A Rose By Any Other Name Would Smell As Sweet

So I guess that everyone knows that Brad and Angelina got married. Congrats!!! And I guess that everyone also knows that they are called Brangelina. And that Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes were TomKat. In the Holtzman household, we have devised several shortcuts of our own.

1) Elli and Kenni = RatPin

2) Bella and Baxter = BellBax

3) Benjamin and Joseph = BenJo

4) and, saving the best for last, Me = RoHo.

So I didn't post yesterday - I was too busy doing a ton of errands. When we walk RatPin, we always pass a house up the street, where 3 cute little girls live. They delight in molesting Elli, and she loves it. So when I got home, this was on the door.

It says "Have a hot dogy day Misses and Mister and pup. Love, the girls.Todays a hot day stay hyrated and keep cool. Don't stay inside go outside."

As far as my outfit, the only documentation I have is this hideous picture of me with a crazed, overheated expression. You can kinda see my sundress.

And here's a picture of my necklace on my cyanotic mottled neck.

The only jewelry was on my left hand - my Swarovski Nirvana in indolite, and my Seraphite bracelet from Southwest Indian Foundation.

One of my errands involved getting 5 more succulent plants to cut down on water usage. Here is my new selection:

Another chore required me to take Elli to Dr Lizardo's to get her $13 mani-pedi. The before and after.

It wasn't all toting the barge and lifting the bale. I did make a stop at the Assistance League Thrift and got a nice purse for $10. It's white on the front and back, and saddle tan on the sides, with black piping. The hardware is gold. It's made by Mondani.

I worked out from 4 -5. Sometime during this period, this occurred:

A huge branch broke off the pine tree out front and is covering half of my lawn. The trees belong to the city, so you have to call them for fixing this kind of stuff. So first thing Tuesday, I'll call and make it sound urgent.

And remember last Memorial Day, when I painted the front steps? Well, they need a touchup, so I did that ths morning before it got too hot.

Here's the result - good for another few months.

After that, I went for a run. Then I most assuredly deserved this

Hold on there cowpoke, it's not all mine. I got 2 piece extra crispy with corn and a biscuit and a cookie. The rest is Doc's.

The last chore of the day involved painting the wall that hides the pool equipment. It's concrete block and has gotten stained by the pool chemicals. So the cute leak repairman (July 3) suggested that I paint it instead of tearing it down. Great idea - it turned out looking spiffy. Here's the before and after.

That's about enough labor for Labor Day weekend. So now I'm going to walk RatPin, and then kick it and watch movies.
Whatever you're doing, have fun!!! Tomorrow, I'll be joinng Shoe Shine Saturday with Sheila. Stay tuned.

Ohayo Gozaimasu !!

That's Good Morning in Japanese to all of you who don't speak it. I was actually born in Yokosuka, Japan, since my dad was in the Navy. But there's another reason for me to break out my Nihongo skills, and that is my lunch from yesteday. I went to one of the local sushi bars, Sagami-Tei. Here's what I had - a rainbow roll and a salmon skin hand roll.

Baioshii !!! That means delicious. Before we left, I went to the bathroom. They had the weirdest Wash Your Hands sign:

Common Decency. HAHAHA. Sounds like a 90 year old wrote that sign. Makes you want to clutch your pearls and yell at the kid who walked across your lawn.

So onto my outfit for today. It did not photograph well at all. It's a navy blue cotton sateen dress from J Crew.

I tried to find a picture of it from their website in order to better illustrate it, but no luck. So I took a closeup of it. It has a U neckline, a ruched bustline, and an empire waist.

You can see that a little here. Around my neck, I have a navy and tan polka dot scarf with ruffled edges. It's made by Echo. In the central bare area, I filled it in with a marcasite pendant.

A dress this simple allows me to have a bunch of fun with crazy accessories. Like my purse:

I always get a lot of flack for still having a pager. And there is always one joker who will ask me if I am a drug dealer - the last one was my tennis instructor (Hi Raffy). I usually have the offending object buried deep inside my handbag. My shoes are also a kick in the pants.

They are by BCBG, and I got them at some consignment shop. This was before floral print shoes were in style. The combo of scarf, purse, and shooz makes this outfit less monastic looking. We are having a one day heat wave, with extremely high surf, all due to Hurricane Marie. The low lying areas of Orange County are flooding - most notably the lovely Seal Beach area. It seems so ironic that there is flooding during a drought. But that's the reason for such a simple ensemble. Onto the jewels - I think all of the items are never before seen delicacies.

On my left, a calf hair and faux snakeskin cuff and a sapphire/marcasite ring. On my right arm, three silver bracelets and a multi-gemstone floral ring.

Today, I am once again linking up with the gorgeous Erin at www.simplyjustlovely.blog.com for Working Girl With Style. Check out her cute hairdo.

And finally, here's the big reason I must rush off - I will confess, I am not currently over at the hospital saving lives. First things first.

The Devil In Disguise

I have a more interesting post today, because stuff actually happened!! Go me. On the way home from work, I went to Home Goods. I was looking for a bathroom rug and a lamp shade. I found the perfect rug- it's a Morrocan pattern in lime and white. Here she be.

I didn't find a lampshade, but I did find a big hatbox with French writing on it. I took it home and put it on this wicker chest that I have. I usually throw my workout clothes and shorts in a messy pile on top. Now the stench and the sight are hidden from view, all pretty.

Of course, Kenni was on hand to coordinate the redecorating efforts.

He discussed the options with his monkey before putting his two cents in. Now he's broke. Also, remember that my August Birchbox never came until I called? Well, those wonderful people sent me an extra to make up for it, and it had different stuff!!! Like I said, great customer service.

Here's what it had:

1) Neil George Shampoo and Conditioner

2) Key West Aloe Mango Moisturizing Lotion

3) Laura Geller Beauty Cool Lids Cream Eyeshadow in silver

4) Nugg Beauty Revitalizing Mask - I already used this. Very goopy, but tingly and invigorating

So let's move onto the title of this post. I was gonna call it Devil in A Red Dress, but the song says a blue dress, so I'm gonna save that title for later. But here's the reveal on the dress.

It's a plain knit T shirt dress made by Express. The main feature is my scarf. I got it in the dollar bin at Return Engagement. It's polyester, made by Avon, and has the signs of the zodiac all over it. Since I'm Aquarius, I attempted to have that sign in front.

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And to make everyone look at my feet, get a load of those shoes!!! I don't wear them often (obviously), but they are another pair that are so hideous that they are awesome. They are made by Two Lips, and I got them in Houston. They are red satin, leopard, and they have an iron cross and other doodads on the toes.

I also used this opportunity to carry a bag that I used to carry alot, but it hasn't got much lovin' for the past few years. It is microfiber with super sparkly tonal crystals on the sides. It's made by C et C.

And you can bet that I have the matching jewels for this getup. On my left, an INC red leather and gold filigree cuff and a ruby/diamond cocktail ring.

On the right, three of my KC bangles, and a diamond/garnet ring that Doc got me for some occasion.

This outfit is only lacking one thing - a forked tail !!!

So once again, I am linking up at www.thepleatedpoppy.com for What I Wore Wednesday. Go look at all those little devils and their hot outfits!!!

In The Navy

In the Navy,

Come on and join your fellow man

In the Navy,

Come on people make a stand

This inspiration brought to you by the Village People. My favorite was the Indian Chief. Yesterday was pretty boring, so nothing to show you except my outfit. So away we go.

And of course, it is navy. The skirt is by Charter Club, and it's a navy based status print pencil skirt. The top is from Coldwater Creek. I got it at the shop outside Reno. It is knit, and has an attached chiffon scarf trimmed in bugle beads. You can kinda see how it drapes down the right side of the top. Here's a closeup of the beads.

I also wore another "vintage" belt that I bought new many years ago. I ordered this one and the ivory one from some catalog. Remember how we used to get big catalogs in the mail? My favorite was always Speigel. As a kid, I loved the Sears and Montgomery Ward Christmas catalogs. I would show my parents what I hoped Santa would bring me. It worked most of the time. It still works with Doc, on occasion. Except now, I show him my laptop.

They are very similar - lots of twisted cords with gold accents. You will note that the navy one is getting a little fuzzy around the edges, probably because I wore it much more than the ivory one. I layered my necklaces today - you have seen the longer one many times. The shorter one is a squiggly line of sapphires.

This shot actually gives a pretty good look at the braided neckline on the top. It has a lot of subtle details that don't show up too well in photos. This is my favorite piece from Coldwater Creek. My arms are reruns today - on the left,a sapphire bracelet, and a gold one, and a London Blue Topaz ring, and on the right, two more sapphire bracelets, and a sapphire and diamond ring.

Since I am lacking in adventure today, I will show you my shoes and bag. The shoes are my navy satin sandals (they are Sam and Libby, and I got them for a wedding), and the bag is my Neiman Marcus freebie from a fashion show.

I am so matchy matchy today that even my nails are navy - the color is called Mezzanote Blue, and it's made by Borghese. It's one of my favorite colors, but it needs daily touchup, so by the end of the week, there are several layers and when I take it off, there are smears of blue everywhere. That's why I have a white marble master bath - bleach cleans everything!! I also chopped my nails down, because they were getting too long. We have a rule at work - your nails must be less than 1/4 " long when doing direct patient care.

Today, I am linking up with Amber at www.induffintely.blogspot.com for Tremendous Tuesday. Go take a look. Let's hope that something tremendous happens today, cuz mama is bored. See you all later!!!

Sisters Are Doin' It For Themselves

Oh YAY!!! The title of this post will soon become evident. But first, we went to the joint birthday party for two of my grandsons this weekend. J turned 4 and B turned 2. It was held at Chuck E Cheese (where else?) Here the boys are, looking at their cake, and somewhat traumatized. A lot of the smaller kids were scared out of their wits by Chuck E. They were crying and gripping their moms for dear life.

That accounts for the confused expression on J's face. See that clear booth behind them? That's a wind tunnel - it gets turned on, and tickets swirl around and the kid grabs them. We elected not to do that this year, because that was the traumatizing element last year. I wonder what kind of nightmares we can cause next year. Anyway, the theme was Birthday Rock Stars. Each birthday kid got a guitar.

Of course, I immediately stole one of them for my own purposes.

Ugh. When will I grow up? Doc got each boy two silver coins for a gift - one really nice one, and one silver dollar from 1885. I was in charge of the toy part of the gift package.

J got a Spider Man Hippity Hop and a plastic orangutan. B got a Doc McStuffins Play Doh set and some magnetic letters. A great time was had by all - once Chuck E split, that is. Enough about that. The title of this Eurhytmics/Aretha song was chosen because I FINALLY figured out how to use the timer on the camera. You go Rosie!! It only took 4 months or so. So here is my first ever selfie outfit of the day:

I need to work on the background. So this top is by Harlow and Graham and I got it at Nordstrom. It looks pretty blah from the front, but from the back

All cut out and meshy !!! The skirt is by Ann Taylor, and it also has the element of surprise

It is made of two layers of chiffon, one floral and one cross hatched. The floral shows through - it's impossible to see in the full shot. For my shoes, I went with something in the color family, but not exactly matching - leopard and brown suede wedges.

To tie in the brown, I wore a Dolce and Gabbana belt.

You have seen the arms before - on the right, my Swarovksi Nirvana in Black Diamond, and a gold and diamond bangle. On the left, five of my rose gold RJ Graziano bangles, and a smoky topaz ring.

I haven't worn this necklace in a while. I got it at a jewelry party that my neighbor had. It's crystals and semi-precious beads, and I am wearing the matching earrings too.

So that's it. Except for the fact that once again, I am linking with beautiful Patti for Visible Monday at www.notdeadyetstyle.com. Hop over for a look.

I will leave you with a portrait of little Elli - this was taken right before I stuffed her in her crate, pending Isabel's arrival to clean. Her expression just about sums up her feelings about her crate.