November Goals

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Hey y'all ! Happy November !

Fall is definitely settling down, here in France ! After the Indian summer we had since September, Mother Nature seems to be reclaiming her rights. It is getting colder and we had pouring rain this week. I am surprised we did not have more floods ... Also, I am realizing that the year will end in only two months and I can't believe it ! Two months left in college, two months left in our flat ... Because yes ... We are moving !

October Goals:

• Celebrate our fourth anniversary ✓
• Prepare a secret date for Guillaume x
• Find an internship ✓
• Be more serious about my studies ✓
• Loose weight x
• Start saving money x
• Go to the hairdresser ✓
• Decorate our home for the new season ✓

October was good ! The first good news was that I found my internship :)  That's a good thing done ! No need to worry about this anymore. Now we just have to find a new place to live, as we are moving to another city. It will probably be one of my next goals ! And the second big thing about last month was our fourth anniversary. We had a lovely day ! We bought a bottle of fizzy raspberry wine for the occasion, and tried a super restaurant. We were willing to go there for months but we could not afford it. Our anniversary was the perfect excuse to go there, and it was probably one of the best restaurant I have tried in the last couple of months ! Also, I am glad to announce that I am getting back to studies ! I am trying to focus on the two little months I have left ! 

November Goals:

• Be more thankful and let people know it
• Start writing review cards for the exams
• Start buying some Christmas presents
• Celebrate Thanksgiving
• Find a new place for January
• Save money !!!

It's November, so I am starting to prepare the Christmas season. As you may know, we do not celebrate Thanksgiving in France, although I am trying to introduce this new tradition in our home. I know it's typically American, but I think it is great to think about what we have and be grateful for it. Especially with the Christmas madness coming ! Life is running so fast, I like the idea of sitting back and just being content of our lives. 

How do you feel about the holiday season ? What are your plans for November ?

When life gets hard, when things change, true love remains the same.

Last Wednesday, Guillaume and I celebrated our fourth anniversary together. I cannot believe that we started to date four years ago ... It seems like it was yesterday when we first met, but I also feel as if Guillaume had always been a part of my life. And yet, we are not the same persons has when we first kissed. We have grown together and I cannot imagine my life without him.

He is my everything. He is my rock, my light, my sun.
He is always guiding me or encouraging me. 

He believes in me, even when I don't even believe in myself. 

He gave me more than anybody ever gave me. He gave me love, trust and confidence.
He made me feel worth it, valuable.

He finishes the sentences I start. I laugh before he finishes his jokes.
And just the sound of his laugh makes me giggle.

He loves me the way I am, for who I am.

He knows when I am upset, anxious or sad, just by looking into my eyes. He reads me like a open book.

He is the bravest of us, he is not afraid to bare his feelings and to let me in.
He is not afraid to make the first move when we fight or to admit he is wrong.

He is my true love, my lover, my partner, my best friend. He is my missing piece, my soul mate. 

Of course, it is not always easy. Of course, we always fight over silly things. But at the end of the day, he is always there for me. And when life became complicated or challenging, he never failed me. He never gave up on us. He patiently waited until life get us back together. And I know he is the one for me, because no matter what happens, we always overcome life's ordeals. We are more then a couple, we are a team, we are a family. 

Oh Christmas Tree ! ღ 66

Sometimes, I almost forgot that two months ago, I started a list of 101 goals to do in 1001 days. I think I still have time to do all these things, but time flies and so do months ! I have to say, I am terrible at monthly goals ... I start the month full of good intentions and new motivations and ... I forgot them and oh ! It's already over ! This is probably one of the things I should work on next year ! Stop procrastinating !

So this year, Guillaume and I will be celebrating Christmas in our home for the very first time. I started to look at the trees in November and bought some ornaments quite early. We argued a lot about the tree: should it be real or artificial ? Should it be green or white ? Will the decorations be blue, gold, silver, red or white ? Finally, I got reasonable and picked a fake tree (cheapest if we use it for a few years and it doesn't leave pine needles all over the house). We have also decided to have a traditional tree with gold and red ornaments. It's a small tree, as we live in an apartment and have very little space, but we love it :)

On Monday, December 2nd, we spent the afternoon shopping. We bought our tree and fairy lights in Casa, some tinsels and a star. I have to say that I have discovered a new side of Guillaume that day. I was so surprised he cared so much about our tree ! He was really cautious about the colors and he insisted on buying a red tinsel (which was a great idea !). He was super excited about decorating it ! I really had a great time doing this and it was a special moment between us :)

Having a tree during this time of the year cheers me up. It makes me realize that Christmas is coming and that I should keep studying hard so I could enjoy my family when exams are over. This week, I kept remembering all the good moments I had as a child. There is definitely something in the air that makes me happy. Like a whisper to say that everything is possible. Christmas is magical ! I really can't wait to start the celebrations at the end of next week ! 

We can now say that we started our own collection of Christmas decorations and ornaments ! One more goal to cross off ! Have a nice week end y'all !

      

Vamos a jugar en el sol

So today, I went back to college. Since I came back to France, the weather keeps being unpredictable, sometimes sunny, sometimes rainy and cloudy. We even had a sort of storm last night ... So before I got overwhelmed by my homework and studies, I had to share all the good time I had with Guillaume and my family while we were in Spain last week !

Halloween in Port Aventura ... I was a big happy pumkin !

 We headed South, one hour from Barcelona where my parents rented a lovely appartement for the six of us (yeap, Guillaume, Corentin, Mum, Dad, Granny and I). When we arrived there, after ten hours driving, I opened the car's window and smelled the air from the sea. It felt like summer, there was no wind, it was warm ... We even had our first dinner outside ! Can you believe it ? Dinner outside in October ?! While my parents and Granny were discovering the areas (vineyards, mountains and beaches), Corentin, Guillaume and I spent two amazing days in Port Aventura, where we had great fun and went crazy !

See these roller coasters at the back of the picture ? The red one is Dragon Khan, I did it four times with Corentin while Guillaume waited for us (what a chicken !). And the very high one is Shambala, the highest roller coaster in Europe ! Corentin couldn't do it for some reasons, but I did not dare to do it on the first day. I completely freaked out, especially because I did it on my own. During the whole thing, I got scared to death ! When we watched this video with my family, I was still screaming ! NEVER AGAIN ! 

It was a great experience though ... Doing something that scarry on my own, something new, unknown ... I felt like a bad ass when I got off ! Corentin and I also fell down this tower ! So many adrenaline ! I really love it ! Of course, we did some coolest stuff so Guillaume could do it with us (he got traumatized with roller coasters when we went to Disneyland together last year). I am really proud of him, because he tried one on the second day :)

On our way home, we went to Andorre (a tiny country between France and Spain). Prices are quite interesting there, so we basically spent the whole day shopping ! I have been wise and only bought two soft sweaters for winter. On Wednesday, we took the road again and went home in the evening ! In Spain, we got really warm, as if it was summer (30°C) and in Andorra, we got as cold as in winter (- 2°C) and we even saw snow ! Luckily, I am not sick - yet) 

I guess all good things come to an end ! But it has been so good to be away for a few days, to stop thinking about college, essays and all the things I worry about ! I now have my head clear and full of laughters and beautiful memories. Thank you dear family !

The washing machine adventure

The "cube"

Now that I am no longer living at my parents, I have to deal with more responsabilities. Laundry is one of them. That is to say, I have to stop going home every week end with my bag full of dirty clothes and let my mum do it for me. I used to do it, because I only lived  45 minutes away. But now, things are different. I have to do my laundry and Guillaume's. We basically spent the first three weeks cleaning our clothes on the sink. It was long, it hurt and it took days to dry. I thought (and I still do) that using the public laundry was too expensive and a waste of time. I finish class quite late and after class, I don't want to spend two hours waiting with weird people. So on my birthday, I asked for money so I could buy my first washing machine. But, Guillaume's grand parents offered us their old washing machine. Great ! I would save my extra money for later and we would have a decent way to wash our clothes ! 

So at the end of September, Guillaume drove to his grands parents to collect our new washing machine. I was really excited, I knew it was old, but I didn't know it was THAT old. When Guillaume went home, I asked him if he needed help but he said no. He walked through the door with a giant cube of plastic which dated back to the 50s and started to explain me how it worked: you had to put the water in it first (not too hot, not too cold), then you had to put the clothes on and close the door with a piece of steel, then you needed to plug it on. AND the cube needed to be near a sink or a bathroom to throw the water out. Easy peasy ! It took us about 30 minutes to do so and the noise was terrible. For a moment, I thought it was going to break the kitchen worktop, so we decided to move it into the bathroom. Terrible idea ... The pipe went away and the water ran on our kitchen floor. Same thing in the bathroom. It took us about an hour to clean and dry the place.

And its 60 years later version

I was really pissed and annoyed, because I didn't know how to tell Guillaume this wouldn't work. It was too big to fit on our bathroom and way too complicated to use everyday. I mean, I was not going to take two hours everyday doing all these steps to make it work and it was too dangerous (floods + plug = electrocution). On his side, he was upset because he drove a long way for nothing, wasted two hours making it work and cleaning and because he knew I was a bit disappointed. We finally looked at each other and ... honestly, I don't if the situation was that funny or if our nerves just broke down but we burst out laughing. The very same night, I ordered a proper washing machine online. Nothing fancy, but at least it works !

After all this time, I'm still into you ღ 46

Everyday, I keep telling myself "I should write a new post", but everyday is the same. Busy, busy, busy. Going to class, cooking, cleaning our home, worring about class, studying, spending my evenings with Guillaume ... I really feel like updating my blog more often, but I am always running out of time. Promise, I will catch up !

Today is a special day, so I definitely had to write something here. We are October 22nd 2013 and three years ago, I started to date my amazing boyfriend, Guillaume (and I am not writing this because he's sitting next to me at the moment - and obviously reading this as well). So here is a highlight of our story ...

I met Guillaume on my first year of college, in September 2010. He was studying English as well in second year. One evening, I threw a party at my place, and among many unknown guests was Guillaume. When he walked in, he asked who's place it was and we started to talk. We went to several different bars that night, but the thing is, I don't really remember it. All I know is that Guillaume and I were inseparable, chatting about our lives and college experience. The next morning, something had changed. I couldn't stop thinking about him, how nice he was and I saw on his person my prince charming.

Well, things were not that easy. Some people tried to keep us apart, telling lies about our past and our feelings (I think we have always met that kind of damaging "friends") so it took us a few weeks to officially start to date. I really thought that he did not like me ... But on that evening on the 22nd of October 2010, he finally kissed me and said "I thought it was never gonna happen". I went to bed at 5 that morning but felt happy, grateful and confident. Being around him was appeasing and blissful. And I still feel the same way about him. 

These last three years were full of adventures. First, it had been full of love, but also full of travels, laughter and happiness. Guillaume made some of my dreams come true, like going to Disneyland, visiting Ireland together, going to London but more important, he made me respect and love myself. He has always been really supportive about my studies, my jobs, my diets, my insecurities. He is always there for me and I will never thank him enough for this. He makes me become a better person and that is one of the thousand reasons I love him.

I am his, he is mine. For ever and always.

October Goals

Time is definitely flying ! A month ago, Guillaume and I were moving in and I was completely scared of what the future had to offer. September had been quite tough on me ... I was really confused about my studies: should I stay or should I go ? To be honest, I hate half of my courses, and I hate the fact the system wants to make us spend our entire life studying, so much that our well being and our health have to be forgotten. I really hate it. Last Friday, I was so upset that I went home crying and I kept crying in Guillaume's arms for about an hour. I felt lost, I felt lonely and I had no one to turn to. 

My September's Goals

• Save money
• Give my blood 
• Go to the local market once a week
• Use my free spa vaucher
• Host a party in our new flat
• Work out three hours a week
• Buy a mirror for the bedroom
• Prepare our trip to Spain
• Loose weight

Saving money was not easy, as I don't really have any income, but I have saved 30€ (put into a blocked account). We received many friends last month and had our first party at our place. We also went out quite a lot. This month, we need to be more careful about what we buy, especially food (and not waste it !) I didn't have time to go to the local market, but if it is cheaper than supermarket (and probably healthier) I should try to go at least once a month. Oh, and I was so so so desapointed about the spa vaucher... Turned out ot passed the deadline one September 17th ... 

 My October Goals

• Write my 101 in 1001 list
• Work out everyday for one week
• Prepare a surprise dinner to Guillaume
• Plan a special date for our 3rd Anniversary 
• Find some fall decoration

I really hope October will be more peaceful now that we are really settling down. I hope I will have more time to spend with my family, whom I really miss. October must be full of love and great moments as Guillaume and I will be celebrating our 3rd Anniversary on the 22nd, any ideas what we could do ? We are also going on holidays with my family at the end of the month. I need to have my homework done by then so I can really enjoy being away from college ! Anyway, Fall is definitely coming ! We had a lovely and warm weather in the last couple of weeks, but tonight, it is all stormy. I am just going to put my pyjamas on, eat that pie cooking in the oven and stay in Guillaume's arms while watching Game of Thrones ! Night Night !

Turning 21 !

Twenty one years ago, a little girl was born in front of an ocean ... Twenty-one years ago ? Already ? I remember when I was eight, I told my mum I would live the house when I would turn eighteen, so I would become a famous singer and live my life. Ah ah, how silly I was ! I am now twenty one, and I never really left my parents' home. It had been a family joke ever since ! My aunt loves to remind me that story by singing Charles Aznavour's song "Je m'voyais déjà" ah ah. I perfectely remember when I turned fourteen, when I started to become a young girl. I remember when I turned eighteen as well, surrounded by my loving family.

This year, I was really excited to go home for this special week-end. Especially because I have been away for three weeks. I had a great time last week, I was spoiled. On my birthday, Guillaume offered me many little things from my favorite decoration shop, Maison du Monde. He also wanted to bring me to the restaurant, but I have decided to stay home, order our favorite pizzas and watch Game of Thrones ... That was awesome, just to be the two of us, without no one around ! I really enjoyed spending such quality time with him ... And on Wednesday evening, four of my good friends came over for an "apéritif" (which is typically French, we basically eat finger food and drink wine all night). It was nice to see them and to keep seing them that often ! 

Family ♥ 

I had class on Friday and on Saturday morning, so I was not able to come home as soon as usual. During my course on Saturday, I was really excited to see my family, my dog and spend the rest of this short week-end with them. We arrived there around 4pm and lucky me, the weather was lovely. We spent some time in the garden, dressed the table and get everything ready. My dad is an amazing cook, he cooked the finger food and a lovely Couscous. The cherry on top was my birthday cake he spent the week to bake ! I LOVED IT ! I used to have this same cake when I was a little girl !

Parfait au chocolat ... Perfect !

Well, it was a really quick week-end ... Only 24 hours at home. I am so sad I didn't have enough time to take pictures of the garden, enjoy the indian summer we had that day and have a stroll with my lovely dog ! I was quite home sick and blue when I got back to our flat. I don't know if I can call it "home" as my real home will always be my parents' ... Anyway, Guillaume was there to cheer me up and cook lasagnas :)  

Sleepy Benji