Shopping, Planning, in Empty Nester Style

I just have a few minutes before I am off to finish stimulating the economy with Christmas presents for family, friends and charities.  The last day of shopping always seems so strange to me.......how many gifts is too many?  If Billy gets 4 presents, must Susie get the same?  Or should you spend the exact amount on each person?  I hate thinking about these things.  I prefer impulse buying which can sometimes lead to an inequality of gift allocations.  Shame!

I am definitely stopping by Trader Joe's on the way home. They better have those sea salt chocolate caramels or I might just have a personal meltdown right there in the middle of their recycled floor.  I wrote a poem about these delicious morsels a few years back......yes, they are that good!  

I have become quite an efficient little empty nester when it comes to planning and preparing for the return of my household, even if it's just for a few days.  Most meals are planned, the house is ready and screw the Christmas cards for now; I'd rather get a picture of all the kids home for a picture and maybe send out cards later.  I know the time when everyone is here will fly by at record speed, so I am already prepared for the letdown when they leave.  I have scheduled an afternoon at the spa.  Truth is, I miss the flurry of activity that exists when children live with you.  The most I can get out of Bill these days is a 'harrumph' and Wrigley is only excited when his dog food comes out or just before we go on our daily walks on the golf course.  I am perhaps the most boring and blah one in the bunch, too.  But that is going to change after the new year.

The Arizona sky is clouding up with a 10% chance of rain tomorrow, not exactly a winter wonderland, but it'll just have to do.  At least it looks a little more like Christmas everywhere I look!

Cyber Monday And Finding Your Happy Space

The Thanksgiving Holidays are over and here I sit, in front of my computer ready to start the next Holiday season with a few purchases bought online.

I find the Monday after the Thanksgiving break to be one of the most difficult days for the empty nest parent.  The kids have returned to their college or just back to their own towns and the transition is odd, to say the least.  The house is quiet...too quiet.  You are tired from cooking and entertaining and yet, somehow, you are hungry!  There are a million things to do as the Holiday season is just around the corner.  And yet, don't you just feel like taking a long soak in the tub or spending the afternoon at the spa?!

My holidays were different this year as two of my three children spent the break at my sister's house.  They are much closer in vicinity to her home and we discovered that flying home for Thanksgiving from college is too expensive and not really worth the hassle of flying in such a busy time.  They enjoyed spending time with their cousins, relaxing, laughing, going to movies and sporting events.  They called a couple of times to see how 'ole Mom was holding up, too.  My oldest son Andy and his fiance, Kim, kept us company for Thanksgiving dinner and one other evening.  My husband had a lot of work to do during the holiday weekend, so I was left alone to read and spend time with Wrigley.  My transition was not as difficult as it must have been for so many other empty nest Moms, but I still have an odd feeling in my gut today.  My sister and me describe this feeling when we are attempting to find 'our happy space'.  The happy space is the place we mentally take ourselves when all is not completely right in our world but we are coping and making ourselves happy in some fashion.  The thought is, if we are in our happy space, then we can make it all better for those people around us.   There are a lot of ways to get into the happy space.  Some people exercise; although I honestly can say, that doesn't work for me.  That only takes me to my 'sore place'!  Some people dive into the details of the upcoming Holidays.  As long as you like doing Holidays details and not just avoiding the lonely, sad feelings than sometimes come with empty nest transitional periods, then I say...have at it.  You are probably my friends who get their cards out early and already have their Christmas trees up! I enjoy the Holiday details, but not quite yet.  I prefer to wait until it's December.  Diving into work and your career can keep you busy and maybe will take you to your happy space, but that never worked for me, either.  And so, for the rest of us in the world desperately looking for our happy space, we turn to SHOPPING!  Isn't that how 'Cyber Monday' all started, anyway?  No, I know it's not how it all began (I read the papers),  but I am hoping I will find some really unique gifts for family members and friends today online.   

Now, where to begin?  Maybe I will shop In Rome (Italy, not Georgia!) or London.  I would really like to know where the young investment bankers living in NYC like to shop, and then visit those websites.  Anyone have any suggestions for me?

An excellent choice, of course, is to shop from the 'WORTH Collection' from me or my sister!  Email me at beth@emtnester.com and I will help you with your gift buying.  You can see the Fall and Winter lines at http://www.worthny.com.  This would actually put both you and me and maybe even my sister, into our 'happy spaces' all at the same time!

I think one of the best items this year to give any woman on your list is a scarf and Worth has so many beautiful ones this time of year.  There are silk ones, soft cashmere ones and warm woolly ones and they all come in this beautiful silver box.  And they are cheap to mail when your loved ones live far away.  I think in the next couple of days, I will show them all to you.  You're welcome!

Seriously, I hope you all find your happy spaces today and anyone who has gone through yet another empty nest transition period, that you are well and coping.  We deserve to feel good and happy on this 'Cyber Monday'!    

WORTHy Wishes # 1

Today is the first day that we can order from the Fall Worth Collection clothing line.  My sister and I have just returned from the Preview event in NYC and are ready to become better sales associates.  We met some of the best saleswomen and cannot believe how many items they sell in a year!  I am determined to find more people interested in shopping for high-end, quality clothing items and become one of the top sellers in the country.


Because I spend about half my day sitting in a chair focused on a computer screen, I figure most of my sales need to come from my internet shopping friends.  So starting today, I plan to show you my daily WORTHy Wishlist of clothing or accessory items I want to own, tell you the details and the price.  If you like the piece, too, then you can email me or my sister and we will place the order for you.  I don't think anyone else in the company is taking this sales approach, so consider yourselves my guinea pigs in a sales experiment!  I really hopes this works..........Share this post with your friends, too.  Your assistance is very much appreciated!

# 1 is a simple, classic, sleeveless shirt.  I have selected it because I think it'll be useful for all 4 seasons.  And, I love the dark teal color and think everyone looks good when wearing it.  It's 100% silk and it costs $248.  Here's a picture of my first wishlist purchase:

The Worth designers have put in with medium and dark brown skirts and pants for the fall.  I wear khakis a lot and plan to wear this shirt to dress up my everyday pants.  Also, I have a old camel-colored suede jacket that will go nicely with this beautiful top.

My WORTH collection clothes have definitely become my "go to" clothes, by the way.  I'm sure my friends and work associates (and surely, my husband) are getting sick of me wearing all or some of the pieces of this outfit from last spring's collection:

II

I love it!

Anyway, internet shopping is the most efficient way to fill in your wardrobe.  With Worth, you get the best of both worlds because you work with me or my sister and if you have questions on the material or certain measurements, we get those for you right away. Taking the guessing out of the shopping experience.  Check out all their Fall line here.  Email me at beth@emtnester.com or to June at jdavis@worthcollection.com to order your shirt (or other items) today!