Never Get Too Busy Creating a Life, You Forget to Live It

Joie de vivre isn't a place or a circumstance. You have to choose it, even in Paris. Especially in Paris.

When I moved to Paris a year and a half ago, I was completely starry eyed. The girl from the farm, who’d never been to a laundry mat, had made it to the big city.

I hope that the honeymoon love I have with Paris never leaves me, and I’m afraid it almost did.

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If you’re new to my journey, you may not know that I previously lived on a cattle ranch in a town with more cows than people, the population remains somewhere between 53-99 (but who’s counting?).

At 32, I’d never lived on my own or experienced life, as an adult, anywhere with more than a post office and a general store. Oh, and a firehall (which doubled as the community gathering center). But I digress…

I loved my life on the farm. The wide open spaces, my beautiful lush garden with wild roses that burst into yellow flames every June. My sweet animals (3 goats, and a pony named shortcake), and the home I poured my heart and soul into creating.

I didn’t want to leave, but I knew deep down, I was being called to create a bigger life.

So, after years of standing at the edge of the cliff, I decided to take the leap and buy that one-way ticket to Paris.

The end of one book, and the start of a new one. That was about a year and a half ago.

My first week in Paris, I treated myself to tickets to the Versailles Ball, in full costume and champagne in hand, I set the bar quite high for my new life in Paris.

Since then, I’ve certainly lived, but I also dove head first into healing. Divorce is a difficult journey to walk, anyone who’s been through it knows, it’s a bumpy road, even if it was a choice of your own.

Between healing from heartbreak, building Boxwood Avenue in another country, and navigating a long-distance relationship (that I never really shared with anyone publicly)…I slowly stopped experiencing all that Paris has to offer.

I won't go into all of it today, but healing quietly while building something publicly is very difficult and its own kind of exhausting. And I found myself dog paddling to stay afloat.

Somewhere along the way, Paris became…normal.

Dinners at the same restaurants. Coffee at one of three places near my apartment. A workout and meditation routine and 90% of my time behind the computer working. One day I looked up and realized, I was letting time hurtle by.

This numbness to time passing, is something we all can become victim of. Allowing the days to turn to weeks, where we do nothing more than wake up, work, workout, and sleep. Groundhog day.

I started Boxwood Avenue because I believe in intentional living, in soaking up each and every moment, and in gratitude. But there is a fine line between creating structure and routine and celebrating the juiciness of life.

I do believe the French have mastered this concept, a little something they call: joie de vivre.

At the realization that Paris was becoming the backdrop of my days rather than my playground, I took a good look in the mirror and committed to doubling down on creating daily joie de vivre.

I can’t help but think that my 90-year old self (whom I turn to often for advice) is telling me to go watch the sunset over the Seine, to linger at a cafe longer than necessary, and to throw caution to the wind, and simply LIVE.

After all, I’m a 30-something single-woman living. in. Paris.

I run an international interior design firm, I host group antiquing trips throughout Europe, lead a team of amazing women, and have the freedom to pick anywhere I want for dinner any given night. I don’t think it gets much better than that!

I moved across the world to live more. The least I can do is actually show up for it.

You can follow along my 30 Day Paris Bucket List series on Instagram, where I am taking you with me throughout the month of August on daily Parisian dates to the most beautiful spots and hidden gems in the city!

If you find yourself in a bit of a rut, I encourage you to pause and ask yourself where you can seek beauty in the mundane, because that’s where the true joy of life can be found…here are some simple ideas to try this week:

• Notice the little moments: the church bell ringing, the little one in a striped shirt holding his mama’s hand. Friends embracing. Someone taking a selfie to capture a memory…the beauty of the simplicity of humanity.

• Buy yourself flowers, just because.

• Get a new book and go to the park to read on Sunday afternoon.

• Get tickets to a local concert, play, or ballet - go alone or with a girlfriend.

• Spend the first hour of the day off of your phone, try Melissa Wood Health or To Be Magnetic instead…

• Journal to your future grandchildren, the things you wish they knew about you.

• Take yourself out to dinner at your favorite restaurant, alone, just because.

• Wear your favorite outfit on a Tuesday.

• Text the friend you’ve been meaning to.

• Call your mom, your dad, and your sister.

• Volunteer at a local center for children or those in need. This will help you tap into your community, and serving others is the best way to cure anxiety in my experience.

• Watch the sunset, without your phone.

• Listen to classical music with the windows open.

• And lastly, take a big deep breath and remember: nothing is permanent, and whether life feels good or life feels more challenging, this too shall pass, so soak it up, breathe it in, and let it go.

What are you favorite ways to celebrate life? I’d love to know!