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A Chic Paris Lockdown – Day 24 – Bloom in Place
May 13, 2020 “How To Love Where You Live” is Day 24 in Fiona Ferris’s 30 More Chic Days. Fiona discusses how we can make the most of our present location even if it not our “forever” place. She advises us to take our “dream” location and really analyze what is it that resonates with us. If we can describe both the particular attributes and the emotions that the “dream” location evokes in us, it may be possible to incorporate some of the list items in our present experience. This chapter has some good ideas. Even if we are feeling “stuck” in a geographic location that feels as inhospitable and…
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A Chic Paris Lockdown – Day 23 – Those “Grey” Days
May 12, 2020 “Know How To Lift Your Mood” is Day 23 in Fiona Ferris’s book, 30 More Chic Days. Fiona discusses how to approach those “grey” times in our lives when we don’t feel dreadful, don’t feel good, just feel sort-of “blah.” We’re not struggling to survive WW2 and we’re not feeling that “singing in the rain” buoyant joyfulness. We’re not battling clinical depression (that’s something much more serious) yet the day seems to be just dreary. Everything seems like a bit too much effort and who really cares, anyway? When our friends ask us where our positive spin on the world has gone, we are more likely to…
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A Chic French Lockdown – Day 22 – Schedule “Chic” Day
May 11, 2020 In 30 More Chic Days by Fiona Ferris, Day 22 is “French Friday.” The idea behind the term “French Friday,” according to Fiona, is that there was a set-aside day specifically to try a new idea to incorporate something small and “French” into her week. It was nice to have a day on the calendar when she would intentionally try a new chic idea or bring back an old idea that had inexplicably fallen by the wayside. Fiona writes that she might upgrade one aspect of self-care, put on her favorite “Paris Cafe” playlist while she was preparing dinner the kitchen or maybe she might plan to…
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A Chic Paris Lockdown – Day 21 – What is in a Name?
May 10, 2020 “Reframe Everything to be Beautiful, Magical and Luxurious” is the title to Day 21 in Fiona Ferris’s book, 30 More Chic Days. Fiona writes that what she names something is a powerful method to either draw her closer to the thing or push her away from it. She gives the example of a supplement of organic flaxseed oil combined with safflower oil. The name was Beauty Oil – she asks “who wouldn’t be drawn to it?” If the name was Health Oil that would be pretty attractive. We all want to be healthy. But the name Beauty Oil, Fiona writes, was a more powerful draw. The concept…
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A Chic Paris Lockdown – Day 20 – Planning for Calm & Success
May 9, 2020 Day 20 is titled “Have A Daily Success Plan” in 30 More Chic Days by Fiona Ferris. When Fiona transitioned to a full-time-at-home-writer life, she found that her time management skills needed an update to suit her new environment. In her previous work environment, the structure of having a business location and regular business hours provided by default a structure to her overall life. Without the scaffolding of those out-of-home required hours, she found that she could all too easily drift from task to task and day to day without achieving what she wanted to achieve. The construct of a simple to-do list didn’t meet her needs.…
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A Chic Paris Lockdown – Day 19 – Just Do It.
May 8, 2020 Fiona Ferris calls Day 19 “Don’t Talk, Just Do” in her book, 30 More Chic Days. She writes that when she talks about a new idea or a project she’s excited about, the energy to actually implement the idea seems to slip away in the sea of words. Likewise, there are some projects that she’s been talking about forever, yet there never seems to be the time to do it. Fiona advises us to keep the big idea or life change a silent project. Using the words of the Nike advertisement, she encourages us to “Just Do it.” So, in the spirit of this Day: Whatever we’re…
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A Chic Paris Lockdown – Day 18 – Integration In The Third Act
May 7, 2020 Day 18 is “Embrace Your Inner Bombshell” in Fiona Ferris’s book, 30 More Chic Days. Fiona writes about discovering a part of herself that she had hidden away – the Bombshell. She had been uncomfortable with her “bombshell” traits such as loving tacky television shows, being opinionated, preferring girly-girl surroundings and talking too much when excited about a topic. These felt “too much of a muchness” to her, especially considering that she also loved all topics about French chic, neutral colors and classical music. These genuine but differing tastes couldn’t go together, could they? Happily for Fiona, she found a word to describe her secret self…
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A Chic Paris Lockdown – Day 17 – Chic Being
May 6, 2020 Day 17 is “Create Your Own Chic Manifesto” in Fiona Ferris’s book, 30 More Chic Days. Fiona developed what she calls her Top 10 Timeless Principles that are her guiding principles on being chic. An example is “Chic Principle 4: I am kind.” She drew inspiration from thinking of those things that made her feel hopeful and empowered. They also help her remember that she is responsible for and able to direct her own chic destiny. One benefit of going through the thought exercise is that it allowed her to articulate what she valued. She now has her own authentic “chic” compass. She encourages us to write…
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A Chic Paris Lockdown – Day 16 – Choose Happy
May 5, 2020 In 30 More Chic Days, Fiona Ferris titles Day 16 “Be the Happiest Person You Know.” She encourages us to consciously adopt a positive, optimistic outlook on life. This “Day” is all about what is going on inside our heads. This has nothing to do with winning the lottery or discovering the cure for cancer. It’s all about how we want to feel deep down inside, right here and now. Fiona writes that given a choice between being around someone who is smiling and happy to share a new interest with you or being around someone who is all “gloom and doom”, “the world is going to…
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A Chic Paris Lockdown – Day 15 – Dining With Style
May 4, 2020 Fiona Ferris calls Day 15 “Elevate Your Dining Experience” in her book, 30 More Chic Days. Her idea is that we are chic and elegant individuals and we can enjoy an attractive and elegant dining experience. Her suggestion is to use cloth napkins. She claims that they are low maintenance, friendlier to the environment than paper napkins and look much nicer. We will both enjoy by our lovelier, more refined table and be inspired to be a bit lovelier and more refined with our eating choices and table manners. I wasn’t quite sold on the claim that the cloth napkins would be low maintenance with my two…