Chapter 11 in Lessons from Madame Chic is Live Life as a Formal Affair. It's one of my favorite chapters because I truly believe that adding formality to your life can improve your every day experience in countless ways.

Today, I'm sharing 5 ways to live a formal life on a budget. Adding elegance to everyday life is attainable for everyone. I hope you enjoy today's video.

1. Clear the Clutter Clean up your space and work with what you have. Living in a cluttered environment does not give you an opulent formal life feeling. Decluttering is free, everyone can afford to do it. Most people need to do it, including myself. Go over your hot spots and the places that regularly need maintenance.

2. Consider the atmosphere You know that nice candle you received for your birthday? The one you’re saving for company? The one you say you will burn later? Burn it now. Put on classical music or healing atmospheric spa music (or whatever you like) to make your surroundings more serene and formal. Get excited about curating the atmosphere in your home, like you would curate an art museum.

🗝 Jennifer's Outfit Details

Rungolee Melodie Midi Dress

SKYE Theodora Earrings Jennifer20 for 20% off

Jon Josef ballet flats

4. Set the table Even if you have the most limited resources for setting a table nicely, most people have place mats or a tablecloth. Perhaps you have one or two tablecloths that you are saving for a special occasion… I encourage you to use those on a daily basis. What do you do when the special occasion comes? Don’t worry about that right now. Living a formal life aims to get you out of the mindset that you save your best things for later. Use your best things now. When you save your best things for later it’s like you’re subconsciously telling yourself that you don’t deserve the nice things every day. That’s not true. You do. So use your tablecloths, cloth napkins, and placemats. If you have none of these things, you can bring nature indoors. Create a bouquet from flowers or foliage outside.

Portmeirion Botanic Garden dishes

Spode Blue Italian

Tablecloths on Amazon

Jennifer's Kitchen store on Amazon

Linens at Williams Sonoma

Taylor writes, "I’m a woman in my mid 20s and I must say your channel has inspired me so much. I used to wear my gym clothes everywhere (aside from work) and ate out all the time. However, your channel has helped me invest in my appearance and learn homemaking and cooking skills. Embracing small and incremental improvements has done so much to improve my mindset and health. Thank you!"

Taylor, I just love to hear this. Thank you so much for letting me know and I hope you continue to enjoy the channel for many years to come!

I hope you enjoyed today's video. Let us know in the comments how living a formal life has benefitted you. Your comment could be chosen as comment of the week!

NEW* Join The Chic Society on YouTube and become a member of The Daily Connoisseur.

Welcome to a new series on my channel: 3 Connoisseur Secrets. In today's video I’m sharing one outfit, the recipe for a delicious meal, and the beautiful art of letter writing and haiku.

I chose the name for my blog, the Daily Connoisseur because I like to explore the fine art of living and a connoisseur is an expert judge in matters of taste. Did you know that you are a connoisseur? Your taste might be vastly different than mine, but you love beauty and style and you are an expert judge on your own signature style too.

Today’s outfit is casual and comfortable but stylish at the same time. I’m inspired by nautical looks, especially in the summertime. I’m wearing the Fae striped cardigan by SKYE, and these gauzy shorts by Michael Stars. My quilted flats are by John Josef. Under my cardigan I’m wearing this lace silk camisole by Lilysilk. I tuck the camisole into the high wasted shorts. Jewelry is something I pay attention to every day, even if I’m not planning on leaving the house. I love looking at my wrists and seeing a great watch and a pretty bracelet. Or catching a glimpse of my necklace and earrings in the mirror. Jewelry feels like a royal adornment, even if it’s casual. All my jewelry today is by Miranda Frye. I’m wearing the crawler earrings, The Marlowe Chain and gothic letter charm, and the Miranda Frye cuff bracelet with my tag Heuer watch. Clean and simple jewelry for this streamlined look. On my nails is the illuminating nail concealer by London town.

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Air Fryer Chicken with Tropical Salsa & Coconut Rice

Yield: Serves 6 - 8

Ingredients

Coconut Rice in Rice Cooker

• 2 cups of basmati, jasmine, or plain white rice
• 2 cups of water
• 1 14oz can coconut cream
• pinch of salt
• Shredded coconut for garnish (optional)

Air Fryer Chicken Tenders

• 12 - 16 chicken tenders
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1 tsp seasoned salt
• 1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
• 1 Tbs paprika
• salt and pepper

Tropical Salsa

• 1/2 papaya, peeled, de-seeded, and chopped
• 1 avocado, chopped
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 1 mango, cubed
• 1 large tomato, chopped
• 1/3 cup hearts of palm, chopped
• 1 large handful cilantro chopped
• zest and juice of one lime
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Rice Cooker Coconut Rice

1. Place 2 cups of basmati, jasmine, or plain white rice in your rice cooker, along with two cups of water, and one can of coconut cream. Add a pinch or salt. And press on.
2. When the rice is finished, press in a ramekin and turn upside down on a plate so the rice appears in a dome- shape. Top with shredded coconut, if desired.

Air Fryer Chicken Tenders

1. Prepare two dishes for dredging. In the first dish place the two raw eggs, scrambled. In the second dish, place panko bread crumbs, paprika, and seasoned salt.
2. Sprinkle the chicken tenders with salt and pepper. Take the chicken tenders and first dip them in the egg wash and then in the bread crumbs to coat and repeat this process for all the tenders.
3. Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees. When it is ready, spray the inside of the air fryer with cooking spray and place the chicken in. Cook for ten minutes, flipping half way through. The internal temperature of the chicken should be 164 degrees F. Cook longer, if chicken has not reached this temperature.

Tropical Salsa

1. Let it be noted that any combination of preferred ingredients can be used here. This recipe shares the fruits, vegetables, and herbs I used for this particular preparation.
2. Peel and de-seed the papaya. Chop the papaya in cubes and place in a large bowl. Add chopped avocado, chopped red onion, cubed mango, tomato, cilantro, chopped hearts of palm, lime, salt and pepper.
3. Stir all ingredients together and allow to sit for at least 30 minutes. Serve with the chicken and rice.

And now to make the banana cream pie dessert cups.

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Banana Cream Pie Dessert Cups

Yield: 4 - 6

Ingredients

• 1 packet graham crackers
• 2 Tbs melted butter
• 2 cups prepared vanilla pudding
• 10 Nilla wafers, crushed
• 2 - 3 bananas, sliced

Instructions

1. Crush the graham crackers and place them in a large bowl. Pour melted butter on top and mix until combined. Place a small layer in the bottom of each dessert cup.
2. Top the graham cracker with vanilla pudding.
3. Place sliced bananas in a ring on top of the pudding and top with crushed Nilla wafers. Enjoy!

DesignWorks Ink journal 

And now for our beautiful thought. An old friend of mine sent me a letter with Japanese calligraphy kanji and wrote me a haiku. It was so fun to receive in the mail. I’m returning the gesture now and coming up with a Haiku of my own to send. I also need to send off two letters. While I’m writing my letters let’s explore the haiku. Haiku is a type of short form poetry originally from Japan. Traditional Japanese haiku consist of three phrases that contain a kireji, or "cutting word", 17 on in a 5, 7, 5 pattern, and a kigo, or seasonal reference. I’m not as familiar with writing Haikus so I looked up some of the best haikus ever written to see what makes them so special. Here are a few of my favorites:

“A Poppy Blooms” by Katsushika Hokusai

I write, erase, rewrite

Erase again, and then

A poppy blooms.

“Over the Wintry” by Natsume Sōseki

Over the wintry

Forest, winds howl in rage

With no leaves to blow.

“The Old Pond” by Matsuo Bashō

An old silent pond

A frog jumps into the pond—

Splash! Silence again.

I finish my letters and write my haiku. I won’t share it on here… that’s for my friend. But perhaps I’ll write one for you too. I need to practice more. Have you ever written a haiku? If you’d like to share it with us, leave it in the comments. And also, I promise you I’m normally an expert at sealing wax. But this one completely got away from me haha. Oh dear!

🗝 Stationery

DesignWorks Ink Cinque Terre Journal

DesignWokrs Ink Multi-tool pen

Stationery Xpress for monogrammed stationery

Sealing Wax with wick

Sealing Wax Moon stamp

I hope you enjoyed today’s video. Thank you to ButcherBox for bringing it to us: Click my link below and sign up for ButcherBox today to get ribeyes for a year. Keep calm and remain classy and I will see you in my next video.

Thank you to Butcherbox for bringing us today's video.

News

📍 Lessons from Madame Chic hardcopies are finally back in stock! Pick up your copy today ♥️

📍 Join us for The Chic Assignment for Summer

📍 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.

📍If you are looking for more content, consider becoming a member of The Daily Connoisseur through the Channel Memberships. In The Chic Society, 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. *NEW* We now have a penpal program too! 

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Connoisseur Kids was featured on Louise Owens' Instagram 

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Comment of the Week

D. Agnes writes, "A few months ago, I committed to always keeping fresh flowers in my dining room and bedroom. It's been such a joy. I find that it also keeps me from growing bored with the aesthetic impact of those spaces, as someone who craves novelty."

D. Agnes, that is a wonderful, manageable way to freshen up the decor. I love it!

I hope you enjoy this new series on the Daily Connoisseur and that it gives you inspiration for the week. Happy Independence Day! Love, Jennifer 

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