The Simple Sophisticate - Intelligent Living Paired with Signature Style

~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...

~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #171 ~Subscribe to  The Simple Sophisticate :  iTunes  |  Stitcher  |  iHeartRadio Introverts are finding their voice, and one author and blogger who is helping to make this possible is Jenn Granneman. With her new book which was just released on August 1st, The Secret Lives of Introverts: Inside Our Hidden World and her internationally enjoyed blog Introvert, Dea...

~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #170 ~Subscribe to  The Simple Sophisticate :  iTunes  |  Stitcher  |  iHeartRadio {As always, I encourage you to listen to the audio version as much more is talked about beyond the transcript below: more anecdotes, examples and ideas about how this episode is really about enjoying our time alone whether we are coupled or single.} Having lived on my own most of my...

~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #169 ~Subscribe to  The Simple Sophisticate :  iTunes  |  Stitcher  |  iHeartRadio   The French language guide for anyone who is curious about the French culture, will be traveling to Paris anytime soon or perhaps moving there to call it home, will find a wealth of a resource at the website created by today's guest on the podcast: Géraldine Lepere. Her website, bl...

~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #168 ~Subscribe to  The Simple Sophisticate :  iTunes  |  Stitcher  |  iHeartRadio   A returning guest to the podcast, author and blogger Sharon Santoni joins me to talk about her new book My French Country Home: Entertaining Through the Seasons . Her book offers a beautiful glimpse into her everyday life as readers will discover inspiration for each season as the...

~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #167 ~Subscribe to  The Simple Sophisticate :  iTunes  |  Stitcher  |  iHeartRadio Author and now full-time resident French blogger Janine Marsh joined me on The Simple Sophisticate podcast today, and I must say, it was a most enjoyable conversation. I could have easily talked another hour or so just asking more questions about her life in France. But the good new...

~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #166 ~Subscribe to  The Simple Sophisticate :  iTunes  |  Stitcher  |  iHeartRadio "If you want to change your partner, change yourself." —Esther Perel, relationship psychotherapist and best-selling author ~Enjoy TSLL's first book Choosing The Simply Luxurious Life: A Modern Woman's Guide in audio format on Audible, iTunes, and Amazon . The unexpected adventure yo...

~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #165 ~Subscribe to  The Simple Sophisticate :  iTunes  |  Stitcher  |  iHeartRadio "Right food, right place, right time. It is my belief . . . that this is the best recipe of all. A crab sandwich by the sea on a June afternoon; a slice of roast goose with applesauce and roast potatoes on Christmas Day; hot sausages and a chuck of roast pumpkin on a frost-sparkling...

~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #164 ~Subscribe to  The Simple Sophisticate :  iTunes  |  Stitcher  |  iHeartRadio   "With a healthy lifestyle, it's not at all unreasonable to expect ninety or one hundred exceptionally healthy years of life, years in which we will be of sound body, mind and spirit." —Dr. John D. Day, author of The Longevity Plan: 7 Life-Transforming Lessons from Ancient China In...

~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #163 ~Subscribe to  The Simple Sophisticate :  iTunes  |  Stitcher  |  iHeartRadio "Growing your inner strengths through taking in the good is like deepening the keel of a sailboat so that it's less jostled by the worldly winds, it recovers more quickly from big storms, and you can now safely head out into deeper waters in pursuit of your dreams." —Rick Hanson, au...

~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #162 ~Subscribe to  The Simple Sophisticate :  iTunes  |  Stitcher  |  iHeartRadio "Focusing on happiness as our ultimate goal is self-defeating; being in a constant state of happiness is, simply put, impossible."—Paul Hudson Place the word happiness on the cover of a self-help book and it will sell more times than it won't (Amazon has over 40,000 book titles with...

~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #161 ~Subscribe to  The Simple Sophisticate :  iTunes  |  Stitcher  |  iHeartRadio In the first annual "Ask Shannon" episode of the podcast, listeners and readers have sent in their questions. With an episode full of the answers, this extra full episode (75 minutes) will address the topics of eating well, traveling to Paris: where to say and what to do, adhering a...

~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #160 ~Subscribe to  The Simple Sophisticate :  iTunes  |  Stitcher  |  iHeartRadio "'How does one become a butterfly?' she asked pensively. You must want to fly so much that you are willing to give up being a caterpillar."  — Trina Paulus In a blink of an eye, in an unexpected, ordinary moment, the unimaginable can materialize before our eyes. And in such a moment...

~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #159 ~Subscribe to  The Simple Sophisticate :  iTunes  |  Stitcher  |  iHeartRadio "Style trickles into everything you do, who you are, and who and what you attract in life. Whittle down your style to what matters and project what's meaningful to the world: Be the lighthouse. Be honest. Be real." —Kate Schelter Settling on a style that is our own can be overwhelmi...

~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #158 ~Subscribe to  The Simple Sophisticate :  iTunes  |  Stitcher  |  iHeartRadio Perhaps you've seen her pottery: simple, purposefully imperfect, white with black singular font, whether for your morning tea cup, the salt and pepper holder on the stovetop or a dish for your furry best friend. Rae Dunn's passion for simple and functional pottery has brought her de...

~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #157 ~Subscribe to  The Simple Sophisticate :  iTunes  |  Stitcher  |  iHeartRadio Jazz and France is a coupling that instantaneously grabs my attention. Add a woman who has followed her passion, appreciates the moment and lives life to the fullest all the while staying grounded in this ever-changing thing called life, and I want to get to know her further. Elizab...

~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #156 ~Subscribe to  The Simple Sophisticate :  iTunes  |  Stitcher  |  iHeartRadio Each time NYC stylist Tiffani Rogers stops by The Simple Sophisticate podcast we begin with a conversation about the most recent trends and fashion events, but then it leads to a life discussion as we both, women in our 30s who are striving to enjoy the everyday, making it our own a...

~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #155 ~Subscribe to  The Simple Sophisticate :  iTunes  |  Stitcher  |  iHeartRadio The more I read about Julia Child, especially in her own words, the more I find inspiration regarding how to successfully journey through life. Saying yes to life, remaining curious and refusing to be intimidated by obstacles, unknowns and not knowing how to do something, we all cou...