-
A Chic Paris Lockdown – Part 2: Day 23 – Serenity & Changing the World
November 24, 2020 In 30 Chic Days At Home, Day 23 is titled “Create order.” Author Fiona Ferris writes about how she works at keeping her sense of inner peace and tranquility during her typical day at home when her home nation, New Zealand, was in CoVid-19 lockdown in Spring of 2020. For Fiona (and most humans,) a degree of outer order provides a calming support for a sense of inner order and serenity. Being at home with everyone in the house definitely creates more disorder as the house is being used more than is customary. Three meals a day and people and pets in all areas of the house…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
A Chic Paris Lockdown – Part 2: Day 9 – The Joy of Books
November 11, 2020 “Read a good book,” Fiona Ferris writes as Day 9 in her book, 30 Chic Days At Home. She describes how much fun she has being carried away into whole new worlds and experiences by a good story. She looks forward to diving into a make-believe world not only just for fun but also when life (and news programs) seem overwhelmingly negative. Her coping skill to handle a long and tough stretch of life is to take an hour or so out of the day on a regular basis for a little self-care in a new world. I agree with Fiona whole-heartedly. One of my favorite activities…
-
A Chic Paris Lockdown – Part 2: Day 5 – Carpe Lockdown
November 7, 2020 “Go on a health retreat” is what Fiona Ferris called Day 5 in her book, 30 Chic Days At Home. Her idea is that one can use the whole nationally-mandated “lockdown/self-quarantine” situation as a “DIY” health retreat. (Which certainly feels much more elegant and luxurious than framing the situation as “trapped at home.”) She made a list of several actions that would give her the feeling of being on a luxury “spa” retreat. Her list included early nights to bed, prepping nutritious food for easy and healthy meals, daily planned walks, yoga, and extra-special at-home skincare. Not only do the daily actions sound fun but she…
-
A Chic Paris Lockdown – Part 2: Day 2 – Inspiration
November 4, 2020 Day 2 in Fiona Ferris’s book 30 Chic Days At Home is titled “Inspire yourself and dream of better days.” In this chapter, Fiona writes about collecting photos and magazine articles that capture our imaginations for a beautiful and well-lived life and surroundings. I especially like her comment that with her collection of inspirational images, she has an easy wonderful and positive place to “go” when she wants to relax and feel inspired rather than a draining news site/”scandal rag.” Today, my focus is to take advantage of some recent cooking inspiration and finish tidying up the two “clutter corners” that I wrote about yesterday. Part of…
-
Notes from Chic Blogging Challenge over Paris’s CoVid-19 Lockdown (3)
June 12, 2020 For the Paris Spring 2020 CoVid-19 Lockdown, I followed Fiona Ferris’s 2 books (30 Chic Days and 30 More Chic Days) day-by-day and tried to implement each day’s recommendation. For the next several posts, I will write about what I learned through my 60-day assignment: In her book, 30 Chic Days, author Fiona Ferris writes about rest on (chapter) Day 22. I wrote a short post of how I interpret and apply Fiona’s idea of “beauty sleep” here. Sleep, and all the good things that it does for us, is back on my mind this week. I thought that the CoVid-19 lockdown in Paris (and elsewhere around…