Living La Belle Vie by Heather, Lost In Arles
It’s made me extremely happy to hear that my new series Living la Belle Vie has resonated with so many of you because it’s very dear to my heart. One person for whom it has struck a chord is my blog friend Heather, who pens the beautiful blog Lost in Arles, and she was generous enough to share this story which illustrates the idea behind the series so well. Merci, Heather!
“Of course, you have the good life–you live in Provence!” I’ve heard that assumption more times than I can say and yet how frequently I see people stomping through the streets of Arles face-down to the pavement, ignoring the ancient stones and the sapphire blue sky above. As a travel-writer, how often have I cringed while watching couples in a snit over dinner in a five-star hotel? If one thing is certain, I can tell you, it isn’t about the money. And as often as not, it’s not about what you have but what you don’t.
Yesterday evening the house was humming along, the frigo purring, the end of the evening news droning on, a lamb stew bubbling on the stove. I had to nearly shout to be heard while talking to my honey in the next room about Nicholas Sarkozy’s just announced election bid. And then, tout d’un coup, a blackout fell over the entire town. As in such darkness that I couldn’t see the hand in front of my face. “Best to put our wineglasses down,” I giggled. I did and then felt my way along the fireplace mantle until I found the matches that I knew would not be far. Soon, candles of all shapes in sizes were lit around the room. As our stew was ready we sat down to dinner, grinning at our good luck. Because the utter quiet of a town stopped in its tracks gave us the chance to simply focus on each other without any distractions, to zero in on what was right in front of us, to forget the imaginary or the impossible. Needless to say, we both sighed when the electricity popped on 45 minutes later, yes, with a mix of disappointment and relief. But by then, we had already finished our meal and thoroughly enjoyed a slightly magical evening on what could have been just another ordinary night. Sometimes, living La Belle Vie can be as simple as just turning out the lights.
Thanks so much again, Heather! If you share my Living la Belle Vie philosophy and you’d like to share your own story or tips, please email them to me for a possible feature.
(Photos by Heather)
What a great idea. I just sent my husband a calendar invite for a “Lights Out Night” so we will have a candlelight dinner and listen to music and read. We always talk about doing it but never actually do . . . so now that it’s “scheduled”, it’s going to happen! Thanks Heather and Ally for the reminder and little nudge towards our belle vie! Cheers – CT
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Oh I love that idea! I may need to steal it from you – if I can get my husband on board!
Thanks for sharing that!
“Lights Out Night” as we’ve taken to calling it, was a success. Thanks again for the inspiration. I put a little recap here: http://livinganalog.com/2012/03/01/lights-out/ Cheers – CT
Such a lovely story! Thanks so much, Heather and Ally for sharing. So far in mine & hubby’s travels, we’ve only had one house that felt magical– a restored 1914 Craftsman bungalow with a beautiful gas fireplace and, most importantly, no cable tv! The lack of the lure of the boob tube led to many nights of reading in front of the fire.
I am also totally stealing CT’s Lights Out Night idea!
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Written with typical Heather thoughtfulness & beauty. And yes, it sure isn’t about the money. In fact, I suspect that we have to go without it (at least for a time) to get that wisdom. There is always a certain excitement that comes with electricity going out.
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Thank you for featuring Heather. Candle-light has a way of slowing us down. I am delighted to find you and shall be your new follower. I look forward to knowing you and will welcome a visit.
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Ally thank you so much for featuring Heather. The images really say it all; however Heather’s thoughts make the evening come alive.
xoxo
Karena
Art by Karena
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My mom always made a special meal on Saturday nights. She’d break out her best china, polish the silverware, set the table and then light the candles. We had so much fun just sitting around talking about what was going on in our lives, eating good food and appreciating each other. It is one of my favorite memories and I have carried this tradition forward into my own life. Every weekend I take the time to cook a special supper for my husband, light some candles and just spend time catching up.
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I LOVE that! You’ve inspired me to start doing more of that myself. Thanks for sharing, Tracey!