Everyday, we wake up in the morning and make the choice to have a refined day. We want to fill our day with little luxuries – little treats and pleasures! To live “la vie en luxe,” we need to surround ourselves with luxurious and refined things.
This week, I was doing a little research and reading a book on style. I was about four chapters in and appreciated most of the content. Then, the author dropped a bomb – her day-to-day style was yoga pants and a white tank top. Was this her idea of style?! It certainly wasn’t my idea of style, nor my idea of refined living. The very next day, the book went back to the library.
What we read, watch, think, and hear are what makes our lives luxurious, refined, and wonderful. If we don’t surround ourselves with things that make us feel wonderful, refined, luxurious, then are we really living “la vie en luxe”? The book I was reading didn’t have that “luxe”-ness that I had hoped for.
We should always be reading – I firmy believe this! I always have a book (or five) on my bedside table. Whether fictional novels or nonfiction narratives, reading is a fabulous way to spend time. Ask yourself – are you reading books that give you pleasure? Do they make you happy while you read them? Whether juicy novels or self-help books, are they helping you live a more luxurious life?
More than likely, we will all turn on the television today. What are we watching? My favorite shows, like Downton Abbey, The Good Wife, and Upstairs, Downstairs show a different style of living – but it is still EXTRA refined! I often watch Food Network shows or HGTV, which ultimately inspire me to clean, but insire me nonetheless! We all have a guilty pleasure to watch from time to time, but are your TV habits improving your life and making you happy?
Music is all around us – in the car, in the coffee shop, and even in television adverts. When we choose to listen to music, what are we choosing? Just like television, we have our guilty pleasures, but what kind of music makes you feel refined? I love 1920’s jazz music in the mornings – the upbeat tempos replaced crude “pop music” during my morning routine. During dinner, I like to play a classical playlist. What are you listening to? When you listen to music, what are you choosing to hear?
I would LOVE to explore these topics – what we read, watch, hear, and think – more over the next few weeks. What do you think – does your day-to-day habits make up une vie de luxe?
I love this! Lately, I’ve been trying to live life with some added luxuries. As an avid reader, I have been trying to read more classic literature, which I used to have traded for sappy novels with no meaning. I’m also kicking to the curb any and all reality television. My mom would always warn me that whatever you put in your mind, stays there! Why fill it with negative or trashy things?
YES! I kicked out reality tv ages ago and I am better for it.
Rejecting a book that you were otherwise enjoying simply because they author’s idea of everyday style doesn’t match yours seems…unrefined. I wouldn’t brag about it.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and I appreciate you posting this comment. However, it isn’t a fair comment. I was not really sold on the book, and the yoga pants and white tank top (which I hope we can all agree is not exactly refined and stylish) settled the decision. So why read a book that I was no longer enjoying, especially since it didn’t support my ideas or beliefs on a subject? Isn’t that decision – not to waste my time on something I would not enjoy – refined and worth bragging about?
Well, that makes more sense. I think if you re-read the first few sentences of the post, you might find that your decision sounds a bit more hasty than the clarification you just gave…not, of course, that you wouldn’t have the right to make that decision regardless, just that I think my impression is understandable. Either way, I want to apologize for the phrasing of my comment – it sounds a bit snippy! I didn’t intend that. And I appreciate your responding.
Ah, the beauty of internet communication! Misunderstandings! Perhaps we should return to lengthy, descriptive written letters… 🙂
Have you seen Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries? It should be return to PBS (replays) soon. 1920s la vie en luxe in Australia – the Jazz, the fashion, the cocktail parties…
Ive heard about it but never watched! Will have to give it a go!