At 60, there’s a blessing in my bones, a glow in my heart and a radiance in my thinking. My body has settled from all of the experiences of the past and wraps herself around me like a beloved friend. And indeed, she is.

We have been through so much together and here we are, like Thelma and Louise, standing strong and refusing to allow anyone to take away our freedom. However, unlike Thelma and Louise, we won’t be driving off any cliff top any time soon. Instead, we follow the call of the wild heart as we soar into new adventures of possibility and endless potential.

I used to believe that 60 was old, I now know that it’s gold. It’s pure alchemy that invites me to dance with my day and look with eyes of wonder at my longest companion and dearest relationship in my life: the one that I have with my body.

My Relationship with My Body Has Been Nothing Short of an Epic Drama

My body and I have been through the highs and the lows together, and to be honest, I am surprised (and very grateful) that we are still together. My body wars began very young (as so many do), with the death of my father when I was five years old.

From that day on, my world changed, and I sought comfort in the sweetness of chocolate that well-meaning relatives would give me. Their intentions were to somehow make up for the loss of my father, however, all that accomplished was to set in place a struggle with weight, food, emotions and myself which lasted many years.

At that time, I loved to dance and remember being put on a diet at the tender age of 8 because no leotards would fit me and all I had to wear was a homemade ballet dress.

Pretty Face, Shame About the Body

At 20 years old, I wore my body as an apology. I didn’t much like the shape, size or the skin I was in. I remember being told from a complete stranger that I had a pretty face and what a pity that my body didn’t match up. From that moment on, I only saw my face when I looked in the mirror.

I felt rather like the disembodied grinning Cheshire cat in Alice in Wonderland as I too became disconnected and disembodied from my body. From here, followed endless battles with food, lack of confidence, holding back in my life because I just didn’t feel good enough to be seen, and many new diets that I would always start again on Monday morning and end by Monday evening!

Body Confidence Is a Choice

However, what I know now at the fabulous age of 61 is that loving our body is a journey and also a choice that takes time. Just as I matured with age, the connection and love for my body has also deepened over the years.

I also believe that our “mess” often becomes our message. If it hadn’t been for my own body and self-confidence struggles, I wouldn’t be the woman I am today, doing the work I adore in my Body Confidence programmes.

My body has taught me how to love unconditionally and turn every day into a romance with me. When Arthritis seared through my joints and inflammation burned through my body, I learned how to be kind to me and how to soothe my aching joints and bones.

When my blood pressure rocketed sky high, I listened to my body’s plea to slow down and take more rest. When I was doubled over in pain from gallstones, I understood that I needed to eat more consciously. My body has been my greatest teacher and my wisest, most loving friend.

Every Wrinkle Tells a Story

Age brings its own itinerary. Our body changes to reveal a rich golden wisdom which is born from our experiences. Every wrinkle has a story, every scar shelters some pain. The body we have in our 60s is not the body we have in our 20s and personally, I’m glad.

The body that I have now is one that I wear with pride, love and much gratitude. Long gone are the days that I would apologise for being me and instead I applaud every step that I take. I have to admit that if I was my body, I think I would have left many years ago. I wouldn’t have put up with the kind of abuse that I inflicted on my dear sweet body all through the years.

My body is a testament to the extraordinary power of unconditional and often times unrequited love. And I have to say that right here and now I am so very grateful, humbled and delighted that we are still together, and we live to breathe another day.

Five Fabulous Body Confidence Tips for Loving Your Body More with Every Year That Passes

Write a Thank You Note to Your Body!

Begin with the words, “Dear Body…” and then just write down all the things you are thankful to your body for!

Add the Words, “And I’m Still Adorable!” to Your Vocabulary!

Whenever you feel you have made a mistake, got it wrong, felt too tired, put on weight, etc., try adding the words “And I’m adorable” to your litany of self-criticism. For example, “I burnt the dinner, forgot to phone my friend, completely overate and I’m still adorable!”

It’s a lovely way to remind yourself that no matter what happens… you’re pretty fabulous after all! At the very least, it will make you smile!

Stop Apologizing for Your Body – Applaud It Instead!

At the end of every day, take a few moments to stop and applaud your body. Thank it for everything it has done for you as you give it a round of well-deserved applause!

Inhabit the Moment

When you are feeling frazzled, stressed or worn out,stop and become aware of where you are feeling this in your body. Take a deep breath and allow your hand to rest lightly over the area where you feel the emotion. Feel your feet firmly on the floor and drop your breath into your lower belly.

Ask yourself quietly, “Is everything ok right NOW in this moment?” Do this a few times, each time connecting with the moment you are in. This helps your mind to come back into the present moment, rather than spinning out into the future.

Every Day, Upon Awakening, Say Softly to Yourself How Blessed You Are to Have Another Day Ahead of You

Give thanks for all that you have and tell yourself that you are looking forward to the most glorious day ahead.

Now that you are over 60, what do you love more about your body? Have you learned any body lessons that have had a positive effect on your life? What are the tips that you would pass on from your own body journey and life experiences? Let’s swap body lessons!

From TikTok to Instagram trends, it’s all about the retro vibes these days. Sorry millennials—the ’90s and 2000s are included. To make sure your hair joins in on the throwback action, there’s one look that should be on your radar—the retro flip hairstyle trend. Our favorite celebs including Rihanna and Kylie Jenner have been rocking the look and doing it really well.

This hairstyle originated in the 1960s and was later popularized in the ’90s, hairstylist Cash Lawless reminds us. It’s officially back with a vengeance. The best thing about this flip hairstyle is that there are so many ways to rock it. Whether you’re throwing in some hair clips or adding bangs, there’s a twist to this look to suit you.

We caught up with Lawless, as well as hairstylist Andrew Fitzsimons, to get the scoop on this re-emerging style and exactly how to make it work on your own hair at home. In addition, stylist and salon owner Ursula Stephen gave us the scalp-care tips we need to ensure the health of our hair. Keep reading to find out.

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Source: Instagram

Book That Haircut

Before you can nail the style, you have to have the right cut. This isn’t really a DIY situation. After all, you don’t want to get scissor-happy on your hair or extensions and end up ruining the look before you have a chance to rock it. Lawless stresses having the proper cut before attempting this style. “[This] is going to be your foundation for whether or not you pull this off well,” he says. “A one-length haircut, with significant density on the ends and with the length meeting just at the collarbone, will get you a beautiful, full, long-lasting flip that hits right at the shoulder. You can go a little longer, but I recommend you flip the hair once the length gets past the collar bone.”

Wash and Prep the Hair

Whether you’re opting to try this style on your natural hair or with hair extensions, it’s essential to care for your strands first. The last thing you want to do is damage your hair in the process. The shampoo, conditioner and leave-in products best for you depend on your hair’s needs, but both Lawless and Fitzsimons recommend starting with a heat protectant. We like Mielle Organics Mongongo Oil Thermal & Heat Protectant Spray ($13.99 at Amazon).

Stephen emphasizes caring for your scalp while sporting on-trend styles. If you have textured hair and are opting for wigs or extensions, this is especially important. She recommends using a nourishing shampoo and conditioner line such as Dove Dermacare Scalp ($4.99 at Amazon).

Source: Instagram

Add Volume With the Right Products

Fitzsimons is no stranger to the voluminous hair flip and has even done the style on Kylie Jenner. If you’re concerned with volume while blow-drying, especially if you’re not using hair extensions, he recommends NatureLab Tokyo Perfect Volume Blowout Jelly ($13 at Ulta) to pump up the volume in your strands and achieve non-sticky hold. For heat protection and memory (lasting, touchable hold), Lawless loves Seven Haircare Heat Defense ($19 at Amazon) to prepare your hair for the big flip.

Choose Your Hot Tools

Since you’re working with heat again, you should apply additional heat-protectant to your hair. Fitzsimons likes Tigi Copyright Custom Create Heat Protection Spray ($14 at Amazon) which conditions and softens hair. The actual hot tools you use depend mostly on what you feel comfortable with. While Lawless prefers using a curling iron for better heat control (300 degrees or less!), on the flip side, Fitzsimons prefers a flatiron with rounded plates. 

Source: Instagram

Section Hair and Start the Flip

There are so many modern twists to the flip; the possibilities are endless. If you’re like Fitzsimons and love a classic look with a touch of a ’90s feel, you can keep it parted down the middle and add some ’90s-inspired accessories. To switch it up a bit, Lawless is a fan of the trending half-up half-down style.

Once your hair is dry, cur pieces outward, rotating the flat iron or curling iron toward you. Remember to lightly comb through your hair before curling to avoid tangles throughout the process. Also, be sure to refrain from tightly clamping your hair with your tool to prevent denting the hair. You don’t want crimp lines going through the ends.

Make It Last

If hairspray makes you think of crunchy, stiff hair, we have some great news. Both hairstylists recommended some of their favorite soft hold products to help make the style last without the crunchy feel. Lawless recommends Kenra Professional Volume Spray 25 ($18.50 at Ulta), which resists wind and humidity all day. Fitzsimons, on the other hand, loves Redken Fashion Work 12 Medium Hold Hairspray ($21 at Ulta), which contains vitamins A and E.

Treat Your Scalp

If you choose to achieve this style using wigs, Stephen reminds us to care for our hair underneath. You want to keep your hair and scalp moisturized at all times. If you’re concerned with product build-up between washes, she recommends using a lightweight natural oil such as jojoba. This particular oil mimics the natural oil (or sebum) that comes from our scalps. All hair types can use jojoba oil, but the amount varies based on texture and density. For example, curly to kinky hair textures will probably require more than straight or wavy hair types.

Whichever way you flip, this retro style is totally worth giving a go this season and beyond.

By March 2020, the Covid pandemic had hit Thailand (where I was living at the time), and the country started implementing lockdown restrictions. I had to make a big decision. Do I stay at my winter home on Koh Lanta, a remote island near the Malaysian, or return to Ottawa, Canada?

There are a lot of expats on Koh Lanta during the winter months, and they started leaving. The prospect of travel with thousands of frantic people was not attractive. We heard stories of flights canceled and people stranded for days. None of this encouraged me to leave.

Then Thailand closed its borders. Nobody was allowed in. Not just tourists and expats like me with a Retirement Visa, but Thai nationals as well. The borders were closed, period, so if I left, I didn’t know when I’d be able to return. We had about a week’s notice that this was going to happen and decision time had come.

What if I Stayed on Koh Lanta?

I’ve had an amazing place on Koh Lanta for almost 10 years and have spent the winter months on this island for over 15 years. My home, the Happy Cat Villa, has a huge garden, with my small one-bedroom bungalow near the entrance, and a guest bungalow at the back of the ½ acre property.

It’s a 3-minute stroll to the beach, and a 5-minute walk to Lanta Animal Welfare, the animal rescue charity where I volunteer. The weather is hot and dry during the winter and hot with some rain during the summertime. I have a lot of friends from all over the planet, which makes the social life always interesting.

My daily routine wouldn’t really changed with the government restrictions, curfews and lockdowns. I shop at the local wet markets and eat mostly at home. I write in the mornings and do my charity work early afternoons. Late afternoons walk the beach and do some cardio/yoga at sunset. I’m pretty happy with my lifestyle here on Koh Lanta.

Should I Fly Back Home?

Ottawa is far away. It takes about 35 hours, door-to-door, to get there, if I have good connections. There are 4 flights, with 2 of them long-hauls of over 10 hours sitting in a tin can hurling around the planet. With the long layovers between flights and the risk of flights being canceled mid-trip, I was hesitant to embark on a long chaotic journey. Back in Ottawa, I live in a small townhouse. The location is wonderful, adjacent to a parkway with lots of running and biking trails. But with the lockdowns in Canada, I’d have to stay at home.

At the time when I had to make my decision, people were only allowed to go out to get food and supplies. Everyone was working from home, and most of the city was shut down and under curfew.

I was, and still am, high-risk at 67. The thought of being out in Ottawa and exposed to the virus in the grocery stores was terrifying. Everything about being back in Ottawa was stressful. Between leaving my wonderful home, the hectic trip, and being confined to a small house, Canada was just wrong.

Weighing My Options

I also took into consideration that if I did go back to Canada, I wouldn’t be able to return to Thailand with the boarders closed. With so few people left on Koh Lanta, there was no one I could ask to house-sit, and I had no idea how long I’d be gone.

My house, left without someone it in, was an invitation for vandalism and squatters. I knew it would be a long time before the country opened and coming back to house problems was too stressful to seriously consider.

This all made my decision easy as pie. I stayed locked down in paradise. I knew that the restrictions wouldn’t ease up in Thailand for a very long time, but it would be like this wherever I was. I’m happiest at Happy Cat Villa, so that confirmed I made the right decision for myself.

Koh Lanta After a Year of Lockdown

The past year has definitely been weird. With no tourists, there were no customers for 80% the businesses and services on this island, so they shut down. Most of the Thais working here come from other parts of Thailand for the tourist months. They all left.

Restaurants have closed and re-opened several times, but the weirdest thing is the resort closures. It’s really post-apocalyptic here with so much property closed and abandoned. I wander through one of these resorts every afternoon to feed the 18+ cats that have been dumped there by people who left the island.

I walk by bungalow after bungalow and see no one. It’s spooky and way too quiet. I’m hyper aware of even the smallest noise, almost expecting a zombie to shuffle out from behind a tree.

Keeping Busy

When I walk the beach, I bring a plastic bag to collect garbage that comes to shore with the summer monsoon winds. But my garbage collection isn’t so random anymore. These days my focus is on lighters, from which I’ve learned to create sculptures.

First, I created a giant cat, and it’s now mounted on the side of my house at the entrance-way. Then I made a giant cat head for a friend’s restaurant as a birthday gift. Another friend was fitting up a children’s playground for a local fishing village, and I made her a giant cat to mount near the swing-sets.

People are noticing my sculptures. Strangers are friending me on Facebook and asking me about my garbage art. People are bringing me lighters; some just leave them at my gate. A few local businesses are interested. I’m currently building a giant turtle for The Fat Turtle, an upscale beach restaurant nearby. I’m also discussing another sculpture and having fun coming up with cool ideas.

I’ve stumbled upon other garbage art sculptures, and it’s been an absolute blast. No way any of this could have happened to me in Ottawa. I’d have gone crazy cooped up in my home for over a year, with all the stress and worry about getting Covid.

At the start of the pandemic most of my Koh Lanta friends returned to their home countries, but surprisingly, I’ve also met new people and so many of them have been here for over a decade. This has definitely been eye-opening and enriched my social life on this abandoned remote island.

Enjoying Life as Much as Possible

There have been a few Covid cases here on Koh Lanta. When a new one is discovered, the authorities quickly isolate the patient and investigate their movements, testing anyone they interacted with. We all wear masks and mostly keep to ourselves.

Last week the government started vaccinating the Thais. Foreigners are not included yet. I know I will get a vaccine within a few months. If I want it sooner, I can always return to Canada, but I have no plans to leave. I’m staying flexible with no expectations.

As I write this, the government has again locked down the provinces due to the Delta variant. I feel safe here and welcome this newest lockdown.

Why mess with a good thing? I’m happy, safe and fully engaged in my lifestyle. I love walking the beach to collect lighters and feed my beach cats and maybe one day a zombie will appear. And I have my garbage art giving me a bit of notoriety here in paradise.

It’s all good!

Where were you when Covid first erupted? Did you decide to leave your whereabouts and move back home? Do you feel safe in your home country? Or has your home away from home felt like a blissful paradise for the past year? What is the current situation at your present location? Let’s swap stories!

Bethenny Frankel’s Pink Floral Ruffle Dress on Instagram

Bethenny Frankel Instagram Fashion 2021

Sundae funday! According to Instagram Bethenny Frankel spent last Sunday eating ice cream sundaes with her daughter Bryn in this pink floral ruffle dress (here’s to hoping she didn’t spill ). And while it’s sold out, we highly recommending scooping up a Style Stealer below that’ll still have you looking like a delicious summer treat. 

Fashionably,

Faryn

Click Here to See Her Zimmermann Dress

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Photo: @BethennyFrankel

Originally posted at: Bethenny Frankel’s Pink Floral Ruffle Dress

Ramona Singer’s White Floral Ruffle Dress

Real Housewives of New York Instagram Fashion

Ramona Singer took to Instagram in a fun white floral dress to show the world that she’s living that yacht life and having fun in the sun. I totally need a little printed white dress like this for super hot days. Now I just have to find the perfect yacht to accessorize with just like Ms. Singer.

The Realest Housewife,

Big Blonde Hair

Click Here to Shop her LoveShackFancy Marion Dress

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Click Here to Shop it in Pink Floral

Click Here to Shop it in Pink Plaid

Photo: @RamonaSinger

Originally posted at: Ramona Singer’s White Floral Ruffle Dress