living alone in paris diaries | parks, bookstores, versailles race

Auto-captioned from the film, lightly cleaned. Elena's words, not edited prose.

the we're going to have a productive but also a cozy few days here in Paris in the fall season I'm living in my sweaters said it before and I'll say it again always get yourself the flowers there's no reason to wait around for someone else to get them for you because look at how beautiful these are just a little pop of color in life brings me so much joy each morning the gorgeous just like you there's one thing I've learned since living in France this year is that you can't walk around and have tashir wear outside I mean you can but you're going to get death stairs by the French like any normal gal I'm like I want to I want to fit in I want to seem Parisian even if I'm not so every time I go to the gym is I honestly wear like a fit a casual fit but I wore a fit to the gym and I just Chang there so just throwing my jeans on over my workout shorts I like this culture of showing up nicely and being put together to some extent the same time I think prian fashion is quite simple it's kind of casual while elevated it's not doing a lot a lot of times it's just nice denim a little Turnal neck and a good coat like it's easy but people look good they look like they try and I'm all about that as long as it doesn't require too much effort why not so let's pack our duffel bag for the gym and I need to tell you about the your duffel bag by songon I am obsessed with this bag I got it like 2 months ago and I use it so much I obviously use it for traveling but it's like the perfect size bag to just fit everything I need all right hello I need to get a little closer so I can show you guys the texture of the bag for one it has Exquisite craftsmanship like it's just so wellmade and I love all the little details and it has this vegetable tanned leather with this like just really cool vintage kind of look to it it's treated with these special techniques that gives the leather this very cool like natural and kind of like worn effect to kind of like replicate the traces of time despite being a new bag and the hardware is all stainless steel so it's super comfortable for walking around in the city for like bringing everything around for the day but it's also like the perfect size for the airport as well cuz I can inst that kind of stick it under my airplane SE so let's pack her up and let's head to the gym recently switched from Hoka to an to try out their workout sneakers so far I'm a fan I am and let's go get a good workout in hello it's like a beautifully crisp fall day I gu somebody like seeks out a lot of like big adventure in life at the end of the day the amount of Joy reading in the sun brings me almost unbeatable when we think we should be seeking out so much more I'm like this is where it's at I'm having the most ideal day SP on my own I got three new books I sat in the park for like two hours Che kiss greetings I have a dirty little secret something I've beeny enjoying recently I don't know how I became a Coke Zero girl after not drinking soda for like 7 years but um this instead of coffee M day it's different I was thinking about this a lot in the park and I feel like I might relate to some of you guys of this concept of Maintenance versus growth because I feel like throughout your 20s there's this push to need to grow advanced in your career leveling up to that next best version of yourself and when you do reach a place where you're like you know what this is pretty good I'm comfortable you can feel quite guilty about it or I can feel quite guilty about it for so many years I was like constantly needing to one up myself trying to be more successful and kind of just constantly looking to what's next I haven't really heard of this in a lot of like us culture that is of finding a level of just contentment for a while and not constantly striving for more success and money and Higher Goals I think what a lot of people hear like oh I want to be comfortable you equate that to being maybe apathetic or stagnant I personally and I think this could maybe be of help to some of you am kind of redefining that where I'm like oh comfortability is actually a good thing it is a human nature to want to seek out a comfortable space that you can really maintain a healthy routine when I say maintaining I still think there are things that are super important like you know working to be a healthy version of yourself I think it's important to always be learning and opening your mind to the world around you but I think that in terms of out W success I don't think it's sustainable to just keep seeking year after year a higher level and a higher level wanting to be secure and in a place where you're like this is good this is nice I can do this for a while is a superum feeling that I didn't let myself feel for a long time I think there's seasons and chapters of life for both and I think you need to kind of find your balance within that I also think if you have legitimate feelings of wanting to change if you want your life to look different then you do have to obviously push yourself into a zone of discomfort to create that change but if you're feeling like you need to get to some Next Level just because society's telling you I feel like it's worth questioning so at the end of the day it's your life and no one has lived your life before so you get to decide this year there's been a lot of learning and unlearning of just some messages I wish I had heard even a few years prior and so I feel like as these things come up I want to keep like sprinkling them into Vlogs and I know there's a lot of you out there that are probably going through that cor life crisis as I've like to call it in the past I wish I could go back to myself year two three four ago and be like it's going to be okay that was a long rant we're going to have a cozy day inside for the rest of the day because even though the sun is out it is chilly and I led my little homebody evenings so so I truthfully have been very inconsistent with trying to learn French this year because the summer was crazy and I really have time but once fall Hits I get back in that back to school School kind of mindset so I'm working with a tutor I'm just so bad at it and I'm so freaking slow that's like embarrassing at this point I swear I was a very good student back in the day that's PARTA of reason why this is like low triggering is I'm like academics was like the thing I was good at why language is so difficult for me maybe this shows the reality cuz I feel like there's all these videos out there of like I learned French in like a month and I'm like not I let's chat with my girl Val no no I such a crazy story I don't think I've shared it yet in a vlog but I get so anxious sometimes when I sit on my balcony okay so the back story is I went on a hinge date got drinks with this man it was fine it was nice but I was like you know this isn't it as it goes with dating a lovely gentleman just not for me as the day ends we're like okay we'll part ways and we're you know walking together and we're both like you're this way still and I was like you're this way still and he's like yeah I like live you know in this area and I was like oh my gosh I live in this era also he's like oh my God you live on this street like I have this view basically facing opposite of me and I was like oh yeah I love this street I love my view I'm always on my balcony and he's like wait a second he's like if you're facing that way and you're always on your balcony I'm facing and I'm always on my balcony facing the other way he's like are you the girl who's always reading on her balcony and I was like what do you mean the girl and apparently him and his roommate have seen me just like reading on my balcony of like wondered who I am and then we randomly mashed on hinge and went on a date now when I go outside I see him on the balcony we don't make direct eye contact but if I see him out there I'm like I have to go back inside it could have been the the perfect love story it could have been iconic but alas anyways if you're anything like me and you're more of a summer girl than a winter gal we have to put some practices in place to beat seasonal depression one of my favorites is hug I can never pronounce this right it's a quality of coziness that creates a feeling of contentment or wellbeing hence all my mood lighting right now when the weather starts to get colder you spend so much more time at home you have to take the time to make your home into a cozy place that you're actually excited to be in I actually really adore this time of year for the forced slowness there really is kind of this like retreating into the simplest pleasures of life just like a warm meal a good book you have to romanticize the colder months especially when you live alone and you're single we're setting up a very cozy and loving environment for ourselves good morning I don't think I make enough use out of the fact that I'm living in one of the countries of the best taste trees in the world so I stopped and I had to get a pan of Chola look at this look at her that's so satisfying I went on such a little loveely this morning with vja it was good getting the body going cuz I'm training for bra sets on Sunday oh goodness oh God been blown away we just St in m and saw their new collection we're heading to SRA presentation I'm a huge fan so I'm like so excited to go trying to survive the from you my it's getting later and it's harder to leave I'm trying to heal I'm try send a signal from the the L are the Moon is biger night we'll fall soon good morning it's race day baby quite tired you know what I've made peace that I'm going to embrace this as a fund race if I'm slow that's okay we're just getting to the Finish Line we're just doing this thing we're moving our body I'm proud of myself for signing up for something that outside my comfort Zone and it's going to be a really beautiful run I'm excited that I get to run throughout Paris and into Versailles like that's iconic like one else in my life am I going to get to do that beautiful of a run so on that note let's go run baby almost that was so much better than my see I'm cozy I'm clean and I had so much fun at that race I did the Brooklyn half last year and that was my first long race literally ever and I honestly didn't have a great time at it like didn't Pace myself well I felt like absolute death by the end this race I had such a good vibe I slept well I paced myself pretty well I started off with like no music and then a podcast and then like a fun Indie running playlist and then like an upbeat like techno afro house playlist so I could like slowly build my energy and I went way faster than I did my half and this obviously was shorter this was like 16 km which is like a little over 10 miles and like what an iconic route while living in Paris to run from the Eiffel Tower to versailes that's so cool what a special race to be a part of it's so funny I told my family I did it my brother immediately sent me this photo he's like you know that's the route of the French Revolution right when all the angry like Parisian moms took their pitchforks and ran to ver side to like take down the king and queen for their gluttony and their mistreatment and mismanagement of the French people the route I took in theory anyways I had a great run thanks so much for watching today's video and see you guys in the next one PE