Final Update: The Wedding!

I’ve been mulling for a few days…

What can I say about being Mother of the Bride that is

profound

practical

witty

and/or

enlightening?

I’m either in too much of a glow because things went well

or still so worn out from a frenetic week

to bestow wedding-changing MOB wisdom (if I even have any);

therefore, my best advice is this:

You’re the mom,

but she’s the bride.

This is her dream, not yours.

Trust her

when it’s time to select the MOB dress

and her own.

Trust her instincts on the bridesmaids dresses, too, and her shoes with lucky blue bows.

She gets final call on what her nephew sports.

 Up or down with the hair?  The bride knows best.

When it comes to her dad’s bow tie,

the design of the cake,

the added touches to the back of her dress,

the napkin fabric and the menu design,

the paper lanterns to brighten the ceiling and the flowers to grace the tables,

she gets to decide because, after all, isn’t this the daughter who, when it was time to pick a groom, made an excellent choice?

May they have happy days, festive nights, and in time, the pitter patter of energetic little feet.

But don’t tell the bride I mentioned that last pitter patter part.

I promised her I’d trust her instincts on that, too.

Laura and Matt were married on June 1 in the chapel on Bald Head Island off the coast of North Carolina.  Wedding photos courtesy Matron of Honor Katherine Younger and wedding guest and blog reader, Lisa Wolfe.

Surf’s Up and a Solar Shades Giveaway!

My grandson Mazen, in the photo above, sports his way cool shades, ready to hit the beach.

And I bet if Maze knew his alphabet, he could wear those shades when he reads by the surf.

He’s got young eyes!

When my old eyes began to fail me and small print elude me, I decided not to grump.

I bought myself cute reading glasses and settled in.

The glasses worked great from my cozy spot on the couch.

But the first time I sank into my striped beach chair and pulled out a novel, I realized I was in trouble.

Yikes!

If I took off my sunglasses and put on my reading glasses, the sun blinded me.

If I didn’t wear my reading glasses, I couldn’t even read the title page.

I tried layering them:  reading glasses with sunglasses on top.

It’s like trying to make  mismatched puzzle pieces fit. Just can’t do it.

Solar Shield makes sunglasses  designed to fit just right over regular glasses.

How clever is that?

And Solar Shield makes clips ons that fit snugly on today’s eyeglasses.  They sent me two pairs to sample.

No tourist nerd look here.  You stretch them to make them fit.  They come in a carrying case to keep them sand-free when you aren’t wearing them.

So this summer, when the surf’s up, I’m set, just like Maze.

Giveaway: I’m keeping one pair and giving away the other pair. For a chance to win, enter a comment by May 10 saying  you’d like to be the winner. US addresses only. Winner will be selected at random.

 I received two pairs of Dioptics Solar Shield sunglasses and compensation for reviewing this product via Vibrant Nation’s Vibrant Influencer Network.

Wedding Update: A Dress and a Fox

In the last post, I bemoaned my missing waist.

But in terms of a rehearsal dinner dress, the story has a happy ending.

You know the feeling. You already love something. You pray your shopping consultant agrees.

Time freezes as you wait for the pronouncement.

“I like it!” the bride-to-be said.

Yes!

(Point here being that sheath dresses work well on women of a certain age.)

The dress fits much better than any I tried on.

But…

What pleases me most are the polka dots!

I’m pretending they’re champagne bubbles.

We’ll toast our guests and  the bride and groom and the groom’s lovely parents, who are hosting the party.

To love!

To life!

To families!

Back to the dress.

Yes, it disguises my lack of a waist.

But no, I don’t look as foxy as the model in the picture.

I don’t need to.

Bald Head Island, setting for the wedding, has real foxes!

Cliff and I sometimes spot one on the road that runs the length of the island.

A lucky camera person spotted the fox below right on the beach.

(Give the video about eight seconds for the fox to appear; until then, listen to the swooshing of the waves.)

To the waves!

To the sand!

To the fox!

And once again, as always, to life!

Wake Up, Shoe Manufacturers!

A post by Interior Designer and Aging in Place Specialist Mitzi Beach:

Oh my aching feet.

But….no Ruth Buzzi shoes for us either!

No 4-inch platform heel shoes either!

For me, those days are gone, gone forever.

Does Oprah do more than just sit and look gorgeous in all of her VERY high heels?

Even if those platform ones are supposedly comfortable? I would love to know the actual standing time she has while wearing those stunningly beautiful high heels!

Why? ‘Cuz I am so down-right jealous!

As a shoe-a-holic, where can I find a shoe maker for beautiful and stylish shoes that are comfortable and safe at the same time? [Falling can change our lives forever and ever].

Oh yes, the aging of feet is a very big issue.  Not only for vanity but also our comfort and being able to physically stand for whatever activity without pain!

What about you ladies?

Are you fighting this not-so-easy part of aging gracefully? What is graceful about wearing shoes that pinch or cause agony while wearing?!

Just looking at the photos above, I see women twisting ankles or far much worse  in permanent damage or serious falls.

Seriously, there are millions of us over 50, so why does this shoe crisis exist?

Yes, as a shoe-a-holic, this is a crisis to me!

Giving away so many of my beautiful shoes because they hurt so badly is more than just giving shoes away. It signifies another tangible fact of my aging which I cannot believe has to just be without options. I can handle a lot about aging but my shoe options….really?

Okay, this sounds really really vain, but I betcha if my like-minded kindred spirits out there voice what they’re thinking, we would hear a scream as loud as Hilly in The Help as she reads about that infamous pie.

We want to wear pretty shoes again!

Where are the shoe manufacturers who want to fill this huge void in the shoe industry?

A few years back, I was excited to discover Hathaway Shoes in Kansas City while working a huge design job for my most favorite clients. I bought several [well, maybe more than several] pairs.

THEN, another big day for me was when I discovered Jill Hathaway’s newly opened Shoes Boutique in Leawood, Kansas. Jill gets it! She stocked in her very chic boutique with beautiful but comfortable and safe shoes for all occasions…even dressy formal shoes. She is definitely leading the way and I applaud her marketing genius.

Even more, she understands the 50+ market and at this point in retail, this is way too rare. Why, for Pete’s sake?

This demographic of woman over 50 is huge and so strong. Come on shoe manufacturers!

You can certainly do better and be more creative than comfy & pretty flats.  We Baby Boomers, all 18 million of us, want more options.  I know it’s happening but oh so slowly…hurry up already!

WAKE UP AND SEE US!

Living and loving life together,

Mitzi

Mitzi Beach has been a practicing Professional Interior Designer, ASID, an Aging in Place Specialist for 30 years.

At  sixty-something, Mitzi is busier than ever with her residential Interior Design business, large family, cooking, traveling and exercising.  She shares her journey on her website, MitziBeach.com and is a role model on how to explore the new territories in cyberspace for those who didn’t grow up in the computerized era. Her mantra? Who says we are too old for learning this stuff???

Mitzi’s Website: www.MitziBeach.com

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