Christmas begins, and my chic and slim tricks

My book 'A Chic and Simple Christmas', pictured on our dining table :)

 

Greetings chic friends!

 

Last weekend I put up my simple Christmas decorations. I went for a classic combo of red and gold, with a wool-effect tartan ribbon on the tree.

Our living room is a dark, moody space, ideal for daytime lights on the tree. I’ve decided it is the perfect Christmas grotto!

 

Fun movie on Netflix

 

And this week I listened to a cute Christmas audiobook called 'Christmas at the Little Paris Hotel' on Spotify (here on Amazon and it looks to be US$1.10 on Kindle at the moment), and have been watching Christmas movies too like the one above.

I loved it! It made me want to read more classic literature :)

Why not take the time to get into the festive spirit with your favourite things, I’ve decided 😊

Other years I’ve started early, but it feels nice to start on the first of December this year. I like to switch things up for myself.

How about you? Are you doing Christmassy things? Please tell me your favourite books and movies too 🎄

 

‘A Chic and Simple Christmas’ is available on Kindle, in paperback, and on Audible here Amazon  (the audiobook is 99c with a free trial of Audible).

Plus you can listen to it free on Spotify if you have Spotify Premium.

 

 

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Coffee and cake out with my aunty and mum on a sunny summery day 😊

 

 

A long time ago, in my bid for healthy lifestyle habits, I decided to 'always choose small' when it came to buying drinks out.

The slightly bigger size is always better value, and 'good value' is one of my values (😂) But then I made it just what I do, so I always buy size small (as with my coffee here).

I also have a chic rule for myself, and that is to eat half of whatever treat I'm having. I am not denying myself completely - and I don't eat cake every day - but whenever I do have cake or a sweet treat out with coffee, I cut it in half first.

It's actually really easy to do because I've decided to already, plus when I cut it in half before starting to eat, there is no edging over until it's all gone 🤣

I ask for a small bag or takeaway box, and one very happy husband has the other half with his after-dinner coffee that night.

In the photo above is a delicious gluten-free carrot cake at Cafe on Tennyson in Napier. It's so nice I can't try anything else when I go there. I have to have the carrot cake! The cream cheese icing is yum too.

 

 

Day 27. 'Use the 'le half' technique' in my book 'Thirty Slim Days' details both of these chic habits in more detail.

 

And, 'Thirty Slim Days' is on special for US$3.99 instead of US$9.99 on Kindle at the moment (only for one week more though!) The paperback is reduced too, as part of my big once-a-year book sale. It's US$13.99 down from US$20.99.

For an Amazon alternative the eBook is 50% off in my eStore here.
Just use the code HALFPRICEHAPPINESS

 

 Please let me know your favourite tips when it comes to leading a healthy balanced lifestyle without feeling deprived. I always love little tricks, or in French ‘trucs’ as Anne Barone in her wonderful ‘Chic and Slim’ books calls them.

 

xx Fiona

 

PS.My Amazon links are affiliate, which means I may earn a small commission if you use them to shop with Amazon, but the price doesn't change for you. Thank you if you choose to use any of my Amazon links :)

My latest read, lunch at home, and cultivating star quality

 

Hello chic friends!

 

We had a short week this week with last weekend being a long one. Monday was a public holiday, yay!

We spent the weekend keeping low-key and relaxing and it was wonderful. On Sunday night Paul and I rewatched the movie Notting Hill for the millionth time and it was so good. I don't know if I watched it more 'properly' this time, but there were bits in it I hadn't seen before!

I find it so soothing to re-watch favourite movies, and re-read favourite books. It's all about the feeling I get from them, and Notting Hill is extra comforting. And the soundtrack is great too. I used to have the CD and almost wore it out. Now of course anything is available on Spotify.

Crazily, I could not find Notting Hill on any of our streaming services (and we subscribe to most of them), so luckily I could dig out our trusty DVD copy.

What is your favourite comfort movie? Lots of mine come from the 1990s; it really was the golden era of romantic comedies. Or maybe it's because I was in my twenties in the nineties. One of the two :)

 

 

 

The side table next to me always makes me smile! It has all the essentials for a happy time (for a homebody introvert at least :) - a good book, pretty scented candle, hand cream and lip balm, a cheery winter cyclamen, and a hot drink to sip.

I just finished Nicky Pellegrino's latest book and it was lovely. She writes with such detail and the words she chooses are lovely. Would recommend! (here on Amazon)

And of course I had to slip a few of my own books into the photo because, why not? 😅

 

 

They have ratings on Amazon of 4.7 and 4.8 out of 5 respectively. Thank you, I appreciate it so much!

 

 

 

 

Throwback to our little hotel mini-break in Auckland. I got used to having staff in only a few short days! Life can be so cruel when I have to make my own food and pour my own drink :)

 

First world problems I know!

 

Below is a homemade lunch in my office yesterday. Not as fancy as a five-star hotel but it was yummy, healthy, and far, far cheaper :)

 

 

 

 

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This is our cleaned up paddock - the silt from the flood has all been cleared away and now it looks like a driveway.

But grass seed has been planted and within a few weeks it will be green again.

 

 

Can you spot three doggies in this photo? They love their paddock walks.

 

And even though it's been beautiful autumn weather in recent weeks, today is very wet and wintry.

When it’s cold and rainy outside and all you want to do is curl up on the sofa with the fire going!
((((( Little Chloe dog )))))

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One of my favourite chapters to write in Thirty More Chic Days was Day 25. ‘Cultivate your own star quality’.

The message is to own your uniqueness and ‘enrich your life by elevating your existence to that of the highest calibre’. (How juicy does that sound!)

You don’t have to change anything about yourself; you simply have to allow yourself to shine. No one can bestow confidence on you - you have to claim it for yourself. If you believe it, you’ve got it, it’s as simple as that.

 

Imagine doing everything from a complete state of confidence that it would turn out well. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

I have always loved the saying ‘a rising tide lifts all boats’, which I take to mean that anything we do to improve ourselves or our surroundings will inevitably spill over and increase the standards of many other areas in our lives too. You can feel encouraged to do even one small thing, knowing that it is for your ultimate betterment.

Just a little pep talk and chapter share for you today if you need it.

If you’ve read this book, please let me know your favourite chapter!

 

xx Fiona

 

 

Not so perfect

I love to write about living a chic and beautiful life and it’s true, that’s what motivates me; however, my life is far from perfect.  I’ve already written about this once before – ‘My normal and imperfect chic life’, where I gave up all my deep, dark secrets (hehe), however I think it needs revisiting.

Every day I see gorgeous images on my Instagram feed – one I saw recently showed the simplest white laundry with two bottles of designer cleaning product.  I wish my laundry looked like that!  Instead I have a 1990s-tastic (and not designer 1990s-tastic) very basic laundry, where the latch on the laundry tub cupboard doesn’t quite hook so the door is always open a little bit.  But guess what, I’ve never owned a house with a laundry before, so whenever I remember ‘I have a separate laundry!’, it doesn’t matter that it’s the size of a toilet room and has scuffed lino; I love it.

I do enjoy being inspired by others photos, but I don’t let them burst my bubble.  I remember how grateful I am to have my own home.

Whenever I put photos on Instagram, or Facebook or my blog, of course I don’t show you the clumps of cat fur on the carpet or my teetering stack of library books.  Of course I don’t show you the dishes in the sink before I wash them or my messy pantry before I straighten it up.  Although I am showing you Jessica-cat breaking into the dvd cabinet in the photo above, cat toys scattered for miles while I'm watching series two of Cedar Cove with lunch.

In fact, following very organised people on Instagram who love to show their colour-coded closets and basket system pantry gives me a kick in the pants to do something with my own closet or pantry.  It doesn’t involve spending money, because even though it won’t be as perfect as that Instagram photo, it still looks a million times better than it did.

I definitely think there is a relaxed place to reside in between Slothville and Perfectown.  It’s about making the most of your own home and being inspired by others without going nuts with envy.

I watched (again) a few weeks ago The Joneses, a movie starring David Duchovny and Demi Moore.  It is such an eye-opening story of how far marketers will go to sell their products.  When it ended, I was reminded how glad I am to live a low-cost, low-stress lifestyle where I can sleep at night because I am financially sound.

I understand that people can get into money troubles through no fault of their own, however many problems stem from over-consumption of consumer goods, and living a glittering, brand-new lifestyle, as shown in The Joneses.  If you like to shop for fun and want to stop but don’t know how, I think a viewing of The Joneses could do the trick for you.

The thing with viewing others social media, is that you can’t see into their bank accounts.  Of course there are people you already know are extremely wealthy, such as Aerin Lauder, when I drool over the photos of her beautiful homes online (she has a personal net worth of $1.64 billion - cough - according to Forbes), but when we see normal, ordinary non-famous people and their gorgeous photos, how much are they spending?  Are they spending everything they have and more to project that perfect image?

Living within your means gets such a bad rap, and I want to make it sexy again.  I’m all about thinking abundantly and being prosperous, and I do think the Universe gives you what you ask for and expect; however, I don’t believe spending beyond your means is a good way to go about things.  Although I do love the Oscar Wilde quote ‘Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination’.

While we’re on the subject of personal finance, I’d like to thank Janelle of the wonderful blog Distant Francophile for giving me a mention about my new book Financially Chic.  I am thrilled with the response this book has received and it vindicates my belief that we have to make learning how to manage money well a fun and desirable thing to do.  Who wouldn’t want to be a financially savvy and chic woman?

What about you – is your life ‘perfect’?  Do you sometimes feel ‘less than’ when you view others curated lifestyle images?  And if you are game for some fun, please tell us an imperfect secret about your life that will give us a chuckle.  In the post I referenced above (‘My normal and imperfect chic life’), the comments section is so good that I sometimes visit it when I’m feeling flat and need lightening up.  It’s guaranteed to raise at least a little smile by the time you’ve finished with everyone’s comments.  Mostly I finish with that post and all the comments, with tears of laughter in my eyes.

Wishing you a lovely day!
Fiona

PS.  My favourite money mentor Denise Duffield-Thomas has the best and most fun take on money.  Her book Get Rich, Lucky Bitch educates on how to release your money blocks as well as being extremely silly and laugh-out-loud funny.

And she has some fantastic free resources too (my favourites are below).  I’ve followed Denise for a year or two now and she has a great way of teaching important concepts around worthiness and deservedness when it comes to money and success.

Denise's freebies: 
Lessons from becoming a self-made millionaire
How to track your income to create more abundance
Free manifesting course

PPS.  My Financially Chic tips 10-day video series is now up on YouTube in its entirety.  You can view them here.

The 'Amelie' Technique

Image from Polyvore

One of my favourite books in the French Chic genre is Anne Barone’s Chic & Slim Techniques.  In this book Anne lists ten techniques to assist you in being chic and slim a la Francaise.  I dip into this delicious and petite volume from time to time and pick one technique to read and let soak into my consciousness.

It was from this book that I was inspired to think about my own chic techniques, so, may I present to you my first one:

The Amelie Technique

Most likely you are familiar with the sweet and whimsical movie Amelie, starring Audrey Tautou.  Can you believe it came out in 2001 – fifteen years ago?  Amelie is a very shy waitress at a charming café in Montmartre and seems to spend her spare time getting involved in other peoples lives.  She helps a blind man across the street, describing the sights around him for his benefit; she finds the owner of a tin full of memontos that she comes across by chance hidden in the wall of her bathroom; and she looks for the owner of torn-up photo-booth photos that are scattered around train stations.

The movie itself takes you on a tour around the Montmartre area of Paris, and watching it really fills up my heart with Parisian yumminess.  It’s just the tonic on an everyday day.  So just what inspiration could we take from this movie to create the Amelie Technique, which promises to enhance our daily routine with a little French pixie-dust?

Here are a few baguette crumbs that come to mind…

Simple pleasures.  Amelie sinking her hand into a sack of white beans at the greengrocers.  Cracking an egg with care and ease.  Sitting down to a perfectly prepared meal of pasta and tomato sauce topped with freshly shaved Parmesan.  Enjoying the area where she lives, by exploring on foot.  Living in a home that contains just the items she needs and plenty of free space even though her apartment is small.  Embracing analogue (as evidenced by Amelie’s dial telephone and old school alarm clock).

Amelie certainly is the princesse of simple pleasures.

What about our life though?  What simple pleasures can we think of that we can either do more of, or, simply notice when we do them rather than have them pass us by on auto-pilot?  For me it’s climbing into bed at night and relaxing my thoughts, picking up a big bag of library books for the weekend, or pottering around organising my wardrobe…

Routines and rituals.  Sure, Amelie was a little neurotic, but I adored the way she had her routines and rituals and was quite precise and methodical in how she spent her days.  From winding up her alarm clock up at night to shopping for dinner ingredients on the way home, to keeping an orderly and sparsely furnished home; you could tell she lived a simple and uncomplicated life.

We can cultivate and enjoy routines and rituals in our own life too.  Some that come to mind that I love to do are reading with my feet up for half an hour before dinner, having a face-mask and read in our bedroom before bed and my hot tea early in the morning.  Routines and rituals help me feel like everything is under control and life is on an even keel.

Joy and whimsy.  Taking inspiration from Amelie, why not keep our enthusiasm fresh and new, and approach life in a joyous and whimsical way.  We can retain our youth forever if we want to, by having a childlike enthusiasm for everything that we do.  Age truly is a state of mind.

Just like a young child, Amelie plays cheeky tricks on a mean man and then hides and watches.  She takes it upon herself to find out the identity of the mysterious person in the torn-up photos.  Amelie is almost like a kitten or puppy playing with its own shadow, in that she creates her an adventure where others might see none.

I believe it is possible to be this way, and at the same time be a responsible and reliable grown-up.  You can take life seriously whilst simultaneously not taking life too seriously.  For me, I have systems set up such as automated bill payments and set days to do certain tasks etc; this gives me the freedom to be spontaneous because I don’t have to think of those things at other times.  Having a streamlined life and decluttered home helps with this too - your mind feels more free when you have less to look after.

Personal style.  Amelie’s wardrobe in the movie is very stylised and appealing.  She looks quintessentially French with her black bob and red lipstick.  She wears cute little dresses and cardigans in a simple colour palette of red, green and black.  This is carried through to her home which is decorated in similar shades and (quite traditional furnishings).

We can apply this to our own personal style by viewing ourselves from the outside as others do.  What does the way we present ourselves say about us?  Does it say what we’d like it to say?  If you were going to have a movie about you, called (in my case) Fiona, would you want to watch it or would it be a boring story with a boringly-dressed main character?  It would be fun to create the capsule wardrobe for your own movie.  You’d want the wardrobe to capture your sparkling essence, naturellement.

And my home?  Can I view this as an outsider might, to see if there are cluttery areas I’m turning a blind eye to?  What do I want my home to say about me and can I be more intentional in portraying who I want to be?

I heard a great piece of advice in a personal development seminar I listened to a while back.  The speaker basically said to the audience that when they went back home they would need to change their environment, because going back into the same enrivonment would draw them back into how they were, and drag them back into their past stories.  The speaker referenced changes such as getting rid of pictures or clothes, for example, that brought back unhappy memories or made you feel bad about yourself.

I think that’s why having a big decluttering and/or organising bonanza feels so amazing because the process does literally change how you feel and act, from the inside out.  You can’t help but change and go in the direction that your environment dictates.

It’s fun to take inspiration from a movie or book and make changes based on that – you could take literal inspiration (such as when I made my own clothes inspired by Molly Ringwald in Pretty in Pink when that movie came out in the 80s) or simply be inspired to have more of your own point of view when it comes to a look (like watching Amelie does for me).

What did you get from the Amelie movie?  Can you think of any additions to the Amelie technique?  I'd love to hear.

Day 9: Reader Q&A - Dana

Dana asked:

I have many questions (hope you don't mind!)

1. favorite movie?

2. favorite book?

3. favorite perfume?

4. favorite memory?

5. favorite food?

6. favorite flower?

7. favorite thing to do on a lazy day?

8. favorite song?

Hi Dana, of course I don’t mind.  I only hope my answers are good enough for you because it’s hard for me to choose a favourite anything – there are just too many good choices.  Okay, let’s get cracking.

Favourite movie.  I like many different types of movie genres, so to choose one is très difficult.  We watched To Catch A Thief with Grace Kelly and Cary Grant a few months ago and it was SO good.  However I also love really silly movies like Dumb and Dumber and Legally Blonde.  Australian movie Red Dog is wonderful.  Then there’s the fashion movie genre for such gems as The Devil Wears Prada.  And not to forget French subtitle movies which always make me feel very intelligent, worldly and stylish when I watch them.  There are light-hearted French movies too, such as anything Audrey Tautou is in.  Movies I won’t watch are ones that are depressing, worthy with no other qualities, scary or blow-em-up.  I like to laugh or be inspired (bonus if both at once), that’s my criteria for a top movie.

Favourite book.  Again, there are so many different types of books to choose from.  Off the top of my head for different reasons are No More Hangovers which changed my life, Jemima J, the Shopaholic series, Anne Barone’s Chic & Slim, Chic & Slim Encore plus Techniques No. 1, authors Jackie Collins, Joanna Trollope, Kristi Belcamino, Jennifer L. Scott.  My list is so long, I think I will have to do a blog page dedicated to books.

Favourite perfume.  Going with the theme here, I don’t have one favourite – I love too many.  I love pricey perfumes such as Chanel Coco Noir, and at the other end of the price scale I also love Jovan White Musk.  I suppose I do prefer fragrances with light musk, vanilla, woody, floral, maybe fruity/aquatic for a change once in a while.  It’s probably easier to say what I don’t like – anything very herbaceous and strong, clove, licorice or cinnamon in perfumes.  I love reading up on Fragrantica.  I’ve learnt so much from this website and also found new perfumes to try.  I’ve bought a few Avon ones from my Avon lady – I’m wearing Night Magic today and it’s so lovely and soft.

Favourite memory.  Having fun with my family when I was little, no specific memory, just being together and joshing about with each other.  There is also one specific time from when my first niece was born eight years ago.  My sister was at home with her and I visited during a weekday, my brother turned up at the same time and we had the best afternoon.  It was cold outside and cosy inside and it was a day when the energy just clicked and we all enjoyed each other’s company in a silly way.  We can all revert to childhood immaturity very quickly, which I love.

Favourite food.  It doesn’t have a chic ring to it, but I’m going to say potato.  I love hot chips/French fries, potato chips, baked potato, little new boiled ones with butter, mashed potato and roast potato.  I know they’re from the nightshade family which is supposed to be poisonous but I still love potatoes.

Favourite flower.  Big pale pink trumpet lilies for the beautiful scent that reminds me of Christmas (they are called Christmas lilies here because they bloom in December).  If I was Tamara Ecclestone I’d have them delivered every week for my vestibule table (I’d also have a vestibule and a vestibule table if I was Tamara Ecclestone).  I would have to have a little Danger tape around them to protect the cats, thanks to Anonymous’ comment on a previous post.  I love spring flowers such as daffodils, jonquil, early cheer and grape hyacinth, and highly scented roses.

Favourite thing to do on a lazy day.  Be at home with the fire going, books to read, knitting to do and a laptop to write on.  The fairies would have cleaned my house so I could just enjoy it without having to do any housework too.  Blissful!

Favourite song.  I love ‘Dream a little dream’ and have almost learnt all the lyrics so I can sing it to myself.  Also, ‘Lullaby in Birdland’, same thing with learning the lyrics.  Only to myself though.

Thanks for a fun question Dana!