Femme d'un certain âge

Well, it's just about my birthday.

I won't tell you my exact age--because that simply 
wouldn't be very French of me. But I will admit,
I am a Femme d'un certain âge.  
And while I used to fear that my growing older 
would mean the end of style, romance, beauty 
and joie de vivre, I've been inspired by the women 
I saw this past fall during my 
travels to France.  

Lately, I've begun to notice some beautiful and stylish 
women in my own home town of Falmouth. See 
the photo below of Natalie. She's the one with the 
fabulous silver hair, the cool shades, the 
Maxwell & Company shopping bag and the coat 
with the roses she bought at Midnight Farms on Martha's Vineyard.  

I went into Bojangles, our very own, very chic local boutique, 
the other day and found the 
new owner in front of the mirror, discreetly putting on 
her lipstick.
She told me she can't go anywhere without her lipstick 
and I said, "well, that's very French."  

And then she said, "oh, I'm reading a book right now 
about French women!" And guess what book that 
happened to be....yes, my book! And so, we got into 
an entire conversation about French women,
lingerie, cooking delightful meals for our husbands 
and remaining just a little bit mysterious.


I'm really a city gal, and moving to this little town 
was not my choice. At the beginning, I found it 
startling that I couldn't go to the post office on 
Main Street without meeting someone I knew.  
But now, after four years here, I think I love it.


And finding someone like Natalie makes it all 
the more lovely.
It's enough to make a gal happy to be a little older, 
and yes, a little wiser. 
Certainly happy to be a Femme d'un certain âge!