Lifestyle Archives • Page 16 of 100 • Every Day Dress by Rebecca Collins

let’s speak French

*boom, just as I got a little comfortable with my super simple French expressions, we were on our way out*

Exactly as I was feeling somewhat confident third week in with my super simple French conversations, boom, we packed up and flew to Spain. Super thankful sixth child is French fluent, and four of our other kids can speak Spanish. Me, not so much, and definitely felt challenged and my brain had to work overtime.

Three weeks in the south of France surrounded by all of our kids, pure heaven, husband and I would go back in a heartbeat.

While packing I threw in my one and only Chanel ready-to-wear piece, this dress I wore last summer for oldest daughter’s country-side wedding reception. Danced all night and put myself to bed, still wearing the dress. The next morning, I slipped it off, probably dropped it on the floor, and maybe the next day hung it on a hanger. There it hung, no steaming no cleaning until I just recently popped it in a large zip-lock bag and stuck it on the top layer of my case. Good clothes don’t need to be precious; I believe they are meant to be worn, loved, enjoyed.

Thinking I’ve got a pretty decent handle on French clothes and food, really need to spend some time concentrating on the language. Oldest son did some Spotify podcasts while driving before traveling, and he was spot on.

Ethel’s 80th

*gathered at the barn for ‘stingers’, our featured cocktail*

*Ethel, peanut, me looking at old family photos*

*absolutely love these two, Ethan and husband*

Birthdays in our world are most often celebrated with a scratch baked cake and dinner at home with family and maybe a few close friends. Mom turns eighty late August, and we gathered for a barn dinner last week to celebrate as my dear sister and her family were visiting from San Francisco, CA.

It’s not often we’re all together, she’s got a full life with her huge west coast event design company, Radeff Design Studios, managing fetes for thousands. The two of us together pulled off a home cooked five course seated dinner, country-side, and it was brilliant.

Tracy ordered rentals, booked the string quartet, arranged flowers, designed graphics, and basically planned the menu. I came in at the eleventh hour and baked a cake and cooked off the entrée, a little well done.

Mom really started the two of us on this party-planning journey, even while holding down a full-time job back when that was really not the thing she would set the table, make fancy food, and have us put on our best clothes to come together and break bread. That’s a gift that continually gives, the desire to feed and care for others, making meals memorable and soul stirring, whether it be scrambled eggs with toast and homemade jam or a wedding celebration for 200+.

There were sixteen of us that night, my sister and I with our men, her eight grandchildren, and two life-long young friends. Most of us took turns raising a glass and offering a toast, telling stories with love and affection of fun and crazy times. An 80^thbirthday is reason to celebrate. Mom, you are beautiful, independent, curious, elegant, and ever-evolving. Happy Birthday and wishing you many returns of the day.

*seated dinner for sixteen, how we celebrate birthdays*

day on the water

*let’s* *all live in the south of France*

Most of the last three weeks have been countryside Provence yet we did break code and booked a boat outing, highly recommend.

We brought plenty of alcohol, obviously, should have packed a picnic as we had to buy sandwiches and chips from the gas station, not one of my best culinary feats.

It was a ball, swimming in the Mediterranean an absolute highlight. Driving back that evening I thought I could live forever in the south of France, wishful thinking indeed.

Happy weekend everyone, tomorrow we start moving west, we’ll be stateside Monday. Third week of June is one of my favorite times of year, the long days feel endless.

duty free pick-up

I’m not much of a regimented beauty routine devotee, one of my things is washing my face at the kitchen sink with dish soap and then drying it with the towel that’s attached to my apron.

A few things that I do love are a black kohl eye pencil, black mascara, and a good eye makeup remover to take the whole smudge thing off with, dish soap doesn’t seem to work well for the eye area. I’ve tried several, and always come back to Chanel.

I also like to even out my skin tone with a good foundation as I’ve done a bit of damage from, I know it’s bad a life-long sun worshiper.

Getting out the door for travel is tough, getting out the door when you’re leaving for a month makes me completely scattered, and likely to overpack while also forgetting a few things.

The white bag? (similar one here) A gift from the husband. Whenever I carry this, I double wash my hands before and while using it and never put a pen of any kind in there, that would be disaster. I’m even careful with lipstick picking one that doesn’t have too much pigmentation because I’m always in a hurry and I would probably smudge on the bag.

These are my recent duty-free cosmetic pick-ups and they’ve been great.

truffle hunt

gnocchi with truffle

eating and drinking in France

Yesterday morning I broke a piece of baguette and smeared it with French butter and then soft ripe cheese and then topped it with local honey, it was sublime. I’m drinking small cups of espresso, forgoing the tall American coffee, and usually indulging again at half past three.

Second son’s girlfriend says le vin rosé is like water, and you know how you’re supposed to get in eight full glasses of that.

*we did have lunch at this Michelin star restaurant L’Aubergine*

*okay, so I took this photo, daily run to market*

Booie asked me where the pantry is in the kitchen and I replied, ‘no pantry, we buy what we need and will use on the daily’.

We started with a party of six, grew to eight and then ten, and now back to eight, and on Thursday we will be five. We’ve been gone three plus weeks now, on holiday with really nothing to do, simply enjoying one another’s company in this beautiful country of France. We are blessed, and the husband is the triple gold star.

I’ve been cooking as most times we prefer staying in and accustoming myself with an electric cooktop and an oven I don’t understand, but that’s okay. Everything makes me think, even the every day run to the market where I have to navigate the carts, and the checkout.

The first half of the trip I was fairly disciplined with the workout routine and now as we’re getting ready to head home, I’m savoring every lazy hour of undriven bliss.

We’ve been eating and drinking in France, and that’s a very good thing. All photos here by Maxwell Collins, on Instagram @maxyny.

soft florals, brilliant light

Now in Eygalières, and we’re settling in to life in the French countryside.

First morning I took these photographs of the garden before anyone else was awake, and then did an hour of exercise, it was divine.

*bought a khaki green tablecloth and napkins in St. Remy and cut white roses from the garden.*

Of course, I’m up to my usual, buying linens and candles, and these I picked up in nearby Saint Rémy. I was undecided between the khaki green or a very soft pink, and at the end chose the khaki, I guess if you look at my case of rolled clothes it all makes sense.

*youngest of the bunch, she’s pretty good at speaking French*

We are now a party of six and expected four more to come. Summer holiday in Provence, the light is absolutely brilliant.

dress, sweater, sneaker

Oh, packing and what to wear. A safe bet is a dress, and a sweater. I like to now wear a sneaker with a dress.

It’s taken years to get here, wearing a sneaker with a dress, and now it feels right. This dress is a two-year-old, or is it three, DVF. The print sometimes makes me nervous, yet a black dress with a black sweater might be severe. The sneaker is by Golden Goose. I was first intrigued with this brand when in NYC while shopping at Barneys probably five years ago. Kind of loved the vintage look but at that time I always wanted new. Again, it’s taken years to get here too, wearing and loving something that looks and feels aged. Kind of think I better get used to that, hello wrinkled face.

travel clothes and a lipstick

I like to spend a lot of time on my feet and when traveling pack as light as possible. My clothes have to be multi-purpose. Footwear is the biggest deal, and I think a pair of boots in really any location is a good choice. I wear them on the plane and pull them out when the weather is cold or inclement or simply when I need to feel grounded.

A black V-neck sweater (first choice cashmere for softness and comfort) is a must have, I’ve been on the go for five days and this one has seen probably ten wears, maybe more, as sometimes it’s off and on all day long.

Black silk camisole takes up no space at all and can go it alone or be a layering piece.

A red lipstick just adds oomph and says yes, I might be wearing utility (camo cargo jeans) yet I’m really glad to be here.

the frog pond

*writing and reading, in the abandoned garden, by the pond*

Writing, as much as I can, has helped me navigate life and all of its intricacies. Blog posts here have been a creative outlet for several years and recently, as in the last four months, I’ve been taking pen to paper and writing things down in long-hand, three pages a day, having read Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way.

In fact, my daughter Sarah and I have been working this program together, she is being steadfastly consistent, me fitting it in here and there. She has found the page to be a safe place, a place for her to explore her life-threatening experience with anxiety and depression.

We talk about writing together, and often share with each other some of our more intimate work. Writing has been therapeutic for us both, and for the next four nights we are sharing a room in the countryside of Spain practicing our craft.

Below is a short piece I wrote yesterday, after a long walk, one of my favorite things to do settle the mind, soothe the body.

The children were all playing in the garden while I prepared lunch. The boys digging holes, the oldest daughter doing whatever she does and the babe poking things with a stick, at the side of the small pond.

‘Lunch is ready’ I would call. Maybe I would bring it on a tray, and we would have a picnic. ‘Lunch is ready’ I would call again.

Everyone all immersed in the outside world while enclosed in a garden with a fish pond. Isn’t that how life should be?

Outside, enclosed, immersed. Years went by and the garden was abandoned, we all got busy.

And then she fell and fell hard. Not in the garden but outside in the world. She immobilized our family, our hearts stood still.

Doctors and pills and pills and doctors. Journals and writing and writing and journals.

*guest cottage, in the meadow, while walking the hill*

Time travel and a writing retreat and a walk up a hill in silence. She finds a spot at the corner of the pool, the only corner with sunshine, and then pokes things, and gradually stirs…