Every week I let you in on one piece of how I live my life. I have rounded up some of my most popular pieces of advice for the past year to remind you how to have a fabulous 2018.

• We all know traveling and visiting new places can be amazing, but the lead up, specifically the packing, is generally stressful. I have done my fair share of traveling, darlings, and my best tips for packing include hangers, clear plastic bags and making sure you aren’t over packing. Read about my system here.
• Keeping calm isn’t always easier, but it is MUCH easier if you have a peaceful setting. Your home should bring you peace and calm and my top tips for achieving this, darlings, are to de-clutter and keep your most prized possessions visible for yourself. If that is a painting from one of your grandchildren: Hang it! If that is a book your own grandmother gave you: Put it on your coffee table! Surround yourself with things that bring you joy and get rid of what doesn’t. You can read my whole piece on creating this environment for yourself and how I did it for myself by clicking here.
• The more things change the more they stay the same and there are some things that I STILL care very much about as I’ve grown older. Two that come to mind just off the top of my head were taking time to simply be and taking care of my body. My full list is here in my musing from earlier this year “Things I STILL Give a Damn About.”
• I am a grandmother with foot problems and I LOVE high heels. So what is a grandmother with foot problems to do? Buy your shoes a half size too big and seek out a good podiatrist. Oh, and read all my tips here.
• Relationships between mother-in-laws and daughter-in-laws can often be strained. Open and honest communication is key to the bond I have with my daughter-in-law Jami and my advice to all of you is: “Think through your thoughts, weigh your words, come from love. Your responsibility is to be head blender!” Read the full piece here.
• Many people don’t just struggle with relationships with in-laws, but sometimes have difficulty with their own children. Darlings, I believe in forgiveness and unconditional love. In my piece “How to move on after being rejected by an adult child,” I explored steps in the grieving process for situations in which parents and children aren’t getting along.
• While we all love our friends, some of them are easier to get along with than others. Some friends can be positively unbearable, but I urge you DON’T give up on them just yet. There is a reason you are friends and an honest conversation with your girlfriend about attitude is the right thing to do. Read my musing on the topic here.

Do you have any thoughts about these pieces of advice? Share them with me on my Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.