Straw Market Totes

A couple of weeks ago I pinned this photo to one of my Pinterest boards with the caption: "Love everything - every single thing - about this look. Hair, bag, sandals, jeans, scarf, shirt, location. All of it!"

From Habitually Chic 

A week later I received an email from my dear friend Heather of Vintage French Chic telling me she saw the pin I added to my board and its excited caption. She had recently come across straw totes, similar to the French market tote featured in the photo, for sale at a friend's home. They are made in Kenya and she thought I might like to have one.

Upon seeing photos of the bags, I told her I would love to have one...maybe even two!

I chose a plain, neutral bag that is definitely my style and so versatile.

With my new French looking straw market tote, I decided to try recreating the Pinterest photo I like so much. This is my 45-year-old wanna-be model version taken in my driveway rather than in Morocco.

It's a little too warm this time of year for a scarf so I left that piece in my closet. 

I wore boyfriend jeans by Gap, a Saint Tropez West linen tunic I found for $4 at Goodwill, Michael Kors sandals and a couple of leather bracelets from Large Leather in Sonoma.

This bag is great for the beach, a picnic, shopping and even as a carry-on travel bag for the plane or on a road trip.

The other bag I chose has a big colorful cluster of grapes on it. I think it's made for a wine country lifestyle!

Heather graciously offered to give me one as a gift and shipped them both to me across the miles, a kind gesture to me for sending her a canister of tea I bought just for her in Paris last March.

I used the grape tote for the first time just the other day to have a picnic with my husband at a nearby winery.

The bag's first outing at Chateau St. Jean

It's very sturdy and so well made. I was able to carry my heavy camera, a big bottle of water, a small handbag and I still had room for my denim jacket when it got to be too hot outside.

Next weekend, I hope to take it along to our local farmer's market to see how many vegetables I can fit inside.

Thank you, Heather, for the lovely gift and for introducing me to such lovely straw market totes.
I will think of you whenever I carry my bags, which will be often! 

What kind of bag do you carry during spring and summer months? 

Do you prefer natural straw color or something vivid and colorful? 

Be sure to stop by Heather's blog today to see how she styled another gorgeous summer bag
she's recently added to her handbag collection. 

Let It Be Tee

I caved in to the graphic tee trend and spent $14 on a Let it Be tee from Old Navy. Let it Be was one of my favorite songs as a child and you know, it has never gotten tiresome all these decades later.

At first I thought I was too old to wear such a shirt. But then I decided that the mere fact that I was alive in 1970 when the iconic song Let it Be was released gave me permission to wear this tee no matter what my age...and also, I don't care if I am too old or not. I am tired of silly fashion rules that apply to women over 40. But that's a post for another day.

I wore my new tee with my second friperie find from Paris, this simple floral skirt I bought for 5 euros and a pair of Lucky Brand sandals.

I wore my outfit to Landmark Winery for a picnic with my husband and our two Yorkies, Daisy and Coco. Landmark is a lovely and relaxing place. With great wine, a bocce court, soothing fountains, a pond, lots of colorful flowers and horse-drawn wagon rides, what's not to love?

My husband packed up a healthy low-carb lunch for us to accompany the bottle of chilled Overlook Chardonnay we bought in the tasting room once we arrived.

Dogs are allowed at Landmark which makes me like it even more. I love to watch Daisy and Coco run free...

and roll around in the grass.

This will likely be the only graphic tee I buy. I don't think it's a trend I'll get in to much but I like this particular tee mostly because it says something I like and the colors are neutral.

What about you... 

Are you wearing graphic tees this season? 

Be sure to stop by Patti's blog for Visible Monday.

And remember that How I Wear My: Floral is coming up on June 4th! Submit your photo by the 3rd of June to be included.

BRCA Testing Insights

Thank you for the comments on Tuesday's BRCA post. I appreciate the support, thought-provoking remarks, and especially the personal stories that were shared.

There are so many brave, intelligent, articulate women out there and for each of you, a different take on the topic of genetic testing and preventive surgery.

I find this issue fascinating, perhaps because it was already on my mind when the Angelina Jolie story broke. Or perhaps because it touches so many of our lives and sort of joins us together in a way. We all fear cancer and we all carry the risk of getting cancer. One in the three of us will get some form of it and certainly all of us have had experience with cancer whether personally or with a loved one.

Yesterday I spent a couple of hours taking the online class required to submit my application for BRAC1 and BRAC2 gene testing. The class is followed by a brief test for which I received a certificate that I must mail to San Francisco. My packet is going into the post today.

Informative, insightful, interesting and at times, frightening, the class answered many questions I had about BRCA testing and many that I didn't.

Given enough time, I could write a very lengthy post about all that I learned. Instead I want to tell you a few things that stand out in my mind and that may be of interest to you.

~ First, the BRCA test is not as cut and dry as you might think.

I may test negative for BRCA1 and BRCA2 but that does not mean I don't carry some other gene mutation for hereditary breast and/or ovarian cancer.

There are dozens of other undiscovered genes that cause hereditary breast cancer that are thought to cause between 30 - 70% of all hereditary breast and ovarian cancers. It's entirely possible that there is a third BRCA gene, yet to be detected.

Here I thought I would have my choice of either:

A) Yes, you have the BRCA gene mutation and have an X% of getting breast cancer and a Y% of getting ovarian cancer.

B) No, you don't have the BRCA genes. Your risk is low. It's the same risk that most people have for sporadic breast and ovarian cancers.

These are the real choices:

A) Yes, you have the BRCA gene mutations.

B) No, you don't have the BRCA gene mutations but because of your family history you may have some other gene which would increase your chances for breast and ovarian cancers but we are not capable of identifying them right now.

~ Second, there are other measures that can be taken toward prevention that don't include surgery. MRI scans, chemotherapy and lifestyle changes are a few alternatives to a mastectomy and/or oophorectomy (ovary removal) for those with hereditary risks.

Should I get to the juncture in this process where preventative steps need to be taken, all options will be explored before making a decision. Drastic surgeries are, of course, not to be taken lightly.

~ Third, the hereditary genes for breast cancer and ovarian cancer can be passed down from both of your parents, not just your mother. Of course, this makes sense but I think it's more common to always look at the mother's family history since these cancers are found mainly in women. Your father's family history weighs just as much as your mother's. It's helpful to know as much as you can about both.

~ Lastly, I think it's important for everyone to know about Myriad, the company that administers and carries the patent for the BRCA tests. The patent is the reason they can charge such a high price, about $3500, which in turn makes it too costly for many women to have unless their insurance is willing to pay for it.

And there is a suspicion, brought to my attention by a reader, that the statistics having to do with risks of cancer in those testing positive for BRAC genes are inflated. 

Currently, the Supreme Court is reviewing whether companies such as Myriad can continue to hold a patent for the procedure of taking the genes out of the human body to research. It's an interesting and important case that is worth following. You can read more about it in this article.

Rather than worrying myself needlessly with the unknowns and trying to predict what I would do in every possible situation - which is frankly exhausting -  I am going to actively choose to take things as they happen.

My first step of taking the class is complete. Now I wait up to two weeks for a genetic counselor to contact me regarding an interview. There is no guarantee that I will get the test and there is always a chance that after speaking with the genetic counselor I will decide not to take it. I doubt that will be the case but I cannot rule anything out.

I know this isn't the sort of post you expect to see on The Rich Life but it's an important topic to so many people, including me, that I thought it warranted further exploration.

I plan to be back by the end of the week with a much lighter topic but in the meantime, 

what are your thoughts? 

Does this additional information change your perception of the BRCA test?