I Really Did Think I Was Alone I thought most of my contemporaries were kicking back their feet     Leisurely going through their days     Taking an exercise class      Traveling to Spain     Lunching with the girls     Playing a little pickleball     Doing something totally frivolous at whim And here I was    Continue reading

It’s located in a very pleasant, but generic, office park off a major highway. That’s about the only ordinary thing I can say about this storefront named Loft 181. Because Loft 181 is NOT ordinary. Billed as a “boutique-style” shop, Loft 181 caters to a very unique segment of the population: girls in foster care and girls and women Continue reading

I have three friends who couldn’t be more different. One is a retired teacher who spends hours each week gardening. Another is a very savvy business woman who works in commercial real estate and intermittently goes into her back yard. And the other is a younger woman who between biking, hiking and dancing, works full Continue reading

It’s going to be the Perfect Sunday Morning. And you are invited… Kendra Scott Jewelry and Jackie Walker’s Wisdomand an opportunity to donate to an amazing non-profit, Loft181 https://drofclosetology.splashthat.com/ KENDRA SCOTT JEWELRY If you like necklaces, charms, chains, rings and bracelets, chances are you have heard of Kendra Scott Jewelry.Whether you are into hoops and rings Continue reading

I always miss the obvious – a fact that my sister gleefully and frequently points out. And she is 100 % right. This week I worked on a lovely column about the power of cultivating and caring for plants and how this nurturing of nature raises our spirits, instills resiliency and helps maintain our sound mental health. Intermittently, I Continue reading

For those of you who read my column regularly, you will know I just got back from spending seven days in Italy. My bank of miles allowed me to travel free to Europe in Premium Economy. (You get “special amenities” and your seat is right behind First Class or Business). I paid for my trip back Continue reading

“What???” most people said when I told them I was going to Italy in three weeks with seven women I didn’t know. “Is this another one of your impulsive actions that could end in disaster?” “Yeah, kinda,” I answered uncertainly. “But it could also be amazing, you know.” AND IT WAS! Strange at times, but invigorating Disorienting at Continue reading

Busy in Tuscany “smelling the Iris’s”. Drinking lots of red wine and eating gelato every single day. That’s it for now. Keep Preserving Your Bloom, Iris Ruth Pastor 

Literally, as you read this, I will be in the process of boarding a plane – a big plane in New York City at JFK – for a six-hour flight to Paris, then a two-hour layover at CharlesDE Gaulle airport and then on to Florence, Italy. Never having been before, I asked a lot of Continue reading

I hated my mother, especially when I was 13 and she adamantly refused to allow me to shave my hairy legs.  I hated my mother even more when she restricted the numbers of sleepovers I could attend per month – fearing I would get “dissipated.” My friends thought that was hysterical. In 5th grade, I Continue reading