Bistro Chic

(Photo Source)

As if you need another reason to move to France…the latest poll by Harris Interactive shows that the French enjoy the most vacation time compared with 12 other countries, including the US and Japan.

By far, European countries get the most paid time off for vacation, with France and other Mediterranean countries leading the way. The French get the highest number of vacation days off each year with an average of 37.5 days. For all those who are counting – that’s 7.5 weeks!! The Japanese fell on the low end of the spectrum with a mere 16.5 days, but the US wasn’t much better with an average of 17 vacation days per year.

Average Vacation Time By Country

1. France – 37.5 days
2. Italy – 32.5 days
3. Spain – 32 days
4. Denmark – 29 days
5. Britain – 28 days
6. Norway – 28 days
7. Germany – 27.5 days
8. Sweden – 27.5 days
9. Australia – 20 days
10. Canada – 20 days
11. New Zealand – 19.5 days
12. United States – 17 days
13. Japan – 16.5 days

Hmm…and I thought my 15 days of vacation was a generous amount. How wrong I was – I don’t even fit in with our national average! Obviously, the Mediterraneans know a thing or two about work/home life balance. Maybe they could persuade the US to follow suit!

The real question is, what would I do if I had 37.5 days of paid vacation time per year. A trip to Europe comes to mind…ah, but you know me too well by now!

Q for you: What would you do with 37.5 days of paid vacation time?

(Photo source)

Growing up, I never really paid attention to the nutritional content in my school’s  lunch program. But now, after having two children of my own, I’m concerned about what food they are eating at daycare, and eventually, what they will be eating in their elementary school.

The US standards for school food are extremely lower than that of some European countries, particularly France. Let’s just say if there was a World Cup for school lunch nutrition, France would be kicking our tails right now! When you compare French and American school lunches, it is quite apparent why childhood obesity rates are growing in the US. American schools serve lunches that consist of highly processed foods, loaded with sodium, calories, saturated fat, preservatives, etc. And very little of what they serve even resembles real food.

Conversely, in France all school lunches are freshly prepared with real food, not prepackaged. Even the approach to lunch is different. For instance, a typical school lunch in France includes “courses”, including an appetizer, an entrée, and a dessert, accompanied by water or milk. On any given day, a French school lunch could include:

A Typical School Lunch in France

• Fresh bread and salad
• Veal scallops or baked fish with lemon sauce
• Fruit and yogurt
• Water or white milk

Compare that to…

A Typical School Lunch in the US

• Frozen cheesey bread
• Frozen chicken fingers or fish sticks and fries
• Fried apples or chocolate pudding
• Flavored milk, juice, or soda

Furthermore, a typical school lunch in France lasts about an hour, reinforcing the French tradition of eating slowly and savoring your food. In the US, children get roughly 20 minutes to finish their meal and socialize with friends, reinforcing the habit of eating fast and not really recognizing what your eating, let along the signs that you’re full.

Obviously, school lunch programs are not only to blame for childhood obesity rates and unhealthy childhood eating habits. Children learn from their family and friends and even from television what is “good” and what is “bad” in regard to food and nutrition. Still, what they learn in school and from their classmates about nutrition can stay with them for the rest of their lives.

In elementary and high school, my family could never really afford the daily school-provided lunches, which included sloppy joes, French fries, and chicken fingers. At the time, I really wished that I could afford the hot lunch so that I could be like everyone else. But what I realize now is how lucky I am that I did NOT eat those lunches. Instead, I would brown bag my lunch with a salad or a sandwich and whatever fruit or dessert we had in the house. By doing this, I not only saved money, but I learned the basics of healthy eating at a very young age and how to differentiate processed food from real, nutritious food.

Fast forward 20 years and I am nearly disgusted to think about what was served to my classmates back then, and even more disgusted that they still serve such unhealthy food in schools today. I understand that American schools and districts have certain policies about food and that any food is better than none for kids whose parents can’t afford to feed them. But there’s no reason why we can’t serve our children healthy and real food.

I am fortunate that my children attend a daycare program that serves relatively healthy meals. Of course, I pay a hefty fee for this. But it’s a small price to pay to reinforce what I am teaching my children about healthy nutrition. And years from now, if US school lunches do not improve, I will be the mother packing brown bag lunches for my children, whether they like it or not.

I’m hoping they thank me for it later.

According to the Daily Mail, a British speech expert has developed an iPhone application which trains users how to speak “proper” English, or the Queen’s English, as they say in Britain. The application uses exercises similar to those Professor Henry Higgins set for Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, including the repetition of 15 different vowel sounds and 16 consonant sounds so that the user can practice pronunciation. You can even pause and practice your accent at any time and the audio meter shows you the intonation so that you can see if you’re pronouncing it properly.

Now honestly, who wouldn’t love to have a British accent, at least for a day? British accents are so sophisticated and dreamy. Beyond that, I imagine this app would be especially good for men who want to impress women, or vice versa, and expats who are desperately trying to fit in. Give it a try, could be a jolly good time! Now, repeat after me, In Hertford, Hereford and Hampshire…

The British Accent application is available on iTunes for $4.99.

It’s post time! That’s right ladies and gents, on Saturday, we ventured to Arlington Park horse race track for my family’s annual Father’s Day event. In a sense, this event allows me to pay a small tribute to Royal Ascot, the famous British horse race, which takes place around this time each year.

As some of you know from my coverage of last year’s Father’s Day outing, the fancy hats were few and far between at Arlington. But this year, the fancies were out in droves – yours truly included!

I love to get into the spirit of the races by wearing my own fancy hat. This year, it was a pure white hat with a large (but not obnoxiously large) brim from Nordstrom. I have not worn a hat this big since last year and forgot how everything echoes when you wear it! Despite nearly losing my hat several times to the gusty wind, I was able to maintain control of it all day and even kept it clean, which is a huge accomplishment when I have two kids with sticky hands.

Aside from the hat, I don’t normally “dress up” too much for the event. We sit in the lower grandstand which allows us to be close to the finish line and to the horses. But this also means that we are in direct sun for most of the day, sitting on hot, hard benches. As a result, I try to dress comfortably, but still classy, whenever possible. Most women on this level were dressed in a similar fashion, choosing to stay cool rather than wear heels and dresses.

However, when gazing up into the upper grandstand and box seat area, I saw that many of the women were in dresses. This made me wonder about the dress code for the Ascot, Arlington, and horse tracks in general. Like Ascot, horse tracks often encourage smart dress (business casual) and the women to wear hats. But I think US tracks are a little more lenient when it comes to dress code. From what I could tell on Arlington Park’s site, there was no specific dress code for the track overall, but there was a dress code for one of the restaurants. Compare this to the extensive dress code at Royal Ascot which could, no doubt, be mistaken for a deliberate class-dividing strategy….

Royal Ascot Dress Code

• Royal Enclosure – Women must wear formal dress with a matching hat or other “fascinator” on their head. Off the shoulder, halter neck, spaghetti straps and dresses with a strap of less than one inch and miniskirts are considered unsuitable. Midriffs must be covered and trouser suits must be full length and of matching material and color. Men must wear either black or grey morning dress, including a waistcoat, with a top hat.
• Grandstand Admission – Ladies with a Grandstand Admission ticket are required to dress in a manner appropriate to a smart occasion. Many wear hats although this is not compulsory. Gentlemen in the Grandstand Admission area must wear a shirt and tie, preferably with a suit or jacket. Sports attire, jeans and shorts are strictly forbidden.
• Silver Ring – Whilst we encourage racegoers to wear smart clothing, no formal dress code applies except that bare tops are not permitted at any time.

I am fascinated by this dress code (not to be mistaken with fascinator – which is a headpiece), particularly about the men having to wear top hats. When was the last time you saw a man wear a top hat? Obviously, if you do choose to go to the horse races in your area, check the Web site to see if there’s a mandatory or suggested dress code. But, even if there’s no dress code, it appears that fancy hats are universally acceptable no matter the horse racing venue.

Ciao!

(Photo Source)

Women in Europe take beauty seriously. But, you may be surprised to learn that many European women rely on very age-old, natural beauty enhancers that you can find in your own pantry. Women’s Health magazine recently featured the natural beauty products that women in 20 different countries use to improve the look of their skin, hair, nails, and more. Let’s take a look at what our sisters across the pond are doing to make them gorgeous…

France – French women soak their nails in warm water and lemon juice, a practice that helps take the yellow hue out of nails that have been painted red. You all know how much French women like their red nail polish. I imagine they go though quite a few lemons as a result.

England – London girls avoid washing their hair in regular tap water because it’s full of harsh minerals that can leave hair dry and brittle. Instead, they opt for dry shampoo a few times a week. Be careful not to use too much, or you’ll end up looking like Kate Moss!

Sweden – The Swedes and the Finnish make regular trips to the sauna (many even have them in their house). The heat helps with skin circulation – oh, and it keeps them warm during the cold Swedish winters!

Italy – Apparently, women in southern Italy prefer meringue to mousse. They have been known to use whipped egg whites in their hair to offset their sun-damaged locks and to boost shine.

Turkey – Women in Turkey, particulary those with blonde or light brown hair, will rinse their hair with water that has been boiled with daises. The daisy water acts as a natural highlights booster. A Turkish Delight, indeed.

Greece – Not to be outdone by their southern neighbors, Greek women rinse their hair with rosemary water. It deep-cleans the hair and helps prevent build-up – all which helps give the hair its shiny, healthy appearance. Find out how Greek women use olive oil in their beauty routines.

As you can see, it doesn’t take much to become a natural European beauty – just a trip to the grocery store! Start making your list now and have your own European Spa Weekend!

(Photo Source)

Barely in it’s first week, the World Cup has taken the world by storm. Everywhere I look, it’s World Cup this and World Cup that. While at my local Chicago Starbucks this morning, I even spotted a man wearing a FIFA soccer jersey. That is saying quite a lot coming from a city that just won it’s first Stanley Cup in almost 50 years.

I won’t even pretend that I am a World Cup expert. I’m quite the opposite – a complete World Cup novice. Except for David Beckham and Pelé, I probably couldn’t tell you any other footballers that I know or have read about. Although I’m a newbie at soccer, it doesn’t mean that I don’t like to watch it. After all, have you seen those guys! I don’t understand how a girl is actually supposed to watch the games without being completely distracted by the players.

You don’t have to be a FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association for my fellow soccer/football novices) or even a soccer enthusiast to enjoy watching the World Cup. All you really need is the inside scoop to the schedule of matches, the favorites to win, and the World Cup lingo.

World Cup 2010 Schedule of Matches

With over 30 teams and what seems like endless match-ups in the Cup this year, it might be a little overwhelming to decide who to watch. Here’s a down and dirty list of the most popular matches coming up:

Most Popular World Cup 2010 Matches

*all times are Eastern

1. Brazil vs. North Korea, June 15, 2:30 p.m.
2. Spain vs. Switzerland, June 16, 10:00 a.m.
3. France vs. Mexico, June 17, 2:30 p.m.
4. United States vs. Algeria, June 23, 10 a.m.
5. Ghana vs. Germany, June 23, 2:30 p.m.
6. Netherlands vs. Cameroon, June 24, 2:30 p.m.
7. Brazil vs. Portugal, June 25, 10 a.m.

You can find the full World Cup 2010 schedule and even watch some of the games live from South Africa on ESPN3.

Top 10 Favorites to Win World Cup 2010

If you want to appear at least half intelligent about FIFA football, you’ll need to know the favorites to win this year and the reasons behind their expected success. Despite David Beckham’s absence from the 2010 championship games (he’s injured ladies), England has a strong showing and makes the Top 10 List. But England will have a tough time beating out the true favorites. In most professional sports circles, you’ll find that Spain is the absolute favorite to win this year (apparently they have a flawless team), but Brazil is a close second, as always. Let’s see who else makes the cut…

1. Spain
2. Brazil
3. Netherlands
4. England
5. Argentina
6. Germany
7. Italy
8. France
9. Ivory Coast
10. Portugal

World Cup Slang

Finally, avoid feeling lost when you hear the words niggle, cheeky, or WAG, by brushing up on a few colorful World Cup words and phrases. The more you know the lingo, the less you will appear like a novice.

For more in depth details on the teams, players, or match ups at World Cup 2010, check out these very informative sites:

• Federation Internationale de Football Association
• Sports Illustrated
• FOX Sports
• ESPN

Ciao!

(Photo Source)

Williams Sonoma is one of my favorite stores for kitchen and housewares. However, I have to limit my escapades to this California-based store because it’s – to put it bluntly- so damn expensive!

One thing I love about the store – aside from their awesome European servingware collection – is their cookbook series. They’ve got cookbooks for just about anything gourmet – from appetizers to desserts, and from pasta and fish to chicken. They also have books about cooking essentials, like roasting, grilling, and one-pot meals. My husband and I have several of these books, including the Chicken and the Soups and Pasta from the Food Made Fast series. We love them and use them quite a bit throughout the year. And, not only are the recipes fantastic and easy to follow, the pictures are extremely appetizing!

Beyond the basics, Williams Sonoma goes cultural with it’s Foods Around the World series. In this series, you can learn about French, Asian, Mediterranean, and Latin cooking, etc. The series also branches into specific cities and the gastronomic standards associated with these areas, including Paris, Florence, and Rome. They even have an exclusive Taste of the World cookbook that includes 225 recipes from Europe, Asia, the Americas, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East.

So many cookbooks, so little money!! Obviously, if I bought the entire collection, I would be dropping close to $1,000 – who has that kind of money to spend on cookbooks, even if they are French? And that brings me to my final point about these great books – they don’t have to cost you a dime to use! No, they don’t publish the recipes online (but how cool would that be?). However, many times you can find the books at your local public library. My library has more than half of the Williams Sonoma cookbook collection. Plus, if there is one that my library does not carry, I can request it from another library for free, or ask the library to order it – again, for free! This has saved me an enormous amount of money and has left me with a fantastic collection of fancy recipes. And there’s no shame in being frugal and fancy at the same time!

Ciao!

I recently had the pleasure of dining at a lovely French bistro for dinner on Friday night, which was followed by a fabulous Spanish tapas dinner on Saturday. These meals, although quite different in flavor and presentation, were more similar than you might think. French and Spanish food may appear different at first glance, but they share many similarities. When you compare traditional French cuisine and dining style to Spanish tapas dining, you’ll find that they have strong Mediterranean influences:

Mediterranean Influences in French and Spanish Dining

• Based on real, homemade food, not processed
• Include much smaller portion sizes (at least by American standards)
• Focus on eating in courses or “rounds” – not serving or ordering the next round/course until the first is finished
• Promote slow eating, savoring eating bite
• Include a mix of many flavors and foods
• Emphasize food quality over quantity
• Encourage socialization at the meal
• Consider wine as an important part of the meal
• Both cultures tend to eat their meals late in the evening (after 8 PM)

Tapas Dining At Home

I have been a fan of tapas-style eating for years. I love trying new tapas restaurants and cafes. And, when I can’t get out to a tapas restaurant, I try recreating that same tapas-style dining and overall Mediterranean feeling at home. Here’s how:

• Eat on smaller dishes and change plates for eat course. Yes, it means more dishes, but that’s what dishwashers are for!
• Serve your tapas in “courses” or rounds, where you serve 2-3 tapas at a time, allowing everyone to get a taste, before serving the next round
• Serve a variety of tapas with different spices, flavorings, sauces, as well as other ingredients
• Serve high quality (or at least decent) wine or sangria
• Adapt meals that I love to a “tapas” version
• Eat outside whenever possible!

Easy Tapas

Even if you’re a tapas novice or don’t have time to prepare intricate little dishes, think about how you can adapt your favorite dishes to make them tapas-style. For instance, we love tacos in our house. To make them tapas style, I use a round cookie cutter to make smaller flour tortillas, which means smaller holders/bites for the taco filling. Even soup can be made into a tapa when served in an espresso cup or small ramekin. If you’re still not sure how or what to serve as tapas, you can’t go wrong with these standard and very easy tapas, many of which take very little preparation:

1. Cheeses – all kinds, from soft to hard, and stinky to non – served with crusty bread
2. Small sausages – roasted, and screwed with roasted veggies
3. Olives or olive tapenade – spread on flatbreads
4. Homemade dips – served with crostini or raw veggies
5. Nuts and Mediterranean style fruit – grapes, figs, and dates make great choices
6. Anything stuffed – little bell peppers, olives, cherry or roma tomatoes, mini artichokes, mushrooms, dates, grape leaves, etc. stuffed with flavored rice, cheese, or ground spicy meat, etc.

Time for Tapas! Ciao!

(Photo courtesy of Flickr)

Legendary actress Audrey Hepburn may be gone, but her beauty and style are hardly forgotten. Much of what the world remembers of Audrey’s style is associated with what she wore on the big screen. Who could forget her simple but gorgeous dresses in Sabrina, her bright white frock with matching hat in My Fair Lady, and of course, the little black dress in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. And what girl didn’t want to be Audrey after that movie?

Audrey’s iconic style has been immortalized once more as that same little black dress makes the top of the fashion list as the greatest female outfit on the silver screen. Her My Fair Lady dress makes the same list coming in at #6 in the top ten. Other outfits that make the shortlist include:

• Marilyn Monroe’s white dress from The Seven Year Itch
• Keira Knightley’s green dress from Atonement
• Ursula Andress’s bikini from Dr. No
• Kate Hudson’s gold dress from How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
• Olivia Newton John’s skin-tight pants from Grease
• Raquel Welch’s animal skin bikini from One Million Years BC
• Nicole Kidman’s red corset from Moulin Rouge
• Sarah Jessica Parker’s wedding dress from Sex and the City

My guess is that the little black dress made the top of the list because it is simple, versatile, elegant, and timeless – all classic elements of French style. Thank goodness too, because, can you really picture yourself in skin-tight, shiny black pants when you’re 50! Hmm, before you answer that, ask yourself – what would Audrey do?

Ciao!

Bonjour and Happy Memorial Day! This weekend I had a lovely time visiting with family in the beautiful state of Michigan. The weekend was full of eating, reminiscing, and a few surprises, including a few presents!

My gifts included a lovely tea-for-one butterfly teapot and saucer – a birthday gift from my sister –  and a collector’s edition magazine – The Royals – a Mother’s Day gift from my mother. There’s no need to explain my love for teapots – anyone who has been following me knows I love them. However, the magazine may leave you a bit confused.

The Royals magazine, published by Time Inc., gives a glimpse into the lives and loves of royal families around the world – particularly the British Royal Family. Although I was very young when Lady Diana and Prince Charles were married, I remember watching the wedding on television. I was amazed at how many people attended the wedding and how long Diana’s train was for her dress. From then on, I was fascinated with the British Royals. So, when Princess Diana died, my mom bought me a book about Diana’s life and a collector’s edition CD of Elton John’s song for Diana. About six months after her death, I was able to travel to London and actually saw the numerous bouquets of flowers, still at the gates of Kensington Palace, left by Diana fans and mourners. Diana may be gone, but the Royal Family lives on.

Although the magazine seems to focus on the British Royal Family, it does spotlight several other prominent royal couples and royal figures, including:

• Princess Grace and Prince Rainier of Monaco
• Prince Naruhito and Masako Owada
• Queen Rania of Jordan
• Crown Princess Letizia of Spain
• Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden

Even if you’re not a fan of the Royal Families, the pictures are worth a look – if not for the dresses/fashion then definitely for the candids of Princes William and Harry. At the very least, the photos and stories will remind us how wonderful having a “normal” life can be.

Ciao!