Of the moment // 11.21.14
One of the reasons why I blog is simply to have the space to write: getting things “on paper” helps me to process my feelings and organize my thoughts. I also love having a record of my life over the past few years: a place that holds all of my stories, my photos, the ups and downs of travel. But sometimes, I also just want to remember and share the little things that brought me day-to-day joy. Every Friday, I’ll give you a peek into the book I currently can’t put down, a great restaurant discovery, a fun new product or an inspiring quote: a few things that I think you might enjoy before we all take off into the glory that is the weekend!
One of the things that can be really tough for me is not following through with what I say I’m going to do. As a blogger, I make a lot of my private life public. I often write about my plans and wishes and dreams in the hopes that writing things down and committing to them will help manifest them. Last week, I wrote about my upcoming weekend plans in Baltimore: I was genuinely stoked to explore a new city. Then I spent approximately 18 out of 36 hours in a car (heading to the Finger Lakes), and I had a bunch of crazy stuff come up in work and life, and I was just genuinely exhausted–and the last thing I wanted to do was spend another Friday night in traffic. Whenever I go somewhere new, I’m generally super excited about it because I know that it will rejuvenate me. This time, I had a feeling the act of travel itself was going to exhaust me more than the time in Baltimore would refresh me. And so, I canceled my plans. I’m sure I’ll get to Baltimore someday (hopefully soon!), but this weekend, I’ll be laying low in New York City.
Wanderlust
When I was in college, my mom and I went to Paris every January: I had a six-week winter break, and back then, you could get round-trip tickets from San Francisco to Paris for around $500. On Air France, nonetheless! My mom is an even bigger Francophile than I am, and her spoken French hovers on perfect: we would shop at les soldes, stay at a gorgeous apartment in the Marais, enjoy the off-season calm of museums and generally just enjoy hanging out in Paris. With all that said, I am SO excited to say that we just booked a mother-daughter trip to Paris to kick off 2015! Not only will I FINALLY be back in Paris, but I’ll also get some serious quality time with my mom. It’s going to be the best!
- The best of Paris, via Instagram
- Postcard from a Paris sunset
- Food and wine envy, Paris edition
- Why I love Paris in January
- Not always cheap, but Paris is always a good idea
Streets
A cold front swept through New York City this week: it finally feels like winter has arrived! Temperatures have hovered right around freezing, but the good news is: this is as bad as it will get. Instead of easing us in with 60 degrees and then 40 degrees and then 20 degrees, we went straight to 20-degree highs. It’s certainly chilly out, but the sun is shining and the skies are blue and there are still a few leaves left on the trees. I might actually be looking forward to the first dusting of snow…
Reads
For my book club this month, we read Yes Please by Amy Poehler. Honestly, I wasn’t too excited about the choice: I’m not a big Saturday Night Live fan and I haven’t seen many of Amy’s movies. I also feel like I’ve read just about every recent female comedian memoir and they’re never THAT funny. Alas, I’m happy to report that I actually really enjoyed Yes Please! It’s not the funniest book I’ve ever read, but I enjoyed some of her life advice–especially the bits about people acting like fame just fell into her lap when, really, she worked her ass off for many years waitressing and doing improv in small clubs before things started to pick up. It’s a fun and easy airplane read, or a great gift for a girlfriend. Side note: I read it on the Kindle, but the paper version is SO pretty and premium and full of awesome photos: I wish I had bought it in print!
Looks
Even since I read a post on Cup of Jo about James Perse jersey dresses (basically, that they’re as comfortable as a t-shirt but a million times sexier), I have been lusting after a basic black option to dress up or dress down. This little number went on sale at Nordstrom, and I snatched it up just as soon as I could! It is insanely comfortable and also ridiculously flattering and versatile. I love, love, love it.
Words
“I honestly think the real liberation of women is profoundly connected to the shoes we wear. Until we as a gender refuse to wear any shoe that would be uncomfortable to walk a mile in, we’re perfectly screwed.” –Cheryl Strayed
p.s. today is the last day to enter to win a set of custom holiday cards from Artifact Uprising!
