serendipity: lifestyle

Showing posts with label lifestyle. Show all posts

On the was to 10eme and a place called Bonhomie (like good homie, boom)

Years ago I called my good friend to tell him I found my old diary. I tend to do that - to call him when I feel he would find something hilarious, important or overwhelming. I still do. And he still says: That's nice. Well done. Without a trace of sarcasm in his voice.

My old diary was a masterpiece. I was always really bad in keeping diaries - and once I opened it - everything inside was more or less a list of things I wanted to buy, I bought, who said what, who was dating who (but not in a gossipy super interesting way - in a boring, whocares way) and who I was in love with (not so surprising list of wrong people some of which I do not remember to like). I would write in my diary for 3 weeks then I would stop. Then few months later I would write for 2 weeks and then I would stop again. People say you should read your own old diaries to learn something new about yourself. Well, I learned that I was a teenager with a horrible taste in men who was buying far too many unnecessary things. I closed my diary.

When I got my scholarship I decided I need to record details of my life somewhere. I had a simple Canon camera that could fit in any bag and a will to see beautiful things and document them. And in 2011 this blog started. I don't think many people knew of it - I knew some who had and who loved it. But those people loved me so it wasn't really objective opinion. What was important for me is that I really loved this blog. And I still do - I go back to posts from 2012 and I love those photos. They take me back to a specific moment in time that was important for this or that reason. It's like a good vibes scrap book. We always forget bad things...

Living in Paris makes me take my phone out (I stopped carrying that Canon camera around long time ago) and take photos at least few times a week. On the other hand living anywhere can make you do that. And that was that decision I made long time - decision that I will find beauty in everything. Sometimes it's hard and impossible but it necessary.

This long introduction is based on the hope I will write here more often. I really feel like I need to do so. For various reasons.

So.

This was a grey a week. January tends to be like that but weather changed so many times that you couldn't even count on that greyness. Making lists soothes my soul as well as the new country music does. I tried to see some shows (almost failed), hang out with some new old people (amazing experience) and return to the things that inspired me few 1000 years ago (Oscar Wilde and Hunter S/ Thompson).

lace on the ceiling of Le Petit Palais

It took me 3 months to go and see the first Oscar Wilde expo on French soil. The line was long. The space was small. What I really liked was Oscar's notebook where he wrote his favourite things...Like favourite flower, favourite scent, favourite read... We had those notebooks when I went to elementary school. I bet they would be an equally fun thing to read as my diary.

package received

Alterlatine is a website that covers South American culture (everything connected to it) in Paris. Andrea found me and asked me to do flyers for her brand but I thought postcards would be a better solution - everybody loves getting one and plus - I collect them as memories and have a bunch of them around my work space. I did 4 different postcards and I think they are great thing to be collected. They will be spread around Paris for free. They arrived two days ago!

staircase of the Mairie du 4eme.

I'm imagining a person in charge choosing this colour, applying it and saying: "Ups. Kinda too blue."

I think it looks awesome. Especially on a grey week like this!

Some more things that helped me go through:

Let's see how long my enthusiasm will last! Boom!

I started Carbonara for Breakfast because I knew I had to escape restlessness. And worry. And impatience. I tend to follow every shiny object and become restless. I tend to worry about things I can't control. I am awfully impatient. 2015 sounded resless, impatient and worrying even before she was born. I bought some 25 markers over the period of 3 months - nice bright colors and mellow, pale dusky roses and vanillas. I had everything. How will I do this?

Why will I do this? I will do it also because...because I need to get into coloring/painting things I am drawing. I had no idea if that was the road to rediscover the painting process (it wasn't). I created a blog in December, I intensely thought about things I should draw - made some lists (my life is a list), started seeing how those pretty Promarkers work and the 1st of January still hit me totally unprepared. I spent two hours doodling and coloring and wandering if... if this is it. Well, it was. You need to post it now. You promised yourself. DO IT! I pressed post. I posted it. It was there.

I drew food because everybody else was posting food everywhere. Instagram, facebook, twitter... Well. I will draw food. Boom. What I ate. Or what I love to eat. Or what I need to eat.

Day after day I tried to create magic - and as with everything in life - some days you are more overwhelmed to create, some days you are less. I think one can see how much energy and love, and passion went in a drawing. Sometimes more, sometimes less. I could go through every drawing and conclude if I was in a bad mood. If I was in a good mood. If I hated myself for starting the project. Or if I celebrated my... persistency.

When I go thought it now, now after 365 drawing, the whole year flashes in front of my eyes. What I ate, when, what I drank and who did I drink it with and where...I can see where I traveled, how much love was shared and how many important people I know. Important for my heart, obviously.

This is the list of the things I learned:

1/ This project you are doing only for yourself aka Haters gonna hate

2/ Every day you are getting better and better in something aka Why are you doing this at all?

3/ I can change the drawing style whenever I want to aka Reinvent yourself when you get bored

4/ It is easier to hide behind a fake name

5/ Passion is obvious aka Either you're in or you're out.

6/ If you work hard nice people will come your way aka If you work hard nice people will come your way

These drawings here are my favourite drawings from the first six months of project.

When I was born, Slovenia was the part of the country where I was born. Later it became a separate country. It was once on our way to the mountains somewhere in Austria. We stopped in the capital, Ljubljana, but just for a drink.

This year I was visiting Slovenia again, this time I stayed for a few days there and I had a chance to explore it well. Ljubljana, at least. My company was great, weather was a bit tropical and the capital itself was gorgeous.

Here are a few drawing from my journal:

for my friend Annie. and for her personal rainbow search.

(photo taken from M/F/G's apartment at Bastille the other day)

but I'm chez Maisie, in fact.

place de Clichy. around 20.00

I went to visit some nice people I met on a party. They invited me to another party... Pancakes party! There were more nice people.

And pancakes are like the best thing to do/eat/overeat on a rainy April Tuesdays in Paris. Or elsewhere. Plus, I really like the machine (on the second pic). Such a social moment - nobody has to stay in the kitchen and turn over and again that piece of minced wheat with eggs and milk... We all did it!

Plus, we all shared our pancakes knowledge and tastes. Vincent, our local expert on pancakes underlined that in Brittany where the crêpes are coming from, they say that crêpes are made only with water - no milk... Delia, the Canadian shared the secret of maple sirop pancakes... Ivi shared lemon juice+sugar+butter twist.

Last time (on some other super cool French pancakes party) I made some crêpes with cibulette (chives). Thats my only secret... There you go!

and an inch deep. thats what we can conclude after weekend spent in talking talking talking.

these flowers were waiting for me (with the funky postcard) after the long Monday. Its a nice thing having friends who knows what will make you happy...