Curl Up With A Good Book…

Last time, we touched on the two most important rules of acquiring the good stuff. The first one is Start Small. As much as we’d all love to, it isn’t realistic to throw out all the kitchen stuff, the decorations, the linens and buy all new. These changes will have to be smaller than that in order to give your budget a chance to absorb them. But starting small can lead to big changes.

So how do we start small? For me, it was my everyday glasses with stems. I love stemmed glasses. If they’re called  ice tea glasses or tulip glasses or water goblets, I don’t care. They are my favorite drinkware. I kept my other glasses, shopped around, and found tulip glasses on sale, 4 for $5.00. I bought two sets. When I went home, I boxed up my old, non-stemmed glasses, donated them, and have never looked back. They are a vital part of my Champagne Life. Yes, it can be that little, that “insignificant.” All these years later, I still smile when I pull down a glass to pour myself a glass of water or load my dishwasher.

A while back, I asked you to pay attention to your surroundings. Now you know why. This is where you start. With whatever your equivilent of stemmed glasses happens to be.

Maybe it’s your bedroom. Perhaps the corner where you love to curl up with a good book. Or your dining table. Can’t afford the entire new linen collection for your bed? Buy pillows or pillow cases. A new blanket in a sexy red or a peaceful blue. Even just changing your lampshade can make a difference. A throw pillow and blanket or a piece of art that makes you smile can make your book nook cozier, too. For dining, a special mug or two new place settings for you and your sweetie. Or yes, four new glasses for five dollars. You’re getting the idea.

Look for sales. There is always a sale somewhere. And remember not to try to do it all at once. Take each new piece and love it for its own sake. That’s a Champagne Life.

Enjoy ~

Pauline

Good stuff. We’ve talked about what the good stuff is. We’ve talked about using the good stuff. We’ve established that the good stuff is whatever we want it to be, whatever makes us feel good. We’ve agreed that using the good stuff is important, fun, is…good.

But there is one, pretty major issue we haven’t addressed. What happens if we don’t have good stuff? And lots of people don’t, not by our definition. For whatever reason, they are surrounded by things about which they are indifferent. And indifferent has no place in a Champagne Life.

There are two basic, yet vital, rules to accumulating good stuff. First, start small. We can’t forget that whole beer budget part of our Champagne Life. Second, don’t bring anything into your home that you don’t love. While you may not be able to afford the 1000 count sheets or the Waterford crystal, that’s okay. Remember, this isn’t about impressing anyone or keeping up with anybody, including the Joneses. So you don’t have to settle for anything you don’t absolutely love, at any price. Ever. If it doesn’t make you happy, it’s not your Champagne Life.

Because happy is what it really boils down to, isn’t it? A happy life is a Champagne Life.

Enjoy ~

Pauline

My best friend, Mitchell, loves the rare nights she gets to spend in hotels by herself. She adores her husband and daughter but every now and then, a night away is a gift.  She buys cheese and special crackers, wine and fruit and settles in for a night to take care of herself and only herself. Unfortunately, not many of us, including Mitchell, can afford a night at a hotel very often. So, we need to find a way to have a night out while staying in.

Last time, we talked about changing into our pretties for no one but ourselves. This time, we’re going to take it one step further. It takes some planning but it’s worth it. You’re worth it. Your champagne life is worth it.

Pick up a favorite snack. Depending on your budget, it can be a small wedge of good cheese, a few special chocolates, or even just cheddar and Hershey’s kisses. Then, once you’ve changed into your nightclothes, fed the dog, made the kids’ lunches, whatever, take your drink and your snack to your favorite place in the house. Dim the lights or light a candle or two and…relax.

Really go the extra step and turn off the television. Instead, put on some music, do a crossword, write a letter, or read a book. Take thirty minutes and wind down. Savor every bite. Engage all your senses. Don’t just sit mindlessly in front of the computer or with the remote. That can wait for other nights. Tonight is about this moment, your night away in your own home – and your Champagne Life on a Beer Budget.

Enjoy,

Pauline

According to Victoria, Frederick, Lulu and even Mr. Macy, one of the most special things a woman can do for her spouse is make a little effort and wear something slinky before bed. Quite honestly, I’m in total agreement with all four of them. I, however, am a fan of taking it a step further. If you’re going to put that kind of effort forth for someone else, why not do it for yourself, as well.

At some point in the evening, life slows down a bit. You take a deep breath, possibly for the first time since the alarm went off that morning. This is the time you get to be fabulous for yourself. Just like you don’t have to wear pretty undergarments when someone special is going to see them, you don’t have to only wear your lingerie when someone else is going to see it.

Right before you take that deep breath, go change your clothes. Now, I’m not talking about your old sweats and the extra-large t-shirt with the tear at the seam. No, I’m talking about the floor length satin gown, the silky men’s cut pajamas, the lacy baby doll. Whatever makes you feel sensual and gorgeous.

Pour yourself a glass of wine or brew a cup of tea. Now take the deep breath. Even if you still have to feed the dog and make the kids’ lunches, that’s okay. Seriously. You may even feel silly the first few evenings. That’s okay, too. Eventually though, the everyday events start feeling a little silkier, a little more elegant. Because who says every day has to equal frumpy? Certainly not anyone living a Champagne Life, even on a Beer Budget.

Enjoy,

Pauline

Next post, I promise we will pick up where we left off last post. After all, we are staring into a closet with a whole lot of space in it. I don’t know about you, but wearing the same outfits three days in a row or being arrested for public indecency don’t exactly fit into my idea of a Champagne Life on any kind of budget. That being said, based on some emails and feedback I’ve been getting, I feel I need to address something.

I know you’re stressed. I know you’re being pulled in seventeen different ways. We have work and children and spouses and houses and parents and siblings and bills and, and, and…And it’s crazy out there. Three things I want you to remember:

1. These are suggestions. Take the ones you like. Discard the ones you don’t. Create the things I’ve missed but that matter to you. This is your Champagne Life on a Beer Budget. No one else’s.  I remember once I was raving about a recipe to a woman I knew at an office. The main ingredients were peanut butter and chocolate. She asked for the recipe and said she would try it over the weekend. Monday, I asked her if she had tried it and if she had liked it. Her response was yes, she had tried it and no, she hadn’t liked it. Then she went on to say “But I really can’t stand chocolate and peanut butter combined.” Hm. Well, no. Given that you don’t like the main combination of ingredients, it makes sense you wouldn’t like the recipe. I didn’t say that, of course, but I certainly thought it. These are like chocolate and peanut butter. If you know you don’t like them, don’t take time out of your crazy, busy schedule to try them. Take time out of your crazy busy schedule to try something you do like, or at least you think you might like. And then write me or leave a comment and tell me what it is. I’m always looking for new things to incorporate into my Champagne Life.

2. You don’t have to find time for everything all at once. You don’t have to give yourself a manicure/pedicure every single Thursday and take a hot bath every night and go through your closet immediately and rid yourself of plastic grocery bags and read a new or favorite author all before the month is out. Again, if you can afford that kind of time and commitment, odds are good the Beer Budget doesn’t really apply anyway (and more power to you!). Start slow. Get one thing absorbed comfortably into your routine before you try to add something else.

3.You have to be willing to carve out the time for yourself. We find the time for the things that really matter to us. Let yourself really matter to you. Maybe it’s one small thing. Maybe it’s several small things (because that’s the whole point of this ~ they are all small things). Whichever it is, you have to make the time, just as you make the time for your other commitments. Remember, one of the very first posts here was the power bath. That mindset can see you through more suggestions than just bathing. When I was in college in Boston, one afternoon, my mother and I went to high tea at the Ritz (talk about a Champagne Life!). We saw a woman there obviously doing business. She had her folders and files and was working. Until the waiter brought her tea service to her. At that point, she stopped working, put everything aside and pulled out a book. She read and had tea and didn’t work. Her tea probably lasted all of twenty minutes. Then she packed everything up and headed back out again, most probably back to the office. But she had found herself those twenty minutes for high tea, just for herself. Make yourself as important as everything else. You’re worth it.

And that more than anything else is a Champagne Life on a Beer Budget.

Enjoy ~

~ Pauline

Everyone knows how we feel about how we look, how we’re dressed, how we’re put together, has an impact on us.  That’s why makeover shows are so popular.  When we feel as if we look good, we have more confidence in ourselves ~ which makes us look good.  It’s a lovely little circle.  We don’t, however, have to only care about what other people see.

In spite of the title of this posting, I’m going to tell you a secret rather than keeping it: I care about my underwear.  Even before I met my husband, when I was single and there was no one to see what I had on under my clothes but me, I took care with my lingerie.  As a result, I have fun underwear; I have silky underwear; I have sexy underwear.  And it’s my little secret.  After all, if I’m going to wear fun, silky, sexy things for someone else, why shouldn’t I wear them just for me?

The nice thing is nice things don’t have to cost a fortune.  Sure, if you want to, go ahead and drop $20, $25 or more on a single pair of panties.  And more power to you, if you can afford it.  For me, the whole champagne life on a beer budget thing means I need to be a little more frugal than that.  Luckily, that’s not impossible!  First, go through your drawer.  If it’s got rips or holes, please throw it out.  If it’s too big or too small, please throw it out.  If your bras aren’t the right size, please get fitted. An absurd number of women wear the wrong size bra and trust me, as a full-figured woman, nothing makes you feel better than when you finally put on the right sized one and the girls look that good.  Once you’ve been fitted, if the bras are the wrong size, throw them out.

But now what? Now it’s time to replace.  Something I’ve learned about underwear: someone is always having a sale somewhere. My favorite bras were on sale 50% off at two different stores last week.  I don’t remember the last time I spent more than $3.99 on a pair of panties.   Even our favorite secret keeper, Victoria, regularly has panties on sale for 4 for $20.  Sure, that’s more than $3.99 but if shopping there is part of your champagne life, it’s still a bargain.

Are your underclothes hugely important?  Nope.  If we’re honest, not really.  But why shouldn’t we be as good to ourselves when it’s just us, as we are to whomever is lucky enough to see what’s underneath the clothes?  It’s one of those little touches that can bring a little ~ albeit secret ~ smile and that make it a champagne life even on a beer budget!

Enjoy ~

~ Pauline