About

I guess the best way to describe this blog is to describe me. I write what’s on my mind, what’s in my day, and what’s on my plate. So, I guess the content you’ll read is me – “Jai” and the life that I live – “la vie.” With a touch of my French, I created J’ai La Vie to chronicle the crazy thoughts and happenings of my life.

In a nutshell, I live in Hoboken, NJ (a quick swim from Manhattan) with my boyfriend, Tom, and only a few blocks away from my sister, Kiley. I’ll probably reference them often …

Outside of the nutshell: I’m a Francophile and a synesthete. I’m a Mac. I love too many things and have too many dreams. I love that I have too many dreams. Among the many things are the topics of this blog:

Food

I’m a mac n cheese maven and coffee aficionado. I have Pinterest boards dedicated to both. Dining out is my favorite thing in the world (well, next to traveling the world) and I created a Google map of my never-ending NYC food tour.

I’m also a bit of wine-o. I consider it a healthy habit because heart disease runs in my family, not alcoholism. And my father taught me from a very young age, you don’t drink white unless you’re out of red.

New York

I’m a country girl and Big Apple advocate. What that means is I’m proud to be born and raised in the sticks (in between three farms), attended college in the suburbs, and now live within view of the New York City skyline. After a lifetime of a love-hate relationship with New York, I’ve come to realize it is the most amazing city in America and I’m blessed to experience all it has to offer.

I live a quick swim away in Hoboken, NJ and I love living here more every day. It’s the convenience of the city with the true hometown feeling that I grew up with. And the fantastic nightlife makes it an easy sell for me and other post-grads not looking to give up on their 20’s.

But I won’t lie, on holidays and long weekends I love waking up to the sound of birds and tractors.

Me, Myself, and I

Let’s get personal. I’m an open book and I tell people pretty much anything they want to know. (Although I learn to take caution when posting things online!) I’m very open about the fact that I have an anxiety disorder. My only reason for not discussing it is due to the misconceptions associated with anxiety. I’m not shy or even visibly nervous – generalized anxiety disorder is much more complex than that. It’s a struggle that I’m still working out and I think one day I’ll beat it. In the meantime, I’m a pretty happy, lucky, and grateful person that enjoys focusing on all of the blessings in my life.

Feel free to check out my past blogs!

J’aime Traverser – meaning “I like to cross” in French (and, like J’ai La Vie, a play on my name) I created this blog to chronicle my travels on study abroad.

Cafe de Vie – the grammatically correct version was taken but this is my former tumblr.

Jamie Travis, MA – I created this while getting my Master’s at the New School. It features just some of my work/research.

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