Oh, Oh, Oh, It's Magic!!

 Nathan, Kim, Joseph, Benjamin and Calista came out to California for belated Christmas on December 30th. Benjy was sick with a cold, so he doesn't appear in any of the pictures. Here's what I wore:

The vintage jacket is from Nite Line. The jeans and turtleneck are older than old. I wore my Eric Bloodaxe coin necklace, tan Carnaby boots and a tan woven Mexican belt. My usual picture spot has bad lighting once the sun is up.

When we went to Salem in October, I bought a Witches' Calendar. It gives you the gemstone of the day and the magical color of the day in every square. I had one years ago, and it was fun to plan my outfits around the day's color. So, I will be telling you what the color is every day, starting January 1st. Unless, of course, that I am not doing anything that day and end up just wearing yoga pants and a T shirt.

Here are Joseph and Calista opening their gift bags.

Merry Christmas, Kim and Nathan!

Doc got a knife from Nathan's online store, Holtzman's Gorilla Survival. He really liked it!

                                                  

On New Year's Day, we went down to downtown Huntington Beach for a nice long walk. We parked at Farquhar Park like we usually do. We always park in front of this Cape Cod style house with the two dormers.

There have been big waves at the beach for a while now, due to the storms in the Pacific Ocean down by Mexico. We are about 2 hours north of the border. There were a lot of surfers out trying to catch the perfect wave.

At exactly 11:11 on 1/1, we saw this! It has to be a good omen. Pelicans have long been a symbol of abundance and good fortune to come. They are also symbols of a change to a better path in life. With the date and time, and the fact that I will be retiring soon, we were very happy to see this beautiful guy.

I have never been this close to a pelican, even though I have lived by the beach my entire life. He was magnificent!

It was a beautiful day, and tourists were plentiful.

This is my favorite house in all of Huntington Beach. It was built in 1922. I talked to the nice owner, and he said it's 1600 square feet and it completely upgraded inside. I like small homes, personally.

On the other side of the street from Farquhar Park is Lake Park. It got that name because there used to be a fishing pond there, but that closed in the late sixties. It's now a playground with a log cabin that can be rented out for parties. 

Back to work on January 2nd. The color of the day was red. I wore red and black brocade slacks from Loft, along with a black satin blouse from Jaclyn Smith and a sparkly belt from Primark in Boston. I wore my INC sweater coat on top.

The color for January 3rd was white. I wore this black and white sweater dress from Calvin Klein with a black turtleneck underneath. I wore a red leather jacket on top.

The sunset was absolutely gorgeous that evening. It looked like cotton candy.

Pandi still loves me!!!

The color for January 4th was blue. I wore a crochet sweater coat from Joseph A, a crinkly satin blouse in a bluish gray color with lace trim and blue heathered slacks from Express.

I was off on January 5th, but I dressed in the color of the day, which was purple. This cashmere turtleneck is from Saks, and the velour jacket was a $1 find at the Salvation Army. It has no label, but it does have gold studs all over it. Grey corduroy jeans and gray Asics shoes completed the look.

There was a 75% off sale at Bath and Body Works. I got one hand soap, four body washes, and three candles.

On January 8th, I had my first doctor appointment to switch my health insurance to Medicare. I get my prescriptions through the mail now, and it was so easy! The color of the day was white. I wore black cargo leggings and a black sweater with a white striped back and a white tank to go to the doctor. My Temu platform sneakers completed the outfit.

The color of the day for January 9th was red. I wore a red dress from Alice and Olivia with an embellished shrug from Dana Buchman on top. The boots are from Lewen and are probably the most expensive pair of footwear that I have. I had misplaced them for a while, and I was hoping that they didn't disappear, but I found them. They can be worn cuffed or over the knee style. On top, a thick knit jacket from Cache with crystal embellishment.

The color for January 10th was topaz. I liked this outfit - it was comfy. But next time I will wear a belt for more shape. I look dumpy. The long cardigan is from Chico's, and the topaz shell and ivory slacks are very old.

The color for January 11th was green. I wore my green and brown argyle turtleneck from Temu and brown slacks from Old Navy. This outfit gets compliments every time I wear it. I wore a green suede jacket from Bandolino on top.

On January 13th, I took Jacki for a walk in our wonderful Central Park. There were Canada Geese everywhere, and they disliked Jacki intensely. She was exhausted that night - she had a long walk with the other dogs in the morning, and then the park later. We want to start taking her places in the car so she will learn to be a good passenger.

The color for January 16th was black. I wore my black and brown Fendi Cashmere baseball jacket with a black velvet top and black slacks from Reebok. I haven't had the chance to wear this great jacket yet this year. It's very warm. 

Wednesday was January 17th, and the magic color was yellow. I am wearing a yellow silk camisole from Banana Republic and a yellow and black chiffon top from Odille. I paired this with black velvet jeans from Faconnable. The yellow plastic necklace is vintage.

On the 18th, I wore a white and gold blouse from Style and Co. The color of the day was white. The animal print skirt is from Worthington, and my suede MaryJane shoes are Nine West.

The coat on top is Nanette Lepore, part of a set that includes a matching dress.

On Friday, January 19th, the color was pink.  I wore burgundy slacks with hot pink flecks, a pink striped blouse from New York and Co, and a burgundy vest from Nine West. 

On top, a burgundy coat with gold lurex and lace trim from Bisou Bisou.

I got my Ipsy bag. It is lavender and sparkly. In it, from top to bottom:

1) Kate Somerville Exfolikate Intensive Exfoliating Treatment

2) Sutra Beauty Heat Guard Leave-inBlowout Cream 

3) Toy Factory Ultraset setting powder in Translucent

4) Lucky Chick Daydreams Eyeshadow palette

5) Le Beauty Lower East Side eyeliner Pencil in Espresso Martini

For some reason, I got two Birchboxes this month. One was for October and one for December. I don't understand, because I already got one in October. This is the latest October version. Inside, from top to bottom:

1) Korres Poreless Skin Cream

2) Fearless Glow Drops in Rose Pearl

3) Bellapierre Cosmetics HD Finishing Powder

4) Maelys B-Flex Lift and Firm Arm Cream

5) Byros New York Bitter Green Essence toner

6) Dermatologica Vitamin C serum

7) LOC Eyeshadow Stick in Moonlight

Here is the December Birchbox. Inside:

1) Dr Botanicals Grapefruit and Watermelon Cleanser

2) Benefit Got Brow

3) Davines OI All in One Milk for hair

4) Oribe Bright Blonde Shampoo and Conditioner

5) Alterna Caviar Anti-Aging Replenishing Moisture Shampoo and Conditioner

So that's about all for now! My 65th birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks, and I will officially retire on the 31st. I only have 5 more days of work until I never have to work again, so stay tuned for all the shenanigans surrounding those momentous events!!