a book everyone should own and reread periodically

A few gems from Genevieve Antoine Dariaux whose advise I find extremely helpful even if I’m not exactly the target audience but she’s a gem, her style and elegance of being are noteworthingly charming.

Dinner

Dinner-time should always be a moment of relaxation after a tiring day, and event that the entire family awaits with impatience.

A successful dinner consists of two ingredients: the menu and the conversation, both of which should be varied.

Habit

Habit is the chloroform of love.
Habit is the cement that unites long wedded couples.
Habit is getting stuck in the mud of daily routine.
Habit is the fog that masks the most beautiful scenery.
Habit is the end of everything.

Humour

…A sense of humour transforms the most ordinary black and white film into a kaleidoscope of colour, and the monotony of daily life into a perpetual pleasure. It prevents people from taking things (and especially themselves) too seriously; it enables you to accept the worst affronts with a smile; it is the most attractive form of courage; and for all these reasons it is one of the most precious gifts in the world. God preserve us all from people who don’t have a sense of humour!

Restaurants

Study men carefully in restaurants, for in these places their characters show up and you can see at once whether a man is timid or sure of himself, generous or stingy, a glutton or a gourmet, attentive or egotistical, witty or boring – in other words, whether or not it would be worth your while to become interested in him.

(From the Men in your Life)