There is lots of conversation on the difficulties this year with supply and transportation for gifts for the Holiday Season. Thought I throw out a few suggestions!

FOR THE WOMEN…

The BEST gift to get for any woman on your list is a silk pillowcase. It is great for the hair and skin. This is one of my all time favorite gifts (thanks B&J). Check on Amazon.

For the women in your life keep it cozy! There are several items perfect for this. Look for sherpa lined slippers or for that matter sherpa lined anything! Muk Luks has some great sock sets on QVC. There is a set of 4 pair of aloe infused cabin socks. I can tell you that these are quite fabulous. I gifted them last year and I’m glad to see they available again. On QVC there is another set of socks called “12 days of Socks Advent Calendar”. It is a great gift for $24.97. Cozy too, can be a cashmere sweater. Isaac Mizrahi has a great 2 ply cashmere sweater on QVC.

Gifts of fragrance are always well received. Two bath and body lines I love are Philosophy and Perlier. The best sets for Philosophy can be found on QVC. Nordstrom has some nice sets too, but the assortments and values at QVC are the best. I like to layer fragrance for the best impact- shower gel, body cream and then a body spritz or Eau de Parfum or Eau de Toilette. Perlier is another great line and there are many items to select from at HSN. If you are looking for a very light perfume try the Aromatic Elixirs. I have tried Ginger and Orange Blossom and both are delicious, very light scents.

For handbag lovers Dooney and Bourke has some great sales going on. Go to IloveDooney.com

FOR THE MEN

Last year I gave the important men in my life a HALO BOLT that was a combo jump starter/charger/light. I was quite the hit. This year I’m looking at wireless charging pads. I am waiting for additional things to catch my eye.

FOR EVERYONE

FOOD FOOD FOOD WINE WINE WINE

In the food category there are, of course, the very familiar stand-bys. Omaha Steaks is offering all kinds of combination packages. Hickory Farms, as always, has some fabulous gift boxes and baskets.

I would also like to recommend Pappas Seafood Co. They offer Maryland’s Best Crabcakes. And they really are!! Not inexpensive but worth it. There is an item called “Bucket of Balls” (yes, that is what they call it) and it is 50 oz of crab mix to make crab cakes or crab balls. Take it from me, this is good!!

Another recommendation is from Perfect Gourmet (see QVC). They have a selection called Classic Potstickers and they are great.

For those with a sweet tooth try Mrs. Prindable’s apple assortments. QVC has a variety of assortments to order and you can give these chocolate apples to several people. It’s great for those who you want to remember with a small gift. They will really appreciate it.

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That brings us to WINE. A suggestion is a wine subscription with Bright Cellars. This gift of wine comes with a survey for the receiver to fill out to create a taste profile and then wines are matched to your taste. This is a great idea and it takes the guess work out of making a selection for someone if you are not sure of their taste.

Another place to order from is QVC, I have two assortments going right now and the wines have been really good. Look for Vintage Wine Estates. There is quite a selection of wines, vineyards and number of bottles per order. I just love having the wine delivered. Prices are really good.

Time to get moving on your Holiday shopping. I am really happy that I have already finished shopping for my Grands. Now I just have to focus on the rest of the clan. Enjoy.

Ready for Fall? Chances are you did not make a lot of purchases last fall, unless you are like me and felt an obligation to keep retail alive!!

This year if you made a purchase in one of the following categories you would be giving yourself something to talk about and it would not have to be a big investment. The important items to look for are: Vests, Sherpa and Plush anything, Sweaters and Blazers.

Vests: you can find lots of vests for a layering piece this year. You will see every form of sweater vest as well as outerwear vests which are being shown in lots of plush variations as well as sherpa or sherpa lined styles.

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Lots and lots of sweaters. Many oversized cardigans and pull-over styles. Cable stitching is a “must have”.

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And then there are Blazers. Last year many designers introduced Blazers in their mix, but since there was not a great deal of interest in new fashion last fall, this category did not get legs. This year, however, blazers are all over! Many of the styles are oversized and really do look fresh.

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Enjoy shopping for Fall Fashion 2021.

Vacation time 2021. There is not much that could be better than being invited to join Tom’s kids and our grandchildren for a beach vacation to Rhode Island. The shores of Rhode Island were discovered by Pat and Brittany a couple of years ago. This is the second family vacation there and I was invited to join them again this year. This year it was all 9 of us (3 grands) and the dog! The only thing that could make this better would be if Tom was still with us. I am sure he would be very happy to know how his family has embraced me.

Brittany found the house on Quonochontaug Pond. The “Pond” is a coastal lagoon in the towns of Westerly and Charlestown. It is one of nine such lagoons (often referred to as “salt ponds” in southern Rhode Island). The property was fabulous. Location, location, location! Our house was right on the pond and we had a dock where you could fish or launch a canoe (which were included in the rental). This was our “back yard”. Quite nice to have this be your morning view. My grandson was thrilled to be fishing and crabbing with his uncles and aunt and canoeing with his dad.

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We all love the beaches in the area and there are great family friendly restaurants right on the beach. We are partial to The Andrea which is a seaside restaurant and Beach Bar located directly on Misquamicut Beach. Great during the day and very picturesque at sundown.

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There are so many things to do during the day too. A favorite place for me is Watch Hill. Watch Hill offers a lighthouse and the oldest continually operating merry-go-round in the country. Here you will find “the Flying Horses”. And, I might throw in, absolutely fabulous shops and the most wonderful sandwich and ice cream shop (St Clair Annex). Fantastic cappuccino and delicious pastries/muffins can be found at Sift Bake Shop.

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One day I met a friend, Janet, from high school. She lives not too far from Westerly. How great is that?? She took me to the Coast Guard House in Narraganset for lunch. We spent several hours talking and walked out to see the rock pier where people go out on the rocks and build rock cairns. Buddhists writers say its a way to ask for good fortune or an effort to balance energies. That is for sure! The photo on the right is my rock cairn that I built at the beach with rocks my grandson was collecting for me. When I balanced them he asked if I was “magical” since I could do that! I hope he will always think that I’m “magical”

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We went to take a look at “downtown Westerly” one day and it was fun. Wilcox Park is beautiful and there are lots of antique shops and a great vintage gift shop. The owner of Westerly Gifts, Erika Theilig, had quite an assortment of irresistible things to buy. She makes soy candles in a wide variety of scents. She also carries an assortment of Retro and Modern Toys, Candy and Sodas. She had some very original art pieces by Liisa Lang. One came home with me.

But the “Find” of the trip was the public display of the Bricks & Murals project. This project was born in 2016 and came to life in 2017. This was a large revitalization of the downtown area. The painting was done by The Walldogs who are international sign painters and muralists. This project is also amazing because it is 2 states (Rhode Island and Connecticut), 2 towns (Westerly and Pawcatuck), 1 Downtown. The murals are the history of the 2 towns. Tom & Denise and I undertook an ambitious plan to photograph the murals. My daughter-in-law shares my passion for photography. We had time and energy to complete half of the “crawl” and Tom & Denise stopped back the next day on their way home and got the rest. Photo credit for the last 9 murals goes to Denise.

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This was so much fun. Denise and I decided if we lived here we would do a “mural crawl” for tourists with stops at bars, wine bars and foodie places intermittently so that your physical energy would match your enthusiasm for learning about the towns through the murals. All in all it was a great trip and we made it home before Hurricane Henri made landfall in Westerly the day after we left.

Nothing like a family vacation.

“What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?” (Vincent Van Gogh)

This week I had tickets for Immersive Van Gogh. What a great experience. What is a bit weird is that there are two “immersive” Van Gogh exhibits this summer in NYC. I have yet to see anything written on why there are two going on this summer like two dueling banjos, one on the west side on Vesey (Van Gogh Exhibition: The Immersive Experience) and the other on the east side at Pier 36 at the South Street Seaport (Immersive Van Gogh). I don’t really care why there are two I’m just glad I got to see one.

My friend Carla and I went to Immersive Van Gogh. This 70,000 square feet on Pier 36 was transformed into a magical display of Van Gogh’s masterpieces. Set designer David Korins used his creativity to incorporate interior design and high tech activation to create this amazing exhibit. Van Gogh’s masterpieces become a digital film projected onto massive walls and set to classical music.. The projections fall on the walls, the floor, mirrored surfaces and all of the spectators which brings you into the magnificent art.

Most people know Van Gogh as a Dutch post-impressionist painter who cut his ear off in a rage. What you may not know is that he took his own life at age 37. It was after his death that he became one of the most famous artists in the history of western art. He suffered from psychotic episodes and delusions. In 10 years he created about 2100 art works including 860 oil paintings. He is known for dramatic color and bold brush work to express himself. He had a special form of synesthesia known as chromesthesia which allowed him to hear and see color. It was so wonderful to experience the masterpieces he created. You feel like you are right in Starry Night. You feel like you are at Cafe Terrace at Night. You feel like you are among the Sunflowers and Irises. And then of course there are his larger than life portraits and self-portraits and many more wonderful works of art to immerse yourself in and let your imagination soar.

It makes me feel bad that he was so unhappy, depressed and delusional and could not appreciate what he made for the world to enjoy.

Another noteworthy quote from him is “There is peace even in the storm” . I read that his last words were “The sadness will last forever”. Too bad he never knew how his work would be appreciated and last through the ages.

Here are some highlights from the exhibit.

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A highlight of the year for me is always the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale at the end of July. I am a good shopper so I get to preview the sale which officially begins today, 7/28. I always meet girlfriends for lunch at Nordstrom and then cover the store. This year I was happy meeting my friend Laura and our friend Eileen who was here visiting from Florida. After a loooong lunch we were ready to look at the top two departments we wanted to see which are accessories and shoes. One of my favorite pieces for wardrobe building is a coverup AKA open front cardigan, duster, cascade cardigan, ruana, poncho. The different looks have many names and they transform what would otherwise be a mundane outfit into something stylish that makes you look like you cared about what you were putting together.

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Nordstrom is known for is extensive shoe department and it is always pumped up for the Anniversary Sale. Some highlights are: Caslon Boots-$99.95 on sale for $59.90, Mark Fisher Boots $189 on sale for $99.90, Vince Camuto knee high boots $240 on sale for $149.90. Ugg also goes on sale: Ugg Sneaker boot $130 on sale for $89.90, Ugg Ankle boot $150 on sale for $99.90. Check in store and on line for more!

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There is inventory on Wear-Now items which did look fresh. Still lots of tie dye. And lots of active wear for the gym to the street.

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Early shots of Sherpa and Puff jackets on the floor too.

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All in all, it was a very good day. As the weather starts to cool I’ll be back out to look around and I’ll share what’s going on.

In the meantime, there is still lots of time to be at the beach and poolside. Enjoy.

When I was a kid and complained about being hot my mother would say “think cool thoughts”. What better way to cool yourself off than to think about Fall?

Fall 2021/Winter 2022 colors have been out for several months. Since I am no longer concerned with planning a line for our customers, I figured I could wait to talk about fall colors when retailors start to feature fall items.

Color will be used in uplifting ways. Everyone is still into the comfort zone for their clothing but at the same time are looking for colors to be bold. Pantone vice president Laurie Pressman sees the colors as follows. Pinks have been very big for spring/summer and will continue. True Red will dominate as a power color. There will be calm as well as energized yellows. Orange is described as “sweet and sour” and “soft and sharp”. It is a single color or as an accent to red and brown as well as pastels. Browns are “wood-inspired” and warm. Universal favorites are blues and greens. The greens “step away from natural vegetation and into a more mysterious realm pulled from under the sea”. Purples- “complex purples enhance Pantone’s mythology-based theme”.

Here are the colors for Fall 2021/Winter 2022. Experiment with color and try some monochromatic looks or mix up some bold colors.

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LIFE.

You need LUCK.

You need LOVE.

If you are lucky, you FIND LOVE.

And then, your LOVE is GONE.

You experience the LOSS.

And you have CRIED.

You have PAIN.

You HURT.

You are LOST.

You need to PRAY.

You need to FEAR less.

You need to FIND your way again.

You need to PLAN.

You need to get your MOJO back.

You need to figure out what’s NEXT.

All of this can happen and work out if you have HOPE.

You must believe that so that you can once again LIVE your BEST LIFE.

To LIVE your BEST LIFE you must have HOPE.