Lessons from Madame Chic

Every once in a while you come across an idea that just makes perfect sense. It clicks in your mind and you can't help but feel excited that someone else out there just gets it. When I first came across Jennifer L. Scott's book 'Lessons from Madame Chic - 20 Stylish Secrets I Learned While Living in Paris' I sat with bated breath while it downloaded to my Kindle, hoping that it would keep my inner Francophile satisfied. It is safe to say that I sat nodding along through the entire book and suddenly felt that I wasn't alone in looking for what is essentially a better quality of life without having to make any major changes, just those little things that make your day run smoother and leave you feeling more relaxed and satisfied at the end of the day.

Split into three parts and then broken down further into the 20 'secrets' this book encompasses all aspects of everyday life inspired by Scott's stay in Paris encountering two very different, yet very typical French women, Madame Chic and Madame Bohemienne who were her main inspirations. The three main sections of the book are Diet and Exercise, Style and Beauty and How to Live Well. From eating with pleasure but not to excess to ensuring that you look presentable everyday this book gives you the necessary tools to make living an art as the French do so well. 

My biggest takeaway from this book, as you may recall from earlier in the year, was the 10 Item Wardrobe (here and here). While I do have more than 10 'key' pieces in my wardrobe I have to say that taking the plunge back in March to seriously streamline my clothing has made a huge difference. I have attended weddings, been to parties and moved house (and decorated) and haven't once felt the need to buy something new in order to attend an event or to be comfortable, and more importantly, I have stopped buying for the sake of it. I know my wardrobe. I know what I have suits me, fits well and is my signature style and on the rare occasion that I do buy something, it compliments my other items well. I have to thank Jennifer for enlightening me to this mindset, because I just adore it.  

The French do a lot of things well, but let's face it, living well is the thing that they do best. I feel that Scott has tapped into their cultural habits perfectly in order to adapt them to life outside of l'hexagone. If you haven't already, pop this book on your Christmas list. It is a must read if you are a Parisian at heart like me.  

UV Plus #showusyourclarins

Did you know I love SPF? No? Read this. Now that you're up to speed with my OCD on sun protection, allow me to introduce you to my best skincare friend - Clarins UV Plus SPF50.

This is designed to wear over the top of your own moisturiser and it provides a veil of protection from the suns harmful rays as well as pollution and those nasty external aggressors that cause premature and accelerated aging making it perfect for everyday use.   

What is more, this is an oil-free formula which feels like velvet on the skin and so provides an amazing makeup base. You do not feel as though you have another layer of product on, so if you are concerned about feeling caked in layers you needn't worry.

I love that this is suitable for everyday living, not for sunbathing. Other SPF50 products are heavier and are supposed to be used as an intensive method of protection for large periods of sun exposure. The heavier texture can wreak havoc with your skin which is why for daily use in places like Glasgow where the sun doesn't quite split the sky and 20 degrees is considered a heatwave, a lot of people avoid SPF. One or two bad experiences can put you off something for good. I promise you, this product is so light and so fresh on your skin you won't even notice that you have that added protection so if SPF is something you avoid, please give it a go!

Fitbit Activity Tracker

You may remember back in January I posted about getting myself fit and healthy. I did say that there would be no crash diets but small changes to make sure that I am getting myself healthier. I have found it fairly difficult to monitor, I mentioned in that post that although I felt unfit I have always been slim, so I was not on a quest to lose any weight at all. My way of monitoring is not only in the way that I feel (groggy, sluggish or more energetic) but every single morning when I arrive in work I have been taking the 6 flights of stairs rather than the lift. Every morning, no exceptions. Don't get me wrong, I still feel the burn on that last set of stairs, but I do find that I am managing it with more ease as each day goes by.  

Fitness and activity trackers seem to be popping up everywhere at the moment, wearable tech is definitely becoming the 'must-have'. After a lot of research and lots of deliberation I decided to take the plunge and get myself a Fitbit activity tracker. Although an Apple Watch would definitely been more preferable, the price tag is not! 

I opted for the Fitbit One which tracks steps, flights of stairs climbed, sleep as well as your calories in and out based on your diet. Although my favourite part is probably the silent alarm which vibrates on your wrist to wake you gently in the morning - no more shrill noises that put you in a bad mood first thing! 

I have had my Fitbit for about three months now and wear it at all times except for in the shower. Other than that it is counting my steps and tracking the distance that I walk all day every day. I love having the breakdown of my activity, I keep an eye day to day on the iPhone app that goes along with the tracker but if you are looking for something more in-depth then you can log onto the website and get loads more information with everything made into graphs and you can even compare (and compete) with your friends!

Do you have an activity tracker? Would you get one?

Quality Over Quantity - Changing Your Mindset

As you may have already read, I have taken inspiration from Jennifer L. Scott and have embarked upon my own '10 Item Wardrobe' experiment (I don't like the word 'journey', it makes me feel like a reality show contestant!). As you can read here I didn't quite make the number 10, but as explained in Jennifer's book, there is no hard and fast rule for the number of items. It is all about changing your mindset and not having excessive amounts of clothes. 

Something which I quickly took notice of while going through my clothes and deciding what to keep and what to donate was the labels on everything. If you know me, then you know that I am not a label snob by any stretch of the matter so this even surprised me. I wasn't looking at the labels and then deciding whether to keep the item, I was assessing the quality, the fit, the colour and the condition. After I decided if it was staying or going I was then looking at the label. 

What did I notice? More items from so-called 'throw-away' fashion brands were being added to my donation pile. Why? Because they were of lesser quality than my other items. Taking the time to assess each piece showed me that although I may like the look of the item, upon closer inspection the colour may have faded, it had lost its shape slightly in the wash or I wasn't sure how much longer it would hold up. 

These are not the kinds of items that you want in your wardrobe because they won't last as long as more quality pieces. I am not suggesting that you go out and exclusively shop with Armani or Ralph Lauren (I certainly couldn't afford to do this) however it is worth investing in the best quality that you can. A lot of the items which remained in my wardrobe are still from high street brands such as Next and M&Co. Which are generally a higher quality and are a bit more expensive than say, New Look or Primark but are still friendly on your purse strings.

As for my future purchases? I have stopped buying sale rack items and items that I see as I am passing the shop window. I have a note on my phone where I am recording all of the 'I wish I had...' thoughts that I have come across in the mornings when I am getting dressed so that I can review and see if it was a fleeting desire or a serious gap in my wardrobe. If it is a genuine gap, I am not going out and buying the first item which fits the bill, I am taking my time to find the perfect one which will last.

I am not going to lie, this has not been an overnight or easy change. I work in a massive department store so I walk by temptation several times a day. I follow copious amounts of blogs which make me want to go out and shop. The temptation is still there, I am just asking myself three key questions when the urge to spend rises, they have really helped me so why don't you try them too?

Do I need this?
When I say need, I mean really need. As in, you have one pair of jeans and they are ripped to shreds. Not as in 'I need these skinny jeans in my life now!' for you to probably wear them once and then for them to join the denim pile.

Will this compliment my wardrobe?
Does this piece go with what you already have, will you be able to mix and match it, dress it up or dress it down. Do you have shoes and handbags that go with this or would you need to shop for those too? If you can wear it straight away without further spending then it most likely will compliment your wardrobe.

Is this me?
It needs to reflect who you are. I don't hide behind a persona presented by my clothes, I like to present myself through what I wear. When I get dressed in the morning I want to feel like me. I feel more confident in going about my day, there is nothing worse than feeling self-conscious in what you are wearing.

Asking myself these questions has definitely stopped me from making any unnecessary purchases and has made me change the way I view items of clothing.  Looking for quality and longevity over a short period of satisfaction. 

Are you guilty of looking for a bargain even if you don't need it? Or do you have any other questions that you ask yourself while shopping?

The 10 Item Wardrobe

I can almost hear the shrieks of horror as you all read this title. I certainly winced when I first came across the concept. However upon reading further into it, I have become very intrigued. I was first introduced to the 10 Item Wardrobe in Jennifer L Scott's Lessons From Madame Chic. This is a fantastic book which I will go into in a little more detail about in another post coming soon (you can also check out her blog The Daily Connoisseur here too!). However if you don't want to read the book just yet then you can listen to Jennifer's experience and ideas in this TEDx Talks to get the gist of the concept.   

As explained in this video the 10 items does not refer to everything that you can wear, it refers to the capsule wardrobe. The key pieces. You can have a few tee shirts, a couple of cardigans and your coats as well as your capsule items. Occasion wear is also exempt from the rule. It is also important to note that there is no strict rule of 10, just as long as you do not have excessive items (as I do at this present moment) then you will be on to a winner. The idea is for the items which you do have to be able to mix and match together to give a variety of outfit options without having too many items. If you have read my blog for sometime then you may recall that we live in a little flat with next to no storage space so the idea of severely cutting my clothes but leaving plenty of outfit options sounds perfect.  

As you might have guessed, I am planning to embark upon my own 10 Item Wardrobe journey, This journey will be starting TODAY with me having a serious clear out. Ruthlessness is required. I am feeling slightly nervous at the prospect but I want to worry less about what to wear. Less options means less stress, I won't be overloaded with options and I want to be able to mix and match a little more and I want to have space.  I feel a mass de-clutter coming on, not only of my clothes but the rest of my, well, stuff. 

With regards to my 10 Item Wardrobe, don't worry. I will take photographs of the process and will be providing frequent updates as to how it is working. Wish me luck!

Would you ever take the plunge with the 10 Item Wardrobe?

Florida Highlights

We packed a heck of a lot into our two weeks in Florida - some of which I didn't manage to get photographs of. However, have a look at the highlights of what I did catch on camera. Of course shopping was a huge highlight for me too, so much so, a whole other post was dedicated to it here.

Hot Air Ballooning over Orlando and Kissimme was great - well worth the 4am rise too!

The Kennedy Space Center was brilliant too. I loved seeing Atlantis and was really taken aback when we walked through the door to see it (they have a fantastic build up and reveal of the shuttle which made it all the more impressive). We were pretty gutted as a few days after we visited there was an unmanned launch which both of us would have loved to see, if it wasn't for the fact it was Harry Potter day that it happened then we may have driven back across to watch.

Harry Potter day is here! The rest of Universal and Islands of Adventure were pretty good too, it had started to rain after we did the Harry Potter section so a lot of the rides were closed but we did manage to get on a few other things that were good fun (The Revenge of the Mummy and The Hulk were fab!). 

As you may have guessed though, I was most excited about The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. As a huge fan of the books and the films, it was amazing seeing Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade come to life in front of you and then taking a trip on the Hogwarts Express, which topped it off for me. We visited 5 days after Diagon Alley opened and it was still heaving with people which we did expect, this meant that we didn't get on to the Escape from Gringotts as this was permanently a 2hour+ wait which we weren't for doing. We did however get on the Dragon Challenge and Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey which were excellent. I, of course, made sure that G kept to his promise and got me a wand while we were there and we enjoyed frozen Butter Beer. Now I want to do the Harry Potter Studios tour!

Disney! We visited you on a day where it poured from the heavens but still managed to get on Big Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain and Space Mountain alongside other shows and smaller rides. We also managed to catch the fireworks (pictures didn't turn out very well for these as it was raining! Boo!) even though the first Electrical Parade was cancelled due to the weather we decided to stay after the fireworks to see if the rain would ease for the 11pm parade. It did, and we managed to get into the reserved seating area as the group supposed to be in there didn't show up! Even in the rain, it was a brilliant day!

What's in My Suitcase? - Beauty

Technically speaking this is what is in my hand luggage. But other than my Lush Ultrabland cleanser, Buffy Shower bar and Happy Hippy shower gel there isn't much other than copious amounts of sunscreen in my suitcase.

I've split my beauty products into two categories for the flight, liquid and non-liquid. Just to make it easier for packing and for getting through security.

The non-liquid bag is housing all of my dry makeup. I opted for the classic Urban Decay Naked Palette, you can't really go wrong with this one, it has every shade I will need while I am away. I also packed two of my Rimmel Scandaleyes Eyeshadow Pencils in Beige Matte and Bad Bronze to use as a base for my shadows. Another Rimmel Scandaleyes pencil made it's way in there in the form of the nude eye liner - I feel this will be used towards the end of the flight so that I don't look quite so tired with my bloodshot eyes!

As for my face, I lifted Laura Geller Balance'n'Brighten (full review here), and the Laura Geller Bronze'n'Brighten, both of these are light on the skin and are perfect for the 'no-makeup' look. I have also packed my new favourite, Lush Emotional Brilliance Powder (Lush post coming soon, don't worry!) and The Body Shop's Shimmer Waves in Blush. I wasn't going to take a highlighter initially, however my obsession for Illamasqua's Cream Highlighter in Gleam   got the better of me and so it made it's way in there too!

I have packed two solid lipsticks, both from Illamasqua in the shades Liable and Flare. Both bright, summery shades and they last brilliantly. How could I refuse? 

This is where I had problems. Those plastic bags are so small and I wanted to take so much. If I'm honest I've managed to squeeze quite a bit in there anyway. Starting with makeup, I've got Lush Jackie Oates Colour Supplement, Liquid Lipstick in Ambition, Liquid Eyeliner in Control and Eyes Right Mascara. I also packed Maybelline Brow Drama Gel to tame my brows while we are away as mine can get quite unruly. Bourjois 1 Seconde Waterproof Mascara as this is a great volume boosting mascara and is a brilliant waterproof formula. Seventeen Tattoo Me Liquid Liner - my absolute favourite liquid liner, ever. It doesn't budge, so it is perfect for hot weather. I'v also packed a new addition to my concealer collection in the form of Laura Geller Real Deal Concealer which you can expect a full review of very soon! I recently tried The Body Shop's Tea Tree Primer and really like it, it feels very refreshing on the skin and I have found it to keep my Balance'n'Brighten in place all day too.

Moving on to the skincare, I have a couple of the Lush Charity Pots to use on my hands while we fly to keep them nice and soft (I have antibacterial hand wipes which are very good but dry your hands out something terrible!). The Body Shop's Elderflower Eye Gel and Vitamin E Eye Cream - the gel is amazing for soothing sore and puffy eyes and the cream is brilliant for helping to banish dark circles. Finally we have the super-amazing Lush Tea Tree Toner which it really refreshing and feels brilliant on the skin, especially when it is followed up with Lush Enzymion moisturiser. Perfect.

The only extra that I seem to have forgotten to photograph was my Lush Full of Grace Serum Bar which is really hydrating and feels really luxurious on the skin and I fully intend to smother my face in it the second I can on the flight!

What are your in-flight beauty essentials?

A Vintage Lovers Holiday Packing List

The countdown for Florida is officially on. We fly out two weeks today, and the over-planning, control freak in me is in overdrive about what we need, what days we are doing what activities and what skincare routine I'll use when I'm on the plane. At least I acknowledge that I should probably change my name to Monica.

I have had a packing list brewing in one of my many notebooks for weeks. So I thought I'd share my packing list as it stands just now with you, and of course, I will have an updated post with what I do actually pack to take with me.

I want to be comfortable in the heat and for walking around parks, but I still want to keep my vintage influenced style at the same time. (this is where the big floppy hats and sunglasses will come in handy!)

Clothes
2 Tank Tops
2 Blouses
2 Kimonos
1 Sundress
1 Pair of 3/4 Length Denims
1 Pair of Denim Shorts
1 Linen Skirt
1 Tube Maxi Skirt/Midi Dress
2 Swimsuits
Underwear

Shoes
Nude Ballet Flats
Black Sandals
Leopard Print Wedges

Accessories
2 Floppy Hats
Sunglasses
2 Handbags
2 Necklaces
4 Pairs of Earrings

Beauty Products
Copious Bottles of SP50 (I'm pale and I like it that way!)
Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream
Superdrug Vitamin E Intense Moisture Cream
Coconut Oil
Gatineau Eye Roll On
Face Mask
Lush Shampoo Bar & Conditioner
Makeup Bag (Still Under Construction)


If you spy any oversights or something I might regret not taking with me then leave me a note in the comments! I'm in panic mode already so help would be much appreciated.
What are your holiday must haves?

The Circle of Life

I mentioned in an earlier post that I was looking forward to seeing the stage production of The Lion King in Edinburgh this month. My mum and I went into Edinburgh for the show yesterday and we were most certainly not disappointed.

The Lion King is my absolute, unchallenged favourite Disney film (the same goes for my mum) and ever since it was first adapted as a stage production (15 years ago, believe it or not!) we have both wanted to see it. So if we rewind to February this year, I was going about my day with daytime TV on in the background when I saw an advert for the show moving to Edinburgh from October to January. I couldn't pass up the opportunity so with help from G who paid for my ticket I bought my mum's for her birthday.

If you ever have the opportunity to see this show, take it in a heartbeat. I can't begin to explain how amazing it is and I think that G is fed up of me talking about it already (sorry, I will eventually stop - honest). I would really love to see it again before it leaves Edinburgh in January.

This video does not do the performance justice. You cannot begin to imagine the excitement and emotion with this opening number. Although it does give you a great insight at the amazing costume and puppetry in the show which I have always been amazed at (I actually did my higher art and design based on this show - I designed a piece of costume for the character of Simba - yes, that is how much I adore The Lion King but my passion earned me an A band 1, so I think it worked!). I sat with a massive grin from ear to ear throughout the entire performance. I urge you to go and see this show. You will not be disappointed. I promise.

Save Money in the Kitchen

Eating healthily is something which is very important to me and I think that it is definitely achievable when on a budget or if you are looking to save money.

I really love these US Food Administration posters from World War I

These posters summarise my thinking when it comes to food very well. In order to cut on waste and minimise the cost of shopping I never buy food that isn't on my shopping list (unless G is with me when biscuits and such find their way into the trolley!). 

Save Money! Plan Meals!

This is the thing that has saved us a huge amount of money. I do it weekly but you can do it for as far in advance as you like, after you have done your meal plan, build your list around it checking what you already have. 

Here is an example of one of our weekly meal plans;

Monday - Chicken stir-fry with rice (bought - chicken, peppers, spring onions as we already had soy sauce, fish sauce and rice wine vinegar for the sauce and rice)

Tuesday - Chorizo mozzarella and salad baguettes (bought - chorizo, mozzarella and salad and I always keep a stash of part-baked baguettes in the kitchen)

Wednesday - Mac and Cheese (bought - milk as we already have butter, flour, cheddar cheese and pasta and serve it with left over salad from Tuesday)

Thursday - Marzetti (bought - carrots, onion, celery  as I already have a 500g pack of mince in the freezer from last week - meat tends to be on 3 for £10 in Tesco so I sometimes pick up extra to freeze - and  already have pasta and cream of mushroom soup)

Friday - Lasagna (bought - the same as Marzetti  as 500g of mince makes a great deal of meat sauce for 2 people, I split it into two and use it for lasagna the following day, I always have lasagne sheets in the cupboard and I will use the rest of the milk for the bechamel sauce)

Saturday - Left-overs

Sunday - Chicken Fajitas (bought - chicken, tortillas and I had already purchased peppers for Monday and I make my own fajita seasoning with spices in my store cupboard so I don't by the ready made ones).

The items in bold complete with things like bread, cold meat and a few extra bits of veg for a pot of soup and some fruit to eat at lunchtime and as snacks is our normal weekly shop (obviously depending on what meals we plan on having, the list will vary). With the powers of the internet I have filled my basket online with the wonderful My Supermarket who compare prices across the big players in grocery shopping and tell you where you can get things the cheapest. 

As you can see it compares prices and tells you which retailer is the cheapest for each item individually as well as for the collective shop - it is a great resource and you can complete the online shop from here by choosing which retailer you would like to buy from and they transfer your basket to whichever retailers website. 

So, as you can see for our weekly shop, 7 dinners and lunch items we would pay £25.63 by shopping with Tesco which it the cheapest retailer for the shop as a whole - but if we were to decide to go and by each product at it's cheapest price from different retailers then we could reduce the shop by a further £10.15 taking it to £15.48. That is for 2 people, for a week. Yes. That is without using coupons or money off vouchers. 

Homemade, I know exactly what is going into out meals and there is no waste from them either. Not to mention that making it yourself is very tasty too. 

Do you meal plan? What are your tips for saving money in the kitchen?

Clean Those Brushes!

When was the last time you cleaned your make-up brushes? Really? I admit that I can get a bit lazy when it comes to this - and it takes my skin to breakout before I give my brushes a good clean. You should really clean them every 3 weeks or so to keep any nasties away from your face. I am trying my hardest to remember as it shouldn't take a breakout for me to give my tools a good clean - I have been very good over the last 3 or 4 months and keeping on track with it though!

I don't go and buy special brush cleaner as I prefer to use warm water with about a cup of white vinegar and a couple of lemons as they both provide excellent antibacterial properties (plus, it is a lot cheaper this way!). Allow the brushes to soak in the water and vinegar with the lemons halved and in the bowl too, then after a few minutes take each brush in turn and swirl and scrub them with the lemon (the flesh in the fruit acts as a natural brush and helps remove any residue from the brushes). Rinse them well under a warm tap and then allow to fully air dry before using them again.

Easy, isn't it? And you probably have white vinegar and lemons lurking in your kitchen so why not give those brushes a good scrub?

Burger Birthday Cake.

I really enjoy baking. I normally bake cupcakes and Mr and I gorge on them from the moment they come out if the oven, leaving no time to decorate them. However at the beginning of July, it was his birthday, so rather than doing my usual 24 cupcakes, I thought that I would bake one large cake. But not any old cake, oh no. I wanted my cake to look like one giant burger (he likes a good burger).

-Note- I apologise that I do not have pictures from the process and just the outcome, I didn't have the foresight to take those ones!

I remembered seeing these little cupcakes on Pinterest (Link to original site)

Gorgeous, aren't they?  So I looked back through my Pinterest board to see these again and the I got to planning my super sized version.

With my 9" cake tin, I made 2 vanilla sponges and 1 chocolate

Vanilla,

250g/9oz Caster sugar,

250g/9oz Unsalted butter (or stork)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Cream these together and then add;

3 medium sized eggs (crack in one at a time and then beat each in individually as this prevents the mixture from splitting )

250g/9oz Self raising flour (sifted)

Once it is all mixed in and you have a smooth batter which it slightly tearing away from the sides of the bowl then put it into a greased 9" baking tin and stick into a ore-heated oven (180c/355f) check around 40 minutes, mine were ready after around 45 minutes. When they are golden on top and a knife comes out clean from the middle of the cake you are good to go!

Chocolate,

250g/9oz Caster sugar,

250g/9oz Unsalted butter (or stork)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Cream these together and then add;

3 medium sized eggs (crack in one at a time and then beat each in individually as this prevents the mixture from splitting )

200g/7oz Self raising flour (sifted) 

50g/1.7oz Cocoa powder

A good tbsp of Nutella

Same cooking instructions as the vanilla sponge.

Once you have your cakes, leave them to cool off on a wire rack for at least an hour.

Now comes the fun part! I bought some ready to roll royal icing which was already coloured (I bought yellow, green and plain white) 

I also made a small amount of butter cream icing (equal parts Unsalted butter to icing sugar) which I put on the centre of one vanilla and the chocolate sponge.

I pinched the green icing to look like small lettuce leaves and used raspberry jam to fix them around the outside of the vanilla sponge which already has some butter cream in the middle, followed by the chocolate cake on top, again with some jam around the outside of the sponge I then rolled out the yellow as thin as I could and cut into triangles to look like cheese, then the last vanilla on top again, with specks of the white icing to look like the seeds on the bun.

The result?

 

I know that the last photograph is terrible, but it makes me laugh!

Do you enjoy baking and decorating your creations? I'd love to hear!

Until next time,

Emily x

Inspirations

Hello again!

Apologies for not posting for a few days, working night shifts all week have left me a tad anti-social, tonight is my last one so I will be posting more frequently - I promise! 

I wanted to just do a quick post today about where I gain inspiration from. As I have mentioned, I love to make things and you will often find me at my sewing machine or sitting gluing and sticking things together. Now as much as I would like to tell you that everything that I make is all from the top of my head, I would be lying. I have a large amount of craft and cookery books which I love to flick through for inspiration as well as my monthly dose of Mollie Makes magazine. That being said, my biggest source of inspiration is probably the ever-so-wonderful Pinterest. (check out my boards filled with inspiration here) 

I love my craft books!

A mixture of craft and art books.

Mollie Makes lined up all pretty on my shelf!

A few recipe favorites. 

Where do you gain your inspiration for craft and cookery? Do you have a collection like I have?

Until next time,

Emily