A New Inner Sanctum

In the last post, I showed you the birthday card that the office got for me. This is the way we do birthdays at the office - whoever had the last birthday hosts the next one. So I hosted Jennifer's.

Jen is very sweet and everyone loves her. She also works very hard and takes great care of her family. So I got one of those giant gag cards - I wanted birthday, but they only come out on Valentines Day and Mother's Day. So I got a mellow VD card.

Then I asked everyone who has worked with Jen to make a cutout heart and say why they love her. I got so many hearts that it was hard to fit them all on the giant card.

Then I got her a luxury candle from Trina Turk. The box is really nice and the fragrance was so pleasant.

It was called Birch Wood. I could not describe it, but it was great. Jennifer loved everything.

That happened on January 31st. I was off that day because I was having my back wall redone. Late in the day, after everyone left, I snuck in and set up the card, candle, and a huge bouquet. Our local Ralph's has a fantastic floral department.


On February 3rd, this is what I wore:

The dusty blue knit slacks are ancient. They are the best, but the label fell out. I think they came from Express in the 90s. The abstract print waterfall cardi is Alberto Makali. I wear a variety of tan tops under the cardi.

This is one of my go-to outfits. No ironing needed and all stretch all the time. The next day, I also wore slacks. This is very unusual for me.

This outfit is composed of thin ponte pants by Reebok - they are business style with Reebok comfort. The cashmere baseball sweater jacket is from Fendi. I think I got it for my last birthday - it was some reward for some achievement. I wear a variety of black tops with this outfit - today was velvet.

Another solid, comfy outfit, that I turn to when I know I need to look nice.

 For Wednesday, February 5th, I combined a variety of luxe pieces into a new look. I got a lot of compliments, but it was not comfy.

Here is the back view. The leather jacket with the Venice lace back is from INC. The skirt is St John, and the gold lurex safari shirt is Equipment.

I wore a gold lurex tank from St John underneath, and Ivanka Trump grey suede shooties.

The next day was a trip back to the 70s. I wore brown corduroy boot cut jeans, a poncho and lumberjack boots. The jeans were from Old Navy, the poncho is from JC Penney back in the day, and the lumberjack boots have 3 inch heels and are (sadly) Mossimo.

I am a stone fox. Har de har.

The next day, February 7th, was "Wear Red for Women's Heart Disease" day. I always participate - a costume contest is right up my alley. I wore Gucci track pants with a Calvin Klein pirate sweater.

This is a nice, flattering and comfy outfit.

On February 8th, we went to Maggiano's Little Italy. It is my favorite restaurant. We went to celebrate 3 occasions - my birthday, my mom's birthday, and our anniversary. I wore very old moleskin slacks with a Gucci logo sweater - my gift from me to me this year.

We will get to more detail about the event, as well as a rewearing of the ensemble with a twist. Teaser.

To further tease you, here is a close up look at the pattern on the sweater.

 As I said, we went to Maggiano's. I brought my mom's picture with us and set her up on the table to watch and listen.

I had spaghetti with meat sauce and Doc had short rib hash with fried eggs on top. His was a breakfast item, while mine was a "Buy One Take One" special, so I got an entire portion to take home. And since I could not eat my whole lunch, I have some extra.

Monday saw me attempting to recreate a forties outfit. It started with an INC turtleneck and a tweed skirt with embroidery embellishment from Express.

Then I topped it with a burgundy sateen swing jacket.

On February 11th, I decided to do a "Keep or Donate" outfit. This nice flat knit sweater dress is from Ann Taylor. The ruffles are delicate organdy.

I sadly had to discard these grey suede boots after this day - I have had them reheeled twice, but they are just too far gone for another round. Farewell, wonderful boots.

On top, I wore this elaborate blazer from a Korean bespoke brand. I live about 5 miles from Little Korea. Not only are there great BBQ restaurants, but there are unusual clothing and gift shops there. It's really fun to go to the main street and eat and then shop. This jacket is covered in seed bead embroidery - it ends up in a shower of ombre seed beads.

The next day I had an early morning meeting, so I recreated the Maggiano's outfit. But since it was chilly out, I wore a red leather jacket and a Gucci cashmere scarf on top.

The next day,  I wore a layered look - Fendi slacks, an Old Navy really soft long sleeved T shirt and a Romeo and Juliet Couture knit vest with an ivory lace ruffle.

I wore a necklace that I just got from Gilt. it is an elaborate faux pearl and crystal cascade. So dramatic, pretty, and the center point of the outfit.

On Valentines Day, I went purple. We don't celebrate this holiday since our wedding anniversary is so close. I wore a great Carole Little sheath.

On top, a jacket from Petite Sophisticate that my MIL, Mimi gave me. It makes the look very shapely.

The next day, I wore a shirtdress from Connected Apparel. It was comfy, classic, and elegant.

I accessorized with an Hermes CDC, a Versace Medusa belt and Karl Lagerfeld booties.

On Tuesday the 18th, I didn't feel like ironing, obviously. That is why my Ann Taylor dress is wrinkled. I should have ironed it. Also, I couldn't find the belt that goes with the dress, so I wore a similar one from White House, Black Market.

I wore a red leather jacket and black sued shoes with red organza roses from Sesto Miucci.

The next day, more Ann Taylor tomfoolery. This top is black and white tweed with green flecks in it and a green belt that threads through these slits.

The rest of the ensemble is a two piece suit, also Ann Taylor. Over the years, whenever I have needed something respectable for work, I get Ann Taylor pieces, so I have a lot of this brand.

Thursday saw me wearing a dress from Connected Apparel. I buy this brand at Nordstrom Rack.

I got a lot of compliments, but it was a bit snug around the bust - but only if I tried to move. Unfortunately, I usually have to move during the day.

The dress has a chevron pattern of white, navy and peach. So I wore a navy warmup jacket with white lacing down the sleeves from Bloomingdales. It is their house brand.

By the time Friday rolled around, I was ready for comfort. Besides, I had a bunch of care kits to deliver to patients and I needed to be mobile. I went for track pants from DKNY, a sequin embellished T shirt, and my platform sneakers from Bebe.

Reporting for action !!!

It was a little chilly in the morning, so I wore my leather moto jacket from Neiman Marcus house brand.

I got both of my cosmetic boxes during this long blogging hiatus. First, from Birchbox:

Inside, from top to bottom:
1) Davines MOMO Shampoo and Conditioner
2) pur-lisse Daily Lip Nourishment with Mango and Shea Butter
3) MAC Strobe Cream Hydratant Lumineaux
4) Marcelle Curling and Lengthening Mascara
5) R+Co Rodeo Star Thickening Style Foam

And from Ipsy :

1) TULA Skincare the Cult Classic Purifying Face Cleanser - I have seen a lot of Instagrammers touting this - I used it and I really do like it.
2) Tarte Sex Kitten Eyeliner
3) it Cosemtics Your Skin But Better Oil Free Primer - another great brand
4) Antimatter Lipstick
5) Merci Handy Hello Sunshine Hand Cream

My roses were pruned about a month ago, and they have started to bloom again :

Time to make little nosegays for Casa de Holtzman.

Pandi insists on being right next to whoever is around at every opportunity. So when I was watching TV, she made herself a bed out of a throw blanket.

Now to clear up the mystery about the title of this post. My bathroom is all white - walls, marble floor and tile shower, vanity and long shelf. White does not stay clean for long. Here is the moldy before - 11 years of build up.

I had tried many products that claimed to magically erase mildew and stains. Guess what - none of them worked.

The gross shower and vanity. I didn't want to tear it all out and start over, so I hired a company called Regrout Systems. In one short day, this is how everything looked:

Spotless !!! It looks brand new and was absolutely painless. I would recommend them to anyone. Next stop - kitchen counters.

Well, that's about all for this episode - stay tuned for more shenanigans. Since I work  in Infection Prevention and Patient Safety, I have been consumed by COVID 19 (Wuhan Coronavirus) for the last month and a half. So far, no patients at our hospital, but that could change at any time. Let's keep our fingers crossed that it doesn't.