Today I come to you with great news...

Last week, I received a new book deal with Simon & Schuster for my next project!

Over the last few months I have been working on a very exciting book idea. I wrote the proposal, and together with my agent, Erica Silverman, we presented it to Trish Todd at Simon & Schuster. Trish absolutely loved the idea and we are now officially going forward with it. I love working with Simon & Schuster and could not be happier to be with the same team again who produced Lessons from Madame Chic. The deal was announced in Publishers Marketplace this morning.

I will not share too much about the new book right now except to say that it will inspire you to live your best life every single day and revolutionize the way you think about your routines at home (mysterious, I know!). I will keep you posted with everything and you will be the first to know all of the details. Thank you for your support. I truly love my readers. You inspire my writing every step of the way!

To see my video announcement, click here, look in the sidebar of this blog, or visit my channel: www.youtube.com/TheDailyConnoisseur

Ten-Item Wardrobe

Thank you for all of your amazing feedback on this week's ten-item wardrobe video. The video is currently being featured on the Huffington Post, along with a new motivational article on the subject. Check it out here.

Once again, thank you for your support and... see you soon! x

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Going into the weekend, I wanted to share some exciting book news with you...

Ciao Italia



Le Lezioni di Madame Chic was published in Italy last week by Piemme. Ciao Italia! I'm enjoying hearing from my chic Italian readers and look forward to connecting with you more in the future!

Anthropologie


Walking into my local Anthropologie yesterday, I was so proud to see Lessons from Madame Chic displayed on their front table alongside Ines de la Fressange's Parisian Chic. Back in the beginning when I was trying to get my book published, a literary agent told me it would never happen because Ines' book had just been published. So glad I didn't listen to that advice... there is clearly room for both. Please let this be a reminder to all of us to follow our dreams— no matter how many people try to dissuade you. Thanks to my facebook friends for all of your encouraging feedback and support!

Vanity Fair

Lessons from Madame Chic is described as teaching 'subtle panache' in July's issue of Vanity Fair in an article that discusses the French woman genre phenomenon. It's an interesting article and a great mention. On newsstands now!

Have a wonderful weekend... See you next week! x

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Going into the weekend I have several things to share with you... so here we go!

Neuma Blow Dry Lotion

Always on the lookout to achieve the perfect at home blow dry for my hair, I recently tried out Neuma Blow Dry Lotion, which is a sustainable heat protectant and styling cream. It adds hold and manageability to your hair, reduces frizz and makes great use of plant extracts and essential oils.

Neuma sent me this blow dry lotion to try out and I've used it several times over the last few months. I really like the smoothness this high quality cream gives my hair. It really does make a great companion to accomplishing a professional-looking at home blow out. I'm happy to add this to my list of favorite blow dry creams and serums which also include: Fekkai Ironless Straightening Balm, Kérastase Nectar Thermique, and CHI Silk Infusion.

What makes Neuma Blow Dry Lotion so different from my other blow out creams is that Neuma use only renewable, beneficial plant-based ingredients.

It contains (info from their website): ZERO synthetic fragrance, sulfates, sodium chloride, parabens, 1,4-dioxane, phthalates, glutens, neurotoxins, aluminum compounds, glycols, formaldehyde donors, ureas, carcinogens, environmental pollutants

More earth-friendly aspects of the Blow Out Cream include:
• Renewable, beneficial, plant-based, colour safe ingredients
• Certified Organic Extracts
• 85% post consumer recycled bottles
• 100% certified wind power
• 100% recycled fiber containers
• Vegan
• PETA approved
• No animal testing

Here are some of the blow dry lotion's key ingredients:

• Neuma’s Signature Phyto UV Shield™: A proprietary blend of certified organic plant extracts that enhance hue, reflectivity and vibrancy of color
• Sunflower Seed Oil: Provides UV protection while adding shine, as well as shields hair from heat damage
• Sage Extract: Soothes scalp and conditions hair
• Rose Hips Fruit Extract: Aids in making hair softer and more manageable
• Apricot Kern Oil: Conditions and helps to smooth the hair cuticle, controlling flyaways and frizz, while adding shine

As I start to become more conscious about the types of beauty products I use I am more drawn toward natural brands like this one... If you give it a try I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Neuma Blow Dry Lotion sells for $24 and is available at select salons and beauty stores nationwide. For more information, please check out www.neumabeauty.com

Pinca Pendants


I hear from so many readers of the Daily Connoisseur who are artists and entrepreneurs. I applaud this greatly and especially love to hear about women entrepreneurs. Recently Daily Connoisseur reader Marie Thérèse of Pinca Pendants sent me one of her hand crafted necklaces. I thought it was so lovely I just had to share.

For more information on Pinca Pendants, check out their facebook page and Etsy store.

Red Cross Relief

Hurricane Sandy left so much devastation in its wake. My heart goes out to all of the families affected. A very easy way to donate to the emergency disaster relief is to text REDCROSS to 90999 to donate $10. This may not seem like a lot but if we all chip in, our contribution can really make a difference. The deduction is taken from your cell phone bill. For more information, or to donate another amount, visit www.redcross.org


Book News

I have two more exciting Lessons from Madame Chic giveaways to share with you. The first is with CobbleStay (a wonderful service that helps you reserve luxury apartments in Paris). Read my interview with CobbleStay to see everything from my thoughts on raising daughters to my favorite Paris pastry.

The next giveaway to share is on The Glamorous Housewife blog. Thank you to Bethany for your lovely review of the book.

I hope you all have a great weekend... see you on Tuesday for the book launch!

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I hope you are all having a lovely weekend. This special Saturday post brings blog and book news as well as other great weekend reads.

Groom Like a Parisian
I will be writing a small series of blog posts for the company Foreign IQ. Foreign IQ is a really innovative subscription based company that fully prepares you for any foreign destination you might journey to. (And not just France! They can prepare you to travel to a plethora of foreign countries...) I had the pleasure of test driving their site for the France program and was really impressed by the amount of information available- everything from how to order at a restaurant, to how to communicate to shop keepers, to understanding slang. I wish this company had been around before I went to Paris! The first blog post I have written for them is called Groom like a Parisian and highlights my tips for fitting in in Paris, beauty wise. To see the post click here. To learn more about Foreign IQ click here or visit www.foreigniq.com

Blog and Book News

Lessons from Madame Chic has once again been featured on several websites this past week:

An author interview I did with the amazing artist Fifi Flowers on her blog Reading is Fashionable can be seen by clicking here. Fifi is also doing a giveaway for a signed copy of Lessons from Madame Chic so if you would like to win one, be sure to visit and leave a comment. And if you aren’t already acquainted with Fifi’s beautiful Parisian inspired artwork, checkout her artist blog here.

Also, Kate from Une Vie Chic, Jess at Jessica Steinberg, Kim at Northern California Style and Jane at From Magpie to Minimalist all wrote about Lessons from Madame Chic! So check out their fabulous blogs…

In blog news, Melissa from Melissa's 100 has written about The Daily Connoisseur and shares her interview with me where I give advice on dealing with negativity. To see the article click here.

And lastly, The Daily Connoisseur was featured on The Displaced Nation under their top ten expat and travel posts. To see that article click here.

Thank you to all of these great publications for supporting The Daily Connoisseur!

Stay tuned for Monday's post and video where I share with you my fitness routine...


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