April 14, 2009

Who Am I?

No, my name isn't really Loulou.

(obviously there are a few of you who already know this...)

When I started this blog I wanted to remain anonymous for several reasons, but as each year passes those reasons become less and less important. So I've decided to dispense with all of this cloak-and-dagger business.

But before I tell you, there are the questions: Why Loulou? Why Chez Loulou?
I get asked this a lot.
First, Loulou is a name that I've always loved. Growing up I liked my first name, but always wanted something more unique, something with more flair.
Then, when we moved to France, my husband and I decided to take "French" names/alter egos as a joke between us, and it just kind of grew from there.
I am Loulou and he is Bruno. (Not to worry though, we still use our real names in our day to day lives. I don't go around introducing myself as Loulou or anything. I'm not that weird.)
And when I decided to start a blog back in January of 2006, I chose the name Chez Loulou on a whim. Simple as that.


Oh yeah, my real name. Hi, I'm Jennifer Greco.
Nice to meet you. Pin It

19 comments:

Lori said...

I haven't had the chance to stop by in a while. I love the new look of your blog! Beautiful!

I struggled with the anonymous thing, but then realized since I had the desire to do freelance writing I needed to get my real name out there.

Good to meet you! ;)

~SarahInParis~ said...

That's so funny. I have to agree Loulou is a FABULOUS name (so is Bruno). But nice to get your real self out there too. Alas for me there is no hiding my name - it's my business name! It's not so scary Jennifer I promise!

Alison said...

I love it when a blogger outs herself.

I think I've already told you that when we were kids, my brother called me Loulou. I saw him on Easter Sunday, and I do believe I heard him refer to me as "Lou." :)

Veronica said...

Hi Jennifer!

I had kind of gathered over time that you weren't really called Loulou :) But I'd sometimes wondered why/how you picked Loulou, so thanks for the explanation!

... so when you become French, will you change your name?? I think as part of the process you can specify a new name. We didn't do this, although French people would have had less difficulty spelling/pronouncing our names if we had!

Allie said...

Nice to meet you, Jennifer! I'm still Allie. I thought for a long time about using a fake name, but ultimately decided there was really no point, since my IRL friends and family read too (and then I'd have to explain it to them, lol).

Kalyn Denny said...

I like it that you're revealing your real name, although I knew it for a while now (as you know.) Very fun!

Unknown said...

Jennifer, I am not sure how I knew your real name, but I did somehow.

I like LouLou though.

Mimi (my real nickname)

Sandy said...

My sister is named Jennifer...we try to make it more french and call her Jennyferrrr.lol We are half french...and so are you now!;)

MsGourmet said...

Nice to meet you Jennifer!

Susan May said...

Hi Jennifer - Nice to meet you. My dog's name is Lucky, but I call him Lucky Lou quite a lot. Or Lou-Lou. So I've always felt very kindly towards your blog name. My sister-in-law is named Deloris but her family all calls her Lou.

I think it's just a very friendly name! (Jennifer is nice, too!)

The Beaver said...

Loulou

I found your real name from LinkedIn somehow whilst i was looking for someone from France (I was already following your blog from Ken's site) . It was confirmed when DavidL mentionned your first name in one comment a month ago :-)

Danielle said...

I just figured that if I was ever near Olonzac, I would just go to the market and inquire about "la femme americaine!"

Jennifer said...

Lori
I was anonymous for about the first 8 months, then told friends and family. It was weird when a woman at the local market recognized me a couple of months ago from my blog photo.

Hi Sarah
I was wary about giving my name for a long time but have written for some other sites under my real name, so it isn't such a huge secret anymore.
It is still kind of bizarre though...

Alison
I love that! I didn't have a cute nickname growing up, so I had to give myself one.

Veronica
I never even thought about changing my name!
But no, I can't imagine the pain of changing all of my documents to a new one. Talk about bureaucracy nightmare.

Allie
Yes, I have had to explain the Loulou/Bruno story many times. It did cause some confusion.

Kalyn
Took me long enough, huh? :)

Mimi
I love your new photo!

Sandy
A couple of my non-French friends jokingly call me Jennyferrr now too. And there's one who calls me Jen-ee-fee-ay. lol

msGourmet
You too Mlle Gourmet!

Susan May
I used to have a dog named Lilith and we called her Lily-Loulou sometimes. Great fun to say.

Beaver
I wonder how many readers actually didn't know...maybe less than I thought!

Danielle
That might have led you to a couple of other Américaines in the area, but you would have found me eventually.
Though, you know that if you ever get to our little corner of the world you have to let me know first!

Betty Carlson said...

Very interesting! When I saw you last weekend, I had to stop myself from saying "Loulou" a few times.

I too wanted to keep anonymity when I started blogging. Then I published a freelance article somewhere that linked to my blog, and I figured the gig was up...

Jennifer said...

Betty
I've met a couple of people through the blog who slip up and call me Loulou occasionally. I don't mind. :)

spacedlaw said...

Drats. I rather like Loulou (even if I did imagine that you weren't called that, as it isn't really American as a name).
Great choice. But why Bruno and not André or Jean (or Marcel)?

Jennifer said...

spacedlaw
I love the name Loulou too! But not enough to formally change my name.

Don't remember why husband chose Bruno exactly...

Katie Zeller said...

I started out with my real - sort of, first name and maiden name.. but, yeah, it doesn't last.
When I finally put the photo up it was all over.

Jennifer said...

Katie
I was happy to see your photo when you finally put it up. Nice to see the face of the person with such a great sense of humor!