There are many things about the French culture that am drawn to and try to incorporate into my everyday life. From the chic style that refrains from ever being trendy and always complementary to the woman wearing the clothes or the attention to using quality ingredients that delight the senses and satiate the palate without ruining the waist-line, I have found by incorporating these ideals that my contentment level rises as I go about my everyday business and routines.

So today I’d like to introduce a new regular post that will be appearing each weekend here on The Simply Luxurious Life. Sometimes on Saturday, sometimes on Sunday depending on my schedule, but always each weekend, a Petit Plaisir will be shared. Le Petit Plaisir is defined by the French as a simple indulgence that brings great pleasure and enjoyment. The gift of les petits plaisirs is that each of us will define them differently, and perhaps depending upon the stage of life we are in our individual definition will change as well. It is my goal to bring you a petit plaisir I wish to share each weekend that you too can indulge in no matter where you live, how much money is in the bank account or what your age. Books I’ve read and love, recipes I’ve made and want to share, simple rituals that bring me joy and anything in between will be shared.

And so it seems only fitting that the inaugural petit plaisir that I have fallen in love with and wish to share has the Francophile platform at its core – Mireille Guiliano’s French Women Don’t Get Facelifts: The Secret of Aging with Style & Attitude.

One of the handful of books I enjoyed over the holiday break was Mireille’s latest book, and even though I am not her target audience, I found valuable advice and tips that I can use today. With chapters titled: Dressing with Style and Attitude, The Nondiet Anti-Aging Nutritional Formula, Loving, Laughing, Working and A Little Invisible Exercise just to name a few, she offers specific ideas from her own successes and experiences as well as other women’s stories of living well. I found myself enjoying it even more than her debut book French Women Don’t Get Fat as it was written by a woman who is completely at ease with herself and where her life has taken her and who genuinely is modeling what many think is impossible to do – realizing that life does become even more fulfilling with each passing year if done right. Her attitude is a breath of fresh air as opposed to the anti-aging society American pushes into our faces every single day in the media. And so with that, here are just a few of the insights I found myself highlighting as I read:

• four anchors to keep us firm, balanced and sheltered: (1) good health (2) a functional social network of friends and family (3) a solid employment situation (4) time, space, rules and practices for yourself
• have a younger set of friends additionally (other than your grandkids)
• massages are good for one’s circulation and cerebral calm
• if you want to look younger and healthier, cut your sugar intake and look to honey
• take vacations very seriously
• know how to breathe properly to enhance tranquility
• good nutrition and health will solve 80% of your hair and skin challenges
• find a great hairstylist
• your skin will thank you for adding bananas to your diet (reducing fluid retention and puffiness)
• spinach helps prevent wrinkles
• style is being your own brand and having a talent for living well
• clothes are about communication between a person and everyone who sees them

A wonderful book to read, enjoy and keep as a valuable resource. Happy reading and bon week-end! Be sure to find a little time to enjoy your preferred les petits plaisirs. Bonjour!

~A series from the archives full of more simple pleasures . . . 

~Why Not . . . Revel in Simple Pleasures? Part Une~