Bonjour, and thank you so much for visiting Fleur de St. Louis! I'm Lauren, and I am excited to share my story and connect with you.
First thing to know about me, I am an elementary school teacher. I have an amazing job with passionate colleagues and absolutely incredible students who teach ME so much every day. Of course teaching is a big part of who I am, but it isn't all of who I am. I will never forget something one of my professors said during my master's program. He expressed to us that in order to teach well, you also have to live well. For me, a big part of living well is honoring my own interests and passions, making time for that which ignites my soul.
I really started paying attention to my inner voice in the summer of 2015. This is the summer my boyfriend and I loaded up the Explorer and headed east on a fourteen day road trip that would take us to New York City, Boston, Portland, Montréal, and many places in between. At this time, I wasn't very hip to the whole podcast craze. My boyfriend had several that he thoroughly enjoyed, but I never thought podcasts were for me. That's when I discovered Shannon Ables and the Simple Sophisticate. Shannon lives in Oregon, and like me, she is a francophile, a lover of style, and a woman on a constant quest for knowledge and true contentment. The second I heard her speak I was hooked. I felt like she had created her podcast specifically for me. From here it was a domino effect. She recommended How to Be Parisian Wherever You Are which I picked up in Harvard Square. She introduced me to Madame Chic (Jennifer L. Scott) who accompanied me from Montréal all the way back to St. Louis. In what felt like an instant, so many doors opened, so many connections were made. I felt a part of community of people who understood what was important to me. Of course my friends and family recognized me as the collector of all things Eiffel Tower, but these women knew that it was more than that. They understood that this "Frenchy" passion was intertwined with a desire to learn, create, and ultimately live well.
Since that time, I have found even more connections. Rebecca Plotnick of The Every Day Parisian gave me additional inspiration and showed me that these connections are much closer than I realize (she is based out of Chicago, just a short road trip away). I hope to connect with her in person some day soon. Anne Bogel of Modern Mrs. Darcy helped revive my reading life (Anne, I am so grateful!).
In the midst of all of this inspiration, I feel I have made true progress in the direction of my dreams. In September I finally took the leap and started French classes at the Alliance Française de St. Louis. I have always adored the French language and studied for 8 years, but I let this interest fall to the wayside when my teaching career began. I knew it was time to get back to something that brought me such joy. Now, I'm sitting here typing this post to you as I take yet another leap and launch Fleur de St. Louis.
My vision is that this site will continue to allow wellness, learning and creativity to flourish. My hope is that it strengthens my connections to those with similar interests. This project is still in the early stages, but part of my mission is to encourage others to commence (begin), to be OK with imperfections, and to embrace opportunities for continuous growth.
Whether you are a fellow francophile, a language learner, a lover of reading, a creative, or someone on a journey to live life to the fullest, I hope Fleur de St. Louis brings you inspiration. I hope you enjoy following along as much as I enjoy creating.
Warm wishes from me to you, and see you on the blog!
