I push open the ancient heavy doors that separate my apartment and Paris. I have never been a morning person, but lately, I have been forcing myself to go on walks. Sleeping in while I’m living in such a beautiful city feels ridiculous. Paris mornings are magical. I step through…

My childhood was a kaleidoscope of happy chaos. I quite literally grew up in an old dairy barn. It was renovated, beautiful, and massive. Closets were crammed with art supplies–canvases, paint, sculpting clay, colored pencils, easels, and craft paper. …

Some mornings, I’ll leave my sleepy little Parisian apartment to go on a quest to find a good pastry for breakfast. The pastries are always scrumptious, but sometimes the walks there are equally as delicious! I make my way to a boulangerie that I know will have exactly what I…

My mom's voice echoed through the hallways of our renovated dairy barn home. "Josie! There's a letter for you here with your name on it!" I knew exactly what it was. My legs were stumbling over each other, trying to catch up with my heart which wanted to know if…

I open a big red notebook that has been patiently waiting to be embraced for years. Just simply looking at it, it tells me nothing about its contents. I don’t remember putting it here. Curious to discover what knowledge it has to share with me, I turn the front cover…

There are moments in Paris that make life feel like a fairytale. For example, my fiance and I decided to take a long way home while returning from an ancient movie theatre we had discovered. On the way home, our nighttime stroll is illuminated by the glimmering lights of La…

As an American living abroad in France, I’m always trying to integrate myself into the culture as much as possible. So much so that, now, the only time I speak in English is when I’m talking on Skype with my family or writing these Medium articles! One thing that’s wonderful…

I’ve been fascinated with French culture for as long as I can remember. I remember, at 14 years old, instantly knowing what language I wanted to learn when our teachers announced to us we would get to choose between French, Spanish, and German. I knew where I wanted to go…

I was curled up in a fortress of patchwork quilted blankets, watching the elegant Audrey Hepburn illuminate my tiny television screen. It was an evening in the summertime in my early teens, and I still remember it so clearly. A summer storm had just rolled in, and as usual, my…