Life Lately: Links, Shares & a Mouthwatering Dutch Baby Recipe for a "Basic" Brunch at Home

I’m another year older and maybe wiser 👀

the jury is still out on that one depending on who you ask. I am however reflective and grateful. Around this time of year (6 months countdown until my bday), I usually get depressed or sad..not for the year going by so fast but for aging I guess. Mostly because I was taught to feel bad about getting older. Somewhere along the way, I guess I started listening - because when I was younger I thought it was so rad - I couldn't wait to have to use both hands to show someone my age [holding up 10 fingers felt like a win] and then when I could say I was a teenager I felt like a GOD, 18, and then 21..I mean drinking legally and gambling..with age came the societal acceptance of vices and debauchery…why wouldn’t you want to do this?!?!? Ahh, but also more responsibility - bills, life, death, credit card debt, breakups...yeah you get it.

Anyway, this year I wasn’t regretful or in the feels. I was really grateful. Maybe doing the work on yourself…actually works. Who knows?!?!

Here are some of the things I’ve been reflective and introspective about. Some of the things I’ve been up to. Where I’ve been eating, spending my time, & overspending my money. Oh, and some of the things I’ve been reading and watching and almost breaking a tooth on because I’m trying to hold my phone above my face in bed at 2 am. Shall we proceed?

Last year we went to Paris for our birthdays with NO Itinerary and for the first time I fully embraced being present and going with the flow on a vacation. I ended up saving a dude’s life on the plane there [you can listen to that here] and I did take a lot of photos and video so I made this VLOG [here] and this skincare care haul video from the Paris shops I went to [here]. it’s odd because I don’t know if I was so burnt out from the pandemic, overwhelmed by the in-flight rapid response, or not having an itinerary [I do love control]…but my memory recall of that trip is difficult without the photos and videos. So that vlog is a long one but it’s more for me than an audience. I did however have a huge inspirational encounter on that trip with a brand called Universale Buly and since then have gone down many rabbit holes at 3 am about it and the owners. I also met a wonderful esthetician Vinida Savant who I interviewed here , and I got to hang out with some women who showed me je no se quai in real-time [I wrote some things about that here] and since then I have really been trying to adopt my own. And honestly, I think that was the purpose of the trip for me..not to make another best-of-food list for Paris - though I did eat great food. Instead, it was to share my personal takeaways and inspirations and now that I’m writing this maybe I do remember more than I thought haha. Or maybe I just needed some time to “unpack & appreciate” that trip. Just maybe that’s what I was supposed to remember. Also, a little odd fact the night before I left had a dream about an old friend I haven’t seen in years. In the dream, they told me to watch the movie Frida - about an artist I am very fond of and inspired by Frida Kahlo. I woke up that morning and while I was packing watched it, Ironically when I got on the plane it was the movie suggested to me on the lil TV to watch on the flight, and then when I got to Paris the neighborhood I was staying in had a beautiful mural on one of the side streets I had stumbled down one morning on my way to get us croissants, macarons, and cheese for breakfast with yup you guessed it - Frida. You can learn more about Frida Kahlo and her works here and here .

++ Since I keep getting asked this in DMs - here are Some Of the Products I bought when I went to the Paris Pharmacies & Beauty Boutiques.

→ Here are some of the Biologique Recherche products I learned about and bought while I was there as well [I made a list on Amazon as you can get some of them here] . .I really love this brand and being able to treat myself to a two-hour experience and skin assessment at their institute was something I had been wanting to do for myself for a while. You can watch the haul and vlog on that here.

More Paris Pharmacy Products

Skincare

1. Bioderma Sensibio H2O Micellar Water

2. Avene Thermal Spring Water Spray

3. Caudalie Beauty Elixir Face Mist

4. Filorga NEF-Shot

5. Vichy Mineral 89 Hyaluronic Acid Serum

6. Avène Cicalfate Restorative Skin Cream

7. Nuxe Reve de Miel Lip Balm

8. Embryolisse Lait Creme

9. Caudalie Vinoperfect Radiance serum

10. Ialuset hyaluronic acid cream

Body care & Hair Care

1. Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse Multi-Purpose Dry Oil

2. Klorane Dry Shampoo

3. Lierac Body-Slim Anti-Cellulite Concentrate

   Caudalie Vinosculpt Contouring Concentrate

4. Vichy Ideal Soleil Anti-Sand SPF 50 Sunscreen

5. Bioderma Atoderm Shower Gel

6. La Roche-Posay Lipikar Baume AP+ Body Balm

7. Roger & Gallet Bois d'Orange Perfumed Soap

8. Uriage Eau Thermale Thermal Water Spray

Dutch Baby Recipe… as promised.

And finally - I am a grown-up girl on a budget (getting older also makes you think about retirement accounts apparently and healthcare and other things that are no fun). So I have been trying to eat out and order in less often. Brunch is a real money suck in my opinion - you’re paying crazy amounts of money for eggs and pancakes and you’re hungry again 3 three hours and take it from someone that’s worked in the restaurant industry it tastes better than home because of all the butter. In trying to be better to my wallet and arteries I have mastered making “Dutch Babies” which are basically fancy pancakes for lazy people Pancakes.