• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • BLOG
  • WRESTLING WITH GOD BOOK
  • CONTACT

Barbara Falconer Newhall

Veteran journalist Barbara Falconer Newhall riffs on life as she knows it.

  • A CASE OF THE HUMAN CONDITION
  • MY EVER-CHANGING FAMILY
  • WRITING & READING
  • MY ROCKY SPIRITUAL JOURNEY
  • WIDOWED
  • FUNNY BUTTON

body image

No to Bride Barbie — Yes to a Real-Life Wedding

February 16, 2017 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Christina Newhall, age 7, playing tug of war at a party. Photo by Barbara Newhall

My 7-year-old wanted nothing to do with her Bride Barbie doll. But twenty-five years later, she’s ready to be a bride for real. Read more.

When the Bride Doesn’t Wear White — And Neither Does Anyone Else

July 11, 2013 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Part of an orange and green sari and a purple sari at an Indian wedding in the San Francisco Bay Area. Photo by BF Newhall

It’s an Indian wedding with all the trimmings — drums, gongs, garlands of flowers, priestly blessings and flocks of women wearing gorgeous saris. I’m a Westerner. What do I wear? Read more.

The Mother-of-the-Groom Diaries — Am I Too Old for Splashy Earrings?

April 25, 2013 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Writer Barbara Falconer Newhall tries on Swarovsky earrings with her mother-of-the-groom gown. Photo by BF Newhall

The long dress I was planning to wear to my son’s wedding needed earrings. Not a necklace. Not a bracelet. Not a glitzy ring. My gown needed earrings. Big, attention-grabbing, dangle earrings. Read more.

My Killer Shoes — Brought Down to Size by Those Four-and-a-Half-Inch Heels

April 18, 2013 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Barbara Falconer Newhall tries on a pair of Glint pave shoes with 4 1/2-inch high heels. BF Newhall photo

Dress shoes for women right now, as you may have noticed, sport heels that go on forever. Wedge heels, spike heels, stack heels – everywhere I look I see nothing but heels of skyscraper proportions built to lift their wearers four or even four-and-a-half inches off the ground. Read More.

A Case of the Human Condition: My (Awesome) Zumba Body

December 7, 2011 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

zumba class in action. Photo by BF Newhall

Too much flesh here. Too much skin there. But I can Zumba. Read more.

A Case of the Human Condition: A Half Century Later I’m Still a Size 10 . . . OK, 12

May 29, 2010 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Two teenager girls in Bermuda shorts, 1950s. Photo by DG Falconer

I wore a size 10 in high school way back in 1959 and a size 12 in college. That was twenty plus pounds ago, but I can still squeeze into size 10 (or 12) jeans. Am I remembering my young self all wrong? Read more.

Primary Sidebar

GET MY Riffs on Life BY EMAIL

True stories often told through a humorous lens–because you just can't make them up!

We respect your privacy and do not share your email with anyone.

 

LET’S CONNECT

ON THE FUNNY SIDE

In Judge Harbin-Forte’s Courtroom — Where Jury Duty Is an Exercise in Mindfulness

David and Ruth Falconer of Scotville, MI, and their 7 childen ca 1935. Photo by Falconer

What does a farm family in Michigan have in common with a courtroom in Hayward, California? A nearly forgotten social skill. Read more.

MORE "ON THE FUNNY SIDE"

CATEGORIES

  • A Case of the Human Condition
  • My Ever-Changing Family
  • On Writing & Reading
  • My Rocky Spiritual Journey

 
Need some levity? Push my Funny Button!

TO MY READERS

Please feel free to share links to my posts with one and all and to quote briefly from them in your own writing, remembering, of course, to attribute the quote to me and to provide a link back to this site.

My Oakland Tribune columns, btw, are reprinted by permission of the Trib. With the exception of review copies of books, I do not accept ads or freebies of any kind. Click on the "Contact" button if you have questions. Enjoy!

 

DON’T MISS!

food-abundance

World Hunger — Is It Up to Me to Fix It? Sheltering at Home Week 20

Small children with grandmother on Lake Michigan beach. Photo by BF Newhall.

A Manners-Challenged Kid Who Became the Apple of His Grandma’s Eye

A dead bird lies on a doorstep. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Our Sin — Or God’s? My Gino Geraci Talk Revisited

JON-NEWHALLS-OFFICE

Widowed: I Got Caught in the Act of Crying for My Husband

MORE DON'T MISS!

© 2009–2026 Barbara Falconer Newhall All rights reserved. · Log in