Fresh Air, Blue Skies, and Cool Water - Oh, and They're Back From the Dead

So I got off work today, and I didn't feel like doing a formal workout. Those days happen - I figure that this is my body's way of telling me that I need to take it easy. So I went down the road a ways to Huntington Harbor. I started at the marina. I walked around the docks, looking at the boats.

The tall building to the left is where the parking lot is. It took me about 20 minutes to get to this point. Then I came back around to the ocean side, and this is the view across the channel toward Sunset Beach.

The area below the palm trees is basically a restaurant row. My favorite one is called Don the Beachcomber. It's decorated like a Hawaiian Tiki room, and it's so corny that it's awesome. Next time I'm there, I'll grab a picture.

Some of these areas are private, and some are public. I lived down there in a condo a while ago. It was lovely, but we needed a bigger house and I don't have 10 million bucks, so off to Huntington Beach we went. It's only a couple of miles away, but not on a channel or a beach. Here are some people enjoying one of the public areas.

I love some of the names of the boats. Also, I like to see where they are from. In this sleepy little marina, most of the boats say Huntington Harbor. Here are some of them in their docks.

Huntington Harbor is composed of 5 man made islands - Humboldt, Trinidad, Admiralty, and I can't remember the other 2. It used to be (when I was there, 15 or so years ago) that it was super quiet because most folks were old, and the weather was PERFECT. Better than San Diego, even better than Hawaii. Perfect. I've been lucky, living my whole life in SoCal. And at Xmas time, there is a big boat parade through the channels, and you go house to house, partying. Haven't done that since we moved. Here is one more view of the lovely Harbor.

To the left are expensive custom homes, and to the right are rather affordable condos. Same Channel, different side. I would totally go for the condos if I had the chance. I'm notoriously frugal.

Speaking of which, I got two pairs of my favorite shoes reheeled. So I go into the shop, tell the man what I want, and he says $38. So I say "I'm sure, that's way too much. I will go somewhere else." So he drops it to $16. I said okay, but this dude is so trying to rip people off, and that is not right. So I'm going to try somewhere else next time. But anyway, here they are BACK FROM THE DEAD. My black pilgrim shoes with the red buckle doohickeys, and my overdose green witch shoes.

I CANNOT wait to wear them. Besides being cheap, I am lazy. I hate to do chores. Taking shoes to be fixed is chores, so I let it slide. For months. So I haven't had my cool shoes for months. So now, I am drooling to wear them. Pavlovian to the max.

One more good thing happened today. I got my July Birchbox. Looky looky!!! I get so excited when I see it in my mailbox.

Here's what I got: 1) Cynthia Rowley Black Eyeliner Pencil. Going to Vegas with me next week. Smokey eyes = Sin City. 2) Naobay Body Radiance Lotion - Save for end of summer when olive oil and avocado oil is mandatory to prevent reptilian skin. 3) Number 4 Super Comb Prep and Protect - a leave in conditioner. Save for later. 4) Supergoop Anti-Aging Eye Cream - 911 for Vegas. Has SPF 37. 5) Smartypants Gummy Vitamins - couldn't care less. I don't take vitamins. I eat a wide variety of foods, lots of fruit and veggies. Snack.
So that's it for a lazy Friday evening at Casa de Holtzman. Now, I'm gonna shower and watch TV with Doc and Elli. Please be advised that I am not always this exciting. But now that I am blogging, I figure that I ought to put my best face forward. Oh, excuse me, I am laughing too hard to continue. Stay tuned for more excitement - tomorrow, Rosie pulls weeds and visits Villa Valencia (the retirement home where my mom lives. Free wine from a box.) Hope you all have a good evening!!!

Black Friday Part Deux

It's Friday, and I'm wearing some black, but not all is dark. For one thing, it's FRIDAY, so the weekend starts in T minus 8 hours. Also, it's PAYDAY, so now I have some moolah for the weekend. Shall we see what I have on?

I went to Napa and Sonoma a few years back. We stayed in Napa. There was an outlet mall there, and they had a Karen Kane store. KK has long been one of my favorite brands. The clothing is made of high quality materials and the styling is always cute and classic, with a twist. I bought a lot of pieces on that trip. I got this sweater vest, the matching skirt, and a black bolero jacket with faux turquoise trim. I have worn them all together on occasion, and it wasn't too much. Sometimes, all matchy matchy outfits are.

Both the sweater and the skirt have the blue embroidery on the sides. Here's a closeup of the embroidery on the sweater.

It has bugle beads, seed beads, and tonal sequins around the flowers. So of course, I busted out the blue jewelry. I wore my Southwest Indian Foundation cross necklace

I continued the Native American theme on my left arm

I am wearing one of my turquoise cuff bracelets and my Swarovski Nirvana in Indolite. On my right arm

I have a bracelet of larimar, freshwater pearl, and aurora borealis crystals. The ring is something I picked up at Villa Valencia. That's where my mom lives - it's a senior high rise that offers room, board, transportation, and activities. Every now and then they have vendors set up in the lobby, so the residents can buy things for themselves, or to give as gifts in case they can't get out to shop. This ring is amethyst, with thin bands of opal surrounding the crescent moon shaped stone.I bought it for myself, because I was proud of something I had accomplished ( I don't remember what it was, but I felt I desrved it at the time). Maybe I should move into VV if my memory continues to be this spectacular.

As for shoes, another Karen, this time Karen Scott black suede loafers, with BLUE tassels.

These shoes couldn't be more perfect in color. These pants are somewhat unusual. They are from the Gap, but they were hand me downs. They are a steel blue satin, and are cropped length. I was kinda stumped as to what shoes would look good with this weird style of pants. I put out a couple different pairs to try, but I tried these ones first, and liked the look, so I didn't go any further. Here's my head to toe look of the day.

I guess these pants are a bit stumpifying, but it's okay. I really like the shiny fabric and the unusual color. So today, I am linking up with www.stylelixir.com for Friday's Fab Favorites. It's really fun to see all the bloggers that I have admired and read over the past couple of years, and now I can actually play along with them!!! Have a great weekend, whatever you do.(And if it's crazy, be sure to tell us ALL about it).