Kiss the Sweets Goodbye and Point Me Toward Tomorrow*

Note the side part with prized Goody barrette in my

fourth (third?) grade Saint Mary's School photo, circa 1971. 

Coaxed by my mother, I set my hair on pink sponge rollers the night before. 

The light blue, sparkly barrette matched the shiny silk dress 

(now faded in the photo), 

a hand-me-down from relatives in Connecticut.

Okay, enough. I've spent my life spinning fairy tales about sugar, and believing them. Sweets were special. They were magic. Enchanting. Not just euphoric, they added notes of beauty and style to a plain life, like that sparkly blue Goody barrette. It was from the grocery store, but it was a big deal to me. (As a mother, I took great pleasure on lunch breaks from Hearst browsing hair accessories for me or Figgy on Bergdorf Goodman's Beauty Level--I got her a slender black satin hairband with rhinestone bow. I would have done the same for Punch, but she is not a hair accessory type of girl.)

Spun-sugar stars in my youth included the Entenmann's chocolate chip loaf cake my New York City-born grandmother, Alice, got us at the Grand Union supermarket in Dumont. A gift. A Sunday, church-day treat. And the  soft Torrone nougat candies in little boxes that our Italian immigrant grandmother, Rose, sometimes brought us from the Bronx.

The treats were part of a better life, a privileged life. They were that one Christmas Eve with a glass plate of homemade cookies at Aunt Gloria's and Uncle Jim's down the block in Dumont, where my three pretty cousins (Annie, Cathy and Maria) lived. The magic of my Sweet Sixteen, a pink box-mix cake and pink icing made by my mother and shared with my friends at our dining room table with Quaker lace tablecloth. They were Stanley's Bake Shop in Bergenfield, a special 50th anniversary sheet cake with rich yellow buttercream roses and swags of frosting.  

I could go on and on and on. My fairy-tale cake walk. But that might fill a book.  

I.am.here.now. It is Sunday, October 26, 2025 at 3:24 p.m. and last night, at another lovely party held by our friends in Montclair, I consumed one sweet treat after another. Like Halloween tricks, they rose up and then vanished from my hands.

The clock ticked and I grew tired, having had a sad Friday night and a packed Saturday that began at 7:30 a.m. with cleaning (book group was coming), table setting, grocery shopping, coffee hour hosting, a meeting, flower getting, beauty salon, book group, phone interview for writing assignment, dishes and ending with the Halloween party. When I'm tired, I do reach for food to stay awake.

I think I have figured it out, at least for the moment. I love the hosts of these generous, spirited parties (themes include Super Bowl, summer garden, table games), the friends who attend, the chance to be out with Dan and sometimes even Punchy there. But so many love to bake (I do, too) and great bakeries abound. So first there is excellent food, often catered (last night, mac and cheese and pulled pork; excellent charcuterie boards; farmer's market focaccia). Even a bar, sometimes with bartender. And live jazz music!!!!

Last night I had:

• A Magnolia Bakery chocolate Halloween cupcake, dense and moist, thick yellow frosting cap.
• A serving from a dream-girl size glass bowl of peanut butter cream/Reese's/cake trifle.
• A big, soft ginger cookie.
• An Italian bakery double-decker cookie with jam sandwiched in between, chocolate dip, rainbow sprinkles (you know the ones).
• A small wedge of hostess J's homemade, tender olive oil citrus cake.
• And at the book group lunch here, since it was our Jeannie's bday, two slices of the flourless chocolate cake Karen made, with freshly whipped cream.

Hello? Yes, it's me. 

Am I out to kill myself? I am a sugar addict, and I can't seem to eat sweets in moderation. Yet the zero-tolerance approach may be too punitive? On New Year's Eve 2025, I planned not to eat the party desserts, told my hostess and looked away but by the time the ball dropped, a piece of the Smitten Kitchen chocolate cake found its way onto a plate in my hands.

I think that going forward, I will have to leave before the desserts come out. Physically remove myself, drive back home across town. Either that or get a big cup of coffee with cream and go in the pretty backyard? For many years, I filled my best crystal bowl with fresh red berries and brought a bowl of unsweetened whipped cream to these parties and to book group. (TBT, everyone loved that dessert.) But then I stopped.

What do you think?

Not surprisingly, I was exhausted and sluggish today, sugar hangover.

Now it's 9:17 p.m. Since 3:24, I took a walk with Dan (nice leaves), cut down the dead cone flowers, made sure Punch's friends headed back to their apartment in the Bronx, did a work email, ate dinner, loaded the dishes, played and failed at Wordle, started Spelling Bee.

My plan as of now is to again sidestep sweets, one day at a time. Look at the roads I have taken when allowing them in.

Scenes from the Goody barrette legacy:

Our daughter Figgy in 9th grade at Montclair High. Bergdorf hair accessory.

Figgy's senior portrait. I also got that pretty "White Christmas" style hairband at BG.

I forgot! I put my pearl bracelet around our Punchy's bun for her First Holy Communion. Her friend Nikki did the bun.

*Adapted from "What I Did for Love," a song from the musical A Chorus Line with music by Marvin Hamlisch and lyrics by Edward Kleban.

Update, Hospital Food [Carb Loading] & Shopping

$ MONEY SPENT OUT OF POCKET

• NYU Medical Center Cafeteria: crustless round quiche, $5.50; 2 small sausage links, $2.50; everything bagel, $1.75; smoked salmon [they gave me A LOT], $4.40; cream cheese, $1; tomato, 30 cents; and then back a second time for large coffee, $2.60 and bag of Financier Patisserie brand mini Coconut Rochers, small macaroons dipped in dark chocolate, $5.50. I saved half the bagel with lox--and of course half the bag of Coconut Rochers--for later. Total for two bills, $25.44. Please note, assuming this is the same size bag as the one on the patisserie website, the hospital gives a discount. On the website, $7.85. It's nice to know a hospital gives a discount on something. Though I have to say this place seems impeccable--in terms of service, staff, organization, branding [including purple color], cleanliness, comfort and more. Sis worked for NYU [prosthetics research] for more than 30 years.
• Amazon, as I sat in the waiting room. The Jackie Kennedy book for my next boot camp book club [book camp] meeting; Ruth Reichl's latest memoir about editing Gourmet Magazine [required reading for a magazine staffer and magazine lover like me]; monogrammed Lilly Pulitzer case for my iPhone 6 [my case is ragged]; and a Maida Heatter book that looked like a must. Total, $65.16. Here are the items. Check that phone case! 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Hospital gift shop. Beautiful low rose arrangement in small stoneware vessel for Sis; card; box of Li-Lac French Chocolates in lovely lavender floral box; a pair of Peepers reading glasses for me; and bag Australian black licorice, including steep NYC local sales tax of 8.875 percent [$9.01], $110.51. Flowers, card and chocolates for Sis from me, Dan, Fig, Punch and Sugar.

• Cafeteria, bottle of water, cup of ice, dark Toblerone bar, muffin, small bag chips, Illy coffee made from freshly ground beans, $13.40. 

TOTAL DAILY SPEND: $214.51.

MONTHLY SPEND AS OF MAY 9: $1,012.35.

AVERAGE DAILY SPEND: $112.48.

Money thoughts: Geez, I am tired and spending the night in hospital with Sis. We rose 5:15 a.m. and left 6:30 a.m with me driving from CT; got to NYU on First Avenue by 8 a.m. You can see that I bought a lot of carbohydrates, I think partly for fuel and partly an attempt to buffer stress. But the surgery went well, good outcome.

I also took my waiting-room opportunity to pay the $400 balance owed for Punchy's week of summer camp at the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, but not listing that here. The week of day camp for $450 in my favorite place on earth would normally be $500 total but since we are Audubon members, $50 savings.

Oopsy Daisy

I can see you--through the miles and over the airwaves--keeping me honest. I overspent today.

There's N., in the D.C. area, diligently reporting to work at her government job even with the shutdown/pay freeze. I spy Liz, who swore off buying new clothes and Kim, who meticulously reorganized her stuff, down to every necklace, and likes to shop her own closet. Don't forget Eileen, mother of three, who goes into Whole Foods solely for the good salmon, and will not take a cart, not even a basket, to avoid other temptations.

Can’t miss Sis, who is not an overspender or waster; Moey, who generally doesn't buy at full retail price; and Anne, who loves thrift shopping. My friend Bill, cub reporter/editor at The Daily Targum, who told me about the Mint spending tracker. And what about Mary Kate, who said I was doing well?

Or my cousin Lin? We share the same Italian immigrant grandma, Rosie, who worked hard in NYC doing piecework [artificial flowers for hats, etc.]  while mothering four boys, one who died in babyhood. I don’t think Rosie wasted money--or had much money to waste.

But in my defense: Did you know that my first staff magazine job was in a fashion department? I was indoctrinated at age 22 into the world of insider sample sales [where designers sell clothing at giveaway prices] and a locked fashion closet, similar to but smaller than the one in "The Devil Wears Prada." Did ya know that when I was at Good Housekeeping, my editor loved my accessory style and inquired about me moving from writer to fashion editor? And before that, another EIC wondered if I would be interested in being beauty editor?

Oh, hell, none of that pays the heating bill, does it?

I always check the coupon machine when I arrive at CVS to get Rxs. Today
I had $4 off Neutrogena Rainbath [I take a lot of baths] and $2.50 off
Colgate toothpaste.

Anyway, here goes. As forecasted, I received an electronic payment--for $960. Unlike someone I mentioned who might have been tempted to drink his paycheck, I did pay some key bills first.

• I was at the dentist this morning to get my crown [not gold tiara, sadly]. On my way out, I doubled down on our monthly payment plan agreement and paid $300 instead of $150.
• I paid off the total balance owed to my therapist, so I have a clean slate going forward: $320.
• Fees for using an ATM that was not my home bank: $1.25 and $3.
• Then, innocently enough, I was driving by Frederic Goodman, an anchor in our town--an establishment, a jewelry store that has been there for 40 years and is going out of business. The other day, I stepped in and Jeannie [sp] showed me a beautiful Swarovski crystal wraparound bracelet with 7 large genuine pearls spaced among the crystals. No clasp to open and close, and slow me down, making me less likely to wear it. It was marked down from $486 plus tax to $195 plus tax. It will also go nicely with the necklace your husband got you for Christmas, Jeannie said. I resisted. But the store only has a few days left and now the bright signs say, YOU SET THE PRICE. I walked in and asked Jeannie if the bracelet was still there. It was. She said How about $145? I said okay, and walked out wearing it. With tax, that was about $154. I feel like I'm disappointing you, friend, but not necessarily myself, in admitting that. I think I can see you shaking your head in dismay? Three thoughts/emotions were at play here when I handed over my debit card: 1. That I had made a big dent in family bills already and 2. That Frederic Goodman was closing, so this was a last chance and 3.,A  biggie, the idea that I deserve this treat and shouldn’t be deprived. See, the road to overeating and overspending starts with #3 for me. I lose sight of the bigger picture, my overall health and my family’s financial well-being. I also believe that fashion softens life and adds beauty and sparkle--so there’s that.
• Parking meter was 50 cents for 30 minutes.
• Next stop, Williams-Sonoma, but not for me. For a $25 gift card to mail to sweet newlyweds. [Dan and I were invited but could not attend reception.]
• Then, CVS, to get Punchy's melatonin. I spent $22.24, which included $4.99 plus tax for a Hallmark wedding card to go with the W-S gift card I will mail.
• Then I went back to Chelsea Square and got another tube of that Kiehl's Butterstick SPF Lip Treatment in Touch of Berry because I really love it and decided the color is just right. Price with tax, $20.79.
• Jackie's Grillette for my lunch and a coffee for Figgy. $15.99 plus $3 tip.  $18.99
• Joyist, where I have come to work until 4:15, for a handcrafted cappuccino [delicious custom Java Love bean blend, $6] and 2 small cacao PB cups, $4.; so $10 total.

$MSOOP

So, if we take away the family bills [therapy and dentist], and the $4.25 in ATM fees, we are left with $252.13. What? Wow. That is a lot.

Postscript
It's 3:42 p.m. and I've had a very difficult time settling down and getting my work done. Does overspending, like overcaffeinating, bring on this jingly-jangly feeling? Is it the cappuccino? Or the carbs at lunch at Jackie's? Or the overstimulation of spending too much $? Also, it does take time to write these posts....adding up every cent....I did walk the 20 minutes into town with Figgy in the brisk sunshine, but did not sleep well last night. Could use a nap right about now.

The spending continues and I feel every dollar. Punch has weekly therapy but this week is talking alone, not with me. So I'm working in Java Love, right near therapist's office and Punch will walk down and meet me. I had to buy something, so got Figgy a wrapped vegan raw bar for $4 plus 31 cents in tip jar.

Revised total. $256.44.

23 & Me: Acquiring Many Beautiful Styles in 18 Months--But What Am I Really Looking for?

This is #2 on my list below--the Generation Love
Jenny Pearls top. Isn't it amazing? It came in beautiful black, too,
but the one on sale in XL was this grey.

I've written many times about STITCH, the fashion boutique I fell for the moment it opened its doors in an elegant old space with a bank vault in Montclair. [The vault is large enough to walk in.] This is a "walkable suburb," to quote real estate ads, and I love strolling and biking in and out of town for groceries, gifts and household items--even a silver watering can from the hardware store on Valley Road. On many jaunts, I stopped in STITCH. I even dragged Punchy in there a couple of times, though she much preferred the toy store next door.

STITCH graced our town for one and a half years. In that time, the owner, Caitlin, taught me so much about style just through her edit--what she chose to show in the window or hang on the racks. What she chose to wear. She upped our style quotient so much. The original location still stands in Madison, New Jersey, about 30 minutes from here.

You know I have battled my weight, tried to slim down. Still working on that. Have not given up. Sometimes I think I buy new clothes--four of the garments happen to be black--because I think they make me look less fat. Illusion? But who am I fooling? Myself? I also reach for earrings, because they always fit, and costume jewelry won't break the bank.

I've become concerned about overspending. It's not healthy, productive or fair to my family. I would like to be more frugal about fashion--and other things--this year. It's not so unrelated to overindulging in cupcakes and chocolate, a change I have also been working on, and succeeding at.

Dan has said, Alice, I don't understand why you would want to buy more clothing. You have so much in your closet already, you would never be able to wear it all in your lifetime.

He is right.. But I understand why I want to buy more clothing. It's why fashion designers reveal new collections again and again. The high heel has a different shape, the hemline falls longer or shorter, the neckline is cut with a sassy edge. The weave might be new--nubby or cotton-soft--the color is fresh, the belt is cute, the earrings are chandeliers, or tiny minimalist posts.

So I follow fashion; my fickle self tracks trends. I've decided to list here just the items that I purchased at STITCH in the 1.5 years it was here. It closed before Christmas, and everything was 50 or 60 percent off retail [or sale price] at that point. It was crazy. But look at this list, a lesson to myself. These are items I bought, or wanted to, in 18 months. I do not recall all brand names off the top of my head.

1. Long, black quarter-sleeve cardigan from Cupcakes and Cashmere. I had heard of the brand but never seen it in person until Caitlin came to town. The cardigan looks professional. The front is drapey and slimming, no buttons. I figured I could use for a job interview, or an office job.
2. Pearl-grey Generation Love sweater with white pearls of varying sizes scattered on front and sleeves. So cozy and feminine. I love it. They say styles always come back--maxi dresses, bell bottoms, miniskirts, tie dye. This reminds me of a sweater I loved 30 years ago, but now with a modern neckline [closing sale, 50 percent off].
3. Lemon-patterned white wrap dress with ruffly edge. So lovely but am too heavy for it. I think I can make it work in the summer as a pretty layer.
4. Open-toe black suede shoes with ankle ties [closing sale].
5. Oversized, dangling Kenneth Jay Lane earrings with long faux turquoise beads. I wore these so much, including to the Hillary Clinton book signing in town.
6. Gray sleeveless top with side tie at hip.
7. Small mauve shoulder bag.
8. Long Bauble Bar earrings.
9. Pastel tasseled earrings.
10. Turquoise [color] leaf-shaped earrings.
11. Earrings with real flowers pressed inside.
12. Black V-neck sweater, so soft and comfortable.
13. Pink flamingo sweater, PJ-softee and fun. Wore on a rainy Cape Cod night by lighthouse. I texted Dan a photo. Where did you get that shirt? he texted back. I think he likes it, though.
14. Julie Brown short black dress with 3/4 sleeves; nice with opaque tights [size XL, sale, $99]. 
15. Burgundy Cupcakes and Cashmere jumpsuit [closing sale, originally $130, 60 percent off].
16. Sleek black Commando tights--well, I wanted to buy them, but the store didn't carry up to size XL. The website does and I love the tights. Pricey, but good tummy coverage and supersoft. Feel so feminine wearing them. Will wear tomorrow! I do not skip the underwear.
17. Sleeveless creamy-oatmeal-colored turtleneck sweater [sidewalk sale].
18. Pinky orange Julie Brown poncho. I somehow think of Marcia, Jan and Cindy from "The Brady Bunch"--it's 70s pop color. A color I would have wanted as a girl and am still drawn to--what can I say?
19. Fuchsia Julie Brown poncho [sale].
20. Sky-blue, sleeveless swingy summer top with nice neckline.
21. Hot pink O-venture hands-free leather key ring. [Still have not used it, but plan to.]
22. Aqua/coral/gray/white paisley cold shoulder top w 3/4 bell sleeves--size XL. [I was shy of cold shoulder style, still am, waited for it to be on sale.]
23. And let's not forget that in a Ladies' Night raffle, I won a $150 gift card and went back and got a hot pink and orange V-neck cashmere tennis sweater that I had been eyeing. It cost more than $150.

I think 17, and possibly the second poncho, may be my only regrets. Also, I didn’t need the tasseled earrings, TBH.

Some things were impulse buys/retail therapy, for sure. Misguided attempts to take care of myself when I felt busy, unappreciated, low--or just wanted to glam up my life. Consumerism, I know. Heating oil tank almost empty, and waiting for freelance paychecks? Mortgage late? We may not have $2,000 for our monthly payment, but I did have $29 for an accessory. Not rational, I know. I bought numbers 6, 7 and 8 in a hurry on a Saturday afternoon before heading to my college newspaper reunion that night.

Also loved the Julie Vos jewelry but haven't bought yet. Beautiful, but an investment. And--I got Punchy a dainty cord bracelet at STITCH. Offered to get Fig something, but she prefers Valley Girl store up the road.

Can you see how many brands I met through STITCH, through Caitlin's eye on style?

I realize after this post that I have purchased and followed far less Tory Burch than in previous years...through STITCH, I felt sophisticated in the suburbs. When I worked in the Hearst building in NYC, for 10 years, I loved to walk to upscale stores on 57th Street on my lunch hour: Bergdorf Goodman, arche [French shoes], etc. Often just browsing, sometimes buying items on sale. Having this boutique in town gave me that lunch-hour fix.

I have to get Punch up to bed, and go to bed myself.

I hope that by inventory, I can be more mindful and waste less money.

Good night.

TCOY

1. Made oatmeal for breakfast.
2. Walked around block.
3. Bought healthy groceries, including tangerines, bananas, cashews, fish, yams.
4. Walked 45 minutes at park.
5. Read NY Times a bit.
6. Met Anne for coffee--and mushroom soup--at Marcel.
7. Made healthy dinner.
8. Raspberries and whipped cream, no sugar, in glass goblets for dessert.

Good vs. Evil in the Garden of Fashion

Finally posting more about "Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination," at the Metropolitan Museum of Art through Monday, October 8 [Columbus Day]. This time-in-a-bottle, gilded-lily, often haunting exhibit is in three places, not unlike the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. The Anna Wintour Costume Center holds the radiant gold pope adornments; the museum's first floor, near the permanent Medieval and Byzantine Art Gallery, has couture designer pieces; and at the Met Cloisters, a subway, bus, car or taxi ride away from the graceful mother ship, you can see imports from French monasteries. [My sister and I did not get to the Cloisters, not enough time.]

So much to say. So.much.to.say. #somuchtosay

I am a dyed-in-the-wool, baptized-in-the-font Catholic....my faith runs deep. Down to the toes of the itchy navy blue cabled knee socks I wore to Saint Mary's School in Dumont, New Jersey, a working-class town in Bergen County. It touches the tiny silver beads on the rosaries my Italian immigrant grandmother, Rosie, brought back from Rome for all four of her granddaughters--Lin, Sis, Judi and me. Our beads were blessed by the Pope on one of Rosie's pilgrimages [this one in the late 1960s] to the Vatican with her church group.

I was shaken by the exhibit. In awe. Thunderstruck. Disturbed.

Dead Popes Society
We started downstairs, though I see now that the brochure says the pilgrimage should begin on the first floor. Below ground, so rich, so opulent. Hidden. Copes [large open cloaks] so heavy with golden thread that we could not fathom carrying them on our shoulders. A mitre, the tall hat, encrusted with jewels. A stunning amethyst cross, purple and polished. A crucifix with a secret compartment that held a relic--a tiny bone from a dead pope. Relics were occasionally on loan to Saint Mary's when we were girls, too, though they were from saints, not popes.

We also saw shoes worn by Pope John Paul II. And crowns, rings, clasps and an incredibly ornate monstrance, the gold vessel in which the Blessed Sacrament is displayed for genuflection [kneeling, praying, adoring]. Even soft cloth slippers dotted with precious jewels.

It was a Tiffany & Co-worthy treasure trove of rubies, emeralds, sapphires and diamonds, shining, in vain, even after centuries.

All of this, of course, in stark juxtaposition to two deep troubles. One, many of the Italian and French peasants who gave money to the church were poor, yet their male leader was draped in gold, almost obscenely so. And two, the Catholic Church is under scrutiny now for dark abuse of innocent children, and for covering it up and relocating the priests/pastors to other parish assignments, only to have the crimes occur again. The recent Grand Jury report from Pennsylvania was horrifying. Now New York and New Jersey are under the scope, and rightly so. How many generations of devout parents have sent their freshly scrubbed altar boys into the wrong hands? The PA report told of a priest who abused several sisters in one family and another who went to the hospital after a girl had her tonsils out and abused her there.

It is hideous. Yet here, here was beauty. It really was a beautiful collection. Golden and regal and really, fashion in the highest form. Church music played all around us.

Everything in the Costume Center was on loan from the Vatican.

Blessed-Mother Blue and Creepy Black Nunwear

Photo I took last Thursday at the Met. I've been thinking about the exhibit ever since.

For some reason, priests and nuns scared me. They held the secrets, and the power. I got along with them well enough, but those long black, front-button cassocks the priests wore....the gray-blue habit Sister Agnes had, gray-blue like her eyes behind rimless glasses. Lips without lipstick, lashes naked. No legs or ankles showing. So mysterious. Utilitarian. Different. Plain. Foreign to my little-girl world. Why, and what, were they hiding?

Even the Beatles were scared:

Friday night arrives without a suitcase
Sunday morning creeping like a nun
Monday's child has learned to tie his bootlace
See how they run  
                          --"Lady Madonna" lyrics

I admired my mother's gold charm bracelet and perfume bottles. I begged her to wear the sleeveless silver dress with a faux jewel neckline. I wanted her to be pretty.

Sis, whose name is MaryAnne, probably after the Blessed Virgin Mary, was gifted with a statue of her. She was maybe a foot tall, in blue robes, her feet conquering the Devil, the serpent. The statue was on a shelf in the bedroom we shared.

At Saint Mary's, every bride had a separate bouquet to put at the feet of the slender, towering white Virgin Mary statue in her own alcove on the altar.

But here at the Met, wow. I was blown away by the robes and gowns inspired by angels and the Blessed Mother. So ethereal, so feminine and breathtaking in their folds and frills. Now Mary wasn't just Jesus's mother on earth--her gentle style was powerful enough to bring about a whole league of copycat celestial blue confections.

The lineup of black clothing...architectural Dolce & Gabbana shapes inspired by the straight lines of the cross, by hoods and stark habits. The line of gold Versace dresses....I can't capture it all. The Fellini film that featured a fashion show with a priest in a lacy vestment.....that felt a little sacrilegious to me. It just struck a chord.

If you have time, you have to go before Heavenly Bodies leaves. The exhibit design by Diller Scofidio + Renfro is unforgettable. There is even a Heavenly Bodies store. My favorite merchandise was stashed in the very back--large, rich and glittery eye shadow palettes, $125, and sparkly angel-white lip gloss in a tube with a sponge-tip wand, $28, by makeup maven Pat McGrath. The gloss isn't sticky and the wand is perfectly designed, a gift from heaven. My practical Sis, waiting in the wings, indulged my shopping but did say, You don't buy makeup in a museum! But if it's Pat McGrath, you do*.

oh.my.god.

#MetHeavenlyBodies

Pope wear.

*I could not afford the palette, but still regret it. The colors/pigments were so lovely. I did buy the gloss.

Mascara, Check. Necklace, Check.

This Sequin & Ribbon Statement Necklace is big, but I am tall with broad shoulders, so I can carry it off.
It was on sale at Talbots in Upper Montclair, reduced from $79.50 to $17.99.
When I wore it yesterday with the soft black V-neck I found at STITCH the other day,
Figgy and Punch both said separately to me, That necklace is beautiful.*
I wish I had the wallet and wherewithal to start Christmas shopping for next year,
because the sale section at talbots.com has great gifts at rock-bottom prices.

The little things like makeup and accessories loom large in terms of feeling put together and polished—even if, or maybe especially if no one can see you as you tap on your laptop in suburban New Jersey.
Score one for me. Good night.

*Dan got home from work at about 8 p.m. and he didn't say anything about the necklace, but I could tell by the way he looked at me--when we were schlepping the weekly recycling bins to the curb--that he noticed it and liked it.