The last four or five days, I've been doing nothing but dreaming of France. Anyone who knows me, knows that I'm an admitted Francophile, but reading Mireille Guiliano's French Women series and reflecting on my trip there in college has really influenced the way I've been thinking, living and eating lately. I'm dreaming of age-old buildings, fresh vegetables at outdoor markets, simple and chic outfits and hot cappuccinos. I'm making an effort to seek out fresh produce and organic ingredients, I'm baking homemade baguettes and I'm endlessly googling photos of Clemence Poesy.
But more than anything, I'm trying to adopt some of the things I've learned from reading about the French and observing them when I was there (in no particular order). Dress simple and chic- building a wardrobe that expresses who I am, not the latest fashions. Eat small portions of really good food and wine. Enjoy life and invest in my relationships.
Un bon conseil, non?
Though my family makes fun of me for talking about our/my French heritage, it gives me such a great sense of satisfaction to know that not only can I embrace these ideas that I really identify with, but they're truly in my blood.
How do you embrace your heritage?
3 comments:
love this.
I too love this, and have actually been thinking a lot about my heritage lately, and how certain music and places move me, and how that only really makes sense in light of my family once having lived there.
I want to visit France, yes, and I love the French language after studying it for Way Too Many Years Not To Be Able To Speak It, Ahem, but I feel a stronger pull toward England (where my paternal grandmother's family is from) and Ireland (where my maternal grandmother's family is from), and then Lithuania/Poland/Belarus, too (where my paternal grandfather's family is from).
I want to visit those places, and meet those people, and taste that food, more than I want to do much else as of late.
So I've been reading your blog since the spring but I've never commented until now. That book totally changed my lifestyle as well. I read it about 4 years go and had the same epiphany. It's how I was introduced to local and organic foods (which, by the way, taste sooo much better!) and became interested in cooking. (I actually started a food blog and I mention this book as the inspiration but sadly grad school has taken over my life and therefore halted my four entry blog.)
I've felt so content and satisfied since I started to eat smaller amounts of delicious food and wine. The book also helped me be comfortable in my own skin and not worry about trends or what anyone thought. I relaxed into my life. I hope the book has brought you the same sense of self.
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