Victoria's Secrets: Happy New Year!

Happy new year to all of my beloved readers!

I was out on the East End for Christmas week and on Christmas day I went with my friend Elyse Richman for a walk on Rogers Beach in Westhampton Beach.

As I walked onto the beach, I was delighted to see a Christmas tree filled with shells bearing positive messages. Elyse told me it’s the work of Kym Laube who leads the organization HUGS, Inc. HUGS stands for Human Understanding & Growth Services, a program for youth and adults with addiction issues. I just learned about them and their powerful and popular Long Island Teen Institute, a 48-hour program for teens. 

I’m of the belief that if you don’t learn something new every day, it’s not a great day and Christmas Day for me was great, not only because I truly learned something new about a remarkable organization, but I was also walking the sun-filled beach.

I live on a creek and love looking out at the water, but there’s something special about the ocean for me. Nothing beats feeling the sand beneath my feet, the sun shining on my face and the lapping sound of the water as it streams onto the beach. It made me realize how much I missed the ocean! It was the best gift I could get on Christmas Day!

To finish the day, my friend, colleague and I enjoyed a delicious Chinese dinner of bountiful seafood soup, flavorful ribs and spicy tuna wrapped in paper at Tony’s Fusion West in Westhampton Beach, which serves sushi and traditional Chinese food.

The week was quieter than most, so I got to watch my favorite TV series, “The Crown,” on Netflix. It’s about the remarkable royal family, emphasizing Queen Elizabeth’s challenges and delving into Princess Diana, who remains a fascination! She appeared to me as a fairy tale princess, but was sadly flawed in her real life.

The acting in “The Crown” is so good that I felt I was right there with them! One night I was compelled to watch segment after segment, not realizing it was 1 a.m. — way past my bedtime! I was addicted!

Back to the real world, the next day I made my way to East Hampton with attorney and dear friend Nancy Burner. She is leading a group of women from the East End chapter of the League of Women Voters, who are organizing a conference at LTV Studios on March 9 to present information about the Equal Rights Amendment that will be appearing on the November ballot. 

For over 100 years, from the women suffragettes to today, equal rights for women has not been made into law! This is the year that New York can make it happen.

Stay tuned for more details!

Here we are in a new year. My hopes and dreams for all of us are a world of peace and a life filled with love and integrity. We can make it happen in our own lives, in our family and in our business.

I do believe that “love makes the world go ‘round” and I feel blessed to be surrounded by so many people I love and feel their love back!

Here’s to the best year yet!