three things that made me smile today.

• hanging out with him at our favourite coffee shop, talking about dreams over an iced moka - for me - and a banana and chocolate milkshake - for him.

•• dreams. moving to london? this cute bag we spotted on our way to the car definitely felt like a secret message.

••• baking a soft and crumbly apricot cake. our apricot tree has given us so many fruits this year, we don’t know what to do with them. luckily, the weather got dark, which meant no-beach time, let’s do some patisserie!

three places I love today.

• whispering in your ear under a tepee.

•• jumping high in the air with friends.

••• hiding in a lighthouse.

it’s been two weeks since I got back from Corsica. as you might imagine it was dreamy. we ate tons of good food, drank heaps of tasty red wine and had fun*fun.

nothing could have made me any happier. truly the perfect trip.

• I mean just look at the sweet sandcastle we built.

•• I just can’t stop smiling every time I look at this picture. damn good mojitos we made on our last night. but we had to cut the bottom off plastic bottles to make up for the tall glasses we didn’t think of bringing along with us. oh camping!

••• phoenix’s latest album followed us around. definitely my favourite piece of music since bloc party’s intimacy.

•••• and just because that something we all wish for, I had to mention this painting by mike. totally appropriate. you do make me wish I had a time machine.

can’t wait to share more finds I made. xx

I wish I had more time to do a proper round up of all that happened this past week, but I have to run to nice to catch a boat for corsica.

yes, you read right. a week off. to corsica.

I hope the weather is going to be great because we are going camping. I’m really looking forward to it, although I must admit I’m going to miss the daily emails, as well as my much-needed dose of blog-reading.

just because I love you very very much, here are two things that totally made my day.

• this stunning picture that shows the work of one of my high-school friends, avril loufrani. she’s a designer and I’m quite addicted to pretty much everything she comes up with.

• • I had to get some secret presents ready. one of them was a collection of three polaroids that says fanny hearts you. oh yes I do!

have a fun week. xxx

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like • playing with children, being thankful for so many terrific people to have crossed my life, eating banana crème glacée straight from the tub, taking pictures with an old film camera, having read a good novel from cover to back in one sitting, dreaming of the much anticipated trip to corsica.

hate • thinking that my foodblog isn’t worth a single reader, wishing I had more time to make pâtisserie at home, not having any battery left on my camera so that I could upload the many pictures I took this week.

I do really miss writing on foodbeam. I want to. I crave to, in fact. but somehow, I have this sad feeling that my foodblog isn’t so good. I have tons of pictures that quietly sit on my hard-drive, now if only I knew what to pick first. fondant au chocolat? entremet aux fruits rouges? pierre hermé’s concorde? green tea and chocolate tiramisu? pistachio and raspberry bombe glacée? the list is endless.

oh and I so can’t wait to show you what got me thrilled this week. but you’ll have to wait a little.

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today, I got stopped and told by passers-by that I looked happy. I am happy. and it feels terrific. somehow, I’ve had a rush of inspiration. started using my polaroid camera again. painted on a couple of blank canvases. and, more down-to-earth, have been organising my flickr.

this wasn’t easy since my web broser decided to freeze every time I pay the flickr dot com site a visit. but well, I just can’t help it. flickr is good to me. yes, that good.

ps. I’m totally taking my practice exam tomorrow. so cross your fingers and make tons of wishes for me. on the menu: brioches au beurre, and entremet à la ganache au chocolat.

somehow, I really feel like doing more and more totally pointless-and-random posts like that one I wrote the other day from the bottom of my favourite duvet cover. and yet, I’d find it strange to give up the old and much-loved images :::::: words.
not so fundamental, right?

anyway, I’m downright tired since I worked for twelve hours, with a bare three-hour sleeping time due to some late night hanging out with a special someone; but I thought I’d share some images from the past couple of days, which have been exciting.

• this little person. a baby donkey. he totally made my day. he was so soft and cuddly I could have spent my entire life around him.
I love the way some animals clearly stand out as secret-keepers and love-givers. he was one of them.

• • while I don’t like gardening I find that taking pictures of flowers is an intensely soothing activity. and everytime I spot dandelions, I can’t help but think about the fantasia movie. speaking of fantasia, we also watched the neverending story yesterday. it was epic. love.

• • • I got to sleep with my favourite person ever - namely, aïda, my sister - and yes, we do make crazy and totally unshowable faces when we wake up, especially when attacked by a bright camera flash.
I know this is probably silly, but I have a special fondness for portraits that don’t show the usual prettiness. we had such a laugh, I want this memory to be locked on paper. yes, this exact moment when our faces became distorted, our eyes started crying, and our giggles could be heard from the mountains.

• • • • I’ve just been adding some pictures and other things onto my wall. I think I’ll photograph the process to see how it will evolve from the almost-blank wall that stands right in front of me.

have a nice week-end. xx

I’ve been literally stuck in bed for the past twenty-four hours due to a mean food poisoning. and although I’m starting to feel a little better, everything just seems blurry around me. just as it would in a dream.

and you do know how happy dreams make me. so here is my little happiness list for today.

• michel gondry’s movies are beautiful. I think eternal sunshine of the spotless mind might actually be my very favourite film ever; although, I must confess I really like the science of sleep as well. I’ve had it on repeat for many many hours, and I still can’t help but smile.

just listen to the very first lines of the movie:
tonight, I’ll show you how dreams are prepared. people think it’s a very simple and easy process, but it’s a bit more complicated than that.
as you can see, a very delicate combination of complex ingredients is the key. first, we put in some random thoughts. and then, we add a little bit of reminiscences of the day… mixed with some memories from the past.
that’s for two people. love, friendships, relationships… and all those ’ships’, together with songs you heard during the day, things you saw, and also, personal… ok, I think it’s one.
there it goes. yes.

• • speaking of dreams, there is something I think about a lot, and yet don’t know how to formulate accurately. the thing is I’ve always seen my bed as a cosy raft. where all I need is reachable, and which could take me to the wildest places.

so everytime I see pictures of boats as bedding pieces - think tim walker - my dreams become a little more true. this time, anthropologie’s catalogue just feels perfect.

• • • this beautiful secret hero of these poems necklace made by the talented duo behind lizzie fortunato totally looks like something I would make for myself.

it’s damn gorgeous, so gorgeous in fact that it does make me happy. has anybody heard of temperatures-induced aesthetics-emotion-enhancement? well, it seems that’s what I’m going through right now. it does make me a little sad though because I really wish I took more time to make jewelery. some day, perhaps.

• • • • as usual, muriel babery never fails to please me. after reading - or more accurately, savouring - her first novel, une gourmandise; I simply couldn’t resist her second book.

from the depressing statement about the pointlessness of life, I have the feeling that it might evolve into a message of hope and happiness. but, I guess I’ll have to wait until the very last pages. meanwhile, I keep writing down the sentences that touch me the most onto neat cardboard index cards.

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this is somewhat of a real-time post. I’m home, and painting pretty dinosaurs to decorate my newly white-walled bedroom.

dinosaur love. just what I need.

this is so unperfect. so unfinished. and yet, I like it. hope you do too. xo

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as I’m on my way to the beach to cool down this hot sunny day, I have to share this new find which gets me terribly excited.

I came across this blog this morning and its many beautiful pictures totally made my day.

have a great wednesday! love.

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I know I should probably post about the first scribble sheet I ever filled, but right now, this one just feels more appropriate. somehow fitting. plus, there is a part about the awesome birthday-date he threwfor me a short week ago!

and in case you’re wondering. I am fine. and terribly happy. it’s funny to see how fast things can change. from miserable, to exstatic. hopefully, I’ll stay in the latter mood for years and years. love you. xo