The Simple Sophisticate - Intelligent Living Paired with Signature Style

~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #195 ~Subscribe to  The Simple Sophisticate :  iTunes  |  Stitcher  |  iHeartRadio  | YouTube The 43rd time was the charm. At least in the case for currently number one ranked women's tennis player Caroline Wozniacki. Winning her first grand slam title with the Austrialian Open at the end of this past January, Wozniacki, after 43 entries at grand slam events, earn...

~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #194 ~Subscribe to  The Simple Sophisticate :  iTunes  |  Stitcher  |  iHeartRadio  | YouTube "When we are happy —when our mindset and mood are positive — we are smarter, more motivated, and thus more successful. Happiness is the center, and success revolves around it."—Shawn Achor, author of  The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology th...

~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #193 ~Subscribe to  The Simple Sophisticate :  iTunes  |  Stitcher  |  iHeartRadio  | YouTube "Happiness comes from being who you actually are instead of who you think you are supposed to be." —Shonda Rhimes In order to feel good in one's skin  (or to feel well in one's skin as the French state it,  bien dans sa peau) , we first must know what skin we are inhabiti...

~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #192 ~Subscribe to  The Simple Sophisticate :  iTunes  |  Stitcher  |  iHeartRadio  | YouTube On today's episode of The Simple Sophisticate , author, award-winning journalist, expat living in France and proprietor of the acclaimed cooking school located in France, Susan Hermann Loomis joins me to talk about so many of TSLL readers' passions: France, food, and livi...

~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #191 ~Subscribe to  The Simple Sophisticate :  iTunes  |  Stitcher  |  iHeartRadio  | YouTube Quality Leather Totes Hi Shannon - I was going through your capsule wardrobe pieces and I saw the mark and graham brooklyn tote and the cuyana tote listed.  I have been looking for a cognac purse and have seen both of these before (in addition to madewell and everlane).  ...

~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #190 ~Subscribe to  The Simple Sophisticate :  iTunes  |  Stitcher  |  iHeartRadio  | YouTube It was the nineties. And Cindy Crawford had a fitness video, yes this one . It was 20 minutes of simple strength exercises, and I memorized the exercises, completing them twice a week on my own. In no time, without the need of the video.  I was in my late pre-teens. Not h...

~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #189 ~Subscribe to  The Simple Sophisticate :  iTunes  |  Stitcher  |  iHeartRadio  | YouTube "French women will tell you that when you know who you are, you are able to become more yourself, and then you naturally and easily become more confident. When you know who you are, you are more 'contained' because you are confident, and as a result, you become more myste...

The Simple Sophisticate podcast began its fourth year this past September, and as we did I continue to feel fortunate for listeners' interest and the guests who wish to stop by. This year's topics ranged from contentment to daily routines to being a better partner to everyday life in France and enjoying eating each and every day. Below are the 14 top posts out of the 53 that were part of the 2017...

~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #188 ~Subscribe to  The Simple Sophisticate :  iTunes  |  Stitcher  |  iHeartRadio "But I love New Year's Day, because I can never get over the generosity of the fact that we all get a BRAND NEW YEAR, totally for FREE — with no dents, or dinks, or mistakes yet. It's the ultimate REFRESH button." — Elizabeth Gilbert With 2018 just two weeks away, I am, as I am with...

~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #187 ~Subscribe to  The Simple Sophisticate :  iTunes  |  Stitcher  |  iHeartRadio ~The following episode/post is part of the year-long series Welcoming in the Quality in 2017, One Month at a Time . To view other monthly topics touching on all arenas of our lives from style to money to eating well, click here .  Upon stepping off the plane at Heathrow last month a...

~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #186 ~Subscribe to  The Simple Sophisticate :  iTunes  |  Stitcher  |  iHeartRadio "It is paradoxical, yet true, to say, that the more we know, the more ignorant we become in the absolute sense, for it is only through enlightenment that we become conscious of our limitations. Precisely one of the most gratifying results of intellectual evolution is the continuous...

By default we choose comfort over a better life, but we don't think that is what we're doing. We think we are choosing the better life. Why? We don't know what or how the "better life" will unfold, but we do at least know what is somewhat okay. For example, we may have gathered up the gumption to let go of a partner because the person we were becoming or the life that was evolving was shrinking or...

~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #184 ~Subscribe to  The Simple Sophisticate :  iTunes  |  Stitcher  |  iHeartRadio  | YouTube ~ Natural History Museum Ice Rink , London~ The holidays can be glorious and overwhelming at the same time, magnificent and demanding, joy-filled and draining. And since the holidays of Thanksgiving for Americans and a handful of religious and non-religious commemorations...

~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #183 ~Subscribe to  The Simple Sophisticate :  iTunes  |  Stitcher  |  iHeartRadio The arrival of the holiday issue of The English Home in my mailbox brought a larger smile to my face than previous years. As I flipped through the pages of recommendations by the editors of special holiday events in which to partake in London and around the city (Liberty London holi...

~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #182 ~Subscribe to  The Simple Sophisticate :  iTunes  |  Stitcher  |  iHeartRadio "Paris was always Paris, and the French were . . . well, the French. But because of what happened — j'avais mûri , I had 'ripened,' as they say." —David Lebovitz,  L'Appart: The Delights and Disasters of Making My Paris Home  (released Tuesday November 7, 2017) In today's episode of...

"There is no end of craving. Hence contentment alone is the best way to happiness. Therefore, acquire contentment." —Swami Sivananda Recently I overheard someone describe their weekend as boring, using the descriptor in a negative tone (remember this post on my thoughts about being boring?). Being someone who revels in what outsiders consider boring behavior such as reveling in the responsibilitie...

~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #180 ~Subscribe to  The Simple Sophisticate :  iTunes  |  Stitcher  |  iHeartRadio The year 2017 has been dedicated to living a year of quality here on TSLL . While at the core of living simply luxuriously is to focus on quality rather than quantity, I wanted to take time each month this year to focus on one aspect in our lives in which we could amplify the qualit...

~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #179 ~Subscribe to  The Simple Sophisticate :  iTunes  |  Stitcher  |  iHeartRadio The desire to share our lives with a partner can be a different vision in each of our minds, but at the core of a strong, healthy, worthwhile relationship is something that is often dismissed as important, but not vital. Too often we are looking in the wrong place, seeking out the w...

~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #178 ~Subscribe to  The Simple Sophisticate :  iTunes  |  Stitcher  |  iHeartRadio   "If you can see your path laid out in front of you step by step, you know it's not your path. Your own path you make with every step you take. That's why it's your path." ― Joseph Campbell Have you ever thought or uttered this statement, "If only there was someone's journey I coul...

 ~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #177 ~Subscribe to  The Simple Sophisticate :  iTunes  |  Stitcher  |  iHeartRadio "October knew, of course, that the action of turning a page, of ending a chapter or shutting a book, did not end the tale . . . " —Neil Gaiman The journey of each of our lives meanders and sometimes jet-lines through seasons. As children we are in the spring of our youth, emerging,...

~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #176 ~Subscribe to  The Simple Sophisticate :  iTunes  |  Stitcher  |  iHeartRadio " . . . bring women to the front of their own stories, and make them the hero of their own stories." —Reese Witherspoon at the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards ~Spoiler Alert: The ending of Hallie Meyers-Shyer's new film Home Again will be shared. The power of a Hollywood script which mak...

~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #175 ~Subscribe to  The Simple Sophisticate :  iTunes  |  Stitcher  |  iHeartRadio "How you eat, when you eat, for how long you eat, and with whom you eat might be more important than  what  you eat. Eating and enjoying real food is what matters, not tracking calories." — Johnny Adamic As reported by Time magazine last year , while the United States unfortunately...

~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #174 ~Subscribe to  The Simple Sophisticate :  iTunes  |  Stitcher  |  iHeartRadio At the age of eleven, now U.S. Tennis Open Champion Sloane Stephens' mom was told by one of the directors at the tennis academy she was attending "that [she'd] be lucky if [she] was a Division II player and I got a scholarship". She didn't believe them. Her mom didn't believe them a...

~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #173 ~Subscribe to  The Simple Sophisticate :  iTunes  |  Stitcher  |  iHeartRadio  "To be a teacher. And to be known for inspiring my students to be more than they thought they could be." —Oprah Winfrey's mission statement The first time I sat down to write my personal mission statement after reading Stephen Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People , it to...

~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #172 ~Subscribe to  The Simple Sophisticate :  iTunes  |  Stitcher  |  iHeartRadio "For me, style is zee whole package: how you dress, talk, move and behave. It all goes together into that first-impression equation. It shouldn't be confused with chic; an extremely chic or well-dressed woman may have zero sense of style. Style is definitely more about who the perso...