Yes, Separate Beds Please
I'm choosing between two perfect VRBO homes for the family vacation. One has 6 bedrooms and is more pricey. The other one has 4 bedrooms and is a little bit les...
Joan Foley
New Neighbors This Memorial Day Weekend
“Do you think it will be a tear down?” I asked my husband, looking out our front window at the house across the street that now had a for sale sign in the yard....
Paris Tote Bags Are All The Rage
I follow Parisiens in Paris to get inspired by the pictures of women going about their day in casual style.
...
Traveling In My 60’s and Feeling Free
“I need an outfit for the plane,” the young mom said.
“Me too,” I excitedly blurted out. We were standing in the check out line waiting to be rung up.&...
Holiday FOMO at 60
f you think about it, the holiday season is 2 weeks more than a long vacation. There is never enough time to see and do everything that this time of the year has to offer. My younger self tried to live up to my own expectations of what Christmas should be, perfect gifts under the tree. I was absorbed in collecting, spending my time in malls rather than planning fun experiences, which led to terrible holiday FOMO.
This year I’m trying to be wiser. I told my family, “Give me your Wanderlust List. Things you would never buy yourself but would love to have for travel.” Theming the gift giving helped narrow down the length of my shopping, allowing me more time to check off items on my holiday FOMO priority list....
Five Reasons Why I Love This Organic Eminence Skin Care For Home And Travel
#1 No More Mystery Bottles While Traveling
The 8 hour flight is behind me, I’m off the tarmac, I’ve collected my suitcase, and all that’s lost is my ability to...
We Went To The Vigil In Highland Park
The
roll of Scottish drums began as we walked up to the vigil in Highland Park. The solem tune of Amazing Grace blew through the bagpipes as a member of the SWAT team stood right in front of us holding his rifle. His eyes scanned the crowd above our heads as
we stood there motionless listening to the speakers. Next to us stood a woman with an adorable gray dog with white paws. He started jumping up and down to get her attention. She told him to sit and he did, until a person walking through the crowd stopped
to pet him. A stranger who when finished, was no longer a stranger. The dog’s new friend continued through the crowd, moving closer to the stage....
Adulting with Your Kids Ending up at the Betty Ford Clinic for Bitchy Moms
“We need to talk,” my daughter’s text read. I’ll come over around 10:00 ok?”
This is more serious than I thought.
I mentally did a checklist of my bad beh...
Finding the perfect Mother of the Bride Dress
♪ ♪ ♪ Every picture tells a story don’t it? ♪ ♪ ♪
My daughter said, “Yes to the dress,” an emotional touchpoint in a mother’s life. If you’ve been there you ...
Body Shaming: I’m Not Going to Be That Mom Until I Was
I was shopping with my preteen daughter in LuLuLemon. I was tired and not in the best mood but she wanted to show me this jacket she liked, a trim fit, hot pink zip up. The saleslady stood outside the dressing room as she tried it on. She zipped it up and I immediately noticed her slight outward curve in the middle.
She doesn’t look perfect. What do I say to her?
“I think she needs a bigger size.” I told the saleslady.
“Can I come in?” she responded....
An Unusual Place to Cocktail
“What do you miss?” my husband asks me again, pulling the picnic basket out of the trunk.
“I miss the regular fundraiser,” I say out loud.
He comes back a...
Digitally Challenged After All These Years
I wish Safari could help me find everything on my phone. “Show me how to connect to WiFi again?” my younger self would ask my kids. “Here, I’ll do it,” they’d respond, taking the phone from my hand without showing me how, leading me to a bad pattern of helplessness. I now feel like a bird with clipped wings that cannot fly.
“You still don’t know how to do this Mom? Scroll down, no just scroll down, keep going,” my daughter says trying to help me find the right setting. Frustrated, I look up at her. “Did I stand behind you and say, ‘Just step, just start stepping,’ when you were learning how to walk?”...
Confessions of a Stress Eater
I am a stress eater and holiday time is my trigger. Without an eating plan the rabbit hole to pantry carbs grows larger as my list of things to do grows longer....
How a Pandemic Gave me Mid-life Purpose
In late March, I opened an email from BA50 with an invitation to sign up for a blog writing class. Curiosity and mid-life direction led me to the checkout cart before self-doubt or fear could find me. A week later, heart pounding, trembling fingers and help from my daughter logging onto my first Zoom meeting I watched the little blue circles spin around, waiting to be welcomed in to one of the best things I’ve ever done for myself....
Billy Joel’s Piano Man and The Glue That Holds Us Together
When I think about Thanksgiving’s of before I hear the haunting melody of the harmonica and imagine Billy Joel at the piano.
Son, can you play me a memory? I...
Uplift Your Wardrobe by Shopping Local Boutiques
Entering a women’s boutique in a trendy neighborhood is my idea of a candy store. Circling the square in Sante Fe, walking the red brick streets in Alexandria, ...
A Marital Journey to Unconditional Love, His Story through my Lens
The signs of anxiety didn’t appear all at once. At first, we stopped going to restaurants on Saturday night with white tablecloths. That was a trigger.
Alway...
Designing Specialty Cocktails: The Greg Allman Cocktail And Other Creative Drinks
I find the name of cocktails so intriguing. We created the The Greg Allman.
When Greg Allman died, we wanted to create a drink in his honor. Naturally, we started with peaches and bourbon. Listening to his bluesy voice sing Melissa in the backyard, we swirled the cocktail stick and nibbled the peaches, time stamping a summer evening with other boomers....
A Sweet Secret: The Generational Lie that Kept a Famous Chocolate Recipe Under Wraps
Truth be told, it took decades of lying for me to realize my fudge was really the best. For so long I felt guilty about the little secret I was keeping. Passing the recipe off as my own, was not really the truth. I said it was a secret family recipe. Lie!...
Joan Foley
Joannie enjoys lifting the nuances of everyday into special moments. She revels in home, entertaining, and loves sharing her recipes of wellness. Follow her journey at the-nourished-life.blog