The Empty Nest Chronicles

two friends. two coasts. two cozy homes.

The Empty Nest Christmas Blues

 150 150 Frances
7
0

Dear Kristin, As the holiday season presses down upon us, I’m once again reminded of how much I hate shopping. I’m the world’s biggest sufferer of Buyer’s Remorse because I regret 75% of my purchases immediately after I’ve made them (except for the books I buy for myself–I almost never regret those). The dawn of…

read more

Clearing a Path

 150 150 Kristin
5
1

Dear Frances, Thanksgiving is done, but before we dive headlong into Christmas, I’d like to pause for a moment and think about the upcoming holiday season. You’ve actually inspired me to keep a little space between the holidays–to let each one have its moment to shine. I guess that is what Advent is, a season…

read more

Pruning Season

 150 150 Frances
4
3

Dear Kristin, For the avid reader, the internet provides an embarrassment of riches. It’s a universe of interesting articles and reviews, blog posts and opinion pieces, each one filled with its own galaxy of rabbit holes to go down. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone online to look up a fact and…

read more

The Skin We’re In

 150 150 Kristin
6
1

Dear Frances I don’t think any conversation between two women of a certain age would be complete without discussing skin care. If social media is any indication, the generation or two of women after us got the message on this topic a lot younger than we did. And I suspect that their skin at age…

read more

Cozy Contemplations

 150 150 Frances
4
2

Dear Kristin, As you know, I like to overthink things, and today, the sky outside overcast, the trees shedding their yellow and red leaves, I want to contemplate coziness. Is cozy a cool weather phenomenon? Is it a state of mind or a state of being? Why do we love it so? Of course, not…

read more

October Thoughts

 150 150 Kristin
8
1

Dear Frances, Holidays are a bit tricky now, aren’t they? The celebrations have always centered around activities with the kids, and I guess it’s time we change our expectations. I’ve definitely got some mixed feelings about Halloween. I am not really a Halloween person, but obviously the kids always loved it! There were many years…

read more

Fast Food

 150 150 Frances
2
4

Note from Frances: From time to time, Kristin and I will publish posts written by one or the other of us, but not both–though it remains to be seen if one of us can actually post something without the other feeling the need to reply!  Last week, Clifton and I took a trip to Louisville,…

read more

Fashion Dilemmas

 150 150 Frances
17
4

Dear Kristin, Would someone please stop me from shopping for clothes at Kohls? I mean, I love the 30% coupon as much as anyone, but I never find anything there I really like. Kohls only seems to sell three kinds of shirts, none of them flattering. Not to mention the fact that when I look…

read more

We Are Creatures of Routine

 150 150 Kristin
6
2

Dear Frances, I think you and I both know that we are creatures of routine. I thrive in a space where I know what I’m going to do and when I’m going to do it. This sounds excessively boring, I know, but I like to think that having some structure in place gives you the…

read more

Dinner for Two

 150 150 Kristin
24
4

Dear Kristin, Is “Meat and Three” a thing outside of the South? Is there a diner near you with a name like “Big Ed’s” or “Arnold’s Country Kitchen,” where you can pick up a xeroxed menu from the counter and choose fried chicken or a slice of meatloaf and three vegetables to go along with…

read more