I wish for...

Recent Obsession:

Just look at this cutie!!!! 

I think I deserve a little cutie like this one, don't you? ;)

xoxo

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

Just a thought...

Funny - it's a rainy day here in LA, something we haven't had a long time, yet I feel so energized! (I love how I'm writing this and I'm still in bed...)
After what I would call a pretty sucky week, I am inspired. I'm really starting to believe in karma...

I tend to be a perfectionist. I like to feel in control of my life, and  these past few weeks, I've been pushing myself hard to take even more control and change some things in my life. I mean, I love to challenge myself, I love to think I can make drastic changes by working hard and being strong and disciplined, but now, I think I really put too much pressure...and I did, so I snapped.
So, from now on, I'm going to be kinder to myself, be patient with myself, and take better care of my mind and body. Sounds good, no?

So here I am, back on the horse, feeling much better, much more inspired, and happily allowing myself to spend my Saturday morning in bed, without torturing myself into thinking about all the things I should be doing....

Take care of yourselves, lovelies!
xoxo

RIP Etta

Love this song so much...




xoxo

Coeur de Pirate

I have a serious girl crush!!











She's the perfect mix of sweet and badass. She has got to be one of my favorite artists.
Love her!
xoxo

Favorite things

I think it's the music that got me hooked on this commercial

xoxo

Things you need in order to stay happy

By Ryan O'Connell 

"You need to make plans to see someone on a Tuesday because having a guaranteed fun activity in the middle of the week will keep you sane and give you something to look forward to. And let’s face it, we all need something to look forward to during the work week. I’m all for having a dinner party with a few of my friends and getting three glasses of wine drunk at 9pm and being in bed by 11. By punctuating your busy week with something exciting, it will go by so much faster. It also always feels good to do something a little forbidden on a Tuesday (Oops, I went out when I should’ve stayed in. Oops, I got stoned. Oops, there’s work tomorrow!) Putting so many rules on yourself will ensure that one day you’ll snap and become a full-fledged alcoholic psycho in your thirties. (Just ask my mom! JK, love you mom!)

You need music you can fall in love with. Any spare moment I have, I’ll be up in the music blogs looking for that new song that’ll be like crack for my earbuds. I don’t know about you guys but when I find a new song to obsess over, I’m like pretty set for the next three days. I don’t need a flirty text message, a delicious meal, or an amazing night out. I’m pretty much set with my New Favorite Song.

You need someone in your life who excites you, makes you nervous, and forces you to question what you think you already know. These usually come in the form of a crush or a relationship. A relationship is obviously ideal but a crush can tide you over like a nice appetizer. We spend so much of our time feeling jaded and set in our ideas, and that’s clearly not a fun way to exist. We pretend it is but deep down it feels a little miserable because we don’t want to know all the answers. We want someone who’s challenging, who we can’t figure out, and can tell us that we’re full of crap. We need someone to get us off the internet and remind us that real life is much more fun. And it’s okay to be unsure and nervous because that just means we’re alive again.

We need stressful days in order to be happy. We need days when we get zero sleep and are working tirelessly on a deadline. Because if we didn’t, the lazy days wouldn’t feel good. After my accident, I took a semester off to live in LA and go to rehab three times a week. At first I thought, “This will be good. I can focus on my recovery and I’ll read a lot of books and write.” Um, yeah right. I was bored to tears. The days I wasn’t spending at the doctors or in physical therapy, I would be doing nothing. It’s no fun doing nothing. I don’t know how rich people can fill their days with pointless appointments and call it a fulfilling life. We need to always be working towards something in order to feel useful and have a sense of purpose. And then those days off when you just veg feel so good. We often say that we’d like a very long vacation but most of us would probably get very bored after a week.

We need to treat ourselves to stupid stuff. We spend a great deal of our time saying “NO” to things just so one day we can be like “Screw it. I’m doing me today.” If you did “you” every day, you’d either be broke or ridden with STDS.

We need family. Whether it be in the traditional sense of the word or the kind of family we create on our own when we get older, we need to feel like we belong somewhere. Otherwise, we would permanently feel like a raw exposed nerve that could just disappear at any given moment. If they died, who would claim the body?

And last, but certainly not least, we need to like ourselves in order to be happy. BOMBSHELL! Go read Eat, Pray, Love now for more new information! (Ew, don’t read that book ever.) Here’s the thing that’s funny about self-love. People say that in order to have someone love you, you gotta love yourself and I think that’s BS. I know many people who are in relationships and full of self-loathing. In fact, it seems like the more damaged someone is, the more likely they are going to be in a relationship. It might not be a healthy one but they’ll be tethered to someone for sure. So listen, don’t go love yourself and think it’s going to complete the puzzle. Don’t think people are going to gravitate to you because when you love yourself, you delete 70% of your dating options because you’re looking for someone who’s equally as happy and well-adjusted, which is a rare thing to find. So love yourself just for the sake of doing it, for being able to look in the mirror without wincing and to take yourself out to the movies and lunch and think you’re great company. Do it in order to stay happy.

Oh, and you need to have a healthy amount of sex. Always."

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Love this!

xoxo

Let's remember..

"I began to realise how important it was to be an enthusiast in life. He taught me that if you are interested in something, no matter what it is, go at it full speed ahead. Embrace it with both arms, hug it, love it and above all become passionate about it. Lukewarm is no good. Hot is no good, either. White hot and passionate is the only thing to be." - Roald Dahl


xoxo

Just a thought

Ever had that feeling when you're really tired but you just don't want to go to sleep because there are so many ideas in your head, there are so many exciting things to do, and you want to do them all right now? You know you're going to hate yourself in the morning for missing on some sleep....but hey, if the excitement is here, it's probably better to take advantage of it, no?

I love late nights, I love early mornings...I feel so inspired during those times...they feel so comforting.
I work 8 to 5 though...what a dilemma!


xoxo

Lucidity

Source

My friend acted and composed the music for this very interesting and dreamy video.
I wanted to share it on here because I thought it was really pretty and it definitely touched me :)


Hope it speaks to you...if not, enjoy the visuals and the music ;)
xoxo

Let's remember...

"Very little is needed to make a happy life. It is all within yourself, in your way of thinking" - Marcus Aurelius

:)

xoxo

Happy New Year!

So glad to start a new year! I love new beginnings!

Resolutions:

- eat healthier

- travel as much as i can

- save money

- work towards figuring out what i am meant to do professionally

- get rid of negative thoughts

Wishing you and yours a beautiful new year!!!

Bring it on 2012 :D

xoxo

Winter Break

It's good to be on a break!

After spending a lovely Christmas with my family at my parents' house, I decided to take advantage of my week off and go on a little trip. So, my best friend and I decided to drive to Vegas and stay there for a couple of days...

Lots of walking, lots of food, some shopping and a bit of gambling :) We both won 10 bucks! Woohoo, haha!
It was so nice to get away from LA a little but Vegas isn't really my favorite place to go.


Hope you all are enjoying the end of the year...
2012 soooon :D
xoxo