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A Chic Paris Lockdown – Part 2: Day 20 – What Do We Talk About?
November 22, 2020 Fiona Ferris titled Day 20 “Be a bright spark” in her book, 30 Chic Days At Home. She makes a concentrated effort to focus on the positive in her day. She wants to bring cheer to herself and to the people around her. It seems natural that we would want to feel cheerful as a matter of course. It’s simply more fun to be around cheerful people than gloomy people. (And we have to be around ourselves 24-7.) Yet, have you ever been around someone who seems to positively delight in gloom and doom? That person who rushes to tell you all about the most recent shocking…
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A Chic Paris Lockdown – Part 2: Day 19 – Laugh Out Loud
November 21, 2020 “Find your favorite comedy” is Day 19 in 30 Chic Days At Home by Fiona Ferris. Fiona writes that she enjoyed watching light-hearted comedies and humorous YouTube shows during the last lockdown. They brought a chuckle to her day. I was feeling a bit morose this morning when I woke up. A slight scowl felt more comfortable than a smile. Happily, I had a walking meet-up with some girlfriends (all social distancing rules followed!) Even though I could only walk with them for about 15 minutes, the beautiful weather, crisp air and fun companionship completely lifted my mood. I haven’t watched any movies or shows since we…
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A Chic Paris Lockdown – Part 2: Day 18 – What Interesting Things Are We Learning This Lockdown?
November 20, 2020 Day 18 is called “Learn something” in Fiona Ferris’s book, 30 Chic Days At Home. She writes about the fun she had with her “learning projects” while her home nation of New Zealand was in its CoVid-19 lockdown, Spring, 2020. She focused on, among others, retaking/rereading on-line courses that she has purchased in the past and trying more difficult sewing patterns. She encourages us to find a project that has always interested us and take advantage of this enforced “free” time to dive in. I am definitely following Fiona’s advice right now! France is in their second national lockdown so I can’t go traipsing about exploring Paris…
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A Chic Paris Lockdown – Part 2: Day 17 – What’s On The Life List?
November 19, 2020 In 30 Chic Days At Home by Fiona Ferris, Day (Chapter) 17 is “Set your goals.” In this “day,” Fiona describes her lists of things that she wants to do. There are three goal lists; “Now,” “Next,” and “Future.” The Now list has the items that she wants to achieve in the present. The Next list is comprised of those things that she wants to get started on once she finishes the items on the Now list. The Future list is for big, exciting, pie-in-the-sky type things that inspire her to plan and work on achieving big, long-term things. This is another one of Fiona’s ideas that’s…
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A Chic Paris Lockdown – Part 2: Day 16 – The Special Occasion is Now
November 18, 2020 Fiona Ferris urges us to use our “specials” – our nice things – right now in Day 16 of her book, 30 Chic Days At Home. All of us are living through frightening and uncertain times right now. Fiona has brought out her special treasures to add beauty and a comforting sparkle to her day. She’s doing things like using her nicer china for her morning tea, burning the lovely candle that was a recent gift, and spritzing on her favorite “special occasion” perfume even though she’ll be at home all day. She writes that pulling out a few of her nicest things adds a bubble of…
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A Chic Paris Lockdown – Part 2: Day 15 – Lessons Learned
November 17, 2020 Day 15 in Fiona Ferris’s book, 30 Chic Days at Home, is called “What will you change after this time?” Fiona is talking about the national lockdowns of Winter/Spring 2020 in response to the CoVid-19 pandemic. She writes that, during her home nation, New Zealand’s, lockdown, she felt a renewed excitement at writing. She points out that, while we all experienced big forced changes this year, maybe we have learned something good from those changes. Perhaps we can move forward into the future choosing our own changes based on what we learned. This is a deeper question than I am actually prepared to address. I can list…
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A Chic Paris Lockdown – Part 2: Day 14 – Rest & Recuperation
November 16, 2020 “Rest when you need to,” Fiona Ferris writes as the title for Day 14 in her book, 30 Chic Days At Home. She encourages us to listen to what our bodies may be telling us and take a breather when we are feeling tired. Driving ourselves to exhaustion with never-ending to-do lists and skimping on sleep drains the joy out of our lives. Fiona offers the idea of taking maybe a 20-30 minute break in the afternoon/early evening – enjoy a cup of tea or look at a magazine. Another suggestion is to create a lovely, bedtime ritual that gently moves us to bed a lttle earlier…
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A Chic Paris Lockdown – Part 2: Day 13 – Double-Down on Happy
November 15, 2020 “Have things to look forward to” is the title for Day 13 in 30 Chic Days At Home by Fiona Ferris. She writes that having a list of small and large “good” things to look forward to keeps her spirits buoyant and her mindset focused on the positive. Simple things like a half-hour with a magazine before dinner as well as larger things like her writing projects add an opportunity for gratitude and a nice zing of anticipation into her daily experience. I find it enjoyable to have small “treats” to look forward to and to plan for. I like to make lists in preparation for whatever…
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A Chic Paris Lockdown – Part 2: Day 12 – Wallow in the Good
November 14, 2020 In Day 12 of Fiona Ferris’s book, 30 Chic Days at Home, the author writes “Keep the faith.” We know that hard times do not last forever. We know that we will get through this CoVid-19 crisis and subsequent crises. Fiona encourages us to to consciously think on the good things going on in our lives even in the midst of whatever hard times are here. We do have (some) control over what we think about (even as most of us have very little control over world events). Fiona points out that it we feel better and we do better when we keep our eyes and our…
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A Chic Paris Lockdown – Part 2: Day 11 – Happy Memories
November 13, 2020 “Sort your phots” is what Fiona Ferris titled Day 11 in her book, 30 Chic Days At Home. She describes an excellent way to easily sort old photos and put them in an album. With her sorting method, a box full of old photos turns into a lovely and enjoyable photo album with a few hours of effort. In The Happiness Project, author Gretchen Rubin writes about how happiness can be enjoyed and amplified by happy memories. She writes that studies show that recalling happy times boosts our happiness in the present. We’ve all experienced that unexpected yet delightful giggle that results from remembering a funny episode…