picture perfect paris

Figured I should post some of the better pictures I took in France. Keep in mind I'm not a photographer or anything, I don't have a fancy camera or anything, but I did my best.

Versailles

Eiffel Tower at Night :)

Sacre Coeur

Champs Elysees Street Sign :P (sorry for no accents)

Tuileries

Musee Rodin (again sorry for lack of accents)

Eiffel Tower in the Daytime (obviously)

Musee du Louvre

Just a random bridge crossing the Seine

my favorite moments in paris

One of the things I love the most about travelling to places you love is those moments. These moments that you can remember so vividly as if it was happening to you right now, those moments that represent your time at the place, and that aren't necessarily special to you, but that can and will happen to anyone who goes to that certain place. So I decided I could incorporate this into my top tens by making this my top ten favorite moments in Paris. As usual, no particular order.

1. Hanging out in the Tuileries on a bright and sunny day, watching people pass by, children running around, musicians playing even though they aren't supposed to. You could just sit here forever on the bench and let the world pass you by, maybe having ice cream or a crepe from one of the vendors, just letting the sun warm your skin and breathing in the fresh air.

2. Sitting outside in that Parisian cafe, eating that Croque Monsieur, and knowing you couldn't possibly feel more Parisian than you do right now.

3. Entering the hustle and bustle of the Champs Elysees where people dart in and out of stores with music playing and the general excitement that shopping brings, whether you're at Louis Vuitton or Nike there is just this exhilaration of being there.

4. Walking through the little cobblestoned streets of Montmartre, past the cafes and the accordion player, looking up to see Sacre Coeur, and then over at the rest of Paris and feeling as if you are at the top of the world.

5. Arriving in Paris and seeing the Eiffel Tower for the first time, and realizing that you really are there, that it's not just a dream.

6. Relaxing in the Champs de Mars as the sun goes down, watching as the Eiffel Tower lights up, and then eventually begins to glitter.

7. Walking down the Eiffel Tower steps at night, after seeing all of Paris from the top, you can continue to see its magic as you go down the stairs, watching the lights from the buildings get closer and closer, feeling as if you are in the center of it all, because you are.

8. Riding a boat on the Seine, whether its at night when everything is lit up, or during the day when its bright and sunny and you can see couples along the side and people tanning, and life just happening around you.

9. Going around the base of the Eiffel Tower at night with the guys flying those little helicopters they're trying to sell, and as you try to make sure none of them fall on your head, you can look straight up and see the immensity above you.

10. Just walking alongside the Seine, passing the book sellers and bridges, having the ability to cross one of these bridges to enter the Right or Left Banks, and knowing it’s like being in two different worlds that although different are also the same.

Fashion Report: Paris

Today I arrived back in New York from Paris. I'm very sad but hopefully I'll be back. Just as promised, I kept my eye out to see if I noticed any particular trends, and I did! Of course, as I don't know everything in the universe about fashion, I don't even know if they're technically "in" but this is what I saw.

1. Blazers - which I love and I felt so proud of myself because I actually brought one and felt at least mildly Parisian. Worn with skinny leg jeans and converse type shoes (see below).

2. Harem pants - to be completely honest, this is one trend I will never understand.

3. Wedge sandals - not exactly like these, but I think you get the point. LOVE this style and can't believe I don't already have something like them.

4. Converse style shoes - I know this isn't exactly high fashion, but these were the only sneakers I saw the entire time I was there. Not necessarily the brand converse, but this type of shoe. Generally they were in darker colors. Whenever I wore sneakers on the trip I had my own pair of Ralph Laurens in this style but they were pink so I didn't have it exactly right.

Those are just four different styles that I thought were especially prominent. I also noticed when I went up to Normandy that a lot of the French girls were wearing the baggy-ish tank and layering...something I talked about in my very first post, actually. But that's not technically Parisian fashion! I only wish I had paid more attention to bags!! I could make some guesses but I wouldn't be completely right so I'd rather not.

Other related stuff: I did shop on the Champs Elysees (sorry I'm neglecting the accents, I'm much too lazy) and of course it was amazing. Better than Fifth Avenue as I told my friend who lives in France (she stayed with my family as a French exchange student two years ago), but alas she disagreed. Two stores that I really liked that seemed to be quite popular are Mango and Promod. Though I know Mango isn't technically French, I still felt like I could buy French fashion there, which I did. Unfortunately I bought nothing from Promod, which actually IS French, because I didn't have time to wait on the long line (the Champs Elysees can get extremely crowded!). But they're both great, and I'd certainly recommend them, Mango being located right next to the Galeries Lafayette by the Opera Garnier, and Promod somewhere along the Champs Elysees, I don't even remember where.

I will continue talking about France in my next few posts, though it won't be about fashion, I don't think. There is just so much to talk about it, and I miss it already! But now I'm feeling tired and jet lagged (it's 3 AM Paris time right now) so au revoir. :)

To France I Go!

So in about five hours I'm going to France! I'm super super excited! I figured I should let everyone know so they don't think I'm ignoring my blog again, because I'm not. When I get back I'll blog about it, of course, and I will probably also blog about the books I'm going to be reading on the plane! Yay!

Also when I get back I'm planning on starting a new segment that goes along with top ten...It'll be the top ten must-sees in certain places. I'll probably start with Paris since that's where I will have just come from.

I really can't wait to see Paris fashion and buy my summer wardrobe there!!! Once it starts getting really nice I'll probably talk about fashion more since I love spring and summer fashion. Anyway, I'd better go and continue packing. Au revoir! :)

The New And Improved

So I was looking in my archives of blog posts (because you KNOW I have so many -- note my sarcasm) and I saw my old top ten best looking guys. And then I realized that I don't feel that way anymore. Since then I have been introduced (not literally introduced) to a bunch of new guys, and those old guys have NOTHING on the new guys, so uh here we go with my new and improved top ten best looking guys!

1. Yuri Pleskun (Model; he's now number 10 on models.com...I blogged about him about a month ago...Don't you love his blue eyes?!)

2. Francisco Lachowski (another model...I also blogged about him haha)

3. River Viiperi (yet another model who I blogged about a few weeks ago)

4. Ian Somerhalder (actor from the Vampire Diaries, former model. He was in the old top ten guys)

5. Alex Pettyfer (British actor in Beastly and I Am Number Four, I made mention to him in my movie post about Beastly)

6. Enrique Iglesias (Spanish singer; I love his song Tonight so much! And I made a post just for him last year!)

7. Zac Efron (actor no longer to be associated with just High School Musical, if you ask me. Also in my old top ten)

8. Joseph Gordon Levitt (actor in Inception, which is where I fell in love with him as Arthur...he was in two of my top tens...the old top ten guys and the top ten couples...he was in couple number 10, Arthur and Ariadne from Inception)

9. Zane Holtz (former model, actor in Make It Or Break It, which has started to be really bad so I might just watch the show for him now haha)

10. (young) Leonardo DiCaprio (actor obviously but I super fell in love with him in Titanic...I mean, who wasn't in love with Jack by the end of that movie?)

So that's my new and improved list. And I think its much much much improved!!

By the way, today is my birthday, in case you're wondering. I'm 18~

Wither

Sorry I've been gone for like 10 years I've been super super busy! I'm going to take a longer break from the male models I think because I'm reading so many awesome books and they all absolutely must be reviewed! Plus I might start this new thing about places I know and love...might be a top ten, maybe not though. I'll see what happens.

1. I was introduced to Wither by my friend Rebecca who was sitting next to me in the school library one day reading it and all of a sudden starts laughing and says, "This girl just said she's going to set the sitting room on fire! So random!" So, I knew I had to read it.

2. Wither by Lauren DeStefano is set in the futuristic United States of America where all boys live to the age of 25 and all girls live to the age of 20 because of this virus that was the result of genetic testing gone wrong. Wither tells the story of Rhine, a sixteen year old girl who has been kidnapped and given to a man named Linden to be one of his three wives, because as scientists are trying to find a cure for the terrible virus, people are trying to keep the population going so the human race doesn't die out. Rhine doesn't want to be the wife of a stranger, but she has to keep the trust of her evil father in law and her new husband so she can figure out a way to get free and find her brother.

3. I liked being in Rhine's head. She's really strong, especially considering the fact that she's going to die in four years. I don't know any teenager that could be that cool about dying in four years. She is also incredibly smart, and a pretty good actress. There's just something about her, this inner strength that tells you she's NOT going to let anyone push her around, but at the same time, that she isn't going to be impulsive or stupid.

4. I thought the whole sister-wife thing was awesome. No, I'm not pro-polygamy. But I liked the real sisterhood between Rhine and her sister-wives, Jenna and Cecily. Yeah, Cecily was annoying, and Jenna used to be a hooker, but still. They were all in it together, even if they all had different goals. I also kind of loved Linden. Which I really shouldn't. Good job Lauren DeStefano making this technically despicable character so freaking LOVABLE.

It's a trilogy, so I can't WAIT until the next one comes out.

hush

1. I just randomly picked up Hush because I thought it looked interesting...And when I skimmed the inside cover, for some reason I thought it'd be something like Delirium. But it wasn't. Not even close.

2. Hush is the story of Gittel, an Orthodox Jewish girl who lives in a modern day Jewish community in Brooklyn, New York. When Gittel was 9, her friend Devory died under less than pleasant circumstances. Actually, the circumstances were downright TERRIBLE but I won't give it away. Gittel has to learn to cope with Devory's death, even so many years later (she's 17), especially since she isn't supposed to talk about it.

3. I really liked Gittel. She was very strong under the circumstances and SO SO SOOOOOOOOO cute as a nine year old. I did find it very hard to relate to her, however. I honestly had no idea how different it is to leave in an Orthodox Jewish community. I mean, I knew it was different, but this was really intense. Obviously I found it a little hard to relate to a girl who lives in a community that think I'm going to hell because I'm not one of them. With that said though, she was pretty cool and much more open minded than some of the characters in the book.

4. I loveddddd Devory. She was just as cute as Gittel, if not more. But my heart did break for her. It really did. I would rant about that whole thing, but again, I don't want to give anything away. I also loved Yankel, after a while. At first he was EH but he got much better. He did some really CUTE things, though Gittel freaked out because she didn't know better. But I won't say anything more on THAT subject. The book was EXTREMELY well written and really fascinating too, which also made it great.

So I just thought I should say now that I was really amazed at how life is for the Orthodox Jewish people. Especially that it's THIS COUNTRY in PRESENT DAY. It was just so confining. I mean, they have arranged marriage! And I won't even get into details about married life! It was just really mind blowing. That's all I have to say. But definitely read this book, because it was awesome.

whats up with my writing

If you know me, or have read a previous post or something, you would know that I am trying to get my book published. I've queried six agents so far...Two by mail (those I sent out in January) and four by email (those I sent out like last week).

Initially I was just going to send my queries by mail because I had read somewhere that some agents won't respond to email queries if they don't like it. However, those three email ones that rejected me thus far did respond. One of the agents was really nice about it and encouraging, which made me feel kind of nice and loved even though she was rejecting me.

One thing I did that may or may not be a good thing is change my title. I had such issues picking out a title. It was just so hard finding something that was perfect. But I really wanted to send everything out, so in the end I just chose one even though I was meh about it, and just went with it. That is the title I used when I sent out my first two queries...but suddenly for some reason last week or maybe the week before that I had this urge to change my title. It wasn't that I had something else in mind, it was just that I looked at my title and though: "Is that anything you would pick up off the shelf" and when my answer was a NO I knew I had to change it. I mean I had always known it had sucked, but then I guess it just really hit me that if I didn't like it, an agent wouldn't either, so they wouldn't want to take me on. So I changed it to something much more typically YA and not a dumb attempt to be mysterious like with title number one. I mean, the title technically FIT, but it was just dumb.

The only reason it might have been a bad thing for me to change my title is because I still haven't gotten a response from one of the first two agents, and if she got my submission at all, it has the crappy title. I wish I could send like a follow up saying HEY LOOK I CHANGED MY TITLE IGNORE THE OTHER ONE. But that would look pretty bad on my part.

I'm also trying to build my resume in other ways, because I also figured that it would look better if I don't look like a COMPLETE high-school-kid-who-has-no-idea-what-she's-doing. Ah well. I'll just be determined and maybe hopefully in the near future some agent will look at my query or my submission or my whatever and be like I MUST HAVE THAT NOW. One can only hope.

Arthur Daniyarov

Arthur Daniyarov was born in 1989 in St. Petersburg, Russia, making him 21 or 22 years old. He became a model at the age of 19, signing with DNA Models in New York. Arthur has been in SO MUCH it's hard to know even where to begin. His debut was 2009 at the fall Prada show in Milan, and since then he also walked Alexander McQueen, Hugo Boss, Lanvin, Salvatore Ferragamo, and Jil Sander, to name a few. And speaking of Jil Sander, he also became the face of them in 2009, which you can see in that first picture I have. Honestly he has done so much I can't even begin to talk about it all. He does a lot of runway, I can tell you that. Recently, he was in Re-rare's Spring 2011 lookbook, if you're familiar with them at all. Sadly he is not on models.com's top models list, but that could easily change.