The Simple Sophisticate - Intelligent Living Paired With Signature Style

That feeling when our shoulders drop naturally, we make decisions from a place of confidence rather than fear, we are at ease to be ourselves and surround ourselves with those who feel safe to be themselves. There is an unspoken respectfulness rather than resentment, an enjoyment of the company and life we have cultivated, and when momentary chaos jets into the day, we remain steady, trusting we will make it through to the other side where calm will return. A secure feeling in our daily life can arrive or be reached in a few different ways. And mind you, we're not talking financial security, we're talking emotional attachment security. The feeling of being at ease with our own company as well as with those we connect with and interact with. To live a secure life as it pertains to attachments is to engage with the world from a place where our nervous system is regulated (i.e. relaxed) giving us the ability to confidently try new things, share our true selves, relax entirely, and savor completely. You may remem

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Find the text for this mini-episode on The Simply Luxurious Life - https://thesimplyluxuriouslife.com/moment43

"Sophistication is a perfect marriage between intelligence and simplicity, combined with supreme confidence." —Rose Tarlow, interior designer, author of The Private House A home that spontaneously prompts a deep exhale of relief and appreciation when we arrive. Four walls of our own that reflect what we need to unwind, put down any defenses or professional selves that we have needed to do our job. When we know we have such a place, no matter the size, but we know it is our own, our whole being can rest, can delight and can be free. The caveat is that a home such as this doesn't just magically come together. In fact, even hiring an interior designer won't create this feeling of deep intimate calm that day after day, year after year, we feel innately. Rather, it takes intention, both in knowing ourselves and in knowing how to create the aesthetic combinations of colors, textiles, décor items, furniture and arrangement. The latter is what internationally respected interior designer, antiquarian and fine furnitu

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Find the text for this mini-episode on The Simply Luxurious Life - https://thesimplyluxuriouslife.com/moment41

"In a world of fleeting trends, the most profound elegance is self-fidelity. Let your style be an authentic whisper of your spirit, not a borrowed shout. Cultivate your own taste; adorn yourself in truths, not trophies. The greatest rebellion is to remain unyieldingly yourself." —Anonymous In many ways it far easier in our world today to be true to ourselves, void of blindly following trends and cultural preferences as options abound of how to live, what to wear, what [fill in the blank of what we are trying to figure out], but at the same time, because the world is so loud with everyone having a microphone and video in their pockets should they want to use it, it can also be hard to know what our own self is. Are we rebelling against the cacophony or walking our own path? Are we singing our own song or is it a tune we heard unconsciously over and over again while going about our life from surrounding influences? One way to know we have arrived at least at a semblance of self-fidelity is when we are comforta

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Sideways. Often a term associated with glancing, looking, or moving from side to side, or figuratively referring to something not working out as we'd hoped. However, today, with the help of a new book that brought it to my attention, I want us to reframe this term as we discover how intentionally remembering to live sideways while we strive forward toward our goals, or set sail in the direction of our intentions, is a recipe for living a life of depth, quality, and richness. In a world that may feel as though it is perpetually pushing us forward, or pulling us forward as it sometimes seems, if we don't cultivate a life that nourishes us, we can easily be swept along with the current, focused only on outcomes of productivity, results or finished work or accolades for that work. How we engage with our journey along the way will then become less important, and we have forgotten that living now is all that we have guaranteed. Tune in to the episode and find the show notes on The Simply Luxurious Life blog - https

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"Everything we do and for how long and intensely we do it affects our brains." —Wendy Suzuki, PhD., author of Healthy Brain, Happy Life We each have the ability to expand and improve the quality of our life. No matter what our age, our brain is capable of expanding in its cognitive abilities. We just need to remember to exercise it. And the beautiful discovery I want to share with you today is that often how we exercise our brain can be not only enjoyable, but elevate our entire life. A win-win in which we are the fortunate recipient that holds the keys to giving to ourselves. In a book that came out in 2015, interactive researcher and well-known TEDx speaker, Dr. Wendy Suzuki shares in Healthy Brain, Happy Life that when we understand what plasticity means when it references the brain, "the idea that the brain has an essential ability to change as a result of experience" we open up encouragement to continue to give it opportunities to stretch, expand and discover. Which means that we are reminded that forev

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A change of climate, a change of culture, a change in time zone. All of these and more are concrete changes we encounter when we choose to travel far from our home and daily life. Granted a time zone change may not be part of each occasion, but still, when the sun rises and sets most likely will be. Change is what we witness when we choose to travel. And by choosing to embark on an adventure, an exploration that involves changes, knowing our daily routine will temporarily be different and knowing the environment we step into will be different, we are exercising a powerful muscle that is part of living a life of contentment — accepting and seeing the gift of change. In today's episode, I will be sharing many of the gifts that travel gives us, moreso from the well-being and life enriching perspective, rather than speaking to any particular destination. It can be easy to forget these gifts when we settle back into our daily rhythm. And the courage and choice to invest in travel can sometimes wane the further rem

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"Once we realize that serendipity is not just about a coincidence that happens to us but is actually a process of spotting and connecting the dots do we start to see bridges where others see gaps. Only then does serendipity start happening all the time in our lives." —Christian Busch, PhD, author of The Serendipity Mindset In The Serendipity Mindset, Busch defines serendipity as something that is active, "'smart' luck that depends on our ability to spot and connect the dots." We must first see what he describes as the serendipity trigger, "be able to connect the dots and THEN, develop the tenacity necessary to focus on and influence valuable outcomes." Holding this definition in our mind, we understand that serendipity is something we can invest in to increase the chances of it happening and that, to my ears, is very good news. Today, I'd like to share with you a handful, two handfuls exactly, of ways taught by Busch in his book that we can increase the odds of serendipity happening in our life. This list is