pink pop

 

After a gorgeous weekend of white blankets of snow all around Paris, Tuesday morning was a mix of rain and grey and the sad little feeling that comes with melting snow. So, instead of matching my outfit to the weather, I brought out two of my brightest pieces and along with them, came the urge to make everything around me pink in preparation for Valentine's Day. 

 

necklace: Gallerie Lafayette (old); brooch: Liberty; sweater, skirt, blouse and earrings: Forever XXI

it's elementary

 

I had been thinking for a few days about how to wear this sweater, and thought Monday was the right time to do it. There's something about these stripes that made me feel kind of like I was wearing a school uniform, which bizarrely seemed appropriate for starting the week on the right foot, like a kid on the first day of school! 

polo: Tommy Hilfiger; sweater: H&M with an Andrea Crews for Uniqlo patch; skirt: asos; mary janes: Nine West 

resolutions

because it's better late than never, here are a few of my resolutions for 2013 and beyond ... 

sparkle every day. no matter how i'm feeling, i'll take an extra two minutes to add some shine to my day that's sure to make me feel instantly better. 

breathe. some parts of last year seem like a blur when i look back, and i feel like i may have lost track of what's most important in life. this year, i plan on disconnecting and learning to step away from my desk at respectable hours. 

go on more dates. dinner dates, movie dates, cooking dates, picnics, brunch, museum dates ... spend more time together doing the little things that keep the magic alive ... 

make some 'me time'. taking more time for personal improvements and projects that are interesting to me; making more things at home, learning how to knit, working out, making use of my cook books so i don't feel bad about buying new ones like this or this ...

lucky number five

Last weekend marked the five year anniversary of my arrival in Paris - a wide-eyed 20-year-old ready to live in Paris for six months... I remember like it was yesterday. On our usual Sunday walk, I thought of all the things that were different, like the fact that I actually live here permanently and that I have a full-time job and my Parisian life is no longer made up of more field trips and site visits an elementary school student could dream of.  But there are also things that haven't changed, like how shop windows can keep me dreaming for afternoons on end, and how sometimes unexpectedly, Paris can creep up on me and remind me how lucky I am to live here with someone so great. As we walked through the Ile St. Louis last week, a walk we usually don't take, I thought of these things coming together and think I am quite enjoying how my little Parisian is turning out.