Last month I began taking a French class, and let me tell you, it is hard. After hours of studying the French language, I often get discouraged and would like to throw in the towel. So, yesterday I made a small list of French things that I love, which will hopefully help to re-inspire me with reasons to learn français. It’s worth a try, right?

1. The movie Sabrina. It’s one of my favorites, both the original with Audrey Hepburn, and the remake with Harrison Ford. Very romantic.

Linus: [while slow dancing with his brother's girlfriend] How do you say in French my sister has a yellow pencil?
Sabrina: Ma soeur a un crayon jaune.
Linus: How do you say my brother has a lovely girl?
Sabrina: Mon frère a une gentille petite amie.
Linus: And how do you say I wish I were my brother?

“A woman happy in love, she burns the soufflé; a woman unhappy in love, she forgets to turn on the oven”

2. French Berets. They are really cute and fun to wear, especially paired with a scarf during the winter.

3. The Madeline books. They are stories about a little French orphan girl who often gets herself into trouble. I picked a few of them up at a yard sale about a year ago and I think the illustrations are very sweet. “In an old house in Paris that was covered with vines, lived twelve little girls in two straight lines. In two straight lines they broke their bread and brushed their teeth and went to bed. They smiled at the good and frowned at the bad, and sometimes they were very sad. They left the house at half past nine in two straight lines in rain or shine. The smallest one was Madeline.”

4. French toast, french fries, and french bread. All very tasty reasons to press on and learn how I might order them in a restaurant in France, if I should ever travel there.

5. The music of Feist, Corinne Bailey Rae, and the“Paris” album by Putumayo. All of their albums feature songs with some French lyrics, and I’d like to know what I am saying when I sing along. That would be good.

There, now I already feel more inspired. La vie en rose!