Betty & Me In Paris

Today's post is totally French-inspired. And no, I'm not in Paris at the moment (I wish I was, though!) - but I did feel a bit like a Parisian after my visit to Paul today. I always wonder if Paul truly is a Maison de Qualité Fondée en 1889 or if it's just a huge Czech patisserie chain & a clever marketing ploy. Seriously, does anyone else have Paul in their country? OK, I guess it doesn't matter because their stuff is pretty good (apart from the macaroons... I guess one really needs to go to Paris to get the real thing). Today I treated myself to a raisin snail and it was trop bien (today is also National Cheesy Post Day, didn't you know?). I'm such a sugarholic. Like I need something sweet after every meal. :(
Anyway! I thought I could combine my French-pastry-eating endeavours with a lovely French-themed video (which also features food!). I came across 'Betty in Paris' last week and immediately fell in love. If you love Paris, Amélie, macaroons and/or are a bit of a dreamer, you'll adore this video. It reminded me of my own visit to Paris in 2011 - as cliché as it may sound, it really was one of the best holidays ever. It's actually funny that I'm saying this because I was always one of those 'hmm, Paris... it's a bit overrated, isn't it?' people. Turns out I had to visit it twice in order to fall in love. And yeah, when I was in Paris 2 years ago, I really did feel like Betty (National CPD all over again...). 
'Betty in Paris' is part of the Olive Us series - the latter is made by Ben and Gabrielle Blair and features their six(!!!) kids. The Blair family is American and they've been living in Normandy for over a year. You can check out Gabrielle's blog, Design Mom, here. 

Betty In Paris from Olive Us on Vimeo.
Video via Prêt à Voyager

Julian's 11th Dimension

Just a song for tonight. The Strokes are back with a new song and while everyone seems to hate it, I'm in love. OK, I do love Julian's (yes, of course we're on a first name basis) deep voice, I just love love love the new song. I've been on a Strokes high & came across this song which was part of Julian's solo project. I'm totally digging the 80s vibe. This man can really do no wrong. :)

2013 Resolutions

This will be a super duper quick one (I just took a shower, my hair is still wet and I've got a New Year's Eve party to go to... ahhh!!).

I love making lists (don't judge me :) so I thought I should make a New Year Resolution list (I was inspired by Lois's '28 before 29' list, which is way better than mine). I kept it short and sweet and really focused on things I TRULY want to accomplish or get done in 2013 (more on NaNoWriMo later... this is one of my biggest goals for 2013).

Happy New Year everyone! See you in 2013 (exciting!) - I know it will be a blast!

Lovely Cards

I loooove getting things in the mail! Seriously, I think I'm one of the few people who still send letters and postcards on a regular basis (although I have to admit, I haven't sent anything in a while.. and I'm not happy about it). This is what was waiting for me when I got home today - two lovely cards from two different countries. One from my friend Gígja from Iceland and another one from Simone from Taiwan, who also sent me really cute washi tapes (soo exciting!!! :). Thank you guys, you really made my day! 

Baby, It's Cold Outside.

Today I got my wish - snow! It's been snowing for a few hours now and Prague suddenly looks completely different. The Old Town especially looks really magical (except for Old Town Square.. I'll never be a fan of the Christmas market there, wayyy too touristy & crowded). I met up with my friend Jitka in the afternoon and we went to a cozy little cafe close to the Charles Bridge. Afterwards, I just had to snap some super touristy pics on said bridge. The pic of my friend and I was taken by a really funny man who first insisted on taking a picture with me ('the photo will be really nice if I'm in it') and then finally offered to take a pic of the two us. :D All in all, I had a really cozy day today! 

What have you been up to?

P.S.: So many blogs have really cool Christmas posts this year, so here are some Christmas-themed links for your enjoyment:

Christmas in Copenhagen.

Fun gift ideas by Maiju, whom I interviewed a while back. 

DIY Christmas tree.

Brittany from The House that Lars Built has asked her favourite Scandinavian bloggers to share their personal Christmas traditions in her 'My Scandinavian Christmas' column. Every day leading up to Christmas, a different blogger shares their story.

Cool Christmas giveaway.

A really touching Christmas ad.

Aaaand... a thrifty Christmas gift guide. 

Birthday

Today is my birthday (I'm 27... I feel ooooold). I just wanted to share the above pic of me back in the day - check out my hipster hair (and my emo expression.. ha)!

I spent the day with my family eating lots of good food.

AAAND... this video totally made my day! Joke, you rock.

Thursday Thoughts

I haven't really had the best week so far. I was quite hopeful about a job a while ago (things looked really promising!) but now I'm not that sure anymore. :-/ I've been feeling really unmotivated job-wise in the past few... months, I guess (I was going to say weeks, but 'months' is closer to truth). I guess all I can do is keep my chin up, keep trying & hope for the best! I just wanted to put these feelings out there because while blogs can make a person's life seem like a fairy-tale, everyone has their own struggles. Personally, I'd like this blog to mainly focus on positive elements - that can't always be the case though!

The above two photos sum up two things that have inspired me lately.

1. Just a photo I really like - found it in Dolce Vita magazine. This is one of my favourite Czech magazines, it's all about fashion, design and architecture.

2. Swedish lessons every Thursday! I looove going to the classes, the group is super relaxed and fun and our teacher rocks. And getting better at Swedish is really exciting! :)

xo

Top photo by Benedikt Renč for the November 2012 issue of Dolce Vita

Dream Destinations

I had such a good time with my friend Joke last week that I guess I'm still in the post-holiday mood. That's why I only got back to blogging today. Sometimes you need a bit of a break, right? And while I would love to post quite frequently in the future, I have to acknowledge the fact that won't always be possible. I really love blogging though, no question about it! :)

Today I'd like to talk about the places I would love to visit sometime in the future - I've narrowed my list down to a total of 3 destinations. I love traveling but visiting these places is not really (financially) possible at the moment... I really do believe that one day I'll see them, though! 

1. Japan

Out of my 3 top places, Japan has been on my 'list' the longest. And no, my short-lived high school J-Rock obsession has nothing to do with that. ;) But seriously, there's so many reasons why I'd like to go to Japan: the food, the over-the-top techy atmosphere, the crazy fashion (Harajuku!), all the kawaii stuff (I think I'd go crazy over this one ;), bullet trains, Kyoto and geishas, karaoke, and just the 'uniqueness' of it all. I also have a few friends from Tokyo and I'd love to visit them & hang out in all the non-touristy places as well. One day, one day!

2. Iceland

To me, Iceland is a bit of a mysterious country, a country where it's still OK to believe in fairy-tales, a country with hauntingly beautiful nature. I first found out about the awesomeness of Iceland when I was studying in Scotland and met my friend Gigja (who's now working with a few people to turn an old fish factory into a creative art space!) for the first time. Ever since then, I've wanted to visit Iceland - I mean, which other country has made such a cool tourism promotional video? Also, I'd love to go to the Iceland Airwaves music festival one day - amazing music and an awesome location, done! Plus, you know, Icelanders are kooky (and all look like supermodels apparently).

3. Faroe Islands

I may or may not have fallen in love with the Faroe Islands after watching a certain H&M video last year. ;) I know, I know, the video is completely staged and apparently there is no H&M on the Faroe Islands (irony!), but still... I think my dream of spending a few nights in a super cozy cabin in a completely secluded area could come true on the Faroe Islands. Lovely, right?

What are your dream destinations? Let me know, I'd love to hear them all! :)

Photo sources: 1, 2, 3. 

I'm still here!

Sorry for being off the radar this week! My friend Joke is visiting Prague so I've been hanging out with her, eating lots of yummy food, going to really cool exhibitions and going crazy over Skyfall & Daniel Craig videos on Youtube... just having a really good time! It's really nice having her here. :) The funny thing is, Joke (at times) seems to know Prague better than me... Ha :D So much for being the local who should know everything about their own city! 

The pics above showcase our fabulous Prague adventures:

1. Me in Choco Café aka the 'Death by Chocolate' place. I think this is the first picture of me on the blog, so.. hi! Nice to meet you! :)

2. More Choco Café goodness! Joke went for the 72% white hot chocolate with banana and strawberries. I was more of a sissy and decided to get the cocoa. It was still really rich though!

3. The famous John Lennon wall.

4. Love locks.

5. Joke and I near the National Theatre. We both got our hair done that day - hence the smiles!

6. Breakfast at Café Louvre today. Salmon croissant, fruit salad and fresh mint tea. Not too shabby!

7. Really cool exhibition in the Rudolfinum Gallery (remember I mentioned that I wanted to go see it in my very first post?) which showcases contemporary British painting. Some of the details on the paintings were really crazy!

(All the photos were taken by Joke, except the last one. I haven't been taking that many pictures, I always seem to forget about the fact that I have my camera with me these days!).

I guess I won't really be posting till Sunday, but I promise that I will make it up to everyone next week. I already have some posts lined up. :)  Have a nice weekend (almost there!). 

Reading List

I've already mentioned the fact that I love books in yesterday's post. Today, though, I'd like to share books which are on my reading list as well as books which I've started reading (aaaand just like that I just realized I'm reading 5 books at once! :D hopefully this post will serve as a reminder that I need to FINISH THE PILE ON THE RIGHT before starting the one on the left).

My Reading List (on the left, from the bottom):

• 'Alone in Berlin' by Hans Fallada: After reading an interview where Angelika Taschen mentioned that this is her favourite book EVER, I really wanted to read it myself. I'm waiting for an opportune moment because it's meant to be really depressing & sad (it is no wonder given the subject is German resistance during World War II).
• 'Kafka on the Shore' by Haruki Murakami: I always wanted to read something by Murakami, so I picked this book up. Really excited for this one, I've never read a Japanese novel. 
• 'Let the Right One In' by John Ajvide Lindqvist: I'm dying to watch the film, but I thought I should read the book first. The story centers on the relationship between a Swedish boy and a centuries-old vampire child (safe to say, this is no Twilight). 
• 'The Stranger's Child' by Alan Hollinghurst: Picked this one up when I was dying to read something 'new' - it was on the bestseller list and seemed interesting. I read about 2 pages and had to stop... I guess it's not my cup of tea, but I'll give it another shot at some point.

Books I've Started Reading (on the right, from the bottom):

• 'The Last Nude' by Ellis Avery: A fictionalized account of the relationship between painter Tamara de Lempicka and her lover Rafaela. The book seemed really promising at first but now I just can't get into it anymore... 
• 'The Six Wives of Henry VIII' by Antonia Fraser: I'm really into historical biographies by Antonia Fraser - she turns seemingly dull stories into page-turners. My favourite Antonia Fraser biography is this one. 
• 'Phantom' by Jo Nesbø: This is the latest novel by Norwegian crime writer  Jo Nesbø. He's really popular here in the Czech Republic (and the rest of the world ;) so I thought I might give him a try. Almost done with this one! It was quite good too.  
• 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time' by Mark Haddon: This is a really clever and touching story of a 15-year-old boy with Asperger's Syndrome who tries to solve a crime involving a dead poodle. Almost done as well! Loved this one. 
• 'Peaches for Monsieur le Curé' by Joanne Harris: As soon as this book came out, I wanted to buy it - I'm a big fan of Harris's previous novel 'The Lollipop Shoes' (the sequel to 'Chocolat', which, I admit, I never read.. I guess the Johnny Depp version was just that amazing :). Just started reading this one, so hopefully it'll be as good as her other stuff. 

OK, compiling that list took longer than I had anticipated! Hopefully I will now finish all the books on the right, reading five books at once is kind of ridiculous (plus it leads to major plot forgetfulness).
If you're wondering why all the books are in English, it's not because I have something against my mother tongue. :) I've just been reading English books for as long as I can remember (maybe that's why I have a BA degree in English & Media?). Reading English books just comes naturally to me... it feels 'right'.

I'd love to hear what others are reading right now. Do you have any book recommendations? I'm always happy to hear them (maybe that explains the huge pile of books :).

My Ideal Bookshelf

I'm so excited for 'My Ideal Bookshelf' to come out! I found out about this new publication thanks to Swiss Miss. This book, which is illustrated by Jane Mount, showcases one hundred leading cultural figures and lets us have a peek into their bookshelves. I'm a book hoarder so this book is totally on my bday/Christmas wishlist. I'm really looking forward to reading contributions by Judd Apatow or Patti Smith (and.. James Franco, I gotta admit! :). The illustrations also look pretty awesome - check out a time lapse video of Jane Mount painting some of the books.

'My Ideal Bookshelf' comes out on November 13.

Photo from My Ideal Bookshelf, via Swiss Miss

Tom Hiddleston love

'Never, ever let anyone tell you what you can and can't do. Prove the cynics wrong. Pity them, for they have no imagination. The sky's the limit. Your sky, your limit.' 

-Tom Hiddleston

I love this quote. I mean, Tom Hiddleston said it, so it's amazing by default. :) But seriously, Tom Hiddleston isn't just one of my favourite actors... He inspires me with his positivity. He's acknowledged the fact that he's had to work hard to get where he is today and, at the same time, you can tell he's grateful for all the opportunities that have been given to him. To me, he's a true star. Oh and he loves Miss Piggy... need I say more? Love you Tom!

(Clearly my Moleskine diary loves Tom too ;).

Swedish Music

Ha, it seems like I can't pry myself away from my new blog! :) I just have to share these 2 songs before I sign off for good today. I've been listening to these songs on repeat today.. and I'm still obsessed! I swear it's a coincidence that both artists are Swedish... seriously!

I guess I wouldn't really pass the hip(ster) test with the last one, but I don't care, I love it! Have a nice weekend! :)