The Boutique
Guides and calls for life in France, from someone who’s done it.
Book a call
These are one-to-one video calls with me, Sarah. I’m an American who’s lived in France since 2020, and I’ve been through the paperwork, the pregnancy admin and the settling-in myself. Pick the one that fits: sort out a French admin process, get a local’s guide to the neighbourhood where you’re staying, or get unstuck on a single step. Every call ends with something you can keep, like a checklist, a summary or a guide, and you pay by card when you book. I explain how things work and how they worked for me. I’m not a lawyer or an official, and I don’t fill out forms, log into your accounts or file anything for you. Read the terms.
Be My Neighbor
Your Paris neighbourhood, the way a local sees it. A 60-minute call about where you’re staying, then a personalised guide and map with cafés, bakeries, markets and essentials. Delivered within 48 hours. Book at least 10 days before you arrive.
French Admin Hour
One hour, one French admin process, in the right order. We work through the process you’re stuck on (social security, CAF, pregnancy admin, basic documents), and you leave with a one-page printable checklist within 48 hours of our call.
Checklist Check-In
One stuck step, sorted. A 30-minute follow-up if you’ve done an Admin Hour, or you’re stuck on one step of a process, plus a short written summary of your next step within 48 hours of our call.
Guides and ebooks
The Expat Mum in France is a series of three guides for the moments when pregnancy, birth and a new baby meet the French system. I wrote them because I went through all of it as an American in the Paris suburbs, with a daughter born in France, and I wish I’d had them.
They’re practical and in plain language: trimester-by-trimester roadmaps with the deadlines that matter, CAF benefits explained, sample scripts for French admin conversations, the first 30 days after birth, the honest reality of childcare, and the extras that come with raising a bilingual, dual-national child. Read them one at a time as you reach each stage, or get all three together.
Not sure where to start? Pregnant now: Before Baby. Baby just born: After Baby. A few months in: The First Year. Want the whole path: The Complete Bundle.
The Expat Mum in France: Before Baby
Everything you need to navigate pregnancy in France.
You’ve just found out you’re pregnant, and France has a whole layer of appointments, acronyms and deadlines nobody warned you about. This 29-page guide walks you through it trimester by trimester, so you know what to do, when, and who to ask.
Written by an American who’s been through it, so you know what to expect and what to ask.
Inside: the pregnancy roadmap with every deadline · sage-femme vs gynécologue · CAF pregnancy benefits cheat sheet · French admin script pack · the Expat Mum survival card · the official hospital bag list.
The Expat Mum in France: After Baby
Everything you need to navigate early motherhood in France.
The first weeks after your baby arrives are some of the most admin-heavy of your life in France. This 26-page guide covers the deadlines, the money and the childcare reality, plus what’s specific to raising a bicultural child. Plain language, from someone who worked it out the hard way.
Inside: the first 30 days postnatal checklist · CAF baby benefits (PAJE, prime à la naissance) · the honest guide to childcare (mode de garde) · the American expat add-on (CRBA, US passport, dual nationality) · bilingual from day one · a personal essay on becoming a mother abroad.
The Expat Mum in France: The First Year
Everything you need to navigate your baby’s first year in France
Once the newborn fog lifts, there’s a whole year ahead that nobody gave you a roadmap for. This 26-page guide covers your baby’s health calendar, the resources most expats never hear about, and the decision to go back to work or not. Written for expat mums who want the French system explained, not just handed over.
Inside: the first year of health in France (exams and vaccinations) · the PMI and LAEP · going back to work, or choosing not to · childcare day to day · money and benefits in year one · bilingual in practice · a personal essay on the first anniversary.
The Expat Mum in France: Bundle
The Expat Mum in France, all three guides.
From your first appointment to your baby’s first birthday, in one download. Before Baby, After Baby and The First Year are 81 pages and 19 chapters covering pregnancy, the newborn weeks and the first year in France, written by an American who went through every step in the Paris suburbs. You get the roadmaps, the deadlines and the plain-language explanations in the order you’ll need them.
Best if: you’re pregnant now, or expecting soon, and want the whole path in one place instead of buying each guide as you reach that stage.