Sparks, Barks, and a few of my Larks.

I live in Huntington Beach, California. Surf City USA. HB has a long and colorful history surrounding this All-American holiday. We have a 101 year old parade, have seen several riots and couch burnings downtown, and a huge fireworks show off the pier. I never go anywhere at night because my dogs may get terrified. Some of them have gone berserk, and some have been fine. Anyhow, I am writing the blog while waiting for the noise.

We went to a party on Thursday night, in Mission Viejo, It was to celebrate the visit of our friend, Ted, from Tennessee. Lynne, the hostess, also had her friend, Lorraine, in from Connecticut. It was drinks and tacos. Here's what I  wore:

Jennifer Lopez robin's egg blue brocade shirts and, a Kenar knit tank, which are hard to see in the glare.

In this closeup of my larimar necklace that I got in Coronado, you can see the true color of the outfit.

In this shot, you can see that the tank is trimmed with a chiffon and lace ruffle.

On my left arm, a mabe pearl ring and a bracelet of citrine, larimar, freshwater pearl, and aurora borealis crystals.

On my right arm, a South Sea pearl ring, and a silver bracelet with blue topaz.

It was a great party. Everyone had a blast. Lorraine was super cool. Doc and I stayed in the Fairfield Marriott in Mission Viejo overnight. It's about a 40 minute drive home, and even though Doc doesn't drink, he hates to drive at night. So we stayed there. They have a breakfast buffet, but I was too hungover to eat.

I worked on a couple of hobbies over the weekend. One was buying the supplies, and then fixing a gob of broken costume jewelry,

I re-strung all these bracelets.

I replaced missing stones in all these pieces.

These pieces had all broken apart, so I put them back together.

I also framed some of my artwork. I re-matted an iguana print (done by a professional artist, not me).

Then I framed a mandela from my coloring book for Doc's office, He picked the colors he wanted.

Then I framed a sorta Alice in Wonderland cartoon flower from my coloring book in hot pink for Vicki at work.

Then I framed another mandela with a yellow mat and a black frame for Lynne for her bathroom, which is navy blue.

Lastly, I framed a butterfly that I painted in acrylic, I put it on a yellow mat and a black frame.

I ate a few good things too. The pork and chicken tacos at Lynne's were good, as were all the appetizers.On Friday, later in the day, I did some yard work, and then made two pizzas. One was California Pizza Kitchen White Pizza, and one was Safeway Select 4 meat pizza.

They were both very tasty.

The holiday itself was a combination of quiet time and family time. I went for a run, then hung out with family until it was time to dog sit.

By 8:22, the bombs bursting in air were constant. Elli barely noticed any of it, but she does sleep soundly. Vinni and Kenni huddled under the tangerine tree, brothers together against the onslaught. By the morning, it seemed as though no one was too traumatized.

On Sunday, I went running again. 2 days in a row, and my right knee was achy. Then we went to Free Birds for lunch

I had carnitas. Doc needed some art supplies of his own, so we stopped at Dollar Tree to see if they had anything he needed. I ended up getting Elli two more shirts.

Then I spent the rest of the day reading a great book - China Dolls by Susan Lee. It was one of those that I was unable to put down until I saw how it ended. I love those kinds of books. I did do some laundry while reading.

So Monday morning, back to work. Here's what I wore:

This is a chiffon skirt with sequin trim by Laundry by Shelli Segal. The top is satin, made by Apt 9. It has a sequin neckline.

I forgot to choose a necklace, but the top is fancy enough on its own. I wore my vintage gold chain belt.

I wore my canvas gladiators that are made by Joe's. I got them at Nordstrom.

On my left arm, I wore my green creepy ring from Nordstrom, and one of the bracelets I fixed this weekend. It's by Betsey Johnson, and I have missed wearing it.

On my right arm, my Montana green peridot, and a brass/enamel bracelet that I found while fixing all the other costume jewelry.

So that's about it. Whee. Since I have been missing for a few days, I have a lot of linking to do.
1) Rhea at www.rheaetcetera.com for Style to Inspire.
2) Cherie from www.stylenudge.com for Shoe and Tell
3) Dawn Lucy from www.fashionshouldbefun.com for Fun Fashion Friday
4)  Nicole from www.highlatitudestyle.com for Top of The World Style

Wow. I have a lot of catching up to do. Have a great Monday!!!