• 30 More Chic Days

    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 9 – Channel Chanel

     April 28, 2020   “Have a Closet Like Coco” is the title for Day 9 in Fiona Ferris’s book, 30 More Chic Days. Fiona writes that Coco Chanel can give us a few pointers for living the chic life of our dreams.  Coco created a unique, specific style vision for herself and she lived according to that vision. What the rest of the world was doing and wearing was not important to her. Coco’s style was comfortable, distinctive and timeless. Her color palette was flattering and consistent.  She created a style that suited her preferences and her lifestyle and stuck with it throughout her life. What can we learn from…

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    A Chic Paris Lockdown – Day 8 – Summer Style

            April 27, 2020 Fiona Ferris calls Day 8 “Be Chic In The Summer” in her book, 30 More Chic Days. Fiona writes about how she keeps her “chic” when temperatures and humidity are high. She addresses wardrobe, hair and skincare. For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, this “Day” is particularly appropriate because summer is rapidly approaching. I looked at two parts of this chapter: clothes and hair. When I live in the US, I’m in a very hot, humid Southern state. To compound the challenge, most indoor spaces like grocery stores or department stores have the air-conditioning temperature set very low. I kid you not, I keep…

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    A Chic Paris Lockdown – Day 7 – Dream Filter

    April 26, 2020   Day 7 is titled “Find Your Dream Life Filter” in Fiona Ferris’s book, 30 More Chic Days. She writes about having a quick and effective way of knowing when some thing, person or activity is a good match for our chic lives.  This helps us zero in on all the things that support and nourish our dreams as well as avoid things, people and activities that bring us down. The wonderful thing about having a clear and descriptive filter is that it adds fun to your life. Every purchase or activity, person or thought can be evaluated by how they match up to our chic dreams. …

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    A Chic Paris Lockdown – Day 6 – What Does Your Very Chic Future Self Do?

     April 25, 2020 Fiona Ferris calls Day 6 “Be Your Own Chic Mentor” in her book, 30 More Chic Days. Fiona writes about our vision of our “dream” life can inspire ourselves to more fun and living with more authenticity. But first, we have to know our dream vision! Fiona advises us to sit down with pen and paper and brainstorm what we would really like to see in a “perfect” mentor. If we could describe someone who would be our perfect chic mentor, what would that person be like in terms of inner character, appearance, dress, activities, self-care, home decor, reading list… whatever we can think of! Fiona is…

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    A Chic Paris Lockdown – Day 5 – What is Sexy?

     April 24, 2020 “Get Your Sexy Back” is Day 5 in Fiona Ferris’s book, 30 More Chic Days. How do we go through our normal lives as adults of whatever age, taking care of whatever daily responsibilities that we have and keep the grim specter of “dowdiness” from sneaking in our door? Dowdiness is not only just a few pieces of overly “frumpy+comfort=frumpfort” (from Day 1) clothes. Translation: “shapeless, baggy, faded, stretched-out elastic waistbands, worn thin spots and a few small holes”. Maybe even a petit stain here and there? The type of clothes that we might throw on without thinking, yet if we see of photo of us wearing…

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    A Chic Paris Lockdown – Day 4 – Full-Time Rose Colored Glasses

      April 23, 2020 Day 4 is titled “Live a Five-Star Life” in 30 More Chic Days by Fiona Ferris. This “Day” is pure Fiona – how to up-level one’s exterior and interior without breaking the bank! Fiona writes about how she has added a luxurious feeling and fun to her daily life through some small-but-daily actions. Here is one of her tips that I am currently implementing: 1. Read and speak only 5-star discussions. Let’s avoid the Debbie-Downers of the world and hang out with our bubbly, upbeat friends! This includes the books we read and the movies/shows that we watch. Fiona even skips reading 1 & 2 star…

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    A Chic Paris Lockdown – Day 3 – Chic and Svelte

     April 22, 2020 Fiona Ferris calls Day 3, “French Chic and Slender,” in her book, 30 More Chic Days. She discusses her challenges with maintaining a slim and healthy weight. Happily, using her trademark common sense, she is able to develop an approach that gently and effectively keeps her weight where she wants it. Her approach bears more study because she addressed what was going on inside her mind first. She identified two major culprits that were derailing her original “chic & svelte” routine. The culprits were some hormonal changes that occur when moving through one’s ’40s and a strong sugar snacking stress response.  Her fix for this disastrous duo?…