Change your mind... change your life.

This really awful photo was taken in the summer of 2010. As you can see, I was fully immersed in my frumpiness.

Summer 2010

My reason for posting this terrible photo is to prove that even small changes in what you eat, how you dress, and how you view yourself can make a lot of difference in your life. After seeing this and the other photos taken on the same day of a woman I hardly recognized, I started making small changes every day. Within three weeks, I began to see a difference. Within six months, I had lost almost forty pounds!

Summer 2012

I stopped thinking of myself as invisible and old, which subconsciously allowed me to stop caring about how I looked. A positive attitude is so essential. I started going for more walks and eating only vegetables, seeds, nuts, and whole grains, along with a few fresh fruits. (Read the book "Eat to Live" by Dr. Joel Fuhrman for more information on what to eat and why.) I stopped wearing loose-fitting dull clothes.

I still weigh 143 pounds at five feet six inches tall. Yet, I am 58 years old in the photo above, and I am so much happier than I was even in my thirties and forties.

I don't do any special exercises, but I try to walk more and sit less each day. I don't eat meat or processed foods.

I am sharing all this with you as an example. (There are so few of us over fifty gals in advertising.) I want to show you that even small changes in your life can make you much healthier and help you feel better about yourself. I also want to encourage you to go out and enjoy all that life has to offer. My fifties have proven to me that life really does get better.

I sincerely hope that you will make a firm commitment to yourself to be the most positive, happy, healthy person you can be. You deserve it!

The Rain Hat

I added a faux fur rain hat to my collection this month. My hair in humidity isn't pretty, so there are several hats in my closet. I think this one will be a favorite this winter.

Some of my jackets and coats are now too large for me, but I will get this one tailored. I love the teal blue color. It's a Geiger boiled wool jacket that works great over pants. The scarf is a large square silk(like) material in teal with a bit of animal print from Ross. The bag is a winter favorite from 2011.

The pants were a straight leg style from Stein Mart last year. 

The booties are by Nine West.

The very warm and comfy faux fur hat is from Coldwater Creek. The grey long-sleeved tee is by Vera Wang from Kohl's.

Being silly in the rain brings back sweet memories of my childhood on a farm in North Carolina. The now rare (for me) sound of rain on a tin roof always transports me to that far away simple time. I loved to curl up wrapped in one of my grandmother's hand made quilts on the front porch swing of our old farmhouse and watch the rainfall. When the storm passed, I would go looking for frogs and red salamanders.  Being an only child at that time and living on a secluded farm meant finding playmates in nature.

Thank you for reading my blog and visiting with me on Facebook this past year. 

Red Jeggings

Saturday was a beautiful day! 

For shopping and running errands, I wore red jeggings. Yes, me in jeggings! (They are leggings cut like jeans.) I found these at T.J. Maxx. I wore them with Ralph Lauren cognac brown booties (via T.J. Maxx) and a blue Tencel material tunic from Coldwater Creek. 

The suede animal print bag is more than twenty years old. Proof that if you buy timeless classics, they will serve you for many years. I normally do not wear a shoulder bag, but this small style is good for hands-free shopping. 

I purposely kept all my other accessories minimal and in a gold-silver combination. The large face watch is from Stein-Mart, and the large silver with gold hoops are from B'Dazzled in Blowing Rock, North Carolina.

Thank you for reading! I hope you have a wonderful Sunday.

Jazz Up Your Salads!

Do you get tired of eating salads? So would I, if limited to just leafy greens, but they are among the most nutritious foods we can eat.

Leafy baby greens are almost always the largest portion of my lunch or dinner, but I also have steamed, baked, sautéed, and fresh raw veggies. Baked sweet potatoes are full of nutrients and a great addition to any meal, but I also enjoy having wild rice, quinoa, or other grains. A portobello mushroom cap, zucchini, green beans, asparagus, and squash are also included here. Beans and lentils are an excellent source of protein, and they keep you feeling full for longer.

During the summer of 2011, I was facing serious health problems along with numerous possible surgeries. A dear friend suggested I read the book "Eat to Live" by Dr. Joel Fuhrman. By changing my food choices and taking a few walks every week, those health problems have been reversed, and I have lost more than forty pounds.  

After reading my Power Porridge breakfast recipe, many of you have asked, "What do you eat for the rest of the day?" I have a combination of the pictured salad and vegetables for a late lunch every day with an occasional glass of wine. Water, almond milk, green tea, and wine are my only beverages. I rarely eat dinner, but I try to choose an entree close to this salad and vegetable plate when I do. By adding a variety of vegetables in season, you will always be able to enjoy an evolving selection of flavors and textures to add to your salads.

I like to create a full of flavor veggie stir-fry to serve as the base for my soups and salads. Start by adding some chopped sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil and rosemary to a thick-bottomed sauté pan. Add chopped onions and mushrooms on medium-high heat until the onions start to get tender, add whatever chopped vegetables you want, and turn down the heat to medium. Add chopped garlic near the end of the cooking time to keep it from becoming bitter. The combination can be used as a seasoning base for cooking vegetables or making soup. I use some unsalted vegetable stock instead of oils to keep stir-fry from sticking. When the sautéed items are tender, I spread them on a beautiful plate to cool while cutting up the fresh vegetables such as cucumber, tomato, celery, and sweet red pepper. I use organic baby greens, triple washed, and layer them over the cooled sauté. I top the salad with the fresh chopped veggies.  

Notice that I do not use any dressing, cheese, bread, croutons, or crackers. I add a little aged balsamic vinegar and good olive oil.

Below: those are cannellini beans and hemp hearts with sunflower seeds atop lightly steamed fresh organic broccoli, frozen organic peas, organic red pepper, sliced avocado, and cherry tomatoes, all on a bed of organic baby lettuces. I have some variation of this type of meal almost every summer afternoon.

For me, being healthy means eating this way 95% of the time. If I am a guest in a friend's home where they serve chicken, I enjoy it along with everyone else. At my next meal, I return to eating plant-based, non-processed factory packaged foods.

Date Night Success!

Last night was date night. I tried on about four different looks before I settled upon this one. On those occasions when all the elements of an outfit come together as they should, it is a time to celebrate.

The jacket has the same charcoal gray background as the pants, which have the same tweed like texture. The burgundy scarf picks up the burgundy tones that are woven into the fabric of the jacket. 

The jacket's small, simple collar is turned up, and the scarf is wound around underneath. I'm wearing a necklace of my own design with a long sleeve black tee underneath the jacket. Note that because I have a round face, I rarely ever wear a turtleneck. A V-neck top is my first choice when practical. 

A large portion of the successful look of this outfit is color. I have soft contrast cool coloring. The jacket's tailoring is effortless and cut close to the body with a zipper closure. It has small upturned cuffs. 

The black long-sleeved tee is from Chico's. The pants and the jacket are old from Coldwater Creek. The small leather evening bag is from Stein-Mart, and the simple black high heeled booties are from Nine West.

Thank you for reading! I hope that this post will help you put together a winning look of your own. 

Autopilot Dressing

Last evening we attended the Jonesborough Progressive Dinner, a wonderful holiday ritual for Mickey and me. The event occurs in the oldest town in Tennessee, which is only about eight miles from my home. 

We take a tour of several historic homes throughout the town and have one course of the meal at each home. There is live music, and the owners are there to tell us about the home's history and architecture. Along the route, one of the Historians is on board the bus to tell us about the building we are about to visit and its relation to the town's history.

Knowing that we would be going in and out of the weather and in various settings, I opted for layers that could be peeled off as necessary. 

During the small amount of time I had to get dressed for the event, not one but two dear friends phoned. Friends always take priority, so of course, I chatted with them while getting dressed, which means I had a total of three minutes to actually think about what I was wearing before Mickey arrived. This thrown together at the last minute look carried me through the evening, but it isn't a winner in my eyes. Let's talk about why.

A better look would have been to button the jacket most of the way up, with only the scarf's top fold showing at the neckline. The open jacket and flowing scarf add too much width to my torso, which doesn't balance with the fuller leg tailored pants. Autopilot dressing means I don't have the extra few minutes it takes to apply a critical eye to what I've put together. The upside is that I accomplished what I wanted to by wearing festive layers that could be removed as needed but remain appropriately dressed for the event. (Wearing red is about as close to a Christmas sweater as I will ever come.)

The pants are from Chico's and the red long sleeve tee is also. The jacket is from Geiger. The shoes are from Ros Hommerson. The scarf is something I picked up at Ross, and the evening bag is from T. J. Maxx.

Thank you for reading. I hope you have a great week!