A Sunny Sunday

Mickey and I often take a drive over the mountains to Asheville, North Carolina. It's only about an hour from my house but there's much to see and do there.

 

We walked around that corner behind me and into the artist-owned Mystic Masala Gallery where I found a great necklace.

 

Many of the buildings in Asheville have an Art Deco design. This is the Flatiron Building and in front of it is this sculpture of an iron...

 

  

I'm wearing the new necklace here. The pants are Peck & Peck from Stein Mart. The denim blazer is old from Dillard's. The red long sleeve tee is from Talbots. The red bag is by Tahari and the booties are by Madden Girl.

  

On almost every corner there is a street performer.

This lady sounded so much like Tracy Chapman. 

They were all really good!

The Early Girl Eatery on Wall Street was made famous when Rachel Ray did a segment of one of her shows here. We also had a great meal there today!

Your table is ready! (Mickey's piano keys scarf was the hit of the day. He got lots of compliments!)

We can never be this close to The Chocolate Fetish without stopping in for dessert.

 

 Awesome truffles to share!

New Hair Cut!

I was inspired by my sister's recent new hairstyle, so I visited her stylist this week. After a couple of years of having the same look, it's fun to change the lines a little. 

I have fine thinning, naturally wavy hair, which I stopped coloring after I turned fifty.

The stylist called this a modified wedge.

This is a wash and go look that was styled wet and gently lifted at the roots with my fingers as it dried naturally while I applied my makeup. If I move it too much as it dries, the result is frizz. I never have a lot of time to spend on such things, so my cut needs to be one that works with my hair's natural tendencies. 

I like this cut because it provides a bit of sculpting at the nape of the neck since I never want to add bulk there. The crown is lifted, and the bangs are messy but not puffy. Bangs can either flatter your face or make you look stuck in the 1980s. This cut also flatters my round face and draws the eye upward.   

Thank you for reading my blog and for all your kind comments. I hope you have blue skies this week.

Warm Weather in January!

It was seventy-five degrees here in the mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina yesterday!

Mickey and I took a drive over the beautiful mountains to Asheville, North Carolina, yesterday. It was much more like a Spring day.

He sat patiently waiting for me while I shopped for hours. Our afternoon included a late lunch 'restaurant hop' through Asheville.  We had an appetizer at Carmel's and then took a stroll down the street to have lunch outdoors at The Laughing Seed on Wall Street. After another stroll, we had divine chocolate truffles at The Chocolate Fetish. 

I had to go looking through my closet for something cool to wear that didn't look too summery. These great fitting side zip pants are from Talbots. (I bought five pairs of this style of pants on the same day!) The off white tank is from Ruby Rd. at Dillard's. The cardigan is old from Target. The large square silk(like) scarf is from Ross. The sunglasses, short boots, and bag are a few years old.

Thanks for reading! I hope you have a beautiful Sunday!

Animal Print Jacket

Life is finally getting back to normal after the holidays, immediately followed by all the issues associated with launching a new website for my company. I was so ready for this Friday date night!

This was such a busy day I didn't have time to do much more than touch up my makeup, change shoes and slip into this jacket. During the day, I wore black low wedge shoes and a purple three-quarter sleeve thin knit sweater.
 
The animal print jacket is made from a wonderful lightweight metallic material. I wore it with a white silky tee and a tribal-inspired necklace by Erica Lyons from Belk. The gray slacks are from Talbots. The evening bag is by Kenneth Cole Reaction. The shoes are BCBG. The large face watch is from Stein Mart. 

I hope you have a wonderful weekend. Thanks for reading!
 

Many Shades of Gray

The sky was many shades of gray today, and so was my attire.

 

When our temperatures dip into the teens, I would like nothing better than to sit by the fire and read for the evening. However, Mr. Mickey took me out to dinner, so we were on our way out the door when we snapped these photos.

Sweater from Coldwater Creek. Black long sleeve tee from Chico's. Pants from Talbots. Necklace by Erica Lyons from Belk. The shoes are from a couple of years ago from DSW. Evening purse from T.J. Maxx.

I hope you have a warm and cozy weekend! Thank you for reading.

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!