paris- sweet life.

you know how i'm love with PARIS (how original) and how we often relate chicly dressed women/men in striped petit bateau shirts, smoking cigarettes to our vision of the ultimate parisian? i've been introduced to a tumblr today that reminds me that paris is so much more than that- it is rich with the most colourful, vivid, raw people on every corner; the stunning african women, the punks, the gypsies. these candid photos, taken by a flaneuse with a beautiful eye, had me at 'bonjour'. i only wish there were more...

shirine sweet life

more french fair.

a few more photos to add to my paris collection. enjoy!

les vide greniers.

that's what they call their weekend flea markets in paris- vide grenier, meaning 'attic clearance'. these goodies were so special they deserve their own post. my favourite of the markets i moused around at when i was there, was one on avenue trudaine. heaven for blocks and blocks.
*momma: note the hat pins, buttons & perfume collection- i took them all for you.

parisian apartment perfection.

we inadvertently went to paris during fashion week which equals = nowhere to stay in the city whatsoever. i called about 20 different small, affordable boutique hotels to no avail then drew the line at the not so enticing 'cheap' options on the outskirts of town with reviews including cockroach sightings and stained mattresses. non, merci. i thought we were living our worst case scenario when we started to search on airbnb...oh mon dieu was i wrong!!! airbnb was the best thing we ever did. it was a way to see paris as the locals do (probably the biggest culprit in my falling in love so hard, so fast). it's the way you get the windey hardwood staircase to lug your bags 6 floors up...or if you're lucky, the teeny tiny wooden elevator you see in movies that has the second iron accordion gate to close before you go up. best of all, you get the big, old, metal key that i imagine has been passed down through tenants for hundreds of years. i chose a place based on location (though it was a bit north of monmartre, so a little out of the way) and almost solely on the fact that it had a balcony. i could not have chosen better. the listing is no longer up or i would be telling you all to stay in this perfect paris apartment right now. the host was the girl i totally thought i'd meet in paris- she was dressed with that 'je ne sais quoi' in in an army jacket, messy hair, no makeup and bright smudgy lipstick. her apartment was just that little bit more edgy than how i like to 'decorate' and i looooovvvvveeed living in the space- nude image wall gallery, taxidermy and all. i cannot wait to go back.