Jennifer L. Scott - At Home with Madame Chic: Becoming a Connoisseur of Daily Life

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ALSO BY JENNIFER L. SCOTT

Lessons from Madame Chic

Simon & Schuster

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New York, NY 10020

www.SimonandSchuster.com

Copyright 2014 by Jennifer L. Scott

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Simon & Schuster Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition October 2014

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Jacket design by Jackie Seow

Jacket and text illustrations by Virginia Johnson/Illustration Division

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Scott, Jennifer L. (Jennifer Lynn)

At home with Madame Chic : becoming a connoisseur of daily life /

Jennifer L. Scott.

pages cm

1. Charm.2. Fashion.3. Home economics.4. WomenFranceParisSocial life and customs.5. FrenchSocial life and customs.6. Self-help / Motivational & Inspirational.7. House & home / Cleaning & Caretaking.8. Paris (France)Social life and customs.9. Paris (France)Civilization.I. Title.

BJ1610 .S3947 2014

646.7 2014015011

ISBN 978-1-4767-7033-8

ISBN 978-1-4767-7034-5 (ebook)

For Gary and Sonia Evans

What Is Chic?

What is chic? Chic is a feeling. Its a state of mind. It is a way to live and a way to be. Weve all seen chic people. Nicely dressed, they seem to have a strong understanding of what their true style is. But its so much more than their clothing, isnt it? Chic people have an air of mystery about them. They seem content with something, but what that is... we cant put our finger on it. Their chicness appears effortless, as though the graceful way they get through the day comes naturally to them.

When looking at these chic people, you might wonder if they have a cluttered living room, or if they scramble to figure out what to have for dinner at six p.m. every evening. You wonder if they detest emptying the dishwasher as much as you do. Heck, look at that manicure. Do these chic people even do the dishes?

Well, some of them probably dont. But what about the rest of us? Being chic has nothing to do with money. Not all chic people are rich, and not all rich people are chic. You may have observed this with reality television. You might see a wealthy woman with the perfect haircut, dressed in the latest designer clothes. She has a big house, a sports car, and that magic wand, fame. But her negative attitude, insecurities, and bad manners combine to make her, as they say, a hot mess. This type of person does not possess that chic je ne sais quoi . She has a lot of inner work to do.

Being chic is not about the size of your bank account. It has nothing to do with where you live. It has nothing to do with the job you have or the person youre married to. It has nothing to do with the car you drive or the labels on your clothes. Chic is a state of being. And it is something that anyone can cultivate. Yes, anyone.

You can be chic. You can have a beautiful, productive, and passionate life. You can flow gracefully through your day and look good while doing it. You can find happiness in your life, even if everything isnt exactly how you pictured it would be. If you are used to a chaotic, unorganized, and so-not-chic life, dont fret. That doesnt have to be your reality.

In my first book, Lessons from Madame Chic: 20 Stylish Secrets I Learned While Living in Paris , I introduced Madame Chic and her fabulous Parisian family. The secrets of fine living I learned from Famille Chic planted the seeds of inspiration in my life and opened up a whole new world for me. After those blissful, carefree days as a student in Paris, I moved back to America and eventually found myself with my own home and family to look after. I wanted to espouse the elegant way of living I learned in Paris and become my own version of Madame Chic. But back home in California, everyday life was no longer idyllic; it was messy . What would Madame Chic say if she could see my bedroom, our living room, or the backseat of my car? Without my mentor to guide me, I had to rely on myself to get to the core of what it means to live well when you have a family, a home, and a busy life. And let me tell you, it wasnt chic.

You may think that being chic has nothing to do with the most insignificant and mundane moments of the day. Moments like preparing your meals, emptying the dishwasher, and paying bills. But the secret is: those moments arent insignificant. Au contraire . They are very significant. Thats rightif you can change your attitude about making the pasta sauce, choosing your clothes for the day, folding the laundry, setting the table, or dealing with the incoming mail, you can completely change your life. Im going to show you how you can derive pleasure from these seemingly mundane tasks, how you can turn all that frustrated and chaotic energy into satisfied, pleasurable energy. After you form an initial organization plan and a routine that becomes second nature, your home will run more smoothly, and you will learn to enjoy and enhance your routine. This peace will follow you wherever you go for the rest of the day, no matter how far you venture from home.

Your home is a microcosm of the real world. The more you practice living well at home, the more natural it will feel to carry this practice out into the real world, and the closer youll be to becoming your own Madame Chic. If you have a home life that runs smoothly, you too will have that air of effortlessness about you. Youll spend less negative energy worrying about where you put your keys, or what youre going to have for dinner, or how on earth youre going to clean up the mess in the living room.

Your attitude will shift. There will be something about yousomething mysterious that other people cant quite figure out. That je ne sais quoi quality is chic.