Accentuate the positive

Champ de Mars, Paris

I have had a not-so-nice week filled with not-such-nice-things and have been feeling rather anxious and ready to get on with the next stage of my year, which just seems to be taking forever to get here.

So though this may be a little bit of a disjointed post, I thought I would tell you about some of the nicer things that have been happening of late. Focus on the positive and all that etc etc.

• Last week my very glamorous friend invited me to a very glamorous party - the launch of Cartier's Juste un Clou collection. I was delirious with excitement about being let out of the house on a school night and was wearing my highest high heels to celebrate the occasion. We had a lovely time sipping yummy champagne, looking at jewellery and people watching, thank you very much.

• Also on the party theme - I am desperately looking for a venue to have a few drinks with friends for my 30th. (Yes, it is approaching. I have tried to ignore it for a long time now, but I figured the best way to get through it would be to celebrate it. So here goes.)But is it ever difficult to find an unpretentious venue in Jo'burg. Any suggestions would be much appreciated...

• And lastly...we have finally booked our accommodation in Paris! We found a lovely apartment in St Germain using the brilliant airbnb website. Ok, maybe apartment is a stretch, it's a teeny tiny studio (I'm not even going to tell you the dimensions because you'll laugh!) but it's on the Boulevard St Germain ands was just renovated, and really, we aren't going to be hanging out in the apartment that much anyway. The idea is to wake up and go for long walks before the city is awake to find the best croissant on the left bank...
  Eeek, this is starting to feel really real now and very exciting!