A Leopard Can't Change Its Spots

Well, I am going to prove that wrong !!! I managed to find a leopard who changed to beautiful tones of blue - probably in honor of MY 100th POST!!! Unbelievable. Here's how it looks

I like the blue, but I must admit, nothing can beat the natural beauty of animals. The real leopard did it better. This skirt is an unknown item that I have had for years. The white blouse is by a brand called Antija Femme, and I got it at Saks long ago. Underneath it, I am wearing a thin sweater knit tank with paillettes around the U neck.

You can kinda see them here, but they are mostly obscured by my turquoise cross from Southwest Indian Foundation. I took a closeup of my belt. I got it a long time ago, and the buckle part, which is made of a thick fabric, is disintegrating. I am going to find a way to take the silver squares and McGyver them onto another plain grey belt.

In the meantime, I turned the belt backwards, so nobody can see the mess. All of my jewelry has been featured before. On my left arm, a turquoise cuff that Doc got for me in Gorman, California. That's the tiny town in the Cajon pass that links Los Angeles with the San Joaquin valley, where all our produce comes from. I also have a blue topaz ring and a Swarovski crystal wide band. On my right, another turquoise cuff and a turq/mother of pearl ring that Luke, Ashely, and Preston gave me for Xmas one year.

Lastly, my hairdo. I got sideswept bangs and extra layers cut into my frizzy mop over the weekend. In order to get it to lay flat and look normal, I oiled it with Caudalie oil last night and then twisted it into a knot while I showered. That made it sleek enough to put in a ponytail, so I could use this cool leather pony wrap that I have had for a long time.

I will leave you with a photo of my boss' daughter's dog, who had a cyst burst on her hip. She ended up with the cone of shame.

But she still looks happy!!! Her expression reminds me of how the late Black Jack used to smile at me.

I love smiling dogs. Since today is Wedesday, I am once again linking up with www.thepleatedpoppy.com for What I Wore. Go over and enjoy!!!

Going For The Gold

So it's back to work today, after the long weekend. But I only have a four day week, so that's a definite plus. Also, I called the city of HB, and they will be out today to clean up my tree branch and inspect my giant pine tree for disease and other loose branches. The only other emergency I am working on is this little snafu:

When Doc went to open the fridge to get a snack, the handle snapped off. I've never seen that before - he must be REALLY strong. HAHA - or really hungry. So I'm on hold right now with Fridgidaire, trying to get a replacement.

So onto my outfit, and the reason for the title of this post. Voila:

I know it doesn't look all that gold in this picture, but just wait one little second for the closeups. The pants are by Carlisle, and the top is by Loft. IT's a pinkish tan with gold lurex floral embroidery. Here's a closeup of the tie neckline with my chosen necklace of the day - a delicate gold heart with some multi gemstone accents.

You will notice that this top has cutaway shoulders, and I made a pathetic attempt to wear a racer back bra. I figure the straps add to the allure (NOT). I also had a meeting the first thing this morning, so I needed a jacket to cover up the bareness. I chose a matte gold jacket by Trina Turk.

It's kind of a short bellhop/waiter style - the bottom of my top hangs beneath it. It looks okay, not great, so I will not be wearing it for the rest of the day. It did the trick as far as professionalism goes.

So You have already seen my necklace. Onto my arms. On my left, a gold INC cuff that I got in Fort Lauderdale, and my Montana peridot ring. On my right, two gold bracelets, one with gemstones, and a custom amethyst ring that Doc gave me. You have seen all of these baubles before.

My polish is Ulta, Set the Nude. I like it for a neutral color when my nails are short, like now. For the final accessorization, the only two purchases I made over the Labor Day weekend. One is the Mondani bag I got at the Assistance League, and the other is a pair of Madden Girl elastic and cork wedges that I picked up at Macy's. The sale was just as good as on the 4th of July as far as prices go (these were $9!), but the selection was very minimal. That's okay, I managed to find something. Also, the five of us waiting for the poor harried shoe salesman to get the mate bonded and had an uproarious good time kidding around while loitering.

To end, once again, I am linking up with www.Styleelixir.com for Style Sessions. There are already a bunch of participants, so hop over and take a look!!

There Was An Old Woman Who Lived For New Shoes

And she had so many, she didn't know what to do !!! Hee hee, probably buy more, if I'm the old woman of whom we speak. Anyway, for Shoe Shine Saturday at www.sheilaephemera.blogspot.com, what could be better than to show all you guys part of my astounding collection. So I decided to gear up for the tour

Let's start with two amazing pairs that are fraternal twins - they are made by Nine West, and gather compliments whenever I wear them. They will be showing up a lot this fall and winter.

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These next two pairs aren't twins, but they have to be cousins. They are both by Guess, and are both T strap styles. I got them in 2005, and paid $90 for each pair. The stickers are still on the boxes. They are both multicolored (seeing how I seem to gravitate towards that), but one is burgundy, pink and tan, and the other is black and white. I really like both and plan on continuing to wear them, even if they are slighty and unintentionally retro.

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Next, we have two more related pairs. It apears as though when I have a hard time deciding on which pair to buy, I get both. Both of these pairs are by Leopoldo Giordano. I got them many years ago at a boutique in Newport Beach called the Queen Bee. Both were deeply discounted, since the new owner had some problems estimating how much to buy, and ended up with excess inventory. One pair is black and ivory patent with a butterfly, and the other is brown velvet with patent heels, a flower made of patent and fur, and embroidery on the round toe. Both are ridiculously outrageous, thereby perfect for me.

The next two pairs are almost the Crown Jewels of my collection. Both are by Valentino. The pumps were purchased at Stacy's Closet consignment shop, and the red sandals came from DSW. Both were a great deal, and are so elegant, with cool designer details. Also very comfy and well made.

Lastly, we have a rainbow of espadrilles. I couldn't locate the black ones, but they are identical to the red and blue ones. All are high wedges, and made by Steve Madden. They were all bought on separate occasions. The brown ones are Hillard and Hanson, and the gold ones are Merona, and are both from thrift stores.

That's enough for today. It's obvious that I have a serious problem. Oh well, I believe that this is one of my more minor and inoffensive problems. This morning, I went to tennis, and did a little detective work. Then Elli and I changed for our daily excellent adventure.

So after I came home from tennis, we went down to Laguna Beach for lunch and a walk. Doc googled "dog friendly restaurants", and here's where we ended up.

Husky Boy Burgers and Burritos. Doc said that the menu has changed since he was a kid. Back then, they had something called the kitchen sink burrito, and it had everything but the sink in it. I had a chili cheese dog with onions,and Doc had a pastrami, double patty, avocado burger. We shared zucchini fries.

After this sumptuous feast, we walked for about 45 minutes each way. We crossed PCH, and then headed south. There is a beautiful paved and landscaped pathway that leads all the way down the hill to Main Street Beach, where it ends. Here's the view looking north towards Corona Del Mar.

It actually wasn't all that crowded when we got there, about 12 noon. But when we left at 2:00 PM, there were no more parking spots left. Here's a view from the hill of Main St Beach. The tiny round things are beach umbrellas. They were out in great force, as was the kelp all over the sand.

After that, the rest of the afternoon was a combo of yard cleaning, Kenni walking, and grandson sitting. Now I am struggling to write this post. My email server is very slow, probably because 10 billion people are trying to use it at the same time. Now remember to go see Sheila at www.sheilaephemera.blogspot.com. I guarantee you that it is worth the hassle - Sheila is tres fun!!!

ADDENDUM: This is Elli trying to crash a picnic at the beach. This family was mowing on vegan food, and I guess Elli wanted to try it after our Husky Boy junk fest. DOUBLE ADDENDUM : I was crusing around blogs, and I HAD to link up with www.mispapelicos.com for Share Your Style. Buenos dias, la senora hermosa, y feliz navidad!!!

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.