Do you love black and camel, grouper cakes, and Milieu magazine? I do. Let’s join Mary Ann and Annie and have a good Sunday chat!
Do you Love Black and Camel, Grouper Cakes and Milieu Magazine?
Milieu Magazine on Instagram
I am a huge fan of Pam Pierce and all she has accomplished with her wonderful Milieu Magazine. It is ten years old, can you believe it? You can follow Milieu on Instagram here. You can subscribe to Milieu here. Milieu’s spring 10th anniversary issue is stunning.
Don’t you love the creative bedside table in this bedroom designed by @randyhellerdesign and photographed by @natalie_marotta featured in the Milieu Spring issue.
The mix of the old and modern in this living space by @indulgedecorandfashion
photographed by @brettwoodwould is to die for.
…and this killer powder room. Doesn’t this make your heart skip a beat?
Do you Love Black and Camel?
Outfit of the Week
J Crew (40% off sitewide)and Madewell (25%off everything) are having great sales this wee, so I thought I would feature items from these two retailers. As you know I am not a huge fan of pattern (at least not on my body) but I do love the occasional polka dot. This 100% linen maxi from J Crew (ALSO IN EXTENDED SIZES) is on order. Unfortunately this dress is not on sale (irritating), but the matching polka dot shirt is. I have also ordered the sandals and (own) the bag from Madewell in brown. But I don’t think you need to over-accessorize when wearing pattern. I think a simple pair of tortoise earrings and a summer hat are all that is needed.
Shop Outfit of the Week
Ageist the Downsize Dilemna
Many of us are downsizing or considering it. Ageist has a great article on the pros and cons of downsizing. Read it here, and tell me what you think.
Grouper Cakes
On our recent trip to Savannah and Florida, Steve and I ate nothing but seafood for eight days. We had so many good meals, but the best fish cakes I have ever eaten were the seasonal grouper cakes at JB’s Fishcamp in New Smyrna Beach. JB’s is not fancy but everything on the menu was delicious. I searched for their recipe with no success. This recipe from Marlin Magazine sounds amazing and I plan to try it this week with whatever is fresh at my local fish market.
10 Plants You Should Never Prune in Spring
Better Homes and Gardens has a great list of plants you should never prune in Spring. Some might surprise you.
Sales of Note
Many retailers are having their friends and family events now. If you have a few holes to fill in your spring wardrobe now is the time to take advantage of these great buys. Sadly if we wait until we can actually wear them they will be gone.
That’s it from my desk this week. I am finally getting back in the swing of things after my vacation. Thank you for being here each week. I hope you enjoyed Do you love black and camel, grouper cakes, and Milieu magazine?
BANANA REPUBLIC FACTORY 50% OFF EVERYTHING!
EILEEN FISHER TAKE $50 OFF $250 OR $100 OFF $500
J CREW FACTORY 40% OFF EVERYTHING
If you would like to catch up on my other Sunday favorites, you can find them right here. Let’s pop over and visit Mary Ann and Annie for their favorites.
CLASSIC CASUAL HOME
MOST LOVELY THINGS
My husband and I recently downsized. We started a year in advance in order to go through our house and garage. We discarded or gave away many things we no longer needed. A garage sale eliminated extra furniture and items and provided enough money to pay for eventual moving costs. At the same time we were actively looking for the area we would want to move to. We did not need to get a mortgage as the proceeds from the sale of our home allowed us to buy our new home outright. There are a good many of us seniors in this position as we have lived in our homes for many years. This also gave us a good bargaining chip when we found our new home. It was a sometimes an arduous journey, but we are glad we did. Our new home is in a 55+ community located around a golf course and has a community club house with many activities. We had to remodel and make some repairs in our new home, but have finally completed most of them. Our new home is so much easier to maintain and less expensive too! We are able to do everything ourselves. We have plenty of room and a bit of a yard to enjoy. Our new neighborhood is the perfect place!
Hi Lynn
It sounds like you found a wonderful place!!
Hi Cindy, I have Ad Blocker and never have to worry with your posts. The only problem is that Ad Blocker automatically always filters out your links to J Crew and Banana Republic. I tell myself that’s fine, that its a built in Budget-Watcher.
As to downsizing – did it 9 years ago and are so content. We made sure the new place had light and sun, vital for old age, large rooms, two bathrooms, a double garage and a small garden as we have a dog. We also made sure it had level access to the street (it’s built on a slope) for access for any mobility devices we may need in the future. We have two accesses and the level access has been tried already after I had an injury. It was
brilliant!
And re blogging. I used WordPress and the cost was quite minimal but most likely because I was not a business account. I now use Substack which is linked back to my archived blog posts on WordPress, but again, it’s not designed to make money, so it costs me and my readers nothing.
Best wishes.
Hi Prue
I hopefully have a handle on it now WordPress is my host as well. We downsized a lot and then upsized a bit. I know we can’t stay here forever, but we sure are enjoying it now!
Cindy, love the outfit of the week! The downsizing article is interesting but the interests rates are prohibitive for many to purchase homes at this point.
AS for downsizing we did it 2 years ago and love our new one level home with less property.
Love Milieu magazine, it is one of the only ones I subscribe to along with The English Home.
Have a great week Cindy, welcome home!
Hi Elizabeth
Often when people our age downsize they are able to get rid of the mortgage! Milieu is great, one of the few I subscribe to as well. I need to check out the english home!!
My husband and I are considering a move to a new home. One big reason I am interested in this is yard work. With our age and water availability and high water bills during hot months I think less or very little yard work is a plus.
Hi Linda
We still have a faily large property but the gardening is much much less than our former home. I miss all my beautiful flowers but this is so. much more practical for our stage in life.
I read the Ageist article on downsizing and had some thoughts. When I moved after a silver divorce I could only afford a one story condo which I appreciate now. However the HOA fees have doubled in 7 short years and it’s now a whopping $6600 a year. More than my property taxes. They do little for the money and management for decades delayed defrayed maintenance resulting in these yearly fee raises and a huge assessment. Now I’m trying to decide how to get out. Do I lose money selling and moving? Or just stay here with expenses rising. I would never buy another condo. Just a word to those of you thinking a condo is easier. That said I have a lovely unit in a pretty part of town. Had I known interest rates would climb so rapidly I would have moved four years ago. Now it’s a large financial puzzle. Lenders don’t like to lend money to seniors who don’t have a lot of income.
Hi Leslie
I understand your dilemna. Everything has gotten so ridiculously expensive. I couldn’t retire even if I wanted to!!
We downsized when we retired and I love having a smaller footprint and an open concept home. It suits all our needs at this stage of life.
I love black & camel in clothing but not in a home. I find the black too harsh with the camel color. Maybe a touch of black but these photos show quite a bit of black.
Sounds like you had a wonderful mini vacation. I love seafood and when I go to the East coast I love to get my fill of lobster. Yum!
Hi Joanna
Isn’t it funny how we wear certain colors but don’t care for them in our home?
PS
LOVE LOBSTER
My husband and I downsized about 20 years ago. Our “new” home is about half a mile from our old one, less than half the size, and is one level instead of the 4 multi levels we had before.
Everything is easier and we plan to stay here forever. We are now in the process of adding a kitchen to our guest room, which is separate from the house, so that when full time help is needed, we’ll be ready.
Two of our adult children and other long time relationships are here in the area of Arroyo Grande, California. I want to be near the people I love.
I have observed folks who moved here to downsize and retire. Many stay for a while, then when they become frail, move back to be near their children.
Hi Karlie
We are on one floor and have much less yardwork. You are so smart to add that kitchen. You are almost my neighbor!!
The Ageist piece appears to be a reprint from several years ago, with the date changed. Mortgage rates are not at historic lows and haven’t been since 2021 — it’s super misleading.
Jbs fish camp one our favorites. Soft shells. Flounder stuffed with crabmeat grouper. Yummy. Enjoy your visit. Joan
I’m a big fan of Milieu magazine (and Veranda). Can’t believe Milieu is celebrating 10 years! Where has the time gone? Love the classic black and camel. Have a lovely weekend!
I can’t figure out which are ads and which are posts. Love your philosophy and aesthetic but these visuals are so messy/busy. I would happily pay for ad free
Install an ad blocker.
Hi Cara
I agree they are really annoying. I apologize for that. I am working with my ad provider right now. When we did the update everything got bigger and multiplied!
Cindy, I do not think many realize the COST of blogging. Maintaining a blog is very expensive, hosts, tech work, etc and that ads help offset the costs. Yes sometimes the ads are annoying, just like a tv commercial. You provide lots of valuable content and its free, don’t worry about the ads.
Hi Elizabeth
You are right, very few people realize the costs involved in blogging. As you said, tech support, hosts, numerous add ons they all add up. Ads do definitely offset the costs thankfully.
I agree with Valeri. I use an adblocker and see ZERO ads on Cindy’s posts.