Laurie Pike is your “standard-issue Midwesterner who moved to LA via New York and Paris.” She is currently the style director for Los Angeles Magazine, formally the editor of LA.com, and has written for magazines as wildly divergent as Paper to British Vogue to the Journal of Aesthetics and Protest. When she’s not writing for the mags she’s blogging about all things Paris the tres magnifique The Paris Blog.

Laurie was kind enough to stop her crazy schedule and give us a tip or two about her finer points, and of course, shopping.

Name: Laurie Pike
URL: www.theparisblog.com
ThisNext profile url: http://www.thisnext.com/by/lauriepike/profile/
Best physical attribute: “naturally” red hair

Can you write a haiku about you, your blog, or what you do?
I live in Paris
well, uh
on my blog I do

(as you write this) Where in the world are you, and where is your favorite place to blog?
I am at home using my iBook G4 that always crashes. I always blog at home, first thing in the morning and last thing at night.

What are the last 5 items you purchased?
Prada shoes, a tunic from Forever 21, the new Sidekick 3, a Charles Trenet CD and a magnum of champagne

Multiple choice: What kind of shopper are you? And please explain your answer.
a. Dedicated to a few select stores/sites
b. Open to anything anywhere
c. I make everything I want
d. I shop when I need to

I have a duel shopping personality. Since I am a fashion editrix by day, I look a lot but I am not really in purchase mode. I don’t shop online because it’s important for me to see the store environment and context. When I do buy, it’s a stealth mission and I drop a lot at one time. For instance, I go to the outlet stores twice a year and spend about $2000.

That’s a lot for me because I’m cheap! I used to buy a lot of designer stuff on eBay but I got ripped off with my last purchase so I’m staying away from eBay (sniff).

Which movie can’t you stop yourself from watching even though you know- by all accounts- it’s a really bad movie?

I don’t watch bad movies over and over. But I do love Eric Rohmer movies, and a lot of people can’t stomach them because they’re slow and center on uninteresting, self-absorbed women.

What is your biggest vice? Sugar

What is your biggest indulgence? Champagne

What blogs do you read?

Brian Flemming’s Weblog, Go Fug Yourself, the WOW Report, Rue Rude, Lady Bunny’s Blog, LA.COMfidential, Boing Boing.

* Stream of Consciousness: Can you share your thoughts on Shopping? Blogging? Your mission for world domination?

In Paris, blogging has helped expats cope and meet new friends. I have lived there on and off and always felt lonely. Through blogging I have met a great bunch of people, from artists to academics to full-time moms. When I am away from Paris, I read Parisian blogs and nothing makes me feel more like I’m there. Except maybe cigarette smoke in my face.