What I Learned In October

October was supposed to be my month of chic and being French.
Which it was, for the most part. I really enjoyed eating whatever I wanted- it made me realize that I really can't eat junky sugary HFCS laden food all the time- but I really do enjoy small increments of it.
I enjoyed the days I dressed properly and put five minutes of effort into make-up- I felt more polished and somehow better control of the day.
I really enjoyed our family decision "to look only at the good" for the month- the irritating things were far less irritating. I don't know if that kind of thinking is too Pollyanna, but it did make those daily little annoyances less, plus I had the pleasure of taking the sanctified high road. It's a habit I'd like to continue. Another French idea is to use your good stuff, so I used a lot of my "good items"- accessory and jewelry-wise, I wore dresses and heels- which gave me a lot of joy too- in using it instead of letting it just sit, getting compliments, and again, with that minimal extra effort of feeling polished. It also made me realize that I really don't need more, just enjoy what I have more...
Which led me into being more organized, so I can see what I do have...and needing to get more organized helped me get a nagging home project (the closet shelving) done.
In terms of being effortless- I decided to be less stressed and perfectionistic at our annual Halloween party. Instead of the stress of catering from Whole Foods (the food is great, but they always mess up orders), I got a few things from here, a few things from there, friends brought treats (RocoCoco makes the best baked goods), and it was as lavish as ever. In fact, the biggest hit was Papoose's idea: mini corn dogs. Both kids and grown ups liked them. Less effort=more fun.
And in the more fun category is my new found love of the Star Wars Expanded Universe. Crazy? Weird? Yeah, absolutely. But as the French would say,"suivez votre passion!" (Which despite my pinky promise means more SW posts in the future...maybe I'll even make Hubs take me to ComiCon...

Last Star Wars Post (for awhile) Pinky Promise

http://deathstarpr.blogspot.com/2011/10/is-luke-skywalker-really-99.html

Luke Skywalker - the 1%?
Read it and make up your own mind...

Should You Be Worried?

Ever since last year's mild obsession with DH and the Eagles, you've known I'm a bit obsessive. Fortunately, so far it's been limited to limited subjects. I mean, at the end of the day, there are only so many songs by the Eagles and so many books about them for other moderately curious people. But now...maybe it's time to start worrying about me.

Actually, worry first about George Lucas. The man is cra-cra. Sure he's a genius, bringing us Star Wars, Empire, Indiana Jones, even ILM. But hello? Other Indy movies? Temple of the Skull? Jar Jar Binks? Indians eating monkey brains?

And worst offender of all, Captain Eo. Hubs somehow managed to doze off to this atrocity: Lucas and Coppola and Disney make a movie featuring Michael Jackson in major 80s sparkle and epaulets, singing a catchy Beat It-ish tune, while you sit in chairs that move and weird furry animated creatures flew off the screen in 3-D; the stuff of nightmares, I tell you.

Hope the video works, I've never embedded before.
It did manage to make me forget the horrors of Eo, though, I was laughing so hard.

Back to Lucas. He also has spawned this massive subculture of Star Wars called "The Expanded Universe" which is explained in detail, on something called Wookiepedia, I kid you not. Star Wars time is based around the Battle of Yavin- you know, when Luke blows up the first Death Star.  Star Wars time is measured in years before and years after Yavin. And there are hundreds of EU books!
So it turns out that my favorite Star Wars character isn't even mentioned in the movies.

Now even I'm worrying about me.  And here's the thing, seven books into it (Start with Heir To the Empire, which I actually haven't read, as I'm working my way backwards to it- by Timothy Zahn. I'm talking to you, Bro) I've realized it's all because of adolescent me, again. You see, my favorite Star Wars is  Grand Admiral Thrawn of the Empire, a blue skinned bad guy, is almost exactly like the blue bad I used to watch in eighth grade, Leader Desslock of Gamlin in StarBlazers.
You be the judge:

Shudder.
What madness lies next?

Toujours Chic, Win One For The French

So if America won in the last round, I think the French win in the diet round. I don't know if the French are truly healthier- they do seem to be slimmer. We are comparing, though a whole country the size of Texas, who live in a much cooler Northern latitude (I believe closer to Maine) to an extremely diverse population who lives in a much hotter (hello, Kansas in the summer) area. It's hard to be chic if you are totally wilted, after all. Anne Barrone also points out that American culture also has a religious and pioneer type handicap- lots of America was on the frontier, where you routinely had to do without, and a lot of American attitudes towards appearance and food are driven by the Puritans: if it's fun, it's probably a sin.
French are driven by enjoying the moment, and even if it may not be totally good for you, enjoy it in moderation, and without guilt. I certainly enjoyed Disneyland much more that way.
Americans overall seem to be driven to exercise hard, diet hard...hard, hard, hard. We end up with weekend warrior injuries and insane diets we can't keep up with.

I like the moderate path- enjoy in a fair amount. In food, clothing, exercise. Way more chic.

More on the Toujours Chic...

So yesterday I mentioned the French have smaller wardrobes than Americans and how that makes them chicer. I agree with that- like our diets, our closets, in general have a lot of filler junk. But here, I am going to fall squarely on the side of America, because:
              we smell better.
Being stinky is a major American faux pas, right there with ring around the collar- both which can only be avoided by frequent washing not just of the clothes but of ourselves. And who wants to wear stinky clothes with a clean body? Hence more clothes.
Nuff Said.

Disney, The French Way

So one of the books I've been following this month of chicness is Anne Barone's "Toujours Chic, How French Women Stay Slim and Chic". She basicially talks about portion control and walking, and saying no. She also recommends we have fewer clothes and talks about how the French have fewer, but higher quality clothes.
Well Disney is a perfect place to walk a lot. The average person walks 10-12 miles a day at Disneyland. I'm sure we walked at least that much, especially since the (damn) monorail was broken. We walked, a lot, and during the inevitable waits in line, I did stretches. I also drank water, people watched and ate cotton candy. Cotton candy made lines bearable. And the walking made eating cotton candy justifiable. The food in Disneyland is actually too fried to be be totally consumed (portion control!) by one person, so was well shared among three. And California Adventure actually has decent food- flatbread pizza! Hummus! Kebabs! Fruits!

My favorite ride (this a totally non French tangent I'm about to launch into, btw) is the new Star Tours. Of course, we had recently watched the new re-released series 6 in a row- worthwhile, btw cause Lucas has made some subtle and not so subtle changes to tie it all together- Compared to the old "oops I left Endor and got caught in a Rebel/Empire skirmish with an annoying robot" Star Tours ride, this new one has 54 variations! You can either be stopped by a robot drone or Darth Vader- trying to get the rebel spy who is sitting in your vehicle with you-  and yeah, I got picked as a rebel spy, but you knew that I was extra cool, already, right?- Sometimes you follow the Millenium Falcon! Then R2D2 and C3PO take you either to Hoth (snow planet, for a dizzying slalom ride) or Kashykk (Wookie planet where you race through redwoods) or Tattoine (desert planet with two suns for a pod race) then you get a holographic transmission form Yoda or General Akbar or Princess Leia,  then jump to either Coruscant, Naboo or the Death Star (where Jango Fett tries to blast you through a meteor shower) and then land either on a pad in Coruscant or on the Admiral's Ship. Papoose and I managed to see all the variations, though obviously not all the combinations. You probably have to be a major Star Wars geek to fully enjoy this, but even the waiting in line is entertaining on this one. And Papoose had gotten picked for the Jedi training Academy and was an official Padawan now, so I think she really liked this. Or was brainwashed int liking it.



Jedi Training

How can a little green guy weigh so much?

Umm, Darth Vader's kinda tall and breathes like he has bad breath.

 Wait, you're not supposed to strike a pose with the storm troopers!

Yeah, you show that Darth Maul some karate sword training!


Okay, there, Star Wars tangent over for now. Anyway the French probably *love* Star Wars.


 Is it any surprise EuroDisney is near Paris?

Feeling Grateful

Today is my birthday, and a wonderful day it's been. Starbucks sent me a free drink, and when I went there, they were playing Zipedeedodah. The synchronicity of that was funny because when we were in Disneyland over the weekend (a whole'nother post) we were discussing the whole Brer Rabbit philospophy while waiting- in the Fast Pass lane- on the Splash Mountain ride. Brer Rabbit talks about (well, there are quotes throughout the line) of finding your laughing place (just don't Brer Fox's mushrooms to get there) and how some mornings you wake up all zipededdoohdah! Anyway, how often do you go to Starbucks and here that song?

Then on my way to my weekly Stanford meeting, I saw this license plate:



Just one of my favorite books. (Don't worry, we were at a stoplight).

Then I opened all my gifts and cards and heard lots of messages from family and friends, ate chocolate cake, vanilla ice cream and drank Coke with HFCS. It was great!  I realized that I already lead the chicest life: the one that is loved!
Thank you dearest friends and family.
Love you all, and I'm grateful to experience this amazing life with you.

This Month, October

October is my birthday month, and inspired by a blog I read last month, I'm going to try posting about: 31 Days For A Chic October.
And here are some blogs that are inspiring me now.
There is a distinct French flare to them.

1. This is the one that got me to start the 31 days thing. She's taking a break this month, but worth a read for September, as the comments are.

http://howtobechic.blogspot.com/ too.

2.  Fascinating, try to start from her earliest posts, for a full appreciation:

http://theviviennefiles.blogspot.com/

3. I'm not sure what she does for a living, but she has an astounding collection of Hermes scarves. She even skis with a scarf on. I devoured this blog from the beginning. I am struck by the simplicity of her clothes and how she "Hs (Hermes) them up".

http://www.maitaispicturebook.com/

4. I'm not super fond of this website, but I'm reading two of her books, and I find the insights into French life and culture (and why French women do seem to be thinner than us) fascinating.

http://www.annebarone.com/toujours-anne.html


For my chic first day of October, I :

1. Drank water with a lemon from the garden. Supposedly lemon water is very detoxifiying. French women often start the day with a cup of hot, lemon infused water. I am ending my day with cool lemon infused water.
2. Cleaned out under the bathroom counter, got rid of excess, unused supplies and re-arranged it so there is less clutter. Even cleared out one of the drawers in the bathroom so it is cleaner in the AM. It may not be exactly chic, but being unflustered is chic, and for me to be unflustered, I need to be organized.
3. Convinced the familia that  we would have a goal for the month to try to focus on pleasant things, and gently remind each other of the positive. We also agreed to sing more car-i-oke, but I'm not convinced that is chic, unless you live in, umm, moveable permanent housing.

A Demain!