animal crackers

My big splurge: these pants from Zara! We went into the Zara at Chatelet mall in hopes of finding dresses for a piano concert that night and, in addition to a dress, I found these pants and decided to splurge! I hardly brought any clothes with me to Paris because I assumed I'd buy a lot and I actually had not (at the time), so I went for them. They're absolutely beautiful and have parrots on them. And pink piping! I'm so obsessed. I paired the pants with a vintage shirt from my aunt, a belt from Guatemala, and vintage post-WWII shoes from the flea market on Sunday! Breaking in shoes is so awful. That's all I have to say about that. 

I've realised why I never buy white pants: you literally cannot sit anywhere or eat anything. Because white pants are magnetic! I literally have to wash them everyday because I get metro scum on them or orange juice or guacamole or you name it. We went for a picnic the other day and had to sit on a bench because I was wearing these pants! Still worth it though, oh still worth it.

I'm sorry that the horrid quality photos continue. It's the best that I can do, unfortunately! I hope that the next time I come to Paris, I will have a good camera in tow, be staying in a hotel, and have a fabulous, romantic time (instead of studying and trying to see how little I can spend on food in a day). These pants cost me about two or three days in food, so now I've been scrimping. Bread, cheese, and pasta for four days now. Yippee.

I think I could write an entire book about how much I love these pants! I feel like I should be on some tropical island or a beach with palm leaves and parrots. It was really nice out a few weeks ago (in Minnesota) and I saw a woman just walking down the street with a huge, gorgeous macaw on her shoulder. It was a glimpse into my future. Growing up, I used to watch this pet show on Saturday mornings. The guy had so many animals, just like a table full of animals. And he always had a macaw on his shoulder that would try to eat his glasses. One time he even had baby macaws! It was at that moment that I knew I'd be a future macaw owner. He also had a Flemish giant rabbit.

My boyfriend told me that he'd help me get a bunny when I get home. So I've been on Craigslist scouting baby bunnies. I want a Flemish giant or a French lop, I think. I don't want one of those mini or dwarf rabbits. Those ones get too many infections! Does anyone have recommendations on breeds of rabbits or where to get them? I'm new at this.

I only have one day left in Paris and I'm absolutely ready to leave. It feels like I've only been here a few days (when it's really been three and a half weeks!) but I'm exhausted of this city. It's been cold and rainy for the duration of my time here and I've seen almost all that I've wanted to. I did want to do the Catacombs and go see the Eiffel Tower at night, but I'm not sure that will happen. I have only 20 euro left to spend in my budget (I will admit that I spent about 15 euro on tacky souvenirs today) and I've heard that the Catacombs has cool merchandise, so I'm trying to withstand that.

On Saturday morning I leave for Geneva! It's supposed to be in the 70s and 80s (fahrenheit, 'cause I'm 'murican) while I'm there, so I think it'll be a good opportunity to wear my new dresses! I'm so excited. Four days in the sun with my good friend Jojo! And with a real shower, oh my gosh.

The showers here only seem to have one temperature: scalding hot. My hair has been absolutely unhappy, as has all my skin, for that matter. I'm not sure what I prefer, freezing cold or scalding hot, but these dorms have seriously been testing my limits! They also had a sign up yesterday that said the cold water would be turned off until 5pm that day. I scoffed at the irony considering that I've never been able to get cold water out of any faucet here. I guess they just mis-wrote the sign because what it should have read was that all water would be off! I got home and went to wash my hands and nothing would come out. Cool. So I ate food without washing my hands after touching money, riding the metro, and using the bathroom. Uck.



It's weird to look at these photos. I feel like I've been changing so much, physically. My face has gotten thinner since coming here (ironies of ironies is that when I was a baby, I had super sunken cheeks but when I hit puberty, my face turned into a chubby little baby face) and with a thinner face, my eyes and lips seem bigger. I look at these photos and am just so struck by how strange I look! I suppose it's all part of growing up, etc. etc. etc.

I have a lot of packing to do before leaving! I've finished my paper and now just have to get everything into my backpack. I have a lot of books to cram in there! Ugh. I'm bringing a bottle of alcohol back for my father and am a tad worried that customs will take it since I'm not 21 yet. Do any Americans have experience with bringing alcohol across the border while underage?

By the way, check out this silly little song that I named the blog post after. I've been listening to it nonstop and cannot help but smile the whole time through! Stay sweet, friends! xoxo