Hidden Magnolias

As someone facing retirement in the not too far future, I am saddened and dismayed by some of the blogs I read. One senior blogger tells of how many food banks and senior food services near her are closed, moved, or redistributed. She depends on a bus service to get her to the food banks and now it is a long walk for her to get any food at all.   She received grocery gift cards for Christmas but is too afraid to use because she might need later since food prices in her area are going up and up. This made me very sad for her and fearful for me and mine. This is a country where people are spending $300,000 on a car and this woman’s grocery budget is $30. Ouch. Don't get me wrong, I AM NOT ADVOCATING SOCIALISM. But I cannot help but feel we have the least prepared group of people fixin' to retire. I don't want to be one of ill-prepared people. What am I going to do about it?  Pull in the reins.  I have always been...

LulaRoe. A new (well, to me, anyway) brand of clothing.  I first heard of the company while doing my Made in the USA investigation. (And my neighbor had mentioned them several times.) A quick google image search brought up wildly patterned leggings with big over shirts or brightly colored dresses worn by pregnant women and mommies.  Pinterest Mommy clothes.  (No offense mommies -- you deserve great looking stay at home outfits!) Cute. But not for me. But I decided to take a look when I was invited to a Pop-Up Boutique held by our local LulaRoe girls in Powder Springs - Sherrie and Christa .  Not only was the party fun (there was wine), I got to try on clothes and decide what I liked. The laid back, relaxed atmosphere was very encouraging -- no high pressure like some Tupperware or Mary Kay parties that I have been to in the past.  I bought.  Here is my first LulaRoe outfit. A Perfect Tee paired with an Azure skirt. Mak...

For several months now I have been very conscious about what I buy. It seems like each time I look at an article of clothing, shoes, household items, etc., it has the ubiquitous tag "Made in China." So I made myself a promise -- try to buy Made in the USA . This has proven harder than it sounds. For several reasons: You have to hunt for Made in the USA items -- Nordstrom's has a Made in the USA search that will bring up various items -- but few other departments stores do. Reading through various research most department stores carry less than 2% of US made clothing.  Made in USA items are often found in the high end stores -- Neiman Marcus, Barney's, Bloomingdales's, Von Maur. Many of us don't even consider going to a high end store because of the prices. What I want is just not made here --Sure you can find socks, some jeans, men's wear, workout clothes, t-shirts and stockings, but what about clothes to wear to work? Almost nonexisten...