A few months ago, Sébastien and I submitted a photo in the Cupcake Vineyards "Living Deliciously" photo contest. Being a fan of the brand, and missing it when I'm in Paris, I insisted that we participate in such a fun contest. Why not? And what better background than Paris to assist us in our quest? Our brainstorming session was guided by the idea of creating something fun, something that represented a part of us both, while still conveying Cupcake's message of making memories by "Living Deliciously".
On a sunny Sunday in May, we put on our best navy blue stripes, managed to find a bakery open to sell us a baguette (that was actually the biggest challenge of this whole thing!), trekked down to the Eiffel Tower en Vespa, and looked like total jerks posing in front one of the world's most famous monuments as if we had just walked out of a Jean-Luc Goddard film. We received looks of horror from some of the locals who were trying to enjoy their day off, heard a man tell his wife that we must be rednecks from Rouen, and had tourists from Asia and the States ferociously snapping photos of "real live French people doing French things". It was quite a scene.
At the apartment, we sorted through a hundred photos before chosing what we thought represented the concept of creating memories while being drunk, and were one of the first to add our photo to the other contest selections. We didn't think we'd win, but we thought that the other participants and the brand would at least get a kick out of our corny creation.
Famous last thoughts...
Perhaps America isn't ready for la touche française, because not only was it one of the least popular photo of the contest, there were accusations from the other participants that it was fake (because no Franco-American couple has access to the Eiffel Tower, right?) and only our friends and family voted (by the way, THANK YOU!). Needless to say, we did not win. Burn!Oh là là là là là là! I think I'm having some terrible luck this week! First the BBC disses me, then Cupcake! Breathe. Breathe. I'm now speaking to myself in my bathroom mirror. Rejection is character building, and it only makes you appreciate the actual experience and takes the focus off of the outcome. This is my inner-failed Hollywood actress speaking, by the way.
Participating in the contest really was all in good fun, and while we're a bit disappointed that our hard work went unnoticed and were accused of not being in France (I still scratch my head at this), we have this great memory of us goofing around on a gorgeous spring day together on Pont de Bir-Hakeim! Saying that, we're also not sore losers and appreciate a job well done. So we're sending a genuine congratulations to the winner Peyton for a fabulous photo that makes us want to grab a glass of Cupcake Wine to continue on living "deliciously"!
And for those of you who are curious..this is what we submitted:
...with my new family."
Hey, I told you it was cheesy!
Silver lining:
I don't have to say deliciously ever again if I don't want to.
That word kind of got on my nerves after a few weeks.
Bon week-end à tous!!