Welcome to tatertots & Jello: The Next Chapter — a lifestyle reset filled with DIY ideas, home decor, beauty, fashion and ways to make life after 50 meaningful and the best chapter yet! Discover our weekly themes and join a community of women embracing midlife with creativity, confidence and community!
Welcome to tatertots & jello – The Next Chapter: Creating a Beautiful Life After 50
If you’ve been following Tatertots & Jello for a while, first of all—thank you. Some of you have been here since the early blogging days eighteen years ago, when we shared crafts, decorating ideas, recipes, and little glimpses into everyday life through our computers instead of our phones. Those years helped create an incredible community, and I’ll always be grateful for it!!
But life changes.
Over the past few years, I’ve experienced some of the biggest transitions of my life. My youngest child moved out, making me an official empty nester. I moved into a 1932 Tudor that I’m slowly renovating room by room. Things haven’t worked for me romantically (YET) after my divorce. I’ve been helping care for my mom, who’s navigating some health challenges, while also learning what life looks like when your children become adults and your role as a parent begins to shift.
Instead of feeling like an ending, I’ve started to see this season as something exciting!
Welcome to tatertots & jello: The Next Chapter: It’s a new beginning.
Welcome to Tatertots and Jello: The Next Chapter—a new chapter dedicated to creating a beautiful, meaningful life after 50.
This isn’t about pretending we’re twenty-five again. It’s about embracing where we are today with confidence, creativity, curiosity, and joy. Whether you’re an empty nester, starting over, renovating a home, rediscovering your personal style, or simply looking for inspiration, I hope you’ll feel at home here.
To make things easy to follow, I’ll be sharing a different theme each day of the week.
Monday Reset
Mondays are all about beginning again.
We’ll talk about organization, decluttering, productivity, mindset, and creating routines that make life feel calmer instead of more chaotic. I’ll share practical ways to simplify your home, organize your schedule, decorate intentionally, and create habits that help you enjoy this season of life. And also healthy habits – getting healthier is the key to a longer, more fulfilling life as we get older! I want to hear YOUR ideas too!
We’ll also have honest conversations about empty nesting, caring for aging parents, finding purpose after raising children, and making room for new dreams.
Every Monday is a fresh start.
Tudor Tuesday
If you’ve been following along with my latest renovation, you already know I’m completely in love with my 1932 Tudor home.
Every Tuesday I’ll take you behind the scenes as we restore this beautiful old house while respecting its historic character. I’ll share renovation updates, before-and-afters, paint color decisions, lighting, hardware, DIY projects, design dilemmas, and all the little victories—and mistakes—that come with renovating a nearly 100-year-old home.
Some of the projects already on the calendar include choosing kitchen paint colors, installing unlacquered brass fixtures, creating custom pantry vents, building carriage-style garage doors, making a DIY box-pleat lampshade, refreshing the front porch, updating the front entry, and tackling an attic renovation.
If you love old houses, you’re going to feel right at home.
Wear It Wednesday
One thing I’ve learned over the past few years is that confidence doesn’t come from chasing trends.
It comes from feeling comfortable in your own skin.
Wear It Wednesday is about fashion and beauty for women over 50—without the pressure. I’ll share outfits I actually wear, favorite jeans, affordable finds, seasonal wardrobes, beauty products I genuinely love, skincare, and little styling tricks that help us feel confident at every age.
You’ll also find plenty of Walmart finds, Amazon favorites, capsule wardrobe ideas, and realistic fashion inspiration for everyday life.
Because style should feel fun—not intimidating.
House Therapy Thursday
Home has always been my happy place. I want to embrace loving your space, no matter the size. Small homes are just as special as giant spaces.
Every Thursday we’ll dive into decorating, styling, organization, and creating spaces that feel beautiful and welcoming. I’ll explain why I make certain design choices, share affordable decorating ideas, offer room makeovers, and show how small changes can completely transform a space.
You’ll also see DIY furniture projects, lighting updates, seasonal decorating ideas, paint colors, storage solutions, and simple design tips that make your home work better for the life you’re living now.
Think of it as design therapy for your home.
Favorite Things Friday
I love discovering products that truly make life easier or more beautiful.
Every Friday I’ll share books I’m reading, recipes my family loves, favorite beauty products, home décor finds, organizing tools, fashion pieces, kitchen gadgets, gardening supplies, and little things that have genuinely earned a place in my life.
These aren’t random recommendations—they’re things I actually use, love, and would recommend to a friend.You won’t end up with a houseful of Amazon stuff.
You’ll also find shopping guides, seasonal collections, gift ideas, and plenty of budget-friendly discoveries.
Saturday Strolls
Some of my favorite days are spent wandering.
I love exploring antique stores, discovering hidden cafés, finding beautiful neighborhoods, visiting gardens, admiring architecture, browsing local markets, and taking little road trips just because they sound fun.
Saturday Strolls is my invitation to slow down and notice the beauty that’s already around us.
Sometimes adventure is only a few miles from home.
Sunday Sanctuary
Sundays are for slowing down.
We’ll spend time in the kitchen trying family recipes, working in the garden, setting intentions for the week, decorating for the seasons, and creating peaceful spaces that help us recharge.
You’ll also find cozy traditions, simple entertaining ideas, thoughtful reflections, and little rituals that make home feel like a sanctuary.
It’s the perfect way to end one week and prepare for the next.
More Than a Content Calendar
This series is about much more than assigning a topic to each day.
It’s about building a community of women who are embracing this stage of life with optimism instead of fear.
We have so much life ahead of us. We can learn new skills, renovate old homes, travel, start businesses, reinvent our style, make new friends, and discover passions we never had time to pursue before.
Some of life’s most beautiful chapters don’t begin until after 50.
My hope is that this feels like the old blogging community we all loved—a place where we encourage each other, share ideas, celebrate creativity, and remind one another that it’s never too late to start something new.
I’m so excited to share this next chapter with you.
I hope you’ll join me each day as we create a beautiful life together—one project, one adventure, and one fresh start at a time. And bring your friends – there’s always a place for everyone at tatertots & jello!!
What are YOU looking forward to in your next chapter?? Share it with me – I would love to know. And I would love to have you follow along on Instagram: @tatertotsandjello, where I will be sharing the daily ideas as well as Pinterest @tatertotsandjello – where I will share pins to my favorite wellness and beauty finds!
xoxo
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