Vicki Lesage's Blog

When we bought our house a few years ago (I can't believe it's been that long since we left Paris!), it had recently been flipped. This was a mostly good thing because most things looked good. And since the previous owners had done all the rehab, we didn't have to live in a construction zone for months. Yay for move-in ready!


However, we never loved the master bathroom. It was something we knew we'd need to update at some point before selling (which we're not planning on doing anytime soon) and we figured, why fix it for someone else? Let's fix it for ourselves now so that we can enjoy it!


The bathroom wasn't bad per se. It had a new vanity, new toilet, fresh paint, and some nice-looking wainscoting. So why am I complaining?

Let's back up to this vanity. You might not be able to see the vanity in the picture because it is SO FREAKING SMALL. Now, I have not forgotten that I lived in tiny Parisian apartments for 11 years. But there is a reason I moved to America. I didn't want to live in tiny Parisian apartments anymore! And with this dumb vanity with its dumb narrow countertops I would drop my dumb contact lens cases in the dumb trash can or dumb toilet all the time.


So we determined we needed a bigger vanity. Which quickly turned into a game of Tetris because once you moved one thing, you had to move another. The good thing was, the master bedroom had an incredible amount of unused (and pretty much unusable) space right in front of the bathroom and closet.

After many sketches, and with the help of my dad who amazingly agreed to not only design it but to do all the work, we came up with Plan A and Plan B.

Plan A would have made the bathroom more square, letting more light in, and the closet would be an L-shape. But after Dad started demolition, we quickly realized that Plan A would require too much plumbing rework, including cutting into the ceiling from the dining room below. Remember how I said I didn't want to live in a construction zone? I also didn't want my retired-age dad working twice as long on a project he was doing for me for free. (I'm nice like that. Nice enough to let him redo my whole bathroom in exchange for home-cooked dinners and my pleasant company. I know who made out like a bandit on this arrangement!)


So we went with Plan B, which was a long bathroom and a long closet. Let the record show that my father was not a big fan of Plan B because it meant the bathroom would be quite narrow and skinny and there's a weird-ish nook by the window that doesn't make sense to someone who hasn't been there during the sketching of plans and the demolition and seeing what we had to work with. But I truly don't mind. Our bathroom remodel accomplished the following:


The all-important bigger vanity. Six feet long, in fact. I double-dog dare my contact lens case to jump in the trash can or toilet from here.

New floor tile. Our old tile might look OK in the picture (up above) but in real life it was quite beat up. My dad suspects it was actually wall tile and was never intended for the wear and tear of floor tile. Plus it was white, which is pretty unforgiving. This new darker tile is much easier to keep [looking like it's] clean. For those interested in dimensions, the floor tile is 1' x 2'.


A bigger shower with new tile. Our old shower was OK but Mika is 6'4" and when he would wash his hair, his long arms would bump against the shower walls and door. I am not particularly tall but I have freakishly long arms (or maybe I just wash my hair weirdly) so my arms would always bump against the shower wall and door too. Not to mention, shower doors are a lot of work to keep clean. Now we have a nice, new, pretty 4' x 4' shower that gives us plenty of space and is easy to keep clean. The wall tiles are 6" x 12" and the floor tiles are 2" x 2".


I did the best I could to make the nook look intentional. I mean, where else would I keep my photo and plant? Bonus: The framed photo is one my step-mom took of a double-rainbow at the beach by their house in Florida. So now my bathroom has a touch of both parents in it! (Though I'm guessing my dad's part was a smidge more work.)


The existing master closet actually had plenty of space. But it had unfinished particle board shelves that looked super janky. We painted those white and then my dad extended the closet to the new wall in the master bedroom. We installed a few more shelves so that the new part served a purpose, which meant I could really spread out the stuff in the back part. I even have room for picture frames on some of the shelves!



The new master bedroom is still a nice size at 13' x 16'. We put a fresh coat of paint on the walls (we had to paint the new wall anyway) that was a touch darker and a touch more gray than the old shade, to help tie into the gray of the bathroom.



A few more shots of our bedroom.



A few construction shots. I think the most astonishing thing about this whole project is that I managed to keep my cool for 6 weeks. That's definitely a record.



And a few shots from the bathroom looking out to the bedroom, before and after.

So there you have it! I will try not to think about how long it took and how hard my dad had to work. Those were the painful parts. The good parts, though, were: it was insanely cheap (the free labor helped immensely with that), we love how it looks and functions, and my dad was amazing at containing the construction mess to just the master suite. So it went about as smoothly as could be expected. HUGE thanks to my dad for doing the work and to my step-mom for loaning him to us for that long!

It's here! If you like books about Paris (and I assume so, since you're on my website), then you'll love my latest release:

From champagne bottles to baby bottles, this memoir offers a humorous glimpse of an American expat’s years abroad…


Party girl Vicki moved to Paris hoping to drink wine and fall in love. She accomplished both goals, but not without bumps along the way: romantic encounters gone awry, uniquely French situations threatening her sanity, and two adorable yet tireless kids keeping her on her toes.

Journey along with Vicki as she gets her feet wet, settles in, and finally finds her way in Paris. All with a drink in hand and a smile on her face. Until she must make a decision: Should she stay in her adopted city (with all its ups and downs) or should she return home (with its different ups and downs)?

Discover the real Paris through Vicki’s eyes as she shows you the funny side of life, love, and raising a family in the City of Light. And each chapter is paired with a delicious cocktail recipe! Enjoy drinks like the Sangria Spritzer, Pretty Good Bloody Mary, and Teeny Bellini.

You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll want to pour yourself another drink!

I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it (and living it)!

Availabe now:
Amazon US (ebook)
Amazon US (paperback)
Amazon UK (ebook + paperback)
Amazon Canada (ebook + paperback)
Amazon Australia (ebook + paperback)
Amazon India (ebook + paperback)

When we first moved into our house about two years ago, it was pretty much perfect. And not just because it had five bedrooms when my family of four had previously been crammed into a one-bedroom apartment in Paris. (But mostly because of that.)

The most perfect part? My Photoshopped grass.
The house had recently been flipped, so we have a new kitchen, new bathrooms, fresh paint, newly refinished original hardwood floors, and lots of other nice stuff for a house that was built in the 60's.

A shiny new kitchen!
And a shiny new bathroom!
The fireplace, however, is not one of those things. While the exterior of our house has this pretty, classic red brick, the fireplace brick is dark red and brown, and the mortar is dark gray. Add to it the dark mantle and it really brings down the whole room. But that's not the worst part, oh no. The worst part is the unfinished concrete hearth. And not unfinished concrete in a trendy, hipster loft way but rather in a did-they-forget-to-finish-this way.


To make matters worse, the black doors of the fireplace are attached to this contraption that you plug in, which then cycles the heat from the fire throughout the room. Let me tell you something. Ever since the time back in Paris when our brand-new microwave caught on fire and our hot water heater went on the fritz (meaning we had to manually light it every time we needed to use it), I decided I was done with anything to do with gas, matches, or fire. We will not be using this fireplace anytime soon. So that weird contraption? Don't need it. Ugly concrete hearth? That needs to be covered up. Really, the whole dang area needs to be lightened up.

Here's a closer shot of the "before" fireplace
And so we embarked on a very quick, very inexpensive, very satisfying DIY project. We did the following:
Removed the funky heating contraption from the doorsWhitewashed the brick (which involves painting it with this special white paint, then spraying it with water and wiping with a washcloth and repeating until it's the shade you want it)Painted the mantle and hearth whiteI already had a paintbrush and white paint, so I only had to buy the supplies for whitewashing, which were less than $50. Then I dropped another $50 at At Home for the décor on top of the mantle.

And voilà… the result:


It's a little hard to read but the big wooden sign says "Every Hour is Happy Hour" which is part homage to the room the fireplace is in (we call this room "The Pub" because of the pub-height table in it) and part homage to my general love of happy hour (hello, have you read my books?). The smaller metal sign thingy says "love." And the plant is the realest-looking fake plant I've ever seen, which is great because all my real plants are the deadest-looking real plants I've ever seen.

So there you have it! Extreme Home Makeover: Fireplace Edition.

Bonjour! You may be wondering just who is this loud, chatty Vicki Lesage. Maybe you heard about one of my books, or maybe you even read one (thanks!). Perhaps you came here to learn a little more about me. Cool.

I'm a 30-something girl from St. Louis who lived in Paris for more than a decade. I'm now back in the suburbs of good ol' St. Louis with my French husband and two kids. We loved living in Paris. We didn't love all cramming in to a one-bedroom apartment. Now we have much more space to cause trouble in!

I wrote a few books about my life in Paris. Feel free to check them out! Petite Confessions is free on Amazon and Confessions & Cocktails is free if you sign up for my newsletter (don't worry, I only send a few newsletters per year).

You can also check out a few of my blog posts or visit me on Facebook. Thanks for stopping by!

A while back I was interviewed by Magda Dežđek of Sensa Magazine, a Croatian women's magazine, about French parenting. Like I know anything! Below are my answers in English, which she then translated into Croatian for the actual article. I hope I'm as funny in Croatian, ha!

View the original article in Croatian

French kids have a reputation of being very well-behaved. Why is that?
I think it’s partly true and partly just reputation. It’s true that at mealtimes you won’t see kids running around restaurants as much (or as loudly) as you would in, say, the U.S. But I’ve definitely seen my fair share of tantrums and naughty attitudes!

Why are French parents so strict?
As an American, I think even my parents were somewhat strict, and their parents even more strict. I feel like only recently have Americans loosened up their parenting styles to what we see today. It seems the French haven’t done that (yet).

What are the most common rules and boundaries (regarding sleeping, eating, playing, manners, studying) that children need to obey?
It seems most French kids have a bedtime that is pretty well adhered-to. You rarely see French kids snacking between meals, and I think that helps them stay behaved during meals because they’re actually hungry and will sit and eat! They almost always say hi, bye, please, and thank you – something their parents do as well, contrary to the stereotype that French people are rude. I don’t know as much about the schoolwork since my kids were 2 and 4 when we moved from France to the U.S.

French parents are not ‘obsessive’ with kids like other European nations. For example, they need to have their “grown up” time in the evening and “grown up space” (so that children’s toys are not allowed in the living room). Can you explain that or maybe give me some examples?
I had always heard this before having my own kids but I never managed to make it work for me! My husband and I are what the French call “fusionnels” with our kids – we make them way too much the center of attention and don’t always leave enough time for our own needs and space. Although when you have four people crammed into a tiny one-bedroom apartment, space is all relative anyway!

Is it true that they don’t hesitate to small acts of violence? And, on what occasions?
It could be true but I haven’t really seen it.

I’ve read also that French kids are more patient (and, even so that they don’t have ADHD like in other countries). How are French parents “training” children’s patience?
If you find someone who knows the answer, could you share it with me? I feel like I observed most other French children having patience but couldn’t figure out what the parents were doing differently than me. Even the parents I asked couldn’t really articulate it. I’m guessing it has something to do with the above, where they (consciously or subconsciously) don’t put the child at the center of everything.

French mothers are not plagued by guilt. They do not spend time second-guessing themselves, how so?
I think a lot of American parents feel they need a “parenting style” and many research a lot before having kids. Whereas I feel like French moms don’t put as much thought into it, they just seem to do whatever their parents did or whatever comes naturally to them as far as parenting. Therefore they don’t feel the need to question it because they’re not even really thinking about it. And it seems to be working for them!

One of your books is about potty training in France, can you tell me more about it?
Sure! I wrote Confessions of a Paris Potty Trainer while I was on bed rest for 14 weeks with my second child. I wanted to write a follow-up to my first book, Confessions of a Paris Party Girl , which was about moving to France and falling in love. Once I had kids, a sequel was a natural step! The book’s title is a bit misleading – my kids were too young to be potty-trained at the time I wrote the book – but the sentiment is still there: It’s all about the ups and downs of having kids in Paris. It’s a mostly humorous account of what I went through, with some heartwarming bits thrown in.

Do you like reading books about Paris? I assume so, if you're here reading my blog! And while I wish I could say that I had written a new book (I'm still too crazy-busy to give that much attention right now), I did recently publish a book by fellow Francophile author K. S. R. Burns through the boutique publishing house I co-founded, Velvet Morning Press. So if you're looking to set off on another journey to France through the pages of a book, look no further than Paris Ever After!

Paris Ever After is an engaging tale about Amy, a food-obsessed American trying to start a new life in Paris. Much like me when I first moved to Paris! Though Amy's story is fiction, it feels so real. K. S. R. Burns gets even the tiniest details right, painting a vivid picture that drops you right into the sights and sounds of Paris. Just be careful not to step in any dog doo or trip over any cobblestones!

Here is a little more info about this delightful novel:


Find Paris Ever After on Amazon!

Can Amy’s rocky start in Paris turn into a happy ever after?

Amy didn’t realize how stale her life was until she jetted off to Paris without telling a soul—not even her husband—and had the adventure of a lifetime. Now as she tries to establish herself in the City of Light, she finds that despite a fun (and quirky) group of friends and the ability to indulge in French pastries whenever she wants, reinventing her life is much harder than she imagined.

Then on Amy’s thirtieth birthday, two unexpected visitors leave her wondering if she will soon be saying au revoir to Paris and the new life she’s struggled to build. Her estranged husband, Will, shows up—but is he interested in reconciliation or separation? And a young woman who arrives on Amy’s doorstep unleashes chaos that could push Amy out into the street.

As Amy’s Parisian dream starts to fall apart, she must decide: return to the stability of Will and Phoenix (if that’s even still an option) or forge her way forward in Paris? Amid secrets and surprises, set in enchanting gardens, cozy cafés, and glittering Parisian streets, Amy must choose between two very different worlds. And each has a claim on her heart.

Praise for Paris Ever After:

Magnifique! Fall in love with Amy as she stumbles through her new life in Paris, gradually learning what means the most in her unscripted world. Burns’ dry sense of humor and intimate knowledge of Parisian life are woven through the story as perfectly as the Hermès scarf in one of the book's most unforgettable scenes. Heartwarming and full of colorful characters, the surprise-filled narrative is smart, wry and poignant. You won't want to put it down. Five stars!
- Patricia Sands, author of the best-selling Love in Provence series

A roller coaster of a ride, Burns’s Paris Ever After takes us on a fast-paced adventure, the plot plunging through the streets of Paris and right into the hearts of its beautifully flawed characters.  Readers—buckle your seat belts, hang on to your hats, and get ready for unexpected twists and turns. Full of wit and humor, this novel is unputdownable! - Samantha Vérant, author of Seven Letters from Paris and How to Make a French Family

Embark on a new journey … pick up Paris Ever After today!

It's here! Confessions of a Paris Party Girl is now available in audiobook format. Woo hoo!


The narrator, Em Eldridge, did a wonderful job – she sounds more like me than I do! And a big thanks to Tantor Media for producing the audiobook.

If you give it a listen, let me know what you think! Happy listening :)

I have some exciting news: Confessions of a Paris Party Girl is being produced as an audio book!


I'm thrilled because, as all of us busy people know, there's just not enough time in the day! I love to support other authors' work and travel to different worlds through the pages of a book. But there's also laundry and bills and buying Leo's 8th pair of shoes for the month because that kid is inexplicably rough on shoes.

Enter audiobooks. I listen to them while I run, which has the added benefit of encouraging me to run nearly every day so I can find out what happens next!

So I'm pumped that one of my own books will be available soon in audio format from Tantor Media. I got to pick the narrator (she's awesome!) and production is underway. Stay tuned for a release date!

In the meantime, here are a few of my recommendations for some truly fab audiobooks:

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The Martian , by Andy Weir
The narrator, R.C. Bray, nails all the different accents, and you really feel like you're alone on Mars with Mark Watney the whole time you're listening. An incredible experience. No wonder the audiobook won multiple awards!


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Yellow Crocus , by Laila Ibrahim
A fantastic book made even better by the talented narration of Bahni Turpin. Her voice shifts seamlessly into different characters, transporting you to another time and another place.


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Yes Please , by Amy Poehler
What's better than reading Amy Poehler's hilarious and fascinating book? Listening to her read it to you. I felt like I was hanging out with Amy, you know, just me and my best friend Amy Poehler chatting about really funny stuff. I never wanted it to end!

Happy listening!

Bonjour! You may be wondering just who is this loud, chatty Vicki Lesage. Maybe you heard about one of my books, or maybe you even read one (thanks!). Perhaps you came here to learn a little more about me. Cool.

I'm a 30-something girl from St. Louis who lived in Paris for more than a decade. I'm now back in the suburbs of good ol' St. Louis with my French husband and two kids. We loved living in Paris. We didn't love all cramming in to a one-bedroom apartment. Now we have much more space to cause trouble in!

I wrote a few books about my life in Paris. Feel free to check them out! Petite Confessions is free on Amazon and Confessions & Cocktails is free if you sign up for my newsletter (don't worry, I only send a few newsletters per year).

You can also check out a few of my blog posts or visit me on Facebook. Thanks for stopping by!

We were invited to a Kentucky Derby party at my aunt and uncle's house, which was a great excuse to get dressed to the nines (or the sevens or sixes as our case tends to be these days) and throw on some crazy big hats. And we brought some delicious Kentucky Derby-themed Mint Julep Brownies (recipe at the bottom).

But first, photos of the big day:

Say, "Always Dreaming!"
My little Derby goofballs
The closest thing to "date night" we'd seen in a while. I'll take it!
Grandma came too and won Best Hat with a Horse Theme and also won $34 for betting on the winning horse. Leo said, "I love you Grandma because you're a winner." Let's hope she never loses, or it will put my son's fickle love to the test!

On to the recipe. I love to bring themed treats to parties. I don't like to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. This easy recipe ticked both of those checkboxes. I started with this recipe for Philly Cheesecake Brownies and jazzed it up for the Kentucky Derby party.

The perfect Kentucky Derby party recipe: Mint Julep Brownies
Mint Julep Brownies

1 package brownie mix
3 eggs
1/4 cup water
1 package light Philly cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
green food coloring (optional)
Andes mints, chopped (or you can buy a bag of pre-chopped ones)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Start the preheating way later if your kids are "helping" with the preparation (i.e. licking the bowls and making everything take longer). Grease 9x13 baking pan.

2. Mix brownie mix, 2 eggs, and water by hand until well blended. Pour into pan.

3. Beat cream cheese, sugar, and 1 egg white with electric mixer until well blended. Add a bit of green food coloring. (It's optional, but it somehow makes the brownies seem mintier!)

4. Spoon cream cheese mixture over brownie batter, then swirl lightly with a knife to create marble effect.

5. Top with chopped Andes mints.

6. Bake 28- 0 minutes. Cool before serving.

Enjoy with an actual mint julep for extra Kentucky Derby party fun!