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So I think the general lack of sound sleep I’ve been getting these past few days (ok fine, this past week+) finally caught up with me: I slept until 10 this morning.

It might not sound too crazy, but considering I went to bed at around 11:30ish, it definitely far surpasses the amount of sleep I usually get.

And plus, I figured that since my birthday is tomorrow, why not get an early start on the whole ‘treating/pampering myself’ thing with a late, alarm-less morning? Thankfully, I didn’t have anywhere to be until 1, so the good vibes continued with a quick morning workout (because endorphins are always good) and small breakfast before I headed out for my lunch meeting with my former grad advisor when I was at Reid Hall back in 2012/2013.

I don’t know if I could ever put in words how amazing this woman is at what she does, nor how great it is that we have kept in touch even after I finished the program. Crossed schedules kept pushing this meeting back for a while, but better mid-November than never. Lunch was at an Asian-fusion place near Reid Hall, and over abundant bowls of stir-fry we caught up on one another’s lives/projects, and reminisced a bit about that year in the program (honestly, I still never get tired of the fact that, almost every time we meet, she recounts how surprised she was when, on the first day of orientation, I, this petite girl with big brown eyes, said matter of factly that I study sadism and masochism. I think it must be this false layer of ‘innocence’ I put on haha).

After lunch ended, I decided to stay out and walk around a bit before heading over to my theatre class at the high school, so the ‘treating myself’ trend continued. First was a stop at Pierre Hermé for a couple of macarons:

I know what you’re thinking, but no that’s not sesame. That’s actually a black lemon macaron on the left. On the right is date+earl grey

And here’s the view I had while eating them:

Saint Sulpice

Then it was off to La Grande Épicerie to pick up my birthday gift to myself (more on that tomorrow), as well as balk at the fact that they charge 8.90eu for a can of pumpkin purée (for the record, Thanksgiving, an American épicerie near Saint-Paul, sells the exact same can for 3.90eu). Oh, and to marvel at the still inexplicable to me wall of too-expensive waters:

Though I will admit, the effect of the light shining through them is pretty awesome

I know I said I’m treating myself a bit this week, but even that has its limits.