The new year rolls around and there is much talk about resolutions and cultivation of a life we wish to live. It is old news to share that many resolutions are unfulfilled; however, BJ Fogg argues that perhaps we have had a faulty instruction manual to be successful in our pursue of lasting change. Released […]
While it may appear that everyone outside of ourselves is living lives full of amazing, surreal moments from distant lands or dining out at amazing restaurants, even wearing the perfect item of clothing or experiencing bucket list events with every scroll on our social media apps, the reality is that we too are living an […]
“Success is sequential, not simultaneous. No one actually has the discipline to acquire more than one powerful new habit at a time. Super-successful people aren’t superhuman at all; they’ve just used selected discipline to develop a few significant habits. One at a time. Over time.” —Gary Keller & Jay Papasan from their best-selling book The ONE Thing: […]
~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #114 One of the most popular requests from readers for topics to discuss here on TSLL blog and the podcast is time management, especially my approach to time management. And while I do not profess to have figured it out, as I am regularly tweaking it and the onset of unnecessary […]
“The best way to conquer self-doubt is to follow your dream and work your ‘bass’ off.” – CBS Sunday Morning speaking of musician Meghan Trainor ~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #93 The highs in life that we each experience from landing the job we’ve been coveting for years, celebrating a hard-earned diploma, signing the papers on […]
~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #69 Seeing effortless style in-person can be quite powerful, and part of the impactful punch is how the person carries themselves in the clothes they wear. In mere minutes it is evident if the clothes are wearing the person or visa versa. Having the opportunity to have worked and currently work […]
“A knife can be used both to heal and to hurt. Whether in the hands of a surgeon or the hands of a criminal it’s the same instrument. Tools are seldom good or bad per se. It’s what you do with your charisma that matters.” -Olivia Fox Cabane, The Charisma Myth The Simple Sophisticate, episode […]
~The Simple Sophisticate podcast, episode #17 One of the popular maxims when it comes to life advice is that lessons repeat themselves until they are learned. And while I’ve heard this before, I always felt there was a negative tone to the reappearance of a life lesson that we had experienced before. As if to […]
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” –Aristotle With all of the bits and pieces of information we have to remember on a daily basis, relying on habits that require our minds to “just go with it” is a relief – that is of course if the […]
{A simply luxurious life, while full of the concept less is more, luxuriates in the decadence of high quality, complementary style and an appreciation for the beauty that surrounds us in decor, fashion, nature and people themselves. One does not need to maintain a balance in the bank that one might associate with a millionaire, […]
A documentary for bibliophiles, a new film to enjoy, pasta lovers – a must-have cookbook for you, sale items for the home, your wardrobe and more, as well as books for improving your fulfillment in everyday life, shifting your perspective on time and a podcast to help you make it through the pandemic well-fed. Books […]
Sometimes when a rose that is just beginning to start the blooming process, if it has layers and layers of petals and is hit by a good long rain during the summer followed by subsequent burst of heat, it can become basically frozen for lack of a better word. Gardeners call it balling, but basically, […]
“This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson Perhaps the reason seemingly all of us are on tenterhooks is because we don’t know what the future holds, what it will look like, what will be expected of us, what will return, what […]
“Being in touch with [the essence] of ourselves as we make financial decisions is as good as it gets. Money is a store of life energy, and when we can channel that life energy into an expression of what is most dear to our soul, an exciting alignment takes place between our financial and spiritual […]
“To embrace leisure, we don’t have to let go of progress. [Our] constant pushing is now impeding our progress. We work best when we allow for flexibility in our habits . . . [w]e can and must stop treating ourselves like machines that can be driven and pumped and amped and hacked. Instead of limiting […]
In Oregon, twenty of the 30+ counties are expected to step into Phase One of transitioning out of stay-at-home orders. Bend is part of the first twenty counties. What does that mean to how we will shift as we go about our daily lives? In Paris and for all of France, on Monday May 11th, […]
Two fun films, Julian Fellowes’ new series debuts, two cookware sales not to miss, a renowned French baker releases his second cookbook, lovers of antiques and Paris – I have a book for you, and a book for reinventing the path ahead as well as so much more. Books —In Our Prime: How Older Women […]
Whether at home in Bend, Oregon, or having the good fortune to be in France, the French-culture is present in my everyday life, as it is for many TSLL readers from around the globe as well. I have been savoring my favorite tea each morning and evening which I began drinking in 2013 after a […]
“The hardest thing in the world is to simplify your life. It’s so easy to make it complex.” — Yvon Chouinard It felt as though the Earth took a ginormous breath of relief (but will not admit that outloud) when the global decision to flatten the curve, stay home, began to take shape. Granted there were […]
I slept with the windows open for the first time this year, and as I type, the birds are chirping me awake. Spring has arrived, and I am oh so thankful. The boys and I have been keeping ourselves busy here at Le Papillon, from cooking and baking to trimming up the columbines in the […]
Simple pleasures, also known on The Simple Sophisticate podcast as Petit Plaisirs, are simple, inexpensive, yet intentional ways to elevate the everyday. In 2014 when I began the podcast, I wanted to include a weekly post series I had begun earlier that year, the Weekly Petit Plaisir. After much thought and consideration on how the […]
“You would think weightlessness is a good thing, but it’s not. Because people weren’t meant to float. Without gravity, we lose blood volume, bone density, muscle. Without it, we’re untethered. So when you feel yourself being pulled toward something, it’s not necessarily a bad thing. It may keep you centered. It may keep you safe.” […]
“I loved rhubarb, that hardy, underappreciated garden survivor that leafed out just as the worst of winter melted away.” —Judith Fertig When I saw the abundant, expansive green leaves and hot pink stalks, so thick and strong, singing to let their delicious tartness be appreciated, I knew my potential home was a home where such […]
At the core of a happy home is a home that works for those individuals the four walls surround and keep sheltered and safe. Once the essentials are in place – a roof over our heads, walls to keep us warm/cool, then it is the inhabitants’ responsibility to cultivate a sanctuary in which each person […]