Blog - Alison's Notebook

Cordless phone, coffee mug and a large-print crossword book in the middle of a kitchen table by a window with a bird feeder

Decluttering After 70 When You Live Alone

Every morning at nine, I called my mother. It started the year after Dad passed. She lived alone in the house she’d kept for forty years, and I lived a …

Holiday outfits for women over 60: silver-haired woman in a wine velvet midi dress by a lit Christmas tree and fireplace

8 Holiday Outfits For Women Over 60 (Festive And Easy)

Does your calendar fill up fast once December comes? There’s the church service on Christmas Eve. A party at a friend’s house. Brunch with the grandkids, a concert, a family …

Breakfast on a rose-pattern china plate in front of a dining room hutch holding a gold-rimmed wedding china set and crystal glasses

Using the Good China Every Day Showed Me Which Dishes Were Worth Keeping

Until this fall, there was a set of dishes in our house that had never held a single meal. Gold rims, little gray leaves, and not one chip. My mother-in-law …

Kitchen table set up for sorting old papers with a Bankers Box of files, a paper bag for shredding, a green keep folder, a kitchen timer, and a recycling bin by the chair

How to Stop Hoarding Paper (When You Were Raised to Keep Everything)

“In case they ask.” That’s what my mother said every time I asked why she kept every electric bill, every bank statement, and every receipt that came into her house. …

Thanksgiving dinner outfit over 70: silver-haired woman in a green wrap dress and black ankle boots beside a set holiday table

8 Thanksgiving Dinner Outfit Over 70 Ideas (Cozy And Pretty)

Eight thanksgiving dinner outfit over 70 ideas for hosting, visiting, or dining out. Cozy, comfortable, and pretty, with the best shoes and fall colors.

Woman in her 60s with a silver-blonde bob walking down sunny porch steps in a light blue floral midi dress, white cropped cardigan, and nude block-heel pumps

8 Easy Ways On How To Wardrobe Transition From Winter To Spring

Learn how to wardrobe transition from winter to spring with eight easy steps. What to keep out, what to store, and how to dress for cool mornings.

Mother in a gray sweater and her grown daughter in a denim shirt talking and smiling at a wooden kitchen table with coffee mugs, a notebook, and an old wooden recipe box

I Finally Asked My Grown Kids What They Want From This House

For years, I tried to guess what my children would want from this house someday. I never once asked them. I’d already learned the hard way that my kids didn’t …

Smiling woman in a gray sweater holding her front door wide open for a white-haired friend in a navy vest who brings a jar of homemade applesauce on an autumn porch

The Doorbell Test: Could I Let Someone In Right Now?

The doorbell rang on a Tuesday afternoon, and my stomach dropped. Not because I was scared of who it was. Because I knew what was behind me. I was in …

Woman in her 50s walking on a snowy small-town sidewalk in a camel wool coat, ivory turtleneck, and black leggings

9 Leggings Outfit Winter Over 50 Ideas (Warm And Polished)

Nine leggings outfit winter over 50 ideas for real winter days. Warm, polished looks, plus what to wear over leggings and the best boots for the cold.

A woman in her 60s in a rust cardigan reads a prescription bottle beside Tylenol, Advil, Centrum and Band-Aids on a table

The Bottles Behind My Bathroom Mirror: What to Do With Old Medications in Your 60s

There was a pill bottle in the back of my mother’s medicine cabinet with my father’s name on it. Dad had passed years before. Mom never threw that bottle away. …