1.  I can only recommend going gluten-free and dairy-free, even just in small doses and not all the time.  I don’t completely exclude gluten and dairy from my diet (I drink a buttload of milk in my coffee in the morning and eat whatever I want out at lunch at work) but making conscious choices to cut down have really helped my weight and my fatigue levels.

2. I may be permanently gainfully employed, it is still in the negotiation stage but signs are pointing to yes. No promises, lots of duas from y’all please, but this means I will be in Zurich for the foreseeable future and I like that even though I like my apartment in Lausanne very much and am having a decent amount of separation anxiety thinking about a long term sublet because I am not ready to get rid of it except financially. Other than my apartment there and the delicious Lausanne tap water, I don’t miss living in Lausanne AT ALL. If I do sublet the apartment I have to figure out how I can hang out there in the summer. I actually have issues about that apartment. I love it.

3.  My French class is quite strange, I am the only one who pleasure reads and reads the paper and watches the news in French. I didn’t think you could get to that level of language competence without having some interest on a daily level.   German class starts April 19th, I hope the teacher is more inspiring than the last one and that there isn’t a talking time hog like last time.

4. After having worn it pretty much since puberty, I have almost gone off of perfume.  There are two reasons for it- one, I find it a rather expensive habit and two, I am somewhat concerned about the chemicals involved because perfume is unnecessary whereas sunscreen and deodorant (and carmex) are chemicals but highly necessary to my lifestyle. I need to cut down on products somewhere so whatever isn’t important does need to go, IMO.  I don’t like just smelling like soap or whatever so I do spray my scarf in the mornings and I have a roll on with essential oils in my purse. It will save me several hundred francs a year because I didn’t buy the cheap stuff, I was all about the Serge Lutens.

5. Speaking of scarves I completely dejabbed almost three years ago but I am still in the “wear a scarf around your neck that could double as a hijab in an emergency” phase. I don’t think I will ever get out of that because the scarf also doubles as a sun shield.

6. I’ve actually cut back on my makeup routine. This also goes back to the whole money and chemicals thing. I’m not anti-chemicals, R&D exists for a reason, and  I don’t go completely organic or whatever, but I am trying to cut back on the number of products.  I stick to sunscreen (Boots or Vichy) and powder (always Laura Mercier) now, with some Benefit Ooh la Lift, Guerlain bronzer, Kanebo mascara and some lip gloss (either Chanel or Philosophy).  I like to think that because I have tested so many beauty products, I now am happy with my minimalism.  I couldn’t have gotten to this point without playing with a lot of makeup.  It also helps that my work environment is more casual (although I probably am guilty of taking casual too far, as I wear jeans most days) . I feel weird not wearing make up in a suit, but it feels ok if I am in jeans.

7. Skin care is simplified too, and can be summed up with “I use Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse as Night Cream.”  My day routine is as above.  I dab on some eye cream (random brands) if my skin is dry. Right now it is LRP but it could be something next month.

8. Why all the change? My finances over the past few months have made me take a long look at what I “really” need versus what I use or do out of habit.  Alhamdoulillah my bills are paid, but some changes to my cash flow really made me second guess some of my choices.  This was the bright side to having a tenuous employment situation for a few months.

9.  I was in London the other day working on the same street with a Space NK, Marks and Spencer and a Boots within spitting distance.  I went to M&S and felt nothing short of joy at being able to pick a bra off the rack and noticing that it wasn’t the only one in its size and didn’t cost 100 francs. In fact, it seemed like there was a shortage of bras in normal sizes.  Skinny people and people with small chests don’t get it: I can’t just walk into a store and try something on and buy it. Usually my size isn’t there or it is prohibitively expensive in Switzerland.  I’m not even the biggest size at M&S.

10. I need a new cover picture for my blog.  I would like it to be a pic of Uetliberg from Birmensdorf or Stallikon but can’t find any rights-free ones and can’t seem to take one in good weather. If you have any I’m all for it.

So that is it on my front for the Easter weekend roundup. Hope all of y’all are well!