Weeks 1-3, 2025 / How to Frenchify your life
One of the goals I have set for French Daisy in 2025 is to post weekly on ways that you can “frenchify” your life. Add a little “French-ness” to your everyday. You know, that French “joie de vivre.”
Since it is mid-January, one could say that I am nearly 2 weeks behind already, but I prefer to say that I’m not behind at all because I’m providing a 3-for-1 in today’s post! Ha! 🙂
If you’ve been around here for a while, you already know that I love all things French and I try to incorporate as much French-ness to my life any chance I get.
1.) Learn A New French Word Or Phrase Per Week
If you learn just one new word or phrase per week, by the end of the year you will have learned 52 new words & phrases! That’s quite a lot for someone who is just starting to learn a new language. Just think… if you already know some French, you could be in the hundreds of words in no time! Despite your level of French, this can be a fun way to frenchify your life.
Since we are mid-January (“janvier” in French), I’ll give you an appropriate phrase, “Il neige.” This translates to, “It is snowing.” This is very appropriate for much of the USA currently. We’re experiencing an extremely cold spell and we’ve actually had snow on the ground for nearly 2 weeks now and I simply LOVE it. It just makes everything so bright and as though there are diamonds covering the ground. I love to look out from my desk and see our pond frozen over and to be able to see the deer passing by in the woods. Without the snow, it’s nearly impossible to see them when they’re deep into the woods.
Now, you have a new word (janvier – which is not capitalized in French) and a new phrase, “Il neige.”

2.) Watch A Travel Show About France
One of my favorite ways to relax is by watching some sort of travel show about France. Rick Steves is my absolute favorite. I refer to him as my travel hero! I can honestly say that I believe I have watched every episode of his that includes France at least a dozen times each. Quite frankly, I’m 99% sure it’s even more than that, but hey, who’s counting?

Rudy Maxa’s “Smart Travels” and Samantha Brown also have wonderful shows that captivate me for thirty minutes or so. Each time I watch an episode it takes me back to my travels throughout France. It’s kind of like I’m whisked away to France and re-playing a portion of my journey when I watch them. It’s always fun to see them visit places that I have been. When this happens, my dad likes to say, “I’ve been there!” with a huge smile on his face! 😀 I like saying that, too.

Of course YouTube has many, many clips on France, but so many are quite amateur. I do still learn from them nonetheless. “Les Frenchies” do a great job of sharing practical information for your upcoming France visit(s) as well.
When I’m watching travel shows and documentaries, I like to have a notebook and pen handy in case there’s a place they go to or a restaurant that really stands out so that I can look into it a little more the next time I’m in that area. My husband and I have discovered some really fantastic places to visit, restaurants to dine at, and gorgeous accommodations to stay at from watching videos. One can also learn things NOT to do or places NOT worth your time visiting. This can be just as helpful so you don’t waste any of your precious travel time.

3.) Go To A French Restaurant
I don’t know about you, but French cuisine is my absolute favorite. I mean who doesn’t love a delicate piece of meat with a velvety smooth sauce or gravy on top? Mmmmm… très bon!
Here in my area of the midwest, French restaurants are pretty scarce. Of course you can find restaurants that may serve a dish or two with a French influence, but locating a true French restaurant proves difficult in my neck of the woods. LOL

We do have a French restaurant called, “Auberge,” not too far away. (There’s another French word for you – auberge – which means “inn or small hotel.”) It is quite a lovely restaurant with delicious food. It’s a treat when we dine here.
Auberge also hosts various French events. We attended a Beaujolais wine class before Thanksgiving that was a lot of fun. The presenter had a nice slideshow explaining the region of each wine we tasted as well as the tasting notes, appellation and terroir of the vineyards. (Side note: it was so nice to hear the names pronounced properly. Haha!)



I remember back in the day, our French club would go to an authentic French restaurant, “Chez Jean Restaurant Francais,” each year. It was quite a drive from our high school, maybe an hour or so, but it was always my favorite field trip. The owner was born in France and began his chef apprenticeship at the age of 12 in the Alsace-Lorraine region in northeast France. I remember these trips so fondly. Unfortunately the business closed after the owner passed, but I went by it not too long ago and the sign still stands. Oh what lovely memories I have of that place.

I challenge you to find the nearest French restaurant and give it a try if you’ve never been there. Even trying a French dish at any restaurant may be worth it as well. Any way that you can Frenchify your life is a good thing, in my opinion.
In Summary
1. Learn a new word/phrase each week and practice it daily to store it in your brain. I’ve given you four so far…
- janvier – January
- Il neige – It is snowing (la neige – snow)
- très bon – very good
- auberge – inn or small hotel
2. Watch travel shows about France
3. Find a French restaurant
So, please share how you intend to Frenchify your life this month in the “Comments” section below. I love to hear the different ways people incorporate anything French into their lives.
Checkout this link if you’re planning to visit Paris or elsewhere in France this winter for some helpful tips.
Allons faire un tour…

*This post may include affiliate links. I make a small commission if you purchase items from these specific links. Thank you in advance for enabling this Francophile to keep researching and sharing! 🙂
[…] Let’s get Frenchy! Haha!!! Yah, that sounds cheesy (and it is), but if you’re the slightest bit of a Francophile like me, I look for ANY way to add some French to my life, or (as I’ve called it for decades), “Frenchify” my life. Last week I started a new weekly series to help you find ways to add some French-ness to your everyday. In case you missed last week’s post, you can view it here. […]