Take a walk with me on the beach and have a chat! In this video, I update you on how homeschooling is going, what our daily routine is in Portugal and the unusual things I have been missing while traveling abroad. We are actually in England right now, but I hope you enjoy seeing these videos from our Portugal trip.
This video was shot on the DJI Gimbal Osmo video recorder. I'm still learning how to use this device so bear with me as I try to walk in the thick sand, talk and film at the same time. Ha!
Take my new eCourse on the ten-item wardrobe! With over an hour of never-before-seen video instruction, notes and quizzes, you will feel prepared to create your own ten-item wardrobe. For those of you who already do the ten-item wardrobe, this course will keep you on track and provide further inspiration. The course is self-paced and includes a lively comment section with other ten-item wardrobe enthusiasts. Enjoy!
Fiona G writes, "Thank you Jennifer for putting this course together. It's been really helpful in putting the 10 item wardrobe into practice."
Thank you, Fiona!
Today I would love to know... what are the unusual things you miss while traveling?
First, I showed you What I Look Like at the End of the Day, and now it's time for me to show you what I look like in the middle of the day. What's going on this afternoon? The dishes need to be done, the kitchen needs to be cleaned, I have a roast in the slow cooker and cookies fresh out of the oven. It's gloriously messy, comforting and joyful all at the same time!
Running a home can be stressful and overwhelming, but enjoy the process (that is what being a daily connoisseur is all about!). It will not be pretty. You and your home will not look perfect, but you can take pleasure in the journey.
I'm listening to the Miss Mapp audio book to get ready for our book club. (I've read the novel and am now solidifying it by listening to it.)
Here is my chocolate chip cookie recipe. I keep the dough in the freezer and make it in small batches. I like to make 6 - 8 cookies at a time. This is perfect for when unexpected guests arrive.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe Makes 24 cookies
Ingredients 1 C butter, softened 1 C white sugar 1 C packed brown sugar 2 eggs 2 tsps vanilla extract 3 C all-purpose flour 1 tsp baking soda 2 tsps hot water 1/2 tsp salt 2 C semisweet chocolate chips
Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Dissolve baking soda in hot water. Add to batter along with salt. Stir in flour, and chocolate chips. Drop by large spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheet. Bake for about 10- 14 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are nicely browned.
Delight in the pleasures of the afternoon, no matter how messy and work-laden they are. For more on the pleasures of the afternoon, check out my book, At Home With Madame Chic.
News I hope you'll join me for the Mapp & Lucia Book Club. We will be starting at the end of June. Write down your questions so I can answer them in my upcoming videos!
And in the Instagram world...
A cup of tea, a bar of chocolate and Lessons from Madame Chic. What a perfect evening!
Comment of the Week Alexandra tried out a vegan version of my Authentic Indian Chicken Curry. Here is her report: Hi Jennifer, Here is my after-cooking report. My family loved this dish! There was nothing left at the end of the meal. My teenage son ate two large servings. I'm so glad you're giving curry to your baby. He will have a sophisticated palate when he is older. Like Julie, I used coconut cream in place of the yogurt. To cut down on the fat, I also sauteed the onions in veggie broth instead of oil. The veggies I used were zucchini and summer squash. We've only been vegan for a couple months; so we are still firming up our favorite recipes. This is definitely one of them. For those who may feel intimidated by all the spices, I don't think it's absolutely necessary to use every single spice. I substituted powders for the pastes and skipped the garam masala since I didn't have it. The curry was still fantastic. Thanks again, Alexandra
Alexandra, I'm so happy your family loved the recipe and you were able to adapt it to your needs. Wonderful!
Today I would love to know... what do you have going on this afternoon? What are your pleasures of the afternoon? Let me know and your comment could be chosen as comment of the week on the blog!
See you Thursday for a review of a new book discussing the history of makeup.
Part 3 of the reader Q&As continues today with a special appearance from Mr. Connoisseur at the beginning of the video. Have the books changed me? What do my friends think of the Madame Chic books? What should you do when you are in a bridal party and everyone around you lacks poise? How can I implement routines into my home life? All of these questions are answered in today's video plus much more.
Comment of the Week Amy writes: I grew up on a farm surrounded by hardworking men and women and we learned an appreciation for honest, hard work. No one I know would find this fashion trend to be acceptable in any way. Most folks who have jobs that get them this dirty want nothing more than to get home scrub up in the shower and put on fresh, clean clothes as a reward for that hard work. My father wouldn't have sat at our dinner table looking like that let alone have gone out to a restaurant or a movie. He would have considered it disrespectful to himself and to others. I'm assuming if you are spending $425 on these jeans, you would wear them anywhere. I find it disrespectful to socialize looking like this and hope folks have more sense than to buy into this fad.
Hi Amy, I loved your comment on the Fake Mud Jeans post. It's nice hearing your perspective having grown up on the farm. Your father sounds like a wonderful man! Thank you to you and everyone who commented.
I would love to hear your thoughts on today's discussion topics. Have you ever been in a group of peers and felt uncomfortable with their behavior? What did you learn from it? Where do you struggle with routines in your home life? What are your successes with routines? Let me know and your comment could be chosen as comment of the week on The Daily Connoisseur!
If you have any questions you'd like to submit for a future reader Q&A, you may leave a comment here, or email me privately via my author website. Please note: due to the large volume of emails I receive, I am not always able to respond. I do read every email and appreciate every one!
Today's video is a collaboration with Mina Irfan from The Universe Guru. Mina contacted me with this great idea to do a collaboration on 5 Tips for an Efficient Home. Today, I'm sharing 5 tips on my channel, and she is sharing 5 tips on her channel. You can watch her video here.
This was a really fun topic for me. I had way more than 5 tips, but I streamlined them to the most pertinent.
Prepare the night before Think about what makes your morning hectic. Is it breakfast? Getting dressed? Preparing school lunches? Helping the children get ready? Whatever it is that causes you stress, see if you can take care of it the night before. Set the table for breakfast. Set out the lunchbox and place non-perishables in it. Choose your clothes for the next day. Have your children lay their clothes out. Place all backpacks by the front door. Everyone's nightly to-do list will be different, but you will come to appreciate this added effort the night before to make your morning run smoothly.
Use your slow cooker The slow cooker (or crock pot) is my favorite kitchen appliance. Late afternoon/ early evening are very busy times at our house. The children are back from school and we are doing homework, practicing instruments, catching up and having downtime together. I'm also normally quite tired during these hours. That's why I love to prepare a meal in the slow cooker in the morning, when I tend to have more energy and while the kids are at school. I love the feeling of having dinner prepared come 5pm! It also makes the house smell so good. I love that our home smells of home-cooking when the children get back from school. The benefits of the slow cooker are endless.**
Embrace routines We live in a world of order and our homes should reflect that. Try to eliminate chaos wherever you can by implementing routines for everything from dealing with the incoming mail to going to bed at night.
Run your home like a small hotel What do you like about staying at a hotel? Is it the serene, clutter-free bedroom? The immaculate lobby and reception area? The sense of calm and order? Get excited about running your home, just as if you were the manager of a small, boutique hotel. With this motivation, you will plan your meals with gusto and use your implemented routines to create an orderly and efficient home.
Adopt a ten-item wardrobe The benefits of the ten-item wardrobe are vast, one of them being that it makes your home life run more efficiently. Why? Because you are not wasting countless hours choosing what to wear. You are not wasting money on clothes you don't need and aren't your true style. You end up choosing to look presentable every day which boosts your energy and productivity, plus so much more.
I hope you check out my video today where I expound on all of these topics, and why I believe they can help you to run your home more efficiently.
**Many people have asked which slow cooker I use. Our All Clad slow cooker is over ten years old and our particular model is no longer available. However, I did some research and this Crock Pot slow cooker is Amazon's pick, is very affordable and has excellent reviews online. If you are looking for a new slow cooker and you try this one, let me know how you like it!
Comment of the Week Oh my goodness, there were so many amazing comments from last week's Teatime with Jennifer video and blog, it was really hard to choose my favorite! Here are two great comments:
Jenna G writes: I have been following your channel and reading your books for a few years now, I've never commented but I just love what you have to say. You have inspired me to live in a new way with a renewed love for the simple things in life. Whether it's food, beverages, clothes, or the simple pleasures of making your home look beautiful, it's just fun! I used to have two closets jam-packed full of clothes, and now I'm down to one small closet thanks to the 10 item wardrobe. I love cleaning out my closet multiple times each year and updating my wardrobe. I find joy in keeping my home looking nice with my husband. And I totally agree about looking presentable always, even when no one else will see you that day! I hope your books and channel are around for years to come. I love looking forward to your new videos each week. :)
Tara M writes: Before reading the Madame Chic series I used to be an offender of wearing yoga pants everyday (I think I am wearing yoga pants in my icon pic :). I too, had the opinion that it didn't matter since I wore a long shirt over and I thought you couldn't tell. I also work from home. But after reading the books, I decided to give it a try. I have to say I have converted. I no longer wear yoga pants daily. I wear real pants. And I will say, "don't knock it til you try it". I feel so much better. I realized that when I was in my yoga pants, I wanted to lounge around, read, or go on the internet. When I am dressed, I am more efficient, more organized and I feel better when I go to the store. I am in a better mood. I love not wearing yoga pants. At the end of the night, early, I take a relaxing bath and put on my pj's and then I relax, pray and listen to some classical or meditation music. So, now I have a place for my relaxation time. I love it!~ Thank you Jennifer for shedding light on this. My cheat is, I found dressy, nice pants, that are just as comfy as yoga pants. I usually wear nice, dressy leggings with a long dress top and ballet flats.
Thank you ladies, for sharing your great testimonials with all of us. I love to hear how the Daily Connoisseur and Madame Chic philosophies are improving your lives.
This week I would love to know... What do you think of my tips for running an efficient home? Do you have any to add yourself? Do you struggle with efficiency in your home life? Let me know in the comment section, and yours could be chosen as comment of the week on the blog!
I'm pleased to start my series on making home life a priority today! I have broached this subject in the past, and have even written a book on the topic (At Home With Madame Chic), however, this topic remains a passion of mine, and I still have so much to say on the subject.
This will be an on-going series over the course of the year, and today we are talking about distractions. The last time I discussed this, I urged you to cut your distractions. Cutting needless distractions is very important, but in today's video, I also give encouragement. Oftentimes you can make your distractions work for you to sweeten the process of getting your work done.
The first step? Write your distractions down on a sheet of paper so you can look at them honestly. Screens, in any form, are the biggest distractions: smartphones, television, YouTube, Facebook, Pinterest, Netflix, etc.
Now, figure out if you can make your favorite distractions work for you. Can you watch a YouTube video, while folding the laundry? Can you listen to an audiobook or podcast while cleaning the kitchen or cooking dinner? You can do these things while feeling motivated to organize, de-clutter and tidy the house on a regular basis. And what should we do about those pesky Facebook and Pinterest addictions?
Check out this week's video to hear my thoughts on the subject. To see the list of my favorite YouTubers, check out the info box below today's video.
Comment of the Week Thank you to everyone who watched my first episode of Teatime with Jennifer! Everyone contributed such lovely comments, it was hard to choose my favorite. I did love this memory from reader, Maureen...
Maureen @ Raising the Capable Student writes: I loved this story too! When my oldest son was born (22 years ago!), he spent a week in NICU. We always dressed nicely for our visits, and on the day we finally brought him home, I wore a dress and my husband wore a suit. It was a day of grateful celebration, and we wanted it to feel that way. It's a great memory!
Hi Maureen, I'm sure that time when your son was in the NICU was incredibly stressful. I'm sure that your dressing well for his visits reflected your hope for him. What a great memory to finally bring him home! Thank you for sharing it with us.
This week I would love to know... what are your distractions? How could your home life use improvement? How do you plan to make home life a priority this year? Let me know, and your comment could be chosen as comment of the week on the blog!
Happy new year, dear readers! I hope you had a marvelous holiday break. I enjoyed my time off immensely. Baby's first Christmas was so special. We spent new year's eve celebrating with friends, and this past week have been on vacation in the snow in Yosemite.
This week's video is shot from my cozy hotel room at the Tenaya Lodge near Yosemite valley. It was our first time bringing the children to the snow, and they have had so much fun sledding and tobogganing with their cousins! In my video today, I share my annual new year's inspiration with you and outline the plans for the blog in 2017. (My apologies for the audio quality of this video. I did not have my usual equipment with me in Yosemite and as a result, the audio quality has suffered.)
This is going to be another year where we focus on making our home lives a priority. As I write about in At Home With Madame Chic, home life is truly important for everyone, whether you live in a big house, or a dorm room with a roommate. The focus of my home life blogs this year will have an emphasis on habits and routines, which are vital to creating a peaceful and nurturing home environment. Habits and routines become even more important when you have children. I have many thoughts on these topics and am excited to share them with you this year!
Also, regarding beauty and ten-item wardrobe, I have heard your requests. So many of you over the years have requested that I feature budget beauty and wardrobe items. This year I will be investigating and reviewing many drugstore beauty items. I am looking for affordable products that do not compromise quality. The same will be said for my ten-item wardrobe posts later this year. It will be a fun experiment and I hope you join me!
Finally, I am aiming to implement a new video series on my YouTube channel: in addition to Monday's regular video, I plan to start a weekly, or bi-weekly Teatime with Jennifer, where we discuss popular or current events stories. So many times something will happen in the news and I will want to weigh in on it from the Madame Chic/ Daily Connoisseur perspective, and this year I will finally begin!
I continue to read and love your emails and comments. Because I am not able to respond to each one, I will continue to feature the "comment of the week" on the blog. I feature comments from this blog, the YouTube channel and from my social media accounts.
Thank you for joining me for another season of The Daily Connoisseur. I hope you will subscribe to my YouTube channel if you haven't already. It is free! If you click the "bell" next to the subscribe button, you will be notified every time I upload a video. I encourage you to do this, because the teatime with Jennifer videos will not have their own blogpost. They will be in video form only.
If you have any requests for the new year, please leave them below. See you soon!
