About

Welcome to my personal monkey house

Hi. I’m Christine — Christine Benally Peranteau if we’re being formal. I’m American, I live in Vienna with my husband, two kids and two cats, I work on foundation partnerships and resource mobilization at a UN agency, and I read approximately one book every three days. This is my corner of the interwebs for books, expat life, and whatever else I’m thinking about. If you’re here for the photography that used to be on this site — it’s all still here, in the archive.

Other things you might want know about me:

MacGyver and Murder She Wrote were two of my favorite TV shows when I was little. I was super excited when I found out that the exterior footage of Cabot Cove was actually footage of Mendocino, CA, a place I had actually been.

Bean Burritos. No onions, no red sauce, extra cheese.  Kept me going in my childhood, and my firstborn was built on a diet of them my first trimester. Some women crave pickles and ice cream, I craved Taco Bell and prime rib.

Firefly, The West Wing, Gilmore Girls, and Grey’s Anatomy: I have seen every episode of every season, some of them more than once.

I must read something while sitting/waiting/whatever. I can stand in line for days as long as I have some sort of reading material, be it People magazine, the latest best-seller on my Kindle, or the nearest back of the cereal box.

I love  '80s music. I have been known to blast the tunes while driving down the Pacific Coast Highway, and lately, Raffineriestraße.

The Outlander series by Diana Galbadon. I have read every book in the series, some of them twice. If a new one has come out in the past 24 hours, I will be indisposed for as long as it takes me to read it (usually about a day, because I read fast, and I have trouble putting a good book down). I also also may or maynot be a member of the Book Devouring Horde (BDH if you are in the know).

Notebooks, journals, and drawing pads. I love them. I cannot leave home without them. I may or may not have about 15 empty ones sitting on my shelf just waiting to be filled with notes, drawings, doodles, or to do lists. At one point, I had to put a moratorium on the acquisition of new ones, because my collection was getting a little out of hand. 

I spend my work days on philanthropic partnerships and all things resource mobilization at the UN in Vienna. For the professional version of me: Head on over to LinkedIn.

Later Gator and happy reading…