13th Day in a Chic September

For the month of September I plan to document daily steps I have taken towards a chic, elegant and healthy life. My goal is to keep uppermost in my mind the kind of life I want to live. I will be focusing on all the small things I do each day that lead me towards my goal, rather than away from it.

Well, it's just the one accomplishment today - we bought a house. Actually, we bought it last week, but today was the day we instructed our lawyer to make the contract unconditional, since all the legal work and building reports etc were fine.

My husband and I are both very excited about this next stage in our life, as homeowners. Thankfully we both have similar views on money, and how we want to live. We deliberately chose a less expensive home than we could have, simply because we don’t want a huge mortgage.

Don’t get me wrong, our mortgage is still big enough, as mortgages tend to be, but I think we’ve left ourselves leeway for rate increases, unexpected expenses, living life and of course paying that thing off as quick as possible.

We are also excited about how we can make it look like us, but on a budget. It’s quite a modern style house (twenty years old) and the possibilities of how it could look are fun to imagine.

I also am thinking about intelligent storage (on that same petite budget, of course) which can be built into wardrobes and cupboards. I have a great book out of the library at the moment – The Beverly Hills organizer's home organizing bible. There is also a website.

I must admit, being the Beverly Hills organizing bible gives it a bit more cachet than if it was named after a less glamorous neighbourhood (call me shallow). It seems to be a very practical book though, and has lots of pictures of open doors and drawers, showing how to organise every room in your home.

So I am on turbo-decluttering now, and starting to pack.

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Apart from that I've tried to remember to choose healthy foods today, drink lots of water, breathe, do my work in the shop, and smile.

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If you feel like you want to make September a chic month for you as well, please join me. You are welcome to share your mini-chic accomplishments for the day (or the previous day if you read in the morning) in the comments section. It would be lovely to have you along for the ride!

Image from Beverly Hills Organiser

12th Day in a Chic September

For the month of September I plan to document daily steps I have taken towards a chic, elegant and healthy life. My goal is to keep uppermost in my mind the kind of life I want to live. I will be focusing on all the small things I do each day that lead me towards my goal, rather than away from it.

Here are today’s mini-chic accomplishments:

Had a thrifty and healthy lunch – leftovers - some mince and bean chilli with cottage cheese on top and a salad. I had some cottage cheese to use up and I pretended it was sour cream. It was still white and creamy so I think I got away with it.

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Read through Anne Barone’s ‘AnneMail’ during my lunch break with a cup of tea. I especially like the thoughts shared in the most recent reader letters – Chloe and Renee. I may just try Renee’s idea of replacing 1/3 of a bottle of body lotion with olive oil. I can imagine how divine that must feel on the skin.

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Did some decluttering in my head. Sometimes I feel frozen when I try to get rid of things. Today I thought about various areas (mostly wardrobe and sewing/knitting room) and planned to donate quite a few things. It makes it much easier when I come to do it. I’ve already sifted through the items in my mind.

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Having an early night. I might talk about having an early night, but often I do ‘just a few jobs’ and it ends up being the usual time or later. I don’t want 7 hours of sleep, I want 8 or even 9.

I really relish my wind-down time too, so that means heading into the bathroom earlier to wash my face so I can do it in a relaxed and thorough manner and enjoy the massage of my night cream rather than just throwing it on.

Then I can have a quarter-hour of reading a calming magazine, book or printed-out article (French Chic of course) before turning back the covers.

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If you feel like you want to make September a chic month for you as well, please join me. You are welcome to share your mini-chic accomplishments for the day (or the previous day if you read in the morning) in the comments section. It would be lovely to have you along for the ride!

Image from Home Design LOVE

11th Day in a Chic September

For the month of September I plan to document daily steps I have taken towards a chic, elegant and healthy life. My goal is to keep uppermost in my mind the kind of life I want to live. I will be focusing on all the small things I do each day that lead me towards my goal, rather than away from it.

Today I have been thinking about September 11, ten years ago. It's hard not to. On that awful day I heard from my boss at Dior that a terrible tragedy had happened in America. It was almost unbelievable. May those souls rest in eternal piece.

We watched a documentary on tv tonight about that day and it certainly doesn't get any less shocking over time. In fact I think it's just the opposite.

There was a memorial service marking the tenth anniversary before today's Rugby World Cup game of America versus Ireland in Taranaki.

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Otherwise, here at Chez Fifi it was Creative Sunday. I took photos of two projects, and completed another. The top photo is my knitted rug with crocheted edges in the basket I keep in the living room.

Below is the rug sans basket. It's folded in quarters.


And below is today's project. I bought this brand-new lamp from the Salvation Army for $8. I was very happy with my purchase, but the pink shade wasn't quite right, both for the base colour, and also for my decor.


I replaced it with an English-made furnishing fabric remnant my Mum gave me.


And finally here is my denim skirt project for summer. I haven't done this before and it was quite fun and easy.

I chopped the legs off my too-big jeans, snipped along the inner leg seams and flattened the legs out, then put a little triangle of fabric in the middle-front and middle-back (from the chopped off legs), stitched and hemmed.


The jeans were too big and unflattering on me, but as a skirt it's fine if a waistband sits on your hips. Don't worry though, I'm not Gisele just yet. I'll show you it on me when the weather is a bit warmer.


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There's more decluttering too. I'm almost through all my magazines, taking out the odd page here and there. They will be dropped off at my current favourite opshop during the week.

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If you feel like you want to make September a chic month for you as well, please join me. You are welcome to share your mini-chic accomplishments for the day (or the previous day if you read in the morning) in the comments section. It would be lovely to have you along for the ride!

My Love (Hate) Affair with Storyboards

Storyboards, the visual map that filmmakers use, save my books. They are my primary pathway through my piles of material.  They are my best tool for organizing and structuring my novels, nonfiction books, and memoirs so that a reader can make sense of the story.

I love them. I couldn't make publishable books without them.

I also hate storyboards. They are like bossy mother-in-laws, telling me what I'm doing wrong. They point out exactly what I don't want to look at about my book-in-progress: where I have too much blah-blah-blah, where I've skipped a juicy opportunity for conflict, where I've stayed on track or gone on a tangent.

Essentially, it becomes clear as day where my book isn't yet working.

I teach storyboards, I have several hanging on my office walls, and I barely tolerate their linear know-it-all attitude. But I think they're gold.

The Golden Opportunity of Storyboards
A big question as you begin your book is this:  How are you going to know if your story flows when it's outside of your own inner worlds?

You can craft a draft, of course.  Get it typed out and printed, read through it.  But it's still hard to see if the idea you presented on page 31 will thread through to page 231 in a way your reader will track.

Some writers make long lists.  I do this too.  Facts to check, threads to follow.  The lists on my desk are as numerous as my printed drafts, after a while, and I start to go crazy under all that paper.  Here's where storyboards present a golden opportunity, like a good map out of a swamp.

A writer needs to know the structure of her story flow, the placement in time and space of each idea or plot point.  It's not just enough to churn out the words. The sequence matters, a sequence that readers can follow, and you need some method to clearly see sequence. Filmmakers use storyboards to provide this.

What's a storyboard look like?  Check out  this video where I demonstrate a storyboard.  

I use a giant W to structure my storyboards or a row of empty boxes lined up on my posterboard. I place Post-it notes along the W that represents scenes or ideas or chapters, then I move them around until the sequence of ideas equals a reasonable flow for my book.

What Do You Learn from Storyboarding?
You learn all the things I grumbled about above:  What is working, what is not working in your manuscript.

It's not uncommon to emerge from a storyboarding session with an awareness of what still needs to be written.  I usually find missing sections or even chapters, places where a character or location has dropped out of sight, transitions that need to be made. Research still to do.

It's also not uncommon to feel discouraged. All that writing done, but it's not yet a book. Sigh.

Why even bother? Well, you could continue on with your story and not know what's wrong with it until you begin getting the rejection letters.  Or you could save yourself a ton of time and find out now, when it's fixing (and less embarrassing to your writing career).

Storyboards are the absolute best way I've found to see if I have a working book, to force myself to structure the flow of ideas, to see what's left.

How do you know when it's time to storyboard?  Most of my writing students tell me they begin to restless and overwhelmed with the amount of words they've collected.  Others like storyboarding when they're just starting out with a new book, as a brainstorming exercise to plan the structure.  Either way, it's a good time to storyboard when you want a clear direction and review of your original idea.

When your new or revised storyboard is complete, you'll have a working map for your book.  That's truly something to love.

This Week's Writing Exercise
This week, watch the video above.  Then get yourself to an office supply store.

Buy a posterboard and some Post-It notes. Go home, take a deep breath, and try creating your W storyboard.  Start with just two moments:  the opening and ending of your book, by asking yourself the questions below.

1.  Where might you begin? What moment do you see launching your reader into your topic or story? Write a note about this on a Post-It and place it on the storyboard.

2.  What moment might end your book? Where would you like the reader to be at the last page--with what new understanding, hunger, idea or feeling? Write a note about this too.

If you get brave, if you get enthused--as I did--see how many of the other Post-its you can place on the W.

10th Day in a Chic September

For the month of September I plan to document daily steps I have taken towards a chic, elegant and healthy life. My goal is to keep uppermost in my mind the kind of life I want to live. I will be focusing on all the small things I do each day that lead me towards my goal, rather than away from it.

Here are today’s mini-chic accomplishments:

After a few days of treat foods and drink, it was lovely to eat something healthy and refreshing – I had an apple and a cup of green tea for morning tea. I never thought I’d see the day when I craved fresh fruit, but that day is here!

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Ironed a shirt to wear to work. I love the look of a shirt and always feel crisp and pulled together in one, but alas do not love ironing. I don’t think my chic Parisienne would live in knit tops to avoid ironing.

Now that the weather is warming up I want to wear shirts more often. That is my goal and challenge, to face the fear and iron anyway.

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Inspired by Penelope’s comment on the 4th chic day of September:

'I recently totally decluttered my closet and took out everything that wasn't lovely, feminine, flattering, or pretty (I was ruthless!) and my closet is beautiful now, roomy, with colorful clothes that are feminine, beautiful, and flattering. So worth it.'

I planned to look through my wardrobe and enlisted my husband as a second pair of eyes. As I flicked through and tried on various items, I realised I'd done a pretty good job of decluttering my wardrobe last time (a few months ago). I still got rid of two more items though.

What this exercise made me realise was that I need to declutter items as I come across them. If I'm not completely happy with something as I wear it, I need to wash and donate straight away, not wash and then think 'it will be ok' and put it back.

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Reminded myself to 'strike while the iron is hot' (today is all about the ironing). Listening to Brian Tracy's audio book Flight Plan he said if you have an idea you will either act on it now or not at all. I know this to be true from previous experience.

I have been thinking of cutting up a pair of jeans which are too loose (but I still love the denim colour and the perfect amount of worn-ness they are), and changing them into a mini-skirt for casual summer wear. After my wardrobe declutter which took all of ten minutes I did just that - hacked, remodelled and sewed. I now have a new skirt. Thank you Brian.

If you've never listened to him speak before you are in for a treat. His information is fabulous and his voice is very soothing. Almost hypnotising in fact!

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If you feel like you want to make September a chic month for you as well, please join me. You are welcome to share your mini-chic accomplishments for the day (or the previous day if you read in the morning) in the comments section. It would be lovely to have you along for the ride!

9th Day in a Chic September

Today's chic post has been overtaken by a major event in New Zealand's history. Today is the first day in the 2011 Rugby World Cup tournament and it's hosted by us.

For those of you in North America, imagine the Super Bowl where every state supports the same team. That's what it is like here with the All Blacks. Oh, and by the way, this Super Bowl lasts seven weeks!

It wasn’t until a few days ago that I realised what a big deal this was when couriers asked us if we were going to be ‘closing early on Friday’. We thought about it and realised there wouldn’t be many people around – either they would be attending festivities or going home early to avoid mayhem traffic.

Just to tie it in with the French, this being a French Chic blog and all, rugby is one of the biggest sports in France, with crowds of up to 80,000 regularly attending club matches in Paris.

I live with a sports-mad man, which is quite amusing to me because I grew up in a family which is not into sport at all.

I'm not going to turn into a butch rugby-girl, but today I took advantage of the fine early Spring weather and we headed downtown to join the crowds and soak up the atmosphere. Naturally we stopped and had a pub lunch and pint on the way.

(Top photo): giant rugby ball down by the Viaduct Harbour

(Below): building windows festooned


Me heading downtown


Amongst the crowds


A beautiful blue sky and the Sky tower


Where the All Blacks stay when they are in town apparently


French fans with decorated berets (aren't they handsome?)


French fans wearing flags


When we were here downtown the area was filling up fast - we heard it was 100,000 plus people.


After mingling with the crowds for a short time we decided we liked our own company more and went home. It was such luxury to both be away from the shop during opening hours! We were trying to remember the last time we had lunch out together (it's been years).

Lucky for us our two-storey house has a good view of the Sky Tower and tonight we watched a 3-tonne fireworks display from our bedroom window. It was rather spectacular. Some may say it's a waste of money and I tend to agree, but it was pretty all the same.

Vive le All Blacks!

8th Day in a Chic September

For the month of September I plan to document daily steps I have taken towards a chic, elegant and healthy life. My goal is to keep uppermost in my mind the kind of life I want to live. I will be focusing on all the small things I do each day that lead me towards my goal, rather than away from it.

Today has been such a busy day at work that I have been racking my brain to come up with even one chic mini-accomplishment to report. Here are a few I have scraped up.

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Started my day with half a lemon squeezed into warm water. Lemons are so expensive to buy that I con my family into delivering them (from their own trees) whenever they come to town. My Aunty and Uncle turned up at our shop on the weekend bearing lemons, oranges and bantam eggs from their own property. Yay!

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Kept my cool when inundated at the shop with the after-school crowd. Sometimes it's busy at that time and sometimes it's not. Today it was madhouse and I focused on making everyone feel looked after even as I virtually threw shoes at them to try on. Normally I like to be a bit more caring. A smile goes a long way in this situation.

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Even though work was busy we are still having a home-cooked meal. It's in the oven as I type. I love stir-frys, but nothing beats a cooked-in-the-oven meal for ease. It's a bit like the slow-cooker only faster. Put it in, forget about it for an hour. Cook green veg at the end. In the meantime enjoy a tasty brandy.

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Read this great quote in a womans weekly magazine tonight. My mother-in-law hands them on to me and I love reading them.

'A real star has manners, is gentle, beautiful and interesting and always has something to say'.

Lovely! It made me think of Audrey Hepburn for some reason.

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If you feel like you want to make September a chic month for you as well, please join me. You are welcome to share your mini-chic accomplishments for the day (or the previous day if you read in the morning) in the comments section. It would be lovely to have you along for the ride!