Giverny, France - Monet's Home

What I really liked about Monet's home was how simple it was. It's essentially a rectangle that runs parallel to the rive behind it and the roads on opposite sides. But it has the perfect sized rooms - three bedrooms, a massive dining room (Monet loved hosting dinner parties and being surrounded by friends despite living so far from Paris), a hearty kitchen and a beautiful parlor filled with (mock up) paintings. And the colors! A canary yellow dining room, a Robin's egg blue kitchen with copper pots and pans, touches of muted purples and pinks all accented with turn-of-the-century, dark wood furniture. I got the same feeling I did driving through the French villages and strolling through Monet's gardens as I did wandering through his home: ease, tranquility, and simplicity. It felt calming being in such a small but sustainable home. It had all the essentials and it was oh so quaint. I could live here, I thought. And not to mention the crisp mid-morning breeze that greeted me as I entered each room. Maybe it was Claude himself saying hello.

Giverny, France - Claude Monet's Gardens

We devoted an entire day to exploring Giverny and Versailles during my trip to Paris. And I took around 200 pictures and can't seem to narrow down a simple post of Monet's gardens and home so they'll have to be two different posts. And Versailles deserves its own post as well.

I consider myself a city girl through and through. But the streets of Paris are very congested and claustrophobic so Giverny was a breath of fresh air. Literally. The air was crisp and clean and felt like a brand-spanking-new set of white, linen sheets. Giverny is about an hour outside of Paris with no traffic on the A40. The best part: Paris is small so getting out of the city is quick and majority of the drive is spent weaving through the tiny streets in the French countryside.

The most magical about Monet's gardens is that he built it all himself just so he could paint it. He maintained the gardens himself just about right up until he died in the 1920s. We went at a great time because everything was fully in bloom and it smelled incredible. To top it off, there were baby ducklings and their mumma swimming in the lily pond.

Monet's home almost completely changed my mind about living like a city girl. I saw glimpses of myself living in a tiny French house, windows open, me sitting in my garden writing in a vintage notebook, planting flowers, herbs, and vegetables and, most importantly, living anxiety free. I'll still play with that idea in my mind; it's extremely satisfying.

Stay tuned for a tour of Monet's crib.

Peachy Products

Soap & Glory's The Righteous Butter, Soap & Glory's A Great Kisser, E.L.F's Lip Balm Tint in peach

Good surprises come in small packages. I wasn't expecting to love Soap & Glory's products as much as I do. The lotion smells so distinct it's almost like a stand alone fragrance. I try to refrain from wearing another perfume if I've put on The Righteous Butter. The lip balm is the perfect coral pink and it stays on for hours. Same with the E.L.F. lip balm. I purchased it on impulse and am happy with how creamy and peachy orange it is.

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Some exciting things within the past week:

1. Purchased a pair of black espadrilles: So I can do summer goth/summer French girl a la Emmanuelle Alt, of course! These are by Sperry - never thought I'd wear a pair of Sperry's - but these are so comfortable and they are espadrilles without being too espadrille-y.

2. Started Bullet Journaling: After stumbling upon Bullet Journaling on Tumblr, I decided to give it a go myself. I miss religiously writing in my planner but have recently fallen out. This makes me stick to it since I have to constantly go back and check things off as well as write in what to do the next day. I recommend trying it out and I also recommend getting lost scrolling through the #studyblr tag on Tumblr. Some people are crazy dedicated.

3. Celebrated Record Store Day: by getting Donna Summer, Atlanta Rhythm Section, London Disco, and David Bowie records for $1 and one of my all time favorite records Silent Shout by The Knife. I've always wanted to celebrate RSD but every year I never seem to be around an actual record store when it rolls around! This time, though, I made sure to head down to Nashville and participate.

Paste and Primary

Seashells from Pensacola, hand-me-down jewelry pieces, new stickers from record shops and friends.

Pastel and primary seems to accurately fit my aesthetic lately. I like softer tones like blush and periwinkle and sea foam green but I also like edgier colors like Yves Klein blue, red orange and hearty plant green. The same goes for my tastes in everything else in seems. More on that later.

Jump Starting Summer

A moon cactus and some California Baby all natural bug repellent for this all natural, allergic-to-mosquitos-California baby.

Mid to high 70s here in Nashville. Yesterday I sat outside for an hour and read and now I'm a little, well, red. It's good though. I may go to the pool this week. All before Easter. I leave you with my favorite warm weather song.

Beach Side, Kings of Leon, Come Around Sundown

road trip

Had a bit of an anxiety attack at school a few days ago so I ditched and grabbed my best friend and decided took a little road trip. I just went to the edge of town and a little beyond. I actually had to drive back home to grab my camera since the long and winding, grey and ominous roads were too beautiful not to photograph. We drove with the windows open (even though it was drizzling) and listened to jazzy house music on the chill station on Sirius XM.

sweet life, frank ocean, channel ORANGE

dance of the dream man

Today is the winter solstice. I always do my summer and winter playlists on the solstices and my spring and fall playlist on the first days of those seasons. This is my favorite season. I love making playlists but I love making them even more for the winter. I get to fill them with jazzy tracks that are perfect for Christmas parties or smooth house jams for late night snow falls under street lights. Today is also my last day of school; I'm now halfway done with my senior year (seniors 2013!). I also fly out to Los Angeles today. It's a rather eventful day.

This playlist is named after a track from the film/television show Twin Peaks of which I watched obsessively at the beginning of this year. The color in my picture of a poinsettia and the color in the scene of which this track appears in go hand-in-hand and describe my winter vacation.

Dance of The Dream Man

Track listing:

1. That's The Way Love Goes by Janet Jackson

2. Christmastime Is Here by Au Revoir Simone

3. Linus and Lucy by Vince Guaraldi Trio

4. Loe Bar by Bjørn Torkse
5. Don't Stop The Music by Jamie Cullum
6. Inside and Out by Fiest
7. The Christmas Song by The Raveonettes
8. Dance of The Dream Man by Angelo Badalamenti

blanc, froid, sombre: winter 2011 - 2012

Et voila, my winter 2011 mix. 11 tracks for the cold of twenty eleven.

A mix that's dedicated to the winds of winter, the snowflakes (or rain drops), those first cold bites of hiver and the barren feel of a field full of snow. It's a serene and chill out bunch that you can dance the night away to, watch the snow fall to that will also take you away for a while from this holiday madness. A simple, clean, electronic mix that will accompany you throughout this season.

Blanc, froid, sombre: white, cold, dark. These three words describe the songs I have selected and how I'm viewing the winter holiday. Enough of me telling you about them. Give it a listen, and happy winter.

Blanc, Froid, Sombre

je ne souffre pas de la folie.

pictures from my trip to maui in 2008.

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