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Hi, I'm Angi
Welcome to my corner of the internet! My passions include travel, photography, books, music, Japanese language and culture, Italian language and culture, and art.

Here at Abbott Lane you'll find my thoughts on these topics and much more. Thanks for stopping by to visit!

A Recipe for Happiness


Have you ever seen Alice in Paris? It's one of my favorite shows. It's a Paris travel show done through the eyes of a charming Amelie-like character named Alice, and even though I've seen all of the episodes (each one is only around 3 minutes long, so it's an easy afternoon binge, even with two seasons), I return to them time and time again for a jolt of warmth and lightness. Each episode follows Alice and her adventures - most of them involving food - through the City of Lights. The show is 100% charming and fun and sweet. Just the thing to watch when you need a perk up, and even when you don't.

In one of my favorite episodes Alice discovers an old journal with her Recipe for Happiness, a list of happy-making things she wanted to experience while living in Paris. It's a list she compiled as a child, when she was living in a small town in France and moving to Paris was only a dream. But over the years she'd held on to the notebook, checking off experience after experience in the city and along the way making her life richer. Of course, this being Alice in Paris, she realizes in the end that her Recipe for Happiness is all the better when she's able to share it with her friends.

It made me think about what I'd put in my recipe for happiness. I'm a creature of habit, and tend to do the same things over and over in the city. But life moves fast, and as the weather is starting to get warmer, I'm finding myself inspired by Alice's idea for creating a "recipe" to intentionally bring more joy, fun, and adventure to my life. No time limits on when to get them done, no minimum number of items, nothing that needs to fit neatly into a box or under a catchy "blog" name (like my previous 40 Under 40). Nope. Just life - intentional and with a spirit of adventure and curiosity.

Want to join me? What experiences would you include in your Recipe for Happiness?


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