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slow living paris style embrace the weekend mindful living

I could write an entire series of books on the wonders of living in Paris but one of the most wonderful things that I learned was to embrace the French culture of the weekend. When you first go to live in another country it takes only a few short weeks to feel like you are the greenest greenhorn that ever lived. The fact that 99% of shops are shut on a Sunday felt like the hardest thing to overcome. I wondered how on earth you could get everything done in just one day.

paris shopping art sale on the sein embrace the weekend slow living the weekend project The first thing I learned was that the so called ‘big shop’ that we love and embrace in the UK does not exist in the same way in France. I have no idea what is different about the fresh produce but here in the UK it seems to last longer than it should, something I never really thought about until my first weeks in Paris. The fruit and vegetables did not keep for as long and it tasted way better, trust me on this. So smaller shops would be done on the way home, we would see what looked great and plan our meals accordingly. Of course other basics would be bought but without the ‘big shop’ a huge chunk of Saturday was free once more. A small food shop and still time to go and buy other things you needed.

breakfast in bed read a book slow living the weekend project le weekend52So what do you do with Sunday? Sunday the parks are filled with families, people running, friends enjoying a picnic. Art galleries are full, museums too. And then there is brunch, brunch is course after course of leisurely food enjoyed with loved ones. We are all so aware that we have little time that we rush around all the time and we do not spend our downtime mindfully.

slow mindful living embrace the weekend rest and recharge love your duvet days In this world where we are always ‘on’ and rushing around we have forgotten about how to truly slow down. I want to combat the fact that the concept of slow living has been reduced to a hashtag with another hashtag. I am fully aware of the irony but if you follow #leweekend52 on Instagram there will be weekly prompts and I invite you all to share your own quiet weekend.

vintage typewriter, slow living le weekend52 write more lettersThis week the prompt for the weekend is:

  1. Write a letter

I used to be quite an avid pen pal, I found my buddies in the back of Wild About Animals magazine, please no judgment. I still have a box of special letters that I received tied up with ribbon, you cannot do that with an email! Whilst I appreciate every comment on stories and thumbs up I get nothing quite matches up to the joy of sitting  down to read a physical letter except perhaps sitting down to write one. Get pen and paper out or even dig out an old typewriter if you have one, I have several. Write what comes into your head, spill your soul to a friend, spend the day returning to it, drink coffee and stare out of the window whilst you ponder what words you want to write next.

I cannot wait for you all to join me on this project. 52 weekends, 52 prompts, 52 ways to enjoy a mindful slow life. embrace the weekend mindful slow living rest and recharcge cup in shot

December 20, 2018
January 17, 2019

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16 Comments

  1. Reply

    Super Busy Mum

    January 6, 2019

    Do you know what? I miss putting pen to paper! Gone are the days of penpals and snail mail – which is a real shame! I would love to try and bring that back myself. So I am loving your weekly prompt to put pen to paper!

    • Reply

      Nicolette Lafonseca

      January 18, 2019

      Did you have penpals, I had so many it was totally my thing as a teenager. x

  2. Reply

    Charli

    January 6, 2019

    What beautiful photography!

    I completely get what you mean about vegetables – although I’ve noticed it here in the UK. I recently change to a local, organic, farm shop for all my produce and it doesn’t last as long but my gosh does it taste better!

    C x

    • Reply

      Nicolette Lafonseca

      January 18, 2019

      The veg thing is very true. I am working harder on the allotment to get good crops. Local veg is great x

  3. Reply

    Rebecca Smith

    January 6, 2019

    What a lovely prompt, I miss writing letters and could really do with writing some to distant friends. Your weekend sounds like bliss.

    • Reply

      Nicolette Lafonseca

      January 18, 2019

      You should take up letter writing again especially if you have long distance friends it is the perfect excuse to get some quiet time with a pen x

  4. Reply

    Kirsty

    January 7, 2019

    A weekend in Paris does sound absolutely romantic as does writing a letter the old fashion way. It’s nice to slow down and connect again with the world and this is a lovely way of doing so.

    • Reply

      Nicolette Lafonseca

      January 18, 2019

      I love how special it feels to both receive and create a letter

  5. Reply

    Eva Katona

    January 7, 2019

    I think the whole of Europe embraces the weekend culture a little bit differently. We are still very active on weekends – but we do loads of things and day tripping with the children.

    • Reply

      Nicolette Lafonseca

      January 18, 2019

      Very true we seem to have adopted a more American stance of constant rush I do not believe it is at all healthy for us. Let’s get everyone embracing their weekend again. Have you seen my one mindful minute prompts on Instagram?

  6. Reply

    Elizabeth

    January 9, 2019

    What a gorgeous blog post, and a gorgeous blog!! Love your writing, your photography and your philosophy. 🙂 I miss writing and receiving letters. I’ve been clearing out cupboards recently and found some old letters, 20 years ago, in a box. It was special re-reading through them.

    • Reply

      Nicolette Lafonseca

      January 18, 2019

      Thank you so much for your lovely comment it means so much to me when people like my writing. Finding old letters is such a joy and it really reminds me of who I was and the journey my life has been on.

  7. Reply

    Charlotte

    January 9, 2019

    I think it is so important for us to practice being mindful in the 21st century. Good luck with this project.

    • Reply

      Nicolette Lafonseca

      January 18, 2019

      Thank you I really want the project to take off I feel it is something we all need it is hard to be ‘on’ all the time!

  8. Reply

    Kara

    January 9, 2019

    I always try to have a day where we do something, even if it is as simple as a stroll along the beach

    • Reply

      Nicolette Lafonseca

      January 18, 2019

      Oh how nice do you live far from the coast. I love winter walks on the beach x

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