Shannon Ables's Blog, page 312
October 29, 2015
Thoughts from the Editor: Luxurious Sleep & Simply Decadent Eats
A day at work, whatever that work might be, requires us to be on our toes, remain calm and poised no matter what might arise as in doing so we exude professionalism and maintain the respect we have worked so hard to attain. After a full day of performing to our optimal level, when we walk over the threshold of our front door, a deep sigh may automatically be elicited.
However, it is when I slip into my bed that I truly let go of everything and just exhale. In complete honesty, I look forward to slipping into my bed like a child anticipates Santa Claus when I know the sheets are freshly laundered and a light spritz of my favorite bed linen scent has been applied (don’t forget the lavender candle, reading one more chapter in a cozy mystery and snuggling with my two spaniels).
The premise of living simply luxuriously is attending to the everyday routines, polishing them in such a way so that each expectation our life requires can be as luxuriously and as sincerely enjoyed as possible.
As many of you know I have been blogging for nearly six years now, and while I am regularly pitched products to introduce to you, TSLL readers, I can safely say at least eighty percent of the items never reach a post here on the blog. I am discerning, I am looking for quality products that I would use, and do use, in my own life. And as you might also recall, many of the products I have recommended have been linens (here is the most recent example).
Recently The New York Times shared an article regarding the importance of sleep especially in correlation to eliminating the Freshman 15, but as we all know, an adequate, deep night’s sleep is a necessity for a myriad of health and lifestyle benefits to all of us, no matter our age stage in life (click here to view a detailed list).
The good and exciting news that I am excited to be able to share with you is that I have been introduced to a company that specializes in perfecting a good night’s sleep. Exclusively selling top sheet sets, PerfectLinens offers select linens offering quality fabric and decadent comfort. The first night I slept in their Second Skin sheet set, I felt like I was slipping into a five star hotel’s pampered boudoir (needless to say Norman found them just as luxurious as I did – see below).
Here is the news I want to share with you, if you are looking for a sheet set that will beg you to come to bed at night and tempt you to sleep in in the morning, PerfectLinens is sharing an exclusive discount code with TSLL readers. Click here to shop for your preferred color, size and set and then enter SimplyLuxurious35 to receive $35 off of your purchase. Organized by comfort type (cool, breezy, light-weight, soft, etc), you will find the shopping experience easy and more importantly, the linens simply luxurious. Even better, shipping is free both ways to ensure you are satisfied.
Life without everyday luxuries is to willingly (perhaps unknowingly) let go of missed opportunities. A rich life is how we tend to what we have to do, but it is what makes the everyday a joy to experience. Do we set the table or eat standing up? Do we pour a cup of our morning coffee or tea into our favorite mug or grab a paper cup at the office after it has been reheated four times? The same can be said for the bed we make for ourselves. Tend to it and your health will improve as you fall fast into a restful night’s sleep.
One more simple luxury I promised I talked about today is a simple recipe that actually isn’t a recipe — Fettuccini Alfredo. Believe or not, as Lynne Rossetto Kasper is adamant to remind her listeners, there is no such dish. It is simply fettuccini with butter and parmesan as the sauce. As someone who adored this dish as a child, not having to worry about my metabolism, I devoured it regularly, but it has been quite some time since I have indulged in it as an adult; however, I wanted to see what her “non-recipe” was all about.
Feel free to add the veggies and protein of your choice, but in no time flat, a simple and delicious dish can be made.
Fettucine with Alfredo sauce
~as shared by Lynne Rossetto Kasper on The Splendid Table as experienced at the Ristorante Alfredo in Rome
Ingredients:
Fettucini pasta (1 lb)
6-8 tablespoons of unsalted butter
salt and pepper to taste
1-2 cups of freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
Directions:
Boil the pasta in salted water (six cups of water for every pound of pasta).
In a large skillet, melt the butter while the pasta boils.
When the pasta is al dente, add the pasta to the melted butter.
Toss the cheese onto the butter-covered pasta. Add salt and pepper to taste.
And for an even more decadent and simple recipe, try Tagliarelle with Truffle Butter
Bon Appétit!
Images: (1)
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October 28, 2015
Decor Inspiration: A Parisian Chesterfield
The power of a sofa is that it can complete the room, and if chosen correctly can exude your precise signature style. My current sofa is nine years old, and while I adore it as it is long enough for my height and wide enough for naps and snuggling, it is showing its age. The hunt for my next sofa will most certainly take time, but I must say, a Chesterfield sofa always captures my attention. Interior designer Sandra Behaumou’s velvet version as seen in her Parisian apartment in Elle Deco Spain last summer grabs the eye and quickly becomes the focal point . . . until you realize there are two in the living room. A wealth of luxury most certainly. What taste, what confidence. Enjoy a glimpse at the rest of her apartment below.
~DECOR INSPIRATION posts from the Archives:
Images: Elle Deco Spain
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Word of the Week: No. 23
~Click below for pronunciation:
http://www.thesimplyluxuriouslife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/empirical.m4a
~WORDS OF THE WEEK from the Archives:
~Image: source
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October 27, 2015
Outfit of the Week: Casual Warmth
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~Cinzia Rocca 3/4 one button wool blend coat (black available)~
~Converse sneaker (other colors available)~
~Citizens of Humanity Arielle mid-rise slim jeans~
~Iris & Ink Grace cashmere turtleneck sweater~
~OUTFITS OF THE WEEK from the Archives:
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Style Inspiration: Just Black
Black as a staple is nearly ubiquitous in a each of our closets, but how can we mix it up? Is there an outfit waiting to be found that has yet to present itself to our imagination? Simple changes, additions and accessorizing can completely change the entire look. Enjoy today’s Style Inspiration for simple ways to mix up your wardrobe involving the color of black.
~STYLE INSPIRATION posts from the Archives:
Images: (0) (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12)
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October 26, 2015
4 Reasons to Let Go of Cynicism
“Do not allow any negativity or ugliness in your surroundings, or anybody at all, [to] destroy your confidence or affect your growth as a blooming flower. It is very normal for one ugly weed to not want to stand alone.” ― Suzy Kassem
~The Simple Sophisticate podcast, episode #67
The beauty of self-reflection is that it allows us to see what we weren’t able to understand at the time. For example, it wasn’t until I moved to Bend, exposed myself to an entirely new social network that I realized how defensive and protective I had become towards people I had the potential of establishing relationships with.
Due to a handful of deep, painful emotional experiences during the past nine years whether with friends, family, colleagues or significant others, I had slowly, but steadily built an instinct to assume a more negative attitude as a means of protecting myself from hurt. I wouldn’t say I had become cynical, but I was aware of something I wanted to change.
In truth, it is hard to share this realization because it means I wasn’t at the time as secure in myself as I thought I was in certain areas of my life; however, on the flip side, it has reassured me that my instincts were correct — I needed a significant shift. I had tried a multitude of angles, approaches and ideas and nothing was working. For me, for my path, I needed to completely uproot myself and move to a new town a couple of hundred of miles away to see and begin to trust life again. And as Robert Frost reminds, that has made all the difference.
I am now able to see that indeed I was not where I needed to be to grow more fully into the person I wanted to become. And please be assured, this is not a reflection on the town I once lived, but rather a reflection on choices I made (or didn’t make). I needed room to grow and space to stretch into the person I am excited to evolve into. Do I, do any of us, know who this “other” version is or could be? No, but I am, as always, enjoying the journey.
Back to the idea of being defensive and extending into the idea of cynicism. Why does one gravitate toward being a cynic or immediately defaulting to a defensive stance rather than assuming a positive response or outcome? As psychologists point out, it often results from prior experiences that were negative in similar situations. Therefore, we wish to protect ourselves and not leave room for the possibility of pain.
After all, when we refrain from cynicism and instead select hope or put our faith in the process, people or anything that is out of our control, we make ourselves vulnerable. And it takes an extremely secure person to do this. To stand in what we can offer and know that whether the outcome is (positive or negative) has nothing to do with us but rather where the other person/situation is in their stage of life or evolution. But the insecure person often assumes it has something to do with them, and then as a protection, labels all “men/women”, “Democrats/Republican”, [place the category or label here of your choice] as something to be wary of.
Over the past three short months, this aha that I had become too defensive, albeit with good reason, proved that the change I had made was giving me the opportunity to take down my walls. It has been a refreshing realization. In many ways, I feel I can breathe again, truly be myself, and know that if I am disappointed in someone or something that I will be fine because at least I am not stand behind a false version of who I am.
Today, I’d like to examine the benefits of letting go of cynicism or if you are like I was, letting go of the default of defensiveness when the unknowns make us uncomfortable.
1. Improve Health
A study by the American Heart Association in 2009 which studied 97,000 women revealed that those who defaulted to optimism or a hopeful outlook on life and unknown outcomes decreased heart disease and cancer-related deaths and increased the length of their lives. Contrarily, cynical women had higher rates of disease-related deaths and a shortened life span.
Understandably it is hard not to worry and even assume the worst when we just don’t know how things will work out, but in the end, doing so doesn’t help us arrive at the outcome earlier and in fact it decreases the quality of our lives. Click here to discover 20 ways to banish worry.
2. Decrease Anxiety
Similarly, when we let go of worrying, which is assuming the worst or something bad will happen, we decrease the adrenaline that courses through our bodies as a defense mechanism. Even though an actual threat isn’t present, we are telling our bodies that it is going to happen and it responds accordingly to protect us. Choosing an optimistic or hopeful attitude rather than assuming the worst will happen, reduces our anxiety and the unnecessary wear and tear on our internal organs and blood vessels.
3. New Possibilities Present Themselves
Stepping away from the health benefits directly for a moment, when we choose to let go of cynicism, we are opening ourselves up to possibility. Maybe that person we think we could become friends with will say yes to our invitation to attend the concert or maybe they won’t, but we won’t know until we ask. Maybe we’ll run into one our colleagues at a local event and get to know them on a more personal level, but maybe we won’t and we’ll have to go it alone. Either way, we gain experience and possibilities have a chance of presenting themselves.
We must continually strive to become more secure within ourselves to go out and try new things. As someone who enjoys her own company, it has become very easy to go out alone, and in doing so I have met some wonderful people from a wide array of life paths. I return home each time with a smile on my face, thankful for getting out there and giving life a chance to reveal all of its possibilities to me.
4. Increase the Joy
In putting ourselves out there, we increase the opportunities for joy. You might remember from a post written more than two years ago that joy is something that comes from within. It is nothing that we can find outside of ourselves. Therefore if we are assuming the negative in each situation or person we run up against, it is no wonder our lives aren’t filled with more joy. But if we choose to see life through the lens of possibility, through the lens of hope, we are fertilizing (so to speak) the joy that is there to multiply and choke out any cynicism that may even think about growing.
The benefits of choosing to let go of cynicism are dependent on us. So much of our overall contentment in life has everything to do with how we approach each day – our attitude, our expectation, our response to those events and people we will never have control over. But what must we do to eliminate the cynicism?
Establish a secure sense of self. Get to know yourself. Stand in your truth. When you do these things, you will set yourself free. Read this post inspired by the Four Agreements.
Stop assuming the worst
Put forth more goodwill out into the world. With your words, your actions, what you support, what you spend your time doing. Do so without expectation of anything in return and you will be amazed at the environment of opportunities you are cultivating.
Practice meditation
Try something new. Refrain from returning to the source of your pain and expecting a different outcome. Whether it is an individual, a job, a town, or an activity, if you’ve tried to present the new you and still the outcome is hurtful, negative and destructive, move on.
Be Creative. Follow Yoko Ono’s advice: “Experiencing sadness and anger can make you feel more creative, and by being creative, you can get beyond your pain or negativity.”
One of the hardest parts of letting go of cynicism is helping those around you to see either why you are moving on or why you are choosing to change. Often those that we find ourselves in the web of negativity with aren’t ready or able to see what life could be if they chose to let go of the defense of cynicism. Sometimes we won’t know either, but at least we know we want something better. And if the people, experiences and places I’ve had the opportunity to enjoy first-hand are any indication, it is indeed worth it and far beyond anything I could have imagined. My job now is to keep cultivating, keep growing and squash any negative tendencies. I can honestly say, fewer and fewer are arising and that, in itself, is an amazing victory.
~SIMILAR POSTS FROM THE ARCHIVES YOU MIGHT ENJOY:
~Why Not . . . Get to Know Yourself? (3 part series)
~10 Differences Between Women & Girls (podcast)
~8 Reasons to Nurture What Nature Gave You
~This episode of The Simple Sophisticate was brought to you by Audible.com. Visit get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/thesimplyluxuriouslife. Over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player.
Petit Plaisir:
Polish Your Poise with Madame Chic by Jennifer L. Scott (Kindle version)
~View Jennifer’s previous two books here:
At Home with Madame Chic (an interview with Jennifer L. Scott on The Simple Sophisticate)
Lessons from Madame Chic
Image: (1)
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October 23, 2015
This & That: No. 181
Book
~My Life on the Road by Gloria Steinem
Being released next Tuesday, political activist, writer, and leader Gloria Steinem will release her book My Life on the Road. With the purpose of reminding us all that “living in an open, observant, and ‘on the road’ state of mind can make a difference in how we learn, what we do, and how we understand each other”, she exemplifies through her own journey through life how indeed this is true. Read Jane Kramer of The New Yorker‘s profile piece on Steinem and her forthcoming book here. When asked the repeated question of who she will pass the torch to in order to keep the feminist ideals alive, she admits to becoming angry because “There is no one torch—there are many torches—and I’m using my torch to light other torches. There shouldn’t have been a ‘first’ Gloria Steinem, and there won’t be a last one.”
Cookbook
~The New Easy by Donna Hay
Last weekend a reader shared with me the name Donna Hay. An Australian food stylist and cook who has multiple cookbooks already prompted a loyal following, I took notice immediately. With her more recent cookbook The New Easy having been released this past week (October 20), it offers simple, delicious, no fuss recipes for the busy cook. Having put this book in TSLL bookshop as it adheres to the preferred approach to life – keeping it as simple as possible while ensuring a quality experience – I wanted to thank Ramona for bringing Donna Hay to my attention.
A few of her other many cookbooks that captured my attention were Seasons, Fresh & Light, and No Time to Cook . . . oh, and don’t forget Simple Essentials: Chocolate.
Decor
~The Inspired Room: Simple Ideas to Love the Home You Have by Melissa Michaels
Being released in early November, decor blogger Melissa Michaels shares what has made her blog a success: simple ways to turn the home you live in into the home you love. With DIY tips and tricks, she offers room-by-room ideas including quick changes to lighting and organization that can make a tremendous difference.
Film
~Burnt
The hunt for the elusive third Michelin star is the prize as Bradley Cooper stars as Adam Jones, a talented but troubled chef. Hobbled by his erratic behavior and drug use, he attempts to rebuild his career in London before heading to Paris to attain his goal. Being released today, have a look at the trailer below. I must admit, Paris, food, Bradley Cooper . . . it may just be a lovely menage to indulge in this weekend.
~ Suffragette
Now this is the film I have been patiently waiting to watch. Starring Carey Mulligan with a cameo by Meryl Streep as the well-known British militant suffragist Emmeline Pankhurst, the film follows the trials of pursuit for the vote in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The historical biopic takes viewers along to reveal the underground movement that women organized when Parliament refused them the vote.
With the British Parliament permitting scenes to be filmed in the hallowed halls of London, the film looks to be riveting. Owning the originally derogatory term “suffragette”, the writer Abi Morgan and director Sarah Gavron provide a moving reminder of all that once was not available to women.
Did you know? In 1918 women in Britain earned the right to vote at the age of 30 if they met certain property requirements, but it was in 1928 that full enfranchisement was given to women 21 years and older. While Emmeline Pankhurst did not live to see the official day when the right became legal (July 2nd); however, she did know it was on its way to becoming a reality when she died in June of 1928. Have a look at the trailer below:
Shopping
~Generation Love Corinne Boucle Jacket
A classic boucle jacket is something that I am always on the look-out for, and this neutral black, gray and white one will pair well with just about anything. Lasting for seasons, while an investment, it will certainly be worth it.
~recipe for Chocolate Pie~
Sipping on something hot while nibbling on something decadently chocolatey . . . yep, that would be an ideal way to pass some time on the weekend, no? Having a regular routine is something I do savor, but I also enjoy moments of excitable change. I find that my creativity benefits greatly, and I am reminded how easy it is to become complacent.
Perhaps a jolt of culture in any variety of mediums, music, art, or dance, or simply changing of the workout routine to challenge your mind and body all the while seeing a different trail or part of town or the country you rarely visit. Such simple alterations to our everyday routine or weekend leisure make the everyday all the more something to savor.
Speaking of mixing it up somewhat, below are a few articles and one music video I think you might enjoy, and until Monday, joyeux vendredi!
~Traveling to Paris? Guess what just opened next to the iconic Shakespeare & Company bookshop? A Shakespeare & Company cafe! The perfect pairing indeed!
~Inspired by decor on television? These 15 Rooms offer endless decor as seen on television in your favorite shows. From SATC to FRIENDS and House of Cards, be prepared to be inspired.
~Feeling stuck and afraid to strive for the success you dream about? Read this: 4 Fears That Are Keeping You From Success
~Joanna Goddard shares 10 Great Audiobooks you may want to listen to rather than read while you travel, commute or simply relax.
~One blogger that I follow without fail, Heather Clawson has just arrived in Paris, and I will be checking in daily to see where her travels take her.
~Speaking of traveling to France, learning a new language. Here are 7 profound benefits that occur when we acquire a second tongue.
~Finally, she is back. She is Adele. On November 20th her third and much anticipated follow-up album to her 6-time Grammy winning 21 album will drop. Titled 25, I am on tenterhooks to hear the entire list of new songs, but today . . . a teaser. The first track on the album Hello was released today. Have a look and have a listen.
Image: (2)
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October 22, 2015
Decor Inspiration: A Handsome Space
I was sold when I saw the dual claw foot tubs in the master bathroom, but upon further exploration, I am officially smitten with Darryl Carter’s Washington D.C.’s townhouse. Captured for Elle Decor in 2009, the decorator and furniture designer has a keen eye for clean, yet rustic, cozy aesthetics. Along with Otis, his German shorthaired pointer, the space is certainly a sanctuary designed for gentleman, but surely appreciated by all.
Images via Elle Decor 2009
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October 21, 2015
Word of the Week: No. 22
~Click below for pronunciation:
http://www.thesimplyluxuriouslife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/laconic.m4a
~WORDS of the WEEK from the Archives:
Image: source
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October 20, 2015
Outfit of the Week: Classic Sweater Attire
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~Raey wool and cashmere-blend sweater~
~Citizens of Humanity Avedon skinny jeans~
~French Sole Nimble ballet flat~
~Tory Burch ‘small marion’ quilted shoulder bag (black available)~
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