Haussmann Buildings

I haven't had much time to blog recently (a little thing called life, kinda got in the way), but thought I'd share this photo of the imposing Haussmann buildings stretching down Avenue de l'Opera that I took from the balcony of the Palais Garnier; Paris' beautiful opera house, whilst on a visit there with my mum on Saturday. I think this might actually be the first black and white photo on my blog. I'd love to know what you think. Look out for an update later in the week! 

Coffee at Caféothèque

You'd be forgiven for thinking this space had somehow morphed into a coffee blog, what with all the close ups of coffee cups lately. The thing is with the cafes in Paris, so many of them have such good-looking interiors that I just can't resist. Oh and it might have something to do with my current coffee addiction. Look at that cup, teasing me with its perfectly formed frothy latte art. I'm even making my own at home. I blame the recent rain.

Now I'm no coffee connoisseur - I usually just go for a bog-standard cappuccino or café creme as they like to call it here in France - but the coffee at Caféothèque is particularly good. These guys know their beans. They even have an in-house roasting machine to prove it. But of course, being the interiors girl that I am, I wasn't so interested in the beans or the machine, it was the room at the back that resembles a tropical jungle, furnished with colourful rustic tables and raffia bags that got me. Oh and that delicious cup of coffee. 

Thanks Carin for modelling the coffee cup

Centre Pompidou

My blog has been getting a bit girly of late. Don't get me wrong, I love flowers, cakes and pastels like the next, but my personal style is a lot more minimal and I rarely wear a lot of colour (unless it's on my lips and nails) or pattern. So on Saturday, which started out as one of those slightly failed mornings - I had planned to go to the Rodin Museum, but what with the torrential rain, my plan was literally a wash out - so not wanting to stay cooped up indoors, I walked over to my nearest gallery, Centre Pompidou. I wanted to take some snaps (no easy feat whilst trying to balance an umbrella) and to take this otherwise very flowery blog, down a tone or two with the geometrical greys, whites and blacks of this very brutal-looking modern structure. It's by far the most interesting building in Paris, because it sticks out like a sore thumb amongst the old white and beige Parisian buildings, breaking up the homogenous skyline. 

It's currently showing photographs by Henri Cartier-Bresson and if there hadn't been a one hour wait, and I hadn't been hungover from the previous night spent at Braisenville in the 9th (a must-go, they do the tastiest tapas plates of meat) with friends over from Sweden, I would have happily queued up. 

Slowing Down

Teacup and saucer are from La Tresorerie

The last few months have been a bit of a whirlwind. If you've been following my blog you'll know that I've done a lot of moving around, and that I'm now happily settled in the Marais (until the end of September that is). I've had some lows, but also some amazing highs. I've made some wonderful friends, who have helped see me through the rough times, gained my independence and have been focussing more on what I want career-wise and generally in life. Also during this time, I've had some great exposure through Instagram, culminating in another one of my photos being featured on the app's feed yesterday. Gaining a bigger audience, means I've been able to work with some brands, publications and people that I admire, but it also means more responsibility and pressure (that I put on myself). I'm one of those people who is always pushing themselves, never quite satisfied with what they've done. And although I'm learning to be happy with what I have and seeing this constant need for perfection as a positive, rather than a negative thing (one of my little quirks), I also realise that it is the thing that's going to get me to where I want to be. 

Yesterday was a public holiday in France, and although I didn't take the time to rest, despite this post's title (I've been catching up on freelance work), I did take the time to reflect on a few things, including this space, my blog.  

Something I've been wanting to do for a while is photograph people's homes and focus my attention a little more on how people live. So now that things are a little quieter, I'm going to put that plan into action. Another thing I want to do is hone my photography skills and find my own style. I've been playing around a lot recently, experimenting, learning from some great friends and trying to figure out what I enjoy taking photos of. I now know I like photographing interiors, objects (fashion), food and still life, so that is what I'm going to concentrate on (or try to). And I would like to bring a little more structure to this blog. So hopefully you'll see a few things changing and improving here in the coming weeks.

What are your goals for the coming months? 

Birthdays galore

The tea-set and flowers are gifts from my lovely friends

The last week has been fun and exhausting in equal measure, hence not much action on the blog. 

Since last Tuesday I have celebrated five birthdays, including my own on Friday! The activities have ranged from wine-tasting at Le Perchoir with Vins du Bordeaux, dancing at Comptoir General, stuffing my face full of pastries and tea at Ladurée, washing down the tastiest fried chicken burger at Lockwood with even tastier cocktails, drinking my bodyweight in champagne, then drinking my bodyweight in wine and whatever else was within reach, and then consuming meringue cake bought from Sebastien Gaudard (which I'm ashamed to admit, have absolutely no memory of, to the point where I've been telling everyone repeatedly all weekend that I didn't get to try any of my own birthday cake, only to be told that actually I ate not one, but two pieces and had the evidence all around my face to prove it). Lunch at Le Loir dans la Théière on Saturday (famous for their huge cakes), drinks at Le Petites Gouttes Sunday night followed by an Indian, to finally afternoon tea at Katie's on Monday to celebrate Lauren's 30th, which involved the most indulgent chocolate meringue cake (baked by Lauren) cupcakes, more patisseries, Swedish sprinkle-covered chocolate balls (made by Carin), chocolates, stroopwafels and cake provided by our very own patisserie chef in training, Cindy. Yep, I think I just put the 'O' in over indulgent...I feel woozy just writing this. Even my photos have taken a sugary turn in the last week! 

It's been a great week, but I'm so glad it's over and I can get back to normality, whatever that might be...