Wednesday, June 8, 2016

30 Chic Days – The Fourth Series: Day 1




To celebrate the release of my book Thirty Chic Days, I am starting a fourth go-round of Thirty Chic Days the series (you can see my first three starting here).

This time I am going to follow a simple format, logging my day.  The goals are:

Awareness of what I’m doing each day
Where I am placing my focus, and
Remembering what I want to achieve (versus one day blending into the next).

Here’s what I will be reporting on each day for the next thirty days:

What I ate
What I wore
How I moved my body
What I read
My focus for the day

I’m also inviting you along.  If you have a blog and think you’d enjoy doing your own Thirty Chic Days series, I’d love that.  Or, you might want to do a day here and a day there.  Either way, please link to your blog in the comments so we can come and see!

If you don’t have a blog, please feel free to join in in the comments; the more the merrier and we can encourage each other along.  If there is anything else you would like me to log, please let me know.  I’d love suggestions!

Starting with day one:

What I ate

Tea with milk first thing

Breakfast – fresh chopped apple, mandarin and pear with greek yoghurt (not low-fat, unsweetened), raw brazils, almonds and walnuts, a soy latte (homemade)

Lunch – Leftover homemade shepherd’s pie, sliced raw carrot on the side, coffee

Dinner – Curry made at home with diced chicken breast, onion, kumara (sweet potato), carrot and pumpkin with a gourmet sachet of Indian curry, a can of tomatoes and some chicken stock.  Served with basmati rice.  I made a huge batch so we have hot lunches for work too.  Decaf coffee and a store-bought (gluten-free) chocolate chip cookie.

Apart from tea and coffee, I drank water throughout the day.

What I wore

Navy linen/cotton Gap v-neck knit, distressed Diesel jeans, nude patent ballet flats and a chunky necklace.  I had my black short trench-style rain jacket and I wore that and changed into sneakers to catch the bus home.

How I moved

I went for an errand walk to drop off a bank envelope and buy some veges (don’t worry, it wasn’t heavy to carry – I bought *two mushrooms*) - about 40 minutes in total because I walked back the long way.  I also caught a different bus route home and walked the 5-10 minutes from the last stop.  A change of a bus route is as good as a holiday I thought (as the old saying almost goes).

What I read

I read a bit more of The Cozy Life – it’s so cosy!  I ordered myself the print copy because I loved the cover so much.  I know you still get a cover with Kindle but it’s not the same for a book like this.  The author talks about the Danish concept of hygge and how you can bring about a feeling of home to feel cozy. I don't know if it's because I'm an introvert, but the feeling of coziness is really important to me. It's not just a winter thing either, even in summer I can feel cozy and a sense of homeyness by having a delicious novel with me to dip into or my writing journal close by.

My focus for the day

I focused on ticking everything off on my to-do list for the day (five things) and I did it.  For too long I’ve been very good at writing things in my planner to do on certain days and then not even opening my planner that day.  It doesn’t help my productivity!  It felt good to tick everything off yesterday.

--

Thirty Chic Days – the book

Thank you to those of you who have made Thirty Chic Days such a success in its first week.  I’ve received lovely emails and messages from readers who are enjoying it.  I love receiving happy feedback!  Here are just a few of them:

I just bought a copy of your eBook and I'm reading it now while waiting for my husband to pick up a campervan for our weekend away. I'm parked on a grey side street feeling like I'm in a beautiful world. Love the read so far!! – Mel

I love this book! So warm and wise and practical at the same time. My husband is travelling this week, so it has been a lovely evening companion. I've highlighted the heck out of it! :) I know I will keep coming back to it for more ideas, and I will recommend it to my coaching clients too. Congratulations on a very well deserved no. 1 for your wonderful work! – Catherine

And some early reviews from Amazon:

Fiona Ferris has created a fun, motivational book for women on how to live a more joyful and chic life. Just by reading one or two chapters you will feel compelled to get up and start making changes and implementing her unique tips. Fans of her blog, How To Be Chic, will not be disappointed in this rich volume, full of chic words of wisdom. – Jenn

This is a charming book! Fiona comes across as your very chic best girlfriend and offers sound advice for the modern woman on how to make your everyday life more chic. The book can be read from start to finish, or you can pick and choose which chapter topics interest you the most and read one per day. I gained lots of new inspiration from her ideas and they made me think deeper on each subject as to why I might want to implement a change and most importantly, how to make it fun. Highly recommended! – Stephanie

If you aren’t already reading Thirty Chic Days, you can download the first three chapters for free by subscribing to my blog and I’ll email it to you straight away.

If you’d like to purchase, you can download the Kindle version instantly, order the print copy from Amazon, or, if you live outside of the US, you might want to order the print copy from the publisher CreateSpace as the shipping cost could be lower.



We'll see you tomorrow for day two!

24 comments:

  1. Oh Fiona, I'm yes-ing everything on your post today!
    My posts do contain some of what I do on some days, but never all, like movement and focus (which I struggle with!). I will attempt to broaden it to those subjects on those days but I fear it may sound a bit farcical - a bit Ms Jones's diary!
    I love Denmark, lived there and spookily have a post queued up on my love of Scandinavia which became so big I've split it up!
    And I'm off there in 11 days so yesterday I set up some serious lists of everything I MUST do, as usually my ticking-off is an open-ended process! So am impressed you ticked-off all yesterday!
    Apologies for long comment today, just found your post so spookily close to home. So, thanks for that. Kram (hugs).
    P.s your book is queued up to read on holiday!

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  2. Hello PP, we totally are in sync today! Haha, Bridget Jones Dairy, too funny. Wishing you a lovely holiday and I hope you enjoy the book :)

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  3. What fun! I'm looking forward to this series Fiona, it'll be just the ticket to keep us motivated through the shortest days. It was wonderful to see the book featured over on Jennifer's blog.

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  4. PS I just clicked on your book recommendation and helped myself to a Kindle copy. :) Thanks.

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  5. Excited! I love posts like this, I'm very happy to join in. I may need to start a blog myself just so I can keep up the momentum.

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  6. Hooray for a new series! I really appreciate the detail you are putting into this because just from this first day, I get to see how you incorporate movement into your day and it has given me ideas on how to do the same with what I have planned for today. I'm having lunch with a friend which is sort of near a store I also need to go to, I plan on parking once and walking the distance to the store and back, which includes crossing a street and a block or two. I would have just driven to the second destination before but realize it's giving me an opportunity to get a bit more movement in my day.

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  7. This looks like fun! I'm going to join you -- I've already been logging what I wear each day as part of the 333 regime I've started for the summer months (simplify wardrobe to 33 items for 3 months). Adding exercise and goals is a great enhancement.

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  8. Rose, yay, thank you! I know, I was so happy to see my book on Jennifer's blog. Is she Superwoman or what, posting only a few days after having her baby!

    Tracey, I'm so glad. I love reading posts like this too, but writing them I keep thinking to myself 'who will care?' You could totally start a blog, what fun! Please let me know if you do :)

    Stephanie, that's fantastic, great idea. I know how hot it is for you at the moment, but if you expect it to be hot then you can handle it. I'm quite lazy, so the thought of finding two carparks and moving the car is more onerous than just walking there! Walking seems more effortless, as strange as that sounds.

    Sisty, please join! I love Project 333, such fun.

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  9. Also, Rose, I'm sure you will love The Cozy Life, it's a darling book.

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  10. Hi Fiona,

    I love reading about your everyday life. Today's post has made me realise that I just don't move enough every single day. Going to Pump class twice a week doesn't cut it. I was trying to think about what I'd write down for yesterday's movements and realised it was a big fat ZERO. Not good. Thanks for helping me realise this.

    I look forward to your next thirty days. Just one small suggestion; as they say a picture is worth a thousand words, and a picture of what you're wearing each day would be lovely. No pressure.

    Love, Mara.

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  11. Hi Mara, good idea about the outfits, for a while I took a quick photo of what I wore every day and it was really useful in seeing what looked good and what didn't. Maybe I'm afraid of what the photo will say! I'll get into the habit again :)

    With your pump classes, you've got movement covered for those two days, now go through the other five days of the week and see what you can add in, whether you're at home or work. Write them in your planner if necessary! You won't have to do that forever, it will become habit over time.

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  12. I just read about your new book on a blog, and will check out the Kindle edition.
    Sounds like a fun read.
    I wouldn't dare post what I wear everyday. lol I wouldn't want to bore people, since it's often the same thing I wore the day before! lol.

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  13. Haha, Duchess, wait until the end of the thirty days, you'll be saying the same thing about me :) Welcome!

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  14. Oh, Fiona, thank you so much for this. The timing couldn't be more perfect if you'd decided to do this just for me alone -- I really need some gentle focus to get myself back on track. Have just ordered your book, too; can hardly wait for it to get here. And I saw you post something about Hygge on Facebook (I quit FB last year so can't reply to you there) & you said you felt a connection with the Danes even though your heritage is Scots/English, which made me laugh. If you had kin in Scotland, you've probably got Danish blood -- those Viking laddies got around! The red hair of the Scots & Irish is pure Dane/Norseman.

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  15. Susanne, you are most welcome! I like how you say 'gentle focus' - very nice. I'm glad I could still have some Danish heritage, although no-one in my family has red hair. I'll still take the possibility though :)

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  16. I really don't enjoy how your blog has become so commercialized now - all the books, reviews, links, advertisements, etc. It's lost that special spark of an inspiring and personal place to read. Unfortunate.

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  17. Hi, Fiona. I am in the midst of trying many new retirement activities but I will be following you for the 30 days. I have really worked at created a simplified wardrobe and it is making my early morning forays to University simple. We are using public transit to get to campus and I am feeling tired at the end of the day from my extra walking. Keeping my mind fresh and active is an important goal for my 30 days.

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  18. Hi Fiona! What a treat to have the post everyday plus the book to work my way through....if something doesn't ub off on me I'm hopeless! Carla.

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  19. Your book is wonderful...am halfway through the 30 days and will be right here with you on your blog...

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  20. Anonymous, I'm sorry you feel that way. Even though I link to the books I've read now, I have always mentioned books in my posts because I love reading. I know what you mean about blogs changing; one of my all-time favourites from years ago is now 100% sponsored posts. I never want to be like that and my posts are always my own thoughts, however I put a lot of time into my blog and now my book, so I don't see linking to be a bad thing. Some of my favourite blogs have advertisements and affiliate links and I say good for them.

    In addition, I changed the template of this blog a while back and that has changed the look and the feel of it. The old template was from when I started in 2010 and I was worried it wasn't up to date enough to view well on smartphones. I guess all these changes add up, c'est la vie. I appreciate your thoughts.

    Madame, you are so inspiring. When I walk through the city I pass by the University, and if it's first thing in the morning I go through the crowds of students - it's a nice buzzy atmosphere so I can only imagine the fun you are having.

    Carla, you are so funny ;) Enjoy the book!

    Hostess, thank you, that means a lot to me.

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  21. Fiona, I don't think your blog has become commercialised. It still has that lovely personal and inspiring vibe that it has always had. I love your blog, and look forward to every new post.

    Sincerely, Mara.

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  22. Hi Mara, thanks for your lovely words :)

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  23. Hi ! I've just read your blog for the first time after being referred by Jennifer L Scott (aka Daily Connoisseur). I adore her blog and books and am looking forward to enjoying your daily blog. I applaud your aim to focus. Others may know it as 'mindfulness'. I also try to live life with mindfulness - not always successfully but the important thing is to try.

    I liked the earlier request for a photo of your outfit. I'm a visual person and it would help me. Thanks :)

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  24. Hi Lara, welcome! 'The important thing is to try' - exactly. None of us is perfect, but by being mindful and focusing we can be better than we were.

    I'll be doing photos :)

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Merci for your comment. Wishing you a chic day!

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