~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #188

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“But I love New Year’s Day, because I can never get over the generosity of the fact that we all get a BRAND NEW YEAR, totally for FREE — with no dents, or dinks, or mistakes yet. It’s the ultimate REFRESH button.” —Elizabeth Gilbert

With 2018 just two weeks away, I am, as I am with each new years, inclined to be quite excited for a fresh start. No matter what the current year shared with me, surprised or delighted me with, the gift of a chance to improve is a priceless opportunity that only arrives once every 365 days. And so, I readily choose to seize it and apply what I have learned over the past 12 months and put it to practice, to improve upon who I reveal myself to be the previous year.

As I look ahead to the new year with plans to finally get back to France since far too long ago (2013), I couldn’t help but look to my collection of French living and culture books which I didn’t fully realized is as plentiful as it turned out to be in my personal library (a sampling captured recently of many of my French themed books) for inspiration as to how to step forward into 2018.

Below I’ve gathered 18 quotes of wisdom, insights and inspiration for beginning anew, renewed and brilliantly rested and ready to make 2018 the year we wish it to be.

You Know More Than You Realize

1.”a quarter to a third of all English words come from French, and good thing; otherwise, learning this language would be even harder than it is.” —William Alexander in Flirting with French: How a Language Charmed Me, Seduced Me & Nearly Broke My Heart

Read Books Like You Need Them to Breathe

2. “France retains a reverence for the printed book. As independent bookstores crash and burn in the United States, the market here is healthier, largely thanks to government protections that treat the stores as national treasures . . . in France, booksellers —including Amazon —may not discount books more than 5 percent below the publisher’s list price.” —Elaine Sciolino in The Only Street in Paris: Life on the Rue des Martyrs

The Gift of a Balanced Life is a Beautiful Life to Savor

3. “So here is a trilogy: food/movement/know thyself. Again, these are important elements in my life and also in the lives of French women who don’t get fat (and perhaps do not want or need facelifts).” —Mireille Guiliano in French Women Don’t Get Facelifts: The Secret of Aging with Style & Attitude 

Trust Your Journey, and As You Travel, Just Be Yourself

4. “‘Seize the moment . . . pay attention to your life right now’ . . . What I failed to see, sitting around the coffee table on those nights, was the possibility that I didn’t have to keep looking for a family to belong to; I could create one of my own. I had conflated my deep need to belong to something bigger than myself with a more superficial need to fit in, to look and dress and act like others. But fitting in is not belonging. This seems so clear now, but at the time I didn’t understand the difference. I was still floating between New York and Paris, at least in the sense that my identity was tied to both cities. I lived in New York and worked at a New Yorker’s pace, but I couldn’t let go of Paris —Paris, which had shaped me more deeply than college or even my Manhattan childhood. Returning to Paris felt as if I was reawakening some part of myself that had been asleep since I’d left.” —Kate Betts in My Paris Dream: An Education in Style, Slang and Seduction in the Great City on the Seine

On Style: Mix It Up

5. “Forget the ‘total look.’ Frenchwomen love to mix and match. Pascale Camart, womenswear buying manager for the Galeries Lafayette, told me that having designer labels next to ordinary ones on the same floor was ‘on purpose. The Frenchwoman likes to put different things together.’ The Parisienne, she says, doesn’t buy evening dresses. She sticks with basics and then finds the one distinctive jacket or scarf or top that will make the ensemble a knockout.” —Harriet Welty Rochefort in Joie de Vivre: Secrets of Wining, Dining and Romancing Like the French

The Importance of Elevating the Everyday

6. ” You don’t go overboard, exhausting yourself over the holidays when you make every day an occasion for friendship and family, fun and celebration.” —Jamie Cat Callan in Bonjour, Happiness: Secrets to Finding Your Joie de Vivre

Choose Quality in Your Food and in Your Life to Elevate the Experience

7. “Édith Piaf famously sang, Non, je ne regrette rien (‘No, I regret nothing’). Although I have my share of regrets, using good chocolate to make a soufflé is never one of them.” —David Lebovitz in L’Appart: The Delights and Disasters of Making My Paris Home

Let Your Body Tell You What It Needs and Listen

8. “She knows exactly what she has ‘a taste’ for, and once she’s had enough, that’s it. She eats what she wants, when she wants it, until she is satisfied. Food is not a moral or emotional issue for her. She does not describe foods as good or bad; to her they are neutral, just food.” —Carol Cottrill in The French Twist: Twelve Secrets of Decadent Dining and Natural Weight Management

The Essence of Real Beauty Goes Beyond the Surface

9. “Style without substance is unacceptable, largely because it’s boring, one-dimensional. In France, it’s inadmissible to provoke ennui. Real style is built upon a solid foundation of informed intelligence, quick wit, and an impressive panopoly of culture references. One must hold her own in a lively conversation. The essence of beauty is to continue educating oneself and constantly to learn something new. Simply put: these are the keys to eternal youth.” Tish Jett in Forever Chic: Frenchwomen’s Secrets for Timeless Beauty, Style and Substance

Keep Persevering to Create More ‘Luck’ in Your Life

10. “Persevering is often not simply a matter of working hard and refusing to quit; often, by trying again, failing again, and failing better, we inadvertently place ourselves in the way of luck. Yet another reason to keep on keeping on.” —Karen Karbo in Julia Child Rules: Lessons on Savoring Life

Cooking Need Not Be Complicated & Thus an Necessary Element of Socializing Well in Everyday Life

11. “Yes, Parisians have more fun when they go out. But they’re also ten times less likely to eat out. And in Paris, there’s no ordering in —you cook. It’s simple cooking, really: You can have five friends over, create a fast, delicious pasta with zucchini and mint. Or you just buy cheese, figs, wine and call it a night.” — Garance Doré in Love, Style, Life

Opening Your World to Other Languages & Cultures Deepens Appreciation and Perspective

12. “Linguists call America ‘the graveyard of languages’ because of its singular ability to take in millions of immigrants and extinguish their native languages in a few generations. A study of thirty-five nations found that ‘in no other country . . . did the rate of the mother tongue shift toward (English) monolingualism approach the radity of that found in the United States.’ Immigrants to America lose languages quickly; natives of America fail to acquire them. Only 18 percent of American schoolchildren are enrolled in foreign language courses, while 94 percent of European high-school students are studying English.” —Lauren Collins in When in French: Love in a Second Language

Incorporate the Arts into Your Life

13. “As often as you can, take an evening off and seek out the arts. Attend the ballet, visit an art show at your local coffee shop, go see an independent theatre, attend a symphony performance or a rock concern. These moments are often too few and far between, especially when family and work life seem to always come first. Indulging in the pleasure of the arts feels decadent and is a magnificent way to recharge your soul. Purchase your tickets in advance. Knowing that you are going to attend the ballet in three weeks gives you something delightful to look forward to.” — Jennifer L. Scott in At Home with Madame Chic

Luck is Hard Earned

14. “In truth, her luck was not yet finished. Not even close. These two daring shipments were to make her one of the most famous women in Europe and her wine one of the most highly prized commodities of the nineteenth century. As Louis told her, it was a succes born out of ‘your judicious manner of operating, your excellent wine, and the marvelous similarity of your ideas, which produced the most splendid unity and action and execution — we did it well, and I give a million thanks to the bounty of the divine Providence who saw fit to make me one of his instrument in your future well-being . . . certainly you merit all the glory possible after your misfortunes, your perseverance, and your obvious talents.'” —Tilar J. Mazzeo in The Widow Clicquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It

On What Is Worth Appreciating and Savoring

15. “The weight of history means that the French don’t wipe the slate clean to make way for progress the way Americans do. Because of their centuries-old attachment to the land, restriction is their second nature, not expansion. The French have completely different ideas about what’s public and what’s private, and those ideas influence how they think about money, morality, eating, manners, conversation, and even political accountability. The French glorify what’s elevated and grand, not what’s common and accessible. They value form as much as content. And finally, they created many of their instituions to try to deal with the after-affects of two major wars. These factors don’t add up to a neat picture that diametrically opposes French and Anglo-Americans. They just explain a lot about why the French think the way they do. Unless Americans recognize these differences, they will never understand the French.” —Jean-Benoît Nadeau & Julie Barlow in Sixty Million Frenchmen Can’t Be Wrong: Why We Love France, but Not the French

Stop and Nourish Your Body & Mind Daily

16. “No matter how fraught our workload, we stop and have a proper meal. It helps us calm our brains and bodies, and we know we will work more efficiently afterward.” —Mathilde Thomas in The French Beauty Solution: Time-Tested Secrets to Look and Feel Beautiful Inside and Out

The Importance of Quality Living for the Individual Living It, Not for Outward Applause

17. “Ambition—another virtue that becomes a vice when taken too seriously. Time is not money for the French. It’s an ephemeral currency and should be spent doing the things that make life worth living. Remember, the French woman might have an acute sense of breveity of time and the immediacy of pleasure; that said, she also has a strong predilection to enjoy not only the finer things in life but the things that make life fine.” —Debra Ollivier in What French Women Know: About Love, Sex and Other Matters of the Heart and Mind

Let Your Dreams Lead the Way and Never Stop Striving Forward

18. “Willa Carter believed that if you have a wish for something from a young age and you nourish it, if you continually make an effort to nurture this wish and stay connected to this dream, then you will live a fulfilled life. If you believe in something, it invests everything you do with meaning. Paris has always stayed with me, close to me, and I’ve continually felt nourished by it.” —Kate Betts in My Paris Dream: An Education in Style, Slang, and Seduction in the Great City on the Seine

At the core of living well is appreciating the value of now and tempering longings and future hopes so that we are soley living in the future. Our lives are indeed right now. Just for a moment, examine where you were in your life one year ago today, now five years ago, now 10. Could you have precisely known where you would be when looking toward the future as your younger self? The future is exciting, but as many of the sage words remind, it is often the simple, the patient and present that make life truly fulfilling.

Thank you for stopping by, and remember to stop by next Monday when the Top Episodes of 2017 will be shared. A new episode will return on Monday January 1st with Francophile author Jamie Cat Callan (her new book Parisian Charm School: French Secrets for Cultivating Love, Joy and that Certain je ne sais quoi will be released on January 2, 2018) as well as an excited giveaway for listeners and readers (hint: it is something for your kitchen).

~Tune in to French-Living inspired posts/episodes from the Archives:

~#4: 10 Ways to Unearth Your Inner Francophile

~#23: The French Way: How to Create a Luxurious Everyday Life

~#32: The Francophile Style Guide: The 14 Essentials

~#96: Everyday Living in France – My Interview with Sharon Santoni

~#127: 20 Ways to Live Like a Parisienne

~#144: 20 Ways to Incorporate Your Love for the French Culture into Your Everyday

~#151: 10 Style Tips to Embrace the French Woman’s Approach to Effortless Chic

~#155: 6 Life Lessons for Living Well from Julia Child

~#167: My Good Life in France: Author Janine Marsh

~#168: Everyday Living with Author & Blogger Sharon Santoni

~#169: Understanding the French Culture: My Interview with Géraldine Lepere of Comme une Française

~#182: David Leibovitz Talks About Making Paris His Home

~Check out the new addition to TSLL destination: The Simply Luxurious Kitchen. Have a look at the pilot episode below and learn more about this new venture into vodcasting in which we will focus on “Seasonal fare to elevate the everyday meal” here.

Petit Plaisir:

~Salmon en Papillote (Salmon in Paper) – view the entire recipe here

Sponsors for today’s episode:

• Birchbox
  • use code sophisticate to save 20% off all gift subscriptions through 12/25
  • Birchbox in France
• Vincero Watches
  • use the promo code SIMPLE to save 15% on your order

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