One of my dreams has always been to pick up and move to London. I developed a fascination with the culture in my early 20's, and I've only fallen more and more in love with the city as the years have gone on. Although I never bought a one-way ticket and hopped the pond, I make sure to visit as often as I can, and in the meantime I immerse myself in those who have followed their dreams and moved abroad.
Enter Ella Coquine (not her real name, in case you were wondering). I'm not quite sure how or when I discovered Ella's blog, Tales from the Chambre de Bonne, but from the minute I found it I was hooked. Her story of "starting over" in the city of light after a devastating break-up reads more like a movie script or a novel than it does a blog, and I think that's what makes it so appealing. Ella logged her diaries every single day for one year after "MF" (which I still think stands for "Motherfucker") broke her heart, and today marks Day 365 in her journey. To celebrate, I'm featuring Ella Coquine as my Champagne Girl of the Week. Cheers to her for picking up herself up by her stilettos and not just starting over, becoming stronger and better than ever! Ella, you are an inspiration!
CD: Tell us a little bit about yourself
EC: I'm an Italian New Yorker who has lived in Paris for almost three years. My life has been an adventure where I feel like an actress following a script. I have lived in Los Angeles where I was a failed actress turned extra turned Hollywood Coffee Shop waitress, back to New York where I was the personal assistant for a famous fashion tyrant who fired me, which then led me to working for one fashion's most famous designer, where I fell in love with French culture and my first French fling.
CD: What inspired you to start Tales from the Chambre de Bonne?
EC: After the embarrassment of being dumped and left out on the streets of Paris by the man that I had loved, and had lost all of my friends, I had no one to talk to. I was embarrassed to talk about my failed relationship with friends from back home who were planning their weddings, and I didn't want to worry my mom and aunt anymore than I had, so I started Tales from the Chambre de Bonne as an online diary to vent, document my progress, in an effort to live each day to its fullest. I never intended it to reach as many people as it did. I remember the feeling of complete shock when I received my first comment. It was like, "Wait, there's someone out there?" I accused my mom and my aunt of being this reader for several months because I didn't believe that there was someone actually reading my story.
CD: What was the most challenging thing about moving to Paris?
EC: Not knowing anyone because I moved there without knowing a single person. I felt really cheesy when I'd be in my little apartment drinking wine alone, and hear the sound of my neighbor's high heels in hallway of my apartment building going out Friday night. I wanted to be fabulous in Paris too! I knew that before uprooting to Paris, that there was going to be sacrifices, and not having any friends would be one of them. Little did I know at that time, that not having people go drink wine with was going to be the least of my concerns, and that life was going to get way more complicated.
CD: What was the best thing about it?
EC: My favorite thing is poking fun at myself in this refined city. I'm a New Yorker and always will be, and I love how I stick out like a sore thumb and that I speak French with a bit of a Queens accent.
CD: What's your mantra?
EC: Don't complain...Change! If you're unhappy with something or someone in your life, do something about it! You're the only person you can control.
CD: What's next for Ella Coquine?
EC: Next is looking for a new home, getting a job, focusing on my Etsy shop, blogging, writing, going to school part-time and enjoying every moment of life. I wouldn't have been able to say this last year because I was feeling far from fab, but today I can say that life can be pretty good.
