Monday Musings- Laughter, Wisdom, and Why I Love This Community
A few weeks ago, a reader asked me what aging naturally means to me. It’s one of those questions that sounds simple until you sit with it for a moment. How we decide to age in a world full of options is deeply personal, and no single approach gets to claim the moral high ground.
What followed was one of those conversations that reminds me why this community matters so much.
I nodded along to many of your comments and laughed out loud at others. There was wisdom, perspective, and a very healthy sense of humor woven through the responses.
Some of you landed firmly in the pick-and-choose camp.
Some embrace gray hair, wrinkles, and the freedom that comes with it.
Some happily use Botox, retinol, or both, not to look younger, but to feel better.
What struck me wasn’t the variety of answers. It was the tone with no judgment and no lectures. Just women talking honestly about what works for them, in bodies that have lived a lot of life and learned things along the way.
Here are a few of your observations:
- Shoes have definitely changed from fun to things a platypus could wear!
- I just saw comedian Fran Lebowitz, and she said there are three looks…young, old and surgical! I’m still laughing! I’ll take old✅
- Aging naturally to me means freedom! Not thinking I have to lose 10 lbs to fit into an article of clothing that I have been hanging on to.
- I am 76 with white hair, wrinkles, crackly joints, and lots of other aging stages. I dearly relish and appreciate each white hair, wrinkle, creaky joints, etc., because of a sis who cancer took at 50 and never got to experience older age and all! I am simply grateful for each day!
- I had my upper eyelids done 7 years ago at the age of 65. I didn’t like how my upper lid kept folding further down. I’m really glad I did it.
- I’m not in the aging naturally column: if I were aging naturally, I’d have about 3-4 teeth left in my mouth and wouldn’t be able to eat anything that required chewing.
- To me, ageing naturally means just that. No hair dye, fillers, Botox, face lifts etc…just let nature take its course. But, like ‘natural’ childbirth, this approach can be painful and one that I have eschewed. Have not had a facelift, but certainly have fillers, Botox, and dye my hair.
This space has always felt like that to me. A place where we can compare notes, laugh at ourselves, and admit that comfort now factors into our decisions more than it once did. Including shoes. Especially shoes.
As the year winds down, I find myself appreciating this community more than ever. Slower conversations, fewer rules, common sense, kindness…and the freedom to decide what feels right without needing anyone else’s approval.
I’ll be taking a little time off over the holidays, but before I do, I want to say thank you. Your honesty, humor, and generosity are what make this space what it is, and I deeply appreciate you.
As we look ahead to 2026, I’d love to hear from you. What would you like to see more of here in the coming year? More real-life outfits? Deeper dives into color and fit? Fewer rules and more perspective? Or something you’ve been quietly hoping I’d write about?
However you’re closing out the year, I hope it includes good company, a few laughs, and style that makes you feel confident.
xo
Please enjoy your time off with your family! I love your blog and have used many of your suggestions for style and skin care. I just turned 81 and I am told I don’t look it. Thank you for all the time you put into your blog. I love seeing your personal style as it is similar to mine. I’m a true petite and lately I’ve had to shorten petite jeans and pants. A 29” inseam isn’t petite! I’m 5’1” tall, 135 lbs. which is a little over weight, especially as I’m eating goodies everyday! We can enjoy them for a few more days! My husband brought home a Christmas apple pie! Oh my! Have a wonderful Christmas and we will all see you after the holidays!
I always look forward to your columns Jennifer. Thank you for posting thoughtful comments and sharing your thoughts with us all. Merry Christmas to you and your family. Stay well! Looking forward to 2026 with you and this community.
Jennifer,
Thanks for your blog-what would my morning coffee be like without you? But I am firmly in the same camp as Lee in Chicago if not know when. I am 80 love makeup and clothes and my shop on Main St.
Amy from Galena
Color choices and how to put an outfit together from items we may already have in our closets. Affordable clothing options from reputable retailers. Thank you for all you do and Merry Christmas 🎁🎄 to you and your family.
I read your blog regularly and thank you for covering our maturing lifestyles so well. A blessed Christmas to you and your family. I look forward to your rerun next year.
Thank you Jennifer for your wonderful blog and the community you have created. Your blog is the first thing I look for every morning. It is so uplifting and enjoyable to read. I love all that you cover. Wonder how your dry eyes are doing? Carol said she would like to see shoes that are wide, I have the other problem, very narrow feet. Maybe you can address both issues.
Love all your outfits and your hair looks fabulous.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone!!!!
Happy Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year from the north of Scotland.
Love your work, thank you. Would like to spotlight what works for curvy, short, pear and other shapes. And more stores that routinely carry plus sizes.
Jennifer, how you generate such thoughtful and detailed content day after day astounds me! Thank you for all the work you put into your blog.
I hope you can step away and enjoy your nearest and dearest over the holidays. We’ll be here when you return. Merry Christmas!
Wishing you wonderful holidays!
Enjoy your blog a lot. I would love to see the how and why an outfit might work together. I am petite and love the outfits you show with that perspective in mind. Love the shoe option posts too and travel outfits too. Happy 2026.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Yes, please take some time for you and enjoy your friends and family.
As for next year, styling and color advice would be fabulous, as well as learning how best to take care of ourselves.
Those are great topics!
I always look forward to your blogs! I totally relate to your writing, your choice of topics and your style. You inevitably choose a topic that I am wondering about and you address the issues so thoroughly. I totally think we should wear what makes us feel good, but I would like to know what things you think are dated that we could get rid of and possibly replace with something a little more modern. Tunics? Certain pants or jean styles? I love buying new clothes but I could use help curating and pruning my wardrobe too. Have a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful 2026!
I really enjoy your postings and have changed my wardrobe over the last year based on your dressing room try ons. I finally felt like I could donate all the things in my closet that no longer fit my lifestyle. Have a great holiday and see you next year!
I’m so glad the posts helped!
Thank you so much for continuing to write with such humour and positivity.
Wishing you a cosy Happy Christmas and good times in 2026.
C McC
Jennifer, I love the community you have created. Your outfit choices are inspirational and provide an alternative way to style. I enjoy the topics around ageism and how to deal with it. I wish younger folks can appreciate us the way I appreciated older folks in my youth. We have the power as a community. Thrilled you are taking a break for the holidays. For 2026, I want to hear you take more time for you! Your hair looks amazing in the pic with cashmere hoodie. I bought it in oatmeal, great find! Happy and healthy holidays to all!
Thanks Cheryl. Happy Holidays!
Good Afternoon Jennifer. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a hundred times, love your Monday Musings. And really enjoyed the reader observations on aging naturally. I’m glad to see you in the Quince hoodie, I ordered one, per your recommendation, in the wine color and I absolutely love it. I want to get another, and the grey you’re wearing looks so naturally comfortable in a classy way. I’m hoping they’ll come out with one in that new red/brown color they just introduced. I truly enjoy your blog, I’ve gotten so many good ideas from you. And whenever someone compliments me on a new piece of clothing, I say “my stylist recommended it”. :-). Thank you for that. Keep in coming in 2026. Have yourself a very Merry Christmas, and enjoy your time off. Hugs.
LOL, I love that! Merry Christmas!
I would love it if you showed us Canadian ladies some local stores. I know you spend quite a bit of time in Vancouver or on the island. I’m not sure what percentage of your followers are Canadian but a dive into retailers that we can easily access would be deeply appreciated.
Have a wonderful Christmas Jennifer!
I can share some brands but the ones I shop while there are Gap, Talbots, Banana Republic, Eileen Fisher, Athleta, Aritzia, Old Navy. Yes, most are US brands but I have not found other Canadian retailers.
I would like to know how to take a so-so outfit and make it look better. I would like to see you wearing an everyday plain outfit and then see another pic of how it would look if you updated it with different colors/accessories. Thanks for all you do!
Great idea
I would like to see more vendors.
Merry Christmas and Thank you for your work on this.