12 September 2013

September Notes

Source: flickr

As we enter the busiest period of the year at work and the final preparations for my best friend's wedding, I am not quite sure how regular my blogging will be over the next few weeks. It is curious how time bends during busy periods - every day passing so fast but the weeks seeming endless. Before I disappear in that curious time bubble, here are a few seasonal notes.


  • I dug out my sheep slippers this morning - the definite sign of the end of summer as temperatures drop.

  • Fresh mushrooms are all over the market stalls - have been experimenting around chanterelles this week
  • I finally created a sources page on the blog, with a selection of reads and inspirations. It is listed in the upper right menu of the blog.

  • Decided to re-introduce breakfast in my morning routine, experimented various dishes: why should breakfast be the same every morning?

Home made plum oatmeal - personal picture

  •  Paris is now fully awake, shops have re-opened, and it is time for new habits! For me, a new morning routine, more violin, writing exercises and a new budgeting system.

  • Registered for the Odyssea run again this year, objective 10K. One year after starting to run regularly, this feels like an achievement.

What is September to you? Seasonal changes? How do you transition from Summer to Winter ? (or the other way around if you are in the souther hemisphere...)

15 comments:

  1. I hope you have a lovely September!

    I just bought some mushrooms today, I am very excited about mushroom season.

    It is fall here too (Switzerland). I love the feel and smell of the air.

    I am transitioning by working on a new routine in preparation for school starting in October. I want to have a better balance between school and work this year, as work sometimes becomes the default priority because it is more pressing.

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    1. Ah, the smell of Autumn, I love it too! It's nice that you have one month to prepare your new routine, there can be some hit ans miss so it's helpful to be able to implement them in advance... The work/school balance is a hard one, I remember from my year of internship. Good luck for this new season to come :)

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  2. Fall is “almost” here. I live in Texas, USA so the temperatures have not begun to dip. That will not stop me from new beginnings. I have been paring down and simplifying for some time now (thanks to you). I am ready to take the challenge of a new morning routine. I have been stuck in the get up and out the door in 30 minutes funk. My new fall routine will be taking more time (breakfast – stretching – maybe 20 minutes of reading and/or writing) to start the day. I look forward to fall each year, but with more anticipation this year. I am a brand new reader of your blog and I have to say I have enjoyed every post and I am on a The Nife en l'Air rant & rave. Thank You – Thank You. Happy Fall to you! Enjoy!

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    1. Thank you very much for the kind word! It's always great to hear some readers find inspiration here to simplify. Good luck on your journey, it must be thrilling ;) morning routine is a hard one to achieve, because some days you are just too tired to follow through, and when the habit is new, it's hard to put it back on the rails. That's my challenge of the moment too, picking the right morning habits and sticking to them. Happy fall to you too and thank you for reading :)

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  3. I love fall, personally. I usually try to sit down and do a little "spring" cleaning of my possessions and routine. I have a bag ready for the goodwill and I signed up for a language club in the city to brush up on my Spanish and French!

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    1. Haha I tend to do the same, doing a bit of cleaning and sorting around when the temperatures drop and I have to swap clothes, dig out the plaids etc. I have been doing it gradually this year though, because I haven't had time to do a proper one day cleaning, and because the temperatures are fluctuating weirdly these days here. I do have a bag ready for Goodwill too though, will drop the week-end after my friend's wedding ;)

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  4. I wouldn't call Massimo Dutti's clothes affordable. They are very nice though, great fabrics, lots of silk and wool, although most made in China. I have bought a blouse from them and im happy with it although I heard mixed reviews on the quality

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    1. Thanks for your feedback! Since I just discovered the brand any experience or opinion is good to gather before purchasing anything. To be honest, given how elegant the storefront is, I expected at least APC range price, and it turns out to be half that price range, which is why I called it "surprisingly affordable". We'll see if quality follows through with their price range now, for I agree they are not cheap.

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  5. Oh, I was a big fan of Massimo Dutti for the longest time and so many of my wardrobe staples came from there. The whole shopping environment and the styling is incredibly seductive, and I found it relatively affordable considering the quality.

    But I have to warn you that their quality has dipped quite a bit over the years - I have stuff that are 5 years old and are perfectly fine, and then I have knits that unravelled after a few months of wear. Definitely shop with care when you're in there! I still like going in and feeling inspired by their styling though.

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    1. Thanks for your input! It seems many brands lower their quality over the years to meet their profit objectives, which is quite sad. In any case, I like the styling and colours a lot so the brand is definitely a source of inspiration. As for purchase, given the warnings I received, I may go for one cashmere knit, when they start a promotion or during sales. That way it will be cheaper so less risky if the quality indeed fails my expectations.

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  6. i need to experience the September version of Paris, and not the sleepy August one! :)

    i love the energy at this time of year. hope you're able to enjoy some of the small moments of savoring the season amidst your work and social commitments!

    PS: i've been trying to do variations on breakfast for too long. just may be inspired to try your plum oatmeal!

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    1. If you only visited Paris in August, then you definitely need to try September next time! The city is buzzing with energy, there are new exhibits and theatre plays everywhere, the trees turn to gold and red, it's just magnificent. I'm doing my best to enjoy every snippet of September and creating bubbles of quiet time for myself.

      The plum oatmeal was delicious, I warmly recommend it :)

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  7. I love love love chanterelles. They are really expensive here, but I do make sure to treat myself every once in a while. You can only get them at this time of the year, after all :)

    My September has been crazy so far. First a complete re-launch of our company website, which has been a year in the making - I stayed at work with the rest of the launch team until 5am the next morning. Then this week I was at a two-day comapny team-building thing. I am completely pooped, and haven't been able to even think about blogging, the apartment is a slight mess and the poor poodle needs a bath and a haircut. I have been carving out time to read books though, so that's something :)

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    1. Fresh mushrooms are very expensive here too, so it's a seasonal, punctual treat for me as well. But there is so much to be done with chanterelles! Risottos, vegetable mix with wine and nutmeg, omelettes, gratins...

      Good luck with your crazy September! It's quite the same here, we had a team building day last week amidst the launch events to prepare for, internal comms always knows how to pick the worst dates for these things haha. The good side is, it forced me to relax for a day. Bravo for maintaining reading time, I have to confess I have given priority to the Xbox 360 in my little free time to blow off steam :)

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  8. Septembre c'est le moment où je porte des gilets doudou car je ne suis pas encore passée aux manteaux, c'est aussi le moment où je commence à regarder une destination de vacances pour les semaines qui viennent ....... welcome holidays !

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