The Simple Sophisticate - Intelligent Living Paired with Signature Style - podcast cover

The Simple Sophisticate - Intelligent Living Paired with Signature Style

The simple sophisticate is someone who prefers quality over quantity, sensible living over mindless consumption, personal style instead of trendy fashions, has an insatiable curiosity for life’s endless questions and a desire to live a truly fulfilling life rather than being led around by the nose. Inspired by her lifestyle blog The Simply Luxurious Life, Shannon Ables (the original Simple Sophisticate) shares with listeners tips on how to live a refined life on an everyday income, a life of true contentment. Founded on the principle of the art of living a life of quality over quantity, episodes explore topics ranging from creating an everyday life you love living, strengthening mindfulness practices, preparing seasonally delicious meals, building a capsule wardrobe, traveling the world (Francophiles and Anglophiles tune in as France as well as the Britain are favorite destinations), and living life to the fullest without breaking the bank because living well is really quite simple. *illustration by artist Sarah Löcker exclusively commissioned for the show
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Episodes

288: Cultivating a New Normal

The Atlantic recently posted an article asserting there won't be a clear end to the pandemic. Rather, the end for each of us will be as unique and differentiated as each one of us and occur on a different timeline. Frequently, the yearning for "returning to normal" may be voiced by those around us, strangers or intimate relations, or we may be simply thinking such thoughts, constantly, as we grieve the parts of our lives we enjoyed that are no longer readily available or available at all. Howeve...

Sep 21, 202024 min

287: 5 Things to Do to Build Healthy Relationships and 4 Things to Let Go

"We are born with a capacity to dance together but not with the necessary training." —David Richo As soon as I read the first line in chapter one shown above, the analogy made crystal clear sense of my ignorance about relationships and how to navigate past it: I needed to learn HOW to love, not just want to love and want to be loved. Love, as the oft mentioned quote reminds is a verb, but even if we accept this truth, we have to learn how to exercise this action, and we have to be willing to let...

Sep 14, 202040 min

286: How to Let Go of Comparison? Heal Thyself

“Comparison is the death of joy.” ― Mark Twain The thief of joy, if Mark Twain is right, is of our own making. The good news in this revelation reveals each of us can take back our joy. Comparing ourselves to others occurs consciously and unconsciously. Consciously, we may be acutely aware that we follow certain people on social media to see how we are doing in relation; unconsciously, when we choose not to speak up to set a boundary, when we set a checklist for our life delineating what should ...

Sep 07, 202048 min

Season 7 Schedule Announced!

In three weeks the seventh season of The Simple Sophisticate will begin. With 285 episodes already shared, I am excited to explore new books, welcome guests that speak to what living simply luxuriously is all about and sharing motivating and inspiring ways to continue to live a life of quality over quantity. I have shared the full calendar for Season 7 which spans the next 12 months. You will notice that 2021 has a handful fewer episodes than last season. The reason for this is to give me time t...

Aug 17, 202010 min

285: The New Parisienne author Lindsey Tramuta

Author and blogger and American living in Paris Lindsey Tramuta joins me on podcast today to talk about her new book The New Parisienne: The Women & Ideas Shaping Paris ( purchase on Bookshop.org ). Having called Paris home for nearly 15 years, Tramuta explores the true Parisienne woman, looking past the myth and confining superficial stereotype that has been perpetuated for centuries through introducing readers to 40 Parisiennes in all of their diverse life journeys and talents and passions...

Aug 10, 20201 hr 4 minSeason 6Ep. 285

224: How to Welcome Simplicity Into Your Life: Live Differently for One Month (top episode from season 5)

Desired change in our lives can be seemingly elusive when so much of what needs to happen requires more energy, more time, more focus. With already full lives, the desired change remains just that - desired. However, what if you set aside just one month. Why not for only one month institute the change you seek, and then should if it does not work out, you can return to your old ways? Part of this approach is a bit of a trick of the mind, but the other part is to reduce the stress on your schedul...

Jul 20, 202043 min

142: 9 Reasons Owning Your Style Will Change Your Life

Today's episode is a top episode from Season 3 discussing how understanding what our signature style is and then owning it with confidence permeates all arenas of our lives. Ultimately, what we wear matters. Without saying a word we communicate our values, our confidence, our expertise, where we've been, where we are and where we want to go (or stay). I do hope you enjoy this full episode, and if you are looking for a new book to whisk you away to France, be sure to stay tuned until the end of t...

Jul 13, 202036 min

15: 7 Components to Building Your Signature Style (a top episode from Season 1)

Building our signature style takes time. As well, it evolves. While some components - the best color tone for our skin, hair and eye color - may remain the same, the fit, the lengths, the necklines, as well as styles we discover and wish to welcome into our wardrobe will change. Over the years, as you can see above, my dress length has gone from just above the knee to midi length being now my favorite go-to. While I do love wearing dresses, you are just as likely to see me in denim jeans and a b...

Jun 22, 202037 min

284: 5 Steps for Finding Financial Peace of Mind

"Being in touch with [the essence] of ourselves as we make financial decisions is as good as it gets. Money is a store of life energy, and when we can channel that life energy into an expression of what is most dear to our soul, an exciting alignment takes place between our financial and spiritual lives . . . more than just having enough, our essence is deeply loving, contented, and grateful, not from any effort but as its most natural expression . . . In fact, when we are identified with that p...

Jun 15, 202029 min

283: 7 Ideas for Improving Your Approach to Working and thus Your Experience and the Outcome

"To embrace leisure, we don't have to let go of progress. [Our] constant pushing is now impeding our progress. We work best when we allow for flexibility in our habits . . . [w]e can and must stop treating ourselves like machines that can be driven and pumped and amped and hacked. Instead of limiting and constraining our essential natures, we can celebrate our humanness at work and in idleness. We can better understand our own natures and abilities. We can lean in not to our work but to our inhe...

Jun 08, 202033 min

282: Author of Paris On Air and Podcaster, Oliver Gee

Today on the podcast, fellow podcaster Oliver Gee of The Earful Tower joins me to talk about his newly released memoir Paris On Air ( shop here on Bookshop.org ) as well as living in Paris during France's 59 days of confinement. I had the opportunity to speak with him the day after the lockdown regulations were loosened, and he shared what his and his wife Lina's experience had been and what the first thing they did was on May 11th. The primary focus of our discussion is his new book. Tune in to...

Jun 01, 202048 min

45: 10 Ways to Set Your Home Like a Luxury Travel Accommodation

Today's episode is a favorite from Season 1 of The Simple Sophisticate. Episode #45 was the sixth top episode of the first season and continues to be a favorite with listeners as it shares 10 Ways to Set Up Your Home Like A Luxury Travel Accommodation. In the times we find ourselves, I thought this might be just the episode to return to as we are still spending more time at home that we had anticipated especially as summer nears. Cultivating a sanctuary that beckons us to linger and we long to r...

May 25, 202036 min

281: 18 Ways to Welcome English Country Decor Ideas into Your Home

British country homes evoke an image of comfort, cosyness and warmth. Partly, yes, because such warmth is mandatory living in a rainy environment, but also because they look and feel like such a welcome inside hug which is given immediately when the quintessential details are tended to. Granted the above image is not an actual cottage as it was the set designed for Nancy Meyers' film The Holiday , filmed in part in Surrey. However, I chose the above image because when we design our homes to evok...

May 18, 202038 min

232: 28 Life & Style Tips from a Parisian Woman (top episode of Season 5)

Today's episode of the podcast is the top downloaded and viewed episode from Season 5 of The Simple Sophisticate podcast , and it's one I think you will enjoy whether you are hearing/reading it for the first time or the second or third time. Full of oodles of life and style tips from Parisian women inspired by a book read in 2018, it also melds my experiences and observances from my travels and conversations and engagements with women in France. Have a look at the detailed Show Notes from the or...

May 11, 202036 min

148: The Hygge Phenomenon & Living Simply Luxuriously (the 5th most-downloaded episode of all-time)

Today's episode is a favorite of listeners from the third season of the show. As we all spending more time inside, I thought listeners may enjoy some inspiration for making their time in our slower schedule more enjoyable and comforting. Click here for the full transcript and detailed show notes . SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast on your favorite podcast listening platform: ~Subscribe to The Simple Sophisticate : iTunes | Stitcher | iHeartRadio | YouTube | Spotify Look for a new episode of The Simple So...

Apr 20, 202027 min

4 Simple Ways to Spring Forward

Today's episode is a favorite from the archives to help you jump well into the new spring season. Be sure to check out the original detailed Show Notes here for episode #29 from Season 1 of The Simple Sophisticate . The next episode will be a new episode of the podcast, and it will air on Monday May 18th as we kick off TSLL's 2nd Annual British Week. In the meantime, each Monday in which there is no new episode of the podcast, there will be a new Monday Motivational post. Click here to read toda...

Apr 06, 202035 min

280: The Importance of Daily and Weekly Rituals & Routines You Love (12 Ideas to Incorporate Now)

"You would think weightlessness is a good thing, but it's not. Because people weren't meant to float. Without gravity, we lose blood volume, bone density, muscle. Without it, we're untethered. So when you feel yourself being pulled toward something, it's not necessarily a bad thing. It may keep you centered. It may keep you safe." — Grey's Anatomy , season 16, episode #17, Shonda Rhimes Thoughts, thoughts, all sorts of thoughts. With an abundance of time on our hands as we stay home, if we have ...

Mar 16, 202035 min

279: 15 Life Lessons Learned during my First Year into my 40s

True contentedness is unremarkable to the outside world, or passerby. Typing away in my cozy chair in the living room in my line of sight Norman eats his breakfast and Oscar acknowledging he will not be able to sneak a bite, takes a long cool drink of water. The croissant for my Sunday morning ritual is proofing in the oven and Sunday Baroque's weekly program fills my home. Even having lost an hour of the day, I have decided to wake up with the sunset and use the dawn-filled hour to work early b...

Mar 09, 202040 min

278: 14 Ways to Create a Happy Home

At the core of a happy home is a home that works for those individuals the four walls surround and keep sheltered and safe. Once the essentials are in place - a roof over our heads, walls to keep us warm/cool, then it is the inhabitants' responsibility to cultivate a sanctuary in which each person feels they belong and loved for being their true selves or having the space to understand who they are as they grow and evolve. Whether you share your home or not, both require clarity and willingness ...

Mar 02, 202043 min

277: Winter in Paris — The 15 Essentials for Timeless Seasonal Style

Last fall two episodes were shared delineating ideas for a timeless capsule wardrobe for traveling about in Paris as well as in London and the English countryside . As promised, the series continues into winter, and while we are nearing the end of winter, with the Paris fall/winter collections about ready to take the runway sharing their 2020 trends and inspirations, I thought this would be the perfect time to share how Parisians dress in the chillest months of the year. Of course the uber style...

Feb 17, 202028 min

276: The Art of Mise en Place

Mise en place in translation means is "set in place", often translated to "everything in its place". Perhaps part of the reason cooking and baking can feel rewarding as well as relaxing is that there is a science to, and the unofficial science is something even the most novice cook in the kitchen can quickly learn - mise en place. But what exactly is it and what is the art of a truly effective mise en place? That is what today's post/episode is all about. When I attended both Patricia Wells and ...

Feb 10, 202040 min

275: 34 Ways to Attain Emotional Freedom and Cultivate More Joy of Living

"Emotional freedom is a homecoming to your own heart and fullest power. It salutes authenticity, not conforming to someone else's notion of what to feel or how to be." —Dr. Judith Orloff, author of the New York Times bestseller Emotional Freedom: Liberate yourself from negative emotions and transform your life (2009) The middle of the night, before you can fall asleep or early morning thoughts that swirl and fuel agitation, worry and fear preventing you from falling asleep. The feeling of being ...

Feb 03, 202048 min

274: Quality Friendships = Quality Life

"By comparison with relationships forged in blood and love, science has historically given friendship short shrift . . . biologists ignored friendships because unlike romantic or mating relationships they were thought not to affect reproductive success . . . most of us are as guilty as scientists of failing to take friendship as seriously as it deserves. We pay lip service to it but prioritize family and romance, ditching our friends when we fall in love, or letting time with them be the first t...

Jan 20, 202029 min

273: 12 Key Factors to Life-Long Physical and Mental Good Health

"Vitality means moving through life with energy and vigor, making deliberate choices and putting to good use the time and energy that we have been granted." —Twyla Tharp, author of Keep Moving: Lessons for the Rest of Your Life Knowing how to care for our body which we must not forget includes the mind is a lifelong course of learning. Beginning with the basics of how food is fuel and energy expends said fuel to understanding which fuel is best and how our body repairs itself and ultimately what...

Jan 13, 202038 min

272: 8 Ways Tiny Habits Will Welcome the Grand Changes You Seek

The new year rolls around and there is much talk about resolutions and cultivation of a life we wish to live. It is old news to share that many resolutions are unfulfilled; however, BJ Fogg argues that perhaps we have had a faulty instruction manual to be successful in our pursue of lasting change. Released just this past Tuesday, December 31st, Tiny Habits: The Small Changes that Change Everything asserts in fact that it is the small, seemingly easy changes of habit we make in our lives that wi...

Jan 06, 202040 min

263: Timeless Seasonal Style — Autumn in Britain

“Autumn seemed to arrive suddenly that year. The morning of the first September was crisp and golden as an apple.” —J.K. Rowling in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows ~The Simple Sophisticate, episode #2 63 Style and comfort. Knowing how to achieve this combination while we travel enables each of us to relax and fully enjoy our excursions wherever our wanderlust might take us. As would not surprise TSLL readers, many of you, including myself, love to journey to Europe, in particular France and...

Jan 02, 202034 min

Top 10 Podcast Episodes of 2019

Season 6 of The Simple Sophisticate is well underway as 2019 wraps up and we head into 2020. As I reflect back to September 2014 when the show premiered, I could not have fathomed the engagement it would inspire, the topics and books we would cover and explore nor the people who would wish to be on the show. This year, Apple changed its categories for podcasts, and in so doing prompted me to reconsider how to label the show for new and potential listeners, which turned out to be a boon for the s...

Dec 23, 201914 min

271: 12 Simple Winter Holiday Decor Ideas

When it comes to the winter holiday season, cozying in asks of us to be inside our homes far more than we would be during the warmer months which is why our homes need to become a sanctuary inside which we love spending time. Over the years my approach to how I decorate for Christmas, the New Year and the wintery weather has evolved, and this year I am excited to share with you 12 ways I have simplify, and at the same time curated decor that surrounds me and those who spend time in my home with ...

Dec 16, 201932 min

270: 9 Life Lessons to Learn (and Apply) Before It's Too Late

"We have the choice to change our life, to be courageous and to live true to our heart, one that will see us die and live without regret." —Bronnie Ware, author of The Top Five Regrets of the Dying Dying, death and loss has unwantingly been on my mind this past fall . Rest assured, today's episode will uplift, inspire and remind, but the reason I share what has been occupying my mind these past few months is because I likely would not have picked up Bronnie Ware's new book The Top Five Regrets o...

Dec 09, 201935 min

269: 32 Ways to Be Parisian Chic

"Everyone knows you don't have to be born in Paris to dress like a Parisian." —Ines de la Fressange, author of Parisian Chic, Encore!: A Style Guide (2019) with Sophie Gachet, co-author Listen to Episode #269 ~Subscribe to The Simple Sophisticate : iTunes | Stitcher | iHeartRadio | YouTube | Spotify In 2011, Karl Lagerfeld's muse and the first model to sign an exclusive modeling contract with the haute couture fashion house, in this case Chanel, Ines de la Fressange published her first Style Gui...

Dec 02, 201944 min
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