Your morning routine should be magical… Did you know that? Allow me to explain. 

 

Mega Motivation continues this month as I share my morning routine with you. This is an on-going collaboration with the lovely Dawn from The Minimal Mom and many other talented YouTubers. We are all sharing our morning routines so click on this playlist link to see all of the other videos. I hope they leave you inspired to fine-tune your own morning routine.

As a work-at-home mother of small children, I find that I have to fit my work in the early morning hours. It would be nice to do an exercise routine, get some cleaning, and leisure time in, but I take each opportunity to work, which is what you will see in today's video. 

I would love to know what your morning routine consists of. Do you have a leisurely and restorative morning? Or do you need to fit work into the early morning hours? How do you need to alter your routine to better fit your life? Let us know.

Keep Calm and Remain Classy mug

Montelle Intimates bust support chemise (midi length)

Ballet sweater by Morning Lavender

Plush Necessities Spa Robe

SKYE Charlotte dress (yellow dress) Jennifer20 for 20% off

Red velvet slippers

SKYE Theodora Earrings Jennifer20 for 20% off

Jackie Mack Designs necklace TDC15OFF for 15% off

The Day Designer planner

Nail polish by Londontown JenniferS for 25% off

Paula's Choice sunscreen

MERIT makeup

Pinrose Secret Genius perfume JSCOTT free shipping

Celtic Sea Salt 2-pack

News

📍*NEW* The Ten-Item Wardrobe eCourse is newly updated and back online with all new video, text, and new lessons. If you have previously purchased the ten-item wardrobe eCourse, you can access all of the new changes for free.

📍Join us for The Chic Assignment for May

📍Check out my Mother's Day gift guide on the blog. 

📍If you are looking for more content, consider becoming a member of The Daily Connoisseur through the MEMBERSHIPS feature. I publish one vodcast every Friday and do one livestream or zoom call once a month. It only costs $1.99 a month. There are also upper tiers available for people who are interested in supporting the channel on a higher level and receiving monthly mentions in the videos. 

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Comment of the Week

Olivia B. writes, "I'm so ready to follow this month assignment ❤️ now that I'm more happy because I'm reading poetry, writing, drawing and painting again... Feeling alive for the first time in a long time! Hope to be a better mother and wife by enjoying my free time!"

Hi Olivia, I'm so happy you are going to follow along with the May Chic Assignment. It's simply wonderful that you are enjoying the arts again too.

Thank you for joining me for today's video. I would love to know how you fine-tune your morning routine. See you on Thursday for the ten-item capsule wardrobe talk-through.

Love,

Jennifer 

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Our week of reader Q&A's conclude with today's question from Akila, who asks about my morning and nighttime routine with baby. I shot these videos in mid-August right before the children went to school, so I have had time to let my routine sink in. It is working well for us and we are now in a lovely rhythm. In the video, I mention I was experimenting with getting up at 6am with the baby, but that has shifted lately to 6:30am as every precious drop of sleep I get is needed! As I start to get more sleep, I will revert back to 6am.

Another change, since the girls have started school, is that I no longer need to work at night, as I did during the summer. I can get my work done during the day so my nights are free to read or watch a film. This demonstrates how routines with children will change with the seasons...


I hope you check out my video this week. If you are unable to see the video above, click here,look in the sidebar of this blog, or visit my channel: www.youtube.com/TheDailyConnoisseur

I always enjoy answering your questions, it's one of my favorite things to do on the blog! Especially because it opens up the discussion in the comment section and I love reading what you have to say. Thank you to everyone who submits questions to me. Hopefully yours will be answered in the next Q&A segment.

Mentioned in this week's video**:

Pamela Druckerman's Bringing Up Bebe

The devotional I read to my children at night: Our Daily Bread: 365 Meaningful Moments with God (We love reading a page from this book every night. It's become a meaningful tradition.)

Comments of the Week

Nadege writes:
Jennifer, I look forward to every single one of your videos. Funny story - I have a chronic illness, some days peeling myself from the bed takes a tremendous amount of work. Well, on Monday I woke up in a great deal of pain. So feeling quite sorry for myself, I decided that the day was lost and may as well be a slothfest. I went into my closet and reached for my clean yet threadbare and totally unpresentable sweats and t- shirt. Then it hit me like a lead ballon that after watching your closet tour, I had again reviewed my closet and THREW AWAY all items that would embarrass me . I cussed under my breath (so not chic) at my beautiful and tidy closet and pulled out a lovely dresses. In the spirit of the book "If you give a mouse a cookie", seeing how nice I looked in my dress, thought a little bit more effort ought to be made.

I fixed my hair, hmm, might as well fix my face (looking even more put together), said a prayer of gratitude and began my day feeling and looking much better.

Needless to say, making that effort to look respectable must have had a psychological affect on me. Though I was still experiencing pain, my mindset had changed and my spirit was lifted. To top it off, my neighbor decided to stop by without notices - yet I didn't have to pretend I wasn't home.😇


Nadege, I applaud you for adopting such a positive attitude in the face of a chronic illness. You are truly inspiring!

Debra writes:
Dear Jennifer--

This comment is going to be rather long, but I've been thinking about it for some time and your post today re: Caleb and clothes for dirty jobs inspired me to finally respond.

Most of us look to our mothers and other female relatives/friends for inspiration, but the real style icon in our family was my father. He was a big believer in quality and always looking your best. Although he worked in dirty, dusty potato warehouses and grain elevators (he was a USDA inspector), he never wore jeans, instead always neat work trousers and a collared button-down shirt, and always, always a fedora-style hat (felt in the winter, straw in the summer). He owned two pair of quality work boots that were polished and conditioned on a regular basis and taken to the shoe shop for repair and resoling as needed. I still have several of his Pendleton wool shirts that are of such quality and were so well taken care of that they look nearly new. On weekends when he was able to ditch the work clothes and dress up for church and nights out, he maintained a small quality wardrobe of classic midcentury suits and sportcoats, adding a dash of personality with ties and pocket squares and essentials such as a handkerchief and roll of breath mints in the pocket. :-) He was truly our example for presenting ourselves neatly and appropriately, whether we were in a warehouse or a chapel.

Thank you for addressing such unusual situations as Caleb's, as well as everything else you do for your readers. It is truly a pleasure to follow your blog and I refer to all the Madame Chic books often and recommend them to friends. Best wishes for continued success!

Warmest Regards,
Debra

Dear Debra, I just loved reading about your stylish father. Thank you for sharing your fond memories of him with us.

I truly enjoyed this week of reader Q&A's. Thank you to everyone who submitted questions to me. If you have any questions, be sure to leave them below and I might address your question in a future video. I would also love to hear about your morning and night routine and how they have changed as the season has changed.

See you on Monday!



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Thank you for your great response to last week's Q&A part one. I have received many questions for future posts and I will do my best to address as many as I can. This week's video is part two of the Q&A, where we discuss establishing one's own morning routine, as well as dealing with exhaustion throughout the day. I really enjoy doing these videos and having these chats with you. Thank you for participating! If you are unable to see the video above, click here, look in the sidebar of this blog, or visit my channel (and don't forget to subscribe) at www.youtube.com/TheDailyConnoisseur

Here are some of the YouTubers I mention in this week's video. Each of these ladies is very different to the other but they all do cleaning videos that get me motivated, and I find their personalities very endearing.

How Jen Does It

She's In Her Apron

Wife Mommy Family Journey

OCD Much?

Next week I will have three short tidy inspiration videos for you. I figured if I love watching the tidy videos on YouTube, I should create some myself! Be sure to check back to the blog regularly next week for updates.

News
Lizzbert compiles her ten-item wardrobe, finally!

Displaced Nation lists Polish Your Poise with Madame Chic as the best of expat non-fiction for 2015.

Comments of the Week

Meagan M writes:

Love this video, especially how you talked about the peaks and valleys. My 3-year-old and 8-month-old are both going through some sleep issues and I am exhausted! But last week (and I'm continuing this week) my goal was to wear real clothes every day! No sweats and tee shirts. And while I'm still exhausted, I've found that I feel better and more productive!

Hi Meagan, I feel the same way. When I am exhausted, I feel worse if I don't get dressed for the day. I'm glad to hear you are marching on!

Charitie M. from Vis a Vis writes:
Your thoughts on every topic in this video - especially conversation amongst new individuals - are spot on. As appealing as "the ten secrets to perfect conversation" or "the fail-safe 25 conversation starters" might be, oftentimes we simply need to be self-assured in the sense that failure is perfectly acceptable and communication will always be a growing process. If we pressure ourselves into performing, by proving our identity as a witty conversationalist, than our minds will be consumed with this thought and this thought only, clouding any effort to engage honestly with someone. Humility and integrity are the necessary ingredients of a conversation.

Hi Charitie, Thanks for another insightful comment. I agree, that if we are so worried about what we are going to say to someone, we end up missing the moment and not being present in the conversation. It's much better to just see how it unfolds and to not be afraid of silence.

This week I would love to hear from you. How is your morning routine going? How do you deal (or not deal) with exhaustion? If you have any questions you want to ask me, please leave them in the comment section for a future Q&A video.

See you next week as I make my bed and tidy the kitchen and living room. Oh la la!

Jennifer x

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In this week's video, get ready with me as I show you my everyday 5-minute le no makeup look routine. This is the routine that I use the most on a daily basis: a foundation to even out the skin (in this case, it's a cc cream), some concealer, fill in the eyebrows, mascara, blush and lipgloss. It takes me no time at all and helps me to feel presentable throughout the day.

In the video I use: Chanel CC cream, Benefit fake-up concealer (under the eyes), Benefit Boi-ing concealer, Laura Mercier setting powder, Mac eyeshadows (for eyebrows), YSL faux cils burgundy mascara, Hourglass ambient lighting blush in mood exposure and Clinique black honey lipstick.

I hope you enjoy getting ready with me! If you are unable to see the video above, click here, look in the sidebar of this blog, or visit my channel at www.youtube.com/TheDailyConnoisseur

News

At Home With Madame Chic is now available in Japan. Thank you to the Japanese readers for your wonderful support!

Live the Chic Life says that the Madame Chic series speaks to her soul.

Sparkles, Lace & Sequins is currently reading At Home With Madame Chic and loving it.

Inspired by Polish Your Poise with Madame Chic, Dawn is practicing her poise for Lent with her blog, 40 Days of Poise.

Laurel & Co. chooses At Home With Madame Chic for her book prescription.

Britt from The Hello Honey Blog enjoys the less is more persona of Madame Chic.


Comment of the Week

Ashley D writes:

Dear Jennifer,

I had the perfect instance last week of why it is so important to always dress presentable. I will admit, 90% of the time, I drop my daughter off at school in work out clothes, because I plan on going to the gym. I always shower and dress before picking her up. On the days I am not going to the gym, it would be so easy to throw on the gym clothes for the morning drop-off, but I generally try to dress for the day on those mornings. Last week, I got up and got dressed, knowing I would not be going to the gym that particular morning. While dropping my daughter off in carpool, the music director of the school (who happens to be a friend and who also happens to NEVER be out at carpool), caught me and invited me back that morning to an Atlanta Opera performance! Since I was dressed for the day, I was ready for whatever the day brought my way, including an impromptu Opera performance! Had I been in my gym clothes, there is no way I would have felt comfortable attending the performance.
While the Atlanta Opera is not my destiny, I do love this quote by Chanel that I believe perfectly encapsulates the importance of why what we wear matters:
“I don't understand how a woman can leave the house without fixing herself up a little - if only out of politeness. And then, you never know, maybe that's the day she has a date with destiny. And it's best to be as pretty as possible for destiny.” Coco Chanel

Hi Ashley, you never know where your day will take you, which is why striving to look presentable always is such a good idea. I loved your story and am happy you had a chance to attend the Atlanta Opera. What a treat!


Rose writes:

Jennifer your video warmed the cockles of this old school marm's heart. Teaching children to help, to organise themselves and to be self reliant is, I believe, as important as teaching them to read and write. When I taught one of the saddest sights at annual camps was teenagers who did not have basic kitchen skills -- clearing, stacking, washing and drying, putting away. Incapable teenagers become incapable adults, they don't magically learn these skills.

Age-appropriate contributions to the family home build a child's confidence, skill set and self esteem. Children learn to be both independent and part of a team (the family).

I recall that in At Home with Madame Chic you spoke of how Monsieur and Jeune Homme Chic respected the family home and would not scatter their belongings throughout, M Chic even had a place for his pipe. This demonstrates true daily connoisseur-ship, respect for the home, for Mme Chic the chief homemaker and for the family.


Hi Rose, I completely agree, basic household skills are something that all children should learn. It's such an important part of adulthood! I loved reading all of the comments from my Raising Tidy Children post. Thank you for sharing your views.

This week I would love to know... what is your everyday morning makeup routine? What are your favorite products to use?

See you on Thursday for a special piano performance.

Until then...



FTC: All products used in this video and mentioned in this post were purchased by me. All opinions are my own.


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Today I am sharing my morning routine with you. Everyone has different life circumstances. Some people have children, others don't. Some people commute to work, and some work from home. Everyone has a different schedule. The important thing is to find a routine that works for you. The key word being routine. I believe a regular morning routine is key to starting the day off right. Of course things happen and we don't always adhere to our regular schedule, but having the foundational bones for a regular morning schedule works wonders on your day.


In this week's video, I talk through my morning routine with you, which looks like this:

6:00am Wake up. I like to wake up before the rest of my family to have some quiet time and to get ready.

6:00am to 6:30am Time to wake up in a relaxing way: pray, read, check the news, drink water, take vitamin, cup of tea or coffee (normally coffee but I've switched to tea during the pregnancy).

6:30am to 7:00am I get ready for the day: bathe or shower, get dressed (easy with the ten-item wardrobe), le no makeup look, do hair and tidy up the bathroom/ make my bed.

7:00am to 7:15am Wake up the children. Help them get ready including brushing teeth, making beds, getting dressed, doing hair and putting away pajamas.

7:15am- 8:00am Give the children breakfast, make their lunches, eat my own breakfast, shoes and coat on. Out the door at 8:00am to walk to school.

Here is a key tip:

I always set the table for breakfast the night before and leave out waters for the children. I also set the lunch boxes out and place non-perishable lunch items in their boxes (I finish them off with the fresh items the following morning).

Check out this week's video to hear me discuss my morning routine. If you are unable to see the video above, click here, look in the sidebar of this blog, or visit my channel: www.youtube.com/TheDailyConnoisseur

News
Dinner Party Atelier lists Lessons from Madame Chic as one of the 5 most impactful books she's ever read and writes a wonderful blog post on using your best dishes on a daily basis.

My Life in Snippets shares a Madame Chic triple review. I loved reading her takeaways from all three books.

Blue Sky Kitchen is hooked by Madame Chic and has started to clear her clutter.

The Madame Chic books were some of 11 Magnolia Lane's favorite Christmas presents

Enter to win a luxurious set of Christy Linens, luxury towels and a copy of Polish Your Poise with Madame Chic on Christy's generous giveaway (for US residents only).

Check out this interesting article in the Seattle Times, High cuisine, low manners: is proper etiquette dead?

Comments of the Week
Sweet Caroline writes:

One of the very first times of practicing hospitality as newlyweds, my husband and I asked a couple (whom we had recently met) for supper at our apartment. The couple arrived about thirty minutes early. For some reason, I didn't have my shoes on yet. I grew up in a family where you never, ever ran around barefooted if guests were present, but there was just no polite way to scamper upstairs to get my shoes on. It was awful! Then, to top it off, the lemon chess pie I made was way too tart. (As in, the pie was not edible!) Doubly awful! I am happy to inform that somehow I overcame that night, and my husband and I have gone on to host a multitude of people in our home--always with my shoes on! ;)

Sweet Caroline, I loved your story, which is so similar to my first disastrous dinner party. I am so happy you were able to recover and now enjoy the art of entertaining!

Dara writes:

This is amazing! I had no idea that other people experienced this same situation. I am 20 years old and graduated high school only a few years ago and that is when it was very difficult to accept people's comments on how I dress. I used to dress down to avoid the comments but I realized how much happier I feel when I look my best. I start to feel my best and do my best when I look on the outside how I feel on the inside!

Dara, I am so pleased that you have moved past worrying about other's comments and have joyfully embraced looking presentable always.

This week I would love to know... what is your morning routine? Do you start the day off feeling prepared or do you constantly feel like you are playing catch-up? What is your favorite part of the morning? Leave your comments below and you could be chosen as the comment of the week!



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