Les Essentiels: Octobre

The list of things that I adore about Automne in Paris is far too long for just one blog post. However, I realize that there is power in simplicity, so here is my attempt to boil it down to only ten.

1. Automne walks in Paris. The coloring of leaves is always beautiful, watching it happen in Paris is breathtaking.

2. Philosykos eau de toilette by Diptyque: fig leaves + fig tree wood + white cedar = perfect Automne scent. I seriously bathe in this.

3. The Artist's Way book/program: this 12-week program is guaranteed to clear out your pathways to allow more creativity into your life. I am currently on week four. Each week I have to take myself on an "artist date". This week's artist date was seeing silent film, The Artist. How apropos.

4. Isabel Marant oversized black blazer.

5. Julie and Aurelian's delicious restaurant by day/ charming wine bar by night. They tell me that its name is Invitez-Vous a Chez Nous (or something like that, meaning, You're Invited to Our Place). However, there is absolutely no signage signifying that there is any sort of name whatsoever. So we just call it The Red Bar. It is probably the single most inviting spot in all of Paris, so I suppose the phantom name is fitting.

6. A new haircut with light bangs.

7. Love from afar, like surprise packages of habanero hot sauce from Oregon and loving, supportive visits from Georgia.

8. A cathartic and magical evening with Bon Iver at the Grande Halle de la Villette.

9. Private dinner parties and wine degustations at Paris Terriors.

10. My writing group at Shakespeare & Co.

Automne

It's no secret, I love Automne!

• The way the sun sits lower in the sky.
• The warm vibrant colors of the leaves.
• The crisp air that begs for a cashmere wrap or blazer, yet not quite a coat.
• Knowing that soon enough, I won't feel guilty for filling my weekends sitting inside a cafe or a museum (rather than chasing the sunshine all over Paris).
• And searching for the perfect pair of boots as my signature statement this season.

This boot pursuit seems a lot more challenging than past years. Mostly because I am not visualizing (and by visualizing, I mean obsessing) over a very specific style/brand of boots that I may or may not ever find.

Will it be an Isabel Marant boot?

A Martin Margiela avant garde take on a classic?

A fur-lined Pierre Hardy lace-up wedge?

(Imagine these in black, lined with fur. They are so new that there aren't any images available yet.)

Or, *gasp* a Moccasin bootie? (seriously, I am thinking quite a bit about Moccasin booties lately. In my defense, I walk A LOT and comfort is key, okay!?)

It's kind of exciting to keep myself open so that the perfect boot can present itself to me, rather than hunting it down with the focus of an Olympian athlete. It is the difference between being on a mission and being on a journey. And I am starting to get used to this whole journey thing.

I know what type of "boot" it won't be. And I am pretty sure that Paris (and all of France, for that matter) offers a free vaccine for this unfortunate affliction of Elephant Feet. God bless Paris, God bless health care for all, and God bless Automne.

Reborn

It's been a while since I have felt compelled to tear out inspiring pages from a magazine. This used to be my favorite past time until I found myself getting lost in a state of nothingness. Not to say that nothingness is a bad thing (see also "Nothing" post) but it was so nice to reconnect with a magazine that resulted in not one, but THREE tear outs. Jackpot! These tear-outable topics included, a first hand recount of visiting the Moonview Sanctuary, a non residential treatment center in Sanata Monica that specializes in grief (among various other things), an article about Paris fashion guru Isabel Marant, and an interview with Drew Barrymore.

Although I have never found the type of connection with Drew Barrymore that some Gen X-ers have, I couldn't help but feel one now. In this interview excerpt, she articulates a sensation that I have been experiencing over the past year or so. But because she is Drew Barrymore, she shares it through the perspective of a Hollywood star.

"For three years straight, I've been burning the candle at both ends, and as of last December, I just didn't have anything left. I've been so aggressive about living life to the fullest and being plugged into everything, but now I've ripped the plug out of the wall and put it on the floor for a while. I'm thinking about the same things as when I was 15, about spirituality and who I am, who I want to be. It's cocoon, pupa, larva, and fuck, I'm reborn!"

- Drew Barrymore, Elle magazine, August 2010