A Family Gathering

For a very casual gathering of extended family, I wore jeans and a long-sleeve tee.

The tee, jeans, and necklace are all from Chico's. The boiled wool jacket is from Appleseed's. 

The Coach bag was purchased at their outlet store in Blowing Rock, North Carolina, last summer. The shoes are from Macy's, and they are worn with beige Hanes pantyhose from Target.

The gathering was hosted by my beautiful cousin Rhonda in her fabulous new home by the lake. My mother and I enjoyed watching the gulls and blue herons and geese from the huge windows that offer a panoramic view of the lake. 

Mickey and I had to stop on the road leading away from their home to wait for about forty whitetail deer of all ages and sizes to pass in front of and around us. I was thrilled to be part of that surreal scene.

I hope your new year is filled with happiness and great style.

Rain in Abingdon

That's Rain the restaurant, not the weather. Last evening we had dinner with my sister and her husband at a wonderful restaurant in Abingdon, Virginia. 

 We had temperatures in the seventies today!

I was captivated by this view along the way, so Mr. Mickey stopped so that I could snap a picture for you.

I wore a Ming Wang jacket with black crepe pants and a black tank from Chico's. The shoes and bag are old.

Santa Makes His Rounds

Santa Mickey completed all of his "performances" during the past few days.

Last evening we first visited the beautiful home of our dear friends and neighbors, Don and Millie.

Then on to our next stop...

Our favorite Sunday afternoon hangout is Carrabba's in Johnson City, so we stopped in for a quick visit with the very busy Proprietor, Colin Baker. 

These children will never forget the night Santa came to their table at Carrabba's. They were so thrilled!

Then back to Mr. Mickey's home for a few shots of my outfit for an evening as Mrs. Claus. I wore a red wool jacket and long sleeve tee from Talbots last year with old straight leg black pants from Stein Mart and old Madden Girl short boots from Belk.

The beautiful bracelet was a gift from my sweet friend, Millie.

Behind me is Mr. Mickey's study area. All those trophies and medals are from winning tennis tournaments and competing as an Army Sharpshooter.

Our last stop of several this evening was with our sweet friends at our favorite restaurant in town, Gourmet and Company. We are pictured with proud new Papa, Chef Jacob Berry.

Mr. Mickey and I hope that your Christmas is filled with joy.

Christmas Symphony

One of the highlights of the season for us is attending the Johnson City Symphony Christmas concert.

Having dinner at our favorite restaurant, Gourmet and Company, before the concert is also a tradition we enjoy. Mr. Mickey loves bread pudding above all other desserts. This one is apple cinnamon with blueberries and French vanilla bean ice cream.

The marble staircase at the Seeger Chapel is splendid. The Chapel was beautifully decorated with greenery, poinsettias, and tiny white lights. It was such fun to visit with friends and singing carols during the audience participation segment.

I am wearing a Chico's jeweled sweater with Chico's Travelers pants over black pantyhose with a mink vest that was a Christmas gift from Mr. Mickey a few years ago.

The black and white sweater has jet beads and stones. I chose a hematite colored metal to complement the beading. The color is repeated in the earrings, the buckles on the high heels, and the clutch bag's beading. Except for the sweater and hose, all of my outfit elements are several years old.

I hope your holiday season is filled with friends, family, and laughter.

Garden Club Luncheon

I was honored to be once again invited by my sweet friend, Rose Sorrell, to attend her annual Garden Club luncheon today.

The Hill and Dale Garden Club of Bristol TN/VA.

There were lots of garden-themed items up for auction.

Christmas Carols were played for our enjoyment.

The tree was beautifully trimmed. 

Colorful delightful centerpieces were at each table.

Yummy dessert!

Friends Rose Sorrell, Sandy McGlothlin, Susan Street, and Shirley Carrier saying goodbye at the end of a fun afternoon.

I hope all your gatherings are filled with joy this season.

Annual Progressive Dinner

Our holiday season always begins with the annual Progressive Dinner in Jonesborough, Tennessee's oldest town.

Temperatures dipped into the twenties last evening, so I wore red and black layers, knowing that we would be spending a bit of time outside as we visited each house on the tour.

The tour begins at the Chester Inn Museum.

At each stop along the guided bus tour, there is live music, one course of the meal, and a self-guided tour of each historic home.

This reclaimed barn wood table in a foyer was a work of art.

Old houses often have original hardware that proves hazardous for my high heels, such as this grate with huge holes. I experienced free-falling for a moment in this 1920's house before I realized where I was standing!

The main course was served at Jonesborough’s new McKinney Cultural Arts Center at the historic Booker T. Washington School.

The highlight of the evening is always singing along with The Jonesborough Novelty Band.

A train traveled under this tree!

I am wearing a Geiger boiled wool jacket, a Talbot's long sleeve tee, a necklace from Coldwater Creek, a red scarf, and black wide-leg pants from Stein Mart, with black short boots from Belk. All the items are a couple of years old... (the beauty of basics!)

Rocker Regina

We had a long discussion on Facebook this week about skinny jeans, age, and size-appropriate attire. Today I want to show you Mr. Mickey's beautiful daughter Regina. She completely slays the myth that women of a certain age or size should not be trendy or dress in black.

Regina is true to her self-image in that she always wears what fits her unique rocker/goth/vintage-cool vibe. She can easily wear looks that would make me feel completely silly no matter how hard I try. 

At forty-seven, she projects the image of confident and well aware of trends and makes them work well for her size sixteen frame. 

As I often do on Fridays, I took my staff out to lunch. While we were in the restaurant, I watched people of all ages and life situations interact with Regina. She is so much like her father that she has a timeless, ageless personality and style that anyone can easily approach and talk with. Those conversations always seem to end with laughter.

Thank you, Regina, for allowing me to show your unique style to the followers of Fifty, not Frumpy!

She is the new owner of VintageJewelrySupplies.com.

Mr. Mickey's Place

Some of you asked for a peek into Mr. Mickey's new home.

Last evening we attended our neighborhood pot luck Christmas dinner at our clubhouse, so we snapped a few pictures in his foyer before leaving.

The sculptures on the wall behind me are by J. Cotter.

Not many bachelor pads have a crystal chandelier. This one has hung in several of Mr. Mickey's dining rooms over the years.

There are so many pieces of special art, he has not yet found a place for many of them, but he is still working on it. The bust behind me to the left is a sculpture of Mickey done many years ago. The artist now lives at the end of the block. Small world indeed!

It was 75 degrees here last evening, so I was actually sorry I wore the sweater. The necklace, sweater, and tank are from Chico's last year. The gray slacks were from Stein Mart last year. The Vince Camuto flats are from Nordstrom.

Eight years ago, Mr. Mickey and I met at a Christmas party in our old neighborhood. It was the party that changed my life.

For that first party, I took bacon-wrapped chestnuts, which I almost burned. I had second thoughts about even going to the party after that! For this party, I took something much more simple, southern cornbread and roasted Brussels sprouts. Mr. Mickey made his world-famous deviled eggs, of which none were left. 

No Shave November Event

Last evening Mr. Mickey and I attended a No Shave November cocktail party to raise money for the American Cancer Society. 

The silver sweater, long sleeve tee, and necklace are from Chico's. The black pants are old from Stein Mart. The shoes are old by Anne Klein.

The invitation read, "Come as your favorite bearded celebrity."  Mr. Mickey is representing his favorite bearded celebrity.

Some of the fun costumes included a mullet-wearing NASCAR race fan and the crazy gynecologist, as well as one of the fellows from Duck Dynasty. Thank you to the Blackthorn Club staff, who also contributed and participated in the bearded Celebrity contest.

Santa is sad that he lost the contest for best costume to Dr. Seymour Bush, the crazy Gynecologist.

Our club has several of these beautiful fireplaces. I was happy to stand by this one for a while.

It was great to see my sweet friend Nita again. She and her husband (The crazy gynecologist) had just returned from Colorado a few hours earlier to attend the event. We always have so much fun visiting with them.

The Calvin Klein coat was from Dillard's.

“No-Shave November” and “Movember” are concepts created to bring awareness to cancer concerns in men, such as testicular and prostate cancer.  The “general premise” of each of these programs is to grow facial hair throughout November. Some choose to grow just a mustache, some choose to grow a well-trimmed beard and mustache, and some choose not to shave their faces at all. Regardless of the method that each individual chooses, the purpose is the same – To bring and raise awareness to cancer in general and in particular to bring and raise specific awareness to prostate and testicular cancer.