What is December without a bit of introspection and reflection? To that end I generally take a moment to look back at the ideas generated over the year that populate my blog: Fashion, Food, Family…Life, each revealing a slice of my life. One can’t help but know for sure that it is indeed A Wonderful Life when each post points in that direction. Not that there haven’t been challenges, for how can one be a citizen with a heart, soul, and intellect, and not feel mournful for all the suffering caused by our current administration or the conflicts and disasters occurring across our globe? We have all had to find our tiny joys to face the day to day political-criminal onslaughts, but that’s the point, right? Fostering joy and hope to encourage inner resilience and easy compassion, that is what my blogging in 2025 seemed to direct.

Let’s start with fashion! For this Nine Cent Girl, fashion has often been what’s still in my closet. A mishmash of decades and styles. Enough black for a lifetime of mourning. But last Spring, I did a bit of shopping, April Fooling, for sure. In the post I focused on the new direction that the Gap was taking. ““Fashion is entertainment. It’s also art, innovation, and culture,” says Richard Dickson, the current Gap CEO. I could not agree more. Having Zac Posen, coming directly from his success with Barbie, leading the creative future for Gap is another big win for the company.” I found the bright pink exactly what I needed, in tees and sweatshirts, and could not be happier about the quality.

In the April 3rd post I wrote: “I have been enamored by pink for so long, in fact, it is part of my origin story. My mother, who was brown-eyed while I am blue, surrounded me in the color of the sky. Just about every holiday dress, nightgown, even my bedroom accent color was a mournful blue, while my sister, brown-eyed like my mother, was granted the festive spring hue of pink. It wasn’t until we were grown women when we finally realized that each of us envied the other, and were bold enough to switch. If I could I would live in pink, from the pastel to the shocking. You can see yet another reason I am loving Gap’s move to every shade of this rosy hue. Paired with the softest white linen button down shirt and black 100% cotton gauze shorts, I could not be happier in this bright crop top.  Yes, to feeling your best.” Feeling your best is all the fashion advice anyone needs to grant to another. Close your eyes and decide if you should step out or find an alternative. You decide.

Last August we re-discovered Sun Tea. Seriously this is the very best afternoon drink when it’s hot outside and when you’re hot everywhere or you simply want to remember summer.

There is no real or exact recipe, except to find an excellent black tea and once steeped by several hours in the sunshine, sweeten to taste. A few slices of lemon are a divine addition. Relax with a glass to sip and let the tangy, sweet coolness overtake your troubles.

Of course my June 5th post, When Love Happens, combines family and love and history, and if you missed it, please treat yourself. This happy young couple are poised to create a mountain of marvelous together.

“He asked. She said yes. And so it begins…

One might say this sweet match was written in the stars, although complicated by time and proximity. Lined up against the odds yet a sure-fire thing, with generational pulls back to this very spot despite meeting on the West Coast. Why amble along the Hudson with the brilliance of Lady Liberty shinning down on them? Undoubtedly, the clearest response is family. Her’s with a direct hand in replacing the iconic torch, and his as part of a 5 generation tug boat company headquartered in the New York harbor. Destiny had a strong arm in bringing these two together, and we are all grateful they consented.”

I ended that post with these words, fitting to end with here too: “All the grandiose aside, when love happens, one feels renewed hope, and in these troubled times, I can’t think of a better remedy than fostering that emotion. We all need to continue to believe in that hope despite the wildfires and floods and twisters and general turmoil that is spiking for everyone on our tiny planet. Dark days are numerous but when a tiny spark grows into a glimmer of optimism, I am grateful for the glow, and with this couple, the sky is lit. In this I am indebted.”