back to you...

My, my... it's been a while hasn't it? Life has taken me on quite a few unexpected turns, forcing me to concentrate on certain things and unfortunately, neglect my blog. But through these events I've managed to find silver linings and realizing the importance of true things, like family, love and hope. I'm back now, hopefully for good and with a revelation about the importance of not letting challenges take away what's important to you.

When going through hard times, I stopped blogging about things that make me happy, or that catch my eye or brighten up my day because I had lost the motivation to do so. But now I realize that even more so it is important to continue to write, to enjoy, to collect, to share and to be inspired... and that by the simple gesture of blogging can refocus one's attention on the good and the positive, instead of dwelling on whatever momentary hardships that might cross one's path.

I know I've rambled on quite a bit, but I did want to offer an explanation for my absence, to share my mini-epiphany with you and ultimately to thank all my lovely followers for sticking around :) I can't wait to visit your blogs and catch up with you all. Hello again, lovelies <3

♥♥♥

in a valentine mood

Valentine's day is around the corner and romance is in the air! One thing I love about Valentine's day is all the pretty pink and red presents that pop up around this time of year. Since it's a Monday and we both have to work, the Mr. and I have decided to celebrate by having dinner at one of our favorite restaurants during our ''courting'' period, watch an old french movie together at home and then end the night with some smores and hot chocolate!

Here's a list of my favorite love-inspired goodies from all over the internets to serve as some eye-candy or inspiration! I wouldn't mind getting some of these for myself for some self-pampering and who says that we can't have Valentine's day everyday? 

 love & heart themed goodies from ban.do

 romantique candlelight treats from mozi and diptyque

 A book clutch, his&hers mugs and a perfume gift set from katespade, bloomsbury and sephora

♥♥♥

mail love: hello texas

As most of you know, I've been trying my hand out at mail swaps and care packages and I'm proud to share with you all my 2nd mail swap with the lovely Susannah from Austin, Texas! It was great getting to know her through emails and planning out our swap, which was vintage themed (I love everything vintage!)

She spoiled me with a bunch of american candies and lovely paper goods, thanks so much sweetie for swapping with me and I hope we'll do more in the future! Here's some photos and descriptions of the goodies she sent me! You can also check out this post of hers on her new blog to see photos of my care package to her :)

  Paper love - flyers, postcards, coasters, note cards

 Vintage matchboxes and a tiny box with figurines

A telephone book, notebook, pen and a hand-written letter

A bag of pretty beads, a handwritten recipe and a mix CD

Lots of yummy candy treats

A tin box, magnet, clips and soap

Thanks again Susannah!

 ♥♥♥

mail love: sunny california

I've always been a great fan of mail swaps and care packages ever since I was introduced to it by a fellow blogger friend from Australia. Since then I decided to reach out and try to do more swaps with more people from all over! Here's the first one I've done for this blog from the beginning of the month with a lovely lass named Stephanie! 

It was such a joy swapping with someone from California since I grew up there and she made sure to include some candies that I haven't had in years! Thanks so much dear and I look forward to swapping with you again :) Here's some photos of the goodies she sent me! You can also check out this post of hers to see photos of what I sent her. 

 A beautiful hand-written letter

 I love little notebooks, and these two are just too adorable!

 This one had so many unique designs for every page, perfect for a paper junkie like me :)

A pretty blue box to hold pretty things in

A copy of InStyle that's hard to find in France

Three little fine tip pens, I've been using them so much

 I have had such cravings for Reese's Peanut Butter Cups! I miss American candy so much

 

I love this gorgeous little paper weight heart

Such lovely packaging!

A necklace from her Etsy store. I love the bicycle pendant! I wish I could make necklaces like these too :)

And lastly, I love this porcelain jar with a little bird on top! Now it's holding my heart shaped sugar cubes

Thanks again dearie!

 ♥♥♥

hello there, 2011

Oh wow, it feels like I've been away for so long! I'm so glad to be back from my holidays and first things first, Happy New Year to all my dearest followers! I hope your Christmas and New Year's celebrations were wonderful and that the year 2011 has many lovely things in store for you :) As for New Year's resolutions, I've always been terrible at them, so this year I've decided to do something completely different! 

I've gone ahead and made a list of 123 things that I would like to do in 321 (3 years, 2 months and 1 day!). My list is built after the 101 in 1001 days project, but I wanted to personalize it a bit as well as add more time and goals to my list. I've also decided to post the whole thing here on my blog to keep track of my progress and to motivate myself. Have any of you done a project like this before? What are your resolutions for 2011?  Feel free to tell me in the comments and I can't wait to visit your blogs and catch up with every single one of you :)

♥♥♥

an american thanksgiving in france

Some of you already know of my disappointment last week when I lamented on how the french don't celebrate Thanksgiving and how I would essentially be missing out on its food-related festivities. Well lo and behold, the Thanksgiving fairy must have heard my cries because she bestowed upon me an invitation from a lovely friend to join her and her friends for their own little turkey celebration here in Paris last weekend!! So please forgive me if these photos are a little late, but I would still love to show you some of the delicious food we enjoyed courtesy of two amazingly talented cooks.

 

+ me +

And now to share with you all what I'm thankful for this year. 1: A husband I love more and more each day 2: Parents who though may live far away, stay near and dear in my heart 3: A healthy adorable kitten who loves sleeping cuddled next to me 4: Lovely friends to share the good times as well as the bad times 5: And finally all my lovely blogger friends who encourage me with their kindness :)

I hope that all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving no matter where you are in the world and I wish you all a great holiday season to come! May it be filled with family, friends, warmth and love. 

♥♥♥

we're back where we started...

Funny how the mind works. The more I travel the more I tend to think of where I've been, what I've seen, what I've felt. The many, many transits and faces familiar and forgotten Waking up to strange suns and sleeping under different moons. The photos and the memories you can't erase. The beauty of never having enough time and thus loving every minute of what you get. And as always, there at the very end of everything, the gentle reminder of where home is and how to get there.

+ me +

♥♥♥

home sweet home

After a year of living in a tiny studio apartment in Paris, me and my husband decided to move to lovely little 1 bedroom just 5 minutes west of the city. It's next to one of Paris' grandest shopping malls complete with cineplex and everything else we need, including a great view of the Sacre Coeur, a balcony on the 6th floor and the sparkling lights of the Eiffel Tower in the distance.

After the wind-down of the wedding(s) I've been itching to get our apartment decorated and done up nice so I'll be posting some work-in-progress photos soon. Now that we've welcomed our new kitty, it's really starting to feel like our little home sweet home :)

+ me +

♥♥♥

hello, stranger

The runaway romantique is a novice Parisian, but her heart belongs to the world. She is a dreamer and a believer. She doesn't run away from fear or disappointment, rather she runs to feel the freedom of the wind in her hair and the grass at her feet. She runs because there's too much in the world to love, explore and experience, and not setting herself free would suffocate her. She runs to breathe in new air, fall in love with life over and over again and see beauty that will be painted forever in her dreams. She runs, but she also always knows where her home is.

I've decided to make this place my personal stowaway of inspiration, ideas, beautiful imagery and an outlet for the imagination. If you've decided to join me for the ride, don't hesitate to drop a hello every now and then. Every treasure in the world would mean nothing if we had no one to share it with. ♥

+ violetberry +

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