Pardon the dust - Fermé pour travaux

Mademoiselle on the metro is getting a makeover. IIn the meantime follow my hijinks and happenings on Instagram at: karina_g23 Twitter: @mlle_onthemetro

A bientot !!

Photo diary: Prague

I’ve been wanting to go Eastern Europe since last year when I was centimeters away from booking a flight for Budapest as a present for monsieur. Instead, we ended up in Lisbon, but the idea has stayed nestled deep in my mind.

When my sister told me she would be visiting this Thanksgiving, my thoughts immediately turned to a weekend trip to Prague. And what perfect timing, for the Christmas market opening and the lighting of the giant Christmas tree. The weekend was the perfect mix of beautiful, discovering and Christmas dreaming – add goulash, gingerbread, and warm wine to the mix.

a little romance

Sometimes I find myself thinking about characters from books or movies long after I've finished them. Clearly, these people only exist for a couple of hundred pages or the time of a movie, but I think it's fun to think that their lives may have continued. I don't do this all the time, but there are some characters that have kind of stuck with me over the years. 

When I was in my early teens, my sister and I stumbled across a charming little movie during a weekend preview of the classic movie channels that at the time we were not subscribed to. That weekend, we watched A Little Romance probably five times and recorded it on VHS. It's such a sweet story of finding love and friendship. A few years later, when this American girl found herself a charming Frenchman of her own, the movie took on a whole new meaning. I've always wondered whether the main characters find themselves again after the girl moves back to America. Years after watching the movie for the first time, I'm also still inspired by some of the looks in the movie. 

skirt: Chicwish; sweater: Le Mont St Michel; bag: Zara; mocassins: Asos

Holiday skirts

I love a good reason to dress up. This year the holidays will be extra sparkly between celebrations with my family, time spent with friends and all the champagne toasts that await. Christmas  Eve is a serious affair at my house - my dream outfit might actually be the one I wear this year with a full party skirt and a black plunging top. Of course in a dream world I'd also have a velvet ribbon in my hair. As I brainstorm what I'm going to pack for the holidays this year, here are a few options taken from chicwish that might make it into the bag! 

(1, 2, similar 3)

Winter Switch

This weekend was our annual switcharoo weekend where we take all our summer stuff down to the cellar and switch it for our winter clothes. I usually hate doing this as it means I'll be bundled like a hot tamale for the next four months at least but for whatever reason, I was actually excited to make the switch. Over the years living in Paris, I've actually come to really enjoy dressing for winter and the first few days are the most exciting because it's literally like finding new clothes. This morning I was so happy to pair this super festive little skirt with a sparkly manicure and necklace and my winter wedges. It's probably going to be a long winter but if I can manage a few fun looks like this one every week then I'm set! 

top, necklace and skirt: Forever XXI; sweater: the Limited; shoes: Mango

bobbie

I got this hat a few weeks ago eagerly anticipating autumn and the arrival of hat season. I love hats. When I topped my outfit with this wooly blue one today, monsieur asked if I had been inspired by the "bobby" look. No. But I'll admit it looks a little bit like that and that's perfectly okay by me. 

top: Lush; sweater and coat: Old Navy; jeans: Mango; hat: H&M; bag: Lancel

office party

Today is the three year mark of my working full time where I work. While it’s trying most of the time and I’m sure I can blame the several white hairs that have creeped up on my head to my 9-5 (ahem 9 to …) activities, I’ll take any reason to celebrate. I wore this fun ensemble yesterday to kick off the celebration and the weekend. Originally I planned on wearing this for my birthday but an unexpected “heatwave” at the end of October had me in this sleeveless little number waltzing through the streets of Paris.

blouse: Old Navy; dress: H&M (f/w 2009); shoes: Forever XXI