Des cadeaux de Kit-Kat et ses amies

Bonjour, tout le monde! C'est Sabine...avec moi, Aurélie! Aujourd'hui, nous avons reçu des petites plaisanteries de nos bonnes amies Kit, Kat, Baby, Ruthie, Cate, et leurs amies. 

We were, needless to say, very surprised. Here we are with everything that we received. 

We did an outfit trade with our friend Elizabeth, who does historical reenactments. We gave her one of Micki's Sun Queen gowns in exchange for a turn-of-the-century middy dress. I'm glad that we were able to get rid of one of the Sun Queen outfits. Those things are beyond obnoxious, even if they are pretty. It's the way that they are used. That's what makes them irritating. Anyway, here I am with the middy dress. It is so cool, too. It laces up in the back.

I was pleasantly surprised to find the Cozy Sweater outfit. I've wanted it for awhile. I really hate wearing pants and sweaters, so tunic-length sweaters and leggings are definitely more my style. Plus, pink is my favorite color! I got awesome slippers, too. Booties are definitely better than regular slippers. I also appreciate the headband and hair ribbons. I always need that stuff, especially for dance class!

It's hilarious that I talked about Micki and the Sun Queen thing prior to this. I found two forks and spoon. I am assuming that those are, in fact, for the "Sun Queens": Nicki, Vicki, and Micki. They have an inside joke pertaining to forks and spoons, and it stemmed from when Micki lived in Europe and visited Nice. Nicki and Vicki shouldn't be trusted with forks or sharp objects for that matter. The forks are for them, and Micki will probably get stuck with the spoon. Yeah. The least dangerous gets the least dangerous utensil. How does this make sense?! Where is the logic in this? Even though Nicki-Vicki aren't with us, I know them well enough to know that they will love the forks, and they love that others thought of them enough to get them presents. 

Aren't these tissues featuring la Tour Eiffel the cutest? I'm a sucker for cute things, which explains why I almost died of excitement when I saw the earrings! There are three pairs: baguettes with bérets and scarves, croissants with bérets, and les drapeaux tricolores! The earrings have an adorable cartoon-esque cuteness. I love them!

I also have to point out the Taylor Swift poster I received from Cate. Taylor is wearing a nautical/stereotypically French outfit. Taylor's outfit is very cute, though. I might wear something similar. Taylor is probably one of my favorite American singers. I might like her more than Sabine's beloved Miley Cyrus (désolée, Sabine!)! I got a cute "Speak Now" pin, too!

Baby-Ruthie were sure to include their campaign posters. I must admit, it sounds like a pretty good campaign. Frog legs are DISGUSTING, anyway. I don't know why anybody would want to eat them to begin with! Then there is the whole "frog might be a prince" thing going on, too...hey, you never know! It's not like most people kissed frogs to find out...

I am holding the "Be Our Guest" restaurant menu. I think mentioning "gray stuff" was a nice touch. Bonus points from me if you know what movie it's from! 

We got an awesome hat, too! I'm pretty sure it isn't for us, but we wear it well, right?

I think we do. If only Halloween were celebrated in France. Sabine and I would have a great group costume idea... 

There were three gifts left: a friendship bracelet, a USA Olympics tee, and a little American flag. However, these weren't addressed to us. They were addressed to a Marie-Christine Lacaux. I was confused. Marie-Christine lives in Paris...not Lille! 

I told Sabine that maybe we're supposed to send it to Marie-Christine. Maybe they just didn't have the Lacaux's address? I think Sabine has it. That would make sense. 

We then heard a knock on the door. My dad answered it and told me that I had an unexpected visitor. I secretly hoped it was Julien, but it wasn't. Instead, a girl with light brown hair and the prettiest blue eyes walked in. 

"Salut!" She said in an upbeat voice. "Je m'appelle Marie-Christine Lacaux. Je suis la petite sœur de ton amie Christelle."

 I gave Sabine "the look". Christelle was definitely not her friend, judging from all the horror stories I've heard about her. Abruptly, Sabine asked her, "Pourquou es-tu en Lille?"

Marie-Christine laughed. "It's kind-of a long story," she began. "Christelle is being her usual obnoxious, pessimistic self, and since I am free for a day, my mom thought she would take me to see the Royal Ballet of Flanders in Anvers, but of course, the SCNF workers are on strike, so we have to take a bus to Belgium instead. It's not fun. In fact, I'm furious! It takes so much longer to take the bus than the TGV! I convinced my mom to stop in Lille because I wanted to meet you, Sabine. Christelle gave me your address, and I wanted to see if you were as bad as she said you were. Everybody is bad in Christelle's opinion, though."

"Christelle and I have our differences," I sighed. "When I first heard of you, I thought you were going to be terrible, too. However, you really aren't. You haven't complained...well, okay. You complained about the SCNF strike, but that is actually a legit complaint. They put a damper on EVERYBODY'S travel plans."

"Don't take my sister too seriously," Marie-Christine said. "She's always been trouble. My parents like to say that she has 'middle child syndrome'."

I had to laugh. Being the psychology nerd that I am, I knew all about that. 

"Oh," I said, handing Marie-Christine the presents. "I think these are yours."

She jumped up and down. "These are from Cate!" She exclaimed. "I was so excited to meet her in December. She was in the Olympics! I'd love to be an Olympic skater and get to wear the pretty, glittery costumes. If I decide to quit ballet, which is starting to become a chore, I definitely want to go skating! These are definitely great souvenirs from my first visit to America."

Marie-Christine told us all about her cultural exchange trip to Ohio. "Everybody was very nice to me and didn't seem to care that my English was terrible," Marie-Christine smiled. Being 12, she was just learning English at school. "I got to meet the infamous Kit-Kat and be apart of Baby-Ruthie's anti-frog-legs campaign. Oh, and I ate at an awesome restaurant. Best croque-monsieur ever...well, after the ones I eat at home in Paris! Still, it was delicious. I was also disturbed to see a girl named Emily. She turned out to be one of the sweetest people you'd ever meet, but she was identical to Christelle. For a second, I thought Christelle came to the US again, which is a silly thought because she plans to never step foot overseas again. I miss everybody I met, actually. It was such a wonderful, eye-opening experience. I want to travel around the US so badly. Maybe I'll even get to meet Cate, Baby-Ruthie, and Kit-Kat again?"

Jokingly, I said that I would meet Cate, Baby-Ruthie, and Kit-Kat before she would meet them again. Marie-Christine suggested that she come with me.

After chatting for awhile, Marie-Christine had to go. She said that it was nice to meet us, and she hopes to stay in touch. She actually said that she might come to the States this summer for the Global Outreach program since she'll be 13 in May. I told her I hope to see here there, and since she is a dancer too, I suggested that maybe we could dance together. She nodded  and said, "I'm not really into it like I used to be, though!" 

She also asked to take a photo with us, and she hoped that we wouldn't mind being friends with a "kid". Sabine and I just laughed. We're both good friends with Julien's sister, Delphine, who is the same age as Marie-Christine. Maybe they can meet each other someday?

That, tout le monde, was our day! We'd love to thank our friends from The Shoreline Student for all of our lovely gifts. We absolutely love everything! 

I might sound extremely sappy, but friendship is still the greatest gift of all. That seems to be a theme for the post today, especially since we befriended Marie-Christine...somebody we never thought we'd befriend!

Have you, dear readers, ever befriended somebody whom you never expected to be friends with? Have you ever received any special gifts from friends? If so, what did you get?

~Sabine et Aurélie~

Des cadeaux de Mémé

Salut, tous ceux qui lisent ce blog! C'est Sandrine et Sabine! 
Notre grand-mère (la mère de notre mère) nous a envoyé des cadeaux. Quand je suis rentrée chez moi, je les ai trouvés.

When I returned home from eating with Julien and his family, I found two wrapped gifts in the kitchen. 
Talk about good luck! I was getting some photos professionally taken to have for l'Opéra National de Paris's summer ballet intensive, and when I came home, I found the gifts! I hoped that Mémé bought me something good and worth my time.  

Ew. My gift was wrapped in disgusting sports wrapping paper! The paper was probably left over from when Mémé wrapped her grandson's/my cousin's Christmas presents. Still, I don't want leftovers! Of course, Sabine got normal paper. She should have been the one who received the leftovers (aka the sports paper)! Sabine and I obviously don't have the same high standards, so the sports paper would have been perfectly fine with her...

Stop whining about the sports paper, Sandrine! Mémé didn't have to buy you a gift! Anyway, here I am with my unopened package. I had a few ideas of what it could be, but I didn't want to guess and potentially ruin the surprise. 

I tore the nasty sports paper off to reveal the prettiest doll. It was an antique Clara/Marie doll, and she had her own mini Nutcracker! Mémé liked to get us collectibles to display in our room, and usually, I don't really care for them. However, I really loved this one! Even though I get better roles than that of Clara, Mémé thought that she would get me something Nutcracker-related because of my performances this year. She told me that I was the prettiest Dewdrop and Snow Queen that she has ever seen, even though I was only Snow Queen for two shows. Yeah, she is my grandmother, and grandmothers say stuff like that, but she could have said that Aurélie was a pretty Dewdrop, too. Thankfully, she didn't. 

I got an antique display doll, too, though mine was wearing a blue dress. Like my sister said, Mémé loves to give us collectibles that we can have forever. She's a typical grandmother, in that aspect. The dolls will look terrific in our room, though. We have a chair in the corner that will be perfect for them to sit on.

What do your grandparents like to buy you? 

Bisous,

Sabine et Sandrine

An afternoon with Julien

Salut, tout le monde! C'est Sabine! Aujourd'hui, je suis sortie avec Julien et son famille. 

When Julien texted me to tell me that he was inviting me to go out to spend the afternoon with him (and his mom and sister!), I was beyond thrilled. I immediately asked my mom for permission, and she hesitantly said "oui". 

I was informed that we were going to a restaurant called La Royale. It is reservations-only, and it is a little bit fancier than other restaurants. I immediately knew what I was going to wear: my favorite black dress that I happened to wear for my birthday. I think it looks stunning on me; it contrasts nicely with my red hair!

Since we French tend to eat our main, larger meal in the middle of the day, we went to the restaurant first. Julien's sister, Delphine, took this photo of us before we sat down. Don't we look adorable? ;)

Like any perfect gentleman, Julien helped me take my coat off. Normally, I'm just a little bit rough around the edges and would eagerly take my coat off myself, but I love when Julien does little, nice things. Of course, I wouldn't dare let him know that, but still, it's nice to know that there are guys out there who know how to treat us girls.

Our server brought out our drinks, and Julien and I laughed about my parisienne acquaintance, Christelle. She would probably make fun of our food and drinks if she were here. We also talked about Lilly, my best American friend. Lilly would HATE this restaurant. I could tell just by scanning the menu! She is an extremely picky eater. Her favorite restaurant is Uno Chicago Grill, and she told me that every time she goes to Unos, she orders the dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets with fries. Julien thought that was absolutely hilarious, and I couldn't help but laugh with him! I had no idea people ate chicken nuggets shaped like dinosaurs until I visited the States!

When Julien's mom and sister headed to the restroom, Julien took something out of his pocket. He held it in his hand and said that he was sorry he couldn't afford to get me a fancier bracelet with my name engraved on it. He said that Delphine received a bracelet-making kit for Christmas, and he paid Delphine 5€ to make it for me. He looked embarrassed that he had revealed that much information!

He helped to tie it on my wrist since it is hard to put bracelets and things on yourself. This is something that every female on the planet understands.

I thanked him for the bracelet and told him how sweet and thoughtful it was because honestly...? He didn't have to get me anything! My name was on it in metallic beads, and the braided part was in three different shades of blue. I laughed, "I absolutely love it, Julien! You remembered that blue is my favorite color!"

He nodded and smiled. "I don't forget those things."

Julien then told me that by me accepting the bracelet, I was promising to be his friend, no matter what may happen in the future.

Of course, this was a promise that I could easily keep! I'd never want to lose anybody as close to me as Julien! He's been a special friend since my early childhood! I told him that I promised nothing would ever come between us. Ever.

After we finished eating, we strolled around Vieux-Lille, the older part of the city. Delphine and I gazed at the windows of the upscale boutiques. We could only dream of owning things that beautiful! Julien said that he will never understand why girls are so obsessed with window shopping. I told him that he would never get it. Before heading home, we stopped at Lille's legendary Meert, my favorite place for sweet confections like pastries and gaufres. 

Overall, it was a terrific day, and I was glad I could share it with my best friend and his family.

What do you like to do with your best friend?

Sabine

New Year, New Problems!

Bonsoir, tous ceux qui lisent ce blog! C'est Sandrine, et j'écrit le premier "post" de 2013!

Honestly, this year is going to be worse than 2012. I'm already disgusted with humanity, and it's only the fifth day of the year. I know Sabine has whined about Chrissa before, but it's now my turn!

Chrissa and I were going to put on a short Nutcracker-inspired performance for all of the girls attending the Pleasantview Global Outreach Winter Program. Before we did our makeup, we watched an episode of Breaking Pointe, my favorite TV show. I pointed out Beckanne, who is like one of my role models! Chrissa had never seen it, which was sad. Her favorite TV is Bunheads. We are talking about Bunheads on ABC Family, the EXACT SAME stupid TV station that overdid The Secret Life of the American Teenager and butchered The Lying Game and Pretty Little Liars. If I were Sara Shepard, I wouldn't have let ABC Family destroy my books! Anyway, Bunheads is just too sickeningly cutesy for me. The only darn thing ABC Family EVER gets right is their 25 Days of Christmas specials. Yeah, there are obnoxious TV stations in France, too, but ABC Family gives them a run for their money sometimes. Rant over. I could rant about other stupid American TV stations because there are plenty, but I'm sure nobody wants to hear that.

Chrissa doesn't see the problem with ABC Family, but then again, she doesn't see the problem with a lot of things.
For example, she doesn't realize that eyeliner is supposed to LINE your eyes. Duh. English is my second language, and I even know why "liner" is part of the word. It's not supposed to mask your eyelids!
"Chrissa," I rolled my eyes. "You have it all over your eyes!"
Chrissa said, "Sorry! I'm bad with doing my own makeup, especially eyeliner!"
I sighed. "Wash it off and I'll do it for you."

Some people just don't get makeup, but I certainly do. Aside from dancing, doing makeup (and hair) is something I seem to have a gift for. Chrissa looked so much better after I had applied her eyeliner!

I began to do my own makeup when Chrissa told me that she had to tell me something "important". Ugh, she doesn't know what that word even means because everything she deems as "important" isn't even close to being an issue. This time, however, she caught my attention by saying, "My parents think you're a bad influence and don't want me hanging out with you."

I almost dropped my pencil. "What? How am I bad influence?! I don't party or do dumb things like a lot of people our age! I have some kind of focus in my life! Your parents don't even know me. That's ridiculous."

I took a moment to regain composure. Chrissa had the most clueless expression on her face, and I glared at her and said, "What did you tell them? You obviously told them stuff to make them say that about me."

Chrissa sighed. She didn't know where to begin- I could tell. "Well, um, my parents just asked about you, and since I talk about you a lot, they wanted to see your Twitter, Instagram, Facebook...you get it. They think you are really pretty, but they think there is something 'off'...er, not normal...about you. The fact that your evil friend who hated me disappeared and pushed you doesn't help, either. I don't know. I can't really explain it. It's them, not you. I'm still going to hang out with you since they can't tell me what to do when I'm away from home."

I gulped. That was part of my problems, I guess; I couldn't hide them, no matter how hard I tried. However, Chrissa doesn't know my secret. Her family doesn't. Nobody does except for my family and me. There was no way that Chrissa or her family could be onto my secret. Chrissa was too oblivious to figure anything out in order to confirm her parents' potential suspicions about my problems or Ophélie's bizarre disappearance. Or, that was what I wanted to think.

Honestly, though, it's one thing to think I have problems, but to think that I had something to do with Ophélie is a far stretch. I mean, mon dieu, I was in the hospital recovering from a concussion when she vanished!

I had to put on my stage face as we began our performance, even though I wanted to get more information from Chrissa. She is terrible at explaining most anything, so I'm not surprised that something wasn't adding up in the little story she told me. 

On a happier note, here are some photos of Chrissa and me performing. She was Clara in her studio's production, and I was the Snow Queen for two of my studio's shows. 

A fun Nutcracker collage that we made:

After everything that happened between Chrissa and me, I was considering consulting my psychologist again. But I don't want to. I don't want him to think I need his help because I don't. I had other issues. Bigger issues. I had another plan.

I'm going to find out what happened to Ophélie.

Bisous,

Sandrine