Atypical 60

New York Is Always a Good Idea!

Posted on May 1, 2016 by Catherine

Audrey Hepburn thought Paris was always a good idea. It is—no doubt about it.

Oh Audrey. You little Coquette you. Paris IS a good idea but sometimes……

New York City is always a good idea too. And that’s where Bonaparte and I were headed earlier yesterday.

…New York is better. Especially if you are a born New Yawka and wanna visit ya sons!

So read on.

Bonaparte suggested we go into the City for lunch.

Let’s head downtown!!!

A couple of days beforehand, he also suggested I call the boys to see if they could meet us. So I got in touch with Roman and he told me he had to work on the Saturday Night Live set. I couldn’t get in touch with Jake but figured he was incredibly busy with his new position at NBC Nightly News.

Following?

Bonaparte said not to worry if the boys couldn’t meet us because we would just ride into New York, find a place for a nice relaxing lunch and enjoy ourselves.

But in giving it one last try, I texted Jake Friday night. I explained that I couldn’t get in touch with him but wanted him to meet us for lunch and that Roman had to work.

Jake texted me back that he could meet us. When I told Bonaparte, he was stunned. He and Roman had planned a surprise for me and something got lost in translation.

Roman in his “Oops” moment! He forgot to tell Jake that lunch was a surprise for me! No big deal. I was just happy to be with the boys!

So it ended up that my surprise was supposed to be the boys meeting us at Le District, a new French food court downtown. Oops!

We went to Le District at Brookfield Place downtown Manhattan.

And the surprise really wasn’t. But it didn’t matter because we ended up having a great, great time.

The weather was perfect. The sun was shining and we spent a fun afternoon at Brookfield Place in Downtown NYC!

Brookfield Place offers great views of the Hudson. And you get a close up view of the many goings on!

We stumbled upon this exhibit of inflated rabbits throughout Brookfield Place. Something tells me this is NOT the White Rabbit Grace Slick sang about!

Tulips were in bloom throughout. It was a nice touch. Holland in the City? Well–we DID take the Holland Tunnel into Manhattan!

It was also nice to see the new World Trade Center. This is weird for me because I worked at the OLD WTC before it was destroyed.

We had lunch at Beaubourg Brasserie in Le District at Brookfield Place.

..and we had a terrific time!

Le District at Brookfield Place is a French food court of sorts. For quite some time I’ve been wanting to visit Le District and finally got to go there.

Our French greeters at Le District…

….a nice looking Apricot Lemon Tart! (I wish they would’ve spelled it the French way “Tarte”–it would have been a bit more authentic!

…more sweets!

Roast duck. Le Yum!

I need to tell you about it.

First of all, if you do venture down to Brookfield Place and Le District, take advantage of the valet parking. Seriously. The price is far better than the local parking garages. We paid $35.00 for four hours—which is a steal in Manhattan. We were told that we could text ten minutes before we wanted our car so that it would be at the ready when we were to leave. I cannot say enough about how great the valet service was.

Second. OK. And this almost pains me to say it. We were just slightly disappointed in Le District—and I’ll tell you why.

Le District was touting itself as an authentic French market of sorts. I pictured different departments of France throughout the marketplace.

Through these doors, I visualized the country of France in New York City!

In one area, I envisioned Brittany and the foods that are indigenous to the area—like buckwheat crepes, far, and cidre from Bresignon.

This cidre rocks. It’s sweet but not overly sweet and we always have a steady supply when we are in France. We thought we could get some at Le District–but we couldn’t!

I was looking forward to Calvados from the Normandy area. Visions of Foie Gras and truffles from the Périgord region.

I didn’t see ANY foie gras anywhere in Le District!

Socca from Nice. The thought of La Tarte Tropezienne and Nougat from Senequier in St. Tropez had me performing the happy dance.

Socca, a crepe made from Chickpea flour is a staple in Nice–it’s also easy to make at home!

I also thought we would be able to purchase La Tarte Tropezienne. Sort of like a Boston Cream Pie without the chocolate.

We bring a supply of Senequier nougat home with us every year, and we thought we might have seen it at Le District!

Only it wasn’t like that.

As great as the concept is of an “authentic” French market/food court, improvement is needed. We found mustards and other items that can be found in high end grocery stores. The selection of cheeses was nowhere near it is in France However, we did manage to purchase an excellent chevre as well as a great peppercorn pate. All was not lost.

We had a delightful lunch at Beaubourg Brasserie. We had an outdoor table which was covered by a heated overhang. Great for those days like yesterday—when the weather is still a bit cool. Our server was a blast. A young man from Belgium who engaged in animated French conversation with Bonaparte.

Service was excellent and my apologies for not having pictures of our food, but we were just having such a great time that I didn’t even think of photos!

Roman had Croque Madame, Jake had a salad, Bonaparte went with his usual. Hangar steak and frites. I opted for the Steak tartare. And it was good but could have been a bit spicier.

Roman’s Croque Madame was mouth watering. I’m sorry that I had to use this stock photo but we really were having such a great time that I honestly didn’t think of taking pictures!

It didn’t really matter because we just had a great time with each other!

After lunch we walked around a bit and bid adieu to the boys!

Jake found a great stand for glace! He was very territorial too!

We picked up some car-a-mels and other sweets from La Cure Courmande. This is a really cute little corner of Le District!

We walked around the grounds some more. Um. Nobody bothered to tell me about the bit of salad green stuck in between my teeth. Merci Bow-coo!

We had a fun afternoon and we were glad that we experienced Le District. There is lots of potential for this food court—those who are in charge just need to make it a bit more authentic French rather than the USA version of what French food is like. And I’m not being snotty either. I honestly think that anyone who has spent time in France would think the same as me.

Bye Bye New York. Can’t wait to get back!

I’ll miss you…..BTW, Like my lipstick? I used Cover Girl Outlast All Day Lipcolor in 550–Blushed Mauve. It DOES last all day! I’m not kidding!

Well, today has been a long day. Rain. Retail. And now I’m literally ready to go to sleep. At 8:00 in the evening!

Enjoy your evening and I send my love to you! It was fun to be….

Back In the New York Groove! Ace Frehley for you…XOXOXOXO!!!

Posted in Brookfield Place NYC, France, France in New York, French food, New York City, NYC | Tagged New York City, Things to do in New York City | 31 Comments

The Nudie Beauty. Naked Skincare for the 60+ Woman!

Posted on April 27, 2016 by Catherine

Yesterday was my “Take-care-of-me” day. My roots were soaking up jet black dye. I am not part of the grey/gray/white/silver movement. Black Roots Matter is my hair color mantra.

And now you know why it is far better for me to get my roots done at the salon when my budget allows. I am the sloppiest applier of hair dye. It took forever to scrub this off my face!

I conditioned and roller set to lessen the damage to my tresses. I also tried a new product to hide my baldness. I picked it up at Sally Beauty. It looks like a dupe for my beloved Toppik only about eight bucks cheaper. Ion Hair Building Fibers.

Same amount of product as Toppik. But at a fraction of the price. And…….

Let me tell you—the Ion product worked just as well as the Toppik did. And at a lower price point, I think this is a definite “yes” for women who are on a budget and still suffer from hair loss. I’ll be reviewing this in the very near future!

It worked! Left photo, I’m sorry but I took the photo after I filled in a bit with the Ion. Luckily I remembered to take a before pic with a bit of baldy sticking through! Right photo, all covered up. I just needed to set the product with spray and finger comb my hair.

I also ran around in the nude! No. Not my body—but my face. I’m kept a naked face to give my skin a rest! The clouds were preparing for rain, I’m off from work for three days, and I’ve nowhere to go except to take Chippy out to do his business. And it was the perfect naked face day!

Me and my naked face. Completely nude, birthday-suit visage! Why am I hiding my turkey neck from you????????

And I really want to discuss skin care for us women 60 and over. Once again, the media leaves us out of the loop and when they do add us, we are nothing more than a blip. But we are a team that needs to stick together like lash glue!

What got me started on this topic was an infomercial I saw earlier in the morning. While waiting for Bonaparte to brew the daily coffee, I turned on the TV. I was greeted with a view of Place Dauphine’s Le Caveau restaurant.

I’m telling you, most visitors to Paris are in love with the romance and the Eiffel Tower. I’m in love with Place Dauphine because of the two restaurants I get to stuff my face with great food! Le Caveau has the chairs stacked in the front. I snapped this early in the morning!

It’s a restaurant we’ve been to many times, so naturally I got all excited and started screaming and dancing and crazy!

Only I was dancing around naked–face naked, that is!

It was the old “Bait and Switch”. The beautiful Parisian scenario was nothing more than a “set up” meeting between Cindy Crawford and a Z-list celebrity to pontificate and drool over Crawford’s “Meaningful Beauty“; a skin care line she collaborated (i.e. allowed her name to be used to make mega-bucks for shilling this stuff) with a French dermatologist, Dr. Sebagh, to give women of all ages (Under 60 years old) to make their beauty as meaningful as Cindy’s. Oh. I forgot to add, other celebrities such as Debra Messing and Valerie Bertinelli also use Meaningful Beauty. Maybe they use it because they are being paid to infomercialize it.

From the “Meaningful Beauty” site. Look. It states “results will vary”. Is this a red flag or what????

I get really pissed off at these ads. When will women learn that these creams and potions will never, ever, ever, change your skin’s natural aging process. And it drives me nuts to see “before and after” pics. The “befores” have the women looking all blotchy and the lighting sucks. The “afters” are taken in better lighting, slightly filtered, and faces covered in cosmetics. Cindy Crawford’s Meaningful Beauty has nothing to do with the afters. It’s cosmetics!

Messing at 40 and 45. She looks great in both photos. Cindy Crawford’s product line had nothing to do with Messing’s 45 look. It was the lighting and make up artist!

I’m not saying potions and lotions won’t work. Temporarily, they do. And creams will hydrate. But how many times do I need to say that nothing short of plastic surgery and fillers, along with great genetics, will really, really make you look years and years younger!

Take a close look. Left pic is my cheek. Look at the crepey lines. Look at the broken capillaries. Upper right pic and you can see that gravity has taken it’s toll on my face. Bottom right I have lines under my nose and above my mouth. THIS IS THE 60 + NAKED FACE CLOSE UP and nothin’ is going to turn back the clock on a permanent basis!

The key is to keep hydrating. Like with “H Two Eau”. Drinking lots of it. All day. So you need to either be close to a bathroom or you need Depends.

Water. One of the best and cheapest ways to hydrate your skin and your body! And perhaps strengthen your bladder???

Sleep is a great beauty tool as well. We all know that when we wake up after a great and long sleep, we look better and more alive. Lack of sleep makes us look tired, drawn, and drained of any pep.

A good night’s sleep is another inexpensive and great way to take care of your skin! I need a nap!

Caveat! One product that I absolutely loved as part of my skin-care routine a few years back was Benefit’s She-laq. Originally used to “set” eye makeup from melting on those hot days, I found it was the perfect temporary face lift. I’m not kidding. I used to brush She-laq out onto the crow’s feet next to my eyes. This product tightened those lines to the point of being nearly invisible. Then Benefit went and discontinued it. Supposedly due to a bad chemical. I cried. It couldn’t have been worse than the processed food filled with ingredients that one cannot pronounce; and couldn’t have been worse than hormone-injected milk.

Hands down, this was an eyelift in a bottle. It was epic and Benefit discontinued it. I still dream of this. I’m still pissed at Benefit cosmetics for getting rid of it. I wrote them a letter and they never replied!

Back to the care of the skin.

In the morning (as well as the evening), I have a loofa-like facecloth that I use to scrub my face. That’s right. I scrub the crispy bits that fall where the bottom of my nose meets my cheeks. I scrub my mouth. Rub-a-dub-dub. My face I scrub! It’s my budget version of exfoliation!

The rough texture of this face cloth is great for sloughing the nasty bits off. I wish I could remember where I purchased this!

In the morning, I wash my face with Dove Beauty Bar. It doesn’t make my skin feel taut or tight at all. It’s a good product. In the evening, I take my makeup off with Albolene. It looks like lard and literally melts the makeup away. I always have a backup jar! And I always use my little loofa face cloth to scrub both the Dove and Albolene off for a smooth-skinned face!

I’ll gently pat my face dry and then….

Moisturize. I’m not using expensive products either. Take away the expensive packaging and the product is just about the same. It’s all temporary. I’ll take inexpensive temporary over expensive temporary.

Equate brand–the Walmart Special. No difference between this and high-end except dollars. Moisturizers are a great temporary fix to smooth the skin out before making up. BTW, even though this is NIGHT TIME cream, I use it in the daytime!

I’ve been trying out StriVectin Intensive Concentrate for Wrinkles and Stretch Marks. I received a sample from one of the vendors at work. The sample is a decent size—1 fl. Ounce and is a $40.00 value. I’ll be using it till I run out and review it. Hopefully it won’t be a dud. It’s too early to tell if the claims of the return of a youthful appearance are true.

Lots of outstanding claims on this. We’ll see–it this gets rid of the crepey skin, then it’s a miracle product. I’ll be reviewing when I run out of this sample.

After the moisturizer soaks in, I’ll apply a serum. I’m low on the Lancôme Genifique—which was pricey but I’ve had it for well over a year. I picked up Caudalie Vinoperfect Radiance Serum back in October at CityPharma in Paris. It was dirt cheap and works just as well as Genifique. It was a shock to the system when I saw this online at Sephora for $79.00. I paid 10 euros for it!

Actually, I ran out of the Genifique this morning. So it’s the Caudalie serum for now. I almost DIED when I saw the Caudalie online for $79.00. I spent 10 euros for the same sized bottle—-highway robbery!

Do the serums make me look ten years younger? Nope. But both these serums give my skin a nice glow and prep aging skin for the foundation that will go on top of the primer.

It’s important for us to be aware and realistic about our aging skin. This is even more important when we are within a certain budget.

The average woman cannot afford the face, eye and neck lifts. The majority of women are also not able to afford the luxury of fillers.

I also treated myself to a few moments of spa time with these revitalizing eye pads…

…as you can see, they are completely different looking IRL than on the box. They also burned the hell out of my skin. You can also see that they did nothing!

And that’s why skin care is important. Basically, it’s making sure your skin is clean before you go to bed and keeping hydrated. Simple. Easy Peasey! Nothing too complex and doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg.

We need to take a good look at what we do have and work with it! Fortunately, I have pretty thick skin. I guess being born with a thick skull can come in handy, but my neck looks years older than my 61 years. You take the good with the bad and buy lots of scarves!

And after a day of nudity, today I’m back to a made up face and…..

..the end result of a roller set. And I still look like an older woman. But it’s all cool because I’m happy in my skin. Whether it’s naked or made up skin. I’m ok with it!

Please forgive me if I sound like a broken record, but I get really upset with the beauty industry and their false promises of making aging skin completely youthful. I also get upset when I see celebrities (if you can call them that) endorsing products. These are women who are working in the field of entertainment and make a shitload of money. They are merely sales people for these cosmetics companies.

We average women cannot afford hundreds of dollars for one beauty cream, nor can we spend thousands on surgery.

We need to work with what we have and within our budget!!!

We older women have a lotta! A lotta life. A lotta creativity. A lotta personality A lotta wisdom! And–a whole lotta natural beauty!

So let’s get naked for a day or two and take care of us!!!

In the words of the great Al Kooper. “(Be Yourself) Be Real”!

Posted in Beauty, Beauty for Older Women, Roller Sets, Shit Old Ladies Do For Beauty, Skincare for Women over 60 | Tagged Beauty for the Mature woman, Naked Beauty for Women over 60, Skin Care | 44 Comments

Monday Musings. Retails From The Dark Side

Posted on April 25, 2016 by Catherine

Happy Monday everyone! The sun is shining. The outside temperature is warm, yet cool enough to allow for a great hair day. The humidity hasn’t ambushed the tresses yet. I should be outside but I’m incredibly happy to be in front of my computer and writing the blog!

A great hair day and HAPPY to be writing today! I wanted a big pic of me so you wouldn’t forget what I look like!

I’m still getting used to the new time management—and during last week’s days off, Roman came to visit. As usual, we had a great time!

Always fun with Roman!! We had a most enjoyable time with each other!

As I rest my aching little size 8 1/2 feet, I want to tell you what I’ve experienced in the world of retail thus far! I’m not talking about the merch (That’s insider for merchandise. I feel so cool).

My feet need to rest upon fluffy pillows because…

Although these beautiful Via Spiga flats are so incredibly stunning, they are incredibly painful to wear for more than 6 hours! My feet were crying!

No. I’m talking about the customer experience and other realizations.

I never realized that the majority of sales assistants were paid on commission. But the reality is, in high-end department stores as well as other major stores, the sales help is paid strictly on commission for the items that they sell. Some lucky S/A’s are paid both hourly and commission, but for the most part….

And that’s the most daunting part to me of working retail. When I sell something, I hate getting caught up in that commission bullshit. I want to sell a product that I believe in. I don’t want to sell something that someone is on the fence about and I don’t want to force someone into a sale. I want customers to be sure that the purchase made will be a lasting and permanent one because I don’t want a return.

When a customer gets this look you KNOW that the item purchased is coming right back!

Returns = draws against commission.

I want to help a customer who is pretty much decisive in what they are looking for and someone who treats me like an equal and not the household help.

It sucks when I very pleasantly ask someone if they would like assistance only to have them say “I’m just browsing” and seconds later find that same customer is working with a different sales assistant.

What am I? Chopped liver? Is it my crossed-eyes? Am I not hip enough? Is it my fish lips that need fillers? My Long Guylind accent? My fat ass??

Am I THAT disgusting to you, dear customer?

Regardless, I’m enjoying most of the customers. And 99 percent of the people who come in to shop are really, really nice. And it is fun to engage in conversation with other humans rather than talk to Chippy or myself all day!

Chippy in his “You talkin’ to ME?” mode! Um. Yeah Chippy. I AM talking to you. Nobody else will talk to me!

Some days in retail are fantastic! Lots of sales, activity and all-around great customers. Other days can be atrocious—no customers, no sales—and wondering just how many times the merch can be arranged or the shelves dusted.

Then there are the crazy days. Those days when you work, work, work so hard and have the customers that don’t buy. They only bye-bye! The days when some costumers who don’t buy are seemingly testing your limits of sanity. That was my day yesterday! For some reason, my retail timing was slightly off and the purchasing customers eluded me.

Yup! That was a part of my yesterday!

An hour was spent with a delightful woman. I swear, she was a riot and I had a wonderful time with her and her sister. I will call her “Small Handbag Lady“. She brought her little dog into the store. Little dogs are always fun—especially when they are well trained. They are actually better behaved than the wild wolf offspring of parents who allow their little darlings to run through department after department destroying every display they can pass. This is especially entertaining when mommy completely ignores the feral fruit of her loins as he screams, flails, and performs gymnastics routines in front of the glass cabinets!

Oh trust me, I’ve seen kids perform department store gymnastics more intense than this while mommy and daddy ignore the dangerous feats of humanity!!

Anyway, Small Handbag Lady was looking for a small cross-body bag to use while travelling. We studied every small bag in the department. Bags were either too small or not small enough. Straps were heavy. The bags were heavy. There weren’t enough zippers. She almost found one but wasn’t sure. Her sister didn’t like it.

In the meantime, to get the proper feel, she tried each bag out by placing items from the bag she was carrying into the bags she was looking at. One of the items was a Zip-loc bag of doggie treats. This meant that every bag in which the bag of treats was placed into was left with the scent of doggie treat. It was not a pleasant scent. And while we were walking around, she noticed a table of beautiful and functional scarves in the accessories department. She asked me to accompany her to the scarves.

Now understand, we can and are allowed to cross-sell between departments. And it’s cool but one of the workers in accessories is a commission shark. She is very territorial. Like a rabid pit bull. She barks and bites if she feels that anyone is stepping into her den of accessories!

I’ve been bitten by this Accessory Pit Bull Lady! Her bark is rather loud too!

So naturally, I was full of anxiety as I helped Small Handbag Lady pick out a scarf. Accessory Pit Bull Lady must have been on a break, because as I rang the sale up, I didn’t hear barking! Small Handbag Lady asked me my name, thanked me profusely for my time and said hopefully she will be back before her trip.

Quite honestly, I hope she comes back when I’m scheduled to work because I had a blast with her. It didn’t matter that she left without the bag she searched for. She was kind and nice and I understood her completely. She refused to purchase a bag that she was not in love with. I get it!

My next prospect was, to say the least, an “are you kidding me” experience. I spotted a young woman by the Tory Burch bags. I walked up to her with the intent of asking if she needed assistance.

OK—let me explain something. I’m great with understanding a heavy French accent, naturally, because of Bonaparte! I’m also adept at an Irish brogue because it is the accent my grandparents and other family members speak with. This runs true with Australian accents because of family living in Brisbane.

I have a hard time understanding heavy Asian Accents, however. After about ten seconds of speaking with this prospective customer, I realized she was a tourist.

Instead, before I had the chance to open my mouth, she asked me, in broken English and her heavy accent: “You herlp me?”

It occurred to me after a minute that the “herlp” she wanted was not going to be a purchase. She pointed to her cell phone, which, I noticed her texting was not in English characters, but was in Chinese. I didn’t know what experience lay before me.

After pointing to her phone, she asked “You take pick-cha of me?” With what turned out to be. Every. Single. Tory. Burch. Bag. In. the. Store. For. Her. “Flen”. (friend).

And this wasn’t a quick snap. Oh no! She carefully planned out each pose and the way she was holding each bag. In some pics she was holding two bags. Her facial expressions ran the emoji gamut of surprise and happiness for bags she liked to sadness for the bags she did not care for!

Oh yes. This little tourist emoted every facial expression known to retail sales assistant while I snapped away like a female Richard Avedon!

My emoji face went from happy “dah-rah” sign to anger.

Another delusion. My retail ignorance led me to believe that my little tourist would actually PURCHASE something…..

….leaving me in a state of THIS!

It gets better. When she realized that we were having a large percentage off on another designer brand, she grabbed wallets of every shape and size and not only arranged them on the counter for additional photography moments, but she requested that I figure out the price point of the unmarked discount. This entire process took approximately two hours!

This is an actual ad that Bonaparte’s grandfather, J.H. Lartigue did for Vuitton. My tourist friend artfully arranged the wallets on the counter in similar fashion. Your’s truly got to take the photos. I am no J.H. Lartigue!

The end result was her “flen” (and I doubt there was one) back home didn’t like any of the items I photographed!

Really???? My time spent with someone who had no intent of purchasing while all my co-workers were cha-chinging it up!

All throughout my travels in France, Asian tourists had selfie sticks. How come my tourist shopper was a rebel without a selfie-stick cause who needed my less-than-stellar photo skills?

Seriously. Welcome to my world. On my trip to France last summer, I was bruised and attacked by selfie sticks gone wild. Where’s the selfie stick when you want it???

A returned bag was next. The bag was purchased over 6 months ago and I was told it just “didn’t work”. Why would someone purchase a bag that doesn’t work? What the hell does that mean anyway? The zipper was in fine order. The straps were intact. There was plenty of room in the handbags interior. How could it not work?

I’ll tell you this woman was a pro at returning. She didn’t even think about telling me that the bag just “didn’t work”!

I was to find out moments later that “certain” customers are known for their fine reputation of being serial returners. These customers will shop at least three times a week, load up on merchandise only to come back to the store to return. But they “save” their returns for months later—as if the sales assistants don’t notice.

I”m quickly learning that the word “purchase” really means “rent”!

This kind of behavior is appalling to me. If I return an item it is either because someone gifted me with an article of clothing that is not to my taste or it is because I didn’t have the time to try something on, got home and realized my thighs became too thunderous or my ass got too fat to wear the purchased item so I went back for a bigger size!

If I was “gifted” with one of these two get-ups, there would definitely be a return. But it would be returned neatly folded, unworn, and with a gift receipt! I would also be cowering and timidly apologizing!

Perhaps it’s just that I am not a returner because I care too much of what others think of me and I don’t want to get a bad reputation. Yeah. That’s right. Trampy sluts aren’t the only ones who get bad reputations. Serial returners are in that same bad-girl grouping!

My day ended with a woman whom I’ve helped before. She’s nice but a bit unusual. She came rushing to me to let me know that Macy’s gave her a discount on a bag that wasn’t supposed to be discounted. She went on to further explain to me that she knew manufacturers sent the same bag to every store but with “one-inch” differences in the straps and “half-inch” differences in the bag’s size.

Hey. Maybe she’s right! Maybe she isn’t. But she’s nice. And she told me that she would be by to visit me next Sunday. And I’m cool with that!

I do believe that the Macy’s customer was legit. She WILL come back to visit me next week. I hope she makes a purchase from me!

And Bonaparte is beyond cool too. He’s joyously happy because I told him that working retail has made me not want to shop anymore. It’s true. I don’t want to spend my days off running back to the mall.

Alright. So I made ONE purchase. A small crossbody bag. I need it for traveling and when I don’t want to carry the contents of our home with me!

I have a closet full of bags that I need to rotate.

I have heels that have gone unworn for a year and-a-half. And these shoes patiently wait the day of returning to working in an office. I hate to tell my heeled shoes that chances are I’ll never go back to office work again due to ageist corporate values.

My Vince Camuto heels will have to wait patiently until I find a “real” job. (I sound like an actor who is waiting tables until they find a “real” role). In the meantime, my red flats can be worn when I use my new red leather Longchamp bag!

Instead, I’ll focus on the good. I get to exercise while working because I’m on my feet and can bend and stretch while dusting and rearranging merch!

The two managers I work for are encouraging and enthusiastic! The people who are in my department are nice and helpful and fun.

And whether I help people who purchase or assist people who don’t—they help to make the time fly by and help me to better educate my people skills.

It’s all good! Enjoy today. I’m off to make a necessary purchase. Hair dye! My roots are awful!

Hmmmm…retailing has brought back memories of this oldie. Handbags And Gladrags. Remember it? Chris Farlowe for you!

Talk to you tomorrow! XOXOXO!!

Posted in Accessorizing, Beauty, careers, Fashion, humor, J. H. Lartigue, Retail Musings from the Dark Side | Tagged #Humor, Retail stories | 29 Comments

Doves Are Crying…And So Are We

Posted on April 22, 2016 by Catherine

My son Roman came to visit me for a couple of days. Yesterday afternoon I dropped him off at the Paoli train station so he could be on his way back to New York.

It was a sad moment for me because I can’t stand to see any of my kids leave after visiting me. I get a really, really empty and sad feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Add to that, Bonaparte texted me to let me know that the job interview I had two days prior, led nowhere. I had another empty feeling in my stomach and that general feeling of absolutely no future.

When I arrived home, I received a text from Roman. He asked me “Did u hear the news”. I replied “what news?” “is everything ok?”

His answer was “Prince is dead”.

My reaction exactly. No. Just. NO!

I figured it was one of those celebrity hoaxes because there was no way….

But the news was, unfortunately, true.

And in my sleuthing of news to find out what happened, I came across this shit from TMZ.

TMZ hinted that Prince’s death could have been from an overdose of drugs.

But not the recreational drugs. TMZ hinted it could have been from painkillers due to bodily damages that his body took from his performances.

Performances in making his fans happy.

Roman, who works at SNL, was incredibly lucky to be a part of the SNL Anniversary Show–and the after party was a great memory for him as he snapped this pic of Prince performing at a jam session at the party! Roman says it was the best night of his life!

If this news is true. I ask that you not judge.

Have any of us ever taken prescription or over-the-counter drugs? I know what MY answer is.

I have taken many prescription medications over the years to ease my emotional pain. My spirit is a damaged one and needs to be healed. My emotions are fragile and medication has always taken my inner pain away.

Unfortunately, I have no medical insurance so those medications are a thing of the past. Instead I have to live with my demons. Writing helps to ease that pain somewhat.

But this isn’t about me. This is about an iconic musician.

And I despise the media for putting a spin and sensationalizing the loss of a great and talented man.

Instead, I want to remember lovely and great things about Prince and the musical gifts he gave us.

Back in the late 1970’s I heard “I Wanna Be Your Lover” by Prince. It was the first time I heard him and I loved the song.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x15zj5c_prince-i-wanna-be-your-lover-official-video_music

I loved everything about this song. I loved the catchy tune. The lyrics. His Falsetto voice and his cool look. It never occurred to me that this bundle of cuteness would grow to be one of the most important musicians of all time.

I grew into my adulthood with him. His songs carried me through life as a single woman living in NYC. His songs got me through highs and lows in my life. When I hear certain songs, I think of people that have come and gone and those I miss.

My Little Prince’s music made quite a mark on some life events…

I remember driving on the West Side Highway one morning. I was driving Jake downtown to school at St. Ignatius Loyola. As was our routine, we listened to the radio. The DJ at Z-100 mentioned a bit of Prince trivia. He said Prince’s favorite meal was Pot Roast made with a can of Pepsi. I decided to try it and added a can of Pepsi to my regular slow-cooked Pot Roast. Viola! From then on, “Prince Pepsi Pot Roast” became a regular on the menu!

“Purple Rain” will always remind me of my friends Dick and Lisa Kern because we were all obsessed!

I wanted a Raspberry Beret.

I loved Tom Jones even more after he did a cover of Prince’s “Kiss”.

I never realized that Prince wrote “Manic Monday” for The Bangles. Nor did I realize he wrote “Nothing Compares 2 U” for Sinead O’Connor.

Prince–you sly Minx, you! You wrote the most incredible songs–not just for you but for so many others!

Today I’m sad. And I’m on the verge of tears. My tears aren’t only because we have lost a musical genius, but they are for all the vicious speculation that sensationalist cheap news media will report. And people will judge.

It doesn’t matter HOW this talented man left us. What matters is that he left us. And we are all affected.

Prince–thank you for making moments of my life memorable. Thank you for your beautiful musical gifts. Thank you for your individuality. Thank you for your Pot Roast!

You’ve made the doves cry but the angels are singing.

https://vimeo.com/163770557

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Loss of a musical icon, Prince | 20 Comments

I’ll Keep My Independence, Thank You!

Posted on April 20, 2016 by Catherine

I’m really making a serious attempt to keep my politics out of my blog. But I feel the need to open up today!

…to read what I have to say!!!!

My political opinions are highly regarded. By me.

And with all the bullshit that both parties are throwing around, and with both parties whoring to get votes from any “group” they can pander to. It amazes me that…NOT ONE OF THESE POLITICAL CONTENDERS HAS ADDRESSED THE ISSUE OF AGEISM!

…and we all know who WON’T get hired! Might I add that Human Resources was so much better when it was “Personnel”?

And a few of them are of “ageist” years old!

Yeah. All three of you should be ashamed of yourselves for NOT addressing ageism as the new “ISM” and for NOT trying to bag the Senior vote. You ARE that group!

For the record, Bernie is my man. I am very pleased that he cares about “We the People”. I hear some people saying that he is a socialist. Well, what’s wrong with that anyway? Yes. His thoughts are to raise taxes so that we will be a country to take care of her citizens with a nationalized health care. Is that so wrong? Yes. He wants to raise taxes so that college students will have that education without owing a mortgage in student loans. Is that so wrong?

For people who are employed—how much of your paycheck is going toward your medical insurance? Yeah. I thought so. Think about how your taxes will be raised and you won’t have that deductible any more. You will bring more money home from each paycheck.

And I know that Mr. Sanders will not win the nomination for the Democratic Party.

But it’s also about greed. As Americans, we are a greedy bunch when it truly comes to helping our neighbors. Many Americans will attend services at their place of Worship and vow to God, or, recite passages from the storybook otherwise known as The Bible. These Bible Bangers will read and recite passages about treating everyone with respect and love. And as soon as those same individuals leave the confines of their church, or the confines of their reading rooms, they spew hate to those who aren’t the same as them.

Um hum. It seems that many of those who quote the Bible and wear their Sunday best to those little white churches don’t practice what they preach!

You know what I’m talking about. I don’t have to go into details about the various groups of people who are “hated” because of the Christian tighty righties!

So true–and this comes into play with politics!

But fear not self-righteous righties. I’m an equal opportunist.

The extreme left is just as bad. Political Correctness and over sensitivity rule their roosts. If ONE police officer makes a boo-boo, then they feel ALL policemen and policewomen are a force that needs a makeover to a more criminal-friendly bunch. These are the people who made compliments on one’s appearance “offensive”. These are the people who turned ANY form of disagreement into “bullying”.

..and this is why I LOVE Bill Maher! Like me, he is an equal opportunist when it comes to politics. He will point the finger at both parties and he especially despises Political Correctness!

With both of these extreme political Donkeys and Elephants, there is no compromise.

Both of these political animals are starting to annoy me.

And that is what is wrong.

I am an Independent. I vote for the person who I think will do the better job. NOTE—I write “better”—not “best” because our political parties have been flushed down the toilet while the extremist shit seems to float to the top.

.…and I wouldn’t want to be with any other party at this time!

What happened to the moderates of yesteryear? Where is the happy medium?

Um. No. It isn’t hard to understand. Take stock of yourselves!

What happened to platforms of what candidates will actually do for “We the People”? Why do we have to watch Political Dozens? How come politicians are more focused on bashing each other rather then what they would do for our people?

Why were Super PACS ever allowed in the first place? Why is a bought nomination acceptable?

Super PACS and Super Delegates. Both suck.

And don’t even get me started on “delegates”. A delegation does NOT a democracy make. The popular vote makes a democracy.

And so I will remain an Independent. I believe in equality for all people. I believe that NO MAN EVER, EVER, EVER, HAS THE RIGHT TO TELL A WOMAN WHAT DO TO WITH HER BODY. EVER!!!!

I don’t believe in outsourcing jobs to other countries and I don’t believe that American corporations should have tax breaks.

I believe in being fair. Don’t tax someone making $35,000 a year the same as someone making $200,000. And for chrissakes if a transgender male/female wants to use the same restroom as me, I don’t care—when nature calls, it doesn’t matter who is in the stall next to me. I’ve changed diapers and I’ve gotten pregnant. I KNOW what the human anatomy looks like. So what!

SHE stands for Liberty and Justice for all. Let’s remember that, shall we? Thank you Lady Liberty!

But back to my Independent status politically. I am unable to vote in my State’s primary because Pennsylvania does not host an open primary.

Yes. I’ve voted in every election, both local and national. However, I won’t be wearing this next week because PA is a closed primary.

Does that make me angry? I’ll admit—it does a bit, but not enough for me to change my affiliate.

And until both the Republican and Democrat parties take stock of who they are, how they stand, stop allowing super PACS, stop bashing each other, and start concentrating on what they would really do for “We the People”, I shall remain true to who I am.

Independent!

And I may just write Elizabeth Warren in as my choice when I vote for President!

Once again, I’m all for Bill. HE should run for office!

I hope all my girls are Independent women–even if they aren’t politically, I still hope they are independent thinkers!

Posted in 2016 Primary, ageism, Uncategorized | Tagged Independent politics, Politics 2016 | 38 Comments

The Call to (Jury) Duty

Posted on April 16, 2016 by Catherine

For the past few days, I’ve been hoping that the US Post Office would deliver a small check that I am waiting to receive from my little part-time job.

I am also, in my delusions, hoping that Post Office will deliver a birthday card from the very few people out in the real world who do NOT find me annoying. Checks and birthday cards are so much better than bills.

And other mail.

Three days ago I received, in the mail, a summons for Jury Duty.

I’m thinking maybe this was a birthday gift from the County of Montgomery….

This was truly a W.T.F. moment. Where do I begin this rant?

But it wasn’t. It was a fun letter to invite me to Jury Duty and to further invite me to complete an online questionnaire! It’s akin to online dating. They want to know ALL about me!

I have been unemployed since December 31, 2014. With the exception of one hell of an “American Horror Story” mistake of a job that lasted 2 weeks, I also had a temp job for 7 weeks. That’s a grand total of 9 weeks employment during the course of 16 months of complete unemployment.

Yeah. And we all know what a “Treasure” the American Horror Story of a job was…..

Why is it that during the idle 16 months of my unemployment, the County of Montgomery in the State of Pennsylvania couldn’t summon me to Jury Duty while I sat on my fat ass with nowhere to go except to the grocery store, the hair stylist, the nail salon, my bed, and to the toilet?

Why is it that within two weeks of finally becoming employed—and part-time employment no less–making minimum wages, if I am not meeting my commission, that Montgomery County decides to pick me of all people to be a possible Juror at the paltry rate of $9.00 a day for the first three days and $25.00 a day thereafter? Why is this?

I have so much in common with Sebastian! He is so spot on!

One would think that our local government would, perhaps, have a database of unemployed persons throughout the State of Pennsylvania or throughout the local Counties of the State. The application process to receive unemployment benefits is an arduous one and it would be only logical if the local government chose from the listing of persons receiving unemployment benefits (for the short time they do) to serve as jurors in a Court of Law.

Am I right? What the hell do the unemployed do anyway? Where are we going? We have no money to take off on little pleasurable day trips because most of us are depressed that we are in this state of unemployment! We are so depressed and disillusioned that we can’t even get out of our pajamas or bathe! Being a juror would give us something to do and something to look forward to and a sense of purpose!

Yes. I swear this system is completely screwed up! Why can the unemployed be called to Jury Duty. It would be like a pretend job that pays below minimum wages. Let’s build some self-esteem among the unemployed–shall we?? God knows, they need to feel good!

Better yet, that nine bucks a day would feel like a million bucks after the 26 weeks of unemployment benefits runs out!

Trust me. When unemployment benefits cease after 26 weeks, nine bucks seems like a million!

So now, I have to go let my manager know that next month I have to report for Jury Duty and hopefully won’t get chosen to sit in that rectangular jury box while some poor slob goes on trial for a miniscule petty crime.

Oh yeah. I’m gonna be REAL judgy in my efforts to be non-judgmental

But—I have made an effort to get out of this.

I could not use THIS excuse to get out of Jury Duty. So instead…..

I went online to complete my special “juror questionnaire”. In this questionnaire, it is asked if you have any members of law enforcement in your family and if having so will affect your ability to judge fairly.

Yes. My dad was a NYC cop. I have cousins who are policemen. I have uncles that were policemen. My brother is an MP.

And I answered that I would, in fact, be affected in judgement.

I also added in the “remarks” section the following:

“I would not be a good juror because after being unemployed for an extended period of time, I have suffered from tremendous stress and anxiety. My emotional state of mind is “fragile” and “I am not right in the head”. I cannot give a statement from a physician be”……

I was unable to complete my “remarks” because I ran out of the allotted amount of characters. I wanted to continue to write….”cause I don’t have medical insurance and cannot afford to go to a physician to give me happy pills because I need to save my money for the fine I will be charged for NOT having medical insurance”

It wasn’t until a few hours later when I thought that I just should have written …“I just started a part-time job. Why didn’t you summon me when I was unemployed and idle?”

I’m hoping the County powers that be take mercy on me and dismiss me from reporting for Jury Duty. Just as the many HR people have dismissed me after interviews for positions I was qualified for but never got because of my age.

Unfortunately, there is no ageism in Jury selection!

This is the kind of judge that I want to party with!

Have a great, great weekend!!! Here’s an appropriate song for the day! “I Fought The Law…..”

Posted in Jury Duty Fun | Tagged Jury Duty | 41 Comments

More Shit Old Ladies Do. The “Mature” Work Face.

Posted on April 12, 2016 by Catherine

Whew! Hey my buddyroos! This part-time work schedule is, in the most bizarre way, more taxing than I could have imagined. I think it is more blog-friendly working the old 9 to 5 rather than 11 AM to 7PM or 2 PM to 10 PM.

When I write our blog (and I say “our” because this blog belongs to all of us!), I like sitting in front of the computer and drafting, editing, (even though spell check phucks up much of the time….), and checking my emails from various online sights because people never email me. I also spend a bit of time weeding out incredibly out-of-focus photos to replace with slightly out-of-focus photos instead. I like to do this in one long shot.

I still have to get used to the new schedule. But I’m off today so all is well!

Let me tell you something. Working under department store lights is very difficult because the lighting makes me look completely washed out. In fact, the only flattering lighting in the store is in the ladies rest room—but I can’t sell handbags from the toilet!

Unfortunately, I can’t conduct business from here!

Believe me, the mirror doesn’t lie and when I caught a glimpse of myself the other day I just about died of both fright and embarrassment. I looked so freakin’ old and washed out that I almost broke down in tears. I also realized that I needed to go with a lighter hand on certain make up items and heavier on others.

If I asked the mirror mirror on the wall who’s the fairest of them all, he would answer “Well lady, it ain’t YOU”! I’m shattered!

So the next day, I changed up and chronicled my “work” makeup application. I went lighter on the foundation and heavier on the eye makeup. I also went a bit more colorful on the cheeks and more neutral on the lips.

That evening, when Bonaparte picked me up at the mall, he mentioned that I looked very pretty and that my makeup looked great. In fact, he practically ordered me to apply my makeup like I had every day. He loved that I didn’t load on the foundation. Frenchmen! They notice everything!

Do you “mime” if I give you “mime” opinion, asked the Frenchman!

Anyway, I thought I would give a rundown on my work face. And yes. It does come under the subject of more shit old ladies do. And that is because we use just as many, if not more, cosmetics than our younger peers do and the cosmetics industries still continue to ignore us.

First of all, I prepared the two beauty blender dupes that I use by running them under the faucet to get them nice and wet so the blending would be easier. I no longer use the original Beauty Blender because Chippy ate it. The “Real Techniques” blender works just as well and is far less pricey. I also use the “Revive” brand blender to blend the highlighter and contour cream because it is constructed of a more rubbery substance and I find it just works better for blending a creamier substance.

I love this Real Techniques Blender for blending foundation!

I also prepared my face with Lancôme’s Genifique serum, of which I’m at the bottom of the bottle and Hourglass Primer to prime my skin.

I’ve been using Genefique serum on and off for years. It’s time for a repurchase. I won’t be repurchasing the Hourglass primer because at the $52.00 price I paid, the drugstore primers work just as well and are a lot less expensive!

Anyway, I started out blending e.l.f. Flawless Finish foundation. This is the most inexpensive foundation I’ve ever purchased and Bonaparte said it looks the best on me. Six bucks worth of drugstore foundation and it is better suited to me than any of my high-end foundation. Go figure!

e.l.f. Flawless Finish Foundation. Best six bucks I’ve ever spent! This is great and wears all day!

Next was a quick brush of Bare Minerals Well-Rested (one of my Holy Grail products) over and under lids to brush the blues away.

I grabbed the Mally Nude Attitude eyeshadow palette (which is quickly becoming a “go-to”) and brushed “Cream” under the brow bone. Then I added “Sand” over the lid and finally “Chestnut” in the crease and brushed out and up to give my eyes more of an almond shape. Oh. I also smudged a bit of the “Sand” shadow on the bottom lid too.

“Cream” all over and under the brow, “Sand” on the upper lid and lined below the eye and “Chestnut” in the crease. I nice trio!

The shadows look very nude and natural, but they really were darker in better lighting!

Next I did my brows. I’m going a bit thinner these days. I’ll tell you, this Mally 24/7 Brow Express is the best thing I ever bought for my brows. The color is sable and the pencil end is so great. It’s retractable, which I love because I can keep the point small and not worry about breaking any of the product off—then I just go over the brows lightly with the powdered end and finish off with a coat of the brow gel. It’s great!

I’m so thankful for Adrian’s Mally Makeover. He taught me to go lighter on the brow color and he was so right. The look is much softer!

Finished brows. They are looking mighty fine!

The lashes are next. I’ve written about lash extension/fiber mascara kits in the past. And I’m a fan of these products. It sometimes takes me forever to apply false lashes and the glue has a habit of irritating my eyes so I only use the fakes for special occasions. In the harsh department store lighting, I also find that regular mascara just isn’t cutting it. I purchased this lash extension kit by Bella Rose on Amazon recently because the price was great. I paid under $15.00 and I’m happy with the results.

The kit comes in a cute leather-like box that holds the tube of fibers and tube of gel mascara…

This is one coat. I love the length. If you want super-thick lashes, go for two or three coats. But one coat gives a more natural look!

Look-at 50+ this isn’t Latisse but it will give you a temporary lash fix by giving the lashes an appearance of length with one coat. If you are looking for a bit more fullness, then two or three coats will give you that look. But be careful. The fibers have a tendency to fall on to the cheeks and you can remedy that by a simple coat of the gel when you are finished.

I apply liner after lash products. I use the Urban Decay 24/7 pencil as a tightline. It lasts a decent amount of time. I used NYC liquid liner. I love this liner because it is incredibly inexpensive, the brush is super thin, which gives great control and the liner lasts all day.

My lining products. The Urban Decay Pencil glides on smoothly and is incredibly creamy. I have been using the NYC liner for years. The brush that comes with it is thin and gives great control. The white pencil from e.l.f., sadly didn’t work for me. The pencil wasn’t creamy enough for mature skin.

On the bottom inside lid, I used this e.l.f. white pencil. I was intrigued by the sharpener built into the cover of the tip. Needless to say, this pencil turned out to be a dud for me. The product doesn’t glide on nor is it creamy. On more “mature” eyes, creaminess is a plus because we don’t want to tug at the already sensitive skin. I’ll have to find another use for this—but at a dollar, it isn’t a big loss.

Eyes lined! In the course of a few moments, the traces of the white pencil I lined in the rim of my bottom lids had worn off completely.

Next step! Highlighting and contour. I like to make a triangle of Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser concealer. It states on the tiny bottle that it’s for dark circles. I use it to highlight. The color I use is fair. In addition, I like the way the product is distributed. The container is turned until the product reaches the spongey/fuzz/velvety tip at the end. It’s very pragmatic because there’s no waste.

Another one of my slightly out-of-focus photographs. I’m so talented! Anyway, the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind concealer is in the back and the NYX Wonder Stick is in the front. It’ll be time to repurchase this Wonder Stick soon. I LOVE this! The texture is so nice and creamy and easy to blend!

I’ve heard mixed reviews on cream contour but personally, I think cream contours are “mature” skin friendly. Powders can sometimes look ashy or cakey and make our skin appear to be a bit more dry than usual. I found the cream just works well. I swipe under each cheekbone, the sides of my nose, under my bottom lip and blend, blend, blend with the very damp Revive blender. I think the rubbery texture of this blender is better-suited than the Real Techniques blender.

Blending the highlight and contour in. It takes no time and gives a nice finish and some sculpting!

Alrighty. Since the lighting washes out, I decided to use a longer-lasting and brighter color on my cheeks. I went with NYC Lovatics Lip and Cheek Tint.

NYC Lovatis Cheek Stain and e.l.f. stipple brush.

I use this only on my cheeks—it’s just too bright for my old lady fish lips. The color is cheeky pink and looks very bright red in the bottle. It swipes on a bit more bright pink. It dries fast so you have to work fast. I pat with an elf. stipple brush and blend.

Three stripes of cheek stain across the cheek stippled and blended in quickly gives….

…good color that lasts all day!

Two final steps. I wait till the end of this process to apply mascara on my bottom lashes. It gives any other eye product time to dry and settle. I love the NYC Sky Rise mascara because the wand is so easy to use for the lower lashes. Quite honestly, I’m not spending a ton of money on high end mascara anymore because mascara just doesn’t last long enough to justify the high price. There are a lot of great low end and drug store mascaras. You just have to find out which ones work for you!

I love the Sky Line mascara because the wand is perfect for applying product to the lower lashes. The spirals on the brush are spaced apart nicely so the lashes don’t get clumpy!

Last is lip color. This is such an ordeal for me. Really. It is. I have those lines above my mouth, which I always fill in with original Chapstick. It’s the greatest blur product.

Chapstick. My go-to “blur”!

Luckily, I discovered Mally Lip Fence, which is a little retractable pen of waxy heaven that you line your lips with to keep lip color from bleeding. This works!

Hey. It takes a village of products for kissable lips! The Lip Fence keeps those products placed where they belong!

Then I reline the lips with NYX Wonder Pencil and fill in my lips with NYX lip liner.

NYX Wonder Pencil is great for lining and the liner pencilin Pale Pink/Rose is the perfect nude base!

I’m coloring my lips in with the NYX liner pencil in Pale Pink/Rose. It keeps the gloss color from changing–I have very pigmented lips and need a bit of toning them down!

A fan of NYX Butter Gloss, I picked up this neutral pink—Tiramisu and love it. Does the lip color last all day? No. It does not. However, it lasts a good amount of time and I find I’m not touching up every ten minutes.

NYX Butter Gloss in Tiramisu. These glosses are fantastic. Hydrating and a nice hint of color that stays on for a while. NOT all day, but a good amount of time!

I have to admit. For me, the worst part of aging is the mouth. My lips, when I was younger, used to be full in the nicest way. These days they are full in a Leona Helmsley sorta way and it really isn’t that attractive.

She was one of the wealthiest women in New York City–and you would THINK Leona would have been more adept at applying her makeup. She could have afforded the best fillers. Ugh!

I find along with a lighter more neutral lip, smiling helps make my mouth look less saggy and in need of fillers that I cannot afford.

The final touch. NYX Butter Gloss and a smile!

While I put my makeup on, I take my hair and loosely pin curl in sections. When I take the bobby pins out, my hair falls in nice waves. Multitasking for the mature woman!

I section my hair and pin it up while applying my makeup. Multitasking. Look–I still have wrinkles..and now that 61 is just 4 days away, I notice the wrinkles are getting deeper. I just have to smile wider!!

I swear when I was younger I never needed as many beauty products as I do at this stage of my life. And I know I’m being repetitive, but does the beauty industry not realize this? If they truly did, more old ladies would be shown in beauty advertisements and editorials. Am I right? Huh?

Makeup and hair all done. Smile is on and I’m ready for work!

Hey. Love yourself. We need to be more like this lady—and she’s having a great time!

When we can be happy with ourselves, we can be happy with others! I’ll have what SHE’s drinking! Let’s enjoy our maturity!

I’m off to run errands! Enjoy the day and remember that old ladies rock the world of beauty and just rock the world in general! WAIT. Before I go. I want to show you something. I wiped off the makeup I had on at the end of the day. The drugstore makeup lasted just as long as the high end.

I know, I KNOW–this towel is really gross and disgusting. But I wanted to show that less expensive beauty products can last all day!

Here’s a great Dean Martin moment! He’s “Sitting On Top Of The World”. So am I!XOXOXOXO!

Posted in Beauty, Beauty for Baby Boomers, Beauty for Older Women, hair styles for older women | Tagged Beauty for Older Women. More Shit Old Ladies do | 35 Comments

Icona Am In Love With Little Edie Beale and Her Fashion Style

Posted on April 8, 2016 by Catherine

When I woke up this morning, I checked the emails on my iPhone. Lord knows, I can’t miss any news. I mean, people don’t email me so I have to pretend that all “dot coms” are my besties! InStyle.com greeted me with the news that Anne Hathaway had a baby. Ugh. Ann “Hathaway” of annoying me. I’ve read way too many articles on her as a fashion icon—especially during her pregnancy.

Anne Hathaway is NOT a fashion icon. She is dressed for red carpet events by stylists. These stylists make a lot of money in order to make one believe Hathaway is the ultimate purveyor of style.

Hathaway is NOT a style icon. She is merely fortunate enough to afford stylists to assist her. BTW, her eye makeup is atrocious!

Add to that, the word “icon” is way overused.

You want iconic women in fashion and style? I’ll give ’em to you! Lauren Hutton—when she started out as a model was considered odd looking because of her gapped teeth and slightly crossed eyes. And she went on to become one of the most famous models and style icons. Her laid back style is a reflection of her personality. Jane Birkin—the woman reeks of style. Another gap-toothed beauty, with an iconic bag named after her. Birkin’s personal bag of choice was an old woven basket. Bardot—queen of the naughty girls and with the style of a woman who just got out of bed after a wild night. She proudly personifies the “Walk of Shame” to her walk of style fame! Then there’s Jackie. Her eyes set way too far apart, but beautiful nonetheless. She is the iconic queen of simple dressing. She reeks of class…..

Now THESE are what I call iconic style and fashion mavens! And you don’t achieve this title in your twenties or early thirties either! It takes a few decades to become iconic!

…and so did Jackie’s cousin. Little Edie Beale.

“Little” Edie Bouvier Beale. Jackie’s cousin. Beale was considered the real beauty in the family. And she was!

If you’ve never seen Grey Gardens, the documentary about Little and Big Edie Beale, the infamous mother and daughter who were members of the Bouvier family, I strongly suggest you see it. Or rent the follow up: The Beales of Grey Gardens.

An older Edie Beale in front of the family home, Grey Gardens, in East Hampton NY.

Big Edie, in yellow, and daughter Little Edie enjoying a sunny day at Grey Gardens!

Also on my recommendation, rent the 2009 film based on the original documentary. Drew Barrymore stars as Edie Beale and she does a bang-up job at channeling every single nuance of Little Edie. Barrymore was epic. The story of Little Edie and her mother even made it to Broadway.

Drew Barrymore nailed Edie perfectly. This is what made me a fan of Drew Barrymore!

Bill Heder formerly of SNL also does a great job of channeling his inner Edie on the IFC show Documentary Now.

Heder channeling his inner Edie. Everyone wants to be her!

In my opinion, Little Edie was a fabulously tragic, funny, interesting, and sad, intriguing, delusional, talented, and absolutely beautiful woman.

Edie in earlier times as a model…..

She was absolutely gorgeous!

Was this hooded covering on her head an omen of a look to come?

Edie shunned the socialite life and opted for modeling and trying to break into show business. Her life took twists and turns and she ended up caring for her mother, Big Edie. She ended up living a life of delusions and eccentricity.

...Big Edie was very delusional. She lived with her daughter and was completely dependent on her. Both Edies were dependent on each other.

The original premise of her caring for Big Edie was also taking care of the many cats that also lived in Grey Gardens. Check out her stylish head covering. She still looks classy!

And through it all, her sense of style, no matter how wild or weird or crazy others may have thought, proved the woman had class. Listening to her upper-crust accent, I’m amazed that she is devoid of any iota of a “New Yawk” accent.

Edie talking people and gardening. Listen to her accent. It’s so prep school but not New Yawk!

Studying her wardrobe, it is so obvious that she took time to carefully put her one-of-a-kind ensembles together. Stylists can learn a thing or two from Little Edie!

What does this photo have in common with Edie’s cousin Jackie? Ron Galella snapped it! Look how chic Edie is–and her creativity knocks the head scarf out of the park—she tucked it into her shirt and it peeks out over her pants! I LOVE this outfit!

Look at her skin! She was in her her late fifties here. NO TURKEY NECK! Her skin is beautiful and she matches that head covering perfectly with the vintage swimsuit!

She lost her hair. Her family blamed it on stress. Someone else close to her said it was because she set her hair on fire. Regardless, she rocked the DIY head coverings. Scarfs and various fabrics draped tautly around her head, framing her flawless complexion like a nun, and secured with a brooch, her style was whimsical, creative and pragmatic.

The brooch is the perfect way to class up Edie’s head covering!

Her All-American look!

The clothing she wore may have been old and almost tattered, but the lines were there. Simple and great quality. She wore timeless and classic clothing. But she wore that clothing in her own special way.

She put time and effort into her daily outfits!

…and she stood her ground against her mother’s wardrobe wishes. Typical mom and daughter arguments! Edie made brown and black look so fashionable!

What is not to love about her look?

Her style and beauty are timeless. Look at her face–it aged beautifully!

And despite the fact that she was labeled crazy or odd, she had enough self-respect and self-esteem that she would still take the time to use make up. A real girly-girl! I watch Grey Gardens quite often because I’m obsessed with her.

A rosy cheek, a nice pink lipstick, filled in brows and a touch of shadow, along with a multi-colored scarf around her head make Edie look happy and delightful!

I admired her for being her own person. I felt empathy for her because she was forbidden by her family to pursue her dreams of being a writer or poet or singer or actress. Her mother suffered the same fate.

From the NY Times. Showcasing her desire to write poetry!

And yet, living in the squalor of a once magnificent mansion, both women managed to live their sheltered and protected lives just fine.

And Little Edie displayed an air of fashionable, stylish flair. She really is one of my style icons. The fashion industry decides that a woman who has stylists and makeup artists and a village in helping her achieve that elusive nuance called style. The industry needs to realize that style is not “bought” nor is it made.

Edie dressed to perform. She was also in great shape! I love the bodysuit with the hose. And those scarves!!!!

Style is innate. Thank you Little Edie! Thank you for your personality and your class and your iconic style!

Thank you Edie. I tried channeling your head covering look. I tried a nice classy plaid with a red ribbon (Old Navy PJ bottoms)–but somehow it didn’t look chic, nor classy, nor stylish on me. I’ll stick to my regular look!

And remember–if someone looks odd or different, praise them for their individuality and creativity!

Today I give you a bit of Edie Beale performing a patriotic July 4th dance from Grey Gardens. Check out the shoes. They are incredible! XOXOXOXO

Posted in Beauty, Fashion, Grey Gardens, humor, Jackie Kennedy, Little Edie Beale, Style, The Bouvier Family, Unusual fashion and style icons | Tagged Grey Gardens, Little Edie Beale, The Delusions of a Bouvier | 19 Comments

Hate That Gray—Dye It Away. Love that Gray—Let it Stay. But We Old Ladies Need to Stick Together Like Hairspray!

Posted on April 6, 2016 by Catherine

Today I am on a rant ‘n roll. It started yesterday when I read one of my “go-to” blogs, “That’s Not My Age“. The wonderful Alyson Walsh writes a blog on style for women over 40 and she has “covered” the subject of gray hair a couple of times. It’s great because she gets the discussion going—and yesterday’s post on this subject of gray hair had me obsessing all day and into the night.

This woman freakin’ rocks the gray hair. And I want to see this look as a stereotypical one for a mature woman. Her makeup is beautiful. I want that lip color. Unfortunately, my own hair isn’t as luxe as hers is to rock this look!

Where do I start? Ok—here’s my view on the subject. There are a few outspoken and rather militant schools of thought on the tresses of gray. A wide number of women seem to insist that all women “over a certain age” should make themselves free of coloring their hair and embrace the change as the locks fade and lose color into that gray area.

If you are a woman over 40 or 50, I’m sure you’ve read the countless articles of women whose choice to “go gray” is a badge of bravery. Their gray hair is empowering. They are soldiers in the war of ageism because gray hair = age discrimination.

Um. That’s not necessarily true. Age discrimination is based not on gray hair. It is based on age—older age. Corporations don’t care if a 30 year old woman has gray hair, nor do corporations care if a 25 year old woman has gone prematurely gray and decided to stay that way. Corporations do NOT want to hire older women because of other factors. Corporations feel that older women (men too) are not savvy with technology.

This cartoon by Scott Adams pretty much sums up ageism in the workplace–nothin’ to do with hair!

They give tests to see how adept one may be on the Cloud system or on the latest and greatest versions of Microsoft programs. And yet, they don’t test anyone in common sense. Case in point:

Earlier this morning, Bonaparte was at the computer. I heard some choice words coming from our home office. He was spewing very naughty words in his native language. Ohlalalalala! And then I heard it—an unusual cry for assistance. The French don’t ask for help so I KNEW this was serious!

Bonaparte as a young man in Paris. He’s contemplating his future in the USA and wondering if he will ever find a woman who knows her way around the world of computers (I don’t think they even had computers when this pic was taken)! This is my favorite pic of him–I HAD to sneak it in here!

“Casseee.” “Cassee.” “Ah nid ehr ‘elp wis zee compew-tair” “Eez eempor-tahn—On y va!” “On y va!!”

(Translation: “Cathe.” “Cathe”. “I need your help with the computer”. “It’s important—let’s go!” “let’s go!”)

His daughter sent him three emails with photos of flyers that she needed printed in color. Bonaparte has AOHell as his email server. I do not. Bonaparte did not know how to print off the flyer from the contents of the email.

To tell you the truth, I don’t use AOHell, so I wasn’t familiar with the process. But IT TOOK ME LESS THAN A MINUTE TO FIGURE IT OUT, resize, reconvene and print the flyers.

Corporations feel that only the under 50 crowd is adept at figuring out any sort of computer issues. Corporations also feel that the under 50 crowd is also much more hire-friendly because they will never become ill. EVER! Corporations feel older adults are a medical risk. It doesn’t matter how knowledgeable or able they may be for a position.

Employers also don’t want to hire olders because they are “set in their ways”. Really??? I happen to know many younger people who are way more set in their ways—and dull as all get out then many older people. One is never too old to learn!

Rather than focusing on your hair going gray, might I suggest placing energies on stopping ageism in the workplace in more important ways—like the ones I mentioned above?

Let’s focus on stopping the discrimination better known as “Ageism”!

Look—we’re all women. We’re older. We need to support each other and stick together like hairspray.

And while I’m at it, we need to stick together like Elnett hairspray. This spray has epic holding power–and we need to hold on to each other!

And that’s the issue. We all have little cliques. We have the groups of women who are militant about embracing the gray. We have little cliques of women who feel that we should age without the use of fillers and plastic surgery. We have groups of women that look down on other women because they can’t afford designer clothing. It never ends.

That’s right. I don’t exclude. You wanna smoke like a chimney…

…you wanna have plastic surgery to match Jocelyn Wildenstein’s? I embrace you for who you are!

I remember when Jake was born almost 33 years ago. It was the decision that I would return to work until I had more children. Since I was breastfeeding and wanted continue, even while working, I had questions. I needed support. I went to a La Leche meeting to try to get that support.

Stay calm my ass–La Leche league was the biggest “letdown” (if you breastfed, you will get the play on words)

And rather than support, I went through an Amazonian attack of sorts. Questions like “Why can’t you bring your baby to work?” “Why can’t you insist that you leave work to breastfeed” were thrown at me. Were these women for real? Were they that entitled that they truly didn’t know what support actually meant?

I felt like Jean Rochefort did in the film “Calmos”. He was attacked by a group of Amazonian troops. That’s how I felt about La Leche League!

I do remember before the meeting ended, I stood up and told them that I was very disillusioned in their group. I needed support because it was very difficult for me to be separated from my son. I also needed advice on how I could keep my milk supply flowing since I would be away from him for eight hours. I received no help from the La Leche League. Hence I learned a valuable lesson as a woman that night. Do what is best for you and figure it out—because these women were a self-righteous group that didn’t give a shit about breastfeeding mothers returning to work.

La Leche League sucks. That was my thought after that disastrous meeting.

As you can see from this photo, I went with my own version of La Leche! My tits were on demand–not just for meals but for snacking too! Oh goddess. I miss my big, huge ’80’s hair!

Breastfeeding is and should be a private matter. If a woman decides to bottle-feed, so be it. The bond with her child is still great. If a woman decides to breast feed, then La Leche League should be there for support and advice. Period. Stand by the woman and embrace the woman more than the ideology!

We’re our own worst enemies at times. I know women who think I’m horrible for supporting Bernie Sanders completely rather than supporting Hillary Clinton. That’s not it—I just happen to relate to Sanders’ views and politics more than I do Clinton’s. However, should she win the nomination, she will get my full support and my vote. And it won’t be because she is a woman; it’ll be because she is the better candidate than the women-hating Republicans. Simple!

As much as I want to see a woman president, Hillary comes second to my Bernie. And both of them piss me off because they never address ageism!

It is also ironic that NONE of the presidential candidates have addressed ageism because they are too obsessed with gaining the youth vote!

See where the topic of gray hair has led to with me? Let me get back to the subject.

Yes. I read the many blog posts and articles pontificating about gray hair and not having to spend the time and money on dye. Yes. I’ve read from the “experts” that as you age, your hair color should be a couple of shades lighter or you will look “harsh”.

This is the beautiful singer Emmylou Harris. She’s been gray for years. YEARS! However, not all of us are blessed with the beautiful head of hair she has and not all of us are blessed with her features! She is not the normal gray-haired woman!

Guess what?

Perhaps some may think my haircolor harsh, but I really don’t care. This is the color I will wear for a long, long time!

I’ll take my chances looking harsh. I’ll keep dying my hair jet black. It’s the natural color I was born with.

Since I’ve been incredibly lazy at times and have let my roots go to an uncanny resemblance to that of a skunk, I’ve realized that:

If this guy saw me in between coloring touch ups, he would be in love with me!

I look washed out in gray—it doesn’t compliment my skin tone
My hair, thanks to Menopause (the great biological misogynist), has thinned out to the point of bald spots. Dark dye, along with certain products, disguises the loss.
My hair is also naughty. It is coarse and wiry and will appear even more coarse and wiry in its state of gray.
I happen to LOVE my hair darkened. In fact, I’m very comfortable with dark hair. And if I’m comfortable, I’m happy. If I’m happy I’m confident.
The weather here in the Northeast is gray enough. I don’t need to add to it.

This is how my hair would look if I went gray and allowed it to form into its natural state. Ain’t gonna happen.

I’ve seen very few women who completely rock the gray. Very few. My Ob/Gyn from New York, Dr. Richard Levine—his wife was one of the few who rocks that gray. The first time I saw her picture was while I was in stirrups. Her beautiful head of hair made me forget that I was being prodded for a Pap smear!

Ellen Levine. At the time she was the editor of Redbook magazine and her hair was swoon-worthy. Not just because of the gray, but because her hair was just so thick and lustrous. It didn’t matter what color her hair was. And she made me forget all about the position I was in whenever I saw her husband! (Which BTW, he is the greatest Ob/Gyn in New York City. He has to be. He dealt with my craziness!)

Her gray has turned to white and she still has a great head of hair.

And her hair didn’t empower her career. Her brains did.

And brains and common sense and respect are what we women need to truly be supportive of each other. We don’t raise our daughters to be exclusive nor do we raise them to be mean girls. So let’s stop. Let’s be inclusive of ALL women and let’s be supportive of each other.

You want gray hair. I support you and think it’s cool. So please do the same for this old broad and all the others who dye our hair and who pile on the makeup and hairspray. When it comes down to it–we’re all fighting the same “ism”–Ageism!

Let’s Watusi together!

This gets better and funnier with every view! Look at the aggression of the broad with the cigarette hanging from her mouth. She can multitask. Check out the one on the sofa behind her. We girls have to band together!

Let’s also dance together. We’ll do the Watusi with The Miracles and Claudette Robinson!

Posted in ageism, Beauty, Calmos, Ellen Levine Hair, France, Hair, Jean Rochefort, La Leche League is non supportive, Makeup for Older Women | Tagged #Humor, ageism, Beauty and Brains, Gray Hair and Older Women | 32 Comments

What I Did Today. Or-Weekdays are now my Weekend.

Posted on April 5, 2016 by Catherine

It’s Tuesday. And tomorrow is Wednesday. And the weekdays off are now my “weekend off” from work. I am now working weekends. That’s a hard pill to swallow! Time will be of the essence on these two days off but more than that, I have to get used to my new life schedule. Ahhhhh! The schedule of retail.

My weekday new “weekend” look! It’s fun!

Oh, I’m not complaining at all. I mean—after a year-and-a-half (with the exception of the temp position back in October) of lazing idle and searching in vain for employment, this new schedule is actually a good thing (I will keep telling myself this—especially during the summer months). I just have to work at being a bit more organized.

And speaking of organized, I went back to Five Below to purchase another one of those hanging jewelry organizers. There was still a good amount of lip and eye products to be placed in a more organized manner. Look what I did! I even purchased an over-the-door rack to hang both cosmetic holders. I’m so happy–so’s my makeup!

Phase II of my cosmetics organizing! This one is for lip and eye products!

Anyway, my feet and nails were treated to a well-needed mani-pedi earlier this morning. I’m so used to sitting on my ass in front of the computer that standing on my feet for more than five hours at a time was a bit surprising. I wore an old pair of J. Crew ballet flats yesterday and when I got home, my feet were barking.

The result of my mani-pedi. Bonaparte got me in the habit of red nails. It’s timeless and classic and always looks great!

I created the retail workout, however. I took a Swiffer duster from behind the counter and dusted every display in the department. That meant bending, stretching, lunging, and walking at a brisk pace. I also got my share of more bending and stretching when I cleaned the glass counters. I’m digging this new exercise program.

My new exercise theme song. “Bend and Stretch”–from Romper Room. Should I sing this while I’m at work?

Back to today. Listen. The gluten-free way of eating isn’t working for me. I’m very upset about this because since January, I have lost a grand total of 7 1/2 pounds. That’s just a little too slow for my personal happy place of weight loss. Perhaps it could be due to my love of aperitifs that the weight loss was too slow—or all the Easter candy I shoved into my mouth……

Now I’m trying something else. I ordered the 21 Day Fix plan.

Trust me–if I wanted to look like HER, I would have to take the 21-YEAR fix program–and plastic surgery on every part of my body!

I sort of ordered “21 Day Fix” plan lite. The pared-down version if you will. This plan has another version where you spend a lot of money for a special healthy shake powder. If you do purchase this shake plan, you will spend over a hundred dollars. There is no way I am shelling out over a hundred bucks for healthy shake powder. I’ll make my own shakes. Today’s “lunch” was a delicious shake of leftover salad greens, half a tomato, a banana, and almond milk. I call it the “Garbage Shake” because if I didn’t throw all that stuff into the blender, it would have started to rot and then it would have been garbage.

Can you guess what this is? It’s my “Garbage Shake” at the bottom of the glass–and I finished it. There’s bits of tomato in it, and spinach, and radicchio and hearts of palm and almond milk and a banana. I’ve tasted better…

Anyway, the basic premise of this 21 Day Fix plan is exercise and little portion-control plastic containers. I’m pretty sure it’s called 21 Day Fix because it takes 21 days to figure how this program actually works!

I received two CD’s containing the 21 day exercises. Both CD’s are in the cardboard pockets. My exercise today was unwrapping the plastic covering and taking the CD’s out to photograph them. I’ll do my first set of exercise tomorrow………if I remember.

I got a great workout from taking the wrapping off of these CDs. I’m tired now.

Also in this kit were 7 plastic containers. These containers are used to “measure” the daily intake of food. Each color container represents one item on the food chain.

My little containers. And believe ME, these containers ARE little!

While reading the Eating Plan booklet that also came in the kit, I had a good laugh. Claims of “I can eat all that?” are printed to make you think that you are eating a ton of food each day. Guess what? You’re not. But—at this point, I need some structure and boundaries.

And that’s what I did this afternoon. After the mani-pedi I drove off to Wegmans to buy some groceries and I came home, measured out my food for the next few days and crossed my fingers that this will work.

Luckily, I’m at the LOW end of caloric intake. Why am I saying “luckily”? That means I’m eating less than those who weigh more than me!

This is an entire day’s worth of carbs. A half of a sweet potato.

I get more fruit. Two servings this big…

Three helpings of veg..and the biggie. Four helpings of protein. About a cupful!

I’m going to spend the rest of the day reading more about this 21-Day Fix—as far as portion control goes, I think it’s very good. But with that also comes a good helping of willpower. Let’s see if I can muster up some power of the will!

I don’t know why she’s smiling. It cannot be over the small amount of food allowed each day. I think she’s smiling because she’s making millions off fat slobs like me!

If it were not so cold outside, I would take Chippy out for a nice long walk. However, Spring has decided to go back into her cave to hibernate and the weather is still freezing!

Have a great rest-of-the-day. I’ll be back tomorrow to talk hair! Yes. HAIR! I’m on another rant!

An appropriate song for today. The Kinks. Skin and Bone! XOXOXOXO!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Days Off, Dieting., Time Management | 21 Comments

Atypical 60

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