The Maison Gaton Podcast

Petite Pleasures and Everyday Glamor: The Red Collection
 
In this episode:
What petite pleasures and everyday glamor actually mean (and why it's a mindset first)
Judith's personal story of finding glamor in the smallest of things, even a 99-cent Shasta soda
Why you work too hard not to be savoring the life you've built
How to do a Color Walk through your home and rediscover the gorgeous things you already own
The two key questions to ask yourself this week to shift into a pleasure-first mindset
Practical ideas: the good China, the red lipstick, the good candle…use it all, friend
Your mission this week:
Go on a red color walk through your home. Pull out 5–10 red items: beauty, home goods, clothing, trinkets, and actually use them. Enjoy them. Savor them.

Connect: Instagram @judithgaton | Substack for weekly essays

Welcome to the first episode of a new series! Step inside the Maison Gaton house: an eccentric, curated space full of trinkets, textures, and treasured collections. This episode is an invitation to take inventory of the lovely things you've gathered throughout your life, and to truly enjoy them.
Timestamps:
0:00 — Welcome & introducing the Maison Gaan house

1:17 — Grandmother's Folgers coffee jar full of buttons and odds & ends

1:50 — Marguerite's mother's button tin

2:27 — The collections all around our homes and lives

3:16 — The invitation: take inventory and enjoy what's already there

4:05 — Introducing the six color themes for the series

4:38 — The colors: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue & Violet

5:24 — What to expect next week: Petite Pleasures & Everyday Glamors

5:49 — Each episode will include something practical to do

In This Series:
Red — Petite Pleasures & Everyday Glamors

Orange — Creativity & Whimsy

Yellow — Friendship & Gathering

Green — Environment & Spaces

Blue — Hope, Dreams & Aspirations

Violet — Vision, Leadership & Passion

If you know someone who might enjoy this series, please share it!Connect: Instagram @judithgaton | Substack for weekly essays

Why I Abandoned the Airbnb at 2am
It started with a smell. In this episode, Judith shares the full story of abandoning a vomit-soaked London Airbnb at 2am — and what hauling a giant suitcase into a perfumed hotel in the middle of the night taught her about the year she was actually having. This is the episode that introduces the 2026 theme: Misadventures.
In This Episode:
The Airbnb from hell — feet, cheese, mold, a cracked window, and a ceiling that finally gave way

Why we stay too long in things that clearly aren't working — sunk cost, pride, and not wanting to admit we were wrong

How to let the year tell you what kind of year it is instead of forcing a theme onto January

Why naming what's actually happening is the first move toward shaping what you want

The difference between resisting reality and acknowledging it — with humor and levity

Mission, Should You Choose to Accept It: Ask yourself what the year is already telling you. What have you been tolerating too long? What is your proverbial vomit-filled hallway? You don't have to know where the hotel is yet — you just have to admit the smell is no longer acceptable.
Timestamps:
0:00 Welcome & Introduction

0:09 The London Airbnb Horror Story

2:53 Why Did We Stay So Long? (Sunk Cost & Pride)

4:01 Rethinking the "Word of the Year" Approach

4:44 Letting the Year Tell You Its Theme

5:50 Introducing the Theme: Misadventure

6:38 Invitation: Name the Year You're Actually Having

7:09 Your Mission: What Are You Tolerating?

7:46 What's Coming Next on the Podcast & Substack

9:19 Closing & Call to Action

Connect: Instagram @judithgaton | Substack for weekly essays

Episode 337: The Lost Pleasure of Getting Ready - 30 Acts of Resistance Through Style
Why has getting dressed become a lost pleasure for busy professionals? Host Judith Gaton reframes intentional dressing as an act of resistance and shares 30 compelling reasons to find joy in your getting ready routine again.
What You'll Learn
Why the ritual of getting ready has lost its mystique

How style and fashion are inherently political acts

Why trivializing what women find pleasure in is problematic

30 acts of resistance through intentional dressing

How to reclaim the pleasure of getting ready without perfection

Episode Highlights
[00:00] The lost pleasure of getting dressed

[02:30] Getting ready as armor and creativity

[08:45] Why this conversation matters during difficult times

[12:20] Style and fashion as inherently political

[15:40] Real-world examples: lawyers, doctors, nonprofit leaders

[20:15] The 30 acts of resistance through dressing

[25:30] Finding compelling reasons to care for yourself

Key Quote
"The goal is not perfection. It's intention. Let's take care of the aesthetics so that you can do your work unfettered and undistracted."
Connect: Instagram @judithgaton | Substack for weekly essays