401: What France Continues to Teach Me About Living Well
The Simple Sophisticate - Intelligent Living Paired with Signature Style
Release Date: 04/02/2025
402: How to Keep Ourselves Healthy - Mind and Body - for the Rest of Our Lives (specifically for perimenopausal and beyond, but for all ages too)
The Simple Sophisticate - Intelligent Living Paired with Signature Style
"With the right training, nutrition, lifestyle strategies, and the power of the mind, women in their fifties and beyond can still [accomplish amazing feats] . . . women prove every day that our best years can be ahead of us no matter how old we are now . . . you've accumulated hard-earned wisdom and power over the years. You're higher on the totem pole of life. There are countless opportunities that lie ahead." —Dr. Stacy Sims, phD, International exercise physiologist and nutrition scientist The beautiful gift of stepping into another year of life is that we have the opportunity, but...
info_outline
401: What France Continues to Teach Me About Living Well
The Simple Sophisticate - Intelligent Living Paired with Signature Style
“France is Europe’s most diverse, tasty, and exciting country to explore. It’s a cultural bouillabaisse that surprises travelers with its varied, complex flavors.” —Rick Steves The rain in Bretagne/Brittany. The dry hot heat in Provence. The bustle of Paris. The butter in Normandy (and Brittany). I could go on and on about the specialty delights and signature details in each of the many regions of France because as many of you know who have had the special opportunity to spend time on the terra firma of France, France is full of wonder and deliciousness to savor. To have only...
info_outline
400: What I've Learned in French Class, So Far . . . : Part Neuf
The Simple Sophisticate - Intelligent Living Paired with Signature Style
When beginning this journey back in September 2022, I never imagined I would feel comfortable speaking French without thinking too far ahead of myself nor caring if I spoke incorrectly (which is still quite often), but two and a half years later, it has happened! Imperfect French is being spoken and the fundamentals are more confidently understood than ever before. Wahoo! While having attempted to take a French language class here and there over the past two years beginning when I was 20 back in college, I never made it past the 103. It took me three attempts, but finally, I made it all the...
info_outline
399: Eight Things I've Learned in my 46th Year
The Simple Sophisticate - Intelligent Living Paired with Signature Style
There is an awareness available to anyone who steps fully into their forties. It often happens a couple of years after turning the big 4 - 0, but it's there, waiting for each of us to realize we are half-way through (if we are so fortunate to live into our 90s) this beautiful gift called life. This awareness prompts courage and discipline as well as motivation to just get about the business of living out the dreams we may have been too timid to try in our earlier years. We begin to see that taking care of our health is more than worth the investment. We begin to know that loving fully is the...
info_outline
398: The Simple Two Word Phrase that will Transform Your Life in Extraordinary Ways, as taught by Mel Robbins (and it's not on the cover of her new book)
The Simple Sophisticate - Intelligent Living Paired with Signature Style
"Taking back your power means reclaiming responsibility for your life. It means demanding more of yourself because time is ticking, and you've wasted enough of it worrying about things that don't matter. It means being laser focused on the things you can control, and not giving a single second to the things you can't . . . Let Me create a better life. A life that makes me proud. A life that makes me happy. A life where I use my precious energy to enjoy every single moment I will have . . . all it takes is two simple words: Let Me." —Mel Robbins, from her latest book Let me. With good...
info_outline
397: The Serenity of Savoring Being Single and the Abundance of Love that is Present
The Simple Sophisticate - Intelligent Living Paired with Signature Style
With Valentine's Day right around the corner, an annual holiday to celebrate love, those we love in all its different relationship forms, it can be helpful to be reminded that love doesn't have a hierarchy. One type of relationship be it a friendship, a spouse, a parent/child, a pet companion, a universal love for humanity, self-love - isn't more or less important, but merely other avenues of giving and receiving love. Love, when it is true, comes in a variety of forms. Shared in back in October about unconditional love, Andy Puddicombe reminds, “The very definition of unconditional love is...
info_outline
396: Why Living a Simple Life Involves Courage and 6 Ways We Can Harness Our Bravery to Do So
The Simple Sophisticate - Intelligent Living Paired with Signature Style
"The confidence to dare to be simple." —Monty Don To be simple is to knowingly let go of what is not necessary and wisely keep, nourish and invest in what is. Gardens in many ways are a wonderful analogy for living well because they take time to mature into their full potential, and it isn't guaranteed that they will, but if they do, it is because the gardener had the foresight, patience and clarity to know what would be of value to invest in today. Albert Einstein is attributed with saying, “Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler.” To know where that line is, because it...
info_outline
395: 12 Balanced Living Ideas for a Great New Year
The Simple Sophisticate - Intelligent Living Paired with Signature Style
Maintaining our balance whether we are holding a tree pose in yoga or riding a bicycle requires dynamic engagement. While the tree pose in yoga may look static, nope, it is actually dynamic as various muscles are engaged. Similarly and more visually obvious is riding a bicycle. We must remain in motion, and a motion that is balanced, so again engaging our motions to align with each other if there are multiple, in this case our two legs pedaling, to remain balanced. Balance in life involves a similar concept. We may not always look physically in motion, so for example, choosing time to just be,...
info_outline
394: Setting the Foundation for An Extraordinary New Year and Beyond
The Simple Sophisticate - Intelligent Living Paired with Signature Style
"We can attain almost anything we want—but not instantly. If we're methodical, if we're persistent, and if we take small, deliberate steps, we can arrive there. The going may be slow at first, but the advantage of those actions, compounded over time, can lead to stunning results." —Doris Clark, author of Five years. Seven years. A decade. Time is on our side so long as we put in the proper foundation to support the progress that will eventually lead to the outcome we intend. "The whole point of playing the long game is understanding the ridiculous goals are ridiculous right now—not...
info_outline
393: How to Change Your Mind (literally), So You Can Change Your Life
The Simple Sophisticate - Intelligent Living Paired with Signature Style
"Some of [our] beliefs, habits and behaviours are acquired by chance, and some we have designed for ourselves. But the beauty of the human mind is that no matter how these beliefs were shaped, they can be changed." —Nicole Vignola, author of Maybe it is the lack of confidence you have in your potential. Maybe it is the negative thoughts that stream through your mind at 2 am in the morning or in the afternoon when you are exhausted after a full first half of the work day has asked you to be on your game every single minute. Maybe it's your doubt that you will ever be able to acquire that...
info_outline“France is Europe’s most diverse, tasty, and exciting country to explore. It’s a cultural bouillabaisse that surprises travelers with its varied, complex flavors.” —Rick Steves
The rain in Bretagne/Brittany. The dry hot heat in Provence. The bustle of Paris. The butter in Normandy (and Brittany). I could go on and on about the specialty delights and signature details in each of the many regions of France because as many of you know who have had the special opportunity to spend time on the terra firma of France, France is full of wonder and deliciousness to savor. To have only remained in Paris is to have seen just one gorgeous, yes, indeed magnificent spectacle at the Olympics, so to speak. When we travel beyond the capital, we further deepen our appreciation for a country, as Rick Steves notes above that is diverse, tasty and exciting in ways unique to each region.
Having just returned from my seventh trip to France, three of which gave me the opportunity to spend a great deal of time in four different regions of France, each time I visit I am reminded why the French culture resonates so sincerely with both my temperament but also my predilections as it pertains to passions and approach to daily life.
Over the years here on TSLL I have written many posts sharing lists of what France has taught me, so I will refer you to those at the end of today's post as I will try not to repeat myself here today. No doubt all of those lessons remain present with each visit, but I want to share the new ahas that were unearthed on this particular trip taken just this past March for over two weeks - one week in Paris and one full week in north Brittany.
Let's dive right in.
Explore the full Show Notes on The Simply Luxurious Life blog - https://thesimplyluxuriouslife.com/podcast401
To advertise on this podcast please email: [email protected] or go to https://advertising.libsyn.com/thesimplesophisticate