Follow me in this short visualizations and let me guide you through some festive feelings that aren't forcing "jolliness"! Experience some Christmas before Christmas!

It's been a few years now that I've been choosing a word of the year, a theme if you will for the goals of the year. This time, though, it feels more actionable than ever... It feels like an actual umbrella, a category under which my goals sit with which are glued together. 

Dreams are such unique experiences that we feel so intensely some times. I've been having the weirdest dreams lately, and I couldn't not share them along with a little "dream" experience. 

Here are the French-inspired books I’ve read in 2019 and a Book experience to accompany them. Most of them written by non-French authors, giving us perspectives of expats -or just francophiles- about French culture, and literally I couldn’t ask for more! 

Books mentioned: 

French women don’t get fat - Mireille Guiliano

Paris letters - Janice MacLeod

A Paris year- Janice MacLeod

Bringing up babe - Pamela Druckerman 

Bébé day by day - Pamela Druckerman 

Bonjour kale - Kristen Beddard

Paris for dreamers - Katrina Lawrence 

When I ask someone “What do you do for yourself? When do you take time for you only?” I’m usually met with a sarcastic smile or annoyed look before they say “Who’s got time for that? Are you kidding me? I barely find time to shower before I pass out at night! There simply isn’t time for me”. At the same time, there is an underlying brag, a sacrifice for the sake of others “I’m not selfish to take time for myself. You know how giving and caring and generous I am, right? Well, if you don’t there’s your proof!”. I’ve experienced first hand how putting yourself last not only won’t prove how much you love others, but it’s immature and irresponsible like you’d put the oxygen mask first on your two-year-old and after you’ve passed out, expect him to be safe and happy. You can’t pour from an empty cup. And if I’ve missed any other clichés, feel free to add them in the comments below! 

To French people, la rentrée means much more than just “back to school”. One of the reasons is that in France (as much as in my country, Greece), August turns otherwise busy cities to ghost towns. August is the vacation month and everyone deserves vacation time. If you have a shop you close it and go to the beach. Naturally, all those people that go away, come back in September. So there you have it, la rentrée.  

It’s been about 13 years since my last “rentrée” and I’ve always loved this feeling. Even way back in the past, when I didn’t truly enjoy school, I always loved the feeling of going back to it. This year though there are many reasons for me to legitimately get this feeling back. It’s the first time my son goes back to school and oh, I anticipated that moment! 

A beauty routine can be the beginning of better mental health to the point of consciously avoiding insidious marketing tactics. It all starts with a small act of care… Self-care…

Welcome to "Hello, I'm Friday"! There's too much discussion on social media about Friday excitement and Monday blues. On a deeper level, it's kind of sad not only because it seems most people don't feel excited about their work, but also because we haven't found a way to take lightly the must-dos. On a more entertaining level, the memes and the giggles are amusing and make it easier to describe a feeling just by mentioning a day of the week.