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In 2006, I was in the south of France on 4th of July. Of course, in France the 4th doesn’t have any significance, so we spent the evening swimming in Cassis, near Marseilles. The 14th of July however, is Bastille Day - France’s national day of celebration, commemorating the storming of the Bastille in 1789.

By this time, we were in Paris and got to experience the madness that is Bastille day at the Eiffel Tower…

“We headed to the Eiffel Tower and it was much too late to stake out a great spot so we ended up waaaaay back, but I think any spot was still a good view! We used our street maps as seats and waited for the show. I must say that fireworks at the Eiffel Tower were better than any Independence Day celebration I have ever seen! They play classical music during the fireworks. It most certainly beat our cheesy rock montages for the 4th. After the fireworks we swam through the masses to the metro and headed “home.” *sigh* I love Paris.”
–my thoughts on Paris, circa 2006

What sacrilege! Oh well, you be the judge… here’s a video of the fireworks and music on Bastille Day at the Eiffel Tower:

Do the French really do it better? Happy 4th of July! I <3 America!  :)

I’m super excited about a new project I’ve been working on called the Frugal Bon Vivant: Enjoying the good life — on a budget. (You may have already noticed the Deals RSS over on my side bar.) Anyway, I’ve always been good at finding deals, so I’ve combined that with my approach to frugal living. I’ve posted a few travel & shopping deals in the past on this blog, but I thought it would be less confusing to just launch a seperate project.

What - you ask - is a frugal bon vivant?
Frugal fru·gal \?frü-g?l\ adjective :  economical in use or expenditure; prudently saving or sparing; not wasteful (synonyms: thrifty)

Bon Vivant bon vi·vant \?bän-v?-?vänt\ noun :  a person who lives luxuriously and enjoys good food and drink. (synonyms: epicurean, foodie, libertine, connoisseur)

The best things in life might not always be free, but they can usually be gotten at a bargain. The Frugal Bon Vivant serves up deals, promo codes, how-tos, and tips on enjoying the good life on a budget. Frugal living since 1981.

There’s my “elevator pitch” so head on over to the Frugal-BonVivant.com and check it out! I’ve scoured the web for deals, so you don’t have to. I’ll be doing a giveaway next week, but shhhh! you didn’t hear it from me. ;)

A few hot deals:

• Buy One, Get One Free at Jamba Juice - expires July 12
  
• FREE 12oz Drink at The Coffee Bean - July 1
• FREE Quart of Paint from Glidden (seriously, go pick your color!)
• Fly to Canada - Buy One Get One Free

Not to be obsessive over arugula - last week I wrote about making Arugula & Goat Cheese Pasta Salad - but when arugula wants to bolt there’s no stopping it! Since one of our arugula patches is on its way out, we’ve been using it like crazy. After searching for more uses for arugula, I came across another Martha Stewart Everyday Food recipe - from the January issue. I’d used the crust recipe for Pizza Margherita, so it was fun to try a different style of topping: arugula, shaved Pecorino Romano cheese, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil. Here’s the full recipe. This pizza was super delicious (& easy), seriously you must try it!

Six weeks into container gardening, I’m having a brilliant time! It’s so fun to go outside and pick veggies to add to dinner. And I’ve finally updated my “Watching My Garden Grow” container garden slideshow. Check it out:

#57 on my 101 Things in 1,001 Days List was to read all of Seth Godin’s books. I was already about halfway done, when I added this to my list, but then he just kept on writing books! Give a girl a break, and let me catch up! ;) If you’re unfamiliar with Godin, he’s a best-selling marketing and business author who writes “bite size” marketing books and a blog.

My favorite book of the 12 is Small Is the New Big: and 183 Other Riffs, Rants, and Remarkable Business Ideas. I like how this book is divided into alphabetized one page blurbs. While not all 183 are “remarkable” ideas, it’s a great way to bring you out of the details of getting things done on a day-to-day basis. It adds a little caffeine to your marketing day. This book is better listened to than read. I really enjoy listening to an audio book that’s narrated by the author, because it’s much more personal and you feel like you’re getting the right tone/inflections.

I just finished his last book, Tribes — We Need You to Lead Us.  As usual, it was a quick read and resonated with me in a Gandhi sort of way, “be the change you want to see in the world”.  This book isn’t on how to be a better leader, just about deciding to lead. I think my favorite thing was going to read the review on Amazon and finding this in the Editorial Review section:

“The advice found in this book should be used with caution. Change isn’t made by asking permission, Godin says. Change is made by asking forgiveness, later. That may be true, but in this economy and in certain corporations, it may also be a good way to lose a job.” –Publishers Weekly

Hilarious! Seth Godin, are you laughing?

My only critique with Godin’s writing is that he’s often too quick to dismiss stable and “boring” businesses. There’s a time and place for unconventional (that’s why it’s not called “conventional”). For example, I don’t want my toilet paper to be hip and clever– it’s just toilet paper. And it doesn’t matter how “outside the box” your company is if you’re still unprofitable. I am a huge fan of his books though, I just like to take everything with a grain of salt.  :)

The Frugal Traveler (NY Times) posted an interesting Q&A with Beth Whitman, from Wanderlust & Lipstick about solo, female travel. I agree with her on most of her advice, except I’ve definitely thought “Oh God, I wish I was a man in this situation!” Some of the comments from NYT readers are getting a little nasty though. Ouch! Anyway, here are a few of my tips for traveling solo as a young[er] female.

• Do your traveling during daylight hours. Arriving into town on a train at midnight isn’t the safest bet.
• Treat solo travel as you would your own city. I wouldn’t walk around parts of Portland at night, so why would I abroad?
• Don’t dress like a hooker. OK, maybe more useful to say dress appropriately for the region you’re in. Modesty goes a long way.
• Know where you’re hotel is on a map, before you even arrive at the airport. You’ll know if the the taxi is leading you astray.
• Keep a hotel/hostel business card with you at all times.
• Master the “Don’t Mess With Me” walk, at some point you’ll need it.
• When looking for hostels online (HostelWorld.com etc), sort by location. Location is a huge deal when traveling solo. Example: my hostel in Madrid was on a pedestrian street, and I could go out at night alone. In Barcelona, it was down by the port, so I made sure to not be solo after dark.
• Use your “sixth sense” to differentiate between danger and simple curiosity. Many cultures are just curious as to why you’re alone, or why you have blond hair, or why you have blond arm hairs. :)
• Do small group tours for countries you want to experience without the hassle (like Morocco and Turkey).

Ladies, what are your tips for solo travel?