A Few of My Favorite Spring Things

Here in JC and NYC, Mother Nature continues to be ambivalent about Spring. So while Summer is officially only about a month away, we’re still wishing she’d make up her mind and gift us with some steady sunshine and warmer temps. As you might guess, it’s made it pretty tough to break out my new fashion favorites and share them with you all. Until this past Sunday…

Embroidered and Easygoing

From tops to jeans to bags and shoes, anything embroidered is everywhere this spring. I especially love the colorful, bohemian touch it brings to this fantastic and fantastically affordable blouse. I’ve added it to my Adirondack wardrobe, but it would be equally at home and on trend in the big city. 

Sleeping Beauty

Happy Mother’s Day! I hope it it was filled with flowers, foot rubs, meals cooked, houses cleaned, diamonds dispensed. OK, now for the bad news. I’m long past it, but Menopause is a time of major hormonal, physical and psychological change for women. Although symptoms may vary, hey hey, there will be symptoms. You’re not nuts if you can’t sleep at night. Or you feel restless. Or hot. Unfortunately, post-menopausal women are less satisfied with their sleep, and as many as 6o% report insomnia symptoms. Including snoring. I always thought we could blame that on our husbands! So what’s a Big Girl to do?

Mother’s Day Musing

When I became pregnant for the first time, the first person (aside from my husband Chris!) I shared the news with was my Mother. Having made it through the teen and college years, we were solidly BFFs. I so looked forward to all the years we would share as Mommy and Nana. But that was not to be. Shortly after my first son Pierre was born, my Mother was given a diagnosis of stage 4 pancreatic cancer. I’ll never know if it was life going and life growing, but I became pregnant with my second son Spencer while Mom was in remission. His birth and her decline were inevitably intertwined.  I was 7 months pregnant with Chanler, my third and last son, when she died. She had suffered so much, for so many months, that we knew she was going to a better place. Still, the huge gaping hole of being Mother-less as a new Mom loomed before me. I mentally and physically struggled to read the 23rd Psalm at her her Memorial Service. And to picture my life, and my children’s lives, without her. I was so used to talking to her every day. Really. But now I had lost my best friend. Not a day, a week, a month, a year goes by without me wishing she could have seen (and supported and hopefully approved of) me as a Mom. And more importantly truly known and enjoyed my three amazing sons. Every year I so wish I could wish her “Happy Mother’s Day” just one more time.

Feeling Kind Of Frida

 

This simple yet sophisticated off-the-shoulder dress is the only new piece in this look, making it a stunning example of how one fashion find can bring new life to the wardrobe you already have. And when it came to shooting this post, I knew the perfect Jersey City mural to be our backdrop. It was almost as if this spot had been waiting for us. 

My Fitness Journey, Part One


OK, first caveat. I am no expert on fitness. But I embrace being fit. I studied ballet from ages 5 to 13, then switched to modern dance in high school and college and years after. During that time, my Dad tried desperately to get me to fall in love with with tennis. I didn’t hate it, but the times didn’t stress girls in sports. OK, now I know! Fast forward to my marriage to a diehard jock and giving birth to three sons. Tennis, Football, Ice Hockey, Baseball, Soccer, Lacrosse, Basketball…and that’s just Elementary school.  (Don’t worry, art and music classes balanced out  their activities!) High school added Sailing, Cross Country, Track, and even Ultimate Frisbeee. Vacations added Skiing and Snowboarding. It was a challenge to keep up with my uber active family. I think I’ve been doing pretty well all these years. And yes, I do kinda sorta play tennis. And ski. But to be honest, these days I find myself in a bit of in a rut. So this post is here and now. Let me know your thoughts and comments. Let’s see where we go!