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French Chic & Slim
Nouvelles
News and Opinion from Anne Barone to Keep You Chic & Slim — INDEX to Previous Nouvelles
image: Tuffy spending a peaceful afternoon at Provence-sur-la-Prairie
|| 27 November 2025
Here at Provence-sur-la-Prairie we are having a crisp, sunny Thanksgiving Day. The gentle scent of woodsmoke in the calm air and the lazy chirp of the birds gives a feeling of peace and tranquility. And time to think on our many blessings despite the difficulties we might be facing.
Wishing you a happy and peaceful Thanksgiving.
— Anne Barone
|| 24 November 2025
My Ceiling Repair | Coffee to prevent cognitive decline
In the previous Nouvelles I reported I was recovering from my Shingles vaccine shot. (Oh, so long ago. Sorry) This past week I have been recovering from another sort of shingles, those that were installed on the roofs of my house and garage necessitated by a bad hail storm in August that inflicted severe damage. All that earlier repair to stop the living room ceiling leaks had to be torn off.
My greatest stress in the reshingling was worry about the six foot crack in my living room ceiling: that the heavy equipment used to remove the old shingles might cause enough vibration that the whole section of ceiling would crash down into my living room.
The good news is that the painter’s tape held the ceiling dry wall during the roof work. The bad news is I have discovered the roof work caused a serious crack in the ceiling of my bedroom closet.
The repair that didn’t happen
Thursday I spent an exhausting day moving all the furniture out of the living room in preparation for the ceiling repair and repainting scheduled for Friday. Unfortunately, the repairmen-painters never arrived. My attempts to contact them have been unsuccessful. Meanwhile all the living room furniture is crowded into the dining room and any other place I could find room. This does not make for pleasant, efficient living.
Coffee to prevent cognitive decline
Lately we are hearing about all the wonderful benefits of coffee. Recently I learned that a growing number of medical studies suggest that coffee drinking (regular, not decaf) also offers a degree of protection against cognitive decline.
Does drinking caffeinated tea also offer protection against cognitive decline with equal amounts of caffeine? My research indicates that opinions vary. Widely.
When I find a reliable definitive answer to the question, I will report. In the meantime . . .
be chic, stay slim, live well — Anne Barone
|| 27 October 2025
Shingles Vaccine
I am recovering. But it has been slow.
The shingles vaccine I took last Thursday produced a strong reaction that has not completely gone away. But I had been warned and I scheduled keeping a recovery time in mind. In any case, shingles is a miserable disease, reasonable then that the vaccine would produce some misery too.
I never took the previous shingles vaccine Zostavax. But a sister-in-law’s recent suffering from shingles prompted me to finally take the newer Shingrix reported to be 97% effective in adults ages 50 to 69, and 91% effective in adults over 70.
Of course those years I was living in Africa and India I took a multitude of vaccines. Then, more recently the Covid and flu vaccines. I cannot recall that either of those recent shots produced as much pain at the injection site as the Shingrix. Though I remember one of the Covid shots produced lethargy and brain fog for several days, as has the Shingrix.
There is a second shot necessary to make the Shingrix vaccine effective against shingles to be taken 2 to 6 months after the first. What spacing is best? Impossible to say because everyone’s body and health condition is different.
Additional pain came in the form of the cost. Medicare pays for the Shingrix vaccine only if you have Part D. Since I take no prescription medications, I don’t have Medicare Part D. So I had to pay the $250 (plus sales tax!!) for the first shot. And will have to pay the cost of the second at the time I take that.
And pay gladly. As much as I suffered from those awful hornet stings, I certainly don’t want shingles. An added bonus: Recent research has found that the shingles vaccine cuts the risk of vascular dementia by 50%. The vaccine also lowers the risk of blood clots by 27% and heart attacks and strokes by 25%.
be chic, stay slim, live well — Anne Barone
|| 12 Octber 2025
Broken Toe, Hornet Stings, A Spider and Diane
This has been a buggy year here at Provence-sur-la-Prairie. Though I can’t blame my broken toe on biting insects (it was an out-of-place footstool that got me) the hornets that attacked me — and delivered a considerable amount of venom into my hands even when I was wearing heavy gardening gloves — were just the worst of numerous critters that have bitten me this summer. Though I am glad that when I saw the male zebra spider coming toward me across the breakfast table, I caught it in a jar and took it outside. Zebra spiders eat a lot of mosquitoes. And this rainy summer, we have had a LOT of mosquitoes.
Diane Keaton
As you likely know, we have recently lost yet one more role model for chic. The American actress Diane Keaton had her own take on chic — and it was a chic that worked well for her even in her 70s.
But since the previous two postings have been obituaries of two other chic women, one British and the other Italian, I will only share two comments on Diane Keaton from the Pulitzer-prize winning author Larry McMurtry who was born and lived many years of his life not far down the road from where I now live.
McMurtry who was good friends with the actress commented that Diane Keaton demonstrated that she was a true Californian because, even though her apartment building was directly across the street from the supermarket where she shopped, she always drove her car to the supermarket. It never occurred to her that she might walk.
Larry McMurtry also related how Diane Keaton had the ability to go out and be unrecognized if she chose. But if she wanted people to recognize her, she could “turn on her brights.” He gave the example of once they were visiting a museum and viewing the exhibits and no one in the crowd recognized her. But then Diane Keaton decided she wanted to be noticed. She performed an instant transformation. Suddenly everyone around them recognized Diane Keaton.
We will miss her.
be chic, stay slim, live well — Anne Barone
|| 1 October 2025
Claudia Cardinale
One of my favorite compliments came from a man who came to repair the chauffage when I was living in Tunisia. He was Maltese born and raised, like the Italian actress Claudia Cardinale, in the Tunis suburb La Goulette. (The Tunisian port city had large Italian and Maltese émigré populations.)
When I opened the door for him, he stared at me for several moments and then explained that I looked much like Claudia Cardinale. I am sufficiently realist to understand the resemblance that struck him was to Claludia Cardinale as she looked when they were growing up there in Tunisia and when she studied for and earned her Tunisian teaching certificate — not as she looked after the Italian film studio makeup team got busy with the lip pencil, the eyeliner and other embellishments. And after she signed her mentor Cristaldi’s controlling contract that prescribed her weight, her hair color, where she could live and other such matters.
But because of the heating repairman’s comment and the Tunisia connection, I have followed the actress’s life and films.
Claudia Cardinale passed away 23 September at age 87 at her home in Nemours, France. Her best obituary that I read was in The Times UK (subscription required). But the BBC obituary has much of the essential information (no subscription but a multitude of advertising). Her Wikipedia page is long and detailed. Another obituary can be found on France 24.
Critics and fans generally agree Claudia Cardinale’s most memorable of her 175 films was the 1968 Once Upon A Time In The West with Henry Fonda. I have always had a fondness for her delightful performance with Peter Sellars and David Niven in The Pink Panther.
Claudia Cardinale’s BBC obituary
Extensive information on her life with photos on Claudia Cardinale’s Wikipedia page.
AnneNote: Claudia Cardinale’s hair color, hairstyle and makeup in the left-most photo in the collection at the top of the page is very much my hair color, hairstyle and makeup during the time I lived in Tunisia when the repairman commented on the resemblance.
|| 24 August 2025
Comment on Benefits of Walking After a Meal
In the previous post, I discussed the medical advice to take a short walk following each daily meal. I received an interesting comment on the topic from Pilar about her own experience with the exercise. Pilar wrote:
Anne, I can verify that for myself, walking after a large meal is so very effective.
Recently, for a couple of months, I wore a Dexcom continuous glucose monitor (CGM) — no prescription necessary — to monitor how my body reacted to certain foods.
But the most revelatory insight from the CGM was how much my glucose dropped even after just 10-15 minutes of walking after a meal. Whereas a healthy meal would cause my glucose level to go from 100 to 130/135 (perfectly normal), a 10-15 minute walk would drop it back down to 105. This means less insulin in the body which is a huge win. Sincerely, Pilar
Much thanks to Pilar for sharing her experience, and especially for providing us with the specific readings and type of glucose monitor. Her comments also reminded me that we now live in a time where reasonably priced medical devices are available that make it possible for us to have information that helps us to live a healthy lifestyle.
be chic, stay slim, live well — Anne Barone
|| 18 July 2025
French Food Shopping
Our Chic & Slim Special Correspondent Kat has been back in France. She sent a report on French food shopping to share with you. Kat wrote:
I have previously commented upon the large numbers of processed foods/ready meals in French supermarkets, but there is also an abundance of fresh produce. Until today, I haven’t been able to get a clear shot of the contents of a typical French shopping trolley — and here it is.
Apart from a large pack of crisps [potato chips], what is clearly this young mother’s weekly shop consists of bottled water, milk, several cheeses, one saucisson (UPF), plain yoghurt, butter, eggs, jam, creme fraiche and lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, including a melon. No fresh meat, fish or bread which I suspect she buys at the boucherie/poissonerie/boulangerie.
This is a fairly typical French shop, although I’ve noticed that some older people tend to add some “industrielle” patisserie or sweet dishes. This shopper’s child was about a year old, and, as you can see, she’s not carrying any “baby weight”. I’ll overlook the outfit, the temperature is up in the high 3O’s [100 F. and over] again!
Anne Comments: At first I was puzzled by the size of the package of potato chips [crisps] which seemed to be incongruous with the rest of the shopping. A possible explanation might be that Kat took these photos on 13 July, the day before Bastille Day. The size of package might be explained if guests were expected for drinks to celebrate Bastille Day and the chips/crisps were to be served to guests.
Another interesting item I noted in the shopping was the pink rectangular box just under the top of the chips/crisps bag. If I am not mistaken, this contains a brand of women’s probiotics that I took in my quest to solve the digestive problems that I wrote about in The Barone System. I tried to verify this, but the brand Renew Life has recently updated their packaging so I was not able to make a comparison of the back of the boxes.
It is instructive to compare this typical French weekly shopping you see in Kat’s photo with what you would be likely to see in a weekly shopping in the USA. Certainly you would be more likely to see more ultra-processed foods [UPFs] and fewer fresh fruits and vegetables. Might this help explain why the French remain healthier and slimmer than people in the UK and USA?
Much thanks to Kat for her excellent photos and informative comments.
be chic, stay slim, live well — Anne Barone
Anne Barone's new book available in paperback and Kindle ebook.
The Barone System in paperback—and Kindle
The Barone System is available at the links below.
|| 13 May 2025
Good Words For Anne’s Books And A Sunscreen Reminder
Recently an email from Synthia had good words for my books and also reminded me to preach my annual sermon on sun protection for the face.
Synthia wrote:
Just purchased your new book and I'm so excited to read.
Like many others have explained to you, your books have changed my life. I was able to travel much in the last 20 years, and for the most part, keep my wardrobe and weight in check and just live a very European inspired lifestyle.
I am so grateful for you and the lessons you have taught me which I now teach the new generation; my children who are now adults. I am proud of their interest in travel, reading, food, cooking, etc...They are rarely on social media and focus on developing their minds and living a full life.
My husband and I are planning a trip to Scotland this July. I don't know what to expect but I will let you know!
Merci to Synthia for her comments on my books. Perhaps after her trip to Scotland she will report her take on Scottish chic and slim.
You may remember that about a year ago, I shared with you Synthia’s experience with a Merkel Cell Carcinoma that had developed in the area just below her eye and required rebuilding her lower eyelid after the carcinoma was removed.
A Reminder:The area just beneath the eye is particularly sensitive to sun’s harmful rays, So a good sunscreen (without any carcinogenic ingredients) and sunglasses with UVA and UVB filtering are helpful in protecting you from things that might develop there.
be chic, stay slim, live well — Anne Barone
|| 10 April 2025
Choices
It’s spring here at Provence-sur-la-Prairie. The hailstorm over the weekend took its toll on the budding iris and roses — and a lot of the new leaves on the trees and shrubs. But despite the near-freeze early Sunday morning, the warmer days this week are encouraging the survivors.
One of my joys of spring is asparagus. My brother arrived this morning delivering two big bunches freshly cut from the field of a farm just outside the town where he lives. Bringing also just-laid eggs from the same farm. So omelette with asparagus is on the menu.
Recently two comments on my new book concerned choices. Nicolle in New Zealand wrote:
Congratulations on your new publication, I purchased from Kindle instantly. It was a very enjoyable read and compliments your other titles. Also I revisit your advice regularly and always read your website Nouvelle updates.
As I approach 50, the importance of exercise is made so clear, and your routine of Pilates and stretching is a good reminder for me to maintain my Tracy Anderson Method subscription as I age. Yes, it’s hard, but it’s harder not doing it. And in the end, we choose our version of hard, don’t we?
Warm regards, Nicolle
Vicki in Friday Harbor also wrote on the topic of choices. In her lengthy and interesting comments on The Barone System, she wrote:
One of the quotes I pay attention to daily is: What people have the capacity to choose, they have the ability to change. This one from Madeleine Albright. I firmly believe that our daily choices are just that: choices.
About six months ago my favorite neighbors decided that it would be better for their children to grow up in Europe and made the choice to relocate. Their sea freight is on the ship. They depart in a few days.
One of the questions I was asked often in the early days of this website was why I did not remain in France instead of returning to the USA. The answer was family reasons. But in hindsight it appears I might have made a better choice. Oh dear!
be chic, stay slim, live well — Anne Barone
Anne Barone's new book available in paperback and Kindle ebook.
The Barone System in paperback—and Kindle
The Barone System is available at the links below.
|| 31 March 2025
Reader Comments on The Barone System
Such a reward for me when a reader tells me my information has been useful. Recently I was especially rewarded by comments from Donna who has been reading my books and articles for more than 20 years. Donna wrote:
Hi Anne,
I have been reading your books and blog for over twenty years. The books changed my life by introducing me to a new way of living (the French way) which led to a better figure, better wardrobe, better work relationships (using the mystique technique) and more walking. It would take a book of my own to explain how your writings changed me fully.
I read your new book last night and was shocked by all the health information you now possess. I can tell that you have thought about and studied these issues for many years. I was very impressed and you have motivated me yet again, to become even more conscious of good eating and maintaining my health as I approach age 70.
When I look back on my weight journey over the years, I am always impressed that the factor that changed me the most was the Chic and Slim books, especially the first three. Your writings worked their magic on me as I believe your new book now has.
The other day I had a doctor's appointment. There was a 3rd year medical student with my doctor and as I was answering her intake questions, my doctor reviewed my weight graph with her. She asked me what the single most-important factor was in my weight loss journey which was slow and steady over several years. I told her it was the philosophy of Anne Barone's Chic and Slim books and found myself explaining the French Chic way of life that started it all.
Anne, I am so grateful you wrote those books. And I am so grateful to be able to start implementing the teachings of your latest one.
Thank you so much,
Donna
And, thank you, Donna for your lovely email.
Some techniques are useful for staying slim whatever your age. But each advancing stage of our lives brings new challenges to staying slim — and healthy. My aim in writing The Barone System was to give you both the techniques that helped me lose weight and stay slim 55 years, as well as those that I am finding helpful coping with the special difficulties in staying slim and healthy now that I am 80.
be chic, stay slim, live well — Anne Barone
Anne Barone's new book is here! Available in paperback and Kindle ebook.
The Barone System in paperback—and Kindle
The Barone System is available at the links below.
|| 26 February 2025
Comment On A Comment
Last week Provence-sur-la-Prairie was enduring a Mini Texas Freeze. This week we are enjoying lovely spring. Nice compensation.
Lots of interesting comments on the new book coming in. Karen in Rosemount commented that she did not remember me writing on the website about suffering the pelvic prolapse that I discuss in the book. That was because I did not write about it there. Nor did I write on the website about my severe digestive problems, my problems with low protein, the West Nile Virus episode, why I did not gain weight during the Covid pandemic as many did, and several other matters covered in the book. This was purposeful.
First of all, I particularly dislike buying a book by a writer whose articles I have been enjoying and finding that the book is just a rehashing of the articles with little or no new material.
Just as I have always tried not to repeat in a subsequent book remedies and techniques I wrote about in a previous book, in The Barone System on staying slim and healthy despite coping with the problems of ageing I wanted to offer material that I had not written about on the website.
Secondly, in the new book, I wanted to be able to not only discuss a problem, but to explain the solution that I found for that problem. In the case of my severe digestive problems, finding a workable remedy required years of research as well as many trials of various solutions — the majority of which, I am sorry to say, did not give the results I had hoped for. But just as in my mid-20s I eventually found a solution for getting rid of my excess weight, I am happy to say that I did eventually find a solution for those severe digestive problems and for other problems plaguing me the past six years. In the new book I was able to discuss solutions for those problems too.
More comments on the comments on the new book in coming Nouvelles.
be chic, stay slim, live well — Anne Barone
|| 10 February 2025
The Barone System in paperback—and Kindle
For those of you who prefer print over ebook you can find The Barone System at the links below.
|| 5 February 2025
The Barone System: 55 Years Slim and Living Well
Fifty-five years ago I lost 55 pounds. Now, here I am at 80 and, unlike many who successfully lose weight, I have kept the pounds from returning.
Previously my focus was on how chic French women stay slim. This new book is about how I do it. Not only how I stay slim, but healthy too — despite all the challenges of natural ageing.
The Kindle version of the new book is available on Amazon. You can read a sample there.
Kindle version of The Barone System on Amazon
The Barone System is also available in paperback.
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The Barone System Print version ISBN 978-1-937066-26-0 is distributed by Ingram. With the print versions of my previous books, Ingram fed the books into the system and they appeared on the sites of various booksellers. I assume this will happen again. As soon as listings appear, I will give you the info about them on this site.
I may also do an EPUB version of The Barone System if I find there is a demand for it.
New Contact Email
During the time I was working on the new book I acquired a new email service. The old att.net contact address became inoperable. I did not post a new address because I did not have time to respond. For the moment the new contact address is baroneslim (the at symbol) pm.me
If I recieve too much spam and phishing email at the address, ProtonMail makes it easy to cancel the email address and replace it if blocking does not solve the problem.
be chic, stay slim, live well — Anne Barone