Rock On, Mamas and Papas.
Things have improved greatly as far as the pandemic goes. Now both Doc and I have our vaccinations, and his parents have the first shot, so it's much better as far as mental stress and worry goes. There are way fewer cases now than three weeks ago, and if we don't see a spike from the Lunar New Year this week, then we are really getting close to the end. Whew. I can't wait to go to a restaurant or the library or to a cocktail lounge or to the swap meet. Maybe by summer.
So I checked my last post and it seems like I left off at my birthday. Yay. My grandkids brought me gifts:
Flowers and a cactus for my indoor cactus garden. They love the little cacti I have in a window.
My work family got me these gerberas and gift cards to Stater Brothers. I already got Rib eye steaks.
The day before, we got our lawn chopped up, seeded and fertilized.
We got an Eastern Redbud and quickly named him Bud. More on Bud's new home later. The new lawn looks great now - 19 days later.
So what did I wear on my birthday week ? I think my birthday was a Wednesday. So on the 25th:
A pretty cute and sickly sweet outfit. Pearl trimmed black leggings, an ivory bow neck blouse and a black sweater with little pearls. You will see the shoes in more detail later.
On the 26th, I decided to get all festive and wear some gold and burgundy brocade slacks, and a burgundy sweater with cold shoulders that are outlined in gold. This is a yearly holiday outfit for me but since I didn't get to wear it this year (no holiday parties), away we go.
My red crushed velvet booties are from Jeffery Campbell and I also wore a cool silk anorak that's dark khaki. I got it a a thrift shop, so no telling how much it originally cost, but it is very nice.
Onto my birthday dress!! I wore a Kate Spade dress that is a silver leopard print with a shiny finish.
It's very pretty and very heavy in weight. I paired it with my black suede Tahari boots.
On top, my new silver lurex sweater jacket from JM Collection that I bought at Macy's. It's nice and classic.
The dress is very structured - it has an area at the waist that shapes it enough so that no belt is needed.
I wore some of my mom's jewelry - these are costume pieces from Kenneth Jay Lane. They are very high quality and I like to wear my mom's stuff.
And on Thursday, the 28th, I wore another cute pants outfit with a pearl theme.
My pants are black stretch fabric with tiny studs and are by Sharagano. The silk shell and velvet jacket are vintage.
The jacket has big pearl buttons so I wore cultured pearls and a strand of freshwater pearls with crystals. The collar and cuffs come off so that they can be washed independently of the jacket itself.
Now here's a good look at the shoes I wore in the first outfit. They are Louise et Cie from Nordstrom. I have the same shoes in a sandal version. You can also see the little studs on my pants.
I got three cosmetics bags in the past couple of weeks - January Birchbox was very late, but this month the service has been impeccable. The delay was probably related to the pandemic.
The box was clear acrylic. It was broken when it arrived.
From top to bottom:
1) Glamsquad Take Hold Flexible Hairspray - I tried to use this as a substitute for L'Oreal Ellnet, but sadly it does not compare.
2) Benefit Gimme Brow
3) R+Co Waterfall Moisture and Shine Lotion
4) Dr Botanicals Pomegranate Superfood Regenerating Sleeping Mask
5) Birchbox Gua Sha - an ancient beauty tool. It looks like a roller tool made of green agate.
Let's move on to the February Birchbox:
1) Crabtree and Evelyn Rose Femme De Force Scent
2) ModelCo More Brows Fibre Gel
3) Touch In Sol All-in-One Beauty Aid Cream
4) Estate Cosmetics Lip Icing in Glazed
5) Nature Lab TOKYO Perfect Repair Leave In Treatment
6) VITAMASQUES Rose Gommage Peeling Gel
Onto the February Ipsy bag - there was a large mask that didn't fit inside the bag. It is a HuangJisoo Sheet Mask Duo in Centella and Shea Butter.
Inside the bright red bag were the following:
1) EVENPRIME Cleansing Gel
2) Basic Beauty Tweezers - love this.
3) Shaina B Miami Blush in Brickell
4) Pixi by Petra Endless Silky Eye Pen in Deep Plum
Here's the back of the bag - a lot of red !! Very Valentinesy.
Speaking of red - we were invited to share selfies on Women Wear Red Day. It is a day that promotes education about and advances in heart disease. I wore a vintage polyester dress and Pandi wore WalMart couture.
She did not cooperate. She does not donate her modeling skills, apparently.
We had a discussion about kindness and me choking her and we finally got a nice picture. This isn't it.
Back to outfits. On January 30th, I went to a big sample sale. They have not had those for a while. I stood in line to get in, and once inside, it was not crowded at all. I got a lot of nice new clothes for Doc and a few things for myself. Doc's wardrobe really needed a refresh, and that's putting it mildly.
On February 1st, I wore one of the tops that I got at the sale. It's this loose weave with lurex woven in and has a chiffon pleated hem.
I wore it with gray slacks with a pale blue pinstripe from Express.
On top, a grey blazer from Astuces that is a bit longer than the typical blazer.
I got this necklace a long time ago in the Macy's at Fashion Show Mall in Las Vegas. I haven't worn it too much, but it was perfect for this getup.
On February 2nd, I wore the other sweater. As you can see, it is also a very loose weave with lurex and sequins woven in. That must be the vibe of this particular designer. At sample sales, most of the clothes do not have tags.
An action shot in my moleskin slacks.
On top, my St John coat in ivory ottoman. I look dumpy here, but I felt good. This is actually a beautiful coat - it looks better when zipped up.
Here's a good look at the sweater and my necklace - costume from Macy's in Washington DC.
On February 3rd, I wore a black dress from Sharagano. The trim at the shoulders and double bell sleeves is glen plaid.
I wore sheer black swiss dotted hose and Gucci shoes. Flats were a good choice because the dress is a tad short, but flats give it a 60s vibe.
A red leather jacket and a huge silk scarf from Gucci finished it off.
February 4th would have been my mom's 101st birthday. We got flowers for her shrine and will take her picture with us when we finally get to go to a restaurant for my birthday.
There was no poltergeist activity. Maybe because Bennie is now happy?
Anyway, back to my outfits. On February 8th, I wore all vintage. This wiggle dress is from the 60s, made by Max Kemper. It is fully lined, even the sleeves.
On top, a beautiful wool and satin jacket from Bullocks Pasadena, which must be from the 40s, if the label is to be believed. It looks that old. I got it at the shop in Burbank that sells clothes used in TV and movies. The tailoring is impressive.
For my birthday, I gave myself a belt of black suede with gold hardware from Escada.
More vintage for the next day. This top is part of a two piece outfit from Patra. It has a plain skirt to match. I have never worn them together.
I wore it with grey sharkskin slacks.
I used a cashmere pashmina from Chanel as a wrap to keep warm.
Here's a good look at the construction of the jacket and at the barrel bead trim on the neckline.
So the next day, I wanted to just be comfortable. So I wore brown corduroy jeans from Old Navy and a Gucci crewneck sweater.
I wore my usual red leather jacket on top. I succeeded, because I was very comfy.
Last Friday it rained for a couple of hours. I wore an angora sweater dress from Saks Fifth Avenue. i matched the gloom.
On top, a white moleskin jacket that has reptile and crystal trim around the neckline, zipper and cuffs.
Onto some food. This weekend, I made chicken florentine. It was delicious. The chicken breasts were so huge that I had leftovers to bring for lunch today. It has onion, garlic, spinach, mozzarella and parmesan.
Have you noticed the new dishes? A Christmas present to myself. A lot of our dishes had chips on the edges. Here are the bowls:
So last week, (before the florentine) I took leftover chicken and sauteed it with celery and broccoli.
Then I made RiceARoni and added raisins and dried cranberries.
I layered that up, added sweet peas, and a blob of ranch on the top. I am still bringing my lunch to work. I am not comfortable eating in the cafeteria yet. I lost about 3 pounds just with that change - I think that the cooks gave me portions that were a little oversized. But I ate them anyway, so no wonder I lost a few when I started eating normally. The food at the cafeteria is delicious.
Onto the title of this post. All of our grandkids brought us Valentines this weekend. Doc and I decided that we had better get them something next year. This is what Preston brought.
I will save the other grandkids VD cards for the next post. I haven't taken pictures yet.
Back to Bud - he is doing well, so I surprised him with a ring of dinosaur eggs.
When I got them, the worker found one with a face, so I put it in the middle of the ring. It's a pretty spooky rock at night with the flashlight shining on it. The grandkids loved it.
See it dead center in the front?
Remember last year when a stork visited our hood? He came back!!
We live at the beach and near a drainage channel, so we see lots of birds, but they are usually flying by. This guy comes to visit - I think he eats the pet food that is left out.
Anyway, that's about all for now. Hopefully, the COVID surge is one and done and I can start thinking about other things. It's been almost a YEAR. Well, I can't complain - none of us got it and no one got laid off or fired, so let's be grateful!!
