French living Archives - Northern California Style

It’s time for weekend meander.. with my pals Elizabeth and Juliet! On this post, a book all about finding French Joie, a chic woven tote, rattan hurricanes and the cutest inexpensive sandals you need for summer.

Garden Talk

How was your week? We have had some really lovely weather. I’ve been paddling around barefoot in the yard and putting in some new plants and flowers. I feel positively euphoric after this long dark winter. I finally got some pretty plants for the front porch and I asked Instagram pals what survives hot weather… This spot get so much heat in the afternoon. Thanks to everyone’s suggestions, I ended up with these fabulous geraniums that were at my local OSH.

I was advised to try marigolds, succulents, dianthus, lobelia, sunpatiens, and lavender. Our garden center had such slim pickings though geraniums were all I could find. They were huge and lovely, so I hope they will survive. I also put in some kangaroo paws and another hummingbird favorites like yarrow in a few pots on the porch. I love seeing the porch with flowers and birds!

Guys, I have to be totally honest, my beautiful California native front yard was looking like an abandoned lot after all the rains. We do NOT use poisons or weed killers, so it was quite the train wreck. I found a wonderful garden guy who is helping me and Max maintain it, but it’s been a rough patch. It’s finally looking a bit normal, but it’s been a battle. I had no idea al this rain could wreak havoc.

Next week I will start my tomatoes in the garden, so if you were waiting for the right time, my gardener dad says next week we should be good one to begin digging for us garden peeps here in California! So start getting your beds ready.

French Joie

What is it about the French? All I have to do is read a few paragraphs about how they live and I can feel my blood pressure lower.

Last week I ordered the new book Joie, by Ajiri Aki. I follow her Instagram and was reading a bit about the book on Vogue. I clicked over to read the book sample and was hooked. It’s a lovely book, filled with little encouragements to take some cues from the French and live a less fraught, less hurried life with the goal of finding the ‘joie’ in all the little things.

Ajiri is so fun and relatable. She’s an American of Nigerian descent who grew up in Texas, and spent time in New York before landing in Paris where she married a German and is raising her darling kids. Many things in this book remind us to slow down and stop rushing through life! This book also made me laugh. I loved her story of getting baguettes for the French parents at the super marche instead of a bakery (to their horror), and also wondering why people had so much time to hang out and socialize, when there was work to do. So American!

My takeaway from this book is to stop stressing about everything. Take more time for loafing and smelling the flowers. It’s good for the soul. We have no chill here. The tips on beauty.. the French love themselves as they are.. wrinkles and flaws included.. We need to wear less makeup, let hair dry naturally, dress to appreciate the bodies we have and feel good in our own skin! We Americans try too hard and it shows. Frankly, I’m ready to try try the French method. Check back if I start looking like a street person in a few months… just kidding! Let’s all try and be more French shall we?

This book would be a lovely gift for Mother’s Day or a friend. You can buy it here and follow Ajiri here on Instagram and where she sells her French tabletop treasures at Madame de la Maison. She will be in the Bay Area next weekend signing books- in Oakland at Sweet July and at SF’s Hudson Grace, if you’d like to meet her. More on that here.

Speaking of France…. Max and I are going to try and throw together a trip in early summer there. We had a trip planned last fall, but Max and his entire team was laid off where he worked and we were sort of unsure about going as he had to interview for other positions. He began a new job in January and we are hoping to do the trip we had planned to Paris and Loire Valley…

I am mentioning because I am wondering if anyone has recommendations for towns or hotels they like in those spots? We stayed in an apartment in Paris years ago, but have not been to the Loire region! You guys always know the best places and have great tips, so thank you for anything you have!

On my radar

I was inspired by the Joie book and went and bought myself some flowers for the week and this little yellow bunch ( sorry I don’t know name) for $5.99 from Trader Joes of course, made me feel so happy and still are each time I walk into my office!

I have had the hurricane I used as a vase here for a long time. The closest I could find that was a decent price was this at Wayfair. It would be pretty with a candle in it when not being used as a vase, or even as a utensils and spoon holder on a kitchen counter.

Jeffery Campbell makes fun shoes and his take on the Gucci sandal in rubber is really cute for $44 and in four colors, I can’t decide which to get! It’s the perfect little shoe to tuck in a bag for a getaway, for poolside, or with a pretty pedicure and white jeans…without the Gucci price. Anthro has all four colors. Shop all his cool shoes here.

I was at the mall last weekend and saw this uber cute tote. I thought it was a Valentino with it’s puckered look, but it’s actually an AllSaints and I love the two tones and that it has both shoulder straps and handles. This might be my new go to bag for the warmer months. More color variations here.

This dress…

I know I shared this H&M dress last week and I was excited to already get to wear it. I had it on all day Friday and it’s super comfy. It may be my favorite little day dress in the closet right now. I am going to order a black or pink version before it sells out..like the blue stripe has already. I bought a Medium and I am 5’4 and 138 pounds. The sewing and material are very nice and the sleeves make this a more expensive looking piece, but what a great grab and go everyday dress!

Keep Tahoe Blue- the history behind it

Max forwarded me this terrific article on the history of the Keep Tahoe Blue stickers and the foundation and history behind it. Did you know back in the 50’s they proposed a high speed freeway ringing the lake, housing for 500,000, and a bridge over Emerald Bay? Once they realized the clarity of our mountain lake was vulnerable – science and those in the community got together. What they have built and protected is impressive. Read the fascinating history here.. and you can follow @KeepTahoeBlue .

Japan Travel & Packing

If you missed it, I had fun this week sharing a guest post on travel to Japan, by my dear friend Jeanne Chan, who just came back. She has been there before and knows what to pack, where to go and shop, and most important, some of the tricks and tips for travel there.

Did you know that Japan really has no public trash cans and that you have to bring your own towel or hanky for the bathrooms? So many interesting things.. Read Jeanne’s travelogue and good travel tips here.

And if you have a getaway to Mexico don’t miss Juliet’s post last week on what to pack here!

On last weekend’s post, I shared thoughts on Earth Day, a new Ethos stores, the perfect spring and summer sandal, an empowering book, a charming San Diego beach house, and thoughts on the Brooke Shield’s documentary.

Have a beautiful weekend,

Kim

Please visit my pals Elizabeth and Juliet’s blogs..

MAKE MINE A SPRITZER

PINECONES AND ACORNS

If you’d like to get an email when I publish, please subscribe to the blog here for a post in your inbox a few times a month and every Saturday for Weekend Meanderings.

Some links will generate a small commission here, which helps make this blog possible. Thanks so much for your support!

Today’s blog is a little wordier than usual, but if you can deal with my writing, I think everyone can get a little something out of it. I hope to not be too preachy, but to inspire you all a little. This is a fresh start. New thinking and new habits are what it is all about.

I always have a case of the blahs come January. Luckily, I got a bit of a kick from one of my favorite columns, At Home by writer Marni Jameson, in our local San Jose Mercury News. She wrote about a new book, “Lessons from Madame Chic, the Top 20 Things I Learned While Living in Paris.” Her article was intriguing and funny and from her I found the author, Jennifer L. Scott’s blog called The Daily Connoisseur, which had her 20 tips for living like the French. Being a Francophile, I couldn’t wait to read all the tips. They were just the inspiration I needed after the excess of the holidays.

No laptops here. The cafe at Jardin du Luxembourg. via Telegraph.uk

Scott’s tips explain that quality of life is what the French value most. They know how to enjoy each meal and each day and live in the moment. That’s something we could all work at here in the states as we race through our days to the next task. That’s part of the problem we’re racing instead of taking it all in and being present.

We need to bring it people! We need to be our best each day. To do so we need to have less and do less. Take time with your life and be content with all you have. Eat your breakfast on your nice china, and enjoy your coffee at home. Being with and enjoying each other is what matters. Most important, she states in her blog, is to fall in love with the rituals of everyday! Make each experience count, whether it’s going to the grocery or washing a dish. If you care about how it is done, you will make the experience enjoyable and not a task.

Okay, I admit shopping here would be more enjoyable than Safeway.

The French believe they deserve to live well and do so. This is not about how much money they have, but about their attitude and cherishing each day. We Americans fail at this miserably. That means not picking up fast food because it’s easier, but instead taking the time to enjoy the process of creating dinner with your family and eating together. Why are we racing to get the food on the table? Is it so we can park ourselves on the couch in front of the tube? For the French, the family meal IS the evening and after they enjoy others, listen to music and read books. We are sold the idea of convenience meals and the faster and quicker you can get it down, with the least amount of work, the better. Sadder yet, we glue ourselves to tacky reality shows with people like the Kardashians and waste precious hours of our lives watching garbage instead of reading a book or spending real quality time with people we love.

I also love how Ms. Scott’s tips emphasize that even the wealthy in France live with very little. They have only what they need and buy the best quality items they can afford and use them every day. We super consumers could bring more calm to our lives by bringing into our homes only what we really love and use often. The French use their china and good flatware everyday for breakfast, lunch and dinner. And why not? Ever eat a nice dinner on paper plates? Sure it’s easy, but something about that just seems wrong unless you are at a picnic. Same with chipped, old or mismatched dishes you are using daily while your good stuff gathers cobwebs in cupboards. We never use our best china. Paper plates and napkins are bought by the caseload, so we can eat quick and throw it all in the trash. We are even taught from a young age to keep our best clothes in the closet for another time and wear your sweats and jeans most days. Why have it if you never use it? Live your best life and enjoy it. Imagine how less cluttered all our homes would be if we actually kept only our best!

The Daily Connoisseur blog shows that living modestly is actually living better. The French have small homes and spend their money not on huge mortgages, and remodeling jobs, but instead on good meals, travel, and the occasional fine thing. They truly do live up to the, “less is more,” mantra. Unfortunately, the opposite seems to be the American way. We have a Costco mentality here. Buy in bulk, get bigger, cheaper and store it up! We admire huge cars, massive homes and more stuff. The more we have, the more we have to maintain and the less time we spend with our families and doing what we really love.

In this new year, I will try to embrace some of the lessons of French living and live a life that appreciates each day and those in it with me. I’m going to buy less and spend time and money on fun experiences with those I love. I hope to read more books, play more games with my kids, host more dinners, and watch less television. I want to use my best things each day and purge my closet and house of things we don’t cherish or use often. And when I’m tired and am tempted to make another run to High-Tech Burrito, I’ll remind myself that I am helping my boys appreciate what really matters in life – good food, good times and being in the moment with each other. I wish that they will give that gift to their families one day too.

Carpe Diem and Happy 2012!!

Kim:)