What a truly wonderful book we are featuring on the blog today: Elsa Schiaparelli: A Biography by Meryle Secrest. Here's the description from Knopf: Her name was Elsa Schiaparelli. She was known as the Queen of Fashion; a headline attraction in the international glitter-glamour show of the late twenties and thirties,...

I often like to post my "Sunday Best" chignon pictures on social media and many of you have requested a video tutorial for them. This week I share two of the easiest chignons I do. Both work great with long hair but could also be achieved, with modification, on shorter hair. I love a good chignon because it is a classic,...

Today I have an exciting new book that will inspire the interior designer in you: Elements of Style: Designing A Home & A Life by Erin Gates. Charming, inspiring, witty and funny, this is a beautiful book from start to finish that would not only be a great addition to your interior design library, but would also...

A night at the theatre... one of my favorite pastimes ever. Last Friday I saw The Los Angeles Ballet's production of Swan Lake at Royce Hall. It was a double treat for me because Allyssa Bross, whom I had the pleasure of meeting at London Sole last year, was playing the principle role of Odette / Odile. She was superb....

How to Fold a Towel One of the fun tutorials found in At Home With Madame Chic is how to fold a towel. Many people don't think about this small detail, but when you fold your towels this way, it not only makes your linen cupboards a joy to look at, but it makes storage more efficient. As mentioned in the book, I learned...

Thank you for your incredible response to the release of At Home With Madame Chic. I've already heard from so many of you who have read the book and enjoyed incorporating many of its ideas into your daily life. One of the driving reasons behind why I wrote this book is because I think we could all benefit from making...

The wait is over. At Home With Madame Chic: Becoming a Connoisseur of Daily Life comes out today! This is a very special book for me because homemaking is one of my great passions. Sadly I believe the subtle art of keeping a home is something that is dying out in our society. We all lead such hectic lives full of outside...

Our self-discipline series continues as we discuss snacking this week. This was the most requested subject from readers... it seems the temptation of snacking is strong and people are looking for techniques to boost their discipline in this area. We are really going back to our roots as the first chapter in Lessons from...

This week's featured book is A Sudden Light by Garth Stein. This new release is described by Good Housekeeping as a "Haunting family saga", a perfect read as we enter the month of October. Here is the description from Simon & Schuster: The bestselling author of The Art of Racing in the Rain presents a long-awaited...

Dear Readers, My TEDx talk on The Ten-Item Wardrobe is now available to view. TED and TEDx talks are about ideas worth spreading and I was honored to be a part of this wonderful day. I hope you enjoy the video. If you are not able to view it in this blog post, you may watch it here. Thanks again for your wonderful...