Top Blogs: Creative Countryside {Geeky}

Living and working around and in a big city - Paris, France - tends to be devouring. I am an easy prey for cultural stimuli: there is so much going on, in such a variety of styles and approaches, that I just want to take it all in, learn, discover, keep, forget, expand.

At the other end of the spectrum though, urban lifestyle sucks every bit of energy I can painfully muster: the noise, the crowd, the commuting, the delays, the lack of flow in people and things can be consuming, slowly depleting the energy and creativity resources that the cultural and social stimuli had infused into my life.

Blogs are a way for me to read about other people's experiences - Creative Countryside is no exception. The two words making the title of what has become one of my favorite blogs just drew my attention: like a moth I approach their light and can only encourage you to follow my fluttering movements.

The author behind Creative Countryside is Eleanor, a 26-year old adept of slow living. I know, I know, it all sounds so trendy today... But hear me out and - above all - head over to her blog to get some fresh air. Her site if filled with mood enhancing chlorophyl: she encourages us to stop, look right, look left, breathe in, ponder, and breathe out. She urges us to pay attention to the details in a world of urgency - and emergencies. The way I see it, this helps us reconnect with our true selves and keep our mind alert, clear and vivid - and our entourage, be it personal or professional, needs us to be present. When we dysfunction, our entourage, our actions (or lack of them...) suffer.

Creative Countryside shows us that the best resources to fuel our mind, soul and body are in nature, the supreme follower of cycles, of regeneration. I started reading Eleanor's blog and immediately subscribed to her series of emails - it is a good starting point. From there, I have been able to fly on my own.

My favorite features and posts so far have been the following:

How to...Live seasonally in (month): every month, Eleanor let us in the little secrets, the latest news, the best of - including words! Every month, I feel like I have delved more consciously into what nature and its cycles have to offer. She also features a series called Eat Seasonably: I find it less interesting, but this is probably because, in spite of my urban jungle lifestyle, I still do my utmost to buy only seasonable products. And this has been going on for quite some time now...

Essential Tools for Slow Living: this is where you learn that slow living does not rhyme with...anarchy! To fully live a seasonal life, organization is a great ally.

How to start living more slowly: this is where you will learn what slow living actually is and how to embrace the slow living lifestyle - you may start with snippets here and there, or decide to go full force if you feel this is something meaningful for you. In any case, I found this introductory post enlightening.

The content of Creative Countryside is served beautifully by its matching layout: the abundance of white space makes it airy and easy to read, digest and adhere to, step by step. The photographs of nature and its details convey peacefulness and help the reader focus and... slow down. With all the buzz about creating a brand and a consistent one at that, this is a successful example of a perfect match.

Wishing you all a beautiful and relaxing reading time with Eleanor - as well as a gorgeous fall season (I cannot believe I am actually writing this - have I snapped out of my denial phase?)!

Credits: TheDaydreamer

Le Blé en herbe : Colette, enfin ! {Page-Turner}

Colette et moi, c'est une histoire de grande inconnue et de peurs apprivoisées. Un saut dans mes souvenirs estudiantins ressemblant fort à un saut dans le vide qui met à mal convictions et confiance en soi. Retour sur images : oral ou écrit du bac, je ne sais plus et peu importe. Texte de Colette dont je n'avais jamais rien lu.

Panique, réflexion, collages mentaux de bribes d'informations lues, entendues, vues sur l'auteur. Mon radeau de sauvetage prend forme, péniblement car le brouillard voile la vue.

Lentement, je refais surface et me laisse, comme il se doit, transporter par le texte qui me guide : fie-toi aux mots, aux phrases et à ton ressenti.

Toute expérience laisse des traces. Colette, c'est ma trace de ce fameux bac ; par superstition sans doute, après cette épreuve, je n'ai plus voulu ne serait-ce qu'imaginer pouvoir prendre en main un livre de Colette. Difficile d'effacer ce goût d'épreuve...

Jusqu'à cet été : le rituel heureux de préparation du départ en vacances tant attendu inclut le choix méticuleux de livres à emporter et à effeuiller le dos chauffé par le soleil. Au hasard, sans trop réfléchir et afin de contenir mes anciennes peurs, j'ai choisi Colette, Le blé en herbe.

Et par un matin de radieuse solitude à la plage, j'ai regardé Colette dans les yeux. Les pages ont défilé jusqu'à ce que la plage se peuple de tant de personnages que j'ai ignorés. Jusqu'aux heures les plus enflammées quand, d'un seul souffle,  j'ai refermé le livre ainsi terminé.

Tant de délicatesse et de poésie dans ce récit initiatique guidé par la nature, ses rites de passage, sa timidité, son courage. Les mots sont précis, les descriptions visuelles appellent de tous leurs vœux la caméra. C'est le tumulte des sens et de l'esprit des deux personnages principaux, Philippe et Vinca, qui passent leurs vacances ensemble... Seulement cette année, la métamorphose de l'enfance à l'adolescence brouille l'eau de la baie, trouble les sentiments et aiguise les sens.

L'amour, est-ce cet éveil soudain, cette violente mise à nu, cette fébrile prise de risques en se faufilant, la nuit venue, à l'insu de tous, par la porte d'entrée sous le regard absent du chien de garde ? La fin de l'enfance, se traduit-elle inexorablement par une tempête de désirs contrastants et ambigus ?

La tristesse de voir le monde et les amitiés sacrées s'altérer ponctue les pages de ce livre : la métamorphose est inévitable, le temps fuit, l'enfance aussi. Le blé en herbe et ses fines tiges en devenir m'ont réconciliée avec Colette, un jour d'été.

"Derrière la fenêtre, les yeux de la Pervenche le suivaient, et les gouttes glissantes le long de la vitre semblaient ruisseler de ces yeux anxieux, d’un bleu qui ne dépendait ni de l’étain jaspé du ciel ni du plomb verdi de la mer."

Photo : TheDaydreamer

Life's a Beach {Look Around}

Let me bask in the fine moments of summer and its dreams. Let me relish every single grain of sand slipping through my fingers, getting stuck between my toes - and forget about your mother's screams about the need for you to wash all that sand away before heading for home.

Summer, for me, is beach life. Nothing else. I know, this is reductory. The rest of the year, I can visit, discover and travel with an intellectual light on. During summer, I can visit, discover and travel with my senses on.

But, friends ask, what do you do at the beach all day? Don't you get bored?

Oh no, never bored.

First and foremost because where I go in the summer, there are friends awaiting; I see them once a year, on "our" beach turned into a major living room where birthday parties are celebrated, wishful lanterns launched over the sea, colorful balloons released by small hands... Social life is bustling, ideas are exchanged, challenging and wishful plans are defined, for the evening, for next week, for another year, another life maybe.

Then, there is the sheer pleasure of every step in the sand, be it wet or scorching hot like this summer. Living a print, albeit fleeting, is a pleasure that connects me with the earth, brings me back to my roots. Should I even mention the childish joy of diving head first into the warm sea after having waited a long, painful, dark year for it? Feeling smooth water welcome, embrace you and wash away the burdens.

Kids, let's not foget about them, are a full-time beach life occupation: running from one wave to the other, swimming from one parasol to the other, building castles, destroying them, participating in races, asking for attention, ice creams, sun block, food, water and the moon. They drive me crazy at the beach. And that, too, is a full-time crazy occupation.

I escaped twice to the beach this year to live a different experience and bring books back into the picture (were you wondering: "Why hasn't she mentioned her favorite activity?" There you go). Twice I escaped in the early hours of the morning, when I walked alone to the beach carried there by the cheering cicadas (have you listened to my live Chirp on Twitter?) and the breeze. I had the privilege of having the beach to myself and counting the waves, the wasps and plunging into the first pages of my summer books. Uninterrupted by nature, I read a book by Colette from cover to cover, with sensual relish and in the perfect framework (more on the book to come...).

How on earth, could I ever get bored on a beach?

What about you: do you enjoy beach life or do you need to practice sports, go for long walks, listen to music or go to the beach a couple of hours a year to be content?

Credits: Un Blog Une Fille (edited by TheDaydreamer)