All posts filed under: summer reading

for the writer at heart – a desk and a chair

I once read that small studio apartments are the most inspirational places for the writer at heart, and after thinking about it long and hard, I realized how true that was, even throughout history. Most well known writers, lived in studios, sometimes in Paris, while they wrote their books. So, as I transition from my past life to the new one, I too have chosen to stay in a studio apartment for a bit in order to, let’s just say, realign my life and get focused on what I want to accomplish from it.  Besides, big houses and too many rooms are not a place for the artistic minded individuals (in my opinion) In line with  the topic I have decided to write about in this entry, I decided to search for  photos of a desk and chair ensemble, to see what actually came to mind when I looked at them. What do you think? Enjoy the photos and have a wonderful weekend.

inspirational woman over 40 – Ines de la Fressange

A woman who I have admired for a long time now, is of course a French fashion icon, Ines de la Fressange. I am not going to detail her bio on this blog entry, but will happily give you a link here  so that you can use it to get some background about her. The interesting thing is that, she became well known around the fashion world as a result of her connection to Chanel throughout most of her 20s. Anyway, she had written a book a while back titled, Parisian Chic, which I have picked up and read from cover to cover, just so I can truly understand Parisian women, their style, even more so than I already do, in order to satisfy my obsession with the French lifestyle, culture, and fashion. Of course the book validates the fact my core makeup and way of thinking and living  is French and I am very happy about that. The transition to living in France someday soon will be very easy for me. So, check out the …

ode to summer 2010

I usually get very restless and sad at the end of August because this is one part of the year I don’t really look forward to, transitioning into fall.  I think I have stated a dozen times before how much I appreciate warmer weather and worship the sun as a result of it and although we are just beginning “our summer” here in San Francisco, I still know it’s fall. The days are shorter, there is a certain crispiness to the morning air and the evenings are colder rather than cooler. So, in my own strange way of saying goodbye to summer 2010, I have included my favorite reminder of summer in a  classic and old fashioned kind of way.

the french riviera in a nutshell

You’ve seen one, you’ve seen ’em all goes the saying and if I were to sum up my visit to the French Riviera last week, it would be just that (not in a bad way). The French Riviera consists of seven major towns (Nice, Cannes, Monaco, Antibes, Menton, St. Tropez and Saint Raphael) and a dozen or so smaller ” plages” (Sea) access villages from the Cote D’Azur shuttle train. If you happen to have a Multi-country railpass (which includes France) or a French railpass, you can have unlimited rides on the Cote D’Azur shuttle train between the towns and the beaches. Our plan was to stay in Cannes for several days while we touched up on the towns to the west of it and then move to Nice for a few more days in order to access the towns on the East of Nice. So while in Cannes, we hit up Saint Raphael, St. Tropez and Antibes and when we stayed in Nice we touched up on Monaco/Monte Carlo, Villafranche Sur Mer and hopped over …

books i added to my to-read list

Here is a list of books I saw at Barnes and Nobles which I added to my to-read list for 2010. 1. Good To A Fault by Marina Endicott 2. Purge by Sofi Oksanen 3. A Happy Marriage by Rafael Iglesias 4. Lonely: A Memoir by Emily White I would love to hear from anyone who has read any of the books. Are they a good read or not.

eat, pray, love in reference to the woman over 40

Another one of  my favorite reads last year, Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, is being made into a movie with Julia Roberts playing the lead role.  Although the true story is about a woman in her 30’s, Julia is portraying the role while in her 40’s, which in my opinion require much alteration and revision to the film to fit the make up of a 40 year old woman’s lifestyle.  I am not really sure how good the film will be but the book is a recommended read for any woman who hasn’t read it yet. The book can be considered a motivational book and although geared towards the woman in her 30’s, some of us beyond that decade can learn a few things from it here and there. The only downside for the woman over 40 is that, if she were to consider using the methods in the book to self discovery, she must be childless to accomplish the challenge. But either way, it is a solid book and since it is based on a …

macbook pro and the possibilities

I have always been a fan of Apple. It mostly started with the design of their products (I am a sucker for quality design), then their advertising and marketing strategies swept me off my feet and of course I appreciated the streamlined retail outlets. So slowly but surely I just couldn’t resist anymore and I gave into the Macbook pro. It was a struggle convincing my family and friends about my choice of a new laptop, but I knew what I wanted and for my new career endeavor, it had to be the mac. My wonderful family chipped in and bought it for me as a birthday present and I almost fell off my chair when I opened the box and took out the MacBook. There was that sexy designed laptop in my hands and I just couldn’t believe it was all mine.  The only decision I need to make is whether to purchase Apple’s version of word or Microsoft word for Apple? Since it hasn’t been installed, I have a few days to decide …