my inner french girl

image from here.

So, I've been feeling Frenchy lately (really, when am I not?) and I came across this fun website that had an entertaining (and slightly stereotypical) top 10 list of How to be a Parisienne. It's a fun read and there are many more fun reads on that site. Enjoy!

(oh, and I'm getting a nagging feeling about revamping my site, so we'll see what my little head can cook up)

Bonne nuit!

Pretty Things

Bonsoir! I've been a bit absent from here for the past few weeks and I tried to think about what was going on that distracted me so much. One of my closest friends is going through some serious health issues and I'm having much dreaded work drama. I'm feeling optimistic about my friend, but I anticipate the work drama to continue until the end of the year. Boo.

So, maybe this is serving as a mental escape from life drama, but I have become crazy obsessed with Etsy! I've been an Etsy fan for years, but it's been like a daily thing for me lately. It really is such an amazing site for artists, that I just have to share a few of my favs:

a la parisienne - this shop is full of beautiful, dainty pretties such as flower pins and scarves in muted blushes and ivories. lovely!

rococo en fleurs - another fun shop of flower pins - all named/influenced by Marie Antoinette and friends. how fun is that?!

CLF - amazingly embellished tank tops. i mean, AMAZINGLY embellished.

rebecca 3030 - unique, over-the-top, beautiful necklaces.

bouvier jewelry - fabulous pearl jewelry a la Jackie O!

novella - incredible jewelry created out of crucifixes. love.

There are many more, but these are the ones I've been looking at a lot the past few days. It makes me feel good to buy from Etsy - love supporting people making homespun, beautiful things. Maybe when my life drama settles down, I'll find my niche too. :)

Boo for Sunday

Boo for Sunday. It means it's time to head back to work tomorrow. But, it's been a fun weekend because I discovered 2 blogs - the glamourai and what i wore. Both have been around for a long time, but they are new to me which means that I spent the weekend reading catching up on old posts. Both are very fun and I HIGHLY recommend.

So, while I'm not looking forward to the work week, I am looking forward to getting back into the gym scene. I've been pretty lazy for a month or so now, and, boy, and I'm feeling it. Sluggish and puffy - that's me right now and I don't like it one bit.

new york, new york

Guess who's going to New York City for the very first time? Moi! My BFF and I will be going this December so we'll get to see NYC during Christmas. So, so, so super excited! While I don't have the itinerary all planned, here are some things I hope to do and see while I'm there:

A carriage ride through Central Park:



Take a ferry out to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty:



Pay tribute to my peeps at the Irish Hunger Memorial:



Enjoy amazing Gothic architecture at St. Patrick's Cathedral:



Have afternoon tea at the St. Regis:



Indulge in French macarons at Macaron Cafe:



This is all in addition to major shopping, visits to the tourist spots like Rockefeller Center and Times Square, more shopping, etc. Did I mention that I'm crazy excited? If anyone has suggestions for places to shop, eat, anything, please share!

le temps de vous

Bonjour! Another weekend over and done, except for moi! I've taken tomorrow off for a "mental health day," as I like to call them. I haven't taken one of those days in a long, long time. But, I've had the entire weekend to myself and I just wasn't quite ready for it to be over with. How luxurious to just take a day off for the sake of time to yourself, no?

So, what happens when I'm left to my own devices for an entire weekend? I dye my hair red. lol. After over 2 years of blonde, I decided it was time to go au naturel. Unfortunately, my attempt at doing my own dye meant that it turned out a little more red than expected. Oh, well, I'm going with it. It's actually kind of a fun change.

So, here's to fun, unexpected changes, even more fun wine (tonight!), and time to one's self.

project macaroons

Bonjour, mes amis! I hope this holiday weekend was relaxing and enjoyable for everyone, because it certainly was for moi! I spent part of the weekend at my parents' home and the other part at my alma mater at a football game (Gig 'em, Ags!). It's hard to believe that this year is my 10 year anniversary from college. Where does the time go????? So, so, so scary, but that's another topic for another day. Point is, I had a great time reconnecting with old friends, watching good football, and generally feeling nostalgic for the good old days.

But, now, back to reality. Off to the work grind tomorrow, but I have a fun new project under my belt - macaroons! Before Paris, a macaroon was a boring little cookie, usually made of coconut. Nothing of any real consequence to me. After Paris, oh. my. goodness! Why have I never had such yumminess before? Regardless, my new project is to try to bake some myself. I am so not a cook, but I'm going to give these a try. Lately, I've had major macaroon tunnel vision, so I have to give it a shot - succeed or fail.

Anyway, there are 2 recipes I'm looking at. This one or this one. I plan to spend this week gathering up whatever I need and this weekend I will become a Parisian baking queen. :)

Hope everyone has une semaine magnifique!

rainy night

With all the rain and thunder in the sky tonight, I've decided it's a good night to curl up with my space heater and spend a little quality blog time. :)

In spite of all my slightly Debbie Downer posts about work, I'm feeling pretty good about things. Not letting the stress get to me so much, blah, blah. In fact, I've been spending a fair amount of time planning my next super special getaway. Nothing can quite compare to Paris, and while I've always wanted to see the world, my two top places have always been Paris and Ireland. With one under my belt, I'm anxious to hurry up and see number two.

As a humble government attorney, I actually have to save for a trip like this, so I've opened my Ireland savings account, am already pricing flights and hotels, and am starting an itenerary. So, hopefully by May 2012 I will be off on another dream vacay (this time for 2 weeks - 1 was not enough). I am beyond excited! It's been a great distraction from the unpleasant things and has created enough motivation in me to keep pushing through the tough spots.

better times

For all of my complaining yesterday, today turned into a pretty nice day. Maybe all my inspirational museum time is actually working. :) Anyhow, I spent the last hour or so at work starting some major overhauling and re-organizing in my office. I moved offices several months ago and ever since then I've never been able to get settled. As in, there are stacks of binders/documents lining the walls of my office, none of my decor has been hung on the walls, etc. It's just been difficult getting the motivation and time to put things the way I want them. Well, that changed starting today, and I've decided I just need to take things a little at a time, so I don't become overwhelmed to the point where I just don't do anything at all.

I've also decided that I need a separate calendar for my personal things. Everything has been maintained in my work calendar, and while it seemed like the most efficient way to keep up with everything, I just think it's time to keep work to-dos and personal to-dos separate and see how it goes. :)

more inspiration

Ok, I just had to make sure I post this before I forget, but my new obsession = museum shops! And, the fact that you can shop online is absolutely fabulous! Two of my favorites are The Museum Store Company and the Boutiques de Musees. How fabulous to buy jewelry and home decor that has meaning and history behind them. I've had a blast over the past couple of weeks looking through these sites and I think you will too! Enjoy!

cupcake = inspiration

Speaking of inspiration, just had to post this pic of me at a local cupcakery from this past Friday. I had a cherry coke cupcake. It.Was.Delish!

art, inspiration, help!

Another weekend, another art museum. :) This weekend, I found myself at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. A particular favorite of mine, since it brings back fond childhood memories when my mom would take me there. It had been well over 10 years since I visited, and since I was in town, I decided it was time to go back. Lots of changes and improvements, but the parts of the museum that were special to me were still there. Anyway, here are some pieces that stood out to me during this trip:


The Captive Bird by Nicolas Lancret - just love the 18th century-ness of this one


The Eiffel Tower by Henri Rousseau - love for obvious reasons


Seated Woman by Pablo Piccaso - there's not much by him that doesn't capture my attention



There's something in me that is feeling severely disjointed, for lack of a better word. I've never hidden the fact that my job, while tolerable and more times than not even enjoyable, sometimes leaves me feeling less than fulfilled. My discontent tends to come in waves, which I sometimes think has more to do with whether work is busy enough to distract me from that discontent than whether I'm truly feeling happy. I know that I wear myself out, take on much more than I should, and push myself oftentimes over the limit. Whatever it is, I'm about to scream. I need inspiration. I need fulfillment. I need joy. I've been telling myself for years that I have to spend more time on my personal life, doing things outside of work that bring meaning to me, but I always find myself falling pathetically short of accomplishing that.

So, I suppose that is why I keep reaching out to things that will kick-start my imagination, creativity, and (hopefully!) my focus on what I want for my life - job and all. I feel like I keep going through this exercise only to fall off and into the same funk that makes me unhappy. Anyone know what I mean?

Don't be surprised if you find more museum posts from me in the near future. :)

un autre bon week-end

Another fun filled weekend for moi! It's a nice change and one I'm hoping to maintain. :) Yesterday, my sweetie and I spent the afternoon at a 1st birthday party for our friends' son. It consisted of lots of food, lots of babies, and a sunny day by the pool.

Today, we visited the gorgeous McNay Art Museum . I posted a few pics below.













And, now, I'm back home with my puppies enjoying the last of another fab weekend.

le week-end

Here's to the end of a fabulous weekend! I was looking forward to some downtime at ma maison, but that was not to be. Yesterday, my sweetie and a couple of friends headed to Port Aransas for a relaxing day at the beach. I lived in Corpus Christi for 2 years right after law school and never once went to the beach. I've just never been a beachy person, and I wasn't exactly thrilled to go yesterday, but I had an absolute blast and I now truly understand how relaxing crashing waves can be. :)

Today, I finally got to meet the phenomenal Kimberly Wilson! I've followed her blog and podcast for over 4 years, adore her TranquiliT clothing line, have participated in her online creativity circles, and, of course, have read her books. She's a great inspiration and it was good to finally meet her in person. So glad she finally decided to come to Texas!

Anyway, it's now time to regroup and prepare for the upcoming week. There is some pretty serious work drama going on that's going to require a lot of deep breathing so I can maintain my sanity. We'll see how it goes . . .


me at the beach


kimberly & me

inspirations

So, I've been kind of obsessing over 18th century decor. Maybe it has a little something to do with my recent trip to Versailles. :) Anyway, today I'm in a blue/white mood, so here are some pictures that caught my eye today...

goo goo for Gaga

Just a quick post while I wait for my tea to steep and go to bed. I just finished watching an old interview with Lady Gaga and I just adore this girl! You have to love someone who totally lives their life for art. So gutless. :)

Speaking of guts, mine haven't been feeling too hot lately (I'm hoping this tea will help). It may have something to do with how badly I've eaten lately or my recent lack of exercise. So, I started redirecting myself by hitting the gym tonight and tomorrow will be the start of some much overdue healthy eating. We'll see how that works. :)

Bonne nuit!

OMG! - 2

Found this one too! Love!

OMG!

Oh...my...gosh! I happened to come across this Marie Antoinette Collector Barbie tonight and about died! I'm not a Barbie collector by any stretch of the imagination, but a Marie Antoinette Barbie? I had to research further. Which is when I found out that the going price is about $2000. Boo. But I still kinda want one.

Who is crazier - the attorneys or the defendants?

Bonjour!

People crack me up. Today consisted of sitting in a courtroom with my jaw constantly dropped at the shenanigans taking place. I have to applaud our new attorney for standing her ground and not letting even the judge bully her around. I was never so happy for 5:00 to roll around so we could get the heck out of there.

Unfortunately, going home meant crazy clean up time around the house - the one downside to having house guests. :) But, such a good scrubbing was long overdue and now the house is looking (and smelling) fab! I need some major organization ideas, though. Probably the first thing to do is to decide what to keep and what to throw away, but I have a really hard time with the throw away part. My sweetie insists that there are several pairs of shoes that I could donate, but I put my foot down on that one! He has a hard time understanding that there are some shoes you wear on a regular basis and some that you wear only once in a while. But both are equally important. Boys...

So, I've been working on a new project for a couple of weeks now - a scrapbook of my trip to Paris. The last time I put together a real scrapbook was in high school, but doing this project has reminded me of how fun paper, glitter, glue, and stickie letters can be. I'm also reminded of how loooong the process can take. I've only done a day and a half of my 6 day trip, so it may be quite some time before I finish, but I will definitely post pictures because some of my pages I'm really loving! Yea for creativity!

lazy day

Bonjour!

Today has been a much needed lazy day. It started early, though, with a drive downtown to the federal courthouse for my swearing in ceremony. This federal district does things so much more intimately and personally than other federal districts. Only 6 of us were sworn in today, each of us was required to have a "sponsor" (an attorney already sworn into this district) introduce us to the judge, and after the ceremony we got to sign "the book" (a book of signatures of every attorney sworn into this federal district since 1878). My supervisor was my sponsor and our District Attorney even attended and said a few good words about me to the judge. It was one of those ceremonies that makes me excited to be in the legal profession.

Afterwards, my sweetheart and I decided to have brunch and then I was off to a work conference, which ended earlier than anticipated but late enough to make returning to the office unnecessary. So, home I went and caught up on blogs, found some new ones that I'm already loving, and generally just had a lazy evening. Don't you love when you get a surprise lazy day?

My Return to the Blogosphere

I just realized that it has been almost 6 months since my last post. It's ridiculous how insane my life has been, particularly at work. But, as its starting to slow back down to a tolerable pace, I'm drawn back to my little blog. So, what's been happening to me these past 6 months? Well, I've been doing the work of 2 attorneys (literally - like had a couple of minor breakdowns too), I was elected president of the board of directors of a non-profit I'm part of (which opened up a whole other door of problems, to-dos, etc), I took my first international vacation to PARIS; I turned 32 (boo); and I've been keeping up with each of my fav blogs quietly in the midst of all my chaos.

So, after 6 months of stress and a fab vacay to my dream city, I've been in a kind of "me time" mood. Don't get me wrong, I still give it my all at the office and make sure all my work is done, but I definitely have been doing some mental health recovery, if you will. I generally leave the office before 6:00 and I spend my evenings catching up on six months of back issues of Yoga Journal and InStyle magazines. And I dream...still...about a perfect life, with more creativity and sans other peoples problems, politics, and all the unnecessary meanness that I see everyday. But, I suppose that's better left for another post, another day. Here are some things that are making me tres joyeux right now:

1. Victoria Beckham - I never paid much attention to Victoria during the Spice Girls years, but I must say that I've been paying attention to her for the past few years. Not only do I think she's ubber-stylish, but her fashion line is FAB! If only I was a small as she is so I would actually be willing to spend $2k on one of her dresses.

2. Meeting Kimberly Wilson for the first time during her Texas book tour! After following her blog, podcasts, books, etc. for over 4 years, I finally get to meet someone that I truly look up to this August!

3. My new short haircut that looks surprising similar to this pic of Victoria B. (shock!). After years of growing up believing that only long hair is beautiful, I had a sudden urge to chop it off (it was gradually getting shorter with each visit to the hair stylist, so it really wasn't THAT big of a change) right before my Paris trip and I absolutely LOVE it! This sounds sad, but for well over a year I was in a style rut. I was more inclined to just pull my wet hair in a bun and wear glasses every day with minimal makeup than actually make an effort. I don't know if it's the haircut, the trip to Paris, or both, but I've been quite inspired lately and it's fun that people are noticing. It definitely takes my mind off the things that I'm tired of thinking about.

4. And last, but not least, Paris! I've been in love with Paris longer than I can remember. Maybe it started with my first subscription to Vogue magazine in high school or after years of cute Paris overkill at every Hobby Lobby I encounter, but who cares, my facination is here to stay. I was slightly concerned that actually visiting Paris might be underwhelming since I had built it up for so many years, but nothing could be further from the truth. Paris was amazing, life changing, and is definitely a place I want to spend much, much more time.

Anyway, that's me for now. I hope the few readers I did have will find their way back here and I hope everyone is well! :)

shannon