emilie.

Emilie has a daughter, Madeleine (but we call her Coco) and she is 2. Emilie is also pregnant with another daughter due in April. She is French/German/Irish living in Paris, married to a Kiwi.

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{morning}
What's a typical breakfast for you and your family?
*The healthy version is muesli, yogurt and fruit for the grown up and Weetabix for the kid. But we often do indulge in croissants from the bakery across the road. They are very hard to resist.

How would you define your clothing "style"?
*Smart casual. I have given up high heels but have not given in to sweatpants yet. I like wearing clothes that do not feel out of place during the day but I can also wear out at night with a little change of accessories.

Your #1 makeup/skincare item?
*NUXE Reve de Miel

*I can't go anywhere without my old fashioned filofax diary. I have tried electronic diaries and a lot of other things but always go back to the type of diaries you have to write things into!

{noon}
What's the cost of a cafe lunch for you and your kids?
*Anything from 5 euros for a croque monsieur to about 10 euros for a pasta dish. The great thing is that since January all the cafes and restaurants are smoke-free so you can go to most of them without coming out smelling like an ashtray.

*My favourite local children's boutiques are BONTON and LILLI BULLE. I also get a lot of children's clothes from our local super market Monoprix as they can have really cute and inexpensive children's clothes.

Your favorite day time city activities?
*(with kids) I love taking my daughter to the park as there are some great little playgrounds around here and it gives her an outlet to let go of all that surplus energy.
(without kids) I love walking around and discovering the city I live in and people watching. It is the best way to get to know a place and it is such a luxury to have the time to wander that I really love it!

What do you do on a bad weather day?
*Read books, cook and try and sort out my wardrobe for the millionth time
I am currently reading "The Time Traveller’s Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger but I can't say that I have really gotten into it yet!

What's your creative outlet?
*I actually really enjoy making things from sewing clothes to knitting to making furniture. It is such a nice feeling to have something in front of you that you made yourself.

Online?
*I am a daily reader of the main newspaper websites, le Monde, the BBC and the Guardian. My other favourite website is chic shopping Paris. It always has great tips for little shops and original places to go.

*I was very lucky to find a mother’s collective.. when I first moved to Paris and did not know a soul. This is how a met a lot of my girlfriends and we all started a weekly play group together. It is a purely Anglo group though. Meeting genuine local mothers has been hard as most French mothers work full time and the kids are in full-time nursery care. I met most of my French friends through going back to work.

Is it easy to live "green" in Paris?
*It’s difficult. We recycle glass and plastic here, but there is no way to participate in a composting scheme and it is very difficult to have an energy efficient heating system. There is a very good bicycle rental scheme that has been implemented by the city council. You can find VELOLIB' pods all around the city and pay a minimal fair to rent a bike. Once you are done with it, you just leave it at the nearest VELOLIB' pod, even if it is at the other end of the city. It’s a great idea but obviously not very useful if you are traveling around with kids in tow.

{evening}
*Both my husband and I cook. We eat a lot of salads and vegetables (courtesy of our almost daily local farmers markets). Also a lot of Thai-style stir-fries and curries.

How do you kick back at the end of a long day?
*I will do anything from meeting up with my girlfriends for a quick glass of wine at a local cafe or watching a DVD of a movie with a happy ending. I can't do sad endings anymore.

*I am a big fan of Robert Rodriguez movies, though I have not seen his latest "Planet Terror". I really enjoyed "Little Miss Sunshine" and "Brokeback Mountain"





Visit Emilie on Babyccino.