How to be Chic: November 2018

Thursday, November 22, 2018

Cozy Domesticity

We don’t have Thanksgiving here in New Zealand, but I know it’s ‘today’ in the US. Even so, I do feel grateful and thankful for many things in my life, including that I enjoy my home so much. I have always loved tidying and prettifying where I live, whether it is my own home like now, a rented home, or even when I lived with my sister and two other girls before I met my husband, and the only space which was absolutely mine was my bedroom. I still remember what a haven - a sanctuary - it was then.

Today I am at home doing laundry, going out later to pick up some groceries, and I plan to put our Christmas tree up too. We’re in the middle of a spring downpour, complete with dark clouds and thunder. It was sunny this morning, so I got to take three happy dogs for a walk, and now I am cozy at home enjoying the feeling of getting organized – not for anything special, just daily organization. I don’t always love getting started, but the feeling during and after straightening up around the house, putting things away, folding washing etc brings me so much pleasure.

The tree will be a bit of a mission to get up – I bought an 8-foot tree last Christmas – but I know it will look beautiful once it’s constructed and decorated. I will be using last year’s tartan ribbon theme because I love it so much, plus I am not the kind of person to change their Christmas theme from year to year. I am a classic girl who likes to build on past choices rather than change them out completely, with everything from décor, clothing and habits even.

It’s such a nice feeling to be warm and snug inside while it’s stormy outside, and brings another level of satisfaction to my homemaking.

No matter the humbleness of where I have lived, I have always been aware of the inner happiness that can be gained from straightening up a room. I find it incredible that you can make a space look more gorgeous without spending a cent! I would say our home currently is 80-90% organized and decluttered, and I sometimes wonder if I leave that small percentage undone (telling myself I’m ‘too busy’ to tackle it at the moment and anyway, it’s ‘not that bad’) because I’ll wonder what to do with myself if my home was exactly the way I’d always dreamed of. But of course, that’s ludicrous because there are so many ways in which I like to spend my time.

Nevertheless, I shall enjoy my day of cozy domesticity and be grateful for that. I do hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving (or Thursday) where ever you are. I am thankful for you, dear readers of my blog, social media and books. Every message, comment or email I receive fills my heart with happiness that my words have reached a kindred ear (or eye). Thank you.

With a grateful heart,

~Fiona~

PS. If the thought of Christmas stresses you out every year, can I invite you to look at it in a different way? One reviewer said of my book ‘A Chic and Simple Christmas’: “A very non-traditional Christmas book - but thought provoking” and another said, “Used the ideas to have probably the best, low stress, Christmas I have ever had.” Yay!

Check out the Amazon 'Look Inside' function to see if 'A Chic and Simple Christmas' speaks to you. Available in paperback and on Kindle here.

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Monday, November 12, 2018

What I stand for

Ninacat :)

I was thinking about my blog and writing the other day, because I never know what to say when people find out I am a writer and ask what I write about. I truly don’t know what to tell them! Saying ‘pretty things’ is what I want to say, but I can’t imagine it would be very helpful. I’d also rather say, ‘here’s one of my books, just read that and it will tell you’ because I find it hard to articulate what my topic is. It’s okay once we get talking, but the ten-second elevator soundbyte you’re supposed to have has always been a challenge for me.

What I love to think about more, is what do I stand for? That’s easy. I stand for inspiration, creating and appreciating beauty, and living in a peaceful way. I stand for serenity in outlook, lifestyle and with food. I believe in each of us making the most of ourselves and treating ourselves to what truly makes us happy in life.

I believe a positive mindset contributes to our wellbeing, and that each of us has the brilliant opportunity to create our own incredible life. We can have our feet on the ground and live in the real world, but we don’t need to be OF the real world. We can be down-to-earth AND have our head in the stars at the same time. We can design our own lifestyle: our home, wardrobe and our state of mind, as pretty and as delicate as we’d like it to be. And, we get to choose what brings us joy! We don’t need to go along with anyone else’s rules.

For me, my world is rose-tinted, rose-scented, and sparklingly effervescent. I do my daily chores and get things done, but I also immerse myself in my own magical world through my writing, how I keep my home and what I fill my mind with. I read books, watch movies and populate my thoughts with beauty and inspiration. My home is quite simply decorated, but it still has pockets of exquisiteness which elevates my frequency.

And none of this takes money. If you choose to look upon the world as a enchanted place full of possibility and love, it is. You can be aware of what’s going on and do what you can without feeling bogged down by perpetual bad news which you can do nothing about.

I feel like my role in the world is to share my inspiration with others through my blog, social media accounts and my books. I know how uplifting it feels to read a book and be bursting with ideas afterwards, as well as feel indescribably happy for some reason. It’s a fabulous day when I come across a gold nugget in a book which provides me with a new, different, or better way of thinking about something, and I hope you find them with my books too, because that’s why I write them.

What do you stand for? Think about the things you value and see if they translate into how you live your life. I value simplicity, so my home is consistently being decluttered, organised, simplified and cleaned. When I get busy or less motivated and don’t do these things on a regular basis, it feels heavy. When I pursue simplicity and clean out and clean up, I feel buoyant again.

Love what you love and stand for what you stand for. Don’t let anyone else tell you how you should be, think or feel. Please share with me what you stand for and make a commitment to yourself that you will go forth with pride in your choices today and every day :)

~Fiona~

If you enjoyed this post, I’d love you to share it with a friend you think would like it too!

PS. I was interviewed by the lovely Michelle Marie McGrath for her podcast 'Unclassified Women', which is all about women who don't have children whether through circumstance or choice. I talk about my own situation and why I don't have children, plus a bit about my career as a write-from-home author with tips on how you can start too.

You can listen on YouTube and iTunes through Michelle's link here. I had such a lovely time chatting with Michelle, so I really hope you enjoy this interview!

You can find me here too:

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