Six Jours

Six jours!  SIX DAYS until I’m boarding a plane for Paris.  Unbelievable.

Everyone keeps asking what I’m going to miss most while I’m in Paris.  The obvious come to mind:  the people—friends, family, my family’s dogs (because, yes, they need separate mention, and yes, they’re practically people anyway), crazy Houston drivers on roads with more craters on them than Adam Levine’s pre-Proactiv face.  Kidding on that last one; Houston drivers are crazy, Euro drivers are usually crazier…but they drive Matchbox cars instead of diesel trucks.  ANYWAY, all the interrogation got me thinking about what I miss from places I’ve lived previously (see them on a map), and thus, I present:

moi mademoiselle’s list of things most missed from residences past

1. North Canton, Ohio—this one is EASY.  Ro’s Custard and Kraus’s Pizza.  Ro’s had THE BEST custard and sometimes, the dip of the week would be peanut butter.  They had awesome rotational flavors (blue moon and purple cow) and they even put sugar eyes on the ice cream.  Kraus’s not only had incredible pizza, but their potato wedges are out of this world.  Seriously.  Oh, I also miss people who call carbonated beverages “pop.”
2. College Station, Texas—oh my goodness, I miss so much about this place.  Mainly, crab cakes and strawberry tarts from Café Eccell (may it rest in peace).  White pizza from Antonio’s.  $5 movies.  Yes, you read that correctly.  In College Station, you can see a newly released feature film for FIVE DOLLARS, so OF COURSE I miss that place.
3. Cedar Falls, Iowa—Scratch cupcakes.  Seriously, the MOST AMAZING cupcakes I have ever eaten in my entire life.  Dense, moist cake and the richest frosting (without being too sugary!).  I would contemplate moving back there for the cupcakes alone…and that’s saying something because there’s nothing else to do there.  Oh, they also had really great local wine at the farmer’s market.
4. Hatfield, Pennsylvania—Cannoli.  The pizza place had a location on either side of my way in/out of town so I could stop by and get a cannoli (or two or three) on the way back to my sad, lonely apartment in the middle of nowhere.
5. San Antonio and Houston, Texas—the Rodeo.  It’s amazing and I’m super sad to be missing it this year.  Mutton-busting is the greatest “sport” in the history of “sports” and it is so difficult to accept that I won’t get to watch it.  (For those unfamiliar, mutton-busting is where kids—we’re talking about boys and girls, 3-7 years old—put on their cute little Wranglers and pearl snaps and helmets and hold onto a sheep for dear life for up to 8 seconds before falling off, probably crying, and eventually getting comforted by the Rodeo Queen.  Pure hilarity ensues.)  I prefer the San Antonio Rodeo to Houston (venue is better), but regardless, it’s an awesome line up and an excuse to wear my cowboy boots and see children ride sheep.  Also, Dr Pepper and Chick-fil-a.  Because...DUH.