slow days in my life in paris

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

Hello my darlings. How are we? Look this is one of the first sunny days we've actually had in Paris in ages and it's been such a dreary winter. If I'm being honest, I slept in quite late this morning and I've just kind of been hurting at home. But it's never too late to turn your day around. We're going to use up these next two hours of sunshine and go explore Paris and there's a specific spot along the Seine that I've been wanting to go to for a little journal, a little reading moment.

I'm not exactly sure how to get down to this beautiful little point under this like willow tree. So let's go see if we can figure this out. I believe in us. One of the rarest first sunny Sundays in all winter and I am soaking it up. It's a balmy 55. The sun is out. But you know how much a little bit of sunshine completely changes my mood. And it's one of these days where I am incredibly grateful to get to call somewhere as beautiful as Paris home. It's crazy. It's been 10 months of me since I've left New York, which is insane.

The goal is to get it to a year and actually go back to New York for one month. Visa and work and all the things, but I'll definitely have to make a more pivotal decision in the months to come if I want to establish more of a life here or there. And I was journaling this morning, which I think is relevant for anyone who's made a big move or is thinking about a big move. I feel like there's this this delicate balance between the question of what's a home without your people versus the perspective of I can build a home and find that connection and family wherever I choose.

It's something I've been ruminating on a lot. 10 months in I've met some amazing lovely people of all different backgrounds. A lot of French, not necessarily Parisian cuz the Parisians are a little bit harder to get to, but French. But it's also very transient. Kind of like New York. So I have one of my like closest friends moving. It has me questioning again how do you define home? How do you to choose a location to build a life in a community? How do you choose a place? Decide where you want to spend your future.

I'm so grateful to call a place like Paris home. I mean, look at this. This is insane. And I love getting to make these little videos and show you snippets of the beauty and the magic that is Paris. Bonjour. I hope you well. I'm in a new home. I'm still searching for a longer term place to live in Paris. So I moved out of my last sublet, which was for like eight or nine months and now I'm in West Village just for the month and then I want to find a longer spot.

We're working on it. I'm currently taking French classes. I've gone back to school to a prendre français mais c'est très difficile. Je me sens que je ne progresse pas et c'est très difficile de comprendre dans la rue. Et c'était très très difficile de ex- m'expliquer. M'expliquer. Anyways, I had French class this morning. Did a little workout. I've also been thinking about making some type of French guide because my Google Maps is crazy. Like I have, dare I say, so many good saves and so many good recommendations. Like look at my map.

Those are all different recommendations. So if ever would be curious about a Paris guide, leave a little comment because I got some tips and tricks from all my time being here and from talking to all my friends who are Parisian. So welcome to a little vlog of my life. What it's really like to live in Paris and my little day-to-day routines. I'm back to school and enjoying this beautiful city even in the depths of winter. So let's go. I mean you guys look very cute though. Oh wait, should I do my signature move again?

I don't know if it's good necessarily, but it is my new thing. Yes. One of my goals this year is to be on top of my skin care. And now as someone who is in their later 20s and has had acne scars, but at a certain point it requires more than just good skin care products. I think as I get older I've realized while there are of course some higher end products that are worth it, like I have some brands that I adore, I also think depending on what your skin care goals are, it can be advantageous to get those really clean and simple drugstore products like Cetaphil, CeraVe, La Roche-Posay and save on the hundreds that you might spend on like really fancy serums for hydrafacials or microneedling or things that are going to have like a little bit more impact in the long run.

It obviously depends on what your skin care goals are. And I've realized for myself while I like mixing an occasional serum, like I really like this Narayam one, my skin usually is happiest when I don't overdo it and when I invest in the things that are actually going to make a difference in the long run. So that's a goal this year is to be really good with my skin, be gentle with it, be very consistent with my skin care, drink your water, get enough sleep. If you're going to save money when it comes to skin care, I adore The Ordinary.

I use their hyaluronic serum and everything they have is super cost-effective cuz they're just giving you the most simple formula of the ingredients and kind of cutting out all the extra marketing hype and mixing and matching of ingredients. Hello. Bonjour from a very gloomy day in Paris. And today we have a very special visitor. Hi guys. Hi. Hot off the press from Brooklyn. It's been like two years. So I'm so happy. And free housing. You might if I do. It's quite chilly, but we're making the most of it. We're going to go to the Petit Palais.

And otherwise I think we'll just wander, explore. Hi. This is my favorite museum in Paris. I came here for the first time when I was like 17 and I was like just learning how to paint and stuff and everything here was so inspirational to me. so beautiful. And it's so so meaningful to come back. And what's fun about the Petit Palais that I completely forgot is that it's free. If you want a free activity, this place is incredible. And there's the outdoor area which we'll show you in a little bit.

I'm so happy to be here. Wow. And they were roommates. What's incredible about the Petit Palais and the Grand Palais, when you exit, you exit to like one of the most beautiful bridges in Paris, Alexander Alexandre Trois? Trois. Trois. And if you want to see what this houseboat looks like on the inside right here. This white one? Yep. Holy I know. Now I can give the location because he's since moved. There is a video on my YouTube channel of the inside. Hi, hello. How are we? I'm just someone who usually like Peter paddles around for a while.

And today I'm proud of myself because I immediately got myself up and out of the house and went to go read at a little coffee shop. And I finally finished If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin and Oh my god, that book. James Baldwin's writing in general I just adore. I've read two of two of his other books, Giovanni's Room and I think it was Go Tell It on the Mountain and just his writing style is just exquisite. But I to take a second before I get on with my day to thank today's sponsor, Organic Basics.

And I have a little mini haul for us here. If you're unfamiliar, Organic Basics is basically a Copenhagen-based sustainable brand that that specializes in creating underwear and activewear and just everyday essentials. And I personally have been needing new kind of everyday closet staples like plain white tees and underwear. And Organic Basics is just the perfect mix of like high quality and sustainable items. I'm already wearing one of the tees cuz every piece is just so soft and gentle on the skin. And I've been wanting to really work on building out a wardrobe of pieces that are just higher quality that I'll have for a very long time, and that's what Organic Basics is all about.

So, let me show you what I have here. The Core Triangle Bralette and the Briefs are such a comfortable base layer that kind of has this second-skin feel to it. Every piece I'm showing you is made with GOTS certified organic cotton. Another thing that I just love about Organic Basics is that they're partners with 1% for the Planet, which if you're unfamiliar, is an organization where they basically donate 1% of their annual sales to different environmental initiatives. And I really love the Flex Cotton line specifically. It's like the perfect mix of comfort and sustainability.

And the Flex Tee might just be my favorite. I'm going to be wearing this everyday cuz it has this long crop cut while also having this body-hugging fit to it that's so comfy for lounging around the house, but also looks so cute with low-rise jeans. So, thanks again to Organic Basics for sponsoring today's video, and you can check out all these pieces linked down below. I highly recommend. Hello. I was just having a lovely little journal and figured it'd be nice to have a little chat. I feel like if you've followed my channel for a while last year, I was a little burnt out on YouTube.

I didn't post as much. I didn't really talk as much as I have in years past. And then as I was thinking about 2025, I was like, I want to get back to the whole reason why I started YouTube, to share the lessons I've learned along the way as I'm growing older and share the realities of all these different steps and to find people to connect with and show people that they're not alone. And something I was journaling about today, which it may not relate to everybody. So, I was journaling today and I was like, I'm so grateful for the experiences I've been able to have in my life, and I'm proud of myself for doing some things on my own that aren't easy like moving by myself and spending so much time by myself.

I was kind of journaling and I was like, I almost like just can't relate to people who have had a partner to like support them and be there with them throughout this journey because I've had to do so much by myself. And I've always kind of felt like the perpetually single friend. And this isn't going to be everyone's experience, but when I have had like situationships or had somebody who's like been a little more consistent in my life, I'm like, holy crap, wow, life is actually just like a lot easier when you have someone to kind of like share the load with and do like the small mundane things of life with.

And I think one of the most beautiful and important things I've done for myself in my 20s is truly learn how to be good on my own and how to take care of myself and how to support myself. Cuz one of my goals is to be more open, and if that means I can connect with you and maybe make some of you feel less alone or just share the load of this journey together. And for those of you out there who are choosing to continue investing in yourself and have learned to be good on your own and are actually really I see you.

It's a difficult journey, but I'm proud of you because it's a beautiful one. Anyways, I'm kind of just rambling, but I figured I would just include some thoughts in case it connects with even just like one or two of you out there. So. Okay. Peace out. I just can't believe that this is my view when biking. I'm very late, as usual. I'm afraid there are there So many people here, but I got seated next to my friend, thank goodness. I know. I'm like, there's like 115 people here, but There's Cole Sprouse and he's For those of you who know I've learned this is part of my French cultural experiences.

I now have to know who this is. It's like Okay, so it's like the Jacob Elordi. It's like Jacob Elordi.