How to be Parisian

In the midst of this fun and witty book and am loving the sharp opinions and perfect contradictions that describe the culture of chic as only French women can.

    

Intent.

Its a new moon and a new season. Its a powerful time to set intentions into play and raise consciousness on the things you want to attract. It can be quite simple, put out to the world an idea or a goal you would like to see. Visualize the feeling of your intention. See what happens (it especially helps if you can do this a few times a day) but even just once a day can lead to a shift. Mental energy combined with celestial energy is powerful. 

Shifting

Considering this blog is called A well-mannered woman I rarely discuss the literal meaning as it relates to actual manners (I think part of being well-mannered is well-rounded, cultured and living consciously).  I often think about small gestures and interactions. I doubt most of us pay much attention to how we engage with someone on the street, our waitress or a sales clerk at a shop.  These interactions however are quite telling about our our manners and character. Are you short tempered when your waitress doesn't respond as you would want them to? Impatient and easily angered when a cashier gives you the wrong change or takes too long to ring you up? How about when the car in front of you doesn't jump the second the light turns green? If these are moments you tend to lose your manners then you may want to rethink the way you behave. Does it feel good to get angry/hot tempered/rude easily?  No sane person can answer yes to that.  I've been realizing lately that there are times when I find my own impatience or expectations produce an emotional reaction that feels like a rolling boil about to push a lid off a pot. In those moments I have been consciously working to behave in a counter intuitive way and respond with patience and grace. To smile, extend kindness and to just stop for one second before acting.  What a massive shift it is to change the energy of what could have been an unnecessary burst of anger or frustration and transform it into a pleasant exchange.  This is what it is to be well-mannered. To push oneself toward a higher level of consciousness, to take the high road, to remember that small moments are big moments and that the way we behave affects those around us.  

Matters of the heart

Your heart always knows what is the right path. Sometimes its terrifying, sometimes you want to shut it up and keep going on your complacent path but sooner or later you have to reckon with the fact that the heart will win out. So get quiet. Listen to it. Get some courage and go for it. Life is much to short to live hiding from your heart. 

Quietude

Craving a place where I can quiet my mind, read a book, think and just get back in tune with my own rhythm. 

Sunchoke Soup

Last night I was in the mood for some hearty comfort food. I had a big ol' pile of sunchokes and some onions and decided that you cant really go wrong mixing a few delicious things together and throwing them into a blender.  Turned out I was right. Here's the recipe, feel free to throw in all kinds of other yummy things that sound good to your taste buds and get creative with it.

1 red onion (chopped large pieces, you're gonna blend it after all) 

6 cloves of garlic (I used whole cloves) & 2-3 more for the garlic chip garnish

6-8 or a 1.5 lbs of sunchokes, scrubbed and chopped into pieces

1 tbsp vegetable stock

4 cups of water (or 1 quart of vegetable stock, depending on the type you use)

2 tbsp grass fed butter (more on the importance of grass fed dairy later)

2 tsp sea salt

tons and tons of cracked pepper

Saute onion and garlic

add water/veggie stock, salt &pepper (and any other spices your heart desires)

Add sunchokes once the onions look tender. Let it build to a slow simmer. Cover and reduce heat. Let simmer for about 45 minutes or until the sunchokes become tender. 

Throw into a blender or use an immersion blender, puree & serve!

Garnish ideas:

1 tbsp Greek yogurt 

1 tsp olive oil

1 glove of garlic, chopped & pan fried/toasted

whole wheat bread croutons

toasted sun choke slivers

shaved Parmesan

Monday Muse

My style muse of late: the effortless but perfect chic of Lou Doillon (being the daughter of Jane Birkin makes one effortlessly chic by birth) but she's got a laid back rock n' roll vibe that I'm digging. 

International Women's Day

I could start an entire blog based around the struggles of women in the modern world. Have we come a long way? Yes. But as most of us know that's the question of defeat and complacency. We have so much further to go.  Women are constantly held to an unattainable beauty standard (I know, I work in the business that reinforces it) judged by looks, condemned for being sexual liberated (sluts!) and reduced to being 'bitches' if they aren't afraid to ask for what they want. Anna Wintour is an icy bitch yet I've never heard Ruport Murdoch's character reduced to such terms. A woman who ages either "looks good for her age" or "has the right amount of work done" or needs to "lay off the knife". All things I hear from people on an almost daily basis. When's the last time you heard anyone discuss the way a man aged?

When I think of raising a daughter in this world I'm thrilled and occasionally terrified by the prospects and potentials for her. I know that I have so little control over the choices she will make but I want to do my absolute best to raise her to be an empowered, independent and confident woman.  Our words and actions shape our children and I feel the importance of communicating to her now (and always) that she is strong, whole and powerful just as she is. I hear too often people speaking to baby girls using words like princess and doll and theres a part of me that cringes when I hear it.  We need to be aware of our language and our conversation. Our words create and shape an environment that encourages a new generation of strong, smart, confident, body-loving girls.

Oversized

One of the fall trends I'm really loving right now is the play on proportions. I love the sublte but chic drama of exaggerated silhouettes.

LEMAIRE 

LEMAIRE

DRIES VAN NOTEN

HELLESSEY

PUBLIC SCHOOL

ELLERY

KOLOR

Gratitude Wednesday

I've been away for almost 8 weeks and out of my weekly schedule of writing these but its interesting how it still pushes me to think about the things i'm grateful for in my life almost daily. Today here are a few of the things that I am feeling gratitude for.

1.  A warm day in the middle of this arctic blast. Today was almost 35 degrees. Sweltering given the fact that most days have been in the teens. The snow and ice are melting and I can wear one less layer today.

2. My daughter has just started on solids (real solids, not the intro to baby food at 6 months solids) and its so exciting to feed her and watch her engage with textures and flavors. So far she seems to love coconut curry, kale and hummus.

3. My boyfriend and I have been working non-stop on renovating/updating/redesigning our tiny apartment. Its been a slow labor of love over the past few months and it is really coming together. It's been a really fascinating study in interior styling for me- learning how to balance a sense of peace, openness and minimal chic all in one little room. When its finished it will get its own post!

4. Sunchokes. I have become completely obsessed with this strange little veggie lately. I've been eating them like they're potato chips (or french fries, depending on my mood).

5. New York City. After being gone for the past few weeks I have fallen in love all over again with my city. I never feel as good as when I'm here, its my home, my muse, my happy place. 

Power Woman.

Anthony Vaccarello's F/W 15 collection for Versus raises the bar on exuberant sexy.  There's an 80's undertone in these silhouettes and a serious confidence in these women that makes me giddy for glamour again.