I was recently introduced to what may be now my favorite competitive sport: speed crafting (think speed dating, but without the awkward small talk and judgement). The event was organized by L'Insolente for Paris bloggers to come together, sip cocktails, and race to complete as many of the four proposed crafts as possible in an hour and [ ... ]
Read MoreIn the midst of getting ready for Halloween this year, I came across a website called Ultimate Paper Mache. All of a sudden, I was overcome with a burning desire to make a papier-mâché mask. Like, right now. When I get a creative itch, it can be very hard for me to not scratch it immediately. Once the idea of playing with papier-mâché [ ... ]
Read MoreThis is my fourth Halloween in Paris, and I'm getting really excited to celebrate. As I've mentioned before, holidays are an important part of expat life. While I might not have made a big deal about Halloween in America, I get really excited about costumes and decorations in France. I'm in the midst of getting ready for this year's decorations [ ... ]
Read MoreWhen October rolls around each year, I am faced with the big decision of what costume to make for Halloween. But since moving to Paris, this choice has become more complicated. It’s not just me anymore; there are also the skeletons. I was in charge of decorations for the Halloween party two years ago. I [ ... ]
Read MoreLadies and Gentlemen, my thesis is done! In honor of finishing my Master's degree, I present to you The Panic Attack! One night, after a particularly rough night working on my thesis, I decided to make myself a cocktail treat. Finding only rye and cider in my kitchen, a quick Google search led me to a recipe for a [ ... ]
Read MoreThe Fourth of July of 2012 fell on a Wednesday. This meant that the official party would have to wait for July 6. But a friend and I decided to have a quiet pre-celebration in Place Saint-Sulpice on that Wednesday night, equipped with a 12-pack of sparklers. We each pinned on a cocarde tricolore (ignoring that they [ ... ]
Read MoreAn Easter picnic in Paris practically screams for tissue paper flower pins. At least, that’s how I felt when getting ready for an Easter picnic in a park in the Marais last Sunday. I happened to have a lot of leftover tissue paper from my Tex-Mex dinner party decorations, so I got busy making tissue paper flowers. It was an easy and relaxing project: cutting out flower-shaped layers, stapling them together and then fluffing [ ... ]
Read MoreI was in Toulouse this weekend, visiting a friend’s family. On Sunday, we spent a lazy afternoon lounging in the backyard, soaking in the warm southern sun. We put down blankets and stretched out in the soft grass. It turned out the lawn was scattered with tiny daisies. My friend's cousin's [ ... ]
Read MoreI found myself in the midst of a polar vortex for my birthday this year, at the tail end of visit to my family in the Midwest. In the midst of record-breaking amounts of snow, I decided to throw a small party with hints of Spring. There would be roses, punch, and lots and lots of streamers. When I was a little girl, my idea of [ ... ]
Read MoreI once went to a dinner party where an American made a big pot of chili for her French guests. While we Americans found the amount of spice to be mild, our French friends’ eyes teared up and we had to open the windows. So when I found myself hosting a dinner party for three French friends, Tex-Mex was [ ... ]
Read MoreAs someone who used to think that cocktails were servings of alcohol with so much sugar as to be crunchy, it has taken the coaching of many knowledgeable and talented friends to convince me not only that cocktails are worth my time, but that they can be an art. I have gone through several deviations on [ ... ]
Read MoreThe year was 2012 and I had just learned of the existence of the Eurovision Song Contest. This annual musical competition pits the members of the European Broadcasting Union against each other, with each country performing a song. Upon my first viewing that summer, I was [ ... ]
Read More"Welcome! You can put your coat on the bed, food and drinks are in the living room, and don't forget to sign the guestbook!" This is how I greeted my guests at my recent Housewarming Party, and pretty much everyone gave me a puzzled look, wondering if they had heard me correctly. They had [ ... ]
Read MoreA dear friend’s 30th birthday was approaching. To celebrate reaching the end of her 20’s, she decided to have a Roaring Twenties party. She has mad mixology skills, so a major highlight of the evening would be the specially selected, Prohibition Era cocktails. To prepare for the evening, she had [ ... ]
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This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer.
IMAGINIBUS is a blog about playing in museums, with a focus on imagination and creativity.
This blog is a place to be inspired to use your imagination around artworks—and to see the art of your daily life.
When we engage creatively with art, museums can become playgrounds and laboratories to experiment with attention, mindfulness, and imagination. Interesting things happen when we use that museum gaze to look at our daily lives like a work of art.
Find more inspiration for playing with new ways of paying attention to your daily life here.
Hello! I'm Marina Gross-Hoy, a writer, Museum Studies PhD candidate, and mother currently living in Quebec. I take playing in museums very seriously.
Read more about the blog here.
Check out my newsletter on Substack to be inspired to see the art in your daily life.
