Welcome to the season finale for The Chic Assignment. What an enjoyable ride it has been as we have immersed ourselves in beautiful arts and culture and bettered our everyday lives through meaningful habits. I would like to thank you for joining us this year.



The Chic Assignment will take a break in January, but we plan to resume in February. If you have any requests for future assignments, please leave them in the comments below.

Our family has safely arrived in England and today's check-in is very special, as you will see glimpses of the English countryside and festive visuals from this time of year.

Tchaikovsky, Dickens, the present moment, and stress management. These were the themes for December.

Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite Op. 71a is always a welcome treat to listen to this time of year. I've even been known to play it in the month of July to feel Christmas nostalgia. Does anyone else do this too? We will explore Tchaikovsky's biography in a future Chic Assignment. This episode focuses largely on Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, which is read beautifully by Ben.

Looking at the portraits of the Tudors at Hampton Court Palace, made me further ponder how short life can be. It's important to remain present with our family so that we don't miss the specialness of the season.

I was able to practice "not stressing the small stuff", which was Chic Assignment number 4, on the plane ride over. It's not easy taking a long-haul flight with four kids (including a baby and toddler!) So not stressing the small stuff was a must for me. I have to say that in order to get through the flight I had to also remain very present and accepting of the circumstances. Lots of prayer was happening too :)

Thank you for joining me for a wonderful year of Chic Assignments. What an enjoyable treat it has been to do this with you each month. As mentioned, I will take January off for the Chic Assignment, and it will resume in February, 2020.

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🇬🇧 #England #hamptoncourt #ivisiteverytime #tudors #henryviii #royals #dailyconnoisseur #connoisseurkids #lessonsfrommadamechic

A post shared by Jennifer L. Scott (@dailyconnoisseur) on Dec 22, 2019 at 4:49am PST

Comment of the Week
On Instagram, jayasjohnson writes, "So refreshing to see an Instagram picture where the person is not angled to the side and is smiling normally and happily. You look gorgeous! Merry Christmas !"

Jaya, your comment made me laugh. Thank you! I can't stand the fake poses either :) Merry Christmas.


I hope you enjoyed today's Chic Assignment season finale. I would love to know how the assignment this month impacted you. I am wishing you a very Merry Christmas and I will see you soon.

With love,

Jennifer


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To all of my American readers, I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I truly enjoyed my time off. We had family in town and it was wonderful to take a break and just be really present and enjoy their company.



What an amazing year this has been! The Chic Assignment has been an enjoyable addition to each month. The final assignment of the year is going to look a little different. My hope for you this month is that you remain present and enjoy your time with your family and friends. I know that we all have so many commitments and it can get stressful, so I do not want to add to that stress. Let's jump right in to this month's assignment, which is designed to bring joy.

🎄 Chic Assignment no. 1 Enjoy Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite Op 71a. You knew we had to enjoy Tchaikovsky this month. The Nutcracker ballet is one of my favorites and the music is amazing in its own right. At least once this month have this enchantingly beautiful music playing in the background to accompany your day.

I am listing a YouTube video that you can watch for free that has the Nutcracker Suite, Op 71a



The Nutcracker is a two-act ballet, with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Tchaikovsky made a selection of eight of the numbers from the ballet, forming The Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a, intended for concert performance. The Nutcracker Suite should not be mistaken for the complete ballet. The outline below represents the selection and sequence of the Nutcracker Suite culled by the composer in the YouTube video I am featuring here.

I. Miniature Overture 0:00
II. Danses caractéristiques
--a. Marche 3:29
--b. Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy 5:59
--c. Russian Dance (Trepak) 7:47
--d. Arabian Dance 8:58
--e. Chinese Dance 12:04
--f. Reed-Flutes 13:05
III. Waltz of the Flowers 15:15

During The Chic Assignment check-in, I will share Tchaikovsky's biography with you. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy listening to The Nutcracker Suite or seeing the ballet in person.

🎄 Chic Assignment no. 2 Enjoy Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens... an absolute Christmas classic. This month we are reading an excerpt from this famous tale. I will begin the excerpt and in The Chic Assignment check-in, Ben will read the second half. You can leave it there and simply enjoy the readings, or you can read A Christmas Carol for yourself, or watch one of the films made based on the story. Here is a link to A Christmas Carol on Amazon.

🎄Chic Assignment no. 3 Remain present The next two Chic Assignments are quite simple. During this bustling and hectic time of year we can get overwhelmed. I just want you to remain as present as possible and enjoy the season. Perhaps cut back on social media during this time, for example. Be very present with your family and friends while you are with them and enjoy their company.

🎄 Chic Assignment no. 4 Don't stress over the small things If you are hosting over the holidays, but tend to stress out over the house, food, and everything else. Be aware of your stress levels and don't sweat the small stuff. Often the things we get stressed about are the details that only we notice anyway. Prioritize enjoying the season over having everything perfect.

I am looking forward to all that December has to bring!

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Got a package! Wonderful gift from US 🎁 Can't wait to read all of these great books! Książki, które bardzo chciałam przeczytać, a których nie ma jeszcze na polskim rynku, stoją już na mojej półce 😊❤️ "Connoisseur Kids" to najnowsza publikacja autorki serii o Madame Chic, czyli praktycznego przewodnika dla kobiet, chcących wieść swoje życie z klasą. Znacie "Lekcje Madame Chic", lubicie? Dla mnie jest to bardzo inspirująca lektura i sięgam po nią zawsze, gdy potrzebuję nowej dawki motywacji. Jeśli jeszcze nie czytałyście książek Jennifer L. Scott, zapraszam na mojego bloga, gdzie znajdziecie krótką recenzję całej serii. Link jak zawsze w opisie profilu 😊 #bookstagram #booklover #thedailyconnoisseur #madamechic #thedarlingacademy #books #kochamksiążki #nowościwydawnicze #englishliterature #lady #ladylike #ladysbook #classylady #newyorkstyle #newyorkmug #americanliterature #homeschool #homeschoolingbooks #edukacjadomowa #charlottemaison

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Terra writes, "Jennifer you elevate quality of life to a beautiful level, thank you for your talent and efforts to help everyone including young people. I happened as a preteen to come across a book in the school library, " A New You, The art of good Grooming" by Emily Wilkens. I haven't had such a feeling of growth, and happiness since,till now. I truly cherish my time of learning through Daily Connoisseur. Thank you, I am grateful."


Dear Terra, thank you for your kind comment on YouTube! I am very grateful to you and everyone who is a part of the Daily Connoisseur community. I am so happy to hear that the blog is a source of inspiration for you. Thank you!

Please check in with your Chic Assignment observations this month. I just love your comments. Use the hashtag #TheChicAssignment on social media.


Visit my newly designed Author Website

*NEW* Shop my Amazon page for a comprehensive list of my favorite things and mentions on the blog.

Facebook facebook.com/JenniferLScottAuthor

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FTC: This post is not sponsored. Some links may be affiliate.