pollution, a feeling of freedom, serenity and picturesque landscapes so “Vive la Creuse”! It’s also the best place to organize a perfect rustic wedding.

Showring lavender on newlyweds as they left the church

Pot for the honeymoon.

“Just married” M&M’s as wedding favors.

The princess :

Like I told you, the bride was wearing a dress designed by Violette Tannenbaum and her golden-fingers, a mix of class, simplicity and delicacy.

My bridesmaid’s outfit :

As for me I was wearing a Claudie Pierlot mint dress that I fell in love with as soon as I saw the the back with the bow, beautiful Sézane floral shoes, a Sixième Gauche clutch entirely hand-embroidered by Indian craftsmen and a fine flower crown made by Arum Ver’tige. For the jewels: a Satellite necklace and a bracelet made by my mother-in-law with a Chanel vintage button.

Exceptional place:

The night before the D day, the bride slept in a charming country cottage, in its garden there were chickens and roosters running among dogs, cats, rabbits and goats, a happy poultry yard in an haven of peace! The tone has been already set!

Veï-Lou-Quéri –  3 route du Geay – 23220 MOUTIER-MALCARD

Festivities began in the town hall, followed by a ceremony at the Moutier-Malcard church followed by the reception and dinner at the castle of Les Dryades in Pouligny Notre Dame. We were lucky enough to sleep in this wonderful castle after dancing all night long. What a blast!

Château Les Dryades – Impasse du Manoir – 36160 POULIGNY-NOTRE-DAME

It was a beautiful day where the key word was love. It was so nice to see all their families and friends reunited, to hear the moving and funny speeches of the parents, to see the bride’s grandma looking at the groom with so much love… But the most beautiful gift was seeing in the bride’s eyes that she was having an unforgettable day which even exceeded her expectations!

These 2 pictures have been taken by Brian Ravaux.

A day full of champagne, emotion, laugh and love!I’m so happy and proud to have been chosen to attend the first day of the rest of their life.

Long live the newlyweds, I wish you all the happiness in the world!

P.S. even though I’m not leaving for the holidays yet the blog will take a break in August because I don’t think a lot of you continue to read blogs during summer but don’t worry I will still be pretty active on Instagram, Facebook and snapchat under the name “aurelieflaneuse“. Happy summery strolls my friends!

Inflate the tires, check the brakes, adjust the heigh of the handlebar and get on your bike, the Boyfriend and I, we are taking you on a ride in Boulogne.

In Boulogne like in Paris, you can find hidden gems that I absolutely love to discover. Sometimes I wait till someone open the gate so I could sneak in but it worth the wait when you see this!

Cycling like that makes us hungry so it’s time to stop to have lunch!

It’s time to ride home!

Here we are : home sweet home!

I’m sorry, you might find this post strange but I wrote kind of a poem in French and I just didn’t know how to translate it in English… If you understand French a bit, go have a look at the French version. ;)

P.S. You can see my lookbook made for Kent Street Apparel on their blog here and pictures of a future post. :)

Last year I invited you to visit the offices of My Little Paris (you can read again the post here). Since then, I had the opportunity to go back 3 times : the first time was for the launching of the box in collaboration with the French blogger Make My Lemonade, the 2nd for a super shooting for My Little Superbox (box of this month) and the 3rd one for a private dinner between friends. I never get tired of it, I fall in love with the place every time I go.

My Little Super Box :

For those who have subscribed to My Little Box, you might have recognized me in the My Little World of this month because I had the chance of being photographed with 9 other super Instagram girls. It’s time to show off! :)

It is so weird to see my face in a magazine but I am kind of proud. I like the result because it looks fun which is a good thing considering the fact that I am not comfortable at all in front of a camera. I would have never been able to be a fashion blogger… Anyway, it really was a fun experience, I’m happy I did it!

With our pictures, there were supposed to be short interviews but there was not enough space so they decided to cut it out. Here is mine:

Instagramer form:

Name: o_reilly_s

Her super power: showing us that strolling should be a national sport

Leitmotiv: « To err is human, to loaf is Parisian. » (Victor Hugo)

Her sworn enemy: lack of curiosity and boredom that she fights regularly by stopping at nothing to discover Paris and its hidden gems. Being reprimanded by the residents when she dares to venture in private courtyards doesn’t scare her!

Her kryptonite: her camera in hand, she is shooting faster than her shadow without even looking where she sets foot even if it means tearing up her pants by straddling the fence … Old Fiat 500 drive her crazy!

Follow her on: lesflaneriesdaurelie.com

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I almost never post pictures of me, least of all close-up pictures like these ones but I had to get out my comfort zone to show you this fun photo shoot. Do you like it?

My Little Dinner:

Thanks to this picture I won a private dinner for 4 people in the My Little Paris offices cooked by their chef Marion Proust. She is not only the My Little Paris chef, she is also a home-based chef. For this special event, I invited Pauline (my childhood friend), Jasmine and Hana. We were greeted like princesses and ate divinely!

On the menu: we started with a purple artichoke, Parma ham, Parmesan and parsley.

We continued with cod-fish loin, lobster sauce and mashed potatoes, so delicious!

To bring the evening to a wonderful close, we had a citrus millefeuille.

In a few words, we had a wonderful evening in the company of the adorable Marion!

My Little office:

And of course like I told you even though it was not the first time I came, I couldn’t prevent myself from taking pictures of these inspiring offices again. I know, everyone would like to work or even live in a place like this but let’s be more realistic and let’s just get inspired by this amazing interior decoration!

My Little adventure is not over because Anne and I are leaving soon for a weekend thanks to My Little Paris! To be continued…

In the US, people gather the 4^th Thursday of November (in Canada it’s the 2th Monday of October) to celebrate Thanksgiving by sharing a good meal. Where does this tradition come from?

Origins :

It’s a reminder of the Native American role in the first American thanksgiving, a feast held to thank the Indians for sharing their knowledge and skills. Today Thanksgiving is a time for reflection, sharing, gratitude and sharing.

Thanksgiving  traditions:

The turkey is the main course and the side dishes depend on regional specialties but they are generally composed of bread stuffing, cranberry jelly and mashed potatoes. For the dessert it’s a delicious pumpkin pie (and we also had an apple pie). For those who are wondering, no you don’t offer gifts at Thanksgiving even though you can consider that spending precious time with your family and friend is a gift. Our 7kg turkey! The tradition is that you go around the table and hear what the guest are thankful for.

I’m so thankful for spending such a cosy weekend with my loved ones, eating delicious meals, drinking tea, petting a dog and flipping through lifestyle magazine. What a perfect cosy weekend ! I’m so thankful for having such a great family ! I love lifestyle magazines like Frankie and Kinfolk  (Kinfolk even made this wonderful book of recipe you see above) so I’m so happy to have discovered Simple Things that celebrates simple pleasures. The n°5 issue just came out : so cosy and inspiring ! I’ve never be happier to hear that I should finish the leftovers the next day ! If you want to see more about this fantastic house, go check this post that I posted last year about another cosy weekend in Milan.

Cosy speaking, let me show you some of the things I received in the last My little box (there were also a hair conditioner and a mascara). Have a lovely cosy weekend !

In the olden days, it was in this house that the family used to meet and spend their precious moments together but, as time went by, visits became increasingly rare.

Since then, the children have now grown up and started their own families so they don’t have the time to come to the Normand house anymore. This is a cause of great sadness for the eldest who are afraid to see this tradition ends.

Today, time seems to stand still in the Norman house : old children books are shelved and floral wallpapers have not been unglued. Everything seems to have remained the same as if the house was still inhabited and that its occupants would be back soon.

One day, one of the young couples of the family decided to invite some friends over for the weekend. And so, on a Saturday morning of October, nine people sat down at a breakfast table set by their lovely hosts.

Not everyone knew each other, some met through Instagram, others had common friends. Most of them came from different countries : USA, Slovakia, England, Singapore, Italy and France. But, what they had in common was that they all lived in Paris. It was in these unlikely circumstances that they were going to get to know each other at the heart of Norman countryside.

During the weekend, these new friends took advantage of all the little pleasures of life like running through fields laughing, picking some berries, playing in the puddles with their Wellies on or picking up fallen leaves.

With good wine, cheese and delicatessen they shared their memories and put the world to rights under the sun and with summer temperatures.

It turned out that the Norman house was not that far from civilization because Deauville was just around the corner. The friends took this opportunity to stroll in the streets and admire the beautiful half-timbered houses. Then they tasted the joy of Indian summer on a near deserted beach where they felt like children again picking shells, doing jumping competitions, crab fights and umbrella throwing…

In the evening, the friends had a drink in front of a spectacular sunset and then went to Trouville to eat some good mussels and French fries in the famous restaurant Les Vapeurs. This dream day finished by an improvised memorable dancing party that lasted well into the night.

The next day, the weather and the atmosphere were bad-tempered; rain came back like an echo to the friends’ moral whose hearts were heavy to have to leave this dream Normand house and go back to their Parisian routine.

They will never forget how generous their hosts were and how warm the Norman house was. They had fantastic bucolic, gastronomical weekend full of memories, laughs and emotions.

The only think they could think of is when  come back as quickly as possible to this charming house full of memories where they built their own.  They even claimed ownership of the rooms their slept in, they feel like home now.

The Norman house is delighted by the new due attention it truly deserves and is now ready to go out through the winter happily till warmer days arrive.

From the left to the right : Jasmine, Lauren, John, Jérémie, Tricia, Hana, The Boyfriend.

THE END

P.S. the pictures I’m on have been taken by Hana from Journey Into La Ville Lumière. You can read her post about or Norman weekend here.

I couldn’t resist talking to you about the girly tea party I had last weekend. Most of you have probably already read Daphné’s article about this event. This sweet moment of conviviality combining decoration and bakery was totally in line with this blog spirit.

As you know I’m a big Instagram addict. I’ve always taking pictures of everything so this app was made for me.Like I told you in my last post, I would have never guessed that I would have met people thanks to IG. However I keep meeting new people thanks to it, which impresses me because I’m a shy person usually.

Last Sunday we had a big instameet with Angéline, Anne, Morgane, Alice and Daphné at Amélia’s and Paul‘s. We had a tea party (worthy of Alice in Wonderland) to meet in person after writing to each other on IG for a long time.

You’re not dreaming, this place is real and decorated entirely by Amélia and Paul.
Let’s not forget the famous ceiling made of paper flowers.

On the menu :

No need to tell you how delicious everything was and it was the 1st time I had the opportunity to try handmade calissons !

In short, decoration, baking and a welcome that reflect well the generosity and creativity of Amélia and Paul (if you organize an event, you can contact them, they are wedding planners, caterers…).

A great afternoon spent with lovely people, setting the world to rights a cup of coffee in one hand, a piece of cake in the other.

Who said internet couldn’t bring people together ? :)