I’m currently writing this on the road. We just finished our off-the-grid camping trip in White Pocket. This is a special place for us. We started coming here in 2009 when nobody knew about it and have been coming ever since. Everyone comes to this area for The Wave but you don’t need one for White Pocket. You can read more about it here.

After our road trip from Raleigh to Albuquerque followed by hiking in New Mexico (photo below left) and Kanab, Utah (photo below right) Thanksgiving week we settled into Phoenix for the month. We used my mom’s house as a home base.

We spent an afternoon at the Desert Botanical Garden, checked out the updates, and had a fantastic meal on the terrace (in December!) at La Hermosa Inn, and more, the Phoenix area has SO much to do.

We revisited some of our favorite day trip spots on the weekends. Like a really great weekend in Tucson. We started off at the Sonoran Desert Museum a spot we visited many, many times when we lived in Phoenix, then lunch at Five Points (check Best Bite below), then we drove to Mt Lemmon where spent an evening with the Dark Sky Program.

We stayed at The Tuxon, a former motel that has been redone in a vintage mid-century modern style, hip pool, and darn good food. Sunday morning we headed to Saguaro National Park for a bit then started our way back to Phoenix with a stopover at Biosphere 2.

During the week I worked for my day job until December 22 and then we headed to Las Vegas for Christmas.

Wow.

I must have been living under a rock because Vegas has changed a lot! My last visit was pre-Covid when we were still full-time RVing and it is so different now. The pandemic really took its toll.

Lots of buffets have closed (something around 16 of the majors, it is hard to fact-check that, I tried). What is a Vegas casino without a buffet? We stayed at the Paris Casino (I know, I can’t help myself) because it was supposed to be one of the few casinos that keeps their pool open in the winter.

Mais non! Closed!

Didn’t even think to check about the buffet still existing!

Fewer buffets meant fewer places for people to eat. Several of the buffets required reservations… on OpenTable!

P.S. Want to see a real commentary on society? Watch people at a buffet in Vegas. Scary stuff.

And it’s EXPENSIVE! Mr. Misadventures did some research. Most of the casinos have a single landlord, a corporation with multiple financial institutions owning shares, and a few casino operators, Ceasar’s or MGM. That means 2 people have to get their cut.

And if you’re talking about something like Starbucks, 3! Which is why coffee drinks cost $7-9!

You can’t sneeze in Vegas without spending $50. That was my last personal trip to the city of lights. I am only going back for trade shows.

We left Christmas Day and made a quick trip back to Phoenix to prep before heading to White Pocket. We love coming during the off-season and winter is that time. We have camped in November, in March, in April, in early May, and September. It’s the desert so summer is brutal although our very first visit in 2009 was July.

It was freezing and our gear was at the limit. We weren’t cold sleeping but every water bottle we had including the one in our tent froze! We just melted the ice down to heat our meals! All that to say it was pretty darn cold!

Currently, we are on our road trip back home!

Now, onto December and what's happening in the Misadventures world.

Watching | For All Mankind + SATC

Watching season 2 of And Just Like That made me nostalgic for the original show so I am re-watching SATC and am on the last season. I have the two movies next and then will re-watch AJLT again.

My mom hadn’t seen For All Mankind so we re-watched seasons 1-3 and finished up to episode 7 of season 4. Mr. Misadventures loves anything remotely space-related so he was in his happy place. We also watched Monarch which we are digging so far. If you’re a fan of Godzilla and King Kong you will appreciate this show.

One disappointment was Napoleon. The film had major gaps in the story. Important pieces of the timeline and his life were missing. The cinematography was great, Joaquin Phoenix was exceptional but Vanessa Kirby as Josephine was too young.

Reading | American Royals IV: Reign

Didn’t have a lot of time for reading! So I am still in the same spot as I was for Currently October!

Best Bite | Five Points

Five Points huevos rancheros followed by a slice of grapefruit olive oil poppyseed cake. Five Points is our absolute favorite restaurant in Tucson. No trip is complete without a meal here. It had been 4 years since our last visit and it did not disappoint.

Working On | Paris Articles

January is the time people start planning trips. 2024 is a big year for Paris so I want to make sure my articles are up-to-date. I published my Paris in 2024 article and updated January through March and May (still working on April!)

Feeling | Grateful + Delighted

Grateful to have such wonderful readers, especially those who take the time to comment or email.

Thank you to everyone who wrote amazing comments and suggestions when they responded to my reader survey.

I was delighted when HSN selected our photos in Paris for their Gabrielle (also called Glasgow) biker boot campaign. ​Fast forward to 8:13 and 26:46 minutes in…

Loving | The Southwest

We had such a good time hiking and/or camping in New Mexico, Utah and Arizona. It’s gorgeous and winter hiking is my favorite!

We repeated some of our RV trip as well as visited some new spots. The Southwest is magical.

Photo of the Month | Where to?

Not published on Instagram yet but I love this photo from the Clark County Museum a quick stop we made on the way to Vegas. They have an entire vintage town (okay street) and you can visit the different homes and businesses to see what life was like in the 40-50s in Nevada including a train station.

Published or Updated In November + December

• NEW: Paris Travel Guide (2024): What to Expect
• NEW: Why Cashmere Sweaters are a Capsule Wardrobe Essential
• NEW: How to Create a Winter Capsule Wardrobe with Quince
• NEW: Why Suitcases Make a Great Gift for the Traveler in Your Life!
• NEW: Christmas in Paris
• NEW: How to Frenchify Your Thanksgiving
• Updated: New Year’s Traditions in France
• Updated: Paris in January [2024]
• Updated: Paris in February [2024]
• Updated: Paris in March [2024]
• Updated: Paris in December [2023]
• Updated: Paris for the Holidays

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We arrived home from a month in France at the end of the first week of October and I can't believe it's already been 3 weeks and we are nearing the end of the month. The 4 weeks flew by and we had our share of ups and downs.

We had stifling heat our first 2 days in Paris and one half-day of rain, the rest of the time it was stunningly gorgeous the entire rest of our trip. An amazing start to my favorite season in Paris, autumn.

Paris was wonderful, the city always throws you a few curveballs but we navigated through it like the season Parisian tourists 50+ trips to the city affords you. We had a few more plot twists during our trip but managed to work through everything. Some trips are just like that!

So where are all the posts? Coming! I wanted to get my 2023 Holiday Gift Guide and Advent calendar posts out, I had partner commitments with Jambu and LEVEL8, plus a love letter to Sio whose clothing I predominantly wore during our trip, and updated a few other posts. Now I am working on articles from the trip.

Now, onto October and what's happening in the Misadventures world.

Monthly Musings | Barbie, huh?

The first weekend back from France I streamed Barbie. And I made Mr. Misadventures watch it with me. I used one of my few highly-coveted “watch a girlie movie” cards with him. And I regret it. I am pretty sure I was more impressed with the Architectural Digest video where Margot Robbie tours the inside of the Barbie Dreamhouse than the actual movie. I mean I get the underlying message, but I just didn't like the movie…

More musings:

• ​I wish they had this list in a poster, these are great reminders and rules to live by: 50 Short Rules for a Better Life [Swiss Miss]
• ​One of the cultural clashes that Mr. Misadventures and I had early on was around it being okay to make mistakes. As Americans, we believe we make them, learn from them, and move on. I think a similar negative perception is around quitting. Which is why I loved this article: The art of quitting [Vox]

Watching | SATC

I FINALLY watched season 2 of And Just Like That on my last trip. I was a little unsettled about how it ended and how the particular situation that Carrie finds herself in is going to work out, but with Season 3 already announced, I'll keep watching. Watching the show made me nostalgic for SATC and it has been a good while since I watched it so I am in the process of re-watching it now.

We also watched season 3 of Morning Show which I found to be a bit slow. Episode 5 was hard to watch. Or let's just say I wasn't ready to re-live how bad the first year of the pandemic was.

Can't Wait to Watch:

• I know no bigger Dune fan than Mr. Misadventures so we will be catching that in the movie theater when it comes out.

Reading | American Royals IV: Reign

I bought Martin Walker's latest Detective Bruno book: A Chateau Under Siege but haven't started. it yet. Instead, I started the first pages of American Royals IV: Reign the final book in this series which is usually a quick read.

I have stopped and started with Tom Lake but just can't get into it. I know lots of people like it but it just can't keep my interest. I had planned to read Lessons in Chemistry but think I will watch the series instead.

Best Bite | Dessert in Chantilly

After our first week in Paris, we spent the weekend visiting the Château de Chantilly, a little less than 90 minutes from the city. We had a lovely day inside the chateau and out including a fantastic multi-course meal under the trees and near a babbling stream.

We enjoyed absolutely every minute of it including the conclusion: a dish of housemade strawberry and raspberry sorbets with fresh raspberry and strawberries on top with a huge portion of crème Chantilly. DIVINE!

Working On | Southwest Roadtrip!

We leave the weekend before Thanksgiving to drive from North Carolina to White Pocket for almost a week of backcountry camping and hiking. We will also spend a few days in Kanab which we will use for more hikes before heading to Phoenix.

We will be staying in Phoenix for December with trips to Tucson and Sedona before heading to Vegas for Christmas. After Christmas, we are doing more camping in New Mexico (Bisti Badlands) before heading back to North Carolina.

New Things I Am Loving This Month

Photo of the Month | Foto Automat in Paris

In 2022, Mr. Misadventures and I ran around Paris looking for all the vintage Foto Automat machines. Each one is unique and they are all so cool. About a week before our trip this year a new one was installed at the Les Galleries Lafayette Champs Elysées. So on our way to visit the Arc de Triomphe, we stopped at the department store right when they opened to visit the “new” one. So fun!

Published or Updated In September + October

• NEW: 2023 Holiday Gift Guide
• NEW: How To Create A French Hygge Style
• NEW: The Best Advent Calendars This Holiday Season – 2023
• NEW: J’adore LEVEL8 Luggage
• NEW: J’adore: Stio Outdoor Apparel
• NEW: The Best Shoes for Traveling in France: Fall 2023
• NEW: Jambon Beurre: The French Ham Sandwich
• NEW: What I Packed for 1 Month in France Sept-Oct 2023
• NEW: Reasons Why Winter Travel is the Secret Elixir for Your Mental Health
• Updated: All About Advent Calendars
• Updated: Visiting Paris in November 2023
• Updated: Paris in October 2023: Weather, What to Wear + more!

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It's been hot in my little corner of North Carolina and we have not done a lot of traveling. We had a fun camping trip planned in Roan Mountain, Tennessee, but on the drive up we were met with weather that just makes camping no fun…thunder and lightning storms, plus smoke from Canadian fires had settled into the campground as well. We drove the 4 hours there, had a picnic dinner next to the Doe River, and returned home.

As I really needed a break from work (my last vacation being during January when we were still in Lisbon) I did a staycation. It turned into “the week we returned to the movie theater” as we went to see both Mission Impossible 7 and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. It was the first time we had been in a movie theater in the US since the pandemic (the last movie we saw was Bad Boys 3 in March 2020 when we were living in a hotel in Raleigh waiting to move into our new house).

We had been to the movies in France to see Eiffel (a movie I loved!) but not in the US. It was during the week, it was the first showing, and it was basically empty. When Oppenheimer came out, we thought we could just roll right in on a Saturday and do the same thing. Nope. Barbenheimer and a heat wave sent everyone to the movies in droves and we haven't seen either yet.

Maybe if we have a rainy day in Paris, as we are heading there in less than a month and the weather anywhere in the world at the moment is unpredictable!

Now, onto August and what's happening in the Misadventures world.

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Monthly Musings | Staycations + Happiness

Taking a staycation which I have rarely done (although I am reconsidering) as we love to travel so much, and spending last weekend mapping out our daily plans for France, I have had an opportunity to reflect on filling time. I appreciated this Medium article: Time Isn’t Meant to Be Filled.

Despite the fact that it is perfectly normal to feel a little grumpy on super hot days, if you have been reading Misadventures with Andi for a while you will likely know that I believe in the practice of happiness. It is a choice and one I make every day. So when I stumble across good articles on happiness, I like to share!

• I’ve written 10 books on happiness—here are 5 tiny habits that make me feel happier and healthier every day [CNBC]
• Nine Books That Will Actually Make You Laugh [The Atlantic]
• This one was FASCINATING: How America Got Mean [The Atlantic]
• The psychological immune system: four ways to bolster yours – and have a happier, calmer life [The Guardian]

My Frenchie Friday emails (subscribe to receive them!) are full of links I love connected to all things Paris, France, and a Francophile lifestyle, so I am adding a few others here that are not French-forward:

More musings:

• I do!!! Remember What It Was Like to Travel Pre-Smartphone? [The Slate]
• Forever a SATC fan! Sarah Jessica Parker on the Realities of Aging: “I'm Not Delusional” [Allure]
• And: I Just Rewatched ‘Sex and the City’—Here’s How Adulthood Changed What I Think of the Series [The Everygirl] > Team Smith for the win!
• We are big bear fans in the Misadventures household as well, so I found this article very interesting: In the Northern Rockies, grizzly bears are on the move [HCN]
• Gen X Is in Charge. Don't Make a Big Deal About It. [NY Times]

Watching | Strange New Worlds

We are all about Star Trek chez Misadventures! We have watched and re-watched the various series countless times. Traditionally, my favorite has always been Next Generation. For Mr. Misadventures he toggles back and forth between Voyager and Enterprise. Now we are both in agreement, Strange New Worlds is IT. Season 2 just finished and we absolutely loved it.

We also re-watched 1883, 1923 and am now starting Yellowstone. We only watched until Season 3 the first go around, so we will be catching up on the seasons we missed after we re-watch 1-3. Needless to say, I am now a big Taylor Sheridan fan and that includes Lioness!

Also watched:

• Finished Hijack, and started season 2 of Foundation (although I will have to re-watch it because, from week to week, I don't remember many details of this complicated story.

Can't Wait to Watch:

• Finally, the flight to Paris is less than a month away and I can watch And Just Like That!
• Barbie when it comes to streaming

Reading | Famous For Living

I haven't done a lot of reading as of late. I finished Same Time Next Summer (it was a fast read) and started in on Famous for a Living. I skipped over Meet Me at the Lake which I will get to. Has anyone read Daisy Jones & The Six? I am worried there is too much hype around it.

Francophile alert: Martin Walker, author of the beloved Detective Bruno series set in the Perigord region of France has a new book coming out August 29th! I already pre-ordered it! A Chateau Under Siege is the 16th book in the series.

I also added several new books to my Frenchie Finds Summer edition if you are interested.

Up Next…

• Tom Lake
• Lessons in Chemistry

Best Bite | Going bananas!

I wasn't a big banana eater growing up. Which is probably why my mother made a lot of banana bread. No complaints because I loved banana bread! As an adult, I would make it all the time. Thankfully when I started dating Mr. Misadventures, he loved it too! When we were RVing for 18 months we didn't have an oven and my mom would bake us loaves and send them to us when we stayed in a location that longer than a week!

True story. Bananas are good for you but they have a lot of carbs so I rarely eat them. But I love banana flavor food which there was very little of when it comes to low-carb picks. Now I am 2 times happy as we have discovered 2 low-carb banana treats that make me so happy! Oikos Triple Zero Banana Crème yogurt is to die for, I absolutely love it! And since I love bananas with chocolate, I throw in a tablespoon of Whole Foods 365 zero-sugar chocolate chips.

The other one is banana-flavored IQBAR Brain and Body Keto Protein Bars. This is the closest I can get to banana bread with my low-carb lifestyle. And it thrills me!

Now for camping when I am hiking a few miles, I can also have Wild Zora's Baked Banana Bread Instant Grain-Free Cereal – yum! Not low carb, but not a ridiculous amount of carbs either. The baked apple and carrot cake ones are delicious too.

Working On | Our Trip Plan

By the time this monthly post comes around again, I will be in Paris! We will be in France, and I will have a lot more time off than usual. For the most part, when we visit for a month or more, I work at the same time. (My day is full-time remote, and I can do it from anywhere.) We get up early and enjoy the spot we are in until noon, and then I start my work day.

This time, I am taking days off every week sprinkled throughout the trip, should be fun!

This is what our trip looks like:

• One week in Paris
• 3 days in Chantilly/Senlis
• One week in Fontainebleau
• One week in Loire Valley
• 4 days in Vichy
• 1 day in Versailles

New Things I Am Loving This Month

For my trip to Paris…

Published or Updated this month

• NEW: Where to Find the Best Chocolate in Paris
• NEW: The Best Chocolate Tours in Paris for Chocolate-Lovers
• NEW: The Best Hot Chocolate in Paris
• Updated: The French Edit is updated for this week with Francophile delights for the closet!
• Updated: My Picks for the Best Eco-Friendly Beauty Products for Travel & Home
• Updated: J'adore: Camping Gear
• Updated: Frenchie Finds Summer 2023
• Updated: Your Guide to the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris
• Updated: Your Guide to Parc Monceau Paris
• Updated: Your Guide to Parc des Buttes Chaumont
• Updated: Paris’s Luxurious Relais Christine
• Updated: Relais Christine Hotel – A Parisian Garden Paradise
• Updated: What to Wear in Paris: Tips for How to Pack for Paris
• Updated: What to Wear in Paris in the Fall: Tips for Packing for Paris in the Fall
• Updated: The Best Bags for Walking Around Paris

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Instead, I decided to run an anniversary sale on everything in Le Shop, something I haven’t done before.

I have two new physical products that I added to the shop. I went back into the vault and am selling several À-la-carte Maps that I have held onto for years. I have maps for Barcelona, Vancouver, and San Francisco left.

I also have an exclusive Twigs Paper Paris Notebook. This eco-friendly notebook was only available as part of a 3-notebook travel set with London and New York. But I worked out a deal with Twigs, bought out their stock of Paris, and have the last ones that will ever be available.

Now, onto July and what's happening in the Misadventures world.

Monthly Musings | Barbie

So let's talk about Barbie. As a little girl, I was actually very much a tomboy so I didn't play with a lot of Barbies. I was more the Bionic Woman, Wonder Woman, or Sabrina of the Charlie's Angels doll kind of girl. The new Barbie movie was just a blip in my peripheral vision when it comes to summer movies.

But then I came across this Architectural Digest video in which Margot Robbie tours the inside of the Barbie Dreamhouse and I found it fascinating. I always appreciate when directors such as Greta Gerwig go to obsessive steps to get a series or a film absolutely perfect when it comes to costumes and the set.

Time wrote about how Barbie came to life. The New York Times (paywall) published a great article on the history of the Barbie Dreamhouse as well. The Week wrote about the evolution of Barbie's design over the years. Finally, take a look at every Barbie-Inspired look from Margot Robbie's Press Tour.

And relating it all back to France, the team that approved the French movie poster for Barbie was probably not a native speaker, or at least someone familiar with a lot of slang as is explained in this article from InStyle magazine: The French ‘Barbie' Poster Is Going Viral For a Very Raunchy Double Entendre – hilarious!

More French ties:

More musings:

• My article about 5 things that Scarlett O'Hara taught me about life was mentioned in a Movie Web article.
• I really enjoyed this article that takes a look at what the Friends Finale got wrong.
• This is SO heartwarming! The Restaurant of Mistaken Orders .

Watching | Apple TV+

Every week we watch the new episodes released from our favorite French series on MHz Choice. (They are definitely losing money with us!) We burn through them very quickly. We only watch the French series, but they have series from all over the world.

I mentioned a few times in my Frenchie Friday email that we were watching Walking Dead as we had stopped at season 8 the first time around. We now remember why we stopped watching. And we have stopped watching again. We stopped watching at season 7. Season 7 episode 1 to be precise. The violence in an already violent show got to be grotesque and left a bad taste in our mouths.

That caused us to flip over to Apple TV+ by which time the entire first season of Silo was complete. We gobbled that up and moved on to Hijack which we are painstakingly watching from week to week. I hate watching shows this way as I prefer to have all the episodes in a season available to watch, but it is what it is.

We then watched Extrapolations which I loved. It was really interesting to see the world a few decades at a time. I kept imagining how old I would be and what I would be doing in the situations presented in the series. The last episode ends in 2070 when I would be 100 years old!

We are now re-watching season 1 of Foundation in preparation for season 2.

Also watched:

• Re-watched Eiffel (available with Amazon Prime) which we saw in France when it originally came out. It is a beautiful and poignant story about Gustave Eiffel during the time he was building the Eiffel Tower and once you see what the tower represents at the end, you can never unsee it.
• Movie-wise we watched Fast X, Guardians of the Galaxy 3, and Kandahar.

Can't Wait to Watch:

• Mission Impossible 6, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
• I am waiting until season 2 of Strange New Worlds is complete to watch
• Samsies for Just Like That are complete as I will take it with me on the plane to Paris.
  • If you are a fan of SATC, you might enjoy this article about Aiden.
  • Loved this article too: And Just Like That finally remembers what made Sex and the City great

Reading | Same Time Next Summer

I hope to finish this book and then start and finish Meet Me at the Lake this week while on vacation. Easy-breezy summer reading.

I added several new books to my Frenchie Finds Summer edition if you are interested.

Up Next…

• Famous for a Living
• Lessons in Chemistry

Best Bite | Fresh Summer Salad with Tomatoes + Peaches

Back in this neck of the woods, peach season and tomato season are well underway and we are enjoying the fruits of the North Carolina summer. I have already made my SALAD several times!

Last month I raved about the new Atkins Creamy Root Beer Float and wouldn’t you know it was included during the Amazon Prime days so I grabbed a case because I do not know if it is going to be a long-term flavor or not. I hope it is!

Working On | Paris Letters

Today I launched a new project called Paris Letters. I have teamed up with a wonderful new illustrator and created this monthly subscription. Each month you will receive a beautiful 3-or-4 page illustrated letter from Paris. It’s a way to dream and enjoy Paris every month.

Feeling | Excited

This week we are heading to the Roan Mountains in Tennessee to do some camping and hiking. 

We were supposed to be in Paris in March but the retirement restructuring demonstrations changed our plans, so now we will be leaving in mid-September. But from January to September is a long time without vacation when you work in corporate America, as I do.

Let’s hope it is a little cooler than it has been in the Raleigh-Durham area recently. Or what my Mom is experiencing in Phoenix.

We have been doing 7-9 mile hikes every weekend and 5-mile hikes during the week. We are building up our endurance for some longer hikes we are doing in the Southwest at the end of the year.

A month in France will also be good training! You can walk 10 miles in a single day in Paris without blinking an eye!

That’s my month, what’s CURRENTLY going on with you?

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Holy crap it is past mid-June! For one I cannot believe it. And secondly, I was supposed to be publishing my Currently post earlier in the month. All the best intentions…

I had a wonderful business trip to Boston at the end of May. It was the first time seeing a lot of my colleagues since the Queen came to town (Explanation of the name in April 2020 Currently. ) and it was a busy week filled with customer interactions and meals with friends. BUT it was freeeeeezing! Who knew?

I came home for a week and spent the first week of June in Phoenix visiting my Mom. The weather was in the 100's all week! I stayed working on East Coast hours which meant my days started around 5:00 am, but that meant I was done by 2:00 pm and I enjoyed late afternoon outings and multiple Mexican dinners out.

My mom flew back to Raleigh with me and she was here this week for a visit chez nous. We have been super lucky with the weather so far. The temps are getting up into the 90s some days, but we have had little humidity. I will take it and not complain!

June is mommy bear season in Pocosin and Alligator River, so Mr. Misadventures has been out and about looking for cubs. The Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge is on the way to the Outer Banks, so if you are heading to the beaches, consider stopping by. We also went in May when the spring flowers were still blooming, so pretty!

Peach season started and we picked up our first batch at the farmer's market, along with the last of the strawberries. Thumbs up on the berries. As for the peaches, my enthusiasm got the best of them and they weren't as sweet, so I will have to wait a couple of weeks. I am super anxious to start making my Fresh Summer Salad with Tomatoes + Peaches.

Now, onto June and what's happening in the Misadventures world.

Watching | Alice Nevers

This is another MHz crime series. When it first came out I watched the first 20 minutes and thought, nah, this chick (Marine Delterme) is unbelievable as a judge. But then we burned through our usual series and we decided to give it another chance. It is fun and quirky.

Also watched:

• Top Chef: I watched Season 19 and most of Season 20. I loved seeing the scenes in Tucson. The food scene in Tucson is extraordinary. Season 20 of Top Chef is international starting in London and ending in Paris. Can't wait to get to that part!

• John Wick 4: Well. The fight scenes were too long, but it was typical John Wick. I was disappointed that in a scene where a radio DJ was speaking to the network, the DJ called Paris the City of Lights, a common mistake, really shouldn't they have done their research? It is City of Light.

• Fast X: I am a huge fan of the franchise and Mr. Misadventures and I watch them over and over. I still think Fast 9 was ridiculous, but whatever. I can't say I loved the first part (of 3) of the end, but the 2 surprises at the end of the movie reeled me in and I will absolutely watch the next one!

Can't Wait to Watch:

• Mission Impossible 6, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
• And Just Like That Season 2 which. I will be saving up for the plane ride to Paris in September

Reading | Same Time Next Summer

Summer reading is on deck! I picked up Same Time Next Summer with the intention of reading it on the plane to Phoenix, but then…Top Chef…so I never got started! There are several books in my Frenchie Finds Summer edition that I will be getting to as well.

Up Next…

• Famous for a Living
• Meet Me at the Lake

Best Bite | Atkins Creamy Root Beer Float

I cannot tell you how EXCITED I am about this discovery! My family loved making root beer floats (or going to A&W when we lived in a state that had them) and they make me super nostalgic. I haven't had one in years and have pondered trying to make a low-carb version with low-carb ice cream and diet root beer.

Now I don't have to because Atkins has worked their magic and created a very low-carb version of this American classic and it is so darn good! Zero aftertaste, all root beer taste. This is my new go-to treat! And one I have all to myself! The French really don't have a root beer equivalent so Mr. Misadventures is not a fan, but he sees it as a bonus as he can count on me not stealing his dark chocolate royale ones!

You can really have a lot of fun with these. Throw them into a blender with Atkins Protein Cookies, Atkins Snack Bars (our current favorite is the Caramel Chocolate Nut Roll), Atkins Endulge Peanut Butter Cups (they are 1 carb each so I eat 2 at a time), or their Atkins Endulge Dark Chocolate Peppermint Patties to make amazing milkshakes! Or just eat them standalone as I often do and they are definitely always in my travel bag!

Working On | Le Shop + More

I launched Le Shop in May and am continuing to add more items all the time. Free stuff too! This month I added 5 different colors of an H2 2023 Calendar Blue Second Half (July – Dec) 2023 Calendar and Planner: light blue, pink, green, purple, and orange. They start in July and go through the first part of January 2024.

They are $4.99 each and you can find all the details about what is included in the pdf here.

I also added a Camping Trip Planner and a Road Trip Planner For Families & Activities For Kids set.

If you are signed up for my newsletter I also launched a weekly freebie that you might want to check out. Head to the bottom of my home page and hit the “SUBSCRIBE” button to get added today. If you are subscribed for all my Frenchie updates there is a new monthly surprise headed your way too! Make sure you are subscribed by June 23rd to get the first “one.”

Lastly, I am trying out a new weekly French edit with all my Frenchie fashion picks. I am playing around with a new tool so sorry if it is wonky to begin with.

Feeling | Like I Need a Vacation

Mama needs a vacation and a digital detox! Because of all the strike drama in Paris in March, our spring vacation was postponed and it's been a while since Mr. Misadventures and I had a break. We are heading out camping for a week in July and I will have limited cell signal. I am not complaining!

Published or Updated this month

• NEW: Frenchie Finds Summer 2023
• NEW: Travel Essentials: Travel Gear, Travel Accessories + More
• Easy Chicken Salad Recipe: French Chicken Salad
• The Best Ice Cream in Phoenix
• Paris for the First Time

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The post Currently June 2023 appeared first on Misadventures with Andi.

This July, Misadventures with Andi will celebrate its 15th blogiversary. I have been doing the Currently series since 2014 and have decided to change when I publish this post. Instead of doing it at the end of the month in a recap, I will do it towards the beginning of the month which feels more in line with what I am CURRENTLY doing. I don't know why I overlooked that before, but it struck me recently and I am making the change!

We haven't done much traveling of late, but not for lack of trying. For the past 6 weeks, it has been gorgeous during the week, but rainy on the weekend. So many camping trips canceled! We were all set to go to the mountains this weekend, but guess what? Yeah, you guessed it. Rain. So now we are shifting to the coast. We'll have a better chance of seeing black bears (at Alligator River) and cubs than the mountains anyway.

I will be heading to Boston the third week of May for a trade show for my day job. Haven't been in a while and am looking forward to seafood, Boston cream pie anything, and seeing colleagues I haven't seen since the pandemic.

This week we completed reserving our vacation plans for the remainder of the year. We have a month in France, 2 months in the Southwest, and now time in Maine. I will also be heading to Phoenix in June. Not being able to go to France in March was a bummer, so when we can't travel, we plan!

Now, onto May and what's happening in the Misadventures world.

Watching | Transatlantic

Transatlantic (on Netflix) is the story of a group of Americans who rescued artists, writers, and other (mostly Jewish) refugees fleeing from Nazi Germany. The story takes place in Marseilles and its surroundings and is based on the 2019 novel, The Flight Portfolio. While I enjoyed this book (and the series) I much preferred The Postmistress of Paris book which is basically the same story. If you like historical fiction (specifically France during WWII), these 2 books along with Code Name Hélène are for you!

Also watched:

The Diplomat (loved), Mandalorian Season 3 (liked), and Seasons 4 and 5 of The Last Kingdom, and the movie The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die, which completed the story. Ah Uhtred, couldn't get enough of you!

Can't Wait to Watch:

• John Wick 4 – lots of it was filmed in Paris – streaming May 23!
• And Just Like That Season 2 coming in June, we will turn HBO Max back on and also watch The Last of Us.

Reading | Swan Light

Now I just started this book so I don't have much to say yet, but Swan Light popped up on my radar and has 2 intertwined stories weaved around a lighthouse in Newfoundland. The writing is evocative and reinforces my wish to travel to this part of the world, something I have wanted to do for a while!

Up Next…

• Mastering the Art of French Murder (came out in April)
• Meet Me at the Lake (came out yesterday!)

Best Bite | Keto Blueberry Nut Granola

I have been eating a bowl of NuTrail's Keto Blueberry Nut Granola Healthy Breakfast Cereal every single morning! It is low carb, has a wonderful balance of sweetness, and pairs perfectly with almond milk. I add a teaspoon of chia seeds and collagen as well. You get the best deal on the blueberry at Costco. We have purchased a few other flavors on Amazon and Walmart carries them.

Working On | 2024

With 2023 travel planned, we set our eyes on 2024. With the Olympics in Paris, we will for sure head to France, we will do another big trip to the Southwest, and we are also planning another long (4-6 weeks) in Portugal, focused in the north. We live and work to go on the next trip. One day we will slow down, but not yet!

Curious: How far out do you plan trips?

Feeling | Cautious + Sad

I think many of you know that I have a day job. Misadventures with Andi is my passion project. By day, I am a corporate gal who has been working in Corporate America for more than 30 years, mainly in tech, and mainly in Silicon Valley. I have seen everything and experienced all the ups and downs, but some things you just don't get used to.

The current company I work for has been around for 30 years and had its first official layoff including on the team I manage, since then, it has been stressful and sad, but I have faith the company continues to have a bright future. However, prior to my sabbatical, I worked for First Republic Bank for 3 years. I built an incredible team from scratch with extremely talented people. I am sad to see the impact of their seizure and sale on so many good people who worked there and who I worked with. My hearts are with them.

Loving | Kristin Luna's Africa

Frankly, Africa isn't top on my list of places to visit. Of course, I would love to see the wildlife, but I get mentally tired when I think about planning a trip, as it does require a good amount of planning to get it right. Or you could just duplicate the trip that the amazing Kristin Luna of Camels & Chocolate recently did to Namibia. If you aren't following her on Instagram, you should.

I have so much respect for Kristin. First, she is a talented writer, but most importantly she is a good person. She has an incredible amount of integrity, has never given in to the hype, is completely transparent about her life and travel, and shares what she learns so that others can have a good experience.

All that to say, if I could have Kristin Luna's Africa, I'd take it!

Published or Updated this month

• NEW: The Best Food Markets in Paris
• NEW: Find Your Paris Hotel with Eiffel Tower View Here!
• Nishiki Market Kyoto: Paradise of Seasonal Food
• Wearing a Kimono in Kyoto: Kyoto’s Kimono Culture
• Pasteis de Nata and Pasteis de Belem – A Taste of Heaven in Lisbon
• Procacci Florence
• My Review: Florence Food Tour with Context Travel
• The French Tuck
• Baguette to Bistro: Context Travel Paris Food Tour

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The post Currently May 2023 appeared first on Misadventures with Andi.

I know that the weather has become hyper-regional and I feel for all my friends in California, personally, I feel like a ping pong ball. One day I am wearing 3 layers of clothing and the next I am practically in shorts. It has been back and forth, back and forth and I will definitely regret saying this, but I wish it would just get hot already!

We went camping the first weekend of March and it was great to be outside, even if it was cold. I love camping at the beach in the off-season! We even spotted a bear that was already out and about at Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge and we hope to see mama and cubs in the next few weeks.

We have also had our eyes glued to the French news watching all the happenings in Paris. We thank ourselves daily for changing our minds about our trip we had booked for March, which is now set for September because everything is literally on fire!

Besides the large-scale demonstrations that have seen more than a million people hit the street, all public transportation has been affected, and even if you thought you might get around it by renting a car, the refineries are blocked, so there is no gas and you aren't going to get far. (We experienced since during our trip last October and it is not fun. Good thing we had plenty of cider and Calvados to make us forget!)

I have been keeping up with Paris weekly in my French Friday email on Fridays, so if you are not subscribed then find one of those floating windows as you scroll down this post and register today!

Now, onto March and what's been happening in the Misadventures world.

Watching | 1923

1893 was so impressive, the narration really got to me, it was beautiful. I waited impatiently for the entire first season of 1923 to be out before sitting down to watch it. We finished it last weekend and it has been haunting me ever since. I find my mind wandering back to replay scenes and think about what's next for some of the storylines. I am hooked.

Also watched:

Picard, yes! After pestering Mr. Misadventures for long enough, I finally got him to watch Picard. We started watching season 1 in 2020, but only made it through the first 3 episodes before the hubby tapped out. But I convinced him to give it another try and we are almost done with season 2.

A Man Named Otto which I loved, it was such a great story! The French series Mongeville and The Traveler on MHz and Women at War on Netflix (love Audrey Fleurot!).

Can't Wait to Watch:

• John Wick 4 – lots of it was filmed in Paris!
• A film from Omay Sy Tirailleurs (read about it in English here).

Reading | Vanessa Yu's Magical Paris Tea Shop

This is such a cute read. I will finish it this weekend and I enjoyed the escape. In Vanessa Yu's Magical Paris Tea Shop, Vanessa is clairvoyant but it isn't exactly something she appreciates. She ends up leaving the San Francisco Bay Area to follow her aunt to Paris to work on controlling her visions and it is all meet-cute from there.

Also read:

The latest JD Robb detective Eve Dallas book, Desperation in Death: An Eve Dallas Novel. This series never disappoints. 50+ books in and JD Robb still manages to write about intriguing crimes. I can't wait for either Dallas or Peabody to eventually become pregnant while fighting crime!

Up Next…

• Cara Black's latest! Night Flight to Paris
• Mastering the Art of French Murder (out in April)
• Meet Me at the Lake (out in May)

Best Bite | Keto Bagels

Mr. Misadventures and I are back to our low-carb lifestyle so that means being on the lookout for new products – the industry has exploded and there are so many more choices than when we first went low-carb in 2017. One of the things I get a craving for from time to time is a bagel. I tried bagels a few years ago but they weren't great.

This month we tried ThinSlim Foods keto bagels and they are a very good alternative to the real thing. I slap on some cream cheese, smoked salmon, capers, and a good dousing of Trader Joe's Everything Bagel seasoning et voilà!

Also tried out SOLA's non-GMO, keto-certified golden wheat bread and it is perfect for sandwiches. Mr. Misadventures does make his own low-carb bread, but this one is super handy (and lower-carb) in an emergency. Still absolutely loving Two Good yogurt which I throw in some Whole Foods 365 sugar-free dark chocolate baking chips and wow, what a treat!

Working On | Le Shop

I had so many problems with my previous e-commerce vendor (9 times out of 10 they would not send the download URLs for my Paris Planner!) so I moved everything onto the Misadventures with Andi site and built a “real” store. There are FREE items and paid items and I will be continuing to add planners and guides, and more!

Feeling | Grateful

I have had so many wonderful readers reach out as of late to ask questions about Paris and I am so grateful to be able to share advice based on my experiences with traveling to and staying in Paris more than 50 times. I am blessed that people send me emails and ask questions!

Thank you for that and keep them coming!

Photo of the Month | Jambu Spring

For the 11th season in a row, I am again partnering with Jambu to showcase their Spring 2023 styles, this time with a particular focus on their eco-friendly, sustainable footwear. I have an entire eco-friendly products guide that I am publishing the first week of April to celebrate Earth Day, but this photo is a sneak peek!

Published or Updated this month

• Frenchie Finds Spring 2023
• The Rooster on French Jerseys
• Things to do in Sao Miguel in the Off-Season
• The Best Macarons in Paris
• Phrygian Cap: The Paris Olympics Mascot
• A Paris Picnic: 9 of the Best Picnic Places in Paris
• What to Wear in Paris in Spring: Tips for Packing for Paris in the Spring (+ Packing List!)
• 7 Things to Bring on a Trip to Phoenix
• Paris in May: 2023
• Paris for the First Time
• Paris Travel Guide (2023): What to Expect
• French Culture – French Dog Names
• Hot Air Balloon Festival: Where to Find Them Around the World
• 5 Things Eat Pray Love Taught Me About Life

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The post Currently March 2023 appeared first on Misadventures with Andi.

I'm back! Well, technically from a digital perspective, I didn't go anywhere, but I am now back in Raleigh after 2 months in Portugal. I am happy to be back in my big bed, big shower, and big monitors in my home office!

I hope everyone had a happy and healthy holiday and that you are ready for 2023!

Our trip was about reminding us why this blog is called misadventures. Of course, we are veteran travelers and have been out of our comfort zone plenty of times. Things happen to us all the time in France but we have lived there, we visit almost every year (even if we are visiting different regions) so we know the language, and the culture, and we have lots of experience to fall back on.

Spending 2 months in Portugal was different.

We don’t know the language (beyond simple greetings and phrases) and we don’t know the culture. So when things didn’t add up and we didn’t know why, we got awfully good at improvising, but after 8 weeks we found ourselves a bit tired of doing so. Truth.

Getting home was the worst and a fitting end given the overall trip we had. To start our trip (back in November) we spent the first part in the Azores. We flew from (Raleigh to) Boston to the Azores and then to Lisbon. Going home we had to do the same. Lisbon to the Azores to Boston (and back to Raleigh).

But. It didn't go as planned!

We took off from Lisbon. We landed in the Azores.

But we landed on the wrong island!

Due to very bad weather, we were diverted from Sao Miguel (island) to Terceira (island). We waited an hour for conditions around Sao Miguel to improve and we attempted another pass (the islands are 20 minutes apart by air). Our second attempt at landing at Punta Delgado airport failed and the plane turned around and headed back to Lisbon!

Then total chaos and disorganization! We waited for our luggage, waited for a bus, waited for a hotel room (that was paid for), and waited for a pizza delivery (that was not paid for), as there was nothing else open, and finally, put our heads on the pillow at 1 am.

We received no communications from SATA except a text message (to me only) that indicated we had been rebooked on a flight at 6 am to Sao Miguel but no flight from Sao Miguel to Boston.

Then Mr. Misadventures’s SATA app showed that we were booked on a TAP Airlines flight for 11:30 am. My app did not update (and we never got an email). We had no other info.

We had been business class (a splurge we made to celebrate a milestone wedding anniversary) because our past 2 international trips had been full of drama and we wanted to be able to adjust on the fly without issue, but we had no idea that we would be rebooked on a completely different airline and that our business class status did not transfer with us. So we flew in coach. Which in and of itself is not a problem, I do it all the time, but I paid for business class…

We also had to eat our hotel room charge expense in Boston. Initially, SATA had changed our flight to Boston to arrive after the last flight to Raleigh so we had booked a hotel but by the time we knew we were not going to make it, the cancellation period had passed.

That’s the thing about travel. Sometimes, when it rains it pours! BUT still worth it in the grand scheme of things.

Now, onto January and what's been happening in the Misadventures world.

Watching | Rings of Power + more

We bit the bullet and watched the amazing Rings of Power. So good! I love seeing all the origin stories and was totally taken by surprise in the finale! But only 8 episodes? And now we have to wait until 2024 for season 2. Yuck!

We also watched Season 2 of Vikings Valhalla and it was a disappointment. It crawled at a snail's pace and not a lot was accomplished in their 8 episodes. I love the characters but am not impressed with this second season's storyline.

After reading (and loving!) the book, I decided to watch the film adaptation of Where the Crawdads Sing. The movie was good but didn’t convey the whole story or the emotion of the book which is par for the course with most books that become movies.

The film catalog on our TAP flight was interesting and I watched 2 films that I probably would never have seen otherwise. The first was Far from the Madding Crowd (odd title) which was predictable but well-acted. And the very surprising Blinded by the Light. It’s about a Pakistani boy in London’s discovery of Bruce Springsteen’s music and the subsequent impact it had on his life. It’s a true story and it was fun and poignant.

Mr. Misadventures stumbled upon an article about the Netflix series Kaleidoscope and was intrigued. The concept for the series was to, in theory, be able to watch the 8 episodes in any order. Each episode is color-coded and can be watched in any order (not including “Black”, the intro, and “White”, which was designed to be the finale).

Also watched: Jack Ryan season 3, and (French series) Mongeville.

Can't Wait to Watch:

• 1923, the continuation of 1883, and the prequel to Yellowstone. I am waiting for all the episodes to be released.
• The new film from Omay Sy Tirailleurs (read about it in English here).

Reading | The Summer I Turned Pretty

The Summer I Turned Pretty was lackluster. I realize that I am no longer a fan of YA. I don’t mind teen love but only when it’s part of a bigger story. But the way the book ends you have no choice but to go to book 2, It's Not Summer Without You, and that’s what I am doing. And since it is a 3 book series, We'll Always Have Summer will be after that.

I started Atomic Habits on our first flight to Sao Miguel (from Lisbon) but when I went to continue reading on our new flight the next day my iPad wouldn’t boot up, argh.

Up Next…

• The Paris Bookseller
• The latest JD Robb detective Eve Dallas book, Desperation in Death: An Eve Dallas Novel.
• On Purpose: The Busy Woman's Guide to an Extraordinary Life of Meaning and Success

Best Bite | Tempura Octopus

After a few disappointing days in Algarve and a train strike that prevented us from getting back to Lisbon, we rented a car and drove to the coast near Sintra where we had stayed the previous month. We ate dinner in the restaurant and had an amazing starter: tempura octopus!

It was melt-in-your-mouth tender with the lightest tempura I’ve ever had (and I’ve had a lot!). It may surprise you to learn that it was the Portuguese that brought this frying technique to Japan. Anyway, it was incredible.

Working On | Getting Rid of the “Portugal 7”

Losing the weight I gained by eating everything I wanted ( not so much the problem) while not being able to do the usual amount of walking up the Lisbon hills due to endless weeks of rain (the problem).

Now that we are back home, we have been walking every day and on the days we can't, I have dusted off the rowing machine.

Feeling | Optimistic

While the world seems to continue to find ways to baffle me every single day, I try to focus on what I can control. I feel optimistic about the goals I have set for myself for the year on a personal and professional level.

As I have always said happiness is something that has to be chosen, the pursuit is not a given, but it is well worth it. Here are some tips for cultivating positivity.

Photo of the Month | Last Day in Lisbon

The last 2 days we were in Lisbon it was sunny and beautiful. It was the Lisbon that we had experienced in January of 2022 when we stayed a month. We took advantage of the time to get out and walk, visit some sights, and soak up the last hours of our trip.

Published this month

• Vichy France: Queen of Spas and more
• Coco Chanel in Moulins
• Coco Chanel in Vichy
• 7-Day Paris Itinerary As A Solo Traveler
• Paris in 2023: What to Expect
• Frenchie Finds January 2023
• 10 French Lifestyle Tips To Steal For A Happier Life

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The post Currently January 2023 appeared first on Misadventures with Andi.

Well, wow. Where did 3 months go? I have never missed 2 months in a row of my Currently series, let alone 3! And I realize that a lot of friends and family get their “what’s Andi up to” news via this monthly post.

So what HAS Andi been up to (with Mr. Misadventures of course!)??

In mid-September we headed to France for a month. Our plan was to spend one week in Vichy and 3 weeks in Normandy (1 week in La Manche, 1 week in Calvados and 1 week in Côte Albâtre). But things did not go as planned.

We went to Vichy because my belle mère (mother-in-law) had been visiting us and we “escorted” her back home. We like Vichy (where she lives) and decided to stay the first week killing our jet lag, etc. I was working our entire trip so our mornings were spent wandering around and then I started my work day at 12/1 pm and continued until 8/9 pm in the evening. I have been doing this for years and it works brilliantly.

On the Saturday after our arrival, we were supposed to move on to Normandy but my MIL had a medical emergency and we stayed an extra week in Vichy. We used the extra time to visit a few spots in the Auvergne region as it is beautiful in the fall.

We took 3 days to cover everything we wanted to hit in La Manche (D-Day beaches, etc.) from our Airbnb in Calvados and then focused on the heart of apple, cider, calvados, and camembert country! We stayed in an adorable typical Norman-style house (which happened to be connected to Charlotte Corday) surrounded by cows and apple trees. Wasn’t great internet for working but it was lovely.

We moved on for our fourth and final week in France to the Côte Albâtre (alabaster coast). This is where you can find places like Etretat. There are miles and miles of white cliffs, beautiful views, and lots of hiking opportunities.

Air France gifted us with the return of direct flights between Paris and Raleigh and we got home in time to spend 36-hours at home doing laundry, etc before grabbing a plane on Sunday to Chicago for a trade show for work.

It was freezing but gorgeous and when I was speaking to dozens of customers I made sure I had plenty of Stan’s donuts which we discovered during our trip to Chicago in April. But this whirlwind week after traveling for a month was the reason there was no Currently for October.

In November, my Mom came to visit and we enjoyed mild weather that allowed us to enjoy our back porch in a manner we were not able to do the previous year. And just about 5 weeks to the day we flew home from France we hopped on a plane for Portugal.

First stop, 2 weeks of vacation in the Azores. We spent 10 days in Sao Miguel and 3 days in Terceira (you can check out my adventures on Instagram for the moment). We ate, drank, and explored. I wanted a break from my work and my blog so I unplugged except for working on my campaign for Jambu. Hence the reason there was no Currently in November.

We said good bye to the Azores (we will be back!) and headed to Lisbon where we are spending 6 weeks. I worked for 3 weeks nearly all of it in the rain. We only had a day or two where we could really get out and explore without getting drenched. Lisbon had more rain in one day (Tuesday, December 13) than they got in one month last year.

Speaking of last year, our time in Lisbon is very different than last year. We spent four weeks here starting December 30 through the end of January. At the time, PCR tests were still required to get in the country and masks were mandatory and frankly, tourists had not returned yet.

We basically had Lisbon to ourselves and blue skies too (although it was cold temperature wise). Now the tourists are back, even though it’s off-season and more people are just out and about in general. We have escaped the city 3 times so far. A weekend in Sintra, a weekend in Braga and a day trip to Coimbra.

I am now officially on vacation until January 9th and am going to soak it ALL up!

Now, onto December and what's been happening in the Misadventures world.

Watching | Emily in Paris S3

We finished it in 2 days. I will watch it again to document the film locations for my blog post. Seasons 1 and 2 are there and I will add Season 3. The outfits are even more over the top this season, Emily still continues to make faux pas and despite many of my expat friends in Paris hating it, I am entertained. Then again I am a huge fan of SATC which was just as crazy.

I will say that I didn't love the story line (what there is of it) but I am also not expecting a lot.

I also have 2 more episodes of House of Dragons to get through. Mr. Misadventures lost interest after episode 1 but I am determined to finish it! I finished season 6 of This is Us. Loved the show wasn't a huge fan of the last few episodes.

Can't Wait to Watch:

• 1923, the continuation of 1883 and the prequel to Yellowstone.
• Jack Ryan Season 3
• Vikings Vahalla Season 2!
• The new film from Omay Sy Tirailleurs (read about it in English here).

Reading | My Lisbon

I read Every Summer After very quickly and really liked it. It's a love story that takes place over decades. It isn't happy, it's gripping and an excellent read. I am in the middle of My Lisbon: A Cookbook from Portugal's City of Light which is a Portuguese cookbook with stories from the author, chef Nuno Mendes.

Up Next…

• The Summer I Turned Pretty, and Where the Crawdads Sing I got them all and they are teed up for my vacation.

Best Bite | Rice with Octopus

If I had said “everything in Portugal” you probably would have thrown a tomato at me, but it's true. It is hard to find a bad meal. We are eating so much octopus, squid, cod (and here), duck rice, and all the pastel de nata I can find. We also have discovered some new treats I will share soon.

This particular dish we had in Terceira at a small cafe called Verde Maçã. We had no idea that they were going to blow us away with this dish. It is so complex for such a simple dish and the octopus was prepared perfectly!

We went back the next stay as they offered American-style brunch and I had the delicious banana pancakes also pictured above.

Working On | 2023 Goals

I have a group of blogging friends that keep me honest. They have all been blogging for more than 10 years. I think I am the only one that has a day job and is not 100% focused on my blog so I try to keep up with these dynamic ladies and contribute the best I can. For our next mastermind, we will be discussing our goals for 2023 so I am currently working on them.

Feeling | Disappointed

The rain. Yuck. In reality, I love rain. BUT we have a very small condo in Lisbon and we need to get out in the mornings for some fresh air and exploration because as of noon every day I am stuck at a desk. The rain has dashed all our plans and it is a much different experience than last year. We have back up plans (museums, etc.) but I would love a few dry days!

(Not) Loving | My Time Constraints

I have SO many blog posts in the pipeline, just waiting to be polished up and published, but frankly, my day job is my first priority and it has been quite a roller coaster the last 6 months. I am hoping to get some done while on vacation here in Portugal. For example, if you subscribe to my updates you probably saw that it is raining the entire weekend of Christmas so guess what Mr. Misadventures and I are doing? Working on the blog!

Published in the last 3 months

• The Best Walking Shoes for Traveling Comfortably & Stylishly
• All About Camembert
• 42 Latte Recipes To Make At Home
• The History of the Breton Shirt

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The post Currently December 2022 appeared first on Misadventures with Andi.

Squeaking this one in on the very last day of August and good riddance. This just inches us that much closer to cooler weather and my trip to France 😉

This week is my father's birthday, it is the second one since he passed away last May and he was on my mind this week. Especially every time I eat an amazing North Carolina peach (which I often do in a salad with equally amazing North Carolina tomatoes) because he loved peaches but didn't get to try the ones I have locally here.

Now, onto August and what's been happening in the Misadventures world.

Watching | Vikings + Vikings Vahalla

This month was all about our Scandinavian friends who explored and raided the world! We started out by watching Vikings Vahalla which is well-filmed and has the potential to be really good. When we breezed through it, I mentioned to Mr. Misadventures that it was a spin-off of Vikings which I had tried to get him to watch when we lived in Phoenix.

So in we dove into the whole Viking experience and we finished the entire 6 seasons this month. Loved the first 3.5 seasons, not so much the last 2.5, but when you are that far invested, you just have to finish! We really enjoyed The Last Kingdom which ties into these 2 series well.

On the French side, my favorite coroner, Alexandra Ehle appeared for 2 90-minute mini-movies on MHZ via Amazon. The main character is Julie Depardieu and she is fantastic in this role. And the last season of Chérif (also on MHz) was released and we are gobbling it up each week.

Can't Wait to Watch:

• Top Gun Maverick – it's here! We have it now, but I have not watched it yet!
• Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris – probably this weekend.

Reading | To Kill A Troubadour

Bruno is back! The latest edition of Martin Walker's Bruno chief of police series To Kill A Troubadour was published this month and I am halfway through. It is the 15th book in the series and I want to live in St Denis in the Périgord region of France with Bruno and Balzac and be their friends!

After watching Viking Valhalla I am doing research on Emma of Normandy and bought the trilogy about her from Patricia Bracewell: Shadow on the Crown, The Price of Blood, and The Steel Beneath the Silk.

Also, one of the Airbnbs we rented in Normandy is called La Maison de Charlotte/Charlotte's House because of its association with Charlotte Corday. That reminded me of my Parisian pal Sarah Towle's app, Beware Mme (Madame) la Guillotine which I wrote about in 2011 and I re-purchased Sarah's book of the same name.

Up Next…

• Just out this month for Francophiles: A Waiter in Paris, Daughters of Paris, and 24 Hours in Paris.
• Seven Days in June, The Summer I Turned Pretty, Every Summer After, and Where the Crawdads Sing I got them all and they are teed up for upcoming vacation reading.

Check out

• My friend Leigh Wilson's Utah Day Trips book also came out at the end of July.
• The lovely Rebecca Rosenberg who wrote Champagne Widows also has a fantastic new book out Lavender Fields of America, a subject I am passionate about!

Best Bite | Wildgrain

[Gifted] I have never done this before. Two months in a row with the same best bite! But I just finished the last of my Wildgrain box and everything was so good. We ended with the sourdough walnut bread that we ate with French butter and oh la la!

Their fresh, clean ingredient breads go directly from the freezer to the oven – believe it!

Check out the Wildgrain Delivery Service! They have a selection of absolutely delicious bread, pastries, and pasta.

If you are interested in trying Wildgrain out, I've got a discount code for you: ANDI_FISHER, and the first 50 people to sign up using that code will get $30 off the first box + FREE Croissants in every box!

It is a subscription service that they make easily manageable. They warn you when a shipment is coming up, and allow you to skip months or cancel anytime. But why would you when you can have a monthly box of the good stuff that goes from box-to-freezer-to-oven-to-your-mouth in no time?

And unlike a lot of “frozen” foods, there are no preservatives. They are clean!

Do it for the free croissants FOR LIFE…

Working On | Tech Issues

The summer o'blogging ended on July 31st after writing 26 articles. The sad thing is I still have about that many in draft form! In August, I turned to technical issues working with Mr. Misadventures as well as the wonderful iMark interactive.

Feeling | Excited

We started our year in Lisbon leaving mid-January, did some island camping in early spring, hit Chicago for 4-days in April, and a week in Phoenix to help my Mom. Then summer hit and we have been sheltered from the sun without any travel. We backloaded practically all our travel in the last 4 months of the year!

We are heading to France in mid-September for a week in Vichy, and 3 weeks in Normandy, with some days along the Seine and Paris. Then I am home for 36 hours and off to Chicago again. Home for 3 weeks and we head to the Azores for 2 weeks of vacation (NO work!) and then 6 weeks in Lisbon coming home mid-January again.

Woot! I am EXCITED!

Loving | Truffles Trader Joe’s

It started with Trader Joe's Organic White Truffle Potato Chips (you don't have to live near a Trader Joe's you can get them on Amazon!) which we took camping with us and went down so well with a Corona Premiere low-carb beer. Then it was their truffle ketchup which is absolutely delicious with just the right amount of truffle (and it is low-carb!). Now if they would just bring back their truffle butter I would be a happy girl!

I am not a crazy fan of truffles, but I do love food items that have just a hint (beware the chips have a lot, I only eat a few at a time!) of truffles. I rarely go to Costco but they have a great gouda with truffles there are well!

Every time I eat something with truffles I am taken back to my all-truffle meal in Italy, wow that was amazing!

Published in August

I didn't write much new content (see note in the “Working On” section) but I contributed to 3 other round-up articles:

• Salad Nicoise Recipe
• Weekend trips from Paris
• Must See & Famous Landmarks in California: Bucket list
• Warm Winter Vacations in the USA to Escape the Cold

That’s my month, what’s CURRENTLY going on with you?

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The post Currently August 2022 appeared first on Misadventures with Andi.

I am happy to report that July flew by because frankly, the weather is so sucky literally everywhere in the world, and I just want summer to be OVER!

For the last 10 days it has rained every single day, not for long, but enough to knock the power out several times. I don't even reset the clocks on our microwave, stove, etc. because, why bother? We have gotten to the point that we start going around unplugging major appliances so as to not burn the circuits out. Sometimes the power goes out when there is nothing but thunder, I just don't get it!

I spent a lot of time indoors. We did less walking because even early in the morning it is hot and heavy. And I didn't do even one rowing workout. Too hot. But I did drink a lot of low-carb margaritas, so there is that. Crook & Marker low carb margaritas for the win!

We added 2 more farmer's markets into our rotation and I am eating North Carolina peaches and tomatoes many times a week, including my tomato and peach salad with goat cheese, try it!

Now, onto July and what's been happening in the Misadventures world.

Watching | Terminal List

I love military action films and the Terminal List was very well done. Chris Pratt did a really good job and I think it was the first time I've seen him in something where he wasn't a smartass! On the other hand, we watched the last Jurrasic Park and it was lackluster. Pretty bummed Omar Sy (of Lupin fame) didn't have a bigger part. The story wasn't that great.

We are re-watching Engrenage (Spiral in English) on MHz (which you can get through Amazon Prime) – it is a very gritty Paris police series. There are new series and new seasons of shows that we love or look very interesting coming in the next month, so looking forward to more fresh French content.

Can't Wait to Watch:

• Top Gun Maverick – counting the days until it streams!
• My donkey, my lover, and I – fans of Call My Agent will enjoy seeing Noemie in her Cesar-winning role

Reading | The Paris Apartment

I breezed through American Royals III: Rivals by Katharine McGee and I am so glad that there seems to be at least one other book coming. I also finished Dinner for One: How Cooking in Paris Saved Me from Sutanya Dacres.

I am still reading The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley. I haven't read as much as I wanted to the last month, so I will attempt to finish it in August.

Up Next…

• My friend Kristin read and recommends Seven Days in June, she selects good books so I picked it up and look forward to getting into it.
• I also ordered The Summer I Turned Pretty because the main actress in the new series is from the next town over from me and the local news had a lot of interviews with her so I thought I would check it out.
• Every Summer After – reminds me of 28 Summers.
• Where the Crawdads Sing – takes place in North Carolina so I feel like I need to read it!

Best Bite | Wildgrain

[Gifted] Fresh, clean ingredient bread that goes from freezer to oven to my mouth? Oui! For Mr. Misadventures and I, bread is our “cheat food.” We love bread, but with our low-carb lifestyle, we don't eat it every day.

When we do eat it, it's gotta be good. We live in the boonies and while we have access to bakeries, they are a 45-minutes to an hour away and we can't always get bread when the mood strikes, or my tomato and peach salad screams for it!

The solution? Wildgrain Delivery Service! They have a selection of absolutely delicious bread, pastries, and pasta. Croissants, sourdough, oh maman, they are good! Just stash them in your freezer and when you want something, pop it in the oven et voilà!

Do you know anyone who doesn't like the smell of baking bread? Yay, me either.

If this sounds like your idea of a dreamy situation, then try Wildgrain out. I've got a discount code for you: ANDI_FISHER and the first 50 people to sign up using that code will get $30 off the first box + FREE Croissants in every box!

It is a subscription service that they make easily manageable. They warn you when a shipment is coming up, and allow you to skip months or cancel anytime. But why would you when you can have a monthly box of the good stuff that goes from box-to-freezer-to-oven-to-your-mouth in no time?

And unlike a lot of “frozen” foods, there are no preservatives. They are clean!

But if I were you, I'd do it for the free croissants…oh la la!

Working On | Finalizing France

We will be in France for 4 weeks mid-September through mid-October and we are finalizing our plans for our day-to-day adventures. I will be working, so we will have from early morning to lunch to explore before I have to come back to hop on the computer. I will take a day here and there for longer excursions and have the weekends as well.

We will be in Vichy 1 week and Normandy 3 weeks in 3 different spots and of course a petit coucou to Paris.

Feeling | Loved

Thanks to everyone who sent warm wishes for my 14th blog birthday. I shared 14 blogging and life lessons I've learned over the past 14 years and got a lot of messages from readers which is wonderful!

Favorite Photo | Summer Shoes from Jambu

I have worked with Jambu shoes since 2019. I have worked with them for the spring and fall seasons every year. This was the first year that they also asked me to work with them for the summer season and I had a great time exploring the North Carolina Botanical Garden with some of their seasonal models.

Loving | Jon Stewart's Persistence

I applaud Jon Stewart for all the visibility he has brought to the veteran's bill that was passed in June and then unpassed due. His speeches have shared his sense of frustration, helplessness, and disbelief that people who have served their country in the Armed Forces are unable to get the proper medical care for conditions they experience due to their service.

As the daughter of a soldier who experienced multiple ailments and passed away due to multiple conditions and diseases that he procured due to his exposure to Agent Orange in the Vietnam War, of which not all of them are officially acknowledged, I have to say bravo, Jon Steward, bravo.

Published in July

• Pont des Arts in Paris
• 14th Arrondissement Guide
• Marie Antoinette + Let Them Eat Cake
• Your Guide to Parc des Buttes Chaumont
• Parks, Gardens, and (Green) Squares in Paris
• My Picks for the Best Summer Shoes 2022
• Things To Do In Downtown Tucson
• J’adore – Cool Things for Hot Sleepers
• J’adore: Camping and Road Trip Meals, Snacks, and Drinks
• My Staycation Ideas For You!
• Fresh Summer Salad with Tomatoes + Peaches
• Blogging & Life Lessons: The 14 Things That Blogging for 14 Years Has Taught Me

That’s my month, what’s CURRENTLY going on with you?

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The post Currently July 2022 appeared first on Misadventures with Andi.

I spent most of June indoors. Every weekend was dedicated to catching up on dozens of blog posts in draft (check out the giant lists of posts I published at the end of this post). I made a commitment to finish my articles from my last trip to France and Portugal before my next trip to France and Portugal this fall! That's what happens when you have a full-time job and a full-time passion!

Don't feel too bad for me as it has been horribly hot and humid and I planned to use the horrible weather to get a leg up on writing so that when the weather turns nice again we can get the hell outside!

Summer has brought summer storms and the power grid here in North Carolina (as in much of the East Coast) is a complete joke! We had the power go out for 10 hours one Friday night this month and I thanked the Universe for our new Generark Solar Generator which kept us (reasonably) cool without A/C powering our fan. We used it for small appliances as well!

We also picked up another new device, a portable car jump starter battery pack, after our truck battery died twice. We only have 1 car, live out in the boonies, and can't risk that happening again. It worked so brilliantly that it is a new addition to our essential gear for camping and road trips.

Lastly, there are no words to describe the shock, shame, and anger I feel to be living in a country that rolled back its laws protecting a woman's right to choose. I am at a time in my life when the window for me to have children has come and gone, but I have nieces, I have colleagues, and I have empathy for women from different socio and economic backgrounds who now have this to contend with as well. No words.

North Carolina peaches and tomatoes are where I am currently finding solace.

Now, onto June and what's been happening in the Misadventures world.

Watching | SciFi and 1883!

We are voraciously watching Star Trek Strange New Worlds, a series that feels very Star Trek-ky. I love Captain Pike and Ethan Peck's Spock is perfect! On a similar note, Obi-Wan was well done. But the show that stole my heart this past month was 1883.

First off, anything with Sam Elliott is going to be watched. (Yes, I even tortured myself with more-than-one-too-seasons of the Ranch just to see him!) But the story and writing were brilliant. Raw. The violence was a reflection of the brutality of the time and not the gratuitous violence that I sometimes think Yellowstone has.

Elsa's monologues were a poignant narrative that pulled me in.

I started watching Julia on the plane to Phoenix in May, but then Mr. Misadventures kept looking over my shoulder in keen interest he had not displayed when I mentioned wanting to watch it (I love Julia!) so I hit the pause button until we could watch it together which we did this month. I immensely enjoyed it, even though it focused on her post-Paris life (you can still read about her Paris life here) and I want more!

Can't Wait to Watch:

• Top Gun Maverick
• Top Chef Season 19
• Season 4 of Yellowstone

Reading | Paris Books

The thing about so many people around the world loving and living in Paris is that there is never a shortage of books! I am working my way through the Cara Black series and finished Murder on the Ile Saint-Louis, but then paused on Aimee Leduc to read something else.

I started with the new Dinner for One: How Cooking in Paris Saved Me from Sutanya Dacres and then moved on to American Royals III: Rivals by Katharine McGee. I've read American Royals and American Royals II: Majesty and think the series could just keep going… I am now starting The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley.

Up Next…

• The Winemaker's Wife – a story split between Champagne (France) in the 1940s and New York in 2019.
• Every Summer After – reminds me of 28 Summers.
• The Paris Bookseller – the story behind the famous Shakespeare & Company bookstore in Paris.
• Where the Crawdads Sing – takes place in North Carolina so I feel like I need to read it!

Best Bite | Keto Blueberry Nut Granola

I have been eating a bowl of NuTrail's Keto Blueberry Nut Granola Healthy Breakfast Cereal every single morning! It is low carb, has a great balance of sweetness, and pairs perfectly with almond milk. I add a teaspoon of chia seeds and collagen as well. You get the best deal on the blueberry at Costco. We have purchased a few other flavors on Amazon and Walmart carries them.

Working On | 2023 + 2024 Plans

The world isn't going to travel itself. Just kidding. But seriously, Mr. Misadventures and I are putting our tentpole trips onto the calendar so that we can begin planning and budgeting. We had already purchased are flights and paid for most of our accommodations for our trips this fall last year.

We are also obsessed with planning and organization so I am already working with a 2023 planner. I am sharing the one I created and am using which you can pick up for $1.99!

J'adore | Lots of things at the moment!

I have caught up on a ton of J'adore round-ups that I had been wanting to share. There is one for camping, a new travel edition, national parks, and updates to my eco-friendly beauty products. Have a peek, especially if you are looking for a gift for a friend or family member and want some inspiration.

Feeling | Cautious

First, it was the Queen (reference here), then gas prices, and now, inflation. I, like everyone else, really want to get back out in the world, travel, see people, etc. but I am still very concerned about all these things in the long term, so I am trying to proceed with caution in the short term!

Loving | French Chicken Salad

Well, yes. I do love French chicken salad, but what I actually mean is that I am super excited about my French recipe collaboration with Heather of Fit Mama Real Food. Our first project was this French chicken salad recipe and we will be bringing a new recipe every month! 

That’s my month, what’s CURRENTLY going on with you?

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The post Currently June 2022 appeared first on Misadventures with Andi.