Book Review: Madame Chic Collection

I had been wanting to read the Madame Chic books by Jennifer L. Scott for over a year, but I never got around to buying them until they came out in a boxed set back in October.  As soon as I saw the set, I knew I had to get it!

I love reading anything about Paris & the French.  They seem to have an effortless way of life, that je ne sais quoi.  I am always getting drawn into their culture.  Jeanne Damas, Caroline De Maigret, Vanessa Paradis & Catherine Deneuve are just a few of the beautiful French women that I have come to adore & draw inspiration from.  Some of my favorite books are  How to Be Parisian Wherever You Are, The French Beauty Solution, & Love, Style, Life, all written by incredibly talented, fashionable French women & are wonderful books in their own right.  (Is anyone interested in reading a review about any of the books mentioned above? Let me know in the comments!)

One of the (many) things that makes the Madame Chic collection different from the others that I previously mentioned, is that it is written by an American (Jennifer L. Scott) & documents how she had to adapt to living in Paris while she was in college. 

The first book in the collection is Lessons from Madame Chic: 20 Stylish Secrets I learned While Living in Paris.  In this book, Jennifer talks about the tips she acquired while living in Paris.  She talks about le no makeup look, the ten item wardrobe, diet & exercise, keeping an air of mystery & so much more!  I loved reading all of the little stories she had to share about her time living with Famille Chic & how differently the French live their lives from Americans.

The second book in the collection is  At Home with Madame Chic: Becoming a Connoisseur of Daily Life.  This book is all about, you guessed it, running a home!  Jennifer shares her tips on how to keep your home organized, clean & clutter free.  Have you ever found yourself bored with your home?  Overwhelmed with the amount of cleaning you have to do?  This book gives some direction in how to fall in love with your home all over again & how to keep up on daily cleaning in a non-overwhelming way.  She also has tips for entertaining, various recipes & even how to fold towels.

The third book in the collection is Polish Your Poise with Madame Chic: Lessons in Everyday Elegance.  We learn in this book what poise is & how we can achieve it.  Jennifer talks about the five characteristics of poise; confidence, composure, compassion, presentation & present.  She explains how we should be our "best, poised selves at all times" & gives tips on how we should dress for certain occasions, grooming, deportment, communicating, hosting guests & much more -- all very important things for demonstrating poise! 

All three of these books deal with etiquette, which I feel is a lost art for many of us.  It was refreshing to read about etiquette in a fun way & made me look closer at how I conduct myself.  

Learning about etiquette was wonderful--it was what I expected to gain from these books.  What I didn't expect was the lasting impact they had on me.  This series posed many questions that got me thinking about how I currently live my life & how I want to live my life.  To find the simple pleasures in life, to use the best things that I have, to live within my means & to rid my life of clutter are just a few of the things that these books touch on & that resonate with me.

If you're anything like me, someone who loves reading & learning about other cultures while trying to incorporate their practices into your own life, I would highly recommend this series!  The content of these books can be a bit redundant & some of the tips may not be practical for everyday use, but overall it was a series that I enjoyed reading & it held useful information.  I am constantly finding myself refer back to these books in my daily life & I hope that someday I can possess the poise that Jennifer & Madame Chic hold. :)

Does the Madame Chic collection sound like something you would be interested in reading?  Would you like to read more book reviews?  Let me know!  XOXO

Powder Room Update

We have been in our house for nine months now!  It's crazy to think that it has almost been a year since we started this journey of being homeowners.  There have been ups & downs along the way (more on that another time) & we are still working away at making it the perfect home for us!  One major thing to check off our list was the downstairs powder room.  Eventually, I would like to change out the gold doorknobs on all of our doors & replace the window blinds to wooden or bamboo shades, but for now it's perfect!  I'm really happy with how it turned out.  Have a look! :)

The first room I painted in our house was this bathroom, I actually started painting the day after we got our keys!  I used the color Polar Star by Valspar.  Another thing I wanted to do from the start was get a new mirror.  Turns out, the current mirror was glued to the wall & it wasn't coming down.  It was crooked & driving me crazy!  We decided to buy some wood & stain it, that way we could frame the mirror instead of buying a new one.  I think it turned out great!

Something else that we did early on (before moving in) was add some tile backsplash behind the sink.  This is one of my favorite things we did to this room!  It really helped transform it & add a little something extra to a boring bathroom.  We used this tile backsplash from Home Depot.  I love the look of the mixed glass & stainless steel tiles...I think it matches our paint color perfectly.

When we moved in, this bathroom (& the whole house) had gold fixtures everywhere.  The faucet, light & towel ring/toilet paper holder were all that brassy gold color.  We quickly switched those out to brushed nickel & it looks so much better!  

I'm excited to share the rest of our house with you soon!  Thank you for reading about our little bathroom makeover! :) XOXO

What's in My Suitcase? Cabo Edition

If you read my last post, you know that I recently got back from a girls trip to Mexico with my family.   For the past few years, I have only been taking a carry-on with me when I travel -- for several reasons.  I don't have to deal with the hassle (or the occasional added cost) of checking a bag, I'll never lose my luggage (unless I forget where I leave it) it's easier to navigate through the airport/shuttle/hotel/street & it keeps me from overpacking! 

I thought it would be fun to share with you what I packed, so here is a look at what I brought with me on our girls trip to Cabo this year:

I brought 2 dresses for going out.  The print dress (pictured below) is so cute & comfortable, I ended up wearing it twice!  I love the little details, like the cutouts, which make it a great dress for day or night.  This jumpsuit was another outfit I wore to dinner & going out & is another fun, versatile piece.

Packing swimsuits is where I tend to go a tad overboard.  I like to have variety in my swimwear & I hate putting on a wet swimsuit!  Since swimsuits are what we wear everyday in Cabo, I brought five with me.  Four bikinis & this crochet one piece which is so adorable!  Not very good for swimming, though ;)  I also brought a coverup & this wrap which were great to wear for walking to & from the beach & pool.

I brought 4 pairs of shoes, but I probably could have gotten away with three.  A pair of flip-flops for the beach & the pool, a pair of dressier sandals (I love these shoes!) a pair of neutral wedges & some closed toe slip-ons to wear in the airport & plane on traveling days.  

Some other clothes I brought were three pairs of shorts, a few tank tops/shirts, a light sweater, a pair of jeans & leggings (these are my favorite), pajamas & a hat.

All of this fit in my carry-on suitcase, in addition to my makeup bags, hair straightener, camera/charger, & an extra purse.  I did carry a tote bag with me on the way home because I love to shop & of course had to bring home lots of goodies! :)

Do you like traveling with just a carry-on or do you prefer checking a bag?  Let me know in the comments!  XOXO