Here Kitty Kitty !!!

So in honor of Halloween, I am once again sporting an outfit that is not a costume, but which I am sure will be mistaken for one at some point today. Here we go!!

Meeeooowww!! The animal print blouse came from New York and Company, a mall store. The leggings are from Kohl's. I am wearing black tights underneath to ensure that I am nice and opaque, and not flashing anyone. I decided to wear a belt that I have had since the 80s, and is my favorite belt ever. I have already had to McGyver it together a couple of times when one of the chains ruptured.

My necklace is matte gold tone. I got it, along with a longer version, at Stein Mart. It has black cabochons on the stations.

On my left arm, a black leather/crystal bracelet, and a ring that was a souvenir from Baltimore. On my right arm, the crystal/enamel ring I got at Saks a couple of weeks ago, and some gold/white bangles that I don't know where they were purchased.

Now for the real excitement!!! Because of Ebola preparation, I worked a lot of overtime, so I got a lot of extra dough. So I decided to get myself a present, since that much overtime is very hard to do. I had heard that Target did a collaboration with Altazurra, which is a designer that I like, but can rarely afford. So after work yesterday, off to Target I went. I also needed to get candy for the Trick or Treaters. Well, I didn't like the Altazurra stuff, but I did get these babies:

They are made by Sam and Libby, and they cost a total of ........ $22.48!!! They are gorgeous. They are black suede on the toe,black leather on the heel, ankle high, and have 3 gold buckles on the side. And on the other side

There is a sturdy zipper with a gold tone fob. And that light part on the sole is also goldtone. They're so beautiful. There were only a few pairs left.

As I mentioned, in an effort to reconnect after my absence, I am linking like crazy. Today, there are three lovely blogs that I am joining. First is Renae from www.simplesequins.com, then Sara at www.sabbystyle.com, and last but not least, Whitney at www.whitneyalamode.blogspot.com. Enjoy!!!

But It's Not A Costume!!!

I knew it would happen. I was certain that someone yesterday would think I was wearing a costume. All day long, my friends at work commented on my dress. But no one uttered the dreaded "c" word. Then, as I was walking across campus to my car, I ran into a lady and her husband hobbling toward the ER. She looked at me and said "What a cute costume!!!" I told her it wasn't a costume, but I was laughing about it. She said that she thought I was a sexy witch or something. HAHHHHAAA.

Anyway, onto today. I haven't worn this dress in quite a while. It's made by Kenzie. The metallic jacket is by American Rag.

The jacket has a drawstring waist and a hood. The dress is thick ponte type knit, and has a big bow detail at the waist.

As you can see, I chose dark grey tights to go along with the dress. I read yesterday that grey is considered a conservative, boring color. So I livened it up by adding purple accents. On my left arm, I have a silver bracelet, an amethyst bracelet, and a darker amethyst ring. On my right arm, I have a tanzanite ring and a bracelet of amethyst, sugilite and agate.

However, I went back to grey for my necklace. It's a hematite piece that I have had for some time.

But the real kicker is the shoes I am wearing. I have had them for a long time, but I don't wear them too often. The reason is because they are sling backs, and I have a hard time with slingbacks staying on my feet. They are by Paloma, an Italian brand. They are lavender suede, with a darker purple patent heel, and detail of little circles in red and metallic khaki on the top. The slingback strap is metallic khaki, and the buckle is purple. They look awesome - let's hope they stay on for most of the day.

Since I went on vacation, the number of visits per day to my blog has been very erratic. I have also been posting in a hurry, because I am the site coordinator for our Ebola preparedness. Anyway, since that has died down a little, today I am linking with 3 different blogs to get some exposure. They are www.treasuretromp.com, www.happinessatmidlife.com, and www.lovelyladyjb.blogspot.com. All of these blogs are new to me, so you can bet that I will be having some fun looking at them!!! And as a final parting picture, here's my lunch from yesterday. I know it's not fascinating, but it sure is pretty!!!

Groovin' On a Wednesday Afternoon

When we last met, I promised to do the reveal on my latest trinket.

Wait no more, my friends. It's the Platinum Cuff, by Swarovski.

 

It is so much more beautiful in person. The metal is gunmetal toned, and the crystals range from clear all the way to Black Diamond, which is the ring I have. I wore them together today.

It's a breathtaking combo. So, what outfit did I choose to wear along with my new bauble? Well, the title of this post gives you a clue.

Although I do have a couple of vintage Gunne Sax dresses, this isn't one of them. This 70s style knit dress is actually made by Moda International, a brand put out by Victoria's Secret. It's black with tan Venice lace trim. Here's a closer shot of the trim.

If I really wanted to go all groovy on everyone, I would have worn a choker with this. I have done that before, but it's a little close to Halloween to wear such a costumy outfit. I went with my buffalo turquoise and smoky topaz statement necklace.

On my other arm, I only wore one ring - my veiny boulder that I got at Nordstorm.

I did go costumy enough, however. I wore my black suede and bronze nailhead boots from Forever 21.

And since it's Wednesday, I am linking at www.thepleatedpoppy.com. Go over and have some fun!!!

A Momentous Occasion

Today is a special day - Doc's birthday !!! He got an even bigger bunch of bananas than usual this morning. It's a momentous occasion for me as well - another of my big meetings where I am doing quite the presentation. Here's what I picked to wear today:

The dress is by Kenzie, and the jacket is Spenser Jeremy. Here's how it looks without the jacket.

It's kind of a sheath style. It's made of a nice stretchy wool fabric. Here's a closeup of the pattern - it's a dark grey and dark red plaid.

For the meeting, I will have my exam jacket over it. And for their first outing of the year, my grey Worthington boots.

I have already replaced the heels on these beauties once. To complement the dark grey in the dress, I went with garnet jewelry for the most part. Here is my necklace - I am also wearing the matching earrings.

On my left hand, I have a pear shape diamond, a ruby/diamond band and two bracelets, one with garnets. On my right hand, a marcasite ring that was a Xmas gift and a garnet/ruby bracelet that was a birthday gift.

Speaking of gifts, this came in the mail yesterday. Stay tuned for the big reveal later!!

As I do every Tuesday, I am linking up with www.stylelixir.com for Fall Fashion Favorites. My boots definitely fit that bill - I absolutely love them, and will get them repaired again and again until they disintergrate.

Gettin' All Ghoulish

So Halloween is upon us next weekend. I am too old to go to parties, and likewise, our kids are too old to go anywhere, but our grandkids are all over it. So this weekend, we got them Halloween presents. For little Calista (6.5 months)

A felt cat bucket with socks, a bib, and a butterfly glow stick. For her two brothers (2 and 4)

A cauldron with fruit snacks, a fuzzy spider, a glow in the dark skeleton, some window clings and a glow necklace. For our other grandson (age 5)

A plastic pumpkin pail with a glow necklace, wall clings, a glow in the dark skeleton arm, a big plastic rat, some toy zombies (for his collection) and some zombie gummies. Then for the neighborhood kids, we got big marshmallow pops. And my MIL Mimi, also got me a gift:

Two bath mats that can be bleached when they are dirty. I am notorious for getting my bath mats filthy. Isn't that what they are for?

So we decided to treat ourselves good on Saturday, and went to lunch at the Waterfront Hilton. It was a beautiful day out, and we figured out why people like to come to HB:

A beachfront pool, with the sparkling Pacific ocean right across the street. Gorgeous. I had sloppy joe fries - fries with pulled pork in sloppy joe sauce with cheese curds on top. It was even better than it sounds, but very rich, so I took half home for Doc to eat later.

So onto today's outfit. Doc watches Dr Who, and on that show, there is a character named Clara. There are blogs devoted to dressing like Clara. Even though I am decades older than Clara, I like her United Kingdom with a twist outfits. So here is my rendition.

The skirt is from Stacy's Closet. Underneath, I have a black sleeveless turtleneck by Apostrophe, and on top, I am wearing my vintage Bullock's jacket that I got last weekend. The skirt has a cool detail - there is a zipper below the waistband that you can unzip as much or as little as you want to make a waterfall down the front.

The material is a plaid that has been overdyed with tie dye. It's so cool. With this ensemble, I decided to wear my flea market stone necklace.

On my right arm, I have a garnet and opal tennis style bracelet, and a South Sea pearl ring. On my left arm, I have a mobe pearl ring and a Brighton bracelet.

The bracelet inspired me to bust out my Brighton purse. I don't carry it too often, because it is a little on the small side for all the junk I lug around. But I managed to use it today.

I also figured that my Calvin Klein pilgrim shoes would make a nice addition to this look.

Today, I am linking up with Molly at www.stillbeingmolly.com for Let It Shine blog hop. There are a lot of pretty ladies there who are shining away!!! See you tomorrow.

Bordetella update: Elli is still coughing. She coughs in bursts that last about 3 minutes, and occur every couple of hours. But she is active, hungry, and still loves to be carried around the neighborhood. I don't put her down on the ground because I don't want to expose other dogs. But she's getting better!!!

Falling For Fall Colors

When we were back east a couple of weeks ago, I got a taste of the beauty of the changing fall colors. This inspired me to create some outfit ideas using this beautiful range of hues.

Here is the outfit I came up with, and all the items were pulled from my enormous closet.

The skirt is made by Uniform, and is crisp cotton. The cami is silk, made by Banana Republic. The cardigan is a silk blend, made by Joseph A. I love the result. Here is a closeup of my strange, hideous, wonderful green resin necklace.

And of course, I have the perfect shoes for this getup - my Charles David maryjanes.

I went even deeper and nerdier with matching jewelry on both arms.

On my left, I have a brown and green metal cuff, and my Nordstrom green creepy ring. On my right, my copper Indian souvenir cuff and my Montana green peridot ring.

I had a minor anxiety attack last night. I had a lot of errands to run, since all of my free time has been consumed by Ebola prep for the hospital that I work for. So I got dog food, went to the bank, went to the store for hairspray and deodorant, went home and fed Elli her medicated food for her kennel cough, then changed clothes. Then, when I went to get my phone, I couldn't find it. I panicked, thinking that I left it somewhere along the line. But never fear, it was on my desk right where I left it. Whew.

So this weekend, we will be making Halloween gifts for our grandkids and some of the neighbor kids. Then I will be generally relaxing, or so I hope. Also, today I am linking up with www.pennilesssocialite.blogspot.com for Favorite Fashion Friday. Have some fun browsing some cool blogs!!