October Mood ’21

A little something about me: I despise mundane.  Actually, let me correct that, I appreciate routine, consistency and creature comforts, but/and/also I’ve found that after a while I crave new experiences, “figuring shit out” and, simply put, something different.  Being in Europe has given me the chance to do just that – figure out how to navigate new places, different languages and eating it a different country…it’s been invigorating. 

For those who don’t know, for the past month or so Chris and I have been traveling in Europe.  We took the better part of 3 weeks to unplug in Italy, explore Puglia for the first time and revisit Tuscany, before making our way to Paris for a month.  As I’m writing this, I’m sitting at one of my favorite little breakfast/lunch spots in Paris enjoying a petit déjeuner pinching myself that we finally made it happened.  We had been toying with the idea of making Europe a bigger part of our lives, but didn’t know how and weren’t necessarily ready for a full move so we settled on a one month stay.

In all honesty, a long term stay in Europe had always been, more or less, a passing thought until a few years ago until a few years ago when we shifted our conversations from what we wanted to do, see and accomplish, to what we wanted to experience and feel like on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.  I think with the way that our society it’s structured, especially in the US, it’s very easy to get caught up in “the grind” such that we never take a moment to ask ourselves if it’s what we really want or if we’re even enjoying ourselves.   When we started talking about what we wanted our year to look like on a daily, weekly and monthly basis and, more importantly, how we wanted to feel during it, it shifted the outcome for us. It became less about what we wanted to accomplish and more about what made us feel fulfilled and happy. It forced us to take consider what we value in life and take stock of where we were at and where we wanted to go.

Over the past month or so I’ve been able to get the space (and break) that I so desperately needed to take stock of the past two years and ask myself how it’s going.  Obviously this can be done without a trip half way around the world, but for some reasons I knew that I needed to really get away.  Sometimes I think it’s harder to get the space and perspective when you’re constantly “in it” with “it” being work, meal planning, laundry, errands, meetings etc. etc.  So far unplugging and getting away has been exactly what I needed. It’s made me realize just how long I had been on autopilot trying to get from one day, week, month to the next, and helped me see where I want to shift my attention and energy moving forward.

We have a few more weeks in Paris before we come home for the holidays.  I’m both excited to reunite with my family and friends (and blender!) and sad to leave Paris.  For me, the city really does have a je ne ce quoi.   

xx

S

P.S. If there’s anything that I can leave you with this month as we head into the Holiday season it’s that I hope that you are taking some time for you.

On The Calendar

Seriously, what is not on the calendar?  I forgot what it was like to be in a faster paced city with so much culture and history.  I constantly find myself torn between roaming the streets and popping into a museum, all while trying to work.  Naturally I want to get some vintage shopping in (it’s so good over here) along with eating my way through the city (Paris has a surprisingly good plant-based food scene), and no trip to Paris is complete without a trip to the flea market.  

I also want to get some museums and a few exhibits in.  Sadly I missed the L’arc de Triomphe Christo and Jeanne Claude installation, but I’m hoping to see the Georgia O’Keeffe exhibit at Centre Pompidue (my Mom has always been a fan of her work and as a result I’ve adopted a similar fondness), the YSL Museum and Musee d’Orsay (one that we missed last time that we were here). 

Honestly one of my favorite things to do in Paris is stroll around.  I definitely didn’t bring enough comfortable walking shoes that can handle 20,000 steps (an all time high since 2019…), but that’s what Veja is for right?

Listening To

With the amount of walking that I’m doing in Paris I’m finally able to catch up on some podcasts! 

Marianne Williamson on Moving Towards Love Instead of Fear – while we were at Hotel Reschio I listed to this episode while I was getting ready for dinner one night.  I wouldn’t say that I’m a die hard adopter of everything that Marianne Williamson puts out, but I do agree with a lot of the themes that she talks about.  I particularly liked this episode because I feel like she and Lacy touch on many aspects of life (career, childhood, parenting, self worth etc.) and offer a lot of inspiring nuggets throughout the episode. 

Why Success Is Not What We Think It Is with Gwenyth Paltrow – I’ve always been a GP fan.  I don’t think I’ll ever be a fan girl of anyone, but I certainly find what she has created with Goop inspiring on many levels.  I really enjoyed this conversation with Mark Hyman and the areas of her life, health and wellness that they touched on. 

Inspired By

Two words: Fashion Week. 

I can’t tell you how nice it is to be back in a city that gets dressed.  No offense Portland, but I was tired of your beanies, flannel and boots and coats that must be able to handle 8 hours of torrential downpour.  Whether it’s on Instagram or in the streets I love seeing all the lewks.  

And don’t even get me started men’s style!  Outside of my husband, I don’t think I’ve seen a clean shaven man in button down shirt that’s not a flannel and shoes other than Bloodstones in years.  

Things of Note or On My List

I’ve been holding out on a lot of European items for this trip.  Mostly because I didn’t want to both with international returns or shipping.  I’ve also been finding that a lot of pieces that I’ve been eyeing are priced lower here even with the exchange rate.  If I can find them at a boutique or a retailer that processes a VAT refund then it’s almost a screaming deal in my opinion! 

Below are a few pieces that are on my radar!

Attire Everyday Blazer (have been eyeing this for 2 years!)

Veja V-10

Sézane (anything and everything)

Bottega Cat Eye Sunglasses (also been eyeing these bad boys since last Summer)

All of the images and their original sources can be found here.