Some love and square pictures.

Those are only a few pictures, easy and quick ones that I felt like sharing with you. I've been feeling better this past week, I've been going out, I've been connecting again with myself and focusing on the beautiful and joyful things ; friends, food, fresh air and Paris. I really hope you don't get bored of seeing Paris from every possible angle, I think I'll never get tired of stealing moments and looking at them again and again. I always speak of Paris in a very loving and poetrylike way, but to put it simply and maybe in a more down to earth way as well, it is so important to love where you are, where you live. I know not everyone's lucky enough to feel this way, and I know for sure, that living in my hometown would have me feel ... not as good as I feel here, despite the gloomy weather, the cold, the pollution, the crowded subway and the constant noise when you're on big avenues. I know I could see Paris as a busy, tiring and hostile place if I put myself into this mindset. But first of all, I'm in love with you Paris, and I know you're not a busy and crazy city. And secondly, I've come to learn to look at things differently, and this makes a huge difference. A rainy day used to be a wasted, depressing day, now it's a relaxing, fresh day during which it feels good to go out for a walk and listen to the drops falling on the leaves of the tree. A sunny day would be a bit too hot, but now it's amazing to sit in the grass or walk along the river. Having to be out early was annoying, now I breathe in clean air and enjoy the silence of the streets or the pinkish tone of the sky. I'm able to appreciate all the different faces of the city, the different neighbourhoods, the different atmospheers and I'm always looking for new places to fall in love with, new buildings to be amazed at, new streets to wander in, new parks to read in, new shops to enter, new cafes to try and new people to meet and talk to. 

When I was feeling so down and broken, back into some old patterns of not enough sleep, no will to do anything, no energy to pick up the phone or bite into anything, when all I could do was sigh and cry and feel so tired that I couldn't even rest, there was however one thing that eased my pain and put my heart at peace for a while. And that was the beauty of Paris. Untouched, perfect and safe from any pain. It was calm and soft, delicate and light. I remember walking back home after a 10kms run, and the sun was shinning so gently through the leaves, creating some beauty marks on the haussman buildings, I could hear children scream in the square on my right, and on my left this metropolitain sign, a picture in motion. A gift, I couldn't help but think, a gift I'm grateful for. To be able to see the beauty of things, the beauty of a place to feel this beauty. And for a moment, as long as I waas out, into you Paris, I felt alright. 

It's a two persons job, it's up to you being the beautiful always perfect city and me, opening my eyes and my heart a bit more everyday, learning to embrace life and that even when all I would like to do is shut down everything and everyone, close myself to everything. 

The way you look at things and people doesn't only say a lot about you, it does have an impact on what happens to you, it does have an impact on how you feel and what your life is like. It's worth working on it, it's worth training your heart and brain to seek the light, the joy and the love in everything, at anytime.

Creamy vegetables soup.

I wouldn't call myself a soup person. At least, I didn't use to be. I never really found them satisfying or that good that you would want another bowl. But growing up, a few things changed, and now, I won't say no to a good soup, or one refill. Or two.

This soup, had me eating the whole thing. And I mean it. The whole 'marmite'. It was so good, comforting, healthy and just the perfect texture in my opinion, not too liquidy yet you could still enjoy the stew. It was also very cheap, easy and quick to do. Which... well. is always a plus!

I guess letting it cook for an afternoon or so would make it taste even better, but I didn't have time for that, and the end result was nonetheless, pretty delicious!

I basically used the vegetables I had in my fridge, which means :
-2carrots
-2potatoes
-1 zucchini
-1/2 onion
-1 shallot
-2cloves of garlic
-1 little can of corn
-1 little can of flageolet (beans)
You'll also need :
-vegetable broth
-soy milk 
- spices : nutmeg, cloves and black pepper.

First off, you'll want to add some oil into your pan and cook the onions, garlic and shallot for a little while. Then add in the carrots and some vegetable broth. I usually add the carrots before anything else, because they take a long time to cook! Then proceed to adding the potatoes, zucchini and let it cook for about 15minutes or so ( I brought it to a boil and then cooked it on medium).

Once the vegetables are tender, you want to add some soy milk to make the soup creamy! I also added spices at that point ( black pepper, nutmeg and a few cloves). I let that cook for a bit more, probably around 20-25minutes, on low heat.

And BAM you have it. It's really easy and super delicious. The taste is so comforting and sweet, yet you can really enjoy the flavors of each vegetable, which makes it really healthy tasting- do I make sense here? It is anyway super healthy, and adding the beans make it very rich and nourrishing! In my opinion it would taste amazing with some garlic bread. just saying.

Life in Paris - Details.

My love for Paris keeps growing every single day, and I'm amazed to see something as fragile as love becoming stronger and bigger after years and not being the slightest damaged by habits or a routine. Actually creating habits reinforces our love. I've been thinking of getting a bike for a while now and I'm sure it would only increase my passion for my city. It probably wouldn't be the most convenient nor safe to take pictures, but discovering Paris from a new perspective would be lovely. 

If I've learned something in those already 4years of living here, it's that a city can look a thousand different ways, depending on how you decide to look at it. And Paris... you always seem to grow a new tree, offer a new façade, reveal a new street for me to fall a bit more in love with you each time I wander in you.