On behalf of the New Year, Pink Magazine welcomes you to 2019! We are incredibly excited to see how the coming year will unfold for us and what new stories it will bring! We’re not making resolutions at Pink this year; we want to start 2019 on a positive note, and we hope you will choose to do so, too. To help spark your fire, we thought we’d have our staff share with you their “IT” for 2019 and what they most want to get started in the New Year. We believe every woman is strong, beautiful, and has the power to identify her IT and get started, too. We're here to help. Pink would be honored to be a part of your tribe, standing in your corner, encouraging you to strap your goals and dreams for 2019 into the passenger seat and drive into the future! A true dream team! We hold our mission high and stay true to it. Together, we can change the world! Let's get IT started by together changing ourselves.

Safety Around Water is the YMCA’s aquatic’s initiative to help ensure children learn essential water safety skills. This course is taught by certified YMCA swim instructors and teaches children basic water safety and swimming skills to reduce the risk of drowning and build confidence around water. The Golden Isles YMCA and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Southeast Georgia have partnered in this initiative, and everyone is all smiles.

This is a huge undertaking and it’s working! The staff of Golden Isles YMCA knows our community and its many swimming pools, lagoons, ponds, streams, lakes, rivers, ocean, and other watery geographical features that put children at risk for drowning. Their vision is to prevent drowning by helping kids and their families learn to be safe in and around water.

Americans are known around the world for eating too much, but when it comes to time, we are starving ourselves. It’s called “time famine”—an unpleasant, uncomfortable feeling that we have too much to do in too little time. Social scientists have been studying it for more than 20 years.

“I’m behind before I get up!” my mother-in-law used to say. Sound familiar? It’s that existentially endless to-do list that keeps us feeling rushed, hassled, busy-busy-busy, the opposite of “All Is Well.”

Sadly, I don’t have the time necessary to explain all the reasons why “time famine” is overwhelming so many of us and why “time affluence,” the blissful sense of having plenty of time, is so elusive. But you can bet your favorite digital device that it has everything to do with the crush of modern technology and what sociologist Simon Gottschalk calls “the oppression of speed.”

Time to get cozy! Sweater weather is sending chills down our spines
and right into our toes. This season, the best knit hits are bold and beautiful,
in colorful patterns and chic shapes. Here are five sweaters to collect now:

The Sweater Jacket. This all-purpose knit bridges the gap between heavy coats and light cardigans...perfect for transitioning into winter wardrobes. This fall, sweater jackets are statement pieces in multipatterned florals, plaids and stripes. Don’t be afraid to experiment with the new oversized trend. A little extra room allows for more warmth and layering.

Are you worried about how much you worry? Bravo.

Uncontrolled anxiety is a giant obstacle to personal happiness. No surprise. Worry causes stress, and stress saps our strength, disturbs our sleep, fries our brain and constantly undermines our best efforts to stay healthy, relaxed and optimistic.

And yet there’s so much to worry about these days. Is Alexa really recording everything I say? Why is our air more foul, our food and water more toxic? What do we do when all our online 24/7 connectivity only increases people’s loneliness and isolation?

Thankful and Blessed: It’s easy to take blessings for granted each day. So the Pink team decided it’s time we “spread the love” to highlight the spirit of the season, our #Blessed theme and mission to empower women. Cut out the blessing cards below and surprise your friends, family, co-workers or even a stranger with kindness. If you’d like even more blessing cards (we hope you do), you can print more online at www.itsallpink.com. Gratitude is great and so are you!

Good Golfers Better People The First Tee of the Golden Isles (TFTGI) chapter, now in its third year, is looking to engage and empower girls to start thinking about their futures: To grow and succeed, develop confidence and create a positive environment to promote self-esteem. They’re on a mission to change the face of the game—#littlegirlsbigdreams

Slip out of those slides and scoot into the hottest footwear trend of the season: boots. From cowboy classics to laced-up Victorians to tough-chic hikers, there’s a boot for every day of the week and then some. Here are the best ways to reboot your shoe wardrobe this fall >>

On the Western front. Because designers at Fendi and Celine start walking cowboy boots down runways, you know these shoes are going to be moving up on the trend lists. And while some hardy souls have worn them all their lives (“meanwhile, back at the ranch”), many of fashion’s elite have not experienced the old-school comfort of a broken-in pair of these leather wonders. Frye boots have been my constant companion since my high school days. They have lasted long after the bell-bottoms were stashed away. Expect to see them on the best-dressed list next spring, too.

A blessing in today’s terms can be perceived as a gift that arrives just at the right time. Others may see a blessing as a gift from God—a favor from heaven. Of course, the greatest blessing is life itself! Therefore, you are a walking, talking blessing upon this earth filled with light and energy.

Now, before I get super woo-woo, hear me out. You see, blessings are not one sided; it’s a two-way street in the world of blessings. I invite you to step into the blessing you are, the blessing you can become, and/or the blessing you will receive. 

Dear Carrie: My wife and I just had our second child. We already have a 529 plan for our 21/2-year-old son. Can we continue to make contributions to our current plan and distribute the savings to both of our children’s college funds? Or should we have separate 529 plans for each child and make contributions to each plan? —A Reader

Dear Reader: The tax advantages of a 529 plan make it one of the best ways to save for a child’s education, so congrats on getting a jump on saving for your son. Now that you have a second child, I can understand why it might seem easier to manage a single 529 and just divvy up the money as the kids need it. But while that’s technically possible, having one 529 rather than a separate account for each child actually complicates things. Here’s why:

Vivian has a story to tell,
and it is a story about life,
death, and a simple comma.

Brunswick Actors’ Theatre is set to perform Margaret Edson’s 1999 Pulitzer Prize winning play, WIT on Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons October 13-28. WIT is a play that is told through the fourth wall, directly to the audience, by Professor Vivian Bearing, played by Amy Lovin. Professor Bearing is a professor of 17th century literature specializing in the Holy Sonnets by metaphysical poet John Donne.
The action begins with Professor Bearing proffering a greeting to her audience and letting them know right away that she would have preferred a play about her to “be cast in the mythic-heroic-pastoral mode,” but instead, as she states, the facts that conspire against her are, “most notably, stage four metastatic ovarian cancer.” From there she takes us into her past and present with wit and humor and the poetry of John Donne. The journey is transformative, both for her and the audience.

Coco Chanel may have famously said “Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and remove one accessory,” but this fall, she might rethink that advice­­—and tell us to just pile more on! Big and bold clothes that are all the rage on the runways call for bigger and bolder accessories. So don’t be afraid to go the extra fashion mile this fall with these top accessories.

Oversize jewelry. The trendy buzzword for fall ready-to-wear is “oversize,” and the jewelry shows up larger than life, too. Go for the gold in chunky chain necklaces, dangling earrings and sculptural cuff bracelets. Mix with silver metals for even more of a modern touch.

“Empowered Women, Empower Women”—YES. WE. DO. We support each other through thick and thin and through diagnoses, especially the one called breast cancer. We provide care and sustenance, we’ve “got your back”, we help each other maintain and often lift each other up. Women help each other with funding, upkeep, advocation and with words—encouraging, meaningful words and phrases we share to let each other know, ‘You are loved and very special to me.’

We asked women diagnosed with breast cancer what the best advice they received while fighting the fight. They've spoken. Turn the page to read on.

Dear Readers: Often when I talk about the importance of a financial plan, I see people start to squirm. There’s something about the topic that makes them uncomfortable. When I dig a little deeper to find out why, two reasons regularly come up: Either people don’t think they have enough money to warrant a financial plan or they think a financial plan costs too much. And no matter how often I try to debunk these myths, it’s hard to change someone’s preconception.

It’s a challenge for sure, but I’m such a firm believer that everyone needs a financial plan that I’m going to give it another try by showing you how you can actually be your own financial planner. It doesn’t require that you have a lot of money—and it doesn’t have to cost you a penny. If you’re willing to spend a little time, you can actually do it yourself. Here’s how:

It’s time for a Spooktacular Halloween! We’ve got enchanted Pillsbury recipes
for your guests to eat, drink and be scary; DIY projects for a bewitching and
Boo-tiful Halloween evening! Don’t forget to tell your guests to BYOB—Bring Your Own Broom.

We are fortunate to have Jane Fraser, President and Spokeswoman for the Stuttering Foundation of America so close to the Lowcountry. She recently opened a St. Simons Island, GA branch of the 71-year-old foremost nonprofit organization, dedicated to helping those who stutter.

Focused on basic research, causes, treatment, and prevention for nearly three million people world-wide who struggle daily with this complex disorder, Jane shared the foundation’s simple goal, “To provide effective and accurate materials, up-to-date training, and hope to those who stutter, their families, and the dedicated therapists who help them.”

You may still be flip-flopping around in pool slides, but it’s the perfect time to step out in a new pair of shoes and be the first to kick off the fashion season ahead...yes, even with a killer pair of boots. Start checking out the latest shoe scene now.

Check out the new architectural heels.
This is definitely the year of the “heel,” and they’re the good kind. Look for sculptural angled heels to geometric cylindrical spikes to woodsy blocks to sparkling crystals. And don’t forget the ‘80s disco platforms...for all those “Mamma Mia” fans out there. Here we go again!

Golden, thick, and sweet, honey is a staple in many of my favorite dishes. I’ve recently learned about the variety of flavors and healthy benefits that make raw, hand-poured honey a nutritional superstar. Little did I know, honey has a mysterious counterpart that many healers have been using for centuries—bee pollen—and it’s becoming all the rage. So, I headed over to my favorite honey shop, Capital Bee Company (CBCo) in Savannah, to find out why it’s all the buzz.

What Is Bee Pollen?
It’s one of the richest natural foods ever discovered. Bee pollen is a granule created from pollen dust of flower blossoms. The incredible nutritional and medicinal value of pollen has been known for thousands of years and is known as nature’s most complete food.

Before I was a walker, I was a runner — a slow, lumbering, back-of-the-pack runner. When I discovered racewalking, I found my sport. And since then, I’ve become a ferocious fan of every style of walking: all ages, speeds, styles and sexes. (If only walking were, somehow, a sexier sport.)

I could fill the rest of this column and several more spelling out all the wonderful things walking will do for your body and your mind. It’s great for your brain, your strength, for every cell in your body, for calming yourself mentally and boosting your energy physically.

It’s also the perfect antidote to the crazed, stepped-up pace of life today, when too much technology walks all over our human need to slow down and ... how can I put this ... think.

We were never supposed to leave our beach vacation early to plan a funeral for our 3-year-old son. And, yet, within the course of one week, we had driven to the beach, returned without him, and held his funeral. 

Do you know drowning is the leading cause of death in children ages 1-4 and the second leading cause of death in ages 1-14? Do you know that 69 percent of children who drown are not expected to be swimming, yet they are found in water? Do you know that a child can drown in less than one minute? 

Unfortunately, I know these facts all too well; on June 10, 2018, my 3-year-old son, Levi, drowned while on vacation in Fort Morgan, Alabama. 

There is a misconception that drowning only happens when you are swimming. But, drowning also happens when you are 200 feet away from a pool, upstairs, eating Cheetos, wearing your neon yellow crab-hunting shirt, when you leave your mom’s side, even though you are usually Velcro-ed to her. Drowning isn’t splashing and yelling.

Like millions of people around the world, I was riveted to the recent rescue of the 12 Thai boys and their soccer coach who had been trapped in the deepest, darkest, most terrifying recesses of Tham Luang cave.

I marveled at the bravery, pored over the escape route and tried many times over to pronounce the name of the Thai king, Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun, without losing consciousness.

In the end, a miracle! A magnificent multinational effort to do the impossible. The Wild Boars came out alive! OK, they needed a little anti-anxiety medication: being hauled underwater, for hours, in the dark, over treacherous terrain, in a plastic cocoon, breathing through a face mask, wouldn’t you?

One Thai volunteer diver, Saman Gunan, died, which was tragic. But this was such an astonishing story of courage, determination and success against all odds that it shouted out “healthy lifestyle column,” with lessons to be learned about attaining and sustaining our own personal well-being.

These days, thanks to the smartphones most of us carry in our purses or pockets,
the smart solution to just about any situation is just a swipe away! In keeping with our
August #smartypants theme, Pink staffers share their favorite smart apps.

For a good deal of my life, I lived under a dark cloud of fear that I would end up financially destitute—a bag lady. Studies reveal that I’m not the only one. Most of us have felt that way, not because we’re broke but because we lack confidence. That makes us timid, worried and financially insecure.

Look, we don’t have to accept financial insecurity as some kind of life sentence. And that constant and gnawing fear of becoming destitute? Forget it! We can do something about this.

Become a saver. Saving money is like magic because it changes your attitude and calms your fears. I saved my way out of a six-figure pile of debt. Knowing I had cash tucked away in a safe place quieted my insatiable desires. That is where I found my determination to stick with repaying the debt. You must start now, today—no matter your situation, even if you are in debt and struggling to catch up, and even if you are already contributing to a 401(k) plan at work. This is different. You need money in the bank to boost your financial confidence.

Dear Carrie: 

I am a 65-year-old widow and am considering getting married again. What financial steps should I take before I tie the knot? –A Reader

Dear Reader: This is a great question—and one worth considering at any age. Marriage is about love, but it also impacts your money. And the financial implications can be even more significant when both partners have had time to acquire and manage assets for many years. This can be especially true for a second marriage.

And it’s not just about numbers. There’s an emotional side to marrying your finances. You need to examine your own feelings about such things as financial independence and also take into account the feelings of your loved ones, particularly adult children.

There’s a lot to consider—both practical and personal. To me, it’s not just about understanding the financial issues on your own but about coming to an understanding with your partner. Although it may feel uncomfortable, it’s important to talk openly and honestly about your finances with your partner.

Here are some things to consider together.

Eleanor Roosevelt, first lady, social activist, and ultimate #smartypants once said, “Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product.” Happiness cannot be pursued on its own; it is a by-product of a lifetime of choices and, yes, a little luck, too.

Since most of us haven’t figured out how to create our own luck yet, the next best thing is to make smart decisions for the future. Career, money, fitness and recreation are just some of the building blocks for a happy, healthy life.

So, let’s make the process a little easier by learning about
the newest smarty pants trends of 2018.

Personal well-being is very personal. It’s not about the size of your belly or how many crunches you can do, and it’s certainly not about how many times you’ve been to the gym in the last week. Or year. Decade, anyone?

So play along with me here: On a scale of one to 10, with 10 being the top of Mount Everest for health and happiness, where would you put yourself right now, today, when it comes to your personal well-being? No excuses, no regrets, no judging—just a number between one and 10.

Think for a minute. Take a few breaths. This is called “tuning in.”

Whatever number you came up with, here’s the very good news: You already have the talent, skill and ability to crank it up a notch, if you want to, if you’re resilient. And you can do it as soon as this summer. But how does change happen? Here’s a handy primer, a short and simple list of steps to follow that will make you more likely to succeed.

Get ready to light up your summer with fun fashion that explodes with American style. Wearing red, white and blue has long been a classic way to put some patriotic passion into your wardrobe, but this year, it’s all about new ways to sizzle. Set off some fashion fireworks with these sparklers.

Romp and roll. What could be easier and breezier than onesies? One-piece shorts and tops are cool picks for Fourth of July picnics and parties.

Play polo. Want to experience “elevated Americana”? Designer Ralph Lauren may be the ultimate purveyor of American style, and this summer the folks at Ralph Lauren are offering their iconic mesh Polo shirt embroidered with an eagle and historical flags to celebrate their U.S. heritage.

There’s something special about the relationship a man has with his chair. Curiously, we wanted to see some of the chairs our local Glynn County men are attached to, and therefore, went looking for a few good men. We did a good job finding them, and not only did they have a favorite “chair,” creative as it may be, but a lot of heart as well!

I’ve never been much of a binger, but recently I had a humbling experience that gave me new insights into binge-eating... not to mention a bad case of the bloats.

Suddenly, without warning, away from home and visiting family in Florida (who are blameless), I found myself unable to resist Cool Ranch Doritos. Morning, noon and especially at night, I was consumed by consumption.

What Paisley Magazine has meant to me over the years and the unique way Paisley connects with our community:

“Seven years ago, while I was in the office waiting for a doctor’s appointment, I saw the cover of Paisley Magazine featuring women who were beautiful, bold, colorful, and distinguished looking. I started reading articles, which I found heartfelt and emotional. I felt a personal connection, and that God was touching me, reaching out and blessing people with this magazine. Paisley Magazine has made a big difference to our community and to me especially, because they allow me to sing spiritual songs at their functions.”
-Liz Luke; reader, Partini patron.