Promenade in Time

We left our country house after a few quiet days. About half a mile down the one-lane road, Halliday rolled down the window after we'd passed a local farmer and took this shot. Les monts du lyonnais is so unspoiled and beautiful, the farmers so rugged and hard-working. France has somehow managed in certain parts to be frozen in time. And that's why I live here.

Jeune Fille Chic

Just like in the US, French teenage girls are constantly under intense fashion pressure. My girls know far more about brand names and chic stores that I ever did at their age. However, I have been incredibly opinionated about clothes all my life and drove my mother and sister (who were not shoppers or fashion victims) absolutely mad with my peripatetic searches for the perfect back-to-school shoes, the ones I had pictured in my head but never actually seen—yet. I always had my own distinct style and from the age of five, I slept with my favorite new clothes I loved them so much.

I am counting my blessings that my two resident teens are not among the EMO-dressing, body-piercing, tatoo-sporting crowd here in Lyon. They are plutôt BCBG {bon chic bon genre} or preppy with class. Thank God. And this season, BCBG = the classic marinière or sailor shirt from Brittany. I chased Abigail around our new and empty apartment in her summer Bensimons and marinière dress {from guess where,} hoping to capture the essence of jeune lyonnaise style. Et voila!

Where I hang out (when I hang out in the day time, which is rare)