Weekend in pictures

"Now and then it's good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy" - Guillaume Apollinaire

Thanksgiving Turkey

Piano lesson from a dear friend

Movie + waffle night with bff

Went for a little run, hoping to burn off some of what I ate!!

Felt like Summer in the Fall...

Hope you enjoyed the short break too :) I'm so ready for the next one....

xoxo

Favorite Things

Power Yoga! Yeahhh

Here are some cool Yoga sequences. Try it, you'll get crazy abs and a relaxed mind :)



Part 2
Part 3
Part 4


Enjoy!
xoxo

Giving Thanks

So, even though Thanksgiving is definitely not a holiday that I've really grown up with (I spent the first half of my life in France), I've come to love it so much! It's kind of perfect: not that much stress, except cooking the turkey right (and I know my Mom can do that no problem!), you get days off from work and you simply have to sit down and enjoy your family in a cozy environment.

(I'm not a big fan of the food however...I admit it :/ Cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie are certainly not on top of my list of my favorite things to eat!)

I'm going to take this opportunity to share with you what I'm grateful for. I don't think I do this enough, but in the end, it's so important to realize what we have and to truly appreciate it. Hopefully it won't be too cheesy ;)

My Family- obviously it's Thanksgiving, the moment of the year when you realize how important family is. I have got a pretty great support system and I'm very thankful for each of them. I'm thankful for my Mom, Dad, sister, grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles. I'm also thankful for an added member: my sister's boyfriend.

My Friends - I am especially thankful for my Best friend who has been extremely helpful and supportive during this tough year. It often feels like no one understands but her, and I'm so lucky that she is always there for me.

My Health - I am thankful to be able to enjoy my life in a healthy body. To be able to see, hear, talk, eat, run, dance...

My Job - I'm thankful to be able to support myself for the first time, and to be getting the opportunity to learn about my talents, skills and what I want to do later in life. I'm also thankful to be able to meet many people through my position.

My Strength - (ok now, it's going to get cheesy) After seeing what I have gone through this year, and what I am still going through, I think I should be thankful for myself (lol, yes!), for having the will power to get myself out of an unpleasant situation, to help myself become better, wiser and happier. I got over disappointments and let-downs, I graduated from a top school, I moved, I started adult life, all that while dealing with a great deal of anxiety, questions and self-doubt: I rule! :)

"It is not happy people who are thankful, it is thankful people who are happy"


I would love to know what you are thankful for :)

Wishing my readers (who I'm also very thankful for) a Happy Thanksgiving. Hope you are surrounded by the love of family and the warmth of good friends. Hope you are loved, respected and happy.

Lots of love,
xoxo

Favorite things

I want this room! It's so simple and cute :)

Is it my Frenchness kicking in?

What do you think?

xoxo

A sign of growth

"It is okay to be at a place of struggle. Struggle is just another word for growth. Even the most evolved beings find themselves in a place of struggle now and then. In fact, struggle is a sure sign to them that they are expanding; it is their indication of real and important progress. The only one who doesn’t struggle is the one who doesn’t grow. So if you are struggling right now, see it as a terrific sign — and celebrate your struggle." - Neale Donald Walsch

Sundays are so bittersweet

xoxo

The Tree of Life

"There [are] two ways through life - the way of nature and the way of grace. You have to choose which one you'll follow"

I recently watched this very original, philosophical and thought-provoking movie. 

The story is quite simple. It's about a boy growing up in Texas in the 50s with his parents and two younger brothers, struggling to decide which way he should live his life. Should he follow the way of Grace, represented by his mother, or the way of Nature, represented by his father? His loving mother makes life look like it is a dream, so peaceful...His father, on the other end, is very strict and wants his boys to be ready to face the hard reality. The movie also goes into the mystery of the formation of the universe, and the scenes are absolutely amazing! It truly makes the viewers feel strong emotions....

The Tree of Life can be hard to watch, because it is slow and requires an open mind and the use of imagination. I think anyone can interpret it however they want. 

Still, it really moved me, not only because of the cute story and the visual style, but more importantly, because of the very existentialist questions that it poses. It really got me wondering about life....and reminded of its simple and elegant beauty.

"The only way to be happy is to love. Unless you love, your life will flash by."

Have you seen it? Hope you enjoy it as much as I did :)

xoxo

Let's remember...

"There is a crack, a crack in everything. That's how light gets in" - Leonardo Cohen

xoxo

The Definition of Love by Andrew Landon

"Love is a funny thing. You expect it to be easy. You expect it to be a world of roses and laughs and perfect moments that you find only in movies.
You expect her to always say the right thing, and always know exactly how you feel, or exactly how to react to it. You expect her to calm you down when you’re yelling or to chase you when you run away.
You expect so much that you feel entirely, and utterly defeated when something doesn’t exactly match up to all your plans. But that’s the thing.
Love isn’t a plan. It doesn’t have a certain beginning and it certainly has no end, or a visible finish line to those deeply in it.
Love happens; it is so incredibly messy. People around you can’t comprehend why you do the things you do, or why you fight so hard for something that seems to cause you so much pain.
Because simply, they can’t see. They can’t see the invisible ring of insanity that surrounds you when you’re in love. It’s inconvenient and painful and devastating at times, but we can’t live without it.
What you don’t learn is how hard love is. How much work it takes. How much of ourselves we have to put into it. How it isn’t worth it until we are complete and utter idiots about it.
Love isn’t her calming you down when you yell. It’s her yelling, just as loud, just as hard, right back at you, right in your face to wake you up and to keep you grounded.
It isn’t her or him bringing you roses everyday or cute things that make your relationship appear more presentable. It’s right after a long fight, that drains the life and bones right out of both of you, and yet her or him showing up at your door the next morning anyway.
It’s not her saying all the right things or knowing exactly how to handle you. So no, it’s not her caressing your hair and telling you everything is going to be okay. It’s her standing there, admitting she’s just as scared as you are.
You have to remember that with love, you’re not the only one involved. You’ve unknowingly put your life, your heart into the palm of another’s hands and saying, here. Do what you will. Mash it into a million pieces, mash it into meat. Or forget I ever handed it to you in the first place. Just as long as you have it.
It makes reality invisible and it erases all the lines that we shouldn’t cross. Because love isn’t about fencing ourselves in; feeling safe, feeling sure about the future.
It’s about scaring the shit out of every nerve in our body, but pushing forward anyway.
Because all the fighting and all the tears and all the uncertainty is worth it. And it’s a hell of a lot better, than being 100% happy without someone to show us that there is a world of a difference between feeling ‘happy’ and feeling whole."

- Andrew Landon
(source:http://electricb00bs.tumblr.com)


Right?
xoxo

How I try to be Zen

As the name of my blog clearly states, my mind never stops...But, I'm a girl, over thinking and analyzing is what we do ;) But often now, my mind tends to recycle negative thoughts and bring them back up again and again.... Consequently, this can create some anxiety in my life. However, I have decided not to let it take over.

"Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple" - Dr Seuss

For those of you who, like me, often find yourselves in a battle with the ugly little anxiety monster (or his cousin, panic), I just want to share with you how I push them away :)

- Get my beauty Sleep. If I don't sleep enough, I'm good for nothing. If I don't sleep, and I'm having a stressful day at work? That's it, all hell's going to break loose, the anxiety monster is going to show its ugly head...So sleep is the main key in going about my day in a calm manner.At least 7 hours please!

- Vitamins. Gotta have all the nutrients I need. Plus, I heard taking Fish oil really helps with calming down. I'm going to try it...

- Candles. They're pretty, they smell good and they can make any room feel cozy. Voluspa and Diptyque are the best.

- Baking, as I mentioned before. It definitely empties my head.

- Working out (gotta burn off what I bake!) So, Yoga twice a week, for an hour. I do my sun salutations, downward-facing dogs, and tree poses. Not only does it relax me, it counts as a workout so I feel good about myself! (and I'm developing some serious abs!) I also started running outside. It's so liberating!

- Reading. There is nothing like finding a really good book and completely merging yourself intp the story. It's even better if you learn something out of it. But I'm not always an intellectual, so magazines are also a favorite!

- Writing. Obviously :) Ever since I can remember (well, ever since I learned how to write) I've been writing. It's my main source of outlet, my main way to be creative. I started disciplining myself and writing every day about anything. It keeps thoughts and memories alive!
I also love to write to other people. Sending little cards and emails here and there make me really happy.

- Meditation. Yes. It sounds really silly and corny, but it works. It's really about challenging yourself to gather your thoughts and turn them into something positive. It's also about learning to rely on other things than emotions.

- Finally, bff, Nutella on bread, spending more than I make, dinner dates, Cosmopolitans and mani-pedis!

How do you stay zen?
xoxo

Gloomy day

Went down to the beach for a little stroll earlier... 

Gloomy days aren't so bad!

xoxo

Bottle

So lovely, original and poetic...


Had to share it
xoxo

Random burst of happiness

Ever had one of those days where everybody seems to be smiling at you?

Despite life's little annoyances, these past few days have been exactly like that for me :)
It turned my daily routine into pleasant moments.

It's kind of like that scene in 500 Days of Summer....

Might it only be the effect of sugar from all the leftover Halloween candies? Or simply the holiday season excitement building in? (They brought back the red cups at Starbucks today and boy was I smiling while sipping my morning coffee!)
Whatever it is, these past few days have been very fun!

"Life does not need to be perfect to be wonderful." Annette Funicello

There better be a smile on your face too ;)
xoxo