Elegant Lifestyle Archives · Page 3 of 4

Living in the Pink

April 23, 2018

When I left home about three years ago it was important to me that my little one-room loft apartment feel like home to my adult children. I knew that while their father still lived in our marital home it would not have the same homey feel: I took that with me. Fast forward three years and I am now ready to move on to a real condo with actual bedrooms! Yippee! And since the condo is much bigger than my current postage stamp of an apartment, I do get to buy a couple of new pieces of furniture. One piece will be a crib for my crib: my son and daughter-in-law are having a baby boy in October so the timing of my move couldn’t be more perfect. I will have plenty of room for my new little lovey.

I am looking forward to changing up my style a little as well. Since I am the only one who will be living there, I can do whatever I want (one of the perks of living alone). I saw this pink sofa at the Women in Digital Headquarters outside Columbus and fell in love. So I tracked it down and I can’t wait to order it for my new fancy living room. I have never really had a space where the only person who mattered was me, and I am having a blast just thinking about coming home and sitting down on my girlie pink sofa. I might even get some maribou high heeled mules and drink champagne around the house because that is how I roll.

The pink sofa is from Ikea, so it is affordable for this girl on a budget. I ordered a rug to go with it so there is no turning back now. I couldn’t be more excited and I will keep you posted every step of the way.

Are You Stuck?

February 19, 2018

The title here says it all: are you stuck? If you are, it is time to get unstuck. Nothing ages a woman, in my opinion, more than being stuck in a rut, no matter what part of her life we are talking about. And we all do it. We all get caught in the trap of not staying current, whether it is with pop culture or our home’s decor or movies or the way we wear our hair and our clothes. We all do it. I do it. But it is time to change that. How often do you walk into a friend’s home and think, “Wow, this place hasn’t been updated since the before Y2K (If you don’t know what that is, then this article is not for you!). Or when was the last time you put on an old sweater and had to decide whether to leave the shoulder pads in or take them out (the answer is out, by the way, if you were old enough to wear them the last time they were in)? For me, I have been noticing a tendency to hold on to way too many things that I have had since I got married in 1985, and they really don’t hold much sentimental value for me any longer since marriage is not my current status.

Am I Trying Too Hard?

I know what you’re thinking: “I don’t want to look like I am trying too hard to stay young. I am not fooling anyone about my age.” It is not about trying to pass for an age that came and went a long time ago. It is about remaining current, not living in the past. Staying interested in what is happening in the world around you and finding ways to bring today into your life makes a difference in how others see you and in how you feel about yourself.

My children are 26 to 31, and, I like some of their favorite music and TV shows. Not all, but some. We like the same current movies, not all, but some. It gives us something to talk about when awards shows come around. It’s fun to go to a concert with them once in a while. I love it and it connects me to them. It makes me feel like I am part of this world, not on the tail end of life.

My daughter-in-law always asks me if I follow certain interior designers on Instagram, so I look them up and follow them and guess what, I am starting to feel like I need to make some changes in my apartment. It needs to be refreshed and that doesn’t have to do with spending a lot of money. It has to do with maybe changing out a rug and adding a little brightness. Nothing earth-shattering, just a little spruce up that makes me feel like I am not living in Grannie’s house.

And, as for fashion, I am very stuck there: I wear black almost always! Sometimes I go wild and wear gray, or beige, or beige-ish-gray. That probably won’t change. But, I can definitely buy a couple of pairs of shoes and a handbag or coat every season that updates the look. And how do I know if it is working? When my daughter asks me if she can borrow my shoes! Bingo!

Aging Isn’t for Wimps

Listen, aging isn’t for wimps, we all know that. But I really believe that sometimes as an aging woman we can feel left out, or left behind, or unimportant. We are not unimportant, but we have to let others know that. We need to stay informed and relevant and current. So, now I ask you again, are you stuck? And if you are stuck what are you going to do about it? How can you make some small changes to stay current?

Make Your Bed!

May 17, 2017

Make your bed? Why? Well here’s why: for a while, I stopped making my bed. Why bother? And, I would leave the dishes in the dishwasher, washed, and just used them straight from there. Laundry, why fold it and put it away when I can just pull it right out of the dryer and put it on? I was turning into a lazy, who cares, frat boy, apartment dweller.

So what has changed? Nothing really, but now I know that those little things matter. They actually matter to my mood and energy from the beginning to the end of my day. Think about how it feels to get into a bed that has been made vs. how it feels to get into a bed where the pillows are already squished and you have to look for the top sheet hidden under the covers at the bottom of the bed. The reason we put our clothes away from the dryer is because they are now folded and neater and not as wrinkled. And, we put our clean dishes away because we need a place to put our dirty dishes, right?

I learned that the best part of keeping things orderly, even if no one else is around is that it’s not for other people to judge, it is for my enjoyment, my contentment, my mood. As I open the door to enter, I am not hit in the face with messiness and laundry that needs to be put away and dishes that are still in the sink or dishwasher. It is perfect just for me.

I also noticed that even though I love lots of scented candles, and I wasn’t burning them often because no one else is there to enjoy them. Well, guess what sister, now I burn them all the time because I like them and I like the way they smell. And, I have removed the plastic from the sofas (just kidding about that).

I liken it to the question, “Who do you dress for, men or women?” “Who do you keep your surroundings for, company or yourself?”

I am not a neat freak by a long shot but I have found that when I keep my place orderly, even if no one else sees it, I see it and it makes me happy.

So, whether or not you are starting over, the next time you awake in the morning, make your bed!

Beat the Winter Blues with Flowers

January 25, 2017

The Winter Blahs seem to set in about this time every year. It isn’t even February and we are already counting the days until the warm temperatures return. My best tip for beating those winter blues is with flowers in your home or office. They don’t have to be expensive flowers. Grocery store flowers are just fine. But make them colorful. And you can add more greenery to them to make a small bunch seem fuller.

I have two tricks up my sleeve for making flowers look great at home. You can’t just unwrap them from the store and stick them in a jar. I think they always look fuller when you cut them to fit the container better. By cutting a few inches off the stems the flowers stay close together in their container and look fuller. Not spread out. And, I always use a container that looks a little too small for a number of flowers I have. Nothing looks sadder than a small bunch of flowers in a too-big container, just sticking way out one at a time. Just take a look at the flowers here. They are held tightly together by the paper which makes them look full.Make sure you give them a trim at the bottom every day so they have the chance to drink up more water.

Make sure you give them a trim at the bottom every day so they have the chance to drink up more water. You will see how much water they can take in because you will have to refill the container often. Enjoy.

If you really want to stretch your flower dollars further, use several tiny vases. You can even put just one bloom in each, on the dinner table or buffet, to make a low “line” of buds. Color without breaking the bank!

Keep Warm Wipes and Lotion

January 10, 2017

Here’s a way to keep warm wipes and lotion on hand in the winter. I use a combination of face wipes and cold cream in the winter to take off my makeup. Yes, cold cream. My after-sixty skin is so dry and nothing beats cold cream in the winter when my face feels like it will just crack off. But, the wipes were always so cold and I would dread touching my face with them. So, I got a baby wipes warmer. Problem solved. Why should babies be the only ones to enjoy warm wipes?

Then I had an idea. My body cream in the morning is too cold to put on, so I hardly ever use it in the winter, even though I love the smell and the way it makes my skin feel. So, I set it on top of the wipes warmer. Nothing gets hot, just enough warmth to take the edge off. OK, so, if the body lotion on top of the warmer was a hit, why not put the cold cream on top as well. So, I did.

I remember hearing Joan Rivers once say that she threw her body lotion tube into the bathwater when she was bathing and it was nice and warm when she put it on, so maybe that was in the back of my mind when I tried my “cleansing station”. I also pretend that the wipes warmer is smiling at me when I walk in and I say hello to it (doesn’t it look like it is smiling in the photo. And isn’t it pitiful that I say hello to it?

Give this a try. The warmer was about $17 from Target, but you can get them anywhere. I even use the wipes to clean up my bathroom counter quickly in the morning and I don’t have the shock of a cold cloth in my hand. It makes a big difference.

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