Finding Positivity in Outdoors activity

...and what better way to oxygenate your brain and body than going for a hike in the Hollywood hills?

Check out the Hollywood sign all the way in the back :)

xoxo

Happy Fat Tuesday!

When I was a little girl, in France, we didn't celebrate Halloween, but we celebrated Mardi Gras! We called it Carnival: we used to dress up, put colorful masks on and, the best part, eat crepes or beignets with powdered sugar!

To give you guys a little historical background: Mardi Gras is an old Catholic celebration. It marks the last day before Ash Wednesday, the last day before Lent starts, the last day you can indulge...

So, of course, because I love spending time in the kitchen, I made sweet crepes - one of my favorite French desserts :)

Let the good times roll!

xoxo

Finding Positivity in a Quick At-Home Workout

These days, I'm not a big fan of the gym. I think I'm bored with the one I go to because I've been a member for 2 1/2 years and nothing has changed there...Plus, these days, I can't really handle working out around people. I only go for cool classes like Yoga.

Problem: I have been doing a lot of stress and mindless eating lately...and I feel like my thighs are a bit jiggly, not good. I need some toning, I need some cardio.

This morning, as I was being lazy in bed, making myself feel guilty for not wanting to go to the gym nor run outside, and picturing myself fat and miserable, I thought I would compromise! So, I started browsing on YouTube for good and doable workouts, and guess what? YouTube is filled with those!!

I then set my iPad on the coffee table, put my mat on the floor and started trying all the exercises. Yes, I probably looked very ridiculous but, to my surprise, I was sweating and I felt my heart rate going up. Success! I did a whole 40-min of cardio and toning, and boy was I tired/energized!

Tomorrow is going to be painful...

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This one was my favorite.
It looked so easy when I started watching...but it's really not, which is good, because now, there's room for improvement on my part!




And this video is even more exciting because you can do it in bed! How greatly convenient is that?!


source

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Now, no need to feel guilty all day because I didn't torture myself at the gym.
I feel much better, having taken care of my body, and I can't wait to do more of these exercises tomorrow! (...or whenever I'm not sore anymore!)


xoxo

Happy Valentine's Day

Let's celebrate how lucky we are to have, in our lives, people to love and people who love us back. 

"There are 4 questions of value in life....What is sacred? Of what is the spirit made? What is worth living for and what is worth dying for? The answer to each is the same. Only love." - Johnny Depp

xoxo

Let's Remember...

Wouldn't it be boring if the journey threw no curves?




xoxo

Finding positivity in the Kitchen

As I probably mentioned before, I love creating something in the kitchen. I love transforming it into a mess! Love, love, love it. I'm not particularly amazing at it, but it doesn't matter, practice makes perfect. The feeling I get from shopping for all the ingredients, taking out the pots, pans or bowls out of the cabinets, following the steps as well as my instincts (and my cousin's advice!), multi-tasking and finally, waiting and hoping for it to turn out great, is pretty amazing!

"Cooking may be as much a means of self-expression as any of the arts."

Chicken Pot Pie

Cauliflower Gratin 

I like to cook but I prefer to bake. Could it be because I have a sweet tooth? because it makes the house smell amazing? because I can share it and make everyone happy? because it looks pretty? Probably all of the above!

Simple Apple pie

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes w/ Butter frosting

French Toasts w/ bananas (I didn't have strawberries)

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As a single gal, I always felt like never had a real reason to get my hands dirty in the kitchen and create a variety of things every day. Plus, I would have too much leftovers and end up either overeating or throwing everything out...

Yet, is living alone or being single a reason for having sandwiches, pasta and scrambled eggs everyday? No way!

There are plenty of websites and cookbooks that teach you what to make so that you don't waste food or money for that matter, rent is already expensive enough!

If you want to take care of your single self:

•  Marie Claire magazine has great ideas
• so does the Food Network
• and check out Delish.com

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Cooking and baking is very therapeutic for me, as I'm sure it is for many people. I noticed that it requires planning, creativity, confidence, intuition and patience. It is like a 40 min adventure at home!
I also find it very therapeutic because it is a great act of love, not only for the people you are cooking for, who will stay on your mind during the whole process (that surely will produce a whole lotta serotonin in your brain!) but also a great act of self-love, if you are putting together something healthy for yourself or creating a sweet dessert to indulge on after a hard/emotional day ;)


Browsing the internet or the cooking section of the book store for ideas, fetching all my ingredients at the supermarket (Whole Foods is my favorite!) and getting my hands dirty in the kitchen truly is an fun way to bring some positivity in my day!


Share your favorite recipes with me!
xoxo

A little challenge - shall we?

I stopped writing for a little while because, honestly, my thoughts were all over the place and still are. I let negativity take over and eat up all my inspiration, my will to be creative.
Ever had one of those days where everything (emotions, thoughts, tasks, people...) feels so overwhelming that you just want to go home and hide under your covers? Yes, that was me. Not for just one day, unfortunately...

So, after having a craptastic day (learned this expression from Quirky girl!), not because anything bad happened, just because I did not like the way I felt, I decided to take control...or actually, I should rephrase, I decided to let go, as I mentioned in a previous post. I will let go of the fears, anxiety and self-pity, and I will accept/embrace/take care of me. I will accept my thoughts and concerns, but I will not let them take over and wear me down ('cause I gotta tell you, I'm exhausted right now!!)


I realized that it is sooo easy to let ourselves feel overwhelmed by everyday life, to feel anxious about our future, about life passing by so fast, about things we wish we could have done, could have been...It's so easy to go back to bed and hide under the covers and cry when things get (or feel) tough instead of fighting to remain happy, instead of working on staying calm, serene and peaceful...

I'm giving myself some homework, and maybe you can join me on this. From now on, every week (yes, structure and plans make me happy!) I will post about something I have tried, I have done or I'm planning on doing that has/will build positivism back into my life. So far, I have written about positive things, but I feel like I have said much more than I have done. I can't promise anything big, because work takes over my life and I feel like I have no time to myself (which will be something I will soon talk about), but I really hope to keep up with this and I also really hope it will make some of you smile :)

I have to say, this blog is becoming a bit more personal. I never wanted to disclose too much about myself on here not only for privacy reasons but more so for fear of being judged. No more of that, let's get personal!


"I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened." - Mark Twain

xoxo

A little stroll

Last week's little stroll in the mountains by Upland, CA

There is no better way to clear your head than to put your walking shoes on and go on a hike!

I really should do this more often, I forgot how much I enjoy it. 

xoxo