New life, here I come!

For those who don't already know, it's finally done, I found an internship! I'm going to work at a company called Cartus, it's a leader in global employee mobility, they work with big international companies and provide them help in relocation, management and cost reduction for example. I don't know exactly what I will be doing but something related to international communication and then there will be a project in management control and profitability calculation, something that the previous intern started and that I will hopefully finish. My boss is a French-American women, she is super nice and she keeps telling me that I will be doing a little bit of everything and that the most important thing is that I will work with something that I like and that I get the most out of my internship. She really seems friendly and I like this whole not so French atmosphere there. :)

 

Anyway, the company is well known and international and this internship will certainly be a great experience and look good on my CV. And I can't believe that for the first time in my life, I have a real job! No work on evenings or week-ends. I will have my own little office, I can dress nice, wear high heels and I don't have to tie my hair up. With my friend E who's also doing an internship, we are so excited about the fact that this summer we can go to after work parties and actually be like adults who have a real office job and who go to after works from there. I feel like I'm finally going to the right direction, towards a real career and that my studies are worth something. I've been working at cafés and smoothie bars for quite a long time now and it has been nice but I really hope I never have to go back to that. Wish me luck!

 

And the funny thing is, you know how frustrating this job hunting has been, I've sent almost a hundred applications and created profiles to at least twenty different recruitment web sites, and I really started to panic a little bit because if I didn't do an internship, I wouldn't pass my year. So now finally, when I got this job at Cartus, I also got one other interesting offer that I had to refuse (hope I did the right choice!) and this week and last week almost every day someone has called me for job interviews. Great.

 

As I had promised to myself a while ago that I would do, when I got the job, I walked straight away to Minelli and bought the turquoise clutch that I told you about before. It's beautiful, I'm already starting to love it as much I loved my old turquoise Minelli clutch bag. And this is just a coincidence, but the first time I wore it, I went to Montmartre for drinks with E. I walked pass the place where my old bag was stolen and I could literally feel the danger. Haha, but nothing happened, thank God. But maybe I should have bought two of them, just in case. :)

 

 

 

 

 

So a new life is really starting for me now. On Friday I had my last class at Uni and the next time I will go there for classes, that will be in October and Master's degree! We still have our final exams in the end of May and since I start my job next Thursday, I really need to organize my time if I'm going to study and have good grades. But now I'm on holidays until Thursday and I've been doing basically nothing but sleeping, partying and having fun.

 

 

I started taking it easy a little before my last class, well after the last tests. On Wednesday, beautiful weather and a piquenique catch up with R and M at Pont des Arts.

 

We saw this beautiful rose ceremony on a boat

And as always at Pont des Arts, a lovely sunset

 

 

 

On Thursday night, drinks with some of my friends from Uni to celebrate the end of classes

And later I was invited for dinner at Café Marly, terrace overlooking the pyramid of Louvre

 

 

Saturday night with M and D. First sushi and champagne at M's place, then drinks and dancing at the Kong club. Life is good.

 

Tomorrow Monday and I have nowhere to be. Perfect, I so needed these couple of days off. I don't think I'm going to do anything, just some more sleeping. And I will start studying for my exams. Maybe...

 

Love you,

xoxo: Emi

Need to be outside

Just wonderful weather again! I'm meeting with J later at Starbucks but I just couldn't stay at home anymore so I came to a nearby park with my accounting book and lecture notes and so I'm pretending to study but I'm actually just sunbathing and writing this. I love summer, life is good and I have a job interview tomorrow and another on Friday. I'm finally getting a little more hopeful and I have a feeling that everything's going to fall into place. Sunshine and +23 makes everything better. :)

xoxo: Emi

Ps. First time I post directly from my phone, we'll see how it works. ;)

Sunday summertime in my yellow summer dress

The waiting was long and painful but here it is: the SUMMER! Well maybe only for today but anyway, feels so good. I wake up early and did some studying (for example prepared my Spanish oral presentation about Sephora's marketing strategy. In Spanish, yes, great) and then went to the Gym to complete my this week's training series which I'm quite proud of: combat, zumba, attack, balance, balance, combat, balance! And the rest of the day, only sunshine and relaxing. We went to the Buttes Chaumont parc with M and C and had this year's first picnic. When we left after 6pm I was really going home to continue my studies and M was really going home to get some work done but once we got into le Marais and it was still 26 degrees (see the photo below) and lots of people outside we just couldn't. Weather like this is so rare that being inside would have been a waste of time. So we had a walk and went for dinner and drinks to Les Philosophes. Now I'm tired and a little sunburnt (but my aftersun cream smells like summer so it's okay) but I spent a great day. :)

 



piquenique food

summer dress

M enjoying the sun

blue sky

Buttes Chaumont

One of the most beautiful parcs in Paris

Just to make everyone in Finland jealous. And this was in the evening.

Eating outside, delicious salades, Mimosa-drinks and spending time with big Sis = perfection



It's very important that your drink matches your dress. Or that your dress matches your drink, that's okay as well.

After a perfect Sunday always comes a less perfect Monday. So now to bed and tomorrow some serious studying. Sweet dreams,

xoxo: Emi

Ps. Since my blog has somehow begun to resemble a food blog, here's one cute pic from our Friday night dinner with J and A. J made salmon and potatoes, like in Finland, and for dessert a fondant chocolat which was yummy. Good thing I did sports before and that we had a nice walk home with A afterwards. :)

Happy Sunday

Hey! So this week has been a little rough but today I'm finally starting to feel alive again. Thanks for everyone who has been there for me, I don't know what I would do without you. <3 And I don't know what I would do without Club Med Gym and all the Les Mills - classes. Once again, sports is the answer for everything. From now on, I will really try to go there as often as this week. Even if I'm super busy with school or with anything, I just need to go there and do a Balance, Attack or Combat because it makes me feel so good.

 

Today the sun is shining in Paris and it was actually warm when I walked home from the Gym. Now I'm enjoying my colorful healthy lunch and then I'm going to attack my favorite daily pastime - writing and sending job applications! Yey, seriously this internship hunting is not at all fun anymore if it ever was.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yesterday I even tried to have fun clubbing but I think that my party days are over. I just don't get the point of staying out the whole night and getting drunk when you could sleep well, wake up early, feel good and go to the gym for example (well I still went but it wasn't easy). But it was great to see big sis and our friend C and the pre party celebrating A's birthday was nice as well.

 

 

smiling again

Magic candles. Happy Birthday A!

At Showcase. Happy Birthday M!

 

Lot's of love,

xoxo: Emi

 

Ps. This week I've also realized once again that besides sports, singing always helps when I'm feeling down. You should try! :)

Stories about shoes and some Swedish coffee

Hiya! I can’t tell you why but instead of being just a lifestyle blog, my blog is now going to be also about fashion and style. But since fashion and shopping is a significant part of my life, that shouldn’t change much. Or perhaps just have a slight influence on my bank account because to have something to write about I will need to shop. Just kidding, mum, my wardrobe is already quite representative...

 

Let’s start with shoes! I know plenty of people who collect designer bags (or bags in general). Bags are nice but I’ve always been more a shoe-person. I love shoes (except winter shoes) and I fast counted and I have 32 pairs of shoes in my small apartment.  Here’s my top 5 high heels:
 

1.       Turquoise peep toe pumps from Minelli:

 

 

 

I just love  love love them. These shoes were my birthday present for myself when I turned 20 and I've worn them at least thousand times. The sad story that some of you know is that I also bought a matching turquoise clutch at the same time and I always wore them together. It was the easiest outfit for any occasion, something black or white with turquoise accessories. And then my dear clutch got stolen. I was really pissed because there was nothing valuable inside so absolutely nothing for the robbers but they took my favorite bag and probably just throw it away. Last autumn I finally found a bag that resembles the one I had but it's not the same turquoise so it's nice with other colors but doesn't really match with my shoes. But I actually peeked in to Minelli the other day and they have turquoise again this spring, shoes and bags! Even the small clutches were quite expensive but I have to check if it's the same nuance. And if it is, well my birthday is coming soon...

 

 

2. (fake) Jimmy Choo's:

 

 

 

My choice when I want to be extra chic. It was about two years ago when I decided that I wanted to wear golden shoes at my mum's birthday party the following summer. I bought a coral red Rachel Roy dress from New York and thought that golden heels and accessories would be perfect with it. But easier said than done. I looked from everywhere in New York and in Paris but no golden shoes to be found so in the end I decided to order online. The delivery from the States took a while and then my shoes got lost in the mail (not the first time they loose something in La Poste...). When I finally got them, they were too big so I had to sell them to a friend and order new ones (returning them would have been crazy expensive, thanks again to La Poste). But all this was worth it, I got my golden heels and they are beautiful! (And a fashion pioneer as I am, of course a couple of months later all the shops were full of golden shoes...)

 

 

3. Violet espadrillas from Zara:

.

 

These are my favorite summer shoes. So confortable and perfect for a townwalk, to the beach or for partying. I bought them in 2009 from Toulon and they were with me in so many adventures in the Southern France that summer. Wearing these espadrillas I also learned to drive in high heels. :)


4. Black and golden pumps from Zara:

I like them because they are classic black heels but with a special detail. These shoes are high and style but really uncomfortable, my toes die in 30 minutes, but I like them so I still wear them quite often (and try to sit as much as possible).


5. Beige classy heels from Mango:

 

 

 

My high school graduation shoes that I wear when I want to look stylish and professional. They've been to some school and job interviews with me and will hopefully soon be again. If I get an internship for this summer, where I can wear heels, the first thing I’m going to do is buy an other pair of elegant work heels!

 

 

It was hard to choose but I'm not going to do a top-10. ;) Now something else. Yesterday afternoon I finished early at Uni and the sun was shining so I went to say hi to my friend M who works at the Swedish Coffee House which is here in le Marais, right around the corner. This café is such a lovely place, a serious competitor for the French ones. The style and the whole atmosphere is so Swedish. I think this is going to be my Scandinavian corner where I can escape when I lose my mind with everything French. :)

 

Café suédois with it's lovely outdoor terrace

 

Swedish pastries looks delicious

 

My friend M, the cutest waitress ever

 

Now I'm enjoying a long weekend off. No school until Tuesday afternoon! I've been a little sick the whole week but now I'm finally feeling better. It sure didn't help that I've been doing sport the whole week but I just couldn't resist, I'm seriously addicted to all the Les Mills classes right now, especially to Body Balance. I think the only moment when I feel completely relaxed and not at all stressed or worried about something is when I'm doing Body Balance. So in order to not go crazy soon, I just have to go there almost every day.

 

Happy Easter everyone, eat lots of chocolate eggs!

 

xoxo: Emi

This week's FOOD

Due to special occasions or the fact that I don't have time to do my groceries (again), I've been eating out a lot this week. :)

 

My friend A from Finland was here so on Tuesday we had dinner with her, one other friend of ours, R and two friends of R in a cosy Parisian Brasserie at Hôtel de Ville.
 

 

R ate this "tartare". I've never really understood why they eat raw meat here but I tasted it and it was quite good actually. But I still wouldn't order anything that looks this un-eatable...

 

A, me and R

 

And then we went for drinks to Les Etages, one of my favorite bars in le Marais.

Skål with Kir Chardonnay

On Thursday we walked around in St.Michel/Odéon area with M and ended up having dinner in a Crêperie. I think I've been there once before long time ago, a really nice place which style is a Mediterranean mix: the decor looks Greek, the menu is in Spanish and the crêpes traditionnally French.

 

 

 

On Friday I had lunch with my friend G that I hadn't seen in too long time. She wanted to go to this Vietnamese place in the 13th that she likes so I agreed to give it a shot and was really happy. Exotic, delicious and cheap! And a lovely catch up with G.

 

 

 

 

And then Friday eve I was with big sis M and we were too tired and lazy to cook (or even to go to the supermarket) so we didn't go out for dinner but ordered Sushi (and ate too much).

 

 

 

 

Tonight my friends from work are coming over so now I actually have to cook. But it's okay, I've been studying and sending applications for the whole day so I think I'm ready to start my relaxed Saturday night. Tomorrow more studying and job applications, can't wait...

xoxo: Emi

Sunday night walk

Hey! I just came home from a 1h 40min walk. What a relaxed feeling! After intensive (well at least for a Sunday) studying and job hunting I decided to go for a little walk. But somehow I walked a little too far away, first along the Seine long after Gare d'Austerlitz, then through many small streets and alleys at Quartier Latin to rue Mouffetard and then back down to the river and to Ile St.Louis and then home to le Marais. Time flew by when I was walking, listening to music and thinking about all my years in Paris and holidays I spent here long time ago. I have tons of great memories from all these years. Living here hasn't always been easy but I've survived and had so much fun. Right now I'm stressing about finding an internship for the summer, it's seems to me that it's really hard to find anything. But I know I shouldn't worry, I've made it until now and I will fight this one as well. It just can't be that I have brilliant grades and then I won't pass my year because I don't find a job. I'm trying not to panic and to think positive. Because everything else is great in my life. I'm so happy that Paris is my home, I just love living here and I don't want to go anywhere else.

 

I tried to take some photos but it was too dark. But here's two from Ile St. Louis, one of my favorite areas in Paris. It would be an amazingly beautiful place to live in and imagine if your address was "rue St.Louis en l'île" - perfect. ;)

 

 

 

Sleep tight and get ready for a new week and new adventures! :)

 

xoxo: Emi