On Dealing with Real Life

The universe ceases to amaze me with how complicated life can get in an instant! The French have a saying, “jamais deux sans trois” which means never two without three. You could say that significant (or at least significantly emotional, if also significantly expensive) events piled up, never two without three! Just under two weeks…

I Read : Make Your Bed

Make Your Bed : The Little Things that Can Change Your Life... And Maybe the World, by William H. McRaven. This is a very short little book, just 102 pages of new material plus another 28 pages of the speech given by Admiral William H. McRaven (U.S. Navy Retired) at UT Austin. I'm clearly deep into…

Wedding Weekend:

I think I'm going to have to accept the occasional missed post as a reality this summer, there is simply so much going on and not enough wifi to go around! It's Monday morning, but I'm still really feeling the glow of an amazing weekend among friends and family. We spent the weekend in the…

Ikea and the Ethics of Consumption

What's a girl to do? Today on, "Buy Nothing or Buy Better" aka my constant struggle, I'm trying to figure out what it means to buy some stuff from Ikea and whether or not it's ethically sound. After a bit of digging and quite a few puff pieces from the "2016 highlights" section of Ikea's…

The Ordinary Product Review:

Two serums and two face oils for under 30€. The Ordinary is cheap, cruelty-free, and produced in Canada, but how well do the products actually perform? I'm a picky skincare consumer. I don't love gimmicks, and I'm trying to purchase products that are ethically produced. As a result, I pledged to myself that I would…

The Definitive Student Visa Renewal Dossier*

*For my specific préfecture in my specific situation in June/July of 2017. This always bears repeating, but any list of required documents you find on the internet regarding your visa situation even if you find it on the government's website is just a list on the internet. I recommend always, always going in person to your préfecture…

I Bought the Thing : Skincare

Y'all... I actually purchased some new skincare! I told the tale of two sunscreens earlier this month, so it's not as though I've been on a skincare no-buy challenge. Still, I've been focused on using up my skincare, and I realised a few Sundays ago that I am really out of things. It's a great…

Mornings at the Préfecture

This is a lot harder to do when I actually have a job. Two years ago, I had time to waste an entire day sitting in various chairs, waiting for the wheels of bureaucracy to turn.  This year, I'm writing this post from outside the préfecture, where I've been waiting for about an hour. Let…