Excusez-moi, did you just call me a flâneuse?
She could’ve just as easily been wearing a dirty burlap peasant dress and pointing her crooked skinny finger at me, spitting and sneering, “Boo! Boo! Rubbish! Filth!” like in the movie ‘The Princess Bride’. But it’s not quite like that; she’s wearing a coral pink cardigan and clear nail polish instead. Anyway…
Concrete Doesn’t Bend & Other Wisdom.
Yesterday I was given some stapled papers that supposedly contain a new way to do a business plan – it’s designed for those of us who shudder at the very mention of the idea of drafting such a document.
Chakra Update: Less Screwed. Hooray!
Back to my super natural chiropractor I went. A month or so ago she helped me clearly identify some screwed-up-ness which was mostly to do with my solar plexus chakra. That’s the “yellow one” at the centre, that place in your very core where the puke feeling flares up. It’s also called your power centre ...
Infested by Spiders
Gross. They’re coming from all over the place. They’ve found my website and are crawling around everywhere. I’m talking about the little autobot spider things that cull the web. Supposedly it’s a good thing for Google to have ‘indexed’ your pages – it means others can find you easier. You show up on search engines. ...
How to Trick a Perfectionist
Some people call themselves a Perfectionist like it’s a good thing. They lament this ‘horrible’ fact, but I think secretly they’re proud. I, however, have learned that it fully sucks. It seems the road to recovery from Perfectionism is a daily trek. Along the way I’ve learned that I have a razor sharp fine-tuned penchant ...
{La Vie en Rose: Paris} Roses Costes Boutique.
Since my heart dwells in Paris, I might as well begin sharing my favourite spots in the City of Light, non? Whilst wandering the luxe Rue Saint Honoré
Tarot lady said I’m very fertile. Uh-oh.
Patricia, the tarot lady gives me a hesitant look before divulging that come January/February I will be very fertile. Oh, really? Who knows if she suspects I’m not into having babies or if she can see that secret in my cards, but either way, she warns me. I don’t bother trying to hide my displeasure. ...
What the hell is a béchamel? Fear boils up in the Kitchen
Chef Dave claims, “All you have to do is…” and then follows with a whirlwind of chopping, slicing and scraping All-Clad pans across searing gas flames. Grapeseed oil is sizzling and I’m told that shallots ‘want to get moving’ in the pan and never at too hot a temperature. My own temperature is sky-rocketing as ...
My How to Become a Writer in 21 Days Experiment: Oh, I changed the rules.
I can change the rules. It is my experiment after all. In fact, I don’t even have to keep doing the experiment if I don’t want to… do I?
Spirit of a Space
To capture the essence of a space… to interpret its Spirit is the real task. To render the true sparkle of a chandelier… or the sunlight streaming through silken drapes… perhaps this can only be mastered by the stoke of an artist’s brush. Artist Jeremiah Goodman sees the life of a room dance across his ...
Beach morning.
I needed to reconnect. To the beach I wandered. A sunny, crisp winter morning at the seaside… powdery sky and lavender light. Pale pink water-worn shells are scattered amidst pebbles and beach glass glistening in the sun.
Eff. I botched it.
Back to day one. On what should have been writing day five of 21 I did the opposite of what I promised I would (write 500 words per day). Should, should, should. Ugh. Puke. Many feelings are surfacing around this screw up. I’m pissed off. Pissed off that now I have to start back at ...
Lovers & Undisciplined Thought {Experiment Day 5 of 21}
I hear imaginary critics scold me and tell me to get back to reality—get to work—find a real job, do something for God’s sake! And yet the bigger part of me (or is it the childish, lazy part?) is incontestably convinced I’m not meant for these ‘common’ modern jobs as we know them today. I can see, rather clearly, that the era of ‘career’ is slipping away… crumbling, perhaps, is the more accurate adjective.
My Chakras are Screwed! {Experiment Day 4 of 21}
“Bring the white light in to your crown chakra,” she said. I imagine this happening. Although I’ve got no specific physical sensation going on, I feel like I’ve accomplished it—even if it’s only imagination. I say nothing. “Good,” she congratulates me. “Okay, now bring it down through your throat.” I ‘pretend’ the column of white ...
Experiment: Becoming a Writer in 21 Days. {3 of 21}
She served her homemade strawberry jam in a petite cut crystal pot, with a tiny crystal lid and a silver spoon. How she ever popped open the jam jar with her 85-year-old hands was anyone’s guess…
Experiment: Becoming a Writer in 21 Days. {2 of 21}
Je suis pooped. Today was a day spent in the sound booth recording audio: navigating through scripts and twisting my tongue around Italian words (why does every word have to be an exception to the rule?)
Experiment: Becoming a Writer in 21 Days. {1 of 21}
I’ve done it before. So certainly I can do it again. “It”, in this case refers to the challenge of doing something for 21 days in a row, without exception, to help form a new habit. The habit I’m aiming to form is the belief that I am, indeed, a writer. And I intend to ...
In Love with The French Cat
I let out an ear-shattering childish squeal of delight and gasped for air. Impulsively, I lunged forward to grab the book off the shelf, tossing to the floor my half-finished Starbucks Gingerbread Latte. The bookstore was no longer quiet.
A Quixotic Discovery: Parisien Flat Unlocked after 70 years
It’s such an enchanting discovery I can barely keep my marabou slippers on! Now… on to the dusty details. The romance began more than a hundred years ago in the heart of Paris… but remained secret all these years only to be unfurled by a handful of auctioneers, art experts and historians. Auction houses are ...
An Invitation to France! Seriously?
My friend Louise went to France. She sent an email inviting us. I promptly threw a fit. She’s house-sitting for six months in a handsome chateau (complete with perfectly pale blue shutters) in the French countryside. She is brave. And smart. She also has no home, specifically. Thus, she finds one wherever she so chooses ...