Kitchen Help

My favorite thing about blogging is sharing my best styling tips with my silver sisters. I was a hot mess before figuring out how to dress and shop smarter in the second half of my life.

Let’s talk about proportion for a moment. When you wear a long unstructured top, you must pair it with slim-fitting pants. The opposite is also true. If you wear a narrow fitting top, you should wear a loose-fitting bottom to avoid looking two sizes larger than you are. If both pieces are voluminous and you wear flat shoes, you will look frumpy. (I know this from personal experience.) If you can wear both the top and bottom fitted, you must spend a lot of time in the gym every day and have tremendous confidence.

The white shirt/jacket worn in these photos is by Focus via My Fair Lady. It has a slight waffle texture and angled pockets, as well as decorative wooden buttons. I can wear it buttoned with leggings or lightweight, slim-fitting jeans and unbuttoned, as shown here with a white tank top. It is long, so I need to wear shoes with thicker soles to balance my short legs with the top half of my body. The tank is shorter than the shirt to create different lengths in the front. Varying lengths in top layers will flatter the shape much more than one straight line.

The white Focus top was a gift. It is here at My Fair Lady.  The jeans are old by Michael Kors. The microfiber contemporary tank is from Chico’s. The shoes are by Treasure & Bond here.

Great tips for looking and feeling your best often include using things you may already have in your kitchen.

1. Sugar and olive oil make a fantastic body scrub. Just mix some sugar with enough olive oil to make a paste and gently massage your arms, legs, and shoulders with it before your shower.

2. Olive oil has been used as a hair and facial moisturizer for centuries in Greece and Italy. Put a little in your palm and massage it into your hands and then scrunch the ends of your hair. The fragrance fades in a few minutes. Coconut oil is also an excellent moisturizer for hair, hands, and feet.

3. Save caffeinated black tea bags or coffee in tea bags. Steep your cup of hot beverage but save the bags and place them in the refrigerator when you wake up with puffy eyes, put one cold bag on each eye and lie down for a few minutes to reduce the puffiness.

4. Brew a “tea” made from only whole cloves and water. I use about a teaspoon of whole cloves with purified water to make 2 cups of hot tea. Put the cloves in a coffee filter and brew it in the coffee maker as you would a cup of coffee. This particular tea will make parasites in your gut die off and exit. When we travel or eat some foods, we can pick up parasites that will live in our intestines and make life miserable for weeks or months. The symptoms are bloating, cramps, and quick-step visits to the bathroom many times a day. You can expect immediate relief.

23 Comments
  1. I could not agree more! You are one beautiful lady, inside and out. I love every outfit you wear and I am trying to incorporate your tips into my wardrobe and lifestyle. You are a gift to us ladies of a certain age. You are beautiful and stylish and share such wonderful tips and thoughts. Thank you!

  2. Just a hint here to, you mention coconut oil, when I was younger my friends and I used to put coconut oil on our hair, wrap our heads in a warm towel for awhile to condition our hair. My hint is, always rub the shampoo thoroughly into your hair before adding the water on to wash. This way you get rid of all the oil!
    Another hint: if you spill food on your clothes and the food contains oil, even if you have washed it and the mark does not come out, put a few drops of dishwashing liquid on the spot and use this to wash the area, always works because dishwashing liquid gets rid of grease and oil! (Colour test first of course).
    Love your blog Susan, hope you dont mind me sharing these hints.

  3. YOU make my day!!!!!Thank you for all your great ideas. Also, appreciate Mr. Mickey. Come back to Highlands. Another dinner at Wolfgangs. Need to come in the fall beautiful weather. In Spartanburg tenp is going to feel like 105.today. May you have a super and blessed day. HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SUMMER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  4. Hi Susan, I tried to make that clove tea in a tea ball and it sat there in the hot water like a bad date doing nothing. Am I supposed to do something else? i.e. grind it? Sing to it? I’m at a loss here…thanks!

  5. Hi Susan: Very informative blog today. Thanks. Two questions: You mentioned that if your top is “over-sized” to wear slim jeans/slacks and stacked sole shoes. I have short legs and virtually always wear slim pants, but I can’t wear shoes like you did on the photo – I would fall off of them. I can wear wedged shoes if the wedge isn’t too high. Is that sufficient? I do look at a full length mirror before leaving the house, and I think I look alright. Second question about the parasite drink. Can I make this in a Keurig, putting the cloves where the pod goes or put the cloves into one of those make your own coffee pods? I’m sorry if I haven’t explained myself very well. I do think I may be dealing with a parasite because after eating, I frequently have to do the 100-yard dash to the bathroom. Sorry if this is TMI. Enjoy your blog, photos, and Mr. Mickie.

    1. Try to wear shoes that are close to the color of your pants or nude ones to extend the line of your legs. Just put a teaspoon of whole cloves in a pot of water and boil it. You can easily strain or spoon the cloves out when you are ready to drink the tea. The cloves will only slightly color the drink. Hope it gives you relief too.

  6. I am absolutely hooked on your blog, I read everyday!
    I am 5’3” tall and weigh 105 lbs.
    I am 74 years old but feel much younger!!!
    I have slowly gotten rid of some of my clothes that I felt like I was to old to be wearing and replaced with clothing that you suggested from your blog that I feel comfortable wearing and I love the new me. I wear petite and with your help I am finally finding clothing that fit and I love.
    Thank you so much for helping me feel good about myself!
    Brenda

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I share tips and inspiration for using what you already have in contemporary ways. Defining words include effortless, classic, refined, discreet, and elegant. My style is chic, minimal, and timeless with a bit of edge.