Browsing Tag

Brenda’s Blog

— Life —

Brenda's BlogDebra ShriverNew OrleansOver 50 ReinventionThe French Leave From Paris to Orleans Parish
pin it

Seldom have I opened a book and been gob smacked by goosebumps, but Debra Shriver’s exquisite The French Leave: From Paris to Orleans Parish has me squealing with delight. Debra’s new book is filled with lush photographs she took with her cellphone. It’s the story of why she bought a one-way ticket to Paris and spent almost a year there. A “sabbatical” as she called it. A much needed intermission in the midst of her busy life. A chance to reset and begin again.

Her new book is a Francophile’s view of Paris and her version of Paris along the Mississippi, her adopted hometown of New Orleans.

Continue Reading
— Life —

Brenda's BlogDerma-EEstrogen Positive Breast CancerMy Eight Favorite Skincare ProductsParaben Free SkinCare ProductsWomen Over 50
pin it

My earliest skincare memories are of my mother’s blue facial mask that morphed into a Halloween fright mask when it dried and paralyzed the skin around her mouth and eyes. At ten years of age, I thought this was hysterical. Other than washing my face with soap and water and using OJ’s Beauty Lotion, I don’t remember having a skincare regime until I was in my early twenties and started using Clinique’s toner, day cream and night cream. It wasn’t long before I made friends with the women behind the beauty counter, and I moved on to Orlane. 

Perhaps the best thing I’ve done to take care of my skin was when I started wearing wide brim hats in my mid-twenties.

Continue Reading
— Life —

Brenda's BlogFashion FridayLesley WolmanWomen Over 50 Style
pin it

Lesley Wolman is an actress, a singer, a songwriter and a blogger. She’s a woman who has a zest for life and like many of us, it took her a while to settle into her groove. Her mother was an opera singer, her father a cardiologist, and Lesley inherited the best of both parents. Growing up in Winnipeg, Canada, Lesley wanted to be a doctor, but she also wanted to sing and perform.

She spent years with one foot in medicine and the other in music.

Continue Reading
— Life —

Audrey HepburnBeauty Tips From Audrey HepburnBotoxBrenda's Blog
pin it

Today’s culture is obsessed with youth and physical beauty. We monitor our crow’s-feet and the vertical eleven lines that etch themselves in-between our eyebrows as well as the marionette lines that sometimes look like they’ve been chiseled from our nose to our chin. We fret about whether our lips and our brows are full enough and whether our teeth are too yellow. But when we go back and look at women who didn’t have Botox and fillers, when facelifts weren’t as common, do we hold them to our same standards? 

What is today’s definition of beauty?

Continue Reading
— Style —

Breast CancerBrenda's BlogFashion FridayMemories About My Favorite ClothesSan FranciscoThe Rolling Stones
pin it

The other day I was going through my closet, looking for clothes I already own that I can mix and match to make new outfits. In the process of trying them on and looking for things to pair together in other ways, I was reminded of when I bought them. 

Like the yellow, Chinese cheongsam blouse I bought in San Francisco, soon after I’d been chased out of a store on Stockton Street by a man wielding a meat cleaver.

Continue Reading
— Life —

Are You at a Crossroads?Brenda's BlogCamp ReinventionNew Career
pin it

Remember the old I Love Lucy episodes where she tries to sell Vitameatavegamin on television, or the one where she wraps chocolates on an out of control assembly line? It seemed like everything Lucy tried was fraught with problems from the get-go. Yes, she was a bit of a dingbat, but her biggest problem was she never thought about doing things that were suited to her abilities or her needs. I’m involved with something that could have helped Lucy.

I’m part of an impressive group of women over 50 who are breaking the stereotype of what it means to grow older and create the next phase of our lives.

Continue Reading
— Style —

Brenda's BlogFall FashionShopping Your Fall ClosetStyleVince
Photographs by Jennifer Denton
pin it

Photographs by Jennifer Denton

This week I’m doing Fashion Friday a day early, because I’ve joined five other Over 50 women to talk about fall fashion. I love being part of their group, because our styles are all so different.

I don’t know about you, but I’m not out and about like I was before Covid, which means, I’m not buying any new clothes. If you’ve followed me here on 1010ParkPlace then you know I buy quality over quantity, so my clothes last me forever.

This week I’m shopping my closet, mixing and matching things I already have.

Continue Reading
— Life —

Brenda's BlogNikonTo Kill A Mockingbird
pin it

Recently I watched To Kill a Mockingbird on Turner Classic Movies. I loved the opening scene that shows us Jem’s cigar box of found treasures: There are two soap dolls, a skeleton key, some cat’s eye marbles, an old pocket watch, some crayons and a handful of coins. His box made me think about some of the things that were important to me when I was a kid. 

It also made me wonder what precious treasures I’d put in my box now?  

Continue Reading
— Life —

Brenda's BlogCharlie WattsLyle LovettMagnificent Faces
pin it

As far back as I can remember, my mother referred to me as “poor little thing” as though it were my first, middle and last name. “Poor little thing, she has such a long horsey face,” or “poor little thing, her glasses look like Coke bottles.” It’s not surprising I grew up wishing I looked like Sandra Dee, the 60’s, blonde beach babe with the perfect features.

But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to understand the truly magnificent faces are often the ones that are imperfect.

Continue Reading
— Style —

Brenda's BlogFive Makeup Don'ts for Women Over 50Sandy LinterStyle
The great Ruth Gordon from the 1968 film Rosemary's Baby.
pin it

The great Ruth Gordon from the 1968 film Rosemary's Baby.

When was the last time you visited Ulta or Sephora or cruised makeup lessons on YouTube? Lots of teens and young women have taken makeup to extremes, but I’m shocked to see how many women over 50 have joined them.

Many look like they’ve been to clown school.

Continue Reading

SUBSCRIBE

Follow