Happy Easter 2026

Another winter is over in the Western Hemisphere, and spring has arrived! We have persevered and overcome! Easter celebrates tenacity over trials with the hope of new beginnings! 

St. Paul the Apostle Church, a New York City Landmark, sits next to Lincoln Center. In early December, when Lincoln Center hosts its White Light Festival to celebrate the arts, the event turns into a big block party with live music, theater, and dance. St. Paul the Apostle Church participates by opening its doors with priests serving hot chocolate to the public. It’s a warm, welcoming chance to come inside out of the cold and walk around the church's majestic interior. Of course, Easter Sunday is a house of worship's biggest celebration. My friend, Carolyn, belongs to this church and sings in its choir, and her friend, Debbie, puts in a few appearances, usually for special events. The clergy is, without fail, welcoming and lovely to all who enter. They never ask you where you’ve been!😊

Talk about the Lamb of God, here’s an especially cute one!

Let's finish off with a joyful baby duckling who is wearing his Easter “bonnet" of rabbit ears.  

Happy Easter, Everyone!✝  

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Face Primer With SPF 30

Today I’m revealing a skincare secret, which frankly I’ve never kept a secret. Often, people tell me I have beautiful skin, which I appreciate before blurting out my secret, so they, too, can have beautiful skin. I've never used foundation because it doesn’t feel clean. To me, wearing foundation feels like I have a film of goop or a mask on my face. Instead, after washing my face in the morning, I apply L’Oreal’s Miracle Blurr with SPF 30. But! For some insane reason (which I’ll discuss below), L’Oreal has discontinued it, forcing me to reluctantly find a replacement UV face primer.

The Miracle Blurr gel with SPF 30, all 1.7 ounces of it, sold for $19.99, and I often scored deals to pay even less. Right now, I have 1/5 of the gel left in my very last tube of Miracle Blurr that I’m using up.

So what makes Miracle Blurr an excellent combination of skincare and cosmetics? It's what I’m looking for in whatever I find next to replace it:

1) The ease of applying the gel saves me time in my morning routine by creating a smooth canvas on my face with a matte finish.

2) The SPF 30 is my anti-aging secret, shielding my face every day of the year from the sun's harmful rays.

3) The matte finish prevents shine and blurs pores and fine lines (which is the makeup part). I could apply it either under or over my under-eye coverstick, blush, and powder. Usually under.

4) The gel extends the endurance of any makeup I might wear. It prevents coverstick, blush, or powder from fading during the day or evening, so I didn’t have to freshen up as often.

Oh, for crying out loud, what replacement face primer with SPF 30 has all of these same benefits? Already I've discovered that many face primers do not come: (1) in a soothing gel that disappears into the skin, (2) with sun protection, (3) in a bigger size, (4) and with the same affordable price point! I must grin and bear the size and price adjustments, but won’t compromise on the SPF 30 or the matte finish! No, no, never, never, un, un, un!

I aim to try the following face primers with SPF 30 until I find the one I like the most, and hopefully, I’ll find it before buying all of them!

I’m not looking to add another face cream to my routine, but if the tubes don’t work out, I’ll move on to these 5-in-1 face primer promises in a jar choices.

Finally, I’ve discovered that L’Oreal’s parent company continues to sell face primer gel with sun protection in its pricer sister Lancome line at $45 for 1 ounce. I can’t help wondering if Miracle Blurr SPF 30 at $19.99 for 1.7 ounces was discontinued because the retailer wants to make more profit!?! Was $20 too puny a sum, huh? Ironically, a formula of Lancome was the face matte gel I started with years ago, before switching to the cheaper and excellent drugstore brand L’Oreal Miracle Blurr.

If you use a face primer with SPF 30 to recommend, please do! The first brand I’m testing is the👆 top image from Neutrogena.

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Anonymity Is Priceless

I didn’t watch the John Kennedy and Carolyn Bessette docudrama. Certainly, I was aware of them in the 1990s and walked past their penthouse loft at 20 North Moore Street downtown in Tribeca a few times. When the Southern District of New York summoned me to serve as a grand juror on Centre Street, John was one of many assistant JAs who came into the courtroom to present evidence to us to secure an indictment. During the time of my jury duty, John stood directly in front of me, riding the elevator down to go out to lunch. BTW, I met or saw many celebrities in Manhattan, but I never met or saw John’s mother, sister, wife, or ex-girlfriend, Daryl Hannah, out and about.

This television series on John and Carolyn is making me think about anonymity. To be clear, anonymity is a state in which a person’s identity is unknown. I have heard the stories of the stress Carolyn felt when she lost her anonymity by marrying John Kennedy, Jr., and I can empathise with how trying and traumatizing it must have been for her.

To a degree, I can imagine the discomfort of being watched, judged, and critiqued everywhere she went, often in print. What a terrible state of feeling like you must be dressed impeccably, with every hair in place, even to dash out nearby in the mornings to grab a bagel or drop a letter in a mailbox. Sometimes I’ve thrown on a long coat before taking a shower or putting on makeup to pick up breakfast or deposit mail! But then to have strangers evaluate me or paparazzi jump out to take my picture would be horrifying! It’s been said that Carolyn began to crack under the strain and to feel like a caged animal. Quite understandable.

We should all be careful of what we wish for, as fame can seem ideal, like a best-case scenario. Singer Little Richard is credited as saying, Elvis Presley got what he wanted, but lost what he had.

Anonymity is priceless in New York City. One of my great pleasures is freely walking about, people watching, or going on window-shopping sprees. On an easy-breezy weekend of afternoon exploring often around the Upper East Side, Upper West Side, or in Midtown, sometimes people will smile at me when our eyes meet. At times, I might exchange little snippets of pleasant conversation or even a laugh with fellow New Yorkers who, just like me, are out and about, but we still maintain our anonymity. I also take for granted that such exchanges are genuine since I'm an unknown. I can be open and accessible, giving people the benefit of the doubt that they don’t have ulterior motives for interacting with me unless they prove me wrong, which, despite what outsiders think, usually doesn’t happen in Manhattan. New Yorkers are more benevolent and friendlier than many people imagine.

In absorbing the city and basking in its energy, anonymity is priceless as you walk the streets, enter shops, or stop to observe street entertainment. Some street entertainment is unintentional.😉 In New York City, you can be alone sans the isolation. You’re one of the crowd, with nobody bothering you or asking anything of you. Without a doubt, the freedom to be an observer has increased my wisdom. I’m smarter for having the space to process what I see. Being unencumbered enough to get lost in our thoughts in public is a gift!

How painful and restrictive it must have been for Carolyn Bessette, who was raised as an ordinary girl and married at age 30, to have lost her anonymity and with it the freedoms she enjoyed throughout her 20s. At times, the best things in life are free (like privacy, control over your own life, and peace of mind, to name a few), so be grateful if you still have your anonymity!

*By chance, John’s Aunt Jean Kennedy Smith sat a couple of pews in front of me during a Christmas midnight Mass at St. Ignatius Church on Park Avenue and East 84th Street with her adult children, including her son, William Kennedy Smith, the year he went on trial for rape. At the time, the press speculated whether or not Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis would let her beloved son, John, attend his cousin’s trial in support. A source claimed his family pressured him to attend. John made two appearances during the jury selection. The trial ended with an acquittal.

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Pineapple Greek Yogurt Ice Cream

Photo: Stonyfield

Whenever I’ve been tempted to buy an ice cream maker ... and there have been several times, my decision-making rule kicks into gear. If I cannot make a food (1) tastier, (2) faster, or (3) cheaper, I buy it readymade. During the summer, my local supermarkets (blocks away from home) often run sales on 1.5 quarts of ice cream for $2.50 - $3.00 a carton. I’d have to eat a ton of ice cream to break even on the cost of an ice cream maker, not even counting the cost of the ingredients to make the ice cream. For the non-compressor models, you also must wait 24 hours to eat the ice cream. I can walk to and from my nearby supermarkets and have my ice cream eaten faster than that, with hours to spare; therefore, no ice cream maker will likely ever take up my counter space.

 
But, if you have a food processor or blender, you can still make creamy frozen desserts, almost like ice cream -- minus or with very little sugar. I’ve shared one such recipe before using frozen banana slices. It’s dreamy and creamy!

Today I’ve come across another frozen ice cream recipe using 3 healthy ingredients.👇

 

Pineapple Greek Yogurt Ice Cream

Ingredients:

20 ounces of frozen pineapple - Canned chunks or crushed work.
1 cup of plain Greek yogurt

1 tablespoon of honey or sweetener

Optional - 1 teaspoon of vanilla - I don’t add it with citrus/acid fruits. Lemon juice tastes better with those.

Directions:

1) Toss the frozen pineapple chunks into a food processor or blender (in a blender, you may have to add a tiny bit of milk). 

2) It takes 4 - 5 minutes to blend into a creamy soft serve consistency.

3) Pour into a container and place it in the freezer for 1 - 2 hours to get a harder texture to dip out with an ice cream scooper.

You can garnish your healthy ice cream with coconut flakes or diced strawberries, or you could blend frozen strawberries with the frozen pineapple chunks to vary the flavor of the dessert. Once you are a pro, try the recipe with other fruits. To minimize the cleanup, I used an immersion blender, tossing and blending all the ingredients in a single 32-oz Greek yogurt container. After blending, I dropped it into the freezer. Brilliant or lazy?😊

Enjoy!

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Why You Should Eat Walnuts Everyday

I won’t lie. I prefer other nuts like almonds and pecans over walnuts, but after I learned walnuts have several health benefits that other nuts don’t, I started using walnuts in place of pecans in many baked goods. Walnuts are cheaper, too. I also make a practice of popping a few walnuts into my mouth and putting a handful into my mother’s oatmeal each morning. 

As it turns out, medical evidence suggests a daily dose of 1 - 2 ounces (i.e., a handful) of walnuts supports heart health, cuts bad cholesterol, supports gut health, and sharpens brain function, plus they may improve sleep with a natural infusion of melatonin.

Walnuts contain essential omega-3 fatty acids (ALA), magnesium, and antioxidants. They reduce inflammation and lower bad LDL cholesterol. Studies show that people who eat walnuts have faster brain reaction times and delayed age-related cognitive decline. Walnuts act as a prebiotic to improve the gut microbiome by increasing good bacteria. Although walnuts are energy-dense, they don’t tend to cause weight gain because they help to manage our appetites.

Here are tips for eating  a healthy dose of walnuts every day:

1) Stick with a serving (1 oz to 2 oz) to control calories. 1 oz = 14 halves. Easy enough, as we don’t tend to gorge on walnuts. 

2) Eat them raw, roasted, soaked in water, or added to cereals, salads, smoothies, or yogurt.

3) Walnuts are beneficial at any time of the day, yet studies show they improve cognitive performance if eaten in the morning.

4) I find Diamond of California to be the better-tasting walnuts without any bitterness. Walmart sells this brand at a cheaper cost then its own store brand, also. I always have a 32-oz bag in my refrigerator or freezer (as well as a big bag of lightly salted almonds as snack staples)

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Here’s a once-in-a-while treat (due to the sugar), perhaps for Sundays or holidays like Easter, to bake using walnuts. If you’re ambitious, you could toast the walnuts for added flavor before using. It’s a scaled-down, less sweet Hummingbird cake:

Pinnapple and Walnut Sheet Cake

2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour

1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 20-ounce can of crushed pineapple with juice
1 cup of finely chopped walnuts

Directions:

1) Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.

Photo: Indiana Connection

2) Beat in the eggs, then add the vanilla extract and pineapple with juice, and fold in the walnuts. Do not overmix, just enough to incorporate all the ingredients, so the batter doesn’t produce a tough cake.

3) Pour the batter into a well-buttered square baking pan.

4) Bake in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 30 - 35 minutes.

Cream Cheese and Nut Frosting

Ingredients:

8 oz cream cheese (I use low-fat)

2 tablespoons of butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups of powdered sugar or more

1/2 cup of chopped walnuts (These I don’t chop as finely as the walnuts in the batter.)

Mix together except the walnuts. Spread the frosting on a cooled cake and top the frosting with the chopped nuts.

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LaPointe's Feather Coat Is Fun

Photo courtesy of Town & Country

As a Manhattanite living in a small apartment, I don’t buy clothes like the coat that comedian Sandra Bernhard is wearing in the March 2026 issue of Town & Country. Although guests to my home think I have good-sized closets, to avoid clutter, I must organize ... plus limit my wardrobe to classic outerwear, jackets, sweaters, and shoes that go with everything else I own. All my coats and many of my shoes are black! Why? For their versatility. They go with everything!

Still, what a fabulous piece this feathered coat is from LaPointe’s Spring 2026 Collection! I love the beautiful purplish-blue color! The bit of silvery glitter on the ends of its sleeves. The shape is full yet not overwhelming, and the midi length is perfect for showing off Sandra's stylish pumps. Classic, old-style, showbiz glamour!

Oh, what fun to borrow it for a night out on the town!

Above are other pieces I like from LaPointe's feather collection. With the jackets, we must also sport the matching purse. They go together like Rodgers and Hammerstein. Do you agree? Have you ever worn feathers?

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You Rock Joy Bauer

All photos and recipes courtesy of Joy Bauer

Nowadays, I must snack more mindfully because I don’t want to weigh 300 pounds. To a certain extent, I’ve always been a healthy eater, never fasting and never starving myself with unhealthy, unbalanced diets, but when I was younger, I could get away with eating more calories. Not anymore. Yet, one thing remains the same: I will not starve myself!

Today I was very impressed watching nutritionist, Joy Bauer (whose recipes I often like), prepare 3 snacks on The Today Show. She lightened up tasty treats you could make for family or party guests, using healthy ingredients with a good dose of protein. I’ll post Joy’s recipes below, i.e., on my electronic recipe box (with a link back to her) so Savvy Shoppers and savvy eaters (including me) can for sure find them time and again. (I never know what will disappear from the internet):

In general, I don’t like chicken on my pizza, but this recipe is really barbecue chicken on pizza crust. I'll use a combination of mozzarella and extra-sharp cheddar. Joy’s original recipe follows:

Barbecue Chicken Pizza -recipe #1

INGREDIENTS

Dough

¼ cup whole wheat flour, white-whole wheat flour, or 1:1 gluten-free flour½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
Pinch kosher salt
¼ cup nonfat Greek yogurt

Toppings:

2 tablespoons BBQ sauce**¼ cup packed shredded chicken mixed with 1 to 2 tablespoons BBQ sauce
A few thin slices of red onion
2 to 4 tablespoon 2% shredded sharp cheddar or Mexican blend cheeseOptional chopped cilantro and hot sauce for garnish

INGREDIENT DETAILS TO KNOW 

*Pour off liquid before measuring**For gluten-free, choose a gluten-free brand of BBQ sauce.

INSTRUCTIONS

 

1) Preheat oven to 450º degrees. Mist a baking sheet with oil spray and set aside.

2) In a small bowl, add the flour, baking powder, and seasonings. Mix to combine everything. Add the yogurt and stir until you have a crumbled mixture.

3) Using your hands, press and fold the flour into the yogurt until all of the pieces come together to form an elastic dough. While at first the dough will be fussy and crumbly, after about a minute of pressing and folding it will come together. Form one ball about the size of a baseball.

4) Place the ball on the prepared baking sheet and flatten with your palm. Roll it out into a thin circle using a rolling pin or a soup can until it has about a 7-inch diameter. Your shape can be somewhat artisanal or you can make it perfectly circular by pinching the outside perimeters with your fingers.

5) Place in oven on the middle rack for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and add the BBQ sauce on the crust and spread it out evenly. Add the saucy chicken, red onion slices, and sprinkle on the cheese.

6) Place back in the oven for another 5 to 8 minutes until the cheese is melty and the crust is crispy and browned around the edges. Garnish with optional chopped cilantro.

Mini Corn Dog Muffins - recipe #2

INGREDIENTS

1 cup white whole-wheat flour, or all-purpose flour*
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1½ teaspoons kosher salt1 (15-ounce) can sweet corn, drained (or 1½ cups frozen corn, thawed)
3 tablespoons butter, melted
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup nonfat or low-fat vanilla yogurt
¼ cup honey
2 tablespoons milk or water
8 pre-cooked chicken or turkey sausages, each cut into 5 pieces (about 40 pieces total)

Optional Toppings and Dips: Honey, hot honey, ketchup, mustard, BBQ sauce

INGREDIENT DETAILS TO KNOW

* For a gluten-free version, use a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend in place of the white whole-wheat flour.If you’re making these gluten-free, double-check that your sausage brand is gluten-free too.

INSTRUCTIONS

1) Preheat the oven and prep the pans. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly coat two mini muffin tins with nonstick cooking spray.

2) Mix the dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt until evenly combined.

3) Add the wet ingredients. Add the corn, melted butter, eggs, yogurt, honey, and milk or water. Stir until everything is combined and the batter is smooth. Be careful not to overmix—the batter should be thick and scoopable.

4) Fill the muffin cups. Spoon about 1 heaping tablespoon of batter into each mini muffin cup. Press one sausage piece into the center of each cup, gently pushing it down so the batter rises around it and partially covers the sides.

5) Bake and serve. Bake for 14 to 16 minutes, or until the tops are lightly golden and the cornbread is set. Let the muffins cool in the pan for a few minutes, then carefully remove them. Serve warm with honey, hot honey, ketchup, mustard, or BBQ sauce.

Caramelized Onion Dip - recipe #3

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 medium onions, thinly sliced (~6 cups worth)

1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1 cup lite sour cream, or nonfat or 2% Greek yogurt

½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

INGREDIENT DETAILS TO KNOW 

*You can use nonfat or 2% plain Greek yogurt or light sour cream. Pour off any liquid that may have settled on top of the container before measuring. You can also half the sour cream or yogurt with light mayo.

INSTRUCTIONS

1) Add the oil to a large skillet and warm over medium heat. Add the onions with ½ tsp salt. Allow them to cook, stirring often, for about 60 minutes, until they’re nicely browned and fragrant. If the onions start to burn, lower the heat to low. 

2) Also, if the onions become too dry at any point, add a tablespoon of water to the pan. The onions will reduce in size to yield about 1 cup when they’re caramelized.

3) When the onions are done cooking, let them slightly cool. Lay them on a cutting board and chop into tiny pieces. Alternatively, you can use a pair of kitchen scissors and snip them into small pieces right in the skillet.

4) In a mixing bowl, blend the sour cream, remaining salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce. Mix in the onions. Taste and season with extra salt, pepper and minced herbs. 

5) Leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days. If it becomes thicker than you’d like, simply mix in a few extra tablespoons of yogurt or sour cream.

NOTES

• Caramelizing such a large amount of onions in one pan will take some time, about 60 minutes over medium heat. While a smaller amount of onions (just one or two) will caramelize more quickly, you’ll need this full amount for the addictive, onion-y flavor. Trust me on this. Use the largest and widest skillet you have on hand. Once your onions get started, I suggest putting on some great music and multitasking while they cook; you can dance, tend to other food items that need prepping, or catch up on a juicy episode of whatever you’re currently watching. You’ll need to stir them occasionally, so don’t stray too far from the kitchen!

• You can opt to caramelize the onions ahead of time and store in an air-tight container for up to 3 days or freeze them for up to 3 months.

• I use 3 medium yellow onions (~6 cups worth of slices), which will cook all the way down to just about 1 cup, if you can believe. You can use any onion but I recommend using yellow or sweet onions.

• If using nonfat Greek yogurt instead of sour cream, 2 tablespoons provide about 35 calories, 2g fat, and 2g protein.

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Even as a teenager, I skipped dips as empty calories, empty nutrition. With Joy’s low-fat, protein-dense onion dip using Greek yogurt, I get to experience what I missed! If you make all 3 snacks for a gathering, you’ve got meat, whole grains, and vegetables. Pour a glass of wine and add strawberries and blueberries for dessert. That’s a complete meal in my book! Hat’s off to Joy Bauer!👏

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