Welcome to my blog!
Whether you ended here by mistake, by chance or because you followed a link that seemed interesting, thank you for wandering around :-)
My name is Carine. I am a city girl originally from Paris in France. A Parisian.
I know. It sounds both wonderful and a little bit scary. Paris the city of lights, the city of romance, the city with so much history. The city with grumpy, unfriendly people. Yeah, I’ve been there.
But my heart left Paris many years ago, when I first visited New York City. I know. Both wonderful and a lot more scary to our French friends. The Big Apple, the city that never sleeps, the city where everything is possible. The city with grumpy, unfriendly people. That is, according to my non New Yorker friends. Well, on the grumpiness scale, yours truly thinks Paris beats New York haut la main.
My body was happy to be able to follow my heart to New York in 2011, when I moved to some place nice upstate, close to Connecticut, with my husband and our three cats, that happened to luuuve the place too. And the chipmunks.
For different reasons that I won’t bore you with here, we moved to Texas in 2013. Even more scary for some of our French friends. These friends are wrong. We now live west of the city of Austin. And we absolutely love it here too. Granted, it’s a little hot in the summer. But there are plenty of great parks and places to see, great food to taste, fields are covered in wildflowers during the spring, and Texans are hardworking and super friendly people.
And to really be all over the place, I am currently working for a few months in the Washington, DC area.
The objective of this blog is to share my favorite moments, as an immigrant to the United States, as an admirer of what America stands for. Share the moments and the discoveries, the differences and similarities between the country I was born in and the country I chose to live in.
Because there are so many misconceptions in France about America, American food, the American way of life, I want to try and set the record straight, if I can. This is why a French version of this blog exists.
Oh and I love to read, so I might share some of my readings here, in case you didn’t guess already ;-)
Please feel free to comment and share your experience and if you have any question, email me at bookscupcakescats-at-gmail.com
I hope you’ll enjoy your visit!
P.S.: if you are wondering what a chipmunk is, you can visit my cat Texas’s blog to see one here.
[Updated in November 2015]
Dave said:
Indeed, I do believe I shall enjoy my visit! And thank you, Carine, for stopping by Gwichyaa Zhee.
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Carine said:
Thanks for stopping by too!
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Michelle said:
I love both Paris and New York, so look forward to reading along!
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Carine said:
Thanks for your visit :-)
Hope you like it here too!
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baconbiscuit212 said:
Love the blog! Looking forward to following along in English and en français :-)
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Carine said:
Thank you :-)
Looking forward to reading yours too!
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cendriani said:
What a lovely blog! Thank you for stopping by and following my blog.
J’aime beaucoup votre blog et je reviendrai à coup sûr!
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Carine said:
Merci pour votre visite et votre commentaire :-) J’aime beaucoup votre site également. I loved the way you were using flowers in your recipes! C’est si joli !
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Nicole Ftacnik Photography said:
Just wanted to let you know that I nominated you for the One Lovely Blog Award. Feel free to read more about it in my post if you are interested… http://nicoleftacnikphotography.wordpress.com/2012/06/18/one-lovely-blog-award/ :-)
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cendriani said:
Bonjour Carine! I nominated you for The Versatile Blogger award ;)
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Margarita said:
Hello Carine, welcome to New York! Thank you for visiting and following my blog…I look forward to visiting yours often! I, too, am an immigrant and New York City is the first place where I immigrated by choice…and I’ve never regretted it! All the best, Margarita
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Carine said:
Hello Margarita,
Sorry for being late to your comment :-/ Thanks so much for visiting my blog too and your nice comment :-)
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baking bohemian said:
I am an American living in Australia, and I love New York and I love Paris. So I love to read your blog! I know you have won it before – but congratulations, I have given you a blog award! Check it out here: http://bakingbohemian.wordpress.com/2012/07/12/an-award/
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Carine said:
Thanks for visiting my blog! And thank you so much for the award :-)
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Robin Jean Marie said:
Thank you for following my blog, Carine–I’m happy that it led me to yours! It’s always so interesting to me to read about an expat’s experiences on this side of the ocean.
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Carine said:
Thank you!
I’m glad I found yours :-) It is quite an original blog and it looks like I’m going to enjoy reading it!
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Robin Jean Marie said:
Thanks so much, Carine.
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ChgoJohn said:
I stopped by to thank you for your subscription and have enjoyed my visit. So, I subscribed. I’m sure we’l be seeing more of each other. :)
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Carine said:
Thanks for visiting my blog too!
Loved the concept of your blog and I’m pretty sure I’m going to enjoy visiting it often :-)
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fiammisday said:
NOMINATION!!! Please copy and paste award from this site here and follow the rules to accept (it’s OK if you choose not to): http://3teensmom.wordpress.com/2012/07/17/glutton-for-recognition-30-2/
CONGRATULATION from FIAMMISDAY!!! http://www.fiammisday.com
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Carine said:
Thank you so much!
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ambrosiana said:
Hi! Thanks for subscribing to my blog! I really enjoyed reading your about page! I feel that we share many things since I am a Latinamerican (Honduras) inmigrant in Rome and I can relate to what you have said about your experiences as a Parisian in NY
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Carine said:
(so sorry to answer so late)
Wow From Honduras to Rome is much more original than Paris to NY ;-)
But I guess you are right about sharing experiences.
Thanks for your visit!
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Lilly Sue said:
Hey, I nominated you for the Versatile Blog Award. Check out the details here: http://lillysuesbitesandbrews.com/2012/07/21/summer-loving/
Congrats!!
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Carine said:
Thank you!
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fiammisday said:
Hi dear….I nominate YOU for VERY INSPIRING BLOGGER AWARD!!!! Congratulations…. I say Thanks to
http://blog.nestdesignstudio.ca/2012/07/31/thank-you-thank-you-thank-you-2/#comment-3089
A big KISS!!!
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Carine said:
Thank you so much :-)
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letizia said:
J’adore ton blog! Je suis une francaise au USA aussi :)
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Carine said:
Oh merci, c’est gentil :-)
Je suis tombée sur ton blog via celui de mon chat, Texas. Merci d’avoir “liké” un post, comme cela j’ai pu trouver ton blog.
J’adore lire également, même si je n’ai pas autant posté sur le sujet que je l’aurais souhaité. A venir donc !
Merci pour ta visite.
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michelleswordpressyay said:
Congratulations Carine! I just nominated you for the Liebster Blog Award. You can check out my latest blog post for details! Basically it just means I really like your blog, you I’m sure you already knew that :)
-Michelle
More info can be found here: http://michelleswordpressyay.wordpress.com/2012/08/20/liebster-award-for-michelleswordpressyay/
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Carine said:
Thank you so much, Michelle :-)
I will accept it in a special post in a couple of days!
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gwynnem said:
Thank you for stopping by my blog today and following my adventures in food. Always nice to meet new folks with common interests!
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Carine said:
Thanks for your comment and visit!
I was glad to have found your blog :-)
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gwynnem said:
Right back at ya, Carine. You’re a great writer.
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bubblybaker said:
Thanks so much for stopping by my blog Carine, because it bought me here to yours! I am in love! Looking forward to more posts from you :)
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Carine said:
Thank you so much! Looking forward to your posts too!
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Kathleen Richardson said:
‘Cats and chipmunks’ reminded me of one time when I looked out into the backyard of my downstairs apartment… A squirrel tore across the yard, closely followed by a Siamese cat. Shortly after the cat tore back across the yard, followed by the squirrel. They went back and forth, taking turns chasing each other several more times. It was a wonderful experience watching them.
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Carine said:
Must have indeed be a funny scene to see!
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transplantedtatar said:
Watching our cat watching the chipmunks is one of my favorite pastimes here in DC area. A transplant myself, I look forward to reading about your experiences
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Carine said:
It can be really relaxing to watch our cats :-)
Thank you for your visit!
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dedy oktavianus pardede said:
hi carine
What a great recipes within great blog, Excellent!
good job for you….
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Carine said:
Thank you! And thanks for your visit :-)
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petit4chocolatier said:
Carine, You have a beautiful blog!
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Carine said:
Awww… thank you!!
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Inspiration Sandwich said:
Your blog is a source of inspiration to me, and therefore I have nominated you for the Inspiring Blog Award. :) If you would like to accept this award, you can find more information here: http://inspirationsandwich.wordpress.com/2013/02/28/inspiring-blog-award
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Carine said:
Thank you so very much!
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breadispain said:
Oh wow – so happy to find your blog! I can’t wait to read more about your experiences and perceptions since I am writing from the opposite perspective. YAY!
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Carine said:
I am glad I found yours via Emilie & Lea’s Secrets!
I am eager to read your posts too :-)
Thanks for the visit!
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elizz said:
hi carine, thank you for following my blog and now i just followed yours.. i camped out in your blog a while back and liked lots of your posts.. i also love that you’re a cat person and that’s great :) your kitties are beautiful.. haven’t been to NYC but through your blog its like i’m actually there touring the city.. have a great sunday :)
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laurasmess said:
You have a beautiful blog here Carine! I love the fact that you’re a Parisian New Yorker – how cosmopolitan :) It’s beautiful to see things through your eyes and words via these posts. Thanks for visiting my space on the blogosphere and helping me to find yours. I can’t wait to read more of your posts! xx
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houseofbedlam said:
I am a native New Yorker – Love your photos!
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Carine said:
Thank you :-)
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whichwaynow101 said:
Good on you Carine. there are so many misconceptions abroad of America and Americans, views held mostly by people who have never been here. Keep up the good work!
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Carine said:
That is so true! Every time someone in France would tell me something really stupid (no there is no other word for some of the things I’ve heard) I would patiently ask when was the last time the person had been to the US. Most of the time, they would answer never.
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deliciouslynell said:
Ciao! I’ve nominated you for the sunshine award! It’s purely optional, but if you’re interested please check out this post,
http://ineedafeed.wordpress.com/2013/08/17/awards-august-2013-part-2/
Otherwise have an awesome day! :3
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Carine said:
Awww thank you so much!
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Janis Gabriel said:
: Interesting! I like both the French culture(lol) and I love New York! So this is perfect! :)
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Carine said:
Janis, thanks for your visit!
I have to update my about page since I have moved to Austin, TX now :-)
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Janis Gabriel said:
You’re welcome! And interestingly enough I am a Texan at heart, just recently moved from Houston, and Austin is awesome! :)
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papict said:
I am happy to have stumbled across your blog. I too am a recent immigrant to the US, having moved here from Scotland in October with my husband and four sons. I will be interested to follow your experience of living in a different culture.
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Robin S. Kent said:
Hi, Carine:
Thanks for visiting my blog and for the Follow. Since Paris and New York are two of my favorite cities on the planet, and Austin is my favorite city in Texas, it seemed only appropriate that I join your legion of followers. I’m looking forward to seeing more of your posts and I hope you’ll drop by again.
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Carine said:
Thank you so much for stopping by too, and for following my blog! I hope you’ll enjoy what you’ll see! I will soon be moving to Washington DC for a few months, so I’ll be interested at least twice as much in your blog and your gorgeous pictures :-)
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voulaah said:
Hi,
I just discover your blog and I find that it’s very beautiful and with posts interessant
I follow your publications and I invite you to visit my blog: https://femmeetinfos.wordpress.com and follow mine too
Waiting for you
Best regards
Anita
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arv! said:
this is a a lovely blog carine!
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Carine said:
Thank you very much! And thanks for stopping by :-)
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arv! said:
You too
:)
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dishdessert said:
I liked your blog, I invite you to my blog:
http://dishdessert.wordpress.com
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Carine said:
Thank you! Just started following you!
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Khadija "dishdessert" said:
Welcome Carine
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