We are supposed to be getting a break from the heat next week. This could be perfectly timed with the arrival of the September issue of Vogue! This is one of my favorite moments of the year! This is not only because I love the cooler weather and clothes for the autumnal season. I love it because it brings back so many memories of waiting for Seventeen Magazine to publish the Back-to-School edition. When it arrived, my friends and I would sit at the pool and check out the fashions for the upcoming season. It may sound shallow, but it sure did make me happy! I did not realize back then that I would actually end up with a career in fashion. Now that I am retired, I still get that same thrill when the season is changing.
Fashion sources are talking about how to turn your closet around for a new season. I read a few recommendations from Marie Claire and Glamour. In color, start to bring in brown. Chocolate Brown is the trending shade. This will be your biggest fall friendly neutral. Add chocolate to your elevated basics, suit separates and dresses. Trade in linen for suede. Suede is always RICH! Retire white skirts and bring in lace trim pieces. Victorian Romance looks will be leading fall trends. Think satin skirts with lace trim. Remember when we all wore lacey slips UNDER our dresses and skirts? Now versions of that ARE the skirt! Wrap skirts are also trending. Glamour says Boho looks will be everywhere. There will be loose floral dresses, billowing lace tops, slouchy boots. Billowy dresses can be styled over jeans. Throw on a vest, add a rich plaid, add touches of embroidery and fringe details. Silk bandanas can complete a look. Glamour recommends shopping the look at Free People. Look around. You can pull out looks that are appropriate for your age and body type. In footwear as the temperatures drop, replace flip flops with peep toe shoes. Kitten heels and shaped heels are showing up all over as well as ballet flats and of course slouchy boots. In jewelry bring on Bangle bracelets. Mix, match and stack. You will see bangles placed over sweater cuffs. Resin bracelets and Lucite styles will be popular.
Here is a peek at Bloomingdale’s. So much more to come as the season unfolds. Have fun!
My latest European adventure was a Viking cruise on the Elbe River. I had never had a lot of interest in river cruises. My friend had booked this cruise, and it sounded interesting to me, so I booked it too. What appealed to me most was that it started in Prague with two nights in a hotel and ended in Berlin with two nights in a hotel there. I had been in Prague in December for the Christmas markets and liked the idea of crossing the Charles Bridge in a tee shirt rather than a down coat! Prague has jumped up on my list of favorite cities. We were booked at the Marriot Hotel which is a beautiful hotel, and the location was super. What also intrigued me with this trip was seeing Berlin, which was a city on my bucket list, and it was two-night hotel stay.
In-between the hotel stays in Prague and Berlin, we would be cruising the Elbe River and making stops in some beautiful German cities. Sounds good right? It would have been had Mother Nature cooperated. It had been a winter without snow in parts of Germany and the snow from the mountains feeds the river. There also has been very little rain. When we got to Prague, I found out that it was official, there was not enough water to cruise. Well, what exactly would we be doing? Since there was nothing I could do about this I decided to enjoy Prague as planned and worry about the rest later. And I sure did enjoy Prague!! One should be careful what you wish for. I wanted to “cross the Charles bridge in shirt sleeves”…well, there was record breaking temperatures while I was there. One day I noodled around the city on my own. I was on a mission to find a sunflower door that a friend had brought to my attention on a Prague blog. I checked on the internet and found an address for where this door was and one morning I set out to find it. I love to photograph doors and I wanted my own photograph of this one. It was a bit of a walk, but it was worth it. Along the way I found other doors to photograph too. You can see other door photos in my Blog “Doors of Prague” (July 2025). I did wander around the Charles Bridge taking photos and stopping at the local artist’s stands to look at paintings and handmade crafts. I bought a lovely painting. A great tour one evening was Prague at night. It took us to Letna Hill and the Strahov Monastery for spectacular views of the city. We also saw the Lennon Wall which I had not seen on my first visit to this city.
The first photo is The SunFlower Gate. The next set of photos is The Charles Bridge
Letna Hill
Lennon Wall
My friend had searched the internet for restaurants, and she found two terrific places. One was La Republica (excellent traditional Czech restaurant with a beautiful bar). The other one was La Boca (Spanish and Argentinian tapas!). Both were excellent choices!
After 2 nights in Prague it was time to move on to what was supposed to be a cruise. We were taken to a ship parked on the Elbe. They said we would be bused to most of the places that were on the itinerary. First we were bused to Decin where we spent 2 nights on this first “Houseboat”(my term since we were not going to be cruising) and then we spent 3 nights further along the river in Wittenberg on another boat.
From the first boat location we were bused to Bad Schandau where we went to the national park which was gorgeous.
The next day we bused to Dresden and saw the Zwinger Palace. we toured the museum and saw the Dresden Green Diamond which is a 41-carat natural green diamond which originated in the mines of India. We had lunch at a fun restaurant, Sophienkeller.
It was a beautiful day for clouds in Dresden!
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From here we were bused along the river to Wittenberg. Another beautiful city with close ties to Martin Luther. The Lutherhaus is now a museum. You can see here the door where his 95 Theses was “nailed”.
We disembarked the Viking Astrild after 2 days in Wittenberg. We boarded the bus and went to Potsdam where we toured the Cecilienhof Palace which is where the Potsdam Conference of 1945 was held. This didn’t look like a Palace to me. It was more like a lovely Tudor style home that you can find in New Jersey! From here we went on to the Sanssouci Palace which was built by King Frederick the Great as his summer palace. The name in French means “without a care”. He wanted this palace to be strictly for enjoyment!
The first 6 photos are from the Cecilienhof Palace
Sanssouci Palace
We boarded the bus again to head to Berlin. First stop was to walk across the “Bridge of Spies”. This bridge, Glienickie Bridge was the exchange point for spies during the Cold War.
From here we headed into Berlin
We arrived at the beautiful Radisson hotel. My room had great views! Temperatures continued to soar in Berlin. Thank goodness for air conditioning!
I figured a “must do” in Germany would be a beer tasting. The first night in Berlin I went to a beer tasting at the Lemke brewery. The first two were good, the 3rd and 4th tasted like gym socks!!
The next morning was a great tour of Berlin. We went to Checkpoint Charlie and Brandenburg Gate. We saw the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. This memorial was designed by an American architect Peter Eisenman and Buro Happold. There are 2,711 concrete slabs arranged in a grid pattern. It is very moving.
Next was the East Gallery. This is a section of the original Berlin Wall where there are 106 murals painted by international artists. It is AMAZING!
This was a sunset on the Spree River on my last night in Berlin.
All in all it was a very good trip. Aside from the fact that it became a tour by bus it turned out OK. When given lemons you have to make lemonade!! Viking bent over backwards to make this an enjoyable trip and they are giving voucher compensation for the disappointment of no cruise. Since having this experience, I have heard from others that there can regularly be river water problems-either too much water or as in this case, not enough water. So, there are accommodations that have to be made. The sights were beautiful, the hotels were wonderful, the “houseboat” was fine, the crew and Viking employees were fabulous, and I met some really terrific people! In fact, I have already seen one couple when I was in the south visiting friends last week! Always great to make new friends!
Take a look at three other blogs I wrote for this trip- Street Fashion in Prague and Berlin, Doors of Prague, and Doors and Portals in Germany.
I think the most exciting portal was in Berlin. The East-Side-Park Gallery is something one should not miss when visiting Berlin. This is part of the Berlin Wall. It is 1.3 kilometers of the original wall converted to an open-air art gallery. It is the longest remaining section of the wall that divided the city for 28 years. The wall features artwork by a variety of artists. It was painted as a symbol of freedom and art.
I saw this “gate” and my imagination went into overdrive. Was this part of the original border system? It is part of the original wall, but not part of the border system. It is an addition for artistic purposes. It was fun creating my own story for it until I got home and could do research! I did speak with some people there who told me of family experiences when it all happened. Families were separated from other family members depending on which side of the wall they were living. This went on from 1961-1989. Political changes and civil unrest in Germany put pressure on the East German government to loosen regulations and the Berlin Wall fell on November 9,1989. Demolition of the wall began and concluded in 1994. This paved the way for reunification of Germany which formally took place in 1990.
There are some beautiful cities in Germany. Two that I visited were Dresden (first door below) and the rest in the next few galleries are in Wittenberg.
The first door in this gallery was a very small door. Wish I had given you a better perspective on the size!!
The next set of doors are from the Cecilienhof Palace in Potsdam. This was the site of the Potsdam Conference in 1945.
The last 2 doors are in the Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam. This was built by King Frederick the Great as his summer palace, This French name means “without care or worry”…and this place looked like it was strictly for enjoyment!!
I enjoyed photographing these doors and portals. And the best part was that several doors were open inviting the viewer in! I always like to see open doors.
Simply put, Prague is a magnificent city. And for me, it was one magnificent door after another. Prior to this trip to Prague (my second time in 6 months) my friend Dorothy had forwarded to me a picture of a door in Prague that she had seen online. She knows how much I love doors. When I saw the photo I knew I had to find it and take my own photograph. I researched “sunflower door, Prague” and I found it and got the address! Ahhhh the wonders of the internet! How did we ever get information prior to the internet? It is known as The Sunflower Gate. It was built in 1900 by Austrian born-Czech architect Osvald Polivka (1859-1931). He was associated with the Secession/Art Nouveau period in Prague. I was so thrilled to find it!!
If you need to store your luggage you can rent Luggage storage! Always love to see doors open to me. And in this blog I wanted to include this lovely walk through.
The second “door” in the row below was on a building across from the Charles Bridge. It was a door opening from an upstairs room so that one could step out on the balcony to enjoy the view. The third door was a door to the rest rooms at La Republica restaurant!
The next three doors were at the Strahov Monastery. There is also a beer garden here where beers are brewed by the monks.
The first door in the next set was taken in Kampa Park. This is an island located on the water’s edge next to the Charles bridge on the Vitava River. The next two are located in Lesser Town, the historical district in old Prague.
There were so many beautiful doors to be seen. I am quite certain that if I get back to Prague there will be many more doors for me to see.
Just back from a trip to Prague and Berlin. I was in Prague in December 2024 and was very happy to be returning to the city on this trip. It was a real bonus that I did not need to be bundled up in a coat, hat and scarf. Back then I wished for being in shirtsleeves and enjoying the sun! Of course, one should be careful what you wish for because this trip gave me a record-breaking heat wave in Europe!
I’ll start off with fashion in the streets in Prague. The temperature was close to 100 degrees each day that I was there. Lots of dresses and linen pants, lots of sneakers! What totally amazed me was women wearing heels on cobblestone. I would have ended up in an emergency room if I tried to walk across the street in heels!
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On to Berlin. Berlin is a city just like NYC. Again, lots of dresses, maxi skirts, linen wide leg pants.
While in Berlin I went to Galeria Kaufhof. After this trip I know that I am addicted to knowing what is going on in fashion wherever I go. After being on a tour for hours I decided to walk from the hotel to Galeria Kaufhof. It was close to 100 degrees. It was 2 miles round trip! I must have been out of my mind, but it was a really beautiful upscale department store. Here are photos that I took. Had I had more room in my suitcase and more time I would have considered picking up a few things at the sale that was going on. I did purchase a scarf. Always room for a scarf!
I hope that you have enjoyed this short fashion crawl in Prague and Berlin.
Yes, summer is officially here! Bermuda shorts are a top trend. This trend is back from the ’90s. The shorts are tailored, just above the knee, with a slight flare. Linen Bermudas are hot. Still doing the “coastal Grandma” vibe and linen can be dressed up. Utility Bermudas with cargo pockets are cool and sporty. Denim “jorts” are in. These are longer and looser denim shorts. To dress up at night you will see silky or satin shorts. Pastel Pink is IN. Neutrals, buttery yellow, light greens are IN. Light sheer fabrics are a summer must-have. Contemporary Boho continues. Tee shirt dresses are everywhere. Add charm necklaces to accessorize. There are lots of denim skirts in a variety of shapes and lengths, some with quirky details. Cardigans are in every category, various lengths, some with short sleeves too. Look for all kinds of floral dresses. If this is one of your looks, it will be a flowy, flowery, fabulous summer.
Now, a preview of Fall. The biggest runaway trends from those in the know (Who What Wear) are: 1) Plaids: shirts, capes, scarves with fringe edges, blazers. 2) “funnel frenzy” -funnel necks on coats and jackets. 3) “donning dots”-dots will be huge in prints. 4) “Blue Shock”-electric blue will stand out. 5) “so ’90s”-skirt suits. 6) “Slipper Supremacy”- satin shoe slippers. square toes.
There will be many more trends and styling ideas in future blogs as the season develops.
For now, I want to share colors from Pantone. These were selected as stand out colors for New York Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2025/2026
At the midpoint of the year, I always pause to evaluate how I’m doing. I’ve been doing this since I retired when I had to check my “wiring” as I moved into Chapter 2. There were many adjustments to make coming off of a long-time career and facing the changes that would come. The years continually brought change as Tom and I laid out some serious travel plans and also made all the adjustments needed to accommodate the needs of my parents and the addition of the “little humans” into our lives. My biggest adjustment, of course, was Tom’s untimely death and my period of grieving. Five years have now passed and most days, as Bob Seger would sing, I’m still running against the wind.
This is the first year that I feel like I am starting to bloom again. There is still so much to do, right? And if the genes in my family have anything to say about it, I have many years still ahead of me.
So, how did I get to this point? There are no words for how much I still miss Tom, and I always will. But I decided to repot myself and see what would grow. I took four classes in the spring semester at the Institute for Learning in Retirement. This is a very well-priced program offered to retirees through a local community college and taught by retirees. It was great! I had classes in Meditation, Environmental Issues, Current Events and Writing. It was a lot of fun and very stimulating. This, along with Maj Jongg and a book club, is helping to keep my brain from turning to mush!! I have taken a variety of meditation classes in addition to this course and I have to admit that meditation has helped me find balance.
For this year I have planned a couple of European trips along with trips to visit friends. In 2024 I hit 7 countries, 5 of which were new stops for me. As it stands right now, for 2025 I am planning on visiting 7 countries again. This year there will be 6 new countries for me. I love seeing new places and learning something about what makes other people tick. I will be writing blogs for each trip as well as showing you interesting doors that I hope to photograph, and I’ll be showing you some street fashion too!
All of this along with the ministries I am involved in at my church are helping me find purpose in my life. Happiness is not a given. Knowing Joy is not a given either. But if you have gratitude for what you do have in your life you may be lucky to find both.
I am a true lover of fragrance. Have been forever. In the 1960’s my signature scent was Ambush. I can remember this being very popular starting in junior high school. The main notes here were lavender, lemon, bergamot, sandalwood, and vanilla. From there I moved on to Shalimar where I remained faithful into adulthood. That was truly a signature scent for me. For those of you not familiar with Shalimar it is a powdery amber scent with notes of bergamot, iris and vanilla. I guess my body chemistry responded best to these notes. There were occasional flirtations with other popular scents such as Opium, Chloe, Tova Signature and others that were good for short runs.
There are fragrances that evoke memories. While on Oceania cruises I became acquainted with Bulgari au the Blue and would wear that for all our cruises and for a while after to keep the wonderful memories alive!
A favorite fragrance in early 2000 was Donna Karan’s Cashmere. This scent is powdery with notes of bergamot, suede, lily of the valley, sandalwood and amber. Tom loved this scent on me so that became my favorite too. We both loved fragrance. My favorite of his is Dior Homme. I have a bottle of it and when I’m really missing him, I spray the scent and I can imagine that he is nearby.
I also love to layer a fragrance. When I can, I get shower gel and body cream to layer the scent. Philosophy makes great scents for the shower, body creams and sometimes a fragrance to go with it. I have favorites in this line too-Mandarin Mimosa, Fresh Cream, and Lavender. For holiday gifts I order assortment sets to break up and give as gifts. In the 2024 Christmas assortment was a scent that I had never seen. It is Pistachio Dreams. I kept this one for myself and now I am obsessed with the scent. The shower gel was all they had so I had to hunt for other products. I have recently found them! The fragrance is from Le Monde Gourmand and it is called Pistachio Brulee (ordered from Nordstrom). The scent is a combination of vanilla notes and salty hints of pistachio! I love it!! Then I had to find a body cream and found it at Bath and Body Works. It is Pistachio Glaze. The notes are pistachio creme, almond blossom and whipped vanilla! It smells delicious!! While searching for pistachio I came across a new try me set from Donna Karan Cashmere at Nordstom which included a Cashmere and Wild Fig scent. I also happen to like fig scented products and found a body cream to be worn with this. It is from Bath and Body works called Guilty as Fig! What a lucky break. I seem to have zeroed in on trending scents!!
Now I am all set to start a new season. Will have to decide which scent will come along on my next trip and then it can evoke new memories for me.
Spring is in the air…at last! As soon as daylight savings time happens you know that it is coming.
Everything is landing at the retailors and the online shopping channels are all starting their spring events. I checked out Bloomingdale’s to give you a peek at what’s happening.
What to buy in March? Let’s start with shoes and work our way up. Flat shoes are “in”. Look for boater shoes, mules, ballet flats and mary janes. Sneakers still continue to be strong. A fairly new development is a “slip on” sneaker. The heel is engineered so that the foot just slips in without the wearer having to bend down to adjust the heel on to the foot. What will they think of next? If flats are not your thing, look for a bit of a lift in a kitten heel.
In the apparel category look for midi skirts, flared jeans, skinny jeans and light weight sweaters. Lots of button down shirts will be around this spring. Sleeves will also be interesting. You will see ruched sleeves and balloon sleeves.
Dresses will be a happening category. Look for draped styles that are romantic and figure hugging. Shirt dresses are making a statement again. You will also see crochet dresses. There will be puff sleeve mini dresses to set your legs free! Maxi dresses in stripes and floral prints as well as sheer styles will be filling the racks. You will see lace, tulle, organza and chiffon in dresses and tops, and if you are daring, there are pants too!
In outerwear the biggest look is a trench style. This is not only out there in the standard full length, but you will also see it in knee length and jacket length. Blazers are now an established category. Another silhouette is the “lady jacket”- think Channel knitted cardigan jackets.
Prints and colors : Animal prints are still hot. Floral prints and bohemian looks are trending. Think White Lotus! Colors are leaning to the lighter palette- Pistachio, butter yellow, cotton candy pink, lavender, and frozen blueberry. But there is also room for orange crush!
My favorite category is accessories. In handbags a popular shape will be East-West bags. Raffia bags for the warm seasons are always big. A bit of fun has been added with the return of bag charms and /or scarfs tied on the bag. This can bring new life to bags you already have in the closet. Bold sunglasses are also trending.
Here are a few looks at Bloomingdale’s to get you thinking. Have fun and enjoy the season.
Florida in February…a retiree’s dream, right? Lucky me, I have friends who have made their permanent residence there and there is always an open door.
My friend Julie had gone to a place that she said was a photographer’s dream and she just HAD TO take me there. She was right! It is called Boneyard Beach. It is in Big Talbot Island National Park in Jacksonville Florida. The trees fell from the bluff. The salt water and sun bleach the trees white and bone-like. It is so artistic! It is about 1/2 mile walk through the woods to reach the beach. Loved this and as promised it was a photo shoot waiting to happen.
In addition to this there was walking on the beach, shopping, dinners everywhere and spending time with longtime friends Maria and Rosy. It used to be great when Tom was here. Al and Tom would entertain themselves while the four of us spent quality “girl” time together. Unfortunately, our time together has to be well planned now since we are in 3 different states. Al was fine entertaining himself, but as always, we missed Tom. We all had a great time getting together with Maria and Julie’s Florida friends as well as squeezing in a dinner with Gloria and Doug from St Louis who were visiting a friend in St Augustine while we were there.
The Full Snow Moon on 2/12/25 was another highlight for me and my camera!
The weather was beautiful and there are no words for spending quality time with forever friends.
How To Wow Now 
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