Curl Up With A Good Book…

While the general Love It, Love It, Love It, is nice, I’ve received a few requests for details. Specifics. As one email put it, I love your suggestions but could you please stop being so vague?!?

My answer? Absolutely!

So, that’s how we’re going to spend the next several posts: getting down to details. Now, part of the reason I have been vague up until now is that not everyone shares the same idea of a champagne life. Candles may be vital to one person, while another could really care less.

To address this, here’s a handy cheat sheet for upcoming topics. If something doesn’t interest you, skip it. Easy huh? I promise I won’t even be offended.

• glass v. plastic
• tins, jars, bottles
• candles
• pillows and throws
• technology, music, and movies
• wrap up: bedroom
• wrap up: bathroom
• wrap up: living space
• wrap up: kitchen

And that, my friends, as startling as it just was to realize, will get us through the year. Wow… I can’t think about that too hard so we’re going on now.

There may, of course, be some variation off of this. This is supposed to be fun and schedules are only so much fun for me. It is, however, a good guide. And while I said you could skip a post if you wanted, why not stop by for all of them? The schedule might change after all. Or, while a specific suggestion might not work for you, it might give you a brainstorm about something that does work for you and fits into your Champagne Life. Because that’s what it’s all about.

Enjoy (and have a happy Labor Day!) ~

~ Pauline

Are you ready to start small with your Champagne Life good stuff? Do you know where you’re going to focus first? Excellent. On to rule number two:

Love it.

I am assuming you have perfectly functional belongings. Your goal, however, isn’t only functional but also…more. What do you want your home to be? Peaceful? Sexy? Exciting? Colorful? Relaxing? A little of all of it? Uniquiely yours? Be honest with yourself; you know what you need to make it any and all of these. You need to love your surroundings, love being there, love living in it. This is much more than just functional.

We all have to have things. There is no way around it. However, simply collecting things for the sake of collecting things will not make us happy. That adage money can’t buy happiness is a truism. So don’t just collect things for the sake of having things. Since we have to have things, make sure you have things you love.

We’re lucky because we live in an age where your really can find just about anything. Online is a goldmine. Discount shops, membership clubs, thrift stores. Just because you’ve found something that suits your need – that is perfectly functional – doesn’t mean you should buy it. Wait. Keep what you’ve already got a little longer. After all, you have a functional one; now you’re looking for the wonderful one.Whatever it is, keep looking and find one you love. Because that’s a Champagne Life, even on a beer budget.

Enjoy ~

Pauline

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

If you have a style, or like me, have several styles, the title of this post may not make sense to you. But if you don’t have one yet, you understand it completely. Don’t worry, though; you’re not alone. It’s more common than you realize. Think about it – the entire makeover industry, from fashion to home design, is based on people not having their own sense of style. You rarely see people with stylish homes, gardens, or wardrobes being made over.

So, find your style. Or styles. Forget about what’s trendy. Don’t worry about what’s currently “in.” Focus on what makes you happy, peaceful, or confident. We talked about this in terms of clothing. Now, we’re talking about it in terms of our surroundings. In terms of what makes up your good stuff.

Pay attention to where you’re most comfortable in your house. Be aware of which mug you reach for most often in the mornings. When you walk through Target or Fred Meyers or your favorite thrift store or wherever, what catches your eye? Throw pillows? Glassware? Picture frames? Pay attention to what makes you smile. All of this is part of what can be ~ what will be ~ your style.

Finally, don’t listen to the professionals who tell you that you have to have only one look, one style, one decor. That’s just silly. So what if your sexy peacock feathers and art deco art work don’t match the calico print you love on your curtains. Or if you dream of one room being painted black and red, while another is all pastels. As always, it’s about you and your champagne life, even on a beer budget!

Enjoy ~

~ Pauline

Have you had a chance to have a hotel night in your own home yet? Was it wonderful? Did you slip into your favorite lingerie? Did you pull out your best stemware and finest china? Did you use the good stuff?

Wait. What? The good stuff? Just for some cheese and crackers by yourself? Well… yes. After all, it’s a champagne life you’re going for, not a plastic, childproof, and rushed life. Plastic, childproof, and rushed I think we’ve got handled.

Now, before you start, I’ve heard the argument but what if it gets broken? Then I won’t have it to use! You’re right. Not even the search for a champagne life can guarantee you that china and crystal won’t get broken. However, if it’s not being used, or only barely being used, and is instead sitting, stored away in a cabinet somewhere out of fear of it being broken…does it really matter? Either way, you’re not enjoying it. Personally, I think it’s better to enjoy something, even if that means it might break, than to not use it or enjoy it out of fear.

So, instead of hiding the good stuff away, bring it out. You know the pieces, the ones you only use for special occasions. Because your life is allowed to be a special occasion. Pampering yourself counts, starting now. For me, depending on my mood, I either pull out my crystal goblet, my china plate, and my silver platter or my hand-thrown pottery and painted glassware. Yes, I have served myself cheddar cheese with saltines and seltzer water off of crystal, china and silver. Sounds decadent, doesn’t it? It really is, too. And that’s the point.

Because yes, it was just cheddar, saltines and club soda. But on the good stuff, it becomes so much more. It becomes decadent. It becomes elegant. It becomes a champagne life…on a beer budget.

Enjoy ~

~ Pauline

Last time, we looked at where to shop. The answer was consignment and anywhere with a good sale. Great. Now what? Well, now is what to shop for and how to shop. While this may seem easy enough – what to shop for is whatever we need and how to shop is by going to a store – let me explain. On the one hand, it is that easy. On the other hand, shopping like that is, for me anyway, a guaranteed way to blow both my champagne life and my beer budget. Here’s what I mean…

It’s easy to buy something simply because it fits and it’s functional. But how much was in your donation bag that fit and was functional and yet you still avoided wearing it? We’ve just gotten rid of everything we didn’t love wearing. It makes no sense to go replace it with clothing that is nothing more than well-fitting and functional. How many pairs of jeans and pull-overs (or hoodies or sweatshirts or sweater sets) do you really need anyway? Set yourself a higher standard than “fits and is functional.” After all, living a champagne life is more than about saving money; it’s a commitment to yourself and treating yourself well.

Yes, look for clothes that fit, but also for clothes you love and will feel good wearing. For clothes that match the style you have or the one you want to have. If you have a favorite summer outfit, try to find its winter equivalent. For example, when I gave this piece of advice to my mother regarding her favorite summer outfit – culottes and a flowy tank top – she found thick palazzo pants and lovely long-sleeved t-shirts to wear during winter. The same outfit? No. A seasonally appropriate choice that makes her feel as good as her summer outfit? Absolutely! Because as we have said so often, when you feel confident and beautiful, you look confident and beautiful. And that’s a Champagne Life on a Beer Budget!

Enjoy ~

~ Pauline

If making sure our “unmentionables” are nice makes us feel better, imagine what knowing our outer layers will do for us!  Which means it’s time to tackle the closet.  Many people have many suggestions around this.  To be honest, I’m lazier and less organized than most of these suggestions require.  My personal champagne life is pretty low-maintenance.  I’m not going to take pictures of each outfit to ensure it looks good.  I’m not going to hang compete outfits on the same hanger.  In fact, I’m lucky if my clothes get put away and not just stacked in a pile mentally labelled “clean.”  Still, maybe that’s just me.  If you are more ambitious than that, absolutely take pictures.  Hang outfits together.  And more power to you and your personal champagne life.  Either way, start here:

Make sure every piece in your closet works for you.  Does it still fit? Is it missing buttons or zippers?  Will you ever really replace the button or mend the zipper (and be honest with yourself here, regardless of how hard it is or how good your intentions)?

Some people have a one year rule  If you haven’t worn it in a year, throw it out.  But what if it was a mild winter?  Or a rainy summer?  I extend it to three years because, well, things sometimes happen.  My other rule? Don’t keep it if you don’t absolutely love it.  So what if it fits?  So what if it’s practically new?  Odds are good that if you don’t love it, it shows when you wear it.  If you don’t love it, why own it?  The opposite of this is true as well ~ if you love it (and it fits and all that), keep it.  Who cares if it’s out of style or you only have few occasions to wear it?  If you really love something, it shows when you wear it.  You feel better, more confident, more attractive, more you. And it’s your champagne life so keep it!  Just be honest about the fit and condition.

This doesn’t need to be a long, painful process.  Simply put your hands on each item of clothing once.  If it’s a keeper, move on.  If it’s not, throw it on the floor and move on.  And there.  You’re done. Probably with a large pile of clothing to get rid of and a little (a lot?) of space in your closet.  Which is full of clothes you love, you feel good in, and that make you happy to wear.  You know what that is, right?  It’s a Champagne Life on a Beer Budget!

Enjoy ~
~ Pauline