Leah McSweeney’s Black Puffer Coat on Instagram

Real Housewives of New York Instagram Fashion 2021

Housewives on ice! According to Instagram Leah McSweeney, Sonja Morgan and Luann de Lesseps did a little ice skating the other night (which we’re really hoping for our sake was captured on camera ) with Leah sporting this super cute and warm-looking black puffer coat. Which you’ll be happy to learn we found still up for grabs and ready to glide on straight into your closet.

Fashionably,

Faryn

Click Here to Shop Her Alpha Industries Coat in Black or Grey

Click Here For Additional Stock

Photo: @SonjaTMorgan

Originally posted at: Leah McSweeney’s Black Puffer Coat

I was listening to a podcast where the participants discussed lifestyle medicine in the 3rd age, and how what we do in our daily routine can either inhibit or enrich our life and health. This had a profound effect on me.

A particular phrase stood out: ‘body before business’. According to physiotherapist Michelle Lyons, we should attend to our body and mind first thing in the morning.

But how do we do that?

Some Typical Types of Morning Rituals

In our current day and age, most people keep one of the following morning rituals:

#1 Checking a mobile/iPad/computer first thing on waking. A study from IDC Research revealed that 80% of smartphone users check their mobile devices within 15 minutes of waking each morning.

#2 Turning the television or radio on first thing in the morning.

#3 Rushing around in the morning and buying a croissant and coffee on the way to work.

While we are used to our particular morning rituals, there are plenty of other ways to set ourselves up for a brilliant day ahead. Take for example the Mindful Morning Rituals, which are so much healthier than what I described above!

Let’s Begin with Morning Mindfulness Meditations

Because of the current fast pace of many people’s lives, our days may include more stress and pressure. People assume this kind of stress is simply an unavoidable part of life, but meditation can help enable us to manage our home and work lives in a more skillful manner.

A regular morning meditation practice helps create and cultivate peace of mind and happier relationships. As a result, we may become kinder and less judgmental of ourselves and others.

True peace of mind is always there, but we must let go of everything that obscures such calm and clarity – our confusion, our ruminating, our expectations, our inner chatter.

When we achieve calmness and peace of mind with morning meditation, our perspective changes and we may feel more positive about ourselves and the day ahead.

What Does a Morning Mindfulness Ritual Look Like?

As previously discussed, the practice of mindfulness meditation is one form of a morning ritual. However, there are many sorts of mindfulness practices to choose from. It is important to pick something you are happy doing consistently.

These can be anything you like. You can establish them as timeout sessions where the focus is on you and your body, with no distractions. Here are some examples:

• Exercise is a type of mindfulness. A long walk in nature has double effect, as nature provides those beautiful feel good hormonal releases in your body.
• Make your favourite healthy meal and enjoy the flavours and textures, while taking your time to eat it. To support mindfulness, put the meal on a beautiful plate and decorate the table.
• Put your bare feet on the ground and feel the sensations beneath you.
• Take deep breaths in and out to connect with your body and mind.

How to Start a Morning Mindfulness Ritual

Choose some routines that feel good for you, or you could try my challenge below.

You need to commit to the process and allow yourself the time and space to practice your ritual. Remember, this is your special time.

You might start with a minimal time frame that best fits your lifestyle and increase it if you find it insufficient. First thing in the morning is best. However, you can also do this last thing at night. The full seven minutes to yourself, without distractions, remains nonnegotiable. This is for YOU. 

The 7-Minute Routine

Step #1: Drink a Glass of Water

Most of us underestimate how much water we need. Water will help with your digestive health, your mental health, and will hydrate your connective tissue and organs to help you feel less stiff and sore.

Step #2: Put Your Gratitude in Writing

Write a quick gratitude sentence, such as “Today I am grateful for………….”

Practicing gratitude daily may lower your stress response, increase immunity, and help with mental health.

Step #3: 1 Minute of Breath Work

Take a deep breath in through the nose filling your lower belly and expanding your ribs, then slowly exhale through your mouth, making your exhale longer than your inhale.

Or breathe in, as above, to the count of 4, exhale for the count of 4 and repeat for the full minute. Breathing exercises help with stress, mental health, pelvic health, better lung capacity and feelings of wellbeing.

Step #4: 5 Minutes of Mobility Exercises

Mobility/flexibility is something we lose with environmental factors, including desk work, sitting for too long, phone use, and repetitive work. It is also something we lose as we age and hormonal fluctuations occur.

However, we can help ourselves become more flexible and mobile with just a few simple moves that don’t require equipment. This assists that water you just consumed get into the connective tissue inside your body. It helps with stiffness, digestive health, mental health, and it makes you feel good!

Why These Four?

An array of different lifestyle changes and rituals is important for overall health and wellbeing. Having extensively researched the area of women’s health, I know different lifestyle factors can inhibit the physical, mental, and emotional health of women. I believe this will help cover many of the basics, so you can see and feel a difference in yourself.

What Do I Need to Do?

• Complete the 4 tasks first thing upon waking or last thing at night.
• You can also complete the 4 tasks morning and night. You could choose the same rituals or introduce others into the mix.

It takes approximately 21 days to form a new habit. I hope you continue this restorative practice beyond 21 days and make it an important part of your lifestyle.

Would you like extra support and guidance for the first 21 days? Our Facebook group is holding a daily ritual challenge. We start January 28th and you are welcome to join us for free.

Currently, what is your morning ritual? What do you do immediately after waking? Have you formed a working mindfulness ritual to open/close your days? Has it become a habit? Please share your story with the community!

BBH’s Top 9 All Time Best-Selling Makeup Products from Nordstrom

This post is a sponsored partnership between BigBlondeHair.com and Nordstrom, although all thoughts and picks are my own! We may receive a percentage of sales for items purchased from Nordstrom through affiliate links in this post. The celebrity names mentioned are in no way affiliated with this post or endorsing any products mentioned.

I’ve been running Big Blonde Hair for quite some time (10+ years) and from the get-go we’ve been linking to beauty products at Nordstrom whenever we can because A) we know you love shopping there for a laundry list of reasons (return policy, customer service, curbside pickup and more) and B) they have an amazing selection that continues to grow and diversify.

In honor of this long relationship I thought it would fun to go back to 2012 (as long as we have data for)  to find the beauty products the Blondetourage have purchased the most. And it’s pretty amazing that so many of them have stood the test of time and are still in stock. I also compiled a list exclusively including the top products for 2020 so you can see the hottest items as of late.

And don’t forget to read til’ the end because I’ve included information on an exciting celebrity beauty trend used by the likes of Kourtney Kardashian, Chrissy Teigen, Victoria Beckham, Real Housewife alum Carol Radziwill and more, that is now available at Nordstrom thanks to their launch of new luxury skincare line MZ Skin.

The Realest Housewife,

Big Blonde Hair

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1. MAC Lipliner in Soar Worn by Dorit Kemsley (worn with Tom Ford Lipstick in Spanish Pink + Buxom Plumping Lip Polish)  2. Hourglass Panoramic Long Wear Lip Pencil  Worn by Stassi Schroeder (as a Lipliner + Lip Color in the Photo) 3. Charlotte Tilbury Magic Powder Used by Kristin Cavallari (and a fave of BBH Editor Lauren for Correcting Under Eye Circles 4. Dr. Barbara Sturm Eye Cream Used by Lisa Rinna 5. Nars Lip Gloss Worn by Melissa Gorga in Turkish Delight (worn with MAC Stripdown Lip Pencil)  6. Hourglass Ambient Lighting Bronzer Seen on Dorit Kemsley in Radiant Bronze Light 7. Hourglass Unreal Shine Volumizing Lip Gloss Used by Tayshia Adams 8. Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation Used by Kyle Richards, Dorit Kemsley, Kelly Dodd, Ariana Madix, Kristin Cavallari, Tracy Tutor, Naomi Olindo + More 9. RODIAL – Pink Diamond Instant Lifting Face Mask Used by Erika Jayne

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1. Hourglass Pluming Lipgloss Seen on Tayshia Adams 2. Rose Quartz Facial Roller (Identical Used by Leah McSweeney) 3. Charlotte Tilbury Magic Powder Used by Kristin Cavallari (and a fave of BBH Editor Lauren for correcting under eye circles) 4. Charlotte Tilbury K.I.S.S.I.N.G Lipstick in Nude Kate Seen on Tracy Tutor (worn with CT Lip Cheat in Iconic Nude) 5. Buxom Plumping Lip Powder in Cozy Up Seen on Kristin Cavallari 6. T3 Single Pass Curling Iron Used by Cameran Eubanks 7. Hourglass Caution Mascara Used by Cameran Eubanks 8. Chanel Coco Rouge Lip Gloss Seen on Tinsley Mortimer in Melted Honey 9. IT Cosmetics CC Cream Used by Tamra Judge, Cameran Eubanks + Sonja Morgan

Click Here to Shop the MZ Skin Light-Therapy Golden Facial Treatment Mask

We’ve seen them on Kourtney Kardashian, Chrissy Teigen, Carole Radziwill, Victoria Beckahm, Jessica Alba, Kate Hudson and more famous faces, and thanks to Nordstrom’s new launch of London-based luxury Skincare Line MZ Skin by Dr. Maryam Zamani you can try a light therapy mask in the comfort of your own home too. In addition to the celeb-loved mask, you can shop MZ Skin’s other touted products like their Sooth + Smooth collagen eye cream, Replentish + Restore Placenta and Stem Cell Night Recovery Mask  and more.

Photo , Information+ Makeup Artist Credits:

Collage #1 Photo Credits: Bravo TV, E!, ABC, @LisaRinna, @ThePrettyMess, @CarleneKMakeup // Collage#2 Photo Credits: Bravo TV, E!, ABC, @Camwimberly1 @Ash_Kholm @TinsleyMortimer @TamraJudge, @makeupbyhaileyhoff

Collage #1 MUA Credits: @CarleneKMakeup for Dorit Kemsley, @GinaModicaMakeup for Tayshia Adams // Collage #2 MUA Credits: @GinaModicaMakeup for Tayshia Adams, @makeupbyhaileyhoff for Tracy Tutor, @Ash_Kholm for Kristin Cavallari, @JasenKaplan for Tinsley Mortimer, @GlossipGirl for Melissa Gorga

Originally posted at: Hot List: BBH’s Top 9 All Time Best-Selling Makeup Products from Nordstrom

You’ve heard it said that youth is wasted on the young. It’s true! But some of us had no childhood to waste. We were subject to forces beyond our control and became old before our time.

Because of my mother’s sudden critical illness when I was six, my childhood was interrupted and I became a too-serious adult. Maybe you did, too. I learned how to appear to be having fun, but inside I was numb.

A Letter from My Sister

Some time ago I received an e-mail from my sister wishing me a happy birthday. The message she wrote brought tears. With her permission, I’m sharing it with you.

Hi Sherry,

Long, long (lllooooonnnnggg) ago, you were 6. Six is a significant age. That’s when a child first becomes aware that she is NOT the center of the universe. You were 6 when the mother-figure in your family abandoned you. She came back, but weakened and facing a long recovery. You’ve always said that had a profound effect on you. And I’ve always thought…well, let’s just say I didn’t give that event the same importance that you did.

But now I’m seeing it from your point of view. There you were, 6 years old, suddenly realizing you were not the one-and-only you thought you were. Well, Daddy goes to work every day and Mommy runs things. But Mommy’s sick so who’s next in line? You. And maybe that’s where the theme of your life began: RESPONSIBILITY. Of course that’s a good thing, but there are limits. Maybe when a burden like that descends on you at age 6, the limits become blurred. You’ve taken care of 5 husbands, 3 children, and countless friends and business associates.

And then you escaped! What is it that’s so compelling and entertaining about your life in Bali as you so eloquently describe it in your blog? Now I think I understand a bit more. You are living a childhood that you missed. You’re participating in life with the adventuresome spirit of a child. And your talent in writing allows us all to share your wonder and enthusiasm.

OK, maybe that’s a bit simplified, but thank you!!! Thank you for resurrecting that child! It takes a special talent to put the joys of childhood into adult words, but you’ve mastered the art. People all over the world appreciate you, and I appreciate you more than any of them! Happy Birthday!

The letter was signed with love. Knowing that my talented sister who has published a book of poems called Musings of a Damsel, Reflections of a Crone had given time and thought to what makes me who I am, was a very special gift

A Sister Bond is Special

I can’t tell you how wonderful it was to have those unspoken differences understood and expressed by someone who shared the same house and the same parents but experienced a much different childhood.

She remembers a relatively carefree youth. I remember feeling the weight of responsibility for my younger brother and sister, and the certainty that if I wasn’t a perfect child my mother would get sick again and die. Nobody asked me to take that on. It was a self-imposed duty.

So, to have my sister understand why I seem to take such childlike pleasure in every little detail of life here in Bali, touched my heart. And she got half of it right. I am living my lost childhood, and I am squeezing every ounce of joy and delight out of it that is offered up.

Why I Had to Chase My Dreams

The half that only I can know – until I share it with the rest of the world as I’m about to do now – is that I came within a hair’s breadth of missing it entirely. I was terrified of giving up the known to plunge into the unknown and turn everything I knew to be safe, up-side-down.

But one thing made me do it. The one thing was a greater fear – to face death with regrets. I knew if I didn’t chase the dream, as shadowy and undefined as it was, I would regret it to the grave.

So, I plunged. I plunged headfirst into childhood. I went to Bali, a place where I was brand-new. I didn’t know a soul. I had no responsibilities. Everything had yet to be learned, even the language, and each new discovery enchanted and delighted me. I was treated with gentleness and kindness and assisted by a staff of fun-loving angel-imps!

Did I know any of this before I exchanged the familiar old for the scary new? Nope! All I knew was that the alternative to not going in search of “little Sherry Grimsbo” was by far the more frightening scenario. Fear is a powerful motivator, and the highest and best use of fear is to propel us toward change for the better. Perhaps we can use this great motivator as we enter the uncertainties ahead in 2021. Simply facing fear is not enough.

Have you used fear to effect positive change in your life? Are you re-doing a lost childhood as a mature adult? Tell us about that and share in the comments!

If you’re like me, you never tire of TV series and movies set in the 1920s. Even though Downton Abbey has ended, we who have the DVDs or Netflix get to watch our favorite episodes again and again. And if you’re like me, you pay particular attention to the costumes and jewelry, which are like eye candy.

Art Deco Earrings

So to whet your appetite, here’s a pair of 1920s amethyst and filigree drop earrings that could have been worn by Lady Mary in the second half of the series. With their faceted, pale-amethyst glass teardrops capped with silver-metal filigree, these 2 1/4″ long earrings look just as stunning today as they did nearly a century ago.

How to Wear Them

Fortunately we don’t have to dress like a flapper to wear Art Deco jewelry. Here we see Penny in an oversized, white long-sleeved shirt that’s dressed up with a floral-print scarf in one of my favorite color combinations: navy and purple. When we did the photo shoot, she selected this scarf from my collection. I picked the earrings to complement the amethyst in the scarf.

That’s how I usually dress for the day – I choose a piece of jewelry or other accessory I want to wear and then work backwards. I put on clothes in a related or contrasting color and repeat the jewelry color in my other accessories.

With this framework that Penny’s wearing, I would add a pair of jeans and navy blazer along with my purple handbag. For a dressier outfit, you could wear a jacket and skirt or trousers. You don’t have to have a purple bag. I do because I love the color.

More 1920s Dramas for Inspiration

If you liked Downton Abbey, you may also enjoy two other British-made TV series set in the 1920s. The first is The House of Eliott, which was produced by the BBC and Acorn TV and created by Jean Marsh and Eileen Atkins. Both are British actors who also created Upstairs, Downstairs, an Edwardian-era series that originally broadcast from 1971 to 1975.

The House of Eliott, set in 1920s London, originally aired from 1991-1994. It’s the story of two sisters who, though born into wealth and privilege, find themselves penniless upon the sudden death of their father. With no education or training, they turn their talent for sewing and passion for fashion design into a dressmaking business. Their successful enterprise becomes a haute couture fashion house.

The fabulous costumes for the series were designed by Joan Wadge (1991-1994) and James Keast (1992). Wadge and the series won the award for Best Costume Design at the British Academy Television Awards (BAFTA) in 1992 and an Emmy in 1994. The BBC boxed-set of DVDs quotes The Sunday Times (UK) review of the series: “A feast for the eyes.” I couldn’t agree more. The sumptuous fabrics in splendid designs are adorned with equally superb costume jewelry.

An older, yet equally visually delicious British series, set in the late 1920s to early 1930s, is Love for Lydia. It was produced by Acorn Media in 1977. I first saw the program in 1979 on PBS’ Masterpiece Theatre. Based on a semi-autobiographical novel by H.E. Bates, this 13-part mini-series tells the story of Lydia Aspen, a young heiress who grows from bashful teen to flapper, and the four young men who fall in love with her.

Costume designers May Tapley and Evangeline Harrison won the 1978 BAFTA award for Best Costume Design. Love for Lydia is available on DVD and on AcornTV.com. Though dark in plot, the series features Mel Martin, Jeremy Irons, Christopher Blake, and Peter Davison early in their careers. The acting and the costumes are outstanding.

Do you like Art Deco jewelry as much as I do? Do you wear vintage costume jewelry? Why does it appeal to you? Have you seen these period dramas? Which is your favorite? Please share in the comments.