This Black Friday Was Pretty Green

I had one mission to accomplish today - Doc wanted a big frying pan. When I was recuperating from dinner yesterday, I saw that JCP had Farberware saute pans on sale for $29.99. So I went over and got one - it's nice and deep, has a lifetime warranty, and was marked down from $80. When I brought it home and took off the wrapper, there was all this advice about how you can't cook with nonstick pans if you have birds. And you especially can't burn things if you have birds. Who knew?

I also got him the big pillow he wanted. I didn't get up early, so I got there around 8. It wasn't at all crowded, but after my trip to Lutheran Family Thrift, the mall was packed on the way home. I heard on the radio that 4 ladies got in fights at Kohl's - one pair fought over panties, and one pair fought over baby clothes. Weird. Find some other outlet for your energy.

So onto Lutheran Family Thrift. It's on Harbor Boulevard, which basically runs the entire length of Orange County, so I don't really know what city it's in. I think it's Anaheim. It could be Orange. I've been there once before, and scored a Dolce and Gabbana belt and a BCBG warm up set. It's a big crammed store and I had to dig. But they sent me a card saying that everything was 40% off for Black Friday, so I figured why not? I looked at some of the stuff in the mall on the way out of JCP, and it all looks cheap. If it's not cheap looking, then it's way overpriced. So off I went, after meeting a friend for coffee.

We will start with the score of the day. This might actually be the score of the century.

This is a boucle knit suit and matching skirt. The sleeves are bracelet length and the buttons are exquisite. Now for the reveal.

OMG. St John. Size 2. And the red tag said $4.94. Yep, less than 5 dollars. I was sure that when I took it up to the cashier, that they would tell me that it was $49.94, but nope. It's in perfect shape and fits perfectly. It's yellow with black and white boucle and black braid and black and white buttons. Even $49.94 would have been a steal. When I got home, I looked up St John suits, and one very similar suit was $1595 at Neiman Marcus. But there's more.

I got another warm up suit. That's what I call them, but I thnik there are different names for them. It was brand new with tags. It's maroon velour, made by Style and Co, and has mesh trim. The trim is around the hood, the pockets, down the side of the legs and sleeves, and on the inside. Here it is.

It cost $10. I looked this up also, and each piece is $49.95. Then I also found a dress that was new with tags. It's made by Rhapsody.

I had never heard of this brand before, but it turns out that it is also sold at Macy's, and the closest one I could find was $129. Doc didn't like the dress - he said it looks shapeless. We'll see after I get it all styled and everything. That makes a difference, but men don't know about that stuff. The last item I got was a Peck and Peck sweater. They sell those at Stein Mart. It may even be a Stein Mart store brand. It's black with tiny pearls on the sleeves. The retail is $59.95, but they are almost never full price, since Stein Mart has continuous sales. It was $2.

So I added it all up, and it appears as though I spent $53 for $1900 worth of stuff, including the pan, which was the most expensive item. I will go to Lutheran Family Thrift again next year. I keep finding treasures there. That's what it said about them on Yelp - if you don't mind spending an hour looking, you can find really good deals.

But that's not all. Back in 2009, I left one hospital to work at the one I work for now. Right as I was leaving, there was a class action lawsuit involving underpaying of wages for missed meals and overtime and such. I got a letter in the mail today telling me that my share of the settlement will be $900. Not bad for doing nothing. I was reading the names of the 5 employees who initiated the lawsuit, and sadly, two of them have died in the intervening five years. One of the dead people had ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) and one of my dear friends helped him to the end of his life. So I have to call her and tell her - he had no spouse or children, so somebody is in line to get his share, which is $20,000 according to the letter. Maybe it's her. She took care of him after he could no longer walk, eat, or even breathe, so if she is his beneficiary, she certainly deserves it. If not, that 20k get redivided between all the members of the class. IT would only mean a buck or two for the rest of us. The entire settlement was on the order of 16.5 million dollars. Bad hospital - you shouldn't rip off your employees.

Well, I have no exciting plans for tomorrow, but one never knows what may arise. I'll keep you posted, and I look forward to seeing everybody else's Black Friday scores!!!

An Electrifying Thanksgiving!!!

Yesterday was my first day off in a stretch of 6. I had to hang around a little bit because our electrician put in a brand new breaker and fuse system. While he was doing that, I went shopping for the ingredients for my part of the Thanksgiving feast. I made monkey bread, stuffing and gravy, and warm onion dip. My MIL, Mimi, wanted monkey bread, I wanted cheese dip and Doc wanted stuffing and gravy. Away we go!!!

Here are the ingredients for the dip. Swiss cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, mayo, onion, garlic, parmesan cheese and sweet red peppers. Here are the veggies chopped up and the cheese grated.

Then I mixed everything in a bowl and baked it for 30 minutes. After that, I sprinkled parmesan on the top to make a crust.

I baked it in a ceramic pie pan. Remember, I won 10 loaves of Boudin sourdough, so I cut one up in chunks for dipping.

Then I made the sausage stuffing. Here are those ingredients.

I used Mrs Cubbison's Classic dressing mix, margarine, celery, Jimmy Dean sausage, garlic, onion, Knorr chicken stock, dried cranberries, sage and two eggs. Here is the sauasge, celery, onion, and cranberries cooking.

I baked this in a deep Corning Ware casserole, and put more margarine on the top to make it crispy. Then I took Vinni and Elli for a walk. Eric the Electrician brought his dog, Kahlua, with him, so Kenni stayed home and played with her. I took the kidz over to the school to let them run around. It was Vinni's first time. Three teenagers saw us and stopped to talk because they said that Elli was the cutest chihuahua they had ever seen. I happen to agree.

 

Then I made the monkey bread. Here are those ingredients.

Two cans of Pillsbury Grands buttermilk biscuits, cashews, cinnamon, raisins, butter, sugar, and brown sugar. You just chop up the biscuits, cover them in cinnamon sugar, put them in a bundt pan, put the cashews and raisins on top, then pour melted butter mixed with brown sugar over it. Then you bake it and turn it over onto a plate.

Lastly, I made the gravy. I cheated here, because I didn't have the drippings from the turkey to use. So I got three cans of Campbell's Turkey gravy. I spiced it up by adding cooking sherry, sauteed mushrooms, and poultry seasoning. It was pretty good when I taste tested it. After sitting and incubating overnight, it was even better.

So what did I wear for the feast of gluttony? I must confess, that beforehand, I ran 10 miles, so that the gas tank would read "E" when it was time to pork out. I wore my trusty Levi's jeans, a gold lurex henley, and a fabulous velvet burnout poncho trimmed in long black fringe. For shoes, I wore my Mossimo desert boots with the heel and the lug sole. Here I am, in front of The Silver Fox, my Cadillac CTS. Eric's partner said Silvy looks like a shark - all sleek and silver with a fin on his back.

Here's another view. Note my purse - it's made by Donna Salyer, the queen of faux fur. It's black double sheared faux beaver, and it's so luxe and gorgeous.

So we went and ate - Mimi made turkey, stuffing, taters, yams, green beans and biscuits. She also has 3 pies - pumpkin, cherry and mince. It's a good thing her husband Win likes pie. Also, Nathan and Kim and the boys will come over to eat again tomorrow. So when we dropped my mom off and took the dogs for their walk, I had to clean up the leftovers. And I ran over 2 pots in the driveway with Silvy on the way out, so I had to clean that up too. No big loss occured- I was able to repot the survivors. And I made 3 TV dinners from the leftovers.

Elli was soooooo cute - as I was washing up the dishes that the food was in, she licked the next in line. When she got to the pie pan that the cheese dip was in, she actually stood in it as she licked. I couldn't get to the camera fast enough. All 3 dogs got generous helpings of stuffing and some sourdough bread chunks.

Well, tomorrow is Black Friday. I personally love the crowds and the bustle. I am going to JCP to get a saute pan and a pillow for Doc. Then I am going to Macy's to get him some nice comfort shoes. After that, maybe some thrifting or consignments. I will be sure to show you all what I get. I hope that everyone who reads has a lovely, safe, peaceful Thanksgiving !!! See you all tomorrow!!!

Going for The Gold...... Or The Green

Every now and then, the hospital runs a fitness challenge. One of the recurring themes is to wear a pedometer and log over 10,000 steps a day. So we got free pedometers a while back, but mine has been sitting in the drawer of the sideboard at home for quite a while. I got it out on Saturday and started wearing it again. It keeps me more accountable - it's harder to put off walking around when ol' pedo is hanging on my belt. Here is the breakdown of daily steps so far:

Saturday 17086

Sunday 14576

Monday 18726

It's funny - when I do Tae Bo or the Firm or some other type of workout tape, I get less steps even though I work out longer. Yesterday, all I did was walk, since I got preoccupied with the Ferguson riot business.So onto today's outfit. I am going for the green, even though it's not St Patty's.

The pants are from INC, the green brocade Chinese jacket is by Clio, and the blouse underneath is some random thing. Here's a picture without the jacket.

I had forgotten why I never wear this pretty blouse. It won't stay buttoned. I ended up rigging it shut with safety pins. Here's a closeup of the brocade on the jacket.

For a necklace, I chose a diamond and emerald piece that I have had a long time.

If you ignore the pleated neck and the liver spots, you can see the cascade of ruffles on the evil blouse. I rolled the sleeves of the jacket up a little so I could wear bracelets. On my left, I have my Montana peridot ring, an emerald Claddagh, and a gold/diamond dust bracelet. On the right, my creepy green Nordstorm ring,and two Austrian crystal stretch bracelets.

These pants are another pair that are supernaturally long, so I need higher heels to wear with them. I went with my Calvin Klein suede and patent peep toes.

As for today's linkups, since it is Tremendous Tuesday, I am linking with Amber at www.induffintely.blogspot.com. And I am also linking with www.pinksole.com for How I Fall. It's kinda hard to fall, however, since it will be 80 degress today.

So tomorrow, I will be doing a cooking post, as I prepare the vittles I am bringing to Thanksgiving dinner. I am making Swiss cheese dip, Monkey bread, and sausage stuffing. Our friend, who is an electrician, is replacing our fuse box tomorrow. I hope that goes well. I will also be replanting a planter box that has an ugly old Marguerite daisy in there. Play by play action is in store!!!

Life Is Just A Bowl of Cherries

At least, that's what I had for a snack last night. We got these at Costco, intended to use on pancakes. It's called Organic Mixed Berry Blend, and has strawberries, cherries, blueberries, raspberries, and pomegranate seeds. It's pretty darn good - I like a lot of cherries in my berry mix.

I did sprinkle some sugar on top. Well, not much happened over the weekend. Yesterday, we took Kenni, Elli, and Vinni to HB Central Park for a nice long stroll amongst the bushes, but I forgot my camera. I wish I had been able to capture Elli's delight, because this was her face when I stuffed her in her crate this morning so Isabel could clean.

Have you EVER seen a more pathetic expression? Ears back, huge pleading eyes, total mournfulness. Our dramatic little senorita.

So onto my outfit for today. This is another example of my shameless copying and theivery of another's efforts. This outfit was seen on one of my lovely coworkers.

I took one picture in the hall and one in my office. In one, you can see the jacket better and in the other, the pants, so I posted both. The pants are by INC, the jacket is Escada, and the ivory poet blouse is White Stag. The pants are fairly old, but they are the coolest equestrian print.

I used to have some shoes that were half black and half brown mule style, but I couldn't find them in my rush to get ready for work and set Elli up in the crate. So I went with my trusty Sesto Meucci pumps, mostly because they are so comfy.

I also decided to wear a contrasting necklace just for fun. This is one of the necklaces I got when we were in Coronado - it's a delicate gold chain with a larimar pendant.

Since the blouse has ruffles at the cuffs, bracelets would just not be a good idea. So I only wore two rings. I put them both on one hand to show you.

So we went to Dr Phil once before last Monday - it was a while ago. One of the episodes that we saw being filmed is airing on Wednesday. And it just so happens that I will be home cooking for Thanksgiving, so..... I will be looking for myself on the TV.

Since it's Monday, I am once again linking with Patti's Visible Monday at www.notdeadyetstyle.blogspot.com. She lives in Florida. Here in SoCal, it will be 85 degrees on Wednesday, and over 80 on Thanksgiving. I wonder what Florida has in store? Also, I am linking with a new blog, Meg at www.lifeofmeg.com for Mingle Monday. Maybe something exciting will happen today - I'll keep you posted!!! (pun intended)

A Disastrous Day!!!

Not really. All is well in the land of Holtzman. Our hospital participated in a statewide medical surge disaster drill. Although these drills are extremely important, they are also very time consuming. You basically get nothing else done that day. But it's over, we practiced how to help our community and our patients in the event of a disaster, and now we are back to our regular programming.

On the plus side, today you get to see two outfits - today and yesterday. Let's start with yesterday.

This picture was taken in the morning, before the drill started. My gray slacks are from Nordstrom, the pale blue sweater is a mystery, and the blouse is from Spiegel. I have had this outfit, minus the sweater coat, since the 90s. Here's a picture from after the drill - note the lumps, bumps, and general disarray.

It is actually a very cute outfit. Here's a closeup of the sweater coat. It's made by Style and Co, and I got it at the Macy's in Philadelphia. It has a ribbed waist inset, and a self ruffle all the way around. Once coupons were deducted, it was less than $20.

The pale blue sweater has a very nice detail on the front. It has a vertical panel with three rows of crystals.

Just enough sparkle. I also use the satin sash that came with the pants as a belt around the top of the sweater.

I forget which shoes I wore back in the day. But I was poking through my closet and found these needlepoint maryjanes, and so I wore them.

So that's yesterday. Today, I am copying an outfit that I saw a very chic lady wearing at Harvard. I copied every detail, down to the colors she used and the infinity scarf because she looked so great.

Here's a picture without the red pleather jacket.

The dress is by Pink Rose, and the jacket is a genuine Members Only. There's some nostalgia for you. Of course, I wore grey boots just like my doppelganger. Mine are the now famous Worthington boots from JCP.

I got the infinity scarf at Target. It's a black and white lace print.

On my left arm, I have a pear solitaire with a ruby band, and a costume bracelet with crystals.

On my right arm, I made a matching set of onyx ring and faux onyx cuff. I like how it looks.

Try to ignore those nasty fingernails. They shall be fixed this weekend, along with my nasty hair.

So since I missed linking yesterday, today you get a mega link. First, Alice at www.happinessatmidlife.com is hosting Throwback Thursday. My Members Only definitely qualifies me for that!!! Then Tara at www.mixmatchfashion.com is hosting What I Wore to Work, and I did wear these outfits to work, so I am in on that as well. Lastly, another Tara is hosting Look What I Got at www.pennilesssocialite.blogspot.com. I always like to see what other ladies got!!. So go visit these blogs and have a fun weekend browsing the web!!

All Good Things Must Come To An End

But....one bad thing has also come to an end. I FINALLY found a place that will make reproductions of my portrait of Elli. I tried Kinko's, Art Supply Warehouse, Michael's, and Aaron Brothers. Finally, the ASW suggested that I go to a commercial printer and I found one here in HB. Stay tuned for that.

Now, onto my outfit of the day. Behold.

This jacket is made by Charter Club. It's a swing style with an ombre reptile pattern. The slacks are made by Ralph Lauren. They are rayon and wool and are fully lined. They fit like a dream - now I have black, white, and brown trousers that are top notch in terms of fit and quality. The pictures today all turned out very dark, I guess because of the color. So I had one more shot where I am holding my jacket open (and mildly flashing you) to show more detail.

I was searching for a belt in the wee hours of the morning today, and ended up with this coordinating animal print by Banana Republic.

You can also see my burnout T shirt here. I won't be removing my jacket at work, so this is all you will see of it. It's a tad transparent between the cloudy-looking things. For my necklace, I wore a piece that I sadly, yet unintentionally ignore. It's a freshwater pearl torsade, also in ombre tones of brown.

In this shot, you can see the jacket pattern better, and also the cool clasp - it's a gold ring with a tortoise bar that fits through it. And of course, my Swarovski duo looks fabulous with this, so of course, I wore it. I will wear this anytime I can, because I love it so much.

On my left hand, I have my wedding rings and a bracelet that I got as a souvenir in Truckee.

Now, the reason for the title of this post. One of my favorite pairs of shoes is biting the dust, and it's obvious that they can't be fixed. They are my brown 9 West maryjanes that I got at JC Penney probably 7 years ago.

I have worn them alot, but now they have a rip on the side of one, and a rip on the top of the other. So I will be looking for a replacement pair this Black Friday.

Enough mourning, onto the links. First, www.thepleatedpoppy.com for What I Wore, then www.cappucinoandfashion.com for another What I Wore. So what did you wear??? Go over to these cool sites and let everyone know!!! Until later, my friends.