I love to feel feminine, and am always creating my own
inspiration. I find that introducing
little pockets of femininity into my day helps everything run smoother. I feel more ladylike and life is enjoyable –
even when I’m doing mundane tasks.
The fourth post in this series is on using the sense of hearing
to be more feminine.
Classical music
The right kind of classical music instantly elevates the
frequency of an environment to me. I
used to think it was boring and old-fashioned when I was younger, and now,
thankfully, I have grown into appreciating it.
I love that our favourite five-star hotel plays elegant sounding violin
concertos and sometimes has a live harpist playing.
At home I have a playlist with lots of classical pieces
which I have gradually curated to include only those that I love. If anything is too clangy, strident or
cannon-y, I delete it. As a result I now
listen to a mix of soothing strings and calming adagios. Listen to the one below on YouTube, it’s glorious. I feel instantly more elegant and refined
when I have music like this playing (but I still love many other genres too!)
Having a lovely voice
In my book Thirty Chic Days, I mention that I strive to keep
my voice pleasant. I have horrors of
turning into a shrewish, screeching fishwife; so to avoid this I try to
remember to walk into a room to talk to someone rather than yell for them, and
endeavour to speak as much as necessary and not dominate the conversation. I don’t always manage it, but at least I try,
right?
Instead of fishwife, I’m going to aim for Lady Mary Crawley.
And another thing: do you ever leave somewhere thinking ‘I
couldn’t stop talking; whatever must they think of me?’ I do!
Or rather, I did. I think (I hope)
I am better at this now – the two-conversation thing where you ask questions of
others and actually listen to what they say.
The two ears, one mouth thing is so on point, as always.
Do you enjoy classical music? Is it boring or elegant to you? What about your voice… fishwife? Or Lady Mary?
Your secret is safe with me.
fiona
PS. It’s not too late to get some inspiration and enthusiasm
for Christmas with my book A Chic and Simple Christmas, available from Amazon
in print and on Kindle. Inspire
yourself! Here is what readers have to
say:
‘I just read every
word of this beautiful book and it felt like a loving friend was holding my
hand and saying it's okay that Christmas stresses you out, it's okay if you
don't love everything about Christmas. It was such a relief to read this book.
I'm glad I gave myself permission to disappear from family for a bit and relax
and read it.’
‘Fiona is like your
best friend that you have over for coffee and a little chat. Her books are so
inspiring and down to earth. She is definately a breath of fresh air in that
she is direct, honest, and delightful in her writings. Christmas time has
always been such an exciting time of year for me but I cannot say that it was
ever a Chic or Simple Christmas, by the time the Christmas Celebration arrived
, I was frazzled and unfortunately what I spread to family and friends was very
short of any holiday cheer. I sat down with a cup of coffee and my warm knitted
slippers and read this wonderful book which presented such a simplistic
approach to the holiday season that keeps the season what it truly should be:
Chic and Simple. With Fiona's suggestions and a great deal of holiday cheer, I
am confident that this year will be a very Chic and Simple Christmas as I
celebrate this season with grace and ease. Thank you Fiona for another great
book!!’
