Ladybugs, thank you for joining me for this month’s edition of Tell Us About. My friends and I are talking about beauty. And I have to admit, I was tempted to sit this one out as my first inclination was that we were to write about beauty products or our ‘beauty’ routine. For which I have limited (NO) information to impart in either category.
But then I started thinking about relating the word to my world and the things around me and suddenly I was back to my naturally verbose self. When I read the summaries the other gals had written for their beauty posts, I was further inspired. Happy to be joining them again for this fun series and link-up.
Tell Us About
Are you new to the Tell Us About (TUA) series? Let me tell you about it!! TUA is a global writing challenge where bloggers from all around the planet(!!) respond to a different prompt on the third Thursday of each month. I joined the group early in 2023 and so appreciated the invite to do so, and the opportunities to do some creative writing on my blog. But then LIFE got crazy with PC’s health and I just couldn’t think straight enough to write blog posts of any sort. For this month, things are calmer and I can breathe again!! So, I am happily joining in again.
You can find my other TUA posts here:
Tell Us About –
- Play
- Scent
- Gardens and Gardening
- Ways I’m a Curiosity
- Travel
- Imagination
- my theme choice for September, Legacy
- Hometowns
- Laughter
- Music to my Ears
Before we jump in with 2 feet, just a reminder: Once Upon a Time & Happily Ever After occasionally uses affiliate links which are usually italicized. If you click or make a purchase from an italicized link provided I may receive a very small commission at no cost to you. Thank you for your support.
Please find the places and posts where I link-up on this page.
Tell Us About 06.2024: Beauty in my World
After dismissing the idea that we were to write a post about our favorite beauty products or beauty regimen, I was inclined to just fill an entire post with pictures of my beautiful daughters, my beautiful grandchildren and my beautiful Prince Charming. But a lot of my posts, especially my monthly editions for Sentence a Day, look about like that. Lots of pictures of family. I thought about sharing the beauty of the Chihuahuan Desert I call home, however, I wrote a post on that several years ago. Shared my ‘beautiful’ yard in a post, here, last summer. So what to write, what to write??
Last week, the Where Bloggers Live gals and I wrote about our summer vacation plans. My first of 3 trips kicked off summer in a big way beginning last Thursday when we flew to Kentucky for my baby brother Kevin’s wedding to his longtime girlfriend, LeeAnn. It was a lovely, family celebration on a sprawling estate and working horse farm outside of Lexington where they both live. Beautiful. Hey, BEAUTIFUL!! And all of a sudden I knew what I would write about for today’s post.
Wedding Bells
Did anyone else watch The Golden Bachelor last fall? I tried to resist as I have been resisting the most recent seasons of The Bachelor/The Bachelorette but I saw a clip from the first episode of The Golden Bachelor and liked the fact that these were people my age. The Golden Bachelor, Gerry Turner, is 72 years old and his fiancé-then bride and now ex-wife, Theresa Nist, is 70. Clearly the premise of finding love on a TV show didn’t work for them. The couple only lasted months. But ABC is trying it again with The Golden Bachelorette airing this fall.
Anyway, through that series my heart was buoyed by the idea and hope that seniors can find love and a happily ever after ending. Then in attending Kevin and Lee Ann’s wedding, I became acquainted with a number of their friends who were relative newlyweds and had fallen happily in love after 50. PC and I met when he was 39 and I was 45. And married 5 years later. So we are among that crowd. At least I am. And now my brother and his bride are, too. Wishing them the happily ever after I have found and they deserve.
Now on to the Beautiful Part
Kevin and Lee Ann’s wedding was a beautiful. In every way. The venue was GlenLary Estate in Paris, Kentucky, an old southern mansion set on a 200 acre horse farm outside of Lexington. It was gorgeous. And green. And historic. An absolutely enchanting location for their wedding weekend.
While I have loved living in El Paso for over 35 years, I do miss the ‘green’ of the southeastern states. Visiting Kevin, Mom and now Valerie, who recently moved back to Tennessee, has reminded me how much I miss green grass, trees, flowers growing in abundance, even lightning bugs.
Here are just a few pictures I took from our wedding weekend getaway.
We are planning another trip ‘back that way’ toward the end of the summer. I look forward to seeing family again and relaxing in the green of our Tennessee-Kentucky-Ohio hometowns.
Your Turn
What would your post about beauty look like? Would you focus on personal beauty and beauty tips or beauty found in the world around you?
Hope you will join me in visiting the blogs of all of the Tell Us About bloggers. Summaries of their posts are as follow.
- Gail from Is This Mutton looks at the concept of beauty over the ages and how women still suffer to conform to society’s expectations.
- Suzy’s delves into the journey of self-love and embracing authentic beauty, wrinkles and all.
- While Marsha at Marsha in the Middle proposed the theme of beauty, she’s not talking beauty in the fashion world. Instead, she’s writing about the beauty we can see all around us.
- Debbie the host at Debbie’s World, has asked some special women in her life for their thoughts on beauty, which may be cheating in some ways but…their words are all heartbreakingly beautiful and make for inspiring reading!
- Penny, the Frugal Fashion Shopper, looked at beauty from all angles (because there are so many aspects of this idea of beauty) and decided to write mainly about the history of eyebrows!
- The host of MK’s Adventures in Style, Mary Katherine, reflects on the importance our society places on “beauty” for women, and how she wrestles in her own life to balance having gravitas and glitter at the same time…
- Sue at Women Living Well After 50, explores beauty in all forms and discusses how we can thrive by putting the focus on our inner beauty as well as the beauty that surrounds us.
- Finally, Jill who blogs at Grown-up Glamour looks at beauty in its in many forms.
Here’s a glimpse of some granddaughter and PC beauty from our last day babysitting Lucia and Cami while Lauren and Francisco were on vacation. We had a grand day: slept late, lazy breakfast, pool time, visit to Jungle Reef, McDonald’s for dinner and finished the evening with “Sing2” before mommy and daddy arrived.




Off to iron. Really. I keep saying that and then LIFE or a nap calls. But heading up there right now. As soon as I eat lunch and figure out what’s for supper. Have a bang-up end to your week. Thank you for popping by to visit.
Hugs and kisses,

When I proposed the idea of beauty, I was worried everyone would think I meant personal beauty or beauty regimes. But, then, I thought that would be fine because why not! It seems like most everyone has written about beauty beyond that kind of beauty…which is beautiful in itself, right?
Your brother’s wedding was gorgeous! I have to admit Kentucky truly is a beautiful state. My brother- and sister-in-law live in Versailles, deep in horse country. It’s full of those beautiful rolling green hills dotted with spectacular mansions! If only I had a couple billion just lying around….
Thanks for sharing this beautiful occasion with us!
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How crazy!! Kevin and his first wife and 2 children lived in Versailles. It is a beautiful little town. Wonder if they would know your brother- and sister-in-law? My niece and nephew went to Woodford High School. It is a small world.
My sister lives in Crossville, TN and Kevin is now in Lexington. Valerie working hard to get us to retire ‘home’ to Tennessee. I don’t think we ever will but boy, I do miss the green of the midsouth and southeast. We are going to have to take more trips that way for sure.
Thank you for giving us a thoughtful prompt on which to think and write. XO
Beauty to me has lots of different meanings. I write about the beauty products as part of my blog, so I wanted a different angle for this post. Beauty to me also represents the natural world and te joys found in caring for loved ones and pets. Your post is full of beautiful things. I find weddings of mature people more joyful than those of youngsters because there’s a joy and wonder that the two people found love again.
Thank you so much for your insight. I was touched by the number of older couples who were somewhat newlywed at my brother’s wedding. He had been divorced for about 25 years and so this was a big leap. But LeeAnn is perfect for Kevin and I have never seen him more relaxed and happier.
It’s great to have you back Leslie and I’m glad PC is going well and life is a bit calmer for you. It can be overwhelming at times can’t it? Your post was lovely and perfect for the prompt. It’s always good to see love blossom especially in older couples. Thanks for sharing your photos of this glorious day and I wish the happy couple all the best for their future together.
Thank you so much, Deb. Your comments always mean so much. Life is a bit calmer for us and I am so thankful. It has been a trying time.
I loved seing my brother so relaxed, so happy and being so well loved by his new bride.
What a lovely heartfelt post – congratulations to your brother and how great he married his long-time love. Beauty is everywhere and we can find it in so many things and places and people and life. What a great theme this was 😊
Thank you so much. My brother has been divorced for about 25 years. He certainly took his time in remarrying but he got it right!! So happy for them.
You picked an absolutely beautiful topic! Congrats to the whole family.
A wedding is a thing of beauty at all times but one involving an older couple more so and the setting was simply wonderful.
So good to see you back Leslie and as I missed most of last year hope to get to know you more. Hope all is going well.
Thank you, Jill. I am glad LIFE is being kinder to both of us and we are now back to blogging. Looking forward to getting to know you better, too. I think the same issues kept us from blogging.
This wedding was lovely and I think every couple there felt like maybe their own relationships were rekindled by being a part of this ceremony of love.
Lovely how everyone has a different view on beauty. And how nice to read something by your hand again!
Thank you so much for stopping by. You are a sweetheart to stick with me through blogging absences.
I wouldn’t have known what to write as far as beauty products or routines either! I’m finding the different takes on Beauty so interesting and I loved yours. I have some very good friends who have married in the last couple of years – all second marriages after having lost a spouse – and I’m so happy for them. It IS beautiful to see love last through so many years as well as seeing new love blossom in later years.
This was such a beautiful and refreshing post. Happy you didn’t just post about your beauty products. Beauty is so much more than that.
We visited a few areas in Kentucky and horse country is my favorite. I’ve also been to Louisville a few times and my college bestie lives in Bowling Green which is pretty green! The wedding looks like it was beautiful and your took some great pictures! I have a few friends that found love later in life. I think there is no age limit on it!
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