Having It All...Chic and Homesteading

This morning I was out doing chores and thinking that with a little planning and some careful attention to the details of life, you can really have it all. By having it all I am thinking about living life spherically, in many directions....all at once, without being scattered and unsettled.

There are times in my life when I need a kick in the seat of the pants to get out of the slump of being a bit lazy on how I dress. For me, its easy to get back to the jeans and tee shirt look and be a bit frumpy looking. I wrote about this very same subject in 2006 in a post I titled There Was A Man in My Closet and another time a few months after that when I wrote My Style is Slipping It appears I haven't quite learned my lesson. I am back to the jeans and tee shirts, forgetting to comb my hair some mornings and just not working at looking good. But the other day on a shopping trip to Goodwill, I felt that tinge of desire to be chic, to dress with a little more care. It does something to a woman to look her best, makes you walk a little straighter, hold your head up a bit higher. I had been thinking about the fact that Emery and I have not gone on any dates to our favorite side walk cafes in a while and I have not worn my red shoes with matching purse in ages. I have not fixed gourmet meals for us or been mindful to place my food on pretty plates and linger for hours over one meal with the man of my dreams.

It has seemed that in my personal history, its been an all or nothing type road I take. All chic or all farmer ! What a contrast, but wait....this morning I thought, why not have it all. Why not live a bit of both worlds. Why not dance the night away by candlelight on the porch with Emery after doing chores ! Why not have fashionable clothing hanging next to my farm clothes ! Why not have cuter farm clothes ! Why not vacation by the shore when the goats are dry and not needing so much attention. Why not slip into something chic on the weekends and wear a bit of make-up and head out to the little restaurant we love. With our children all gone and Emery's work so successful, we have plenty of money to spend, but we are still frugal, careful with what we have, but at the same time, we can have some fun with what we have. More likely to help our children out than to buy brand new cars or designer labels first hand and I like my second hand Prada just fine. Why not weed the garden in a cute sun dress and wide brimmed hat ! No need to forget that I am a woman while I am milking the goats or gathering eggs. Now hauling in some hay might just require taking out the tee shirt and jeans, but they could be cute ones.

Why not get back in the habit of fixing intensely tasty meals that have long and romantic sounding names to them. Why not take the best of both worlds and celebrate the feminine even while cleaning out the barn. I may just start a new trend....Chic Homestead Chick or Chic Farmer Wife. When I let go of the chic sort of side of me, I tend to let things like my eating, my dress, my style turn into frumpy bumpy and lumpy and in doing that, it seems I bury a part of me that is so alive and so vibrant and that I really like.

I am going to have it all, yup, that's what I am going to do

In 2008, I wrote almost this exact kind of post I Get Lazy . Maybe time to do a little re-reading from "French Women Don't Get Fat" by Mireille Guiliano and her second book, "French Women for All Seasons". .

Melanie doing goat chores with just the right look for a chic homesteader

My new dress, black, chiffon skirt, it swishes when you walk across the room....oh so retro and oh so lovely...perfect for a dinner date with the man of my dreams. With the price I paid for it at Goodwill, I could feel comfortable doing chores in it : )