Jennifer L. Scott's Blog, page 70

5 Tips for an Efficient Home

Today's video is a collaboration with Mina Irfan from The Universe Guru. Mina contacted me with this great idea to do a collaboration on 5 Tips for an Efficient Home. Today, I'm sharing 5 tips on my channel, and she is sharing 5 tips on her channel. You can watch her video here.

This was a really fun topic for me. I had way more than 5 tips, but I streamlined them to the most pertinent.

Prepare the night before Think about what makes your morning hectic. Is it breakfast? Getting dressed? Preparing school lunches? Helping the children get ready? Whatever it is that causes you stress, see if you can take care of it the night before. Set the table for breakfast. Set out the lunchbox and place non-perishables in it. Choose your clothes for the next day. Have your children lay their clothes out. Place all backpacks by the front door. Everyone's nightly to-do list will be different, but you will come to appreciate this added effort the night before to make your morning run smoothly.

Use your slow cooker The slow cooker (or crock pot) is my favorite kitchen appliance. Late afternoon/ early evening are very busy times at our house. The children are back from school and we are doing homework, practicing instruments, catching up and having downtime together. I'm also normally quite tired during these hours. That's why I love to prepare a meal in the slow cooker in the morning, when I tend to have more energy and while the kids are at school. I love the feeling of having dinner prepared come 5pm! It also makes the house smell so good. I love that our home smells of home-cooking when the children get back from school. The benefits of the slow cooker are endless.**

Embrace routines We live in a world of order and our homes should reflect that. Try to eliminate chaos wherever you can by implementing routines for everything from dealing with the incoming mail to going to bed at night.

Run your home like a small hotel What do you like about staying at a hotel? Is it the serene, clutter-free bedroom? The immaculate lobby and reception area? The sense of calm and order? Get excited about running your home, just as if you were the manager of a small, boutique hotel. With this motivation, you will plan your meals with gusto and use your implemented routines to create an orderly and efficient home.

Adopt a ten-item wardrobe The benefits of the ten-item wardrobe are vast, one of them being that it makes your home life run more efficiently. Why? Because you are not wasting countless hours choosing what to wear. You are not wasting money on clothes you don't need and aren't your true style. You end up choosing to look presentable every day which boosts your energy and productivity, plus so much more.

I hope you check out my video today where I expound on all of these topics, and why I believe they can help you to run your home more efficiently.

**Many people have asked which slow cooker I use. Our All Clad slow cooker is over ten years old and our particular model is no longer available. However, I did some research and this Crock Pot slow cooker is Amazon's pick, is very affordable and has excellent reviews online. If you are looking for a new slow cooker and you try this one, let me know how you like it!

Comment of the Week
Oh my goodness, there were so many amazing comments from last week's Teatime with Jennifer video and blog, it was really hard to choose my favorite! Here are two great comments:

Jenna G writes: I have been following your channel and reading your books for a few years now, I've never commented but I just love what you have to say. You have inspired me to live in a new way with a renewed love for the simple things in life. Whether it's food, beverages, clothes, or the simple pleasures of making your home look beautiful, it's just fun! I used to have two closets jam-packed full of clothes, and now I'm down to one small closet thanks to the 10 item wardrobe. I love cleaning out my closet multiple times each year and updating my wardrobe. I find joy in keeping my home looking nice with my husband. And I totally agree about looking presentable always, even when no one else will see you that day! I hope your books and channel are around for years to come. I love looking forward to your new videos each week. :)

Tara M writes:
Before reading the Madame Chic series I used to be an offender of wearing yoga pants everyday (I think I am wearing yoga pants in my icon pic :). I too, had the opinion that it didn't matter since I wore a long shirt over and I thought you couldn't tell. I also work from home. But after reading the books, I decided to give it a try. I have to say I have converted. I no longer wear yoga pants daily. I wear real pants. And I will say, "don't knock it til you try it". I feel so much better. I realized that when I was in my yoga pants, I wanted to lounge around, read, or go on the internet. When I am dressed, I am more efficient, more organized and I feel better when I go to the store. I am in a better mood. I love not wearing yoga pants. At the end of the night, early, I take a relaxing bath and put on my pj's and then I relax, pray and listen to some classical or meditation music. So, now I have a place for my relaxation time. I love it!~ Thank you Jennifer for shedding light on this. My cheat is, I found dressy, nice pants, that are just as comfy as yoga pants. I usually wear nice, dressy leggings with a long dress top and ballet flats.

Thank you ladies, for sharing your great testimonials with all of us. I love to hear how the Daily Connoisseur and Madame Chic philosophies are improving your lives.

This week I would love to know... What do you think of my tips for running an efficient home? Do you have any to add yourself? Do you struggle with efficiency in your home life? Let me know in the comment section, and yours could be chosen as comment of the week on the blog!


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FTC: This is not a sponsored post. All opinions are my own. Links may be affiliate.

Yoga Pants Every Day? Motivation to Dress Well | Teatime with Jennifer

In today's teatime with Jennifer, I answer a question from a reader who asks for motivation on dressing well. Amber writes:

Hi Jennifer,

I have been following your blog since Autumn of this year. How helpful your advice has been in helping me to keep a calm, well-kept home for my growing family. I am still having some struggles, however, with my personal routine. My children are babies, and I stay at home. I like to get the most messy housework done early in the day, and exercise during nap time around the middle of the day. My goals prevent me from a solid dressing and toilette routine, as I do not want to spend the time on hair, makeup, and nice clothes if they are going to be undone with cleaning and exercise! I would be so grateful for insights into your routine. I am also wondering if you wear clothes from your extras for housework. Thank you so much!

Sincerely,
Amber

Amber's concern is very valid. I receive this question a lot! What is the point of dressing up each day, when it will all be undone shortly thereafter? I answer Amber's question in today's video, along with commentary on an article I posted recently on my Facebook page, that drew a lot of fire: The Chicago Tribune's opinion piece, Unless You're Doing Yoga, Put on Some Real Pants. This article drew a lot of anger on Facebook, but I explain in this video why I think many of its points are valid.

I hope you enjoy teatime with Jennifer this week!

Also, did you notice? I got a new video camera and microphone! I am stepping up my efforts to make my videos better for you in every way. Thank you for your patience as I get used to using my new technology.

Comment of the Week
Summer S. writes:
My husband and I decided we needed to get back into making weekly dinners. I was writing out our schedule this week and went to check on your post and laughed at our serendipitous topic. In the summer time I often make lunch a big salad, whatever I might have in the fridge or want to put in it varies. I also enjoy tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, olive oil, and salt and pepper! That is very satisfying and maybe add a glass of lemonade. I also LOVE cucumber sandwiches when it is REALLY hot!

In the winter/fall I usually have deli meat roll-ups with cream cheese and fruit or carrots. Sometimes I'll splurge and have a PB and J sandwich with my boys!

Thank you for sharing what you eat for lunch, Summer. I love to know what other people eat. I'm happy to hear that you and your husband are getting back into making weekly dinners!

Today I would love to know... what do you think about the thoughts discussed in this week's video? Do you think it's important to dress well every day? Can you get your messy work done in your nice clothes? If you try it, let me know how it goes! What do you think of the Chicago Tribune article? See you Monday!


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One Week of Lunches | M-F | Jennifer L. Scott

Don't you love to know what other people eat? In today's video, I take you to lunch each weekday! I hope my video gives you some ideas for your own kitchen. This isn't the most typical week, as we celebrated a birthday, but you will see how I go with the flow.

What I ate:

Monday: steamed crab with melted butter, grapes, Havarti cheese, baguette with butter

Tuesday: Leftover turkey kale Alfredo pasta with fruit salad

Wednesday: Sliced apple with almond butter, carrots and Babybel cheese (this is a snack-y lunch due to a large breakfast)

Thursday: Birthday sushi! And a homemade Oreo cheesecake

Friday: Quinoa bowl with artichoke and red pepper spread, sauteed kale, soft boiled egg and Havarti cheese.

It's important to note that this week's lunches are not heavy on vegetables. If I don't get vegetables in at lunchtime, I make up for it during dinner, which I certainly did this week.

Check out my video to see all of the options. I hope you enjoy!

News
The Everyday Quaintrelle tries out the ten-item wardrobe.

Olive and Cocoa call Lessons from Madame Chic a must-read book and include it in a gift package.

Comment of the Week
Good evening Jennifer,

I came upon this quote by one of my favorite authors, and I thought you would like it as well.
"Wherever you are you should always be contented, but especially at home, because there you must spend the most of your time." Jane Austen

This quote helps me have a better attitude while I'm doing chores or feeling overwhelmed with running a household.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend,
Vanessa

Hello Vanessa, thank you for sharing that quote. It is inspiring and so true!

Question of the Week
Hi Jennifer. I have been a reader of your blog for a few years now. Every Monday I am so excited to read and watch your next topic. I had a question that has been on my mind for a while. Music. My house is so quiet or with 2 boys it gets taken over with the noise of whatever they are into. I really want to change our noise environment. I know there are so many different music devises out these days, in fact so many, that I can't choose. Do you mind sharing what device, or radio system, or even record player, that you use in your home. Thank you. Warmly, Kim C

Hello Kim, thank you for your question! In the house, we generally put music on iTunes via our television. We have an apple TV device that does this. Or, If I want to play a CD, I put it in our DVD player. In the car, we listen to our iPod that plugs into the car with a USB cable. We aren't the most technologically advanced, and I'm sure that there are better ways we could be listening to our music, but what we do works for us. What I like about iTunes on the TV is that I can listen to music according to genre. Famille Chic used an old-fashioned record player to listen to their music, which provided many wonderful memories for me. There are many options, as you can see! I hope that helps.

Thank you for watching! This week I would love to know what your favorite lunch is...

See you on Thursday for Teatime with Jennifer!



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Makeup Revolution Brush Review

In today's beauty review, I share a new kind of makeup brush with you from Makeup Revolution. Have you seen this new brush shape on the market? They look like fancy toothbrushes. You can find them for everything from your foundation, to blush to eyeshadow. In today's review, I try out Makeup Revolution's eye shadow brushes.



It does take a little time to get used to the new shape. You can hold them horizontally or vertically, but once you get the hang of them, these brushes deliver the precision application that they promise.



The eyeshadow I use in the video is the Kate Tokyo palette in shade BR3 (from my Japan Drugstore Haul).


Check out my video today where I demonstrate the brushes for you.

Each individual brush: the oval eye, the eyeliner and the round blending brush are $8 each. Or the set of all three is $22.

For more on Makeup Revolution, visit makeuprevolutionusa.com

For comparable toothbrush makeup sets, check out the following highly rated sets from Amazon. You can see that this new brush shape is gaining popularity!



Nora's Brushes Oval Toothbrush Makeup Set



and the Yoseng Oval Makeup Brush set


News



The Seattle Public Library says Lessons from Madame Chic is a life-changing book and lists other inspiring books in the genre in their article called, Becoming Madame Chic.

Check out this viral article, School wants parents to take responsibility, now their poster is spreading like wildfire, that discusses how raising children right starts at home.

This is a great article that I'm sure you will enjoy: I'm a Parisian woman, here's what I actually eat in a day. I noted many similarities to my eating experience in Paris.

My blogging friend, Kristi Belcamino, has re-released her book, La Bella Figura, on Amazon. Kristi has Italian heritage and shares her European-inspired wisdom on how to live a beautiful life in her lovely book.



Kristi was one of the first bloggers to feature my book, Lessons from Madame Chic on her blog, and for that I am forever grateful!

Comment of the week
Emily M writes:
Hi Jennifer! I had a fun '10-Item Wardrobe' moment yesterday, and thought you'd enjoy hearing about it. I was with my neighbor and her 12-year-old daughter, and my neighbor commented on how nice I looked and asked if I was going somewhere. I explained that I only own about 15 items of clothing, and I chose for them to be nice. Her daughter exclaimed "Well, that's ingenious!".

Hi Emily, I love it! Thank you for sharing that moment with us. People can't believe their ears when they first hear about the ten-item wardrobe and all of its benefits. I hope your neighbor becomes curious enough to try it!

See you on Monday for one week of lunches on The Daily Connoisseur. Have a great weekend!


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LONDONTOWN Nail Polish Review (Vegan, Cruelty-free, 9-free)

Today, I have an in-depth review of LONDONTOWN'S high-quality nail polishes. I was excited to do this review and test these polishes, as I have had many requests for more natural polishes. LONDONTOWN'S polishes are vegan, gluten-free, cruelty-free and 9-free.



What does 9-free mean? It means that the polishes are free of 9 potentially harmful chemicals: formaldehyde, camphor, toluene, DBP (dibutyl pthalate and phthalates), formaldehyde resin, xylene, ethyl tosylamide, parabens, and lead.

Check out all of LondonTown's beautiful nail colors here.







Here are the polishes featured and tested in my video:

Chelsea Porcelain

The Full Monty

Portobello Plum

Double the Deck

Gel Genius Top Coat

Instant Smudge Fix

Nail Hardener and Base Coat

I test the polishes over many weeks and are very impressed with their endurance and quality. Be sure to check out this week's video for the whole review. Thank you to LondonTown for sending me these polishes to review!

News
Shannon Bardwell cites The Madame Chic Collection as inspiration for her new year resolution in The Dispatch.

The Entertainment Report selects The Madame Chic Collection for their gift guide.

Comment of the Week
Grammy Laura writes:

Thank you so much for adding a touch of class and grace to the world. There is so much going on that can bring us down if we allow it to. I have decided to be more discerning in which bloggers I follow, since their attitudes have a tendency to creep into my life, whether I am intentional about it or not. Thank you for daring to be different, and for the source of encouragement that you are to so many, including me. Many blessings to you and yours!

Grammy Laura, thank you so much for your kind encouragement!


See you on Thursday for another beauty review.



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FTC: Londontown nail polishes were sent to me to review. All opinions are my own. Links may be affiliates.

Awards Season Thoughts | Teatime with Jennifer

In today's episode of Teatime with Jennifer (or coffee hour with Jennifer, as I am drinking my morning coffee in this video), I discuss several thoughts regarding the awards season.



Today's chat covers my thoughts on the following subjects:

* The red carpet
* Best dressed for Golden Globes 2017
* Vulgarity in recent awards shows
* Politics in awards shows

and much, much more!


Mentioned in the video:

Emma Bridgewater Union Jack coffee mug

My Huffington Post article, Is Vulgar the New Normal?

News
Nina Gustafson shares the inspiration she got from Lessons from Madame Chic in her article, Oui, Oui bring me seven course dinners
Comment of the Week



Hi Kathryn, If you don't have a DVR, I think getting some chores done during commercial breaks is a great idea! I have a weakness for British TV as well :)

I do hope you check out today's video. I would also love to know your thoughts on everything I discuss. Do you watch the awards shows or do you skip them? How do you feel about the topics discussed? What are your picks for best film, actor and actress this year? Let me know in the comment section, and your comment could be chosen as comment of the week on the blog!

Next week there will be two beauty reviews. Monday's review will be for cruelty-free and 9-free nail polishes from LONDONTOWN, and Thursday's review will be for the affordable makeup brushes from Makeup Revolution.

See you then!


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Make Home Life a Priority 2017 | Make Your Distractions Work For You

I'm pleased to start my series on making home life a priority today! I have broached this subject in the past, and have even written a book on the topic (At Home With Madame Chic), however, this topic remains a passion of mine, and I still have so much to say on the subject.

This will be an on-going series over the course of the year, and today we are talking about distractions. The last time I discussed this, I urged you to cut your distractions. Cutting needless distractions is very important, but in today's video, I also give encouragement. Oftentimes you can make your distractions work for you to sweeten the process of getting your work done.

The first step? Write your distractions down on a sheet of paper so you can look at them honestly. Screens, in any form, are the biggest distractions: smartphones, television, YouTube, Facebook, Pinterest, Netflix, etc.

Now, figure out if you can make your favorite distractions work for you. Can you watch a YouTube video, while folding the laundry? Can you listen to an audiobook or podcast while cleaning the kitchen or cooking dinner? You can do these things while feeling motivated to organize, de-clutter and tidy the house on a regular basis. And what should we do about those pesky Facebook and Pinterest addictions?

Check out this week's video to hear my thoughts on the subject. To see the list of my favorite YouTubers, check out the info box below today's video.

News
ELLE Magazine tries out the ten-item wardrobe!

Pepper and Gem shares her ten-item wardrobe.

Lizzbert shares her ten-item wardrobe prep.

Comment of the Week
Thank you to everyone who watched my first episode of Teatime with Jennifer! Everyone contributed such lovely comments, it was hard to choose my favorite. I did love this memory from reader, Maureen...

Maureen @ Raising the Capable Student writes:
I loved this story too! When my oldest son was born (22 years ago!), he spent a week in NICU. We always dressed nicely for our visits, and on the day we finally brought him home, I wore a dress and my husband wore a suit. It was a day of grateful celebration, and we wanted it to feel that way. It's a great memory!

Hi Maureen, I'm sure that time when your son was in the NICU was incredibly stressful. I'm sure that your dressing well for his visits reflected your hope for him. What a great memory to finally bring him home! Thank you for sharing it with us.

This week I would love to know... what are your distractions? How could your home life use improvement? How do you plan to make home life a priority this year? Let me know, and your comment could be chosen as comment of the week on the blog!


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First Impressions Matter | Teatime with Jennifer

Welcome to the first episode of Teatime with Jennifer!



This will be an on-going series where I discuss popular/ current events that pertain to this channel. Today, I chat with you about the recent tweet that went viral, showing young man, Grant Kessler, wearing a suit to meet his newborn baby niece.

my sister is about to have a baby and my brother showed up to the hospital in a suit because "first impressions matter" pic.twitter.com/KtNV4mvnDU

— iris kessler (@Iris_Elisabeth_) January 3, 2017

Thank you to my friend, Juliana, who shared this story with me. She knew I would love it! Check out my video today to hear my full thoughts on the subject. In the video, I discuss why I think Grant Kessler's story went viral and confirm my thoughts on why what we wear matters.

If you have not already subscribed to my YouTube channel, please do so. Teatime with Jennifer videos will not always appear on this blog.

If you subscribe, click on the "bell" next to the subscribe button to get notifications every time I upload a new video.

If you have any requests for future Teatime with Jennifer posts, please leave them in the comment section.

I would love to know what you think of this story... let me know, and your comment could be chosen as comment of the week!




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New Year Message & Blog Plans for 2017

Happy new year, dear readers! I hope you had a marvelous holiday break. I enjoyed my time off immensely. Baby's first Christmas was so special. We spent new year's eve celebrating with friends, and this past week have been on vacation in the snow in Yosemite.

This week's video is shot from my cozy hotel room at the Tenaya Lodge near Yosemite valley. It was our first time bringing the children to the snow, and they have had so much fun sledding and tobogganing with their cousins! In my video today, I share my annual new year's inspiration with you and outline the plans for the blog in 2017. (My apologies for the audio quality of this video. I did not have my usual equipment with me in Yosemite and as a result, the audio quality has suffered.)

This is going to be another year where we focus on making our home lives a priority. As I write about in At Home With Madame Chic, home life is truly important for everyone, whether you live in a big house, or a dorm room with a roommate. The focus of my home life blogs this year will have an emphasis on habits and routines, which are vital to creating a peaceful and nurturing home environment. Habits and routines become even more important when you have children. I have many thoughts on these topics and am excited to share them with you this year!

Also, regarding beauty and ten-item wardrobe, I have heard your requests. So many of you over the years have requested that I feature budget beauty and wardrobe items. This year I will be investigating and reviewing many drugstore beauty items. I am looking for affordable products that do not compromise quality. The same will be said for my ten-item wardrobe posts later this year. It will be a fun experiment and I hope you join me!

Finally, I am aiming to implement a new video series on my YouTube channel: in addition to Monday's regular video, I plan to start a weekly, or bi-weekly Teatime with Jennifer, where we discuss popular or current events stories. So many times something will happen in the news and I will want to weigh in on it from the Madame Chic/ Daily Connoisseur perspective, and this year I will finally begin!

I continue to read and love your emails and comments. Because I am not able to respond to each one, I will continue to feature the "comment of the week" on the blog. I feature comments from this blog, the YouTube channel and from my social media accounts.

Thank you for joining me for another season of The Daily Connoisseur. I hope you will subscribe to my YouTube channel if you haven't already. It is free! If you click the "bell" next to the subscribe button, you will be notified every time I upload a video. I encourage you to do this, because the teatime with Jennifer videos will not have their own blogpost. They will be in video form only.

If you have any requests for the new year, please leave them below. See you soon!



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Christmas Chat 2016

Christmas is two days away, and in today’s chatty video, I wrap up many of the loose ends from past videos, and let you know what I’ve been up to during the month of December.

In the video I share with you:

How my Christmas planning went (and what we didn't end up doing!)

Seek out the arts inspiration including my review of the new Amelie musical, what it was like to take my daughters to the Nutcracker ballet for the first time, and Diavolo dance company’s suspenseful modern dance masterpiece, Trajectoire.

A nice gift idea for men (or anyone, for that matter!) My father loved the Nixplay digital photo frame I gave him for his 70th birthday. I’m sorry I didn’t mention this sooner. But it’s worth mentioning now so you can put it on gift lists for the future.

My postnatal hair loss. I've been wanting to do an update on this for a while!

What I'm wearing on Christmas eve

I hope you enjoy this final video of 2016.

It’s been another wonderful year and I thank you so much for coming along with me and being a part of The Daily Connoisseur. To all of you who have left comments, or emailed me through my author website, even though I have not responded to you individually, I have ready every single message and appreciate every one. Thank you!

News

Life with Dee includes The Madame Chic Collection in her holiday gift guide for this year.

Abigail Murrish includes the Madame Chic books among her favorites of 2016

Comment of the Week
Miss L writes:
Thank you for the recipe! I wanted to make a breakfast casserole for my family for Christmas morning and this is just right. :D
I personally (just myself) haven't made anything specific for my family on Christmas morning, but one time a few years ago my grandma did fried ham slices and homemade cinnamon rolls. They were just right and everyone enjoyed them thoroughly! Yum!
Have a very joyful Christmas!!!

Hi Miss L., my grandmother used to make fried ham and cinnamon rolls for Christmas too. What great memories!

Merry Christmas to all and a very happy new year!

I will be taking my annual break from the blog, but I really look forward to seeing you in 2017, and sharing another year of The Daily Connoisseur with you!

In the meantime, please stay in touch with me over social media (links below). See you there!

With love,

Jennifer x