10 Clues for a Well-lived Summer
The official start of summer is June 21st. The REAL start of summer, here in Paris at least, is July 14th. After the parade and the fireworks people leave for the sea or for their maison de famille. Each conversation begins with “So, where do you go for the...
You can get the girl out of Paris, but you can’t get Paris out of the girl….
Our group was sitting in a café in the Marais, it was one of those warm summer evenings that make Paris achingly beautiful. It was a good-bye gathering for a Parisian, née American friend who is to to return to the States after nearly 20 years here. Our...
How my mug helped me through a hard time
We first had met via the pages of a magazine. The coup de foudre was instantaneous. A tiny photo of a mug, from a china series called “Incorrigible”, that was all there was and that was all needed to get me hooked. Simplicity, elegance, fluidity and movement...
9 Tips to Carve out More Time
Inspired by one of my clients, I had decided upon my personal challenge: until midsummer I will have 50 conversations with women about what is blocking them to design their lives they way they want to (you can read the whole story here). I was really excited about...
The One Time even I Didn’t Believe it to Be Possible (And My Personal Challenge)
I want to tell you a story about Marie: a long-time client of mine and an elegant alchemist who made the impossible happen. (And the personal challenge I was inspired to set for myself as a result--more on that in second.) I have known Marie (not her real name, of...
When the Tail wags the Dog
When we feel stuck in a situation, when we struggle with the same problem over and over again, when our emotional batteries are low and elegance seems a concept from another galaxy, usually something interesting happens: we are irresistibly attracted by...
What’s in a Home
“To speak of home in relation to a building is simply to recognise its harmony with our own prized internal song.” Alain de Botton, The Architecture of Happiness Our own internal song. I believe this is who we want to be and how we want to feel. So when you open the...
Five Ways to infuse Luxury into Greyish Days.
Some time ago I woke up and felt greyish. No idea why. Maybe a week of incessant rain had finally gotten the better of me. Maybe I had spent too much time at my desk. Maybe this unfriendly person on the phone the day before was still bugging me or maybe it was...
The WORST Thing to have in Your Home
Here’s what I know: embracing your inner elegant woman will change your life. (And you don’t have to spend thousands on a designer wardrobe, sweat your way to a size 2 or quit your job to do it.) Here's what I also know: whilst our inner world shapes our outer world,...
How it all started … clutter, a glass of champagne and small, simple acts
Recently I was sitting in a friend’s kitchen, we chatted, drank one of her fantastic herbal tea mixtures and the conversation drifted to our younger selves. Looking back half fondly, half embarrassed, I shared how at times I was so disorganised that the floor of my...
15 Things To Buy That Will Add Instant Luxury To Your Day
Last week I was early for a meeting near the luxurious Avenue Montaigne in Paris, and so I took a stroll, enjoying the summery displays in the windows of Chanel et al. on this grey February day. Everywhere people were carrying shopping bags with the logos of this...
How To Rekindle Your Fire
Last week I spoke with a client who truly wants to change the quality of her life and who for some time was going in circles, asking herself the same questions again and again, trying to find a solution by working harder and harder. Nothing she did really made a...
How to find the Perfect Christmas Gift – 15 Clues
Do you know what you are going to do in approximately four weeks' time? You are probably sitting amongst family members and exchange Christmas presents. Did you just sigh? For many of us, finding gifts for Christmas is a tedious exercise, and, ironically, we...
How French Women “diet”
Recently in the métro I overheard a conversation between two ladies from the US. It was obvious that they had a great time during their stay in Paris, marvelling about the places they had visited, the gifts they got for their families, the architecture,...
The Elegance of Imperfection: Five Things to Do (or not) When You Disappoint Someone
Recently I disappointed someone. What makes it worse, it was someone I quite like and who had done nothing wrong. It was a simple case of me needing something different than what she could provide. I was very clear that my decision did not demean her qualities...