Family dynamics are a funny thing. Often times it is better to sit back and reflect upon your own life experiences and interactions to grow and learn.  Being an awesome mother-in-law is just that: Understanding what or where you come from can only embrace a better journey together for your own family, especially when a daughter-in-law is involved. Women are strong forces in the family dynamics, and for the most part, your own daughter-in-law will be calling the shots. Don’t get left out just because you are unwilling to understand this new woman in your life!

Looking back, perhaps you’ve had a wonderful relationship with your mother-in-law, or maybe not.  If you’ve struggled with that relationship and want a better one with your daughter-in-law, here are a few things she’d like you to know:

I have had the pleasure of knowing a lot of men, and I have been secretly using the data I’ve collected from them to determine information about their species. One of the key attributes the majority of men have in common is their collective answer to the question “What are you thinking?”

My studies show that a mind boggling 97 percent of men, when asked “What are you thinking?” will respond with the answer: “Nothing.”

If you’re dreaming of going to the beach for some afternoon down time, remember to take your fashion sense with you. But before the clothes come off and the beach party begins, here are a few tips to keep your cool and avoid having a beach style meltdown.

Do keep it natural.
Who really wants to wear a ton of makeup in hot weather? The smoky eye may be all the rage, but smudged “raccoon” eyes at the pool are not setting any style trends. Invest in some waterproof cosmetics if you feel like you need to, but otherwise, keep it natural and enjoy the freedom of a bare face.

My boyfriend and I pretend we have thick New Jersey accents when we go to art museums. It dissolves the pretension that sometimes comes with viewing art in a somewhat subdued and stuffy environment. It also entertains on-lookers, perhaps adding a little humor to their day, and who doesn’t need humor? One more thing it does, it keeps our relationship fresh and unpredictable. There are advantages to consistency, but a predictable relationship breeds boredom, and we don’t want that.

He texts me in the morning “Good morning, Honey,” and I text back, “Awww, tanks Fwankie, you are so schweet and muscular.” (His name is Robin.)  I’m more likely to get a fun conversation going that way than if I text back, “Good morning, sweetie.” Playfulness keeps relationships vital. It helps you have something to fall back on when times get rough.

Only those who have experienced it will ever know the immense strength it takes to face Lyme disease. Strength to withstand blow after blow from an unseen, unknown stealth pathogen that evades modern diagnostics and moves rapidly through the body attacking any system it chooses. Strength to bear being ignored, dismissed, disrespected, and outright laughed at by those who don’t believe your illness is real, including doctors. Strength to keep trusting your own judgment instead of giving in to outside suggestions that you’re “just depressed.” Strength to carry on with daily activities when all the joy has been sapped out of them by a disease famous for the fact that it doesn’t kill you; it just makes you want to die. Strength to persevere when you’ve been led into collapse by false diagnoses and misguided treatments that only made you worse; to find hope in the latest plan when all the previous ones have failed. Strength to dig deep and pull yourself up over and over, day after day, year-in and year-out with no end date because supposedly there isn’t a cure. Strength to keep believing in yourself when you’ve been on the floor for so long, to keep believing in life, to keep believing in happiness.

Only survivors can understand this.

In 1889, the art world was a male-dominated work field. Five innovative women in a New York City studio apartment took a stand and made one giant leap for women-kind in the art world. These five women delivered the first women’s art organization to states. This organization still stands tall today, 130 years later, with more than 800 female members, creating one of the largest women’s arts organizations in America. The organization is the National Association of Women Artists, also known as NAWA.

Elizabeth, wishing you and Pink the happiest of birthdays and a wonderful year to come. You have created an extraordinary magazine in Pink, and I hope you are as proud of your accomplishment as we are to be part of it!  Warmly— Suzie, Pink Writer

What an incredible time we’ve all had over the years, Elizabeth! From that first golf-wear fashion photo shoot on a freezing Palmetto Dunes, to all those fun years and countless pictures since. Your cultivation of Pink Magazine, its readership, and friends has been amazing! Congratulations! Christian, Pink Photographer

Face a new season with a fresh outlook! Update your makeup palette with Easter egg-colored eyeshadows, bold lips, glowing cheeks and strong brows. Try one new trend at a time and you’ll have a whole new attitude to welcome spring. Here’s what’s making the biggest buzz on the spring runways:

Luscious lips.
If you only change one thing in your makeup routine this season, make it your lip color. From velvety corals to hot fuchsias to barely-there pinks, there are plenty of choices for every preference. Just try a change—or two or three!

More than anything else, my greatest hope and intention for this article on female empowerment is that each and every person reading it will choose to show up and say YES to YOU.  

YES to that inner voice—the voice of intuition. YES to your life force and universal energy that is calling you to perhaps follow that crazy idea, move across country, start a painted furniture store business, to committing to that kickboxing program. YES because you are the only YOU that you have, and you deserve it; YES because there’s no one who can do it for you; it’s truly up to you.

Savor rhymes with favor, and if it’s not in your vocabulary, it should be. Why? Because learning to savor is a wonderfully effective steppingstone to greater happiness, according to the latest research in positive psychology. And yet, these days—when so many of us are feeling chronically rushed and endlessly distracted—who has time for savoring?

Which is why I find Fred Bryant’s work so appealing. Fred is a psychology professor at Loyola University in Chicago, and he’s been studying happiness for 38-plus years. While other researchers focus on what to do if you’re not happy—how to deal with trauma, depression, the evening news—Bryant’s pioneering work shines light on the positive experiences in life and how to process and appreciate them. That’s what savoring is all about, and it does wonders for your well-being.

The Estill Book Club, a hallowed institution founded by twelve women in 1913, has yet to interrupt its activities despite wars, depressions, and the Internet Age. Membership is not something you pick up and put down like a second-hand beach novel. It’s sacred, time-honored. You don’t choose to join the Estill Book Club; you either get invited, or the membership is simply handed down matrilineally. There are only twelve spots in the club, and new ones don’t come open often. The only membership requirements are that you live in Estill, and you love to read. In 105 years the club has never once missed its monthly meeting.

“Oh child, you don’t get out of Book Club!” exclaims third generation member Lawton Clarke O’Cain. “You die.”

March 1st marks the start of Women’s History Month.
This month-long celebration recognizes and celebrates women who have made their mark and made a difference. We look to icons such as Amelia Earhart, Rosa Parks, and Mother Teresa as some of the greatest and thank them for the incredible acts they accomplished in their lifetime. There are so many women, in both the distant and recent past, who blazed new paths and paved the way for the generations of today. It is the collective effort of all those powerful women before us, who collected their courage in the face of fear to serve as forces, role models and voices for women and girls all over the world.

I could never be a medical transcriptionist. It’s not the typing that would deter me. My problem would be hearing the symptoms and medical conditions. I’d think I have all of them. To say that I am easily influenced is like saying the Titanic sprung a leak.

Knowing this about myself, I wasn’t all that surprised to end up with yet another condition after watching an episode of “Oprah” devoted to the “disease to please.”

I flew through Oprah’s “Do You Have the Disease to Please?” self-diagnosis quiz.

My first recollection of being bitten by the wanderlust bug was in high school. Gazing out the window in the middle of a Latin class, I found myself daydreaming about what life must have been like in the early days of Roman language development. How did people communicate, live, meet others, and date? What did they do for fun? I had no idea at the time what a wealth of worldwide opportunities awaited me; I just dreamed about them.

After I graduated from college, my sister, Diane, and I went to Europe on a tour of England, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and France. This was back in the day when young women traveling abroad wore shirtwaist dresses and virgin pins. I didn’t care what I had to wear; I was fascinated by the countries, cultures, cuisines, and people.

Have you heard the news making its way across the grapevine? It’s the most wonderful time of the year. No. It’s not Christmas, but for the thousands of oenophiles who will flock to Hilton Head Island for the weeklong Wine and Food Fest, it really kind of is. You don’t need to be a vintuitive to know that when you pair wine lovers with a plethora of wine, happiness and satisfaction abounds.

The Hilton Head Island Food and Wine Fest was launched 34 years ago as part of an island wide promotion to bring visitors and stimulate the island’s tourism industry in the early spring shoulder season. A group of devoted wine enthusiasts, along with some great island culinary talents, started the tradition of the annual Wine & Food Festival, serving as the herald of spring. From its origin as a one-day, three-hour tasting, the festival has now blossomed into a full week of events surrounding the iconic Harbour Town Yacht Basin at The Sea Pines Resort. On this year’s festival itinerary, you’ll find exceptional wine dinners, educational seminars, the Sip and Stroll, plus the traditional Grand Tasting and well-loved Public Tasting. The signature event, the original Public Tasting, is one of the largest outdoor, tented public wine tastings on the East Coast.

Take time for a deep breath. Then take a stroll down the spice aisle, inhaling the exotic aromas—from pungent turmeric to zesty pepper to fresh sage—that have inspired the colors of a spirited fashion season. Here’s a list of the newest spicy hues to add to your clothes rack this year.

Not-so-mellow yellow. A current culinary favorite, turmeric, is a favorite color with the fashion crowd. The yellows this spring range in shade from amber to mustard to curry to gold. Wear variations of this color palette from head to toe for an ultrasophisticated look.

Class is in session. Today’s topic isn’t the sexiest, but if you’ve ever had a muscle cramp during sex, you know how it can snap the brain to complete attention. Cramps happen at other times, too. You’re running across a tennis court when suddenly, someone is jabbing a fork into your calf. Or you’re blissfully swimming along and for no reason, your toes get stuck in a vise. Or you’re asleep in bed hours after a vigorous walk— nighttime cramps are very common—and you’re jolted awake with a piercing pain in your thigh.

So much for the problem. Let’s talk solutions. Though it’s still a bit of a mystery why some people get cramps—aka charley horses or muscle spasms—there are lots of things you can do for prevention and relief.

One morning, 9-month-old Francesca Lobban was playing with her older sister as their mother stood nearby. Francesca was just learning to walk and, as all toddlers do, she lost her balance, gently plopped onto her bottom on the carpeted floor … and lost consciousness.

Alarmed, Trudie Lobban rushed her daughter to the hospital, but by the time they were seen by a doctor, her daughter was alert and behaving normally. For three years, the attacks continued—up to eight per day—each one triggered by circumstances as benign as a game of peek-a-boo, or stepping on a Lego piece. Doctors offered up possible explanations ranging from lack of sleep to temper tantrums to epilepsy, but all tests came back negative.

Dear Carrie: We’ve been married for two years, and so far, my husband and I have pretty much split bills down the middle. That’s about to change as I become a full-time graduate student with limited income. I’m used to being a financial equal and am worried that I’m going to feel too dependent. How can we avoid this? —A Reader

Dear Reader: Great question, and one that has as much to do with your values as a couple as it does with your finances. Financial equality in a marriage doesn’t always mean that you contribute the same amount of money, but that you respect each other and choose to work as a team, no matter who’s on first financially.

Even though most of us are still wrapped up in our puffer coats, the fashion winds are blowing in the balmy trends for a new season.

And it’s time to loosen up and go with the flow of breezy designs, tropical prints and, yes, even bike shorts.

Here’s the shortlist of the spring runways’ latest trends:

Frilly dresses.
In the softest of fabrics, such as chiffon and satin, the dress is all dressed up this spring with feathers, ruffles, ruching and bows. The short babydoll dress is back! It’s time to feel like a princess again and give these frilly dresses a whirl.

Brain health is on the forefront of everyone’s mind, no pun intended. We all have seen the ravages of Alzheimer’s disease, memory loss and dementia and want to do everything we can to prevent such diseases happening to us or our loved-ones. Keeping your memory sharp is Memory Matters’ goal at its second-annual Brain Health Summit. Set for March 7, 2019, at Hilton Head Beach & Tennis Resort, the action-packed educational seminar will feature international speakers from Harvard and the University of British Columbia, as well as local experts.

We’re past the the first month of the new year. What have you got to show for it? Of course, I mean that in the nicest possible way.

> Are you physically active at least three times a week as you promised yourself when your favorite jeans mysteriously shrunk two sizes between Thanksgiving and New Year’s?

> Are you working smarter and getting more accomplished because you’ve been meditating every morning and limiting your screen time interruptions to a modest 15 times a day?

At the tip of Saint Helena Island, tucked away on Eddings Point Road, is a very special place. Sutcliffe Farm, as the sign modestly states, is a true refuge—a serene island sanctuary where animals of all shapes and sizes are kept safe, clean, healthy, and most of all, happy. It’s The Garden of Eden, Noah’s Ark, and Dr. Doolittle’s wonderful world all wrapped up into one.

Terry and Elaine Sutcliffe, the farm’s owners and operators, are both native Beaufortonians, who run a family businesses in Port Royal, and who followed their hearts and bought the waterfront acreage on St. Helena 47 years ago. They built a house, had kids, got a few dogs and cats, and added a horse. That was the start of it all. 

If you’re fortunate enough to share love, it takes a conscious decision to nurture your relationship. Don’t put it off because you think it’s too expensive to go on a date. Consider these cost-conscious ways to spend time with your love.

1. Enjoy a classic movie marathon. Borrow DVDs from the library, or swap with friends. Serve hot buttered popcorn. Build a fire. And turn the lights down low.

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.

Dear Readers,
I talk a lot about setting financial goals, primarily because I believe in them. Having an idea of what you want to achieve is the first step in actually doing something. That’s particularly true when it comes to money. And what better time to focus on your financial goals than the start of a new year?
To me, setting goals can actually be the fun part of getting on top of your finances. Why? Because it’s a chance to evaluate your priorities and maybe dream a little. For instance, what are the most important things you’d like to achieve in both the near and distant future? Do you dream of buying a house, or starting a new business? What’s on your travel bucket list? Do you imagine switching to a less lucrative but more fulfilling career path? 

Imagine you just lost your job. Perhaps you, or a family member, were sick and you missed too many days at work. Perhaps your car broke down and you had no way of getting to work. In the end, it doesn’t matter. The paychecks stop coming and the bills continue without pause, until finally the letter you’ve been dreading arrives. You look up from the eviction notice and see the faces of your children staring back at you, their eyes mirroring the fear in yours.

Hidden in Plain Sight
According to 2016 Federal data, children and their families account for more than 35 percent of the homeless population in this country and represent its fastest growing segment. In Beaufort County alone, there are more than 600 homeless children (as identified by the federal McKinney-Vento Act report for Beaufort County Schools). It is a statistic that seems, at first glance, impossible. Yet, because of the fluid living arrangements many of these families must endure—continually moving from the homes of friends or family to shelters, motels or ‘unsheltered’ alternatives such as cars—we don’t always see the problem in front of our faces.

What? You’ve already thought you may fail to keep your New Year’s resolutions?

Of course you have. Welcome to human nature. And don’t feel badly. Zillions of your fellow Americans are also failing to give up nachos, sleep seven hours a night, bicycle to work, defend their souls against time-sucking small-screen devices. Great intentions, depressing results.

Why is the new-habit failure rate so high? Because changing behavior—as in developing new habits—is a skill. Like shoeing a horse. It’s something you need to learn how to do, so when you decide to do it, your chance of success will skyrocket.

From all-over shimmering cocktail frocks to glittering skirts and jackets—even glittering leggings and twinkling toes—there are show-stopping ways to sparkle in sequins. But before you leave a trail of shiny discs behind you, here are a few things to keep in mind when buying sequined clothing.Check the care labels.

Many of you may not have taken a shine to sequins for this very reason: They can be intimidating to clean. After years of owning all kinds of “embellished” clothing, I heartily recommend hand-washing with baby shampoo. While many pieces can be laundered on the gentle cycle in the washing machine, just as you would delicate lingerie, it can be tricky. Just make sure you turn the garment inside out and place it in a mesh bag. Never place in a dryer, but rather drip-dry over a towel and then lay flat.

Sophia Townes didn’t set out to become an advocate for families with autism. On the contrary, the native South Carolinian’s love of French culture and language led her to places and pursuits far removed from her hometown of Barnwell. Even after marrying her high school sweetheart and building a home and family together in Bluffton, autism was simply not part of her world.

But, life has a way of changing the rules without notice, as Sophia and her husband George learned four years ago when their 3-year-old son Jack was diagnosed with autism.