1. Believe in your own version of a very modern fairy tale, and go find it
2. Have your morning coffee in bed, while listening to “Zou Bisou Bisou “
3. Have breakfast in bed on Sunday mornings, while listening to Diana Krall and reading the New York Times
4. Wear lovely lingerie
5. Wear beautiful nightgowns and pyjamas
6. Replace your bedroom slippers with these
7. Wear dresses at home, and on weekends
8. Watch “Casablanca” (1942) on a school night
9. Or “Summertime” (1955)
10. Or “The Philadelphia Story” (1940)
11. Or “The Tourist” (2010)
12. Or “Enchanted April” (1992)
13. Light candles when you arrive home, rather than turning on all the lights in the house
14. Enjoy a glass of wine and some jazz after work, rather than turning on the television
15. Listen to “So Nice “by Stacey Kent
16. Listen to anything in French by Francoise Hardy
17. Or anything at all by Billie Holiday
18. Read more Byron
19. Read more Keats
20. Read more Neruda
21. Keep fresh flowers on your nightstand
22. And a copy of “Anna Karenina” (Leo Tolstoy)
23. And a diffuser with an exotic fragrance
24. Dress your bed in sheets that you love slipping between
25. Travel to Africa
26. Travel to India
27. Travel to Italy
28. Travel from London to Venice on the Orient Express
29. Read “Love in the Time of Cholera” by Gabriel García Márquez
30. And “Wuthering Heights” by Emily Bronte
31. And “Dr. Zhivago” by Boris Pasternak
32. And “The Age of Innocence” by Edith Wharton
33. And “Out of Africa” by Isak Dinesen
34. Use Nigella Lawson’s latest book “Nigellisima” as your cooking inspiration
35. And the loungey cool Sublime Music London soundtrack featured on the BBC programme sets the mood for a very romantic dinner afterwards
36. Slip into something beautiful after work
37. Wind down in the evening with Candlelight Yoga (my favourite)
38. Be comfortable being a woman, and being in your own skin
39. Take a cooking class and fall in love with food
40. Take a wine tasting course and fall in love with wine
41. Attend a photography workshop and fall in love with the world
42. Attend an art gallery opening and just appreciate the artist’s work
43. Take the Manet to Picasso audio tour at the National Gallery in London
44. Listen to the National Gallery’s monthly podcast during a lunch break
45. Have a Spanish picnic of bread, Iberico Bellota, Manchego, olives, salad and Rioja for dinner on a lazy Thursday night
46. Visit Fundu Lagoon, Zanzibar Archipelago, Tanzania
47. Visit Four Seasons Koh Samui
48. Learn to sketch
49. Learn to play the Spanish guitar
50. Eat outside on the terrace as often as possible
51. Have cafe au lait and croissants with jam for breakfast
52. Go to the Farmer’s Market in Ascot, and stroll down to Fego Caffee for a cappuccino
53. Have a glass of wine by a roaring fire
54. Write a poem
55. Write a short story about a chance meeting
56. Write a love letter to the object of your desire, even if you never send it
57. Take a tour of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Paris
58. Take a tour of Hemingway’s Cuba
59. Take afternoon tea at the Fairmont Empress in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
60. Move to a cottage by the sea
61. Or to a stone house in the countryside
62. Or to another country
63. Learn to speak Italian
64. Or Spanish
65. Or Portugese
66. Drive along the rugged coast of Ireland
67. Or Big Sur
68. Hike the hilly coast of Scotland
69. Or the Jurassic coast of England
70. Have a wee dram on The Royal Scotsman
71. Go to the races at Glorious Goodwood
72. Or Del Mar, and stay at L’Auberge Del Mar
73. Meet for drinks at Zuma, in London or Miami
74. Or Claridge’s, in London
75. Or Truluck’s in Naples. Florida
76. Or Campiello in Naples, Florida
77. Begin the weekend with a glass of Prosecco as soon as you’re home on Friday night
78. Begin a Sunday night bath ritual, with music, to make the weekend last just a little bit longer
79. Wear your favourite perfume to bed
80. Eat outside at a cafe and people watch
81. Talk to strangers
82. Walk along the beach more often, no matter what time of year
83. Listen to jazz in New Orleans
84. Or Chicago
85. Or Paris
86. Make Nigella’s sexy Spaghetti Alla Carbonara for one…or two
87. Put twinkle lights on your indoor and outdoor trees, and turn them on for no reason at all
88. Attend live theatre more often
89. Fall in love with yourself first
90. Then fall in love with someone else
91. And when you do, don’t be afraid
92. And understand that the disagreements are an integral part of the plot
93. And so is the making up
94. And so are the boring bits
95. Enjoy all of the ebbs and flows that come with a life well lived
96. And cry when you need to
97. Or just want to
98. And love as much as you possibly can
99. Until you get it right
100. And above all else, let the cynics say what they may, but never forget that life is so much better with romance in it
Dress by Carlos Miele, photo credit unknown.
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