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.
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.
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!!
