Eeeee! Sorry I’m so insanely late! I arrived in Paris yesterday at 8am, wandered around in a stupor until about 4 & then passed out! I woke up to a non-functioning internet connection, but now I am conscious again & fuelled by caffeine, whee!

This week, I am thankful for…

Being here. But of course. The city of Karl Lagerfeld, cute accents & tiny winding streets… Among other things. The city of lights — La Ville Lumière. (Lumière is my middle name, so it all seems to make sense.) I can’t wait to go exploring today, I have some awesome suggestions of places to visit, & with my headphones, a map & a camera I am unstoppable! I always thought it would be fun to split my time between New York & Paris, so I’m kind of walking around with that in mind, seeing what I can see…

Travelling alone — I love it, I really do. & when I say “travelling”, I mostly mean the actual physical part of getting from A to B, because it’s always nice to have someone to do things with when you arrive. The thing that makes me happiest is being able to do it all at my own pace. I can arrive at the airport insanely early if I want to, I can be as charming as I like to whoever checks me in, & basically I can focus all my intentions on having a great trip & seeing what unfolds. The funniest thing to me is when I think I know what’s best — thinking, “Having these two seats to myself would be excellent” — but then a girl sits down next to me with whom I get along like a house on fire, & who personally delivers me to the hotel at the other end. At first when she sat down, I was disappointed that I wouldn’t get to stretch out, but hey! Trust in the process! It always works, non? & my flight was much more enjoyable for it.

Making new friends — So, further to my point above, on the plane, I ended up sitting next to a girl from Cleveland who was awesome. Her name was Betsy, she was working in France teaching English to children, & we were almost disturbingly similar in our world views. We talked most of the way to Paris, which was great & then she helped me navigate the French train system (which is really very user-friendly but slightly daunting when you haven’t slept properly for 2 days). I also made friends with a little French girl who drew me a million pictures & who I think is in love with me, but that’s a story for another time!

Productivity — Mmmmm, getting things done. Oh, the rush! (What a Virgo…) I recently had a few days entirely to myself, where I didn’t leave the house, & it was great! Haha. I had so many things that I needed to catch up on, & actually doing them was immensely gratifying. Geek-o-rama, but I love it!

Speaking French — First of all, I’m so glad that I took French classes in school. I loved it at the time, but now I can’t stop thinking about how great it is to actually know something which has real practical application! Secondly, even though I feared that I would get here & be awful at speaking & understanding the language, I’m not at all. The best thing is that just being around French speakers & seeing French signs is helping stimulate my memory so that the words I thought I had forgotten years ago have come back. Being able to effectively communicate in another language is soooo satisfying! Ah! I can’t even attempt to articulate the untold pleasure it gives me! So good!

This video which demonstrates the power of saying thank you, & being grateful!

Having my own place — On Tuesday I went to my new place in the West Village & picked up my keys. I move in the day after I get back, & while hauling two suitcases up four flights of stairs won’t necessarily be the most thrilling thing, I am stoked to have my own space! I don’t know if I mentioned this before, but it’s the same building as last time, & in fact the same apartment as last time, just a floor below! It’s completely different to the last one, but it is beautiful & I looooove it. Pictures to come, oh yes!

Unwinding — In my universe, at this time, that mostly means lying down with a blanket & watching episodes of Gossip Girl, Greek, Californication or Entourage. I like it.

Honourable mentions: Late night wine excursions (see also: choosing a wine based on the name alone [Helios] because it’s the name of one of my favourite musical projects, & it being completely delicious); conscious conversations; growing my nails (they look amazing right now!); friends who name dresses after you (!!!); looking forward to taking daily outfit photos in Paris!; people who really look at you when you’re talking; visits from New Zealanders (my amazing friends from Battle Circus are coming to play a show in New York & I can’t wait! They’re also supporting the Dresden Dolls, clever huh?); super-loud thunderstorms; communicating honestly; live music anticipation (Battle Circus, Atmosphere [x 2!], Legendary Pink Dots & Girl Talk are all coming soon!); doing something scary & being massively rewarded for it; the way that French people say “Gala” (it makes me smile); eating spinach & kale chips on the plane; getting a phonecall from my friend in New Zealand when I was waiting to board my plane; Orangina (I like it a lot); hotel rooms with big balconies & bathtubs (I’m going to go to Lush & buy bath bombs & emerge covered in glitter, YAY!); upcoming dates with cute boys & mostly-naked girls!; big bags of Maltesers; exploring gleefully; being featured in this article alongside a whole bunch of people I really admire, & um, can I mention Paris again?!

“I’m not interested in being a ‘lover’. I’m interested in only being love.” — Ram Dass

Okay, how about you? What’s turning your crank today? What are you looking forward to this weekend? Let us know!