Field notes from
the assimilation.
— essays on French vs. American life: food, style, parenting and Paris. Written by her, approved by him, slowly.
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Fashion & BeautyThe wardrobe, the pharmacy, the hair. What is true and what is myth.13 articles →
French RecipesWeeknight classics, apéritif, and what is actually on his family’s table.14 articles →
Home & TableHow a French household eats, shops and sets a table.20 articles →
French ParentingSchool, meals, bedtime, and how often a French child hears no.19 articles →
Paris & TravelWhere to go, how to behave, what it costs.10 articles →
HolidaysHalloween, Thanksgiving and the seasons in between, in two countries.23 articles →
Love & RelationshipsDating a Frenchman, marrying one, and dinner with his parents.6 articles, guide & 2 games →
American LifeThe grocery store, the pajamas, the ice. Through French eyes.11 articles →
Trending now
Fashion & BeautyWhy do Americans wear pajamas in public?
Home & TableSmall French home habits that make a house feel FrenchFashion & BeautyWhy do Parisian women dress up to buy bread?
Home & TableHow French people use candles at home
Fashion & BeautyWhy do women cut their hair after having a baby?
Home & TableHow to make your house smell FrenchRecently added
Love & RelationshipsZodiac signs in French, and how to say yours at his family’s table
HolidaysFrench stocking stuffers: small French gifts under $25
HolidaysFrench hostess gifts: what to bring to a French dinner
QuizHow Good Is Your French?Took French in high school or studied abroad? Six questions from a real Frenchman: the library, the bakery, verlan and the false friend that gets every American.
French ParentingThe best French gifts for kids, from babies to four
French ParentingWhat is liniment? Why French parents don’t use baby wipes
QuizIs Your Closet French or American?Leggings or a full outfit to buy bread, forty tops or eight good things, one perfume or eleven.
French ParentingThe most popular French baby names in 2025
French ParentingFrench gifts for new moms: what she will actually use
QuizHow French Is Your Thanksgiving?Marshmallows or butter, dinner at two or at eight, three pies or one tart.
Love & RelationshipsFrench vs American relationships: what actually changes
Love & RelationshipsMeeting your French mother-in-law: what to expect
QuizDo You Parent French or American?Snacks on demand or four o’clock sharp, the car line or walking alone.
Love & RelationshipsFrench vs American weddings: what is different
French ParentingThe French baby registry: what French parents actually buy
QuizChat Parisien or American Cat?A choose-your-own-adventure with Loulou, the family cat.French or American? The quizzes
All the quizzes →QuizHow Good Is Your French?Took French in high school or studied abroad? Six questions from a real Frenchman: the library, the bakery, verlan and the false friend that gets every American.
QuizHow Parisian Are You?Eight quick questions on home, food and beauty, and an official verdict.
QuizHow American Are You?Eight quick questions on ice, coffee, pumpkins and pajama pants.
QuizCould You Survive a French Dinner Party?When to arrive, which flowers never to bring, where your hands go and when to leave.
QuizHow American Is Your Halloween?One pumpkin or nineteen, a door or a twelve-foot skeleton, soup or carving.QuizHow French Is Your Thanksgiving?Marshmallows or butter, dinner at two or at eight, three pies or one tart.QuizDo You Parent French or American?Snacks on demand or four o’clock sharp, the car line or walking alone.QuizIs Your Closet French or American?Leggings or a full outfit to buy bread, forty tops or eight good things, one perfume or eleven.
QuizHow French Is Your Husband?Awesome or not bad, shorts or a pressed shirt, four days off or all of August.
QuizWere You a French or an American Teenager?Mall or café, minivan or scooter, prom or philosophy exam.
QuizYour First Day in ParisA choose-your-own-adventure: six decisions, four endings, and a French husband with an opinion on each.
QuizYour First Dinner with French In-LawsA choose-your-own-adventure: six decisions, four endings, and one Brie you should not cut the tip off.
QuizYour First Day in New YorkA choose-your-own-adventure for the French in New York: iced coffee, Times Square and the tip.QuizChat Parisien or American Cat?A choose-your-own-adventure with Loulou, the family cat.Every article, by subject
Fashion & Beauty
- Why do Americans wear pajamas in public?
- Why do Parisian women dress up to buy bread?
- Why do women cut their hair after having a baby?
- Do French women get Botox?
French Recipes
- Avocat aux crevettes
- 10 classic French appetizers every American should try
- Radishes with butter and salt: the French snack that is not a snack
Home & Table
- Why is American food so sweet?
- The American cheese my French husband actually approves of
- Why do the French dunk their croissants in coffee?
- Seven French foods Americans refuse to eat
French Parenting
- The best French gifts for kids
- French gifts for new moms
- What is liniment?
- The most popular French baby names in 2025
- The French baby registry
- Why do French kids get two weeks off in October?
- French teenagers vs American teenagers
- The correct foods: official rankings, by Owen, age 4
- Why French kids eat what adults eat
Paris & Travel
- The French bread law: why a baguette is a legal definition
- Why French teenagers sit outside and American teenagers went to the mall
- Why don’t French people make small talk?
- Tipping in France vs America
Holidays
- French stocking stuffers
- French hostess gifts
- Galette des rois, the French king cake
- Why do Americans drive hours to look at leaves?
- Why do the clocks change on different days in France and America?
- Why don’t Americans eat their pumpkins?
Love & Relationships
- My French boyfriend: what dating a Frenchman was really like
- French vs American relationships
- Meeting your French mother-in-law
- Zodiac signs in French
- French vs American weddings
- The French Dating Field Guide (free)
- Your first dinner with French in-laws
- How French is your husband?
Also on the site
Nothing yet on that. He is considering it.
Zodiac signs in French, and how to say yours at his family’s table
Lion, Vierge, Balance. Twelve words, two little grammar traps, and one question that works on everyone from his sister to his grandmother.
Read → Holidays5 min7 Things Americans Do on Halloween That Horrify French People
A record $13.1 billion, a skeleton taller than the door, and a dog dressed as a hot dog.
Read → Holidays4 min5 Ways to Tell You’re Celebrating Halloween With a French Person
Scary costumes, dinner first and soup from the pumpkin. How to spot one.
Read → American Life5 min5 Things You Should Know Before Visiting a French Home
Arrive late, skip the chrysanthemums, and never leave right after dessert.
Read → American Life4 min5 Things French People Secretly Judge Americans For
Snacking all day, pajamas at the store and lunch at the wheel.
Read → French Parenting5 minA French dad in America: one menu, the goûter and “thank you who?”
A small bag, one menu for everyone, the 4 pm goûter, and why I still ask my boys “thank you who?”
Read → Fashion & Beauty5 minThe French pharmacy winter skincare routine: 4 products French women actually need
Micellar water, a repair balm, a richer cream and SPF 30: the four products for winter, with prices.
Read → Fashion & Beauty4 minThe French winter skin rescue kit
Five French pharmacy fixes for chapped lips, rough hands and dry patches, about $71 together.
Read → Holidays5 minFrench stocking stuffers: small French gifts under $25
In France, Père Noël fills a shoe, not a stocking. In our house he does both. The small French things that fit in either, all under $25.
Read → Holidays5 minFrench hostess gifts: what to bring to a French dinner
Never arrive empty-handed, never bring chrysanthemums, and do not expect your wine to be opened. The French rules, and the gifts that work.
Read → French Parenting5 minThe best French gifts for kids, from babies to four
Fewer toys, better made, and very few that beep. The French toy shelf, from a house with a five-month-old, a two-year-old and a four-year-old.
Read → French Parenting5 minWhat is liniment? Why French parents don’t use baby wipes
Everyone asks about the bottle on our changing table. It is liniment, the French alternative to wipes, and this is how it works.
Read → French Parenting4 minThe most popular French baby names in 2025
Louise and Gabriel. The official French top 10 for 2025, how to say them, and an answer for everyone in our comments who suggested Zinédine.
Read → French Parenting5 minFrench gifts for new moms: what she will actually use
Something for the baby, yes. But the French habit is to bring something for the mother too. The gifts that get used in the first weeks.
Read → Love & Relationships7 minFrench vs American relationships: what actually changes
No “are we exclusive?” talk, arguments at dinner, la bise with everyone and two families who eat at different hours. A field guide from the American side of the table.
Read → Love & Relationships6 minMeeting your French mother-in-law: what to expect
Vous, then tu. Two kisses, not a hug. Flowers, but never those flowers. What I wish I had known before the first lunch with his parents.
Read → Love & Relationships6 minFrench vs American weddings: what is different
In France the mayor marries you, the whole town is invited for a drink, and dinner ends when the sun comes up. The differences, from an American who married a Frenchman.
Read → French Parenting8 minThe French baby registry: what French parents actually buy
Liniment and cotton instead of wipes, a sleeping bag instead of a blanket, purée made at home and two identical doudous. How to make a baby a little French from day one.
Read → Fashion & Beauty7 minFrench skincare vs American: your four-step routine
Four plain products from the pharmacy, side by side with the American shelf: the brands, the rules, and what changes for dry winter skin.
Read → Home & Table5 minWhere to buy French snacks in the US: the goûter classics
Paille d’Or, Pim’s, Prince and Petit Écolier: the biscuits French kids eat at 4 pm, and where to find them in America.
Read → Love & Relationships5 minHow to do la bise, the French cheek kiss
Two kisses, sometimes three, sometimes four, and never the lips. How to do it without bumping noses.
Read → American Life9 minFrench and European candy vs American candy: the Halloween taste test
Why does American candy have to attack your mouth? Ten American candies, one Parisian, and the bag of French and European sweets he grew up on.
Read → Holidays4 minWhat is Toussaint? All Saints’ Day in France
A public holiday, a two-week school break and a cemetery full of chrysanthemums. The French day after Halloween.
Read → American Life4 minIs Black Friday a thing in France?
Yes, without Thanksgiving. The French took the Friday and left the turkey.
Read → Fashion & Beauty4 minThe French fall wardrobe: what Parisians wear in autumn
One good coat, dark denim, ankle boots and a scarf. Fewer pieces, worn all season.
Read → French Recipes5 minWhat do the French eat for Christmas dinner?
Oysters, foie gras, a roast bird, cheese, a cake shaped like a log. In that order, and slowly.
Read → Holidays5 minFrench Christmas gifts: what the French really give
Fewer things, better chosen, and almost never a gift card.
Read → Holidays4 minHow to say Merry Christmas in French
Two words for Christmas, two more for the New Year, and a whole month in which to say them.
Read → French Recipes6 minFrench onion soup, the Paris bistro classic
Onions, butter, stock and patience. The cheese is the reward for the patience.
Read → Holidays8 minGalette des rois, the French king cake with a prize inside
Puff pastry, almond cream and a small porcelain figure hidden somewhere inside. Whoever finds it wears the crown.
Read → Paris & Travel6 minParis in December: what to know before you go
The lights are up and the cafés are warm. It is also dark by five.
Read → French Recipes5 minRoasted chestnuts in Paris: the paper cone, explained
You smell them before you see them. Then you are holding a cone that is too hot to hold.
Read → Home & Table3 minSmall French home habits that make a house feel French
None of it costs much. All of it changes how the house feels in the evening.
Read → Home & Table3 minHow French people use candles at home
Fewer candles, better placed, and never competing with dinner.
Read → Home & Table4 minHow to make your house smell French
Not like a candle shop. Like fresh air, clean linen and whatever is for dinner.
Read → Holidays6 minBeaujolais Nouveau: the wine France opens on the third Thursday of November
A few weeks ago it was still a grape. France uncorks it anyway, on the same night, everywhere.
Read → French Recipes8 minBoeuf bourguignon, the French beef stew that is better tomorrow
Beef, a bottle of red wine and an afternoon. The oven does the rest.
Read → French Recipes6 minRaclette, the French winter dinner where the table does the cooking
Cheese, potatoes, pickles and a machine in the middle of the table. Nobody leaves early.
Read → Holidays7 minHow do the French celebrate Christmas?
The main event is a dinner, it is on the 24th, and it goes on longer than you think is possible.
Read → Holidays7 minChristmas in Paris: the lights, the windows, the markets
The city does the decorating so the apartments do not have to. A visitor’s guide, from the husband who grew up there.
Read → French Recipes8 minBûche de Noël, the French Christmas log
A thin sponge, a chocolate cream, one nerve-racking roll. Or a trip to the bakery, which is what most of France does.
Read → Love & Relationships6 minMy French boyfriend: dating a Frenchman, plus 10 tips
How I met my French husband in New York in 2012, what dating him was really like, the proposal in Paris, and 10 tips for dating a French man.
Read → French Recipes4 minWhat do French people eat for dinner?
In a French household the day of the week decides dinner: fish on Friday, roast chicken on Sunday, leftovers on Monday.
Read → French Recipes5 minFrench vinaigrette, the only dressing in a French house
There is no dressing aisle in this recipe. There is a spoon of mustard and a bowl.
Read → French Recipes6 minGratin dauphinois, the French potato gratin with no cheese in it
Potatoes, cream, milk, garlic. The cheese belongs to a different dish.
Read → French Recipes6 minGougères, the warm cheese puffs that open a French evening
If you can stir a saucepan, you can make choux pastry.
Read → Holidays6 minDo French people celebrate Thanksgiving?
No. They did adopt Black Friday, though, which tells you something about what travels.
Read → Holidays5 minHow to say happy Thanksgiving in French
There is no French word for it. There is barely a French concept for it. Here is what people say anyway.
Read → French Recipes8 minA French Thanksgiving menu
The turkey stays. Almost everything around it is open to negotiation.
Read → American Life6 minIs Justin Bieber French?
Right in American, wrong in French. A ruling from a woman who married an actual one.
Read → French Parenting7 minWhy do French kids get two weeks off in October?
Seven weeks on, two weeks off. American children get a long weekend and then Thanksgiving.
Read → Holidays7 minWhy do Americans drive hours to look at leaves?
A $2 billion season in New Hampshire alone. France has the trees and no word for it.
Read → Holidays6 minWhy do the clocks change on different days in France and America?
For one week Paris is five hours ahead, not six. Congress did it for Halloween.
Read → Paris & Travel7 minThe French bread law: why a baguette is a legal definition
Flour, water, salt, yeast. A 1993 decree says so, and the plain baguette is not covered.
Read → Holidays8 minWhy don’t Americans eat their pumpkins?
Two billion pounds grown a year. 1.3 billion thrown away. In France it is dinner.
Read → Holidays8 minWhy Americans pay to pick apples and the French pay to drink them
One country sells you the labour. The other sells you the result.
Read → Holidays9 minExplaining Thanksgiving to a Frenchman
Forty-six million turkeys in a day, and no cheese course. He had notes.
Read → Holidays7 minWhy do Americans decorate their houses for every season?
$4.3 billion on Halloween decorations alone. France has no such aisle.
Read → Home & Table8 minWhy is American food so sweet?
The objection is not the sugar. It is that the sugar will not stay in its course.
Read → French Recipes6 minAvocat aux crevettes
The French shrimp-stuffed avocado, and the sauce he refuses to call ketchup.
Read → Fashion & Beauty8 minWhy do Americans wear pajamas in public?
Not laziness. The suburbs removed the audience that used to police the boundary.
Read → Home & Table9 minThe American cheese my French husband actually approves of
A Vermont blue was served to the French president at his own state dinner. He went quiet.
Read → Home & Table7 minWhy do the French dunk their croissants in coffee?
The bowl exists because of it. A mug is too narrow to get a tartine into.
Read → Fashion & Beauty8 minWhy do Parisian women dress up to buy bread?
Not vanity. Half of Paris walks everywhere. Nine in ten American errands happen in a car.
Read → Home & Table9 minSeven French foods Americans refuse to eat
I asked the comment section what he should try next. Nobody suggested a crêpe.
Read → American Life8 minAmerican stores that make no sense to a Frenchman
A shop the size of a football pitch selling petrol, brisket and a wall of beaver merchandise.
Read → Fashion & Beauty8 minDo French women get Botox?
“French women just don’t tell.” Six words, more replies than the reel got. What the data actually says.
Read → Paris & Travel8 minWhy French teenagers sit outside and American teenagers went to the mall
He spent his adolescence on a chair facing a street. I spent mine in a building with no windows.
Read → French Recipes9 min10 classic French appetizers every American should try
A perfectly normal French appetizer can apparently cause an international incident. By Sacha.
Read → Fashion & Beauty7 minWhy do women cut their hair after having a baby?
Four months after our third boy I cut it into a layered bob and did not tell my French husband.
Read → French Recipes6 minRadishes with butter and salt: the French snack that is not a snack
Three ingredients, no cooking, and a small argument about which order they go in.
Read → Home & Table7 minFrench snacks: what they actually eat, and when
There is no snack drawer. There are two scheduled events and a great deal of butter.
Read → Paris & Travel6 minFrench vs American beach day: he brought a towel
I brought a wagon. He brought a towel. He asked where the beach club was.
Read → Paris & Travel7 minWhy don’t the French have air conditioning?
A quarter of French homes have it. Ninety percent of American ones do.
Read → Home & Table5 minWhy don’t the French put ice in drinks?
He asked for water. It arrived at the temperature of a room. He was delighted.
Read → Paris & Travel6 minHow much vacation do French people actually get?
Five weeks. By law. He says this the way other people say the time.
Read → Holidays5 minDo French people like pumpkin spice?
I explained the season has a flavour. He asked which season.
Read → Paris & Travel6 minTipping in France vs America
Service is in the price by law. The machine still asks him a question.
Read → Holidays5 minIs Halloween celebrated in France?
It exists there the way cricket exists here. Technically. Somewhere.
Read → Paris & Travel6 minWhy don’t French people make small talk?
A cashier asked how his day was going. He answered honestly, at length.
Read → Home & Table6 minFrench vs American portion sizes: why his plate looks empty
Smaller plates, no refills, one serving. Not discipline — design.
Read → Home & Table5 minDo French people snack?
Mostly no. Children get one scheduled snack. Adults get an opinion about it.
Read → French Parenting7 minDid American gentle parenting change French parents?
For a decade Americans read French parenting books. France was reading ours.
Read → French Parenting6 minLa rentrée vs American back-to-school
One country eases in over three weeks. The other restarts on a Monday.
Read → Fashion & Beauty5 minWhat is Biafine, and why is everyone using it wrong?
In France it lives next to the burn dressings. In America it went viral as a glow cream.
Read → Fashion & Beauty7 minWhat to actually buy in a French pharmacy
What French people actually buy there, and what the viral lists get wrong.
Read → French Parenting6 minWhy do French kids walk to school alone?
He was sent for bread at seven. I was not allowed to check the mailbox.
Read → Paris & Travel5 minWhy is everything closed in August in France?
The bakery has a note on the door. It has been there since 31 July.
Read → French Parenting6 minThe French grading system, explained
He got a 12 and his mother was pleased. This required explaining twice.
Read → Fashion & Beauty6 minIs European sunscreen better than American sunscreen?
He brings it back in his suitcase. I thought this was a personality trait.
Read → Home & Table6 minFrench bottled water vs American: what the labels say
Evian, Fiji, Dasani, Poland Spring and one energy drink he did not consent to. Labels covered. Evian won.
Read → French Parenting5 minFrench teenagers vs American teenagers
He came of age in Paris cafés without a car. She came of age in a Honda. The archive says they would have dated anyway.
Read → Home & Table5 minDo French people wear shoes in the house?
The internet caught him - loafers, indoors, unbothered. Both countries filed complaints. We investigated.
Read → Fashion & Beauty4 minWhat my father taught me about dressing
The comments have questions about his clothes. The answers belong to his father. By Sacha - the shirt stays tucked.
Read → Fashion & Beauty5 minWhy do French men dress so well? It started at seven
A father in fashion, one rule about belts, and a boy who grew up thinking loafers are casual. The comments finally get their answer.
Read → American Life5 minSeven American things I will never understand — by Sacha
His first column, in his own words: the leaf blower, aerosol cheese, iced coffee in January. Filed as a formal objection.
Read → French Parenting3 minThe correct foods: official rankings, by Owen, age 4
Mussels first (the shells), Babybel second (you unwrap it yourself), and soup, which is a door to bread.
Read → French Parenting2 minA statement from Harry, age 2 (translated)
Fromage. NON. Encore. Delivered from under the table, translated by his mother, ratified by yogurt.
Read → Home & Table4 minWhy is French butter better? It's actually the law
82% by law, cultured by tradition, salted by the sea - and the tub that confesses.
Read → Home & Table4 minThe French cheese course, explained
Why cheese comes after dinner, what goes on a weeknight board, and the 6 PM cheese board incident.
Read → American Life4 minDo French people eat fast food? Yes, and here's how
France is one of McDo's best markets on Earth. The difference is the chair.
Read → French Parenting4 minThe French kids' bedtime: why 8 PM actually works
Dinner at 8, bed by 8:45, no negotiation. We investigated the wall.
Read → Home & Table4 minWhat a typical French dinner actually looks like
Soup, an omelette, three cheeses, a pear, forty-five minutes. The national trick, explained.
Read → French Parenting5 minWhat French kids eat for school lunch (real menus)
Four courses, thirty minutes, a published menu - la cantine explained, and the day he read 'Bosco sticks.'
Read → Home & Table5 minWhy are French people thin? The real answer is the schedule
Not willpower, not wine, not genes. The real answer to the internet's favorite question is a timetable.
Read → Home & Table4 minWhat do French people eat for breakfast?
A tartine, a coffee, and the conviction that eggs are dinner. Also: the truth about daily croissants.
Read → American Life5 min7 American things French people secretly love
The leaked inventory of his enthusiasms - produce aisles, free refills, strangers who say hello.
Read → Home & Table4 minWhat time do the French actually eat dinner?
Eight o'clock, kids included. Why late dinner is French infrastructure — and the 7 PM armistice our marriage runs on.
Read → French Parenting4 minWhy French kids eat what adults eat
No nugget menu, no negotiation, one magic phrase. How French kids learn to eat everything — and what happens at a clam shack.
Read → American Life5 minThe American grocery store, through French eyes
The carts, the cold, the creamer wall, and the one aisle he genuinely respects. The full field report.
Read → American Life5 minWhat the French really think of American coffee
A two-sip nation meets the 32-ounce iced latte. His findings on drive-thrus, Dunkin', and coffee with borders.
Read → French Parenting4 minThe French goûter, from an American grocery store
The 4 PM formula rebuilt from a US supermarket — approved swaps, failed inspections, and why the schedule is the culture.
Read → French Parenting4 minWhat is a goûter? The French after-school snack, explained by a French dad
France schedules its snacking. America grazes. Inside the 4 p.m. institution my husband refuses to abandon — and what our kids eat instead of Goldfish.
Read →Questions, answered
Why do Parisian women dress up to buy bread?
Because they are seen, and because they were told they would be. In central Paris more than half of all journeys are made on foot, so leaving the flat means twenty minutes in public whether you wanted them or not. Read the full answer →
What do the French eat for Christmas dinner?
A traditional French Christmas dinner, le réveillon, is eaten on the evening of 24 December. It usually begins with champagne and small bites, then a starter of oysters, smoked salmon or foie gras, then a roast bird such as capon or turkey with chestnuts, then cheese, and finally the bûche de Noël. Read the full answer →
What time do the French actually eat dinner?
French families typically eat dinner around 8 PM — children included. The late hour works because of the structured French food day: a substantial lunch, a scheduled 4 PM goûter for kids, and no snacking in between, so everyone arrives at the table genuinely hungry. Read the full answer →
What is a goûter?
A goûter is France's scheduled after-school snack, eaten around 4 PM — typically bread with chocolate, a pastry, yogurt, or fruit. It's one small, sweet snack at a fixed time, designed to bridge school and a late French dinner while protecting a child's appetite. Read the full answer →
Is Halloween celebrated in France?
Barely. Halloween is known in France but never took root. It arrived commercially in the late 1990s, peaked quickly and faded. Trick-or-treating is uncommon outside certain neighbourhoods, and the significant date at that time of year is 1 November — Toussaint — a public holiday spent visiting family graves. Read the full answer →
Why don’t French people make small talk?
French people do talk to strangers, just not the way Americans do. In a French shop the politeness is a ritual: bonjour on the way in, merci, au revoir on the way out. Skipping bonjour is the real offence. Read the full answer →
Do French people eat fast food?
Yes - French people eat fast food, and France is one of McDonald's strongest markets outside the US. The difference is how: mostly seated, as a complete meal at proper meal times, from menus localized with better bread and regional items. Read the full answer →
What should you expect when you meet your French mother-in-law?
In French your mother-in-law is your belle-mère, the same word as stepmother. Expect a formal start: vous until she suggests tu, la bise on arrival and on leaving, and a gift for the host, never chrysanthemums. Read the full answer →