Kyle Richards’ Grey Pinstriped Blazer, Star T Shirt and Boots

Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Season 11 Episode 1 Fashion

Kyle Richards’ grey pinstriped blazer, star t shirt and boots talking to Lisa Rinna and Crystal Kung Minkoff about their kiddos is totally my signature outfit. A blazer, tee and jeans has always been my uniform, which I’m struggling with a leeeeetle bit in Austin because hot weather isn’t exactly conducive to it. So while I go get my hands on some scissors to cut the sleeves off of mine, you go ahead and see if you can get your hands on Kyle’s.

The Realest Housewife,

Big Blonde Hair

Click Here to See her L’Agence Blazer

Click Here to See her Saint Laurent Tee

Click Here to See her Prada Boots

Originally posted at: Kyle Richards’ Grey Pinstriped Blazer

Do you ever find yourself asking these important life questions:

• What if my spouse or I die prematurely?
• What if one of us becomes disabled during our working years and is unable to work again?
• What if one of us needs long-term care in retirement?

Those worries, those nagging thoughts, those questions that go through everyone’s mind at some point, are what I call the “What Ifs” in life.

Your Crystal Ball

None of us have a magic wand or a crystal ball to see, forecast or fix future events. Therefore, the best thing we can do is to stop and ask ourselves, ok “what if ________ really happened?” How would we want that situation to go for us or our family?

Premature Death

Let’s look at the loss of life, for example. We know death is inevitable but the likelihood of it happening before we are near or in retirement is fairly small in comparison with the other common “what ifs” we are talking about.

But if you or your spouse were to pass away at a younger than expected age, many people would prefer to have some life insurance in place to help ease the financial burden of the lost life (and usually lost income).

The Role of Insurance

The concept of insurance is that you are deciding to protect yourself/family from financial risk and transferring the cost of that risk to an insurance company. But everyone’s situation is different.

Life insurance, for example, is often used to pay off a mortgage, provide for replacement income for a period of time, and sometimes to also cover the cost of education and/or care for children. If you don’t have a mortgage, or children at home, or the need for replacement income, perhaps life insurance is not needed in that situation. The need depends on your circumstances.

Permanent Insurance

I am not always a believer that permanent, cash value life insurance is needed as often as it is sold. However, I did see how it was beneficial for a couple recently when the husband needed a few years of expensive long-term care paid out of pocket.

After he had spent down a majority of their portfolio, his life insurance replaced what had been spent to basically replenish the portfolio for the benefit of his wife after he passed away.

The Risks

What about disability risk? That risk is actually more likely to occur than premature death. Or what about the potential need for long-term care? Statistically that risk is the most likely one to affect more of us than premature death or disability.

Visualize Your Own Circumstances

For each “What if,” we need to visualize our own financial picture, our lifestyle, our family circumstances and our values in order to ask ourselves if insurance is needed and if so, how much we can or are willing to afford.

There are other “What ifs” as well, related to our vehicles, our home/apartment, our day-to-day health care, etc. Those insurances are important as well. No matter which example we are talking about, we may need another person to be involved with our finances in many of those insurance situations.

Take Inventory

So that brings me to my suggestion that you do an Insurance Summary to inventory your “What ifs.” The Financial Awareness Foundation (TFAF) has a great insurance checklist that helps you summarize what insurance policies you have in place to help provide for those times when the “What Ifs” occur.

You can use the list to refresh your own memory about what you have in place, write “NONE” in the categories that don’t apply to you (which also helps prevent someone from looking for something in your files that doesn’t exist), and even write “see file” for details that you don’t want to take the time to duplicate.

Another Suggestion

I’m also a fan of compiling an insurance folder. You could make a copy of just the declaration page for each policy (which is a concise summary of the policy details) and keep it all in an insurance folder as an alternative or in addition to compiling an insurance policy list.

Your Financial Toolbox

Getting a Financially Organized Checklistcan be especially important as we get older, are helping aging parents, or have been through the process of helping someone else where good records were hard to come by.

Taking a little bit of focused time now can provide peace of mind, less stress later, and more clarity on what needs to happen. Think of this insurance inventory as just one more tool in your financial toolbox that also helps to answer those “what if” questions when they occur.

What experiences have you had with “What ifs” in your life? Is your family aware of your insurance inventory? Do you have stories to share with our community? Let’s have a discussion.

Below I will share some books to pique the interest of your grandchildren in gardening. These are not how-to books but rather engaging fiction and non-fiction books related to gardening. They provide a jumping-off point to talk about or create a garden with your grandchildren.

Growing your relationship with your grandchildren can be like tending a garden. Each grandchild is unique and, like plants, has different needs. Gardening is a great activity to share with your grandchildren because there are many aspects to it, and one is sure to appeal to your grandchildren – and you.

Some children will enjoy digging in the mud and getting dirty. Others will be curious about the science of plants and insects. Many may enjoy the beauty of the plants and wish to draw them, photograph them, press them, or learn to arrange them in a floral arrangement.

If you grow vegetables or fruit, you can harvest them, discover or create recipes, and cook together. Or if you are like me and don’t have a green thumb, you can share a good book about gardening. Below are my recommendations, which include books for children with any of these interests.

Ages 0-4

Who’s in the Garden?

Who’s in the Garden? is a large-format board book that includes a peek-a-boo feature to engage young children. The question “Who’s coming to see how my garden grows?” snakes across the page with a peek-a-boo circle that hints at the answer (“Rabbits hop, hop, hopping,” or “Frogs leap, leap, leaping.”). The answer includes repetition, great for early vocabulary development.

Act out the hopping, leaping, digging, or pecking in the book with your grandchildren. Pages include bright and cheerfully colored, chunky-styled illustrations filled with fascinating details to share with your grandchildren. Incredibly gorgeous is the double-page spread depicting morning, noon, and night – and another topic to discuss.

Lift and Look Garden

In the Lift and Look Garden, you and your grandchildren will join the little mouse as she journeys through the garden flowers and grass. Your grandchildren will “…discover hungry birds, green speckled frogs, and buzzing bees…” along the way. You will find many details to talk about.

This book is designed for both the little ones as well as toddlers. The peek-through feature is perfect for those too young to handle the book. And for the older ones ready to turn pages, the “chunky gatefold flaps” make it easy. Colorful and fun illustrations are engaging to young eyes.

Ages 3-8

Grandpa’s Garden

Grandpa’s Garden is perfect to share with your grandchildren since it focuses on the relationship between a grandfather and grandson. Take a journey through the seasons with Billy and his grandpa and get some gardening tips along the way.

There are so many reasons to love this book. The text is lyrical and rich in vocabulary. For example, the author describes spring like this: “Leaves uncrumple, soft as silk, on waking trees.” The pictures are colorful, inviting, and cheerful. And so much information is packed into this picture book.

The book teaches about seasonal preparation, provides conversation starters, and is great for emotional social learning. This can be a beautiful preliminary handbook if you want to create your own garden.

Secrets of the Vegetable Garden

Secrets of the Vegetable Garden is one of a series of books by Usborne called Shine-A-Light. Using a flashlight or holding the book up to a light will reveal the “hidden picture” on each page. In this book, “If you look closely between stalks, beneath the leaves, and under the soil, you will spot the animal and plants living there.”

There is a tiny realm full of surprises. Sprinkled throughout the book are plenty of facts, and if you want to dig deeper, endnotes provide more details. A great way to introduce your grandchildren to gardening while piquing their curiosity.

Ages 5-10

The Beeman

The Beeman opens with a sweet rhyming poem about bees. Then, mimicking the style of The House That Jack Built, the grandson follows his grandfather, the beekeeper, as he tends to his bees. Bits of information about bees and the process of beekeeping are sprinkled throughout the book, with key terms bolded.

These tidbits are discussed in fascinating detail at the end of the book. The illustrations are playful, and pages are not text-heavy, making it easy to share with younger children too.

This book can lead to so many activities with your grandchildren. For example, visiting a beekeeper in your area is fun and educational. Bees are vital to the health of our planet and are a relevant topic to discuss with your grandchildren.

Did you know that the taste of honey varies with the environment in which it was made? Have a honey-tasting activity with your grandchildren. Your farmer’s market or specialty grocery should have kinds of honey from different locations that will vary widely in taste.

The book includes a recipe for honey and apple muffins you can bake together. However, discovering your own recipes for honey can be a sweet adventure too!

Kids’ Garden

Back by popular demand and newly updated, the Kids’ Garden activity card deck will provide you and your grandchildren hours of garden-related fun! The deck contains 50 easy to follow activity cards that invite children to look at nature in a new way.

The deck comes with an 8-page booklet that contains information on gardening tools, year-round plant care and garden safety. Watch roots appear and see how they differ; take a peek into what is living below ground; or have a nature scavenger hunt. Take your grandchildren outside and away from the screen to get learning and get dirty!

The Wild Garden and Butterflies & Bugs

The Wild Garden: rub-down transfer activity book and Butterflies & Bugs: rub-down transfer activity book are unique keepsake books are perfect for the creative grandchild who would rather not get down and dirty in the garden.

“Half of the spread is colored, and one can add rub-downs; the other half is line drawings that one can color and add rub-downs to as well.” Even adults enjoy these, so you may want to order two!

The Wild Garden includes the names of the flowers. In the Butterflies & Bugs you will find scenes including a “… jungle, pond, meadow, honeybee garden, butterfly house,” and more!

Have you gardened with your grandchildren? What worked, what didn’t? Do you have any children’s gardening books that you love? Please share your favorite activities and books.

I come to you this morning to say three simple words: You are blessed!

“What do you mean,” you might ask.

It’s simple, really. You are reading, which means you are alive. So, you are blessed!

“Why are you emphasizing this,” you might wonder.

You can read this even if you need optical assistance. One more time, you are blessed!

“Ok, enough.”

Well, I am not finished. You must remind yourself that you have the privilege of reaching the age of 60 or 60 plus, plus, plus. And yes, ladies, that is a privilege!

Not Very Easy to Feel Blessed

Some of you might grumble and say, “You have no idea what you are saying. The golden years are not turning out to be so golden.” I would concur that challenges arise, like black swans, out of nowhere. The current pandemic is no different.

Some of you are more fatigued because that is the reality of getting older. Some of you may not see or hear as well as you did in midlife, but with the correct devices, vision and hearing are still available to many.

Balance may, at times, be delicate. Again, however, with the proper exercises or equipment, that also can be alleviated.

How about the fact that your social circle diminishes? If you have children and grandchildren, they may be geographically at a distance or preoccupied with their own lives. Work may have been a place where connections were easy to form, and now that is elusive. Loneliness has permeated your life.

Changing the Tune at Any Time

Why remind us of all these challenges? Because you can change the tune of your life by singing a different melody. Even if you consider yourself too old and set in your ways, you can choose to consider a different way of thinking.

The issue is about choice and embracing the time we have left to create new music, a different song, or perform it in a new way.

Recently, I wrote an article titled “The Singer Not the Song.” I wrote it because I had an idea after speaking with a client. She was discussing her craft, and I pointed out to her, as I do with many others, “It is about the Singer, Not the Song.”

The beauty of this strategy is that it allows us to look at our life as a song, and we are the performers. How we sing it is a choice we have to make. And, we can change the tune at any time.

Are there areas that we cannot change? Of course, but as long as we breathe oxygen into our lungs and are not suffering from severe memory loss, we can count on our minds to assist us. The human brain is the greatest invention of all. Throughout our life cycle, we can explore and alter the landscape of thought.

Am I Preaching from My High Perch?

My life is pretty complicated too. In some ways, it always has been, and this has probably allowed me to have a more extended leash. Without sharing specifics as I’m the designated Keeper of Secrets for many, let’s just say that I also needed to change the tune of my song more than once.

In my 50s, I was determined to do so again. I didn’t see another choice, but in reality, as long as we are alive and free, there is. I could have chosen to wallow in a situation that will never improve or continue with a positive spirit that has continuously served me well.

I believe in the possibilities even at this later chapter in my life. Although I am unique, I am no more than you. The uniqueness you have is as individual as it is to every other unique specimen in our universe.

Use the Time to Think, Explore, and Rewrite

During this pandemic, which has caused many people anxiety, loneliness, and uncertainty, take a few minutes each day. Write down something you might want to learn, and please do not say you are too old.

Last year, I was quite excited when I went on the Internet and learned how to transfer files to a thumb drive. YouTube has just about anything you want or need to learn. Also, there are many free classes. Take advantage of the magnificent tool we have – the Internet. And please do not say you are too old. You are not.

Finally, if loneliness continues to prevail and you are already comfortable with the Internet, go ahead and look up MeetUp.com. There is a social gathering for everyone.

Living is not a comfortable journey. As the great Roman philosopher Seneca stated, “Sometimes even to live is an act of courage.” Go ahead and live. If things are not going the way you want, try creating a new tune, go out and perform it, and then watch what happens.

What About You?

Is there something you have thought about and would like to do? Is there someone with whom you want to reconnect? Write it down, give it some thought, and remind yourself: “You are worthy and deserving of feeling good. You are not going to let anyone or anything interfere with this. You are on your way to being more fulfilled and more freed up in ways you may never have thought possible.”

Have you thought about changing the tune of your life? What would you like it to be? What’s stopping you? Please share your thoughts and comments and let’s have a conversation!

Jackie Goldschneider’s Season 11 Reunion Dress

Real Housewives of New Jersey Season 11 Fashion

Jackie Goldschneider’s Season 11 Reunion dress is probably my favorite look of the bunch as I love it when the women wear something that I could actually see myself in. The white sequins and asymmetrical cut are styled perfectly with her sleek bun, fringe earrings and transparent sandals. Plus, if anyone gets coke on it on the bathroom, it will totally blend right in and no one will be the wiser.

The Realest Housewife,

Big Blonde Hair

Click Here to Shop her Nadine Merabi Dress

Photo + Info: @JackieGoldschneider

Originally posted at: Jackie Goldschneider’s Season 11 Reunion Dress