Fiona Ferris calls Day 29 in her book 30 Chic Days, “Walk Your Errands.”  She encourages us to put as much gentle activity in our day as possible. There are all sorts of wonderful benefits that come to us when we incorporate walking into our daily schedule. We all know the benefits such as growing stronger, staying limber and youthful, and using calories in an effortless way. Mireille Guilliano, author of French Women Don’t Get Fat and French Women Don’t Get Facelifts, agreed with Fiona.  Mireille, like Fiona, both enjoyed and advocated a mindset that embraced walking as a way to connect with the world and a primary way to…

“Build Rest and Repose Into Your Daily Routine” is the title for Day 22 in Fiona Ferris’s book, 30 Chic Days. Fiona writes about how she has recognized the importance of rest as a healthy cornerstone in a beautiful life. She takes that recognition a step further and creates wonderful rituals to help her enjoy the whole process of rest. I love her discussion of a lovely “wind down” time after dinner and before lights-out. She retreats to the bedroom and has a beautiful routine of self-care that both nurtures the soul and ensures a relaxed, healthful sleep. Since I, too, get up early so that I can have my…

Fiona Ferris titled Day 19 “Be Your Own Chef” in her book, 30 Chic Days. In this chapter, Fiona writes about how to take the stressful decision making out of mealtimes. Many of us can relate to her comment that it’s not actually preparing a meal that is so exhausting, it’s the actual deciding about what to prepare. She shares her approach to make mealtime easier: keep a “family favorites menu.” Just like restaurants list what dishes are available, we can keep a list of our favorite meals (and/or dishes) conveniently located in the kitchen. Whenever we are stuck trying to think of what to make, we can pull out…