The workplace has shifted in a short amount of time, largely due to the pandemic, but also prompted by many other social and environmental awakenings. Communication, civil communication, remains at the epicenter of a civil society; however, currently, a significant learning curve has taken place, and we need to keep up in order to strengthen […]
“Comfort is the root of confidence and not the other way around.” —Haley Mlotek in The New York Times Style Magazine ~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #130 Confidence is attractive. Confidence can be deceiving. Confidence is however hard to fake. But the hard truth about confidence is that it is rooted in feeling comfortable with that […]
~The Simple Sophisticate podcast – Episode #5 First of all, what exactly is confidence? Those who exude confidence seem to have this energy or this air about them that people are drawn to. Such people are neither arrogant nor do they have low self-esteem or appear to be insecure about themselves. Sometimes putting our finger […]
{A simply luxurious life, while full of the concept less is more, luxuriates in the decadence of high quality, complementary style and an appreciation for the beauty that surrounds us in decor, fashion, nature and people themselves. One does not need to maintain a balance in the bank that one might associate with a millionaire, […]
Repeatedly, the confidence one possesses of themselves is noted as being one of the most attractive qualities one can acquire. Whether it comes to attracting and holding someone’s attention in your love life, or convincing your future boss that you indeed are the one they should hire. How, you might be asking, do I achieve […]
“La nuit porte conseil.” A French proverbial suggestion that the night (that you spend asleep) will bring much-needed advice the next morning, la nuit porte conseil literally translates to say ‘the night is the door to advice’. While watching the documentary film The Gardener (2018), the gardener himself Frank Higginson Cabot spoke to this French […]
“To be creative, one should simply unwind mindlessly.” —Craig Wright, Ph.D, author of The Hidden Habits of Genius The mind wanders into discovery. Whether while we sleep and our decision making and logical thought parts of our brain turn off freeing up the hippocampus, amygdala and visual-spatial cortex to have free range, while walking (without […]
“I think sometimes people want to be so tasteful, that their rooms are instantly forgettable.” —Kit Kemp, British interior designer, episode #3 of The English Home podcast Let me begin by confessing I fell into the oft defaulted-to choice Kit Kemp describes above. In the house I owned prior to Le Papillon and lived in […]
The mornings while crisp, excite me each time I step out onto the front porch as the roses are in bloom, the sunflowers stretch ever higher to the sky and the hydrangeas are just beginning to turn their brilliant autumnal blush hue. The smoke-filled skies have begun to clear which means more time outside soaking […]
La Rentrée has officially begun and looking our best for the autumnal season has jumped near the top of my priority list. Earlier this week I stepped into my closet and undertook a massive edit. Needless to say, now I need to sit down and have an honest conversation about the investment pieces I need […]
Maybe this has happened to you. You long for a vacation, a getaway, even just a day away somewhere other than what you are muddling through at the moment, so you book it, you reserve it, you plan to do just that, but upon arriving, one thing or many things cause more stress and discomfort […]
What a week! With 15 posts, eight giveaways presented, and the most engagement we’ve had ever during TSLL’s Annual event celebrating all things French, I just want to thank you for joining in a week of festivities. French Week has become one of my favorite weeks of the year to be reminded of so many […]
The difference between a cook and a chef welcomes many different opinions, but when I heard Christopher Kimball of Milk Street’s definition distinguishing between the two, I took note. He enumerated a few more contrasts, but these three stood out in my mind and stuck in my memory, primarily because they make sense. Often the […]
Wearable pieces of art. Hours upon hours of detailed artistry, beading, stitching and eye for detail, haute couture makes its way down the runways twice a year in Paris and Italy. Tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of monetary value exchange hands from international buyers to designers, and while all of this ensures couture […]
Sunday morning and, as is our ritual, Norman and I went walking. While we often return to favorite trails just outside of the Bend area and then enjoy the reward of a croissant with breakfast and a cuppa, from time to time, I will explore a new trail just to see where it leads. Not […]
“Throughout our development, we form adaptations to cope or deal with pain and fears. Yet these adaptations, which initially served as survival mechanisms, later come to limit us.”—Lisa Firestone, author of Conquer Your Critical Voice (2002) It takes 27 days for our skin to replace itself, to be fully exfoliated, revealing the new skin – […]
Sales for summer clothing, and a dress I just bought and LOVE, but also THE annual sale many have been patiently waiting for, a playful series all about wine, a bestselling novel in France and Italy in 2020, now translated for English-readers to enjoy as well, a new summer romance film premiering this month, a […]
“Your life will tell you the truth.” —Martha Beck, author of The Way of Integrity: Finding the Path to Your True Self Divided. Compartmentalized. Unable to give what is needed, not by choice, but by pure, sincere inability due to time and energy. Signs of living a life off the track of the way of […]
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As a high school teacher, if there is a shift in sartorial preferences collectively in the culture at-large, the teenagers’ attire communicate the news en masse. As of late, the jean trend of looser, high-waist designs ushered out the skinny jeans style which held its grip on the popular culture for nearly 15 years if […]
One funny human truth often forgotten after we have grown as a person, learned a new and wiser way to live in the world happens due to our blindspot. We cannot see or witness with our own eyes how our actions, thoughts and demeanor have changed because we are actively doing it. Consequently, sometimes our […]
When a particular room, exterior, or garden grabs your eye, something instinctive speaks to you regarding what will bring you warm welcome, comfort, peace and a feeling of ease. Kate Stamps, a fellow Anglophile living in Southern California with her husband Odom Stamps, an architect and equal partner of Stamps & Stamps, has made the […]
Books for relaxing, for being inspired, for being informed, for sweeping you away to Paris, for helping you find your purpose and calling, a new series to sweep you back to an unknown story which took place during WWII, a film to reveal something you may not have known, cottage gardeners, a series for you […]
Emerging into a new season after having for so long been limited by what activities have been offered to change our attire and express ourselves sartorially is a descriptor many clothing brands have posted on their homepage to welcome online shoppers into their stores. After all, each in our own way, we are ready for […]
