Fat Tuesday

I used to have a friend in the neighborhood who loved any excuse for a party. (He moved away, wah.) Anyway, On Fat Tuesday, he would cook up a bunch of food, come over, knock on the door, and yell "It's Party Time!! It's Tuesday, and I'm fat!!" (he was chubby, to say the least). I miss those days. Sigh. Anyway, what am I wearing on Fat Tuesday?

All of these items are old. I just got creative and combined them in a new way. The pants are INC, and they are a print of black lace on a tan background. There will be a better view later. The cami is an old standby, and the crocheted vest thing is of unknown origin. And of course, my matte gold leather jacket. I like how this came out - a lot. I'm pretty sure this outfit will end up on the best of winter list. Let's get a look at the top without the jacket.

You can see the pants better also. My butt looks huge in this shot - more trick photography. It's not. I tried on a few different necklaces, and decided on my matte gold collar with gemstone cabochons.

This adds a touch of color to the outfit, and ties in the gold. My shoes were causing a bit of an issue. I have these pretty beaded slingbacks from Nine West that have been sadly ignored. I put them on, and they looked great, but the hem of the slacks kept getting caught between my heel and the insole of the shoe. I have only worn them with dresses, so that was unforeseen. So I changed to my good old standby Boutique 9 sandals.

 

This is a really good look at my pants. The jewelry was easy - as you may remember, black and gold is my favorite color combo, so I had a lot to choose from. On my left,

A costume cuff from Macy's in Fort Lauderdale and my enamel/crystal ring from Saks. On my right,

 

 

A stretchy metal bracelet from Macy's at South Coast Plaza and my creepy green Nordstrom ring.  That about does it for today, except for the links. It's Tuesday, so of course, Amber at www.induffintely.blogspot.com has Tremendous Tuesday. That girl is so cute, it hurts. Then, a new cyber friend, Cherie at www.stylenudge.com for Shoe and Tell. I told about my shoe fail this morning. Lastly, a new lady, Kristen at www.chiclittlesecret.com for Trend Spin. Even though this week's trend is pastels, I still wanna play!!!

One last thing - the progress on Kenni's portrait. Behold.

 

 

 

That's my Kenni Koo!!!

I'm A Little Rusty

If you know me, then you know that of course, I would want to wear my new jacket ASAP.

Yesterday, I described it as red, but it's actually more of a rust color, hence the title of this post. Here is a peep at my all-vintage outfit minus the jacket.

The skirt is pleated silk, from Petite Sophisticate, a store that hasn't been around for a long time. The sweater is also from a deceased store, Mervyn's. The brand is Hillard and Hanson. I thought about wearing a tan belt with this, but decided against it. I did wear my multicolored plastic necklace, however.

 

 

As I told you on one of the previous occasions when I wore this necklace, sometimes some of the colors wear off, so I fill it in with one of the best inventions known to man, the Sharpie. It's been very warm around here, so I had to do a bit of thinking about the shoes. I would have loved to wear some high heeled hiking boots, but I decided to go with my Mixit shoes since the temperature is going to be in the high 70s today, and I thought the hikers would look inappropriate.

I did mix metals with my jewelry. On my left hand, a leather bracelet with a gold trim that I think is supposed to mimic an Hermes Collier de Chien. (note: I will never be able to afford a real one, at least not in this lifetime). I also wore an amber carved ring with orange crystals.

In this picture, you can also see one of the new nail colors that I got this weekend. It's made by L'Oreal, and it's called Royalty Reinvented (No 107). It's very pretty. It doesn't hurt that my nails look pretty good and are the perfect length right now. On my right,

A copper Native American souvenir cuff bracelet and a brass filigree ring.

Since I was so filled with words yesterday, this will be all for today, as I have nothing left to tell you. But, of course, there will be links. First, Style To Inspire with Rhea at www.rheaetcetera.com. I spelled it wrong last time - sincere apologies, lovely Rhea. Then, Rachelle at www.pinksole.com is hosting How I Fall, so I am joining her as well. I hope you have a lovely President's Day, whether or not you have to work today. I do. The only bummer is that there will be no mail service today, and I am waiting anxiously for some goodies to arrive. Patience IS a virtue - I just don't possess it.

Conspicous Consumption

This weekend involved a lot of shopping. Sadly, most of it was for necessary things for the house painting that is going on. But I do have a couple of things to show you. First, my VD gift to Doc - a monkey balloon.

Doc got me one gift for my birthday/anniversary and one for VD. They have been ordered from EBay, and I'll show you when they arrive.

We have been having issues with Kenni. He cowers and slinks around when it's time to put his harness on to go for a walk. I even got him a less constrictive version, but it's only slightly better. A veterinarian friend speculates that he may have been harnessed and tied up in the yard at some point in his previous life - remember, all three of my dogs are rescues. So we have made a deal with the devil - we give him two treats as he is being harnessed and one after, so that he will associate the harness with something good. It will take some time. Here is this week's bribery bounty.

 

 

Vinni and Elli each get one too, just because they are good dogs. I belong to a products council at work. We evaluate any new products that are requested by a member of the medical staff. The bonus is that we often get the products from the vendors to try out for ourselves. Here's what I got this month.

 

 

Medline skin care. Hospital grade products are the top of the line, and very expensive - most of them aren't even available to consumers. I got a big pump bottle and a small tube of lotion, and a lip balm. I tried the lotion - it goes on like silk, absorbs instantly, and leaves no residue. It is also all natural and fragrance free. I think that the patients will like it, and that it will keep their fragile skin smooth and free of irritation.

When I got home Friday, guess what was in the mailbox? My February Birchbox!!!

 

 

Here's what I got, from left to right.

1) Cynthia Rowley Beauty Creamy Lip Stain in Heartthrob.

2) Dr Scheller Argan Oil Hand Care - full size

3) Essential Elements Wake Up Rosemary Body Lotion - my real name is Rosemary.

4) Benefit Cosmetics Roller Lash

5) Harvey Prince Petaly Noir perfume -  I tried this and I love it. Musky and exotic.

I also got a card for $10 off $50 at Lowe's. So I got all the things I will need to rehab the back yard on Wednesday. I have a Rainbow Rent-A-Bin coming, so I am going to get the yard all ready for summer 2015. Here's a picture of Elli checking out the stash.

 

 

A bunch of red mulch chips and two new redwood trellises. I also got paint for the brick wall - remember when I painted the pool equipment wall last Labor Day? Well, it turned out so good that I am going to do the other walls as well, since they have water stains.

I also got spray insecticide for the fleas from the feral cats and the squirrels.

This morning, I went to the local swap meet. It's at a junior college in Huntington Beach called Golden West College.

 

 

 

As you can see, it was bright and sunny today - the last few days have been close to 80 degrees. I park in the farthest lot and walk through the campus. It's way easier than circling and fighting for a parking spot. The actual swap meet is held in the northwestern two large lots on Saturday and Sunday.

 

 

It's always pretty crowded. I set out to see what I could get for $25. And away we go!!

 

 

I spent $7 on cosmetics - I got two nail polishes and Garnier Skin Renew anti puff eye roller. The polishes were L'Oreal and Revlon. I can sometimes get the Garnier on sale for $10, so this was a good deal for all three. Then, I got three workout DVDs. They were three for $5.

 

 

I got TaeBo Cardio by Billy Blanks, Karen Voight Burn and Firm Circuit Training and Kathy Smith Cardio Knockout. I will be trying two of them tonight. Sometimes these are dynamite, sometimes they go right into the donation bag. It's a crap shoot. We are up to $12. Then I spent $3 on Doc.

 

 

I know - I am soooo generous. But he liked the stuff. I got wide packing tape for $1. Doc got a couple of new medical books that he needs to read, so he covered them with butcher paper so they wouldn't get stained while he is reading them. He needed this to finish the project. Then I got a big container of Chilean blueberries for $2. He loves blueberries. They always have fresh produce at the swap meets in California.

So I had $10 left. I got these last two items for that entire $10.

 

 

I got a red leather jacket made by ID and an unlabeled ivory knit skirt with lurex. The jacket has a crocodile texture. Here's a closeup.

 

 

And that just about does it for today. Yesterday, I went for my long run through HB Central Park, and then went to Lowe's. Then we visited with our grandkids, and went to Hot Wok for lunch. Last night, after walking the dogs, we saw The Grand Budapest Hotel. It's very good. There are a lot of good movies up for Academy Awards this year. Usually, I clean the yard on Sunday, but Jim the Painter has all of his equipment back there, so I will just wait until Wednesday when the Rent-A-Bin is here. I hope you all had a great weekend, and I will see you soon!!!

The Only Good Kind of VD

Valentine's Day!!! Get your mind out of the gutter, kids. We'll start today's post with some pictures of lovely treats received in these parts:

 

 

 

 

 

Okay, enough of that. One of my big romantic plans for the day is to buy 4 bags of colored mulch at Lowe's. I know how to live.

So what am I wearing? Yes, I caved and put on a holiday themed outfit.

So red. Good thing I like to wear red - just not on Christmas. This nice safari style jacket is by Ports 1961, and the houndstooth skirt is homemade. It's knit with an elastic waist, and I have never ironed it in all the years since I made it. I am guessing that there are a great many petroleum products in this knit. Here's a closeup of the jacket detail.

 

 

It also has a half belt with gold buttons on the back. Once again, I wore my favorite belt. This is mostly because I never put it away this week. Sometimes lazy is good.

Instead of a necklace, I wore a silk and gold scarf that I got as a gift from a Chinese delegation that I gave a hospital tour and Infectious Disease lecture to a couple of years ago.

With this outfit, I wore my Sesto Meucci pumps. They are black suede with red organza roses on the toes.

The jewelry was easy - red and gold. On the left, two gold bracelets, and a crystal/enamel ring.

On the right, two more bracelets and a garnet ring.

 

 

OOOOh. I lied. I just got another VD treat - in a "What Does The Fox Say" bag.

 

 

What's inside?

Twinkies!!! Jacha-chacha-chacha-chow!!!!

Link time. First, www.rheaetceters.com is holding Skirtista Diaries. I'm a-comin', Rhea. Then, Vicki at www.mummysgotstyle.com is hosting Fashion Friday. I'll be there too!!

Have a great weekend, and get some r and r, and have some fun, too!!!

Judgment Day

 

When I got home last night, I opened the door and my little Mexican sweetheart ran out to greet me.

Since I love her so much, we decided to take her to her favorite place in the world.

The Express car wash !!! They give you a doggy treat when you pay if you have a dog with you. So we entered the machine, with Elli all alert and bouncing around.

She loves to watch the soap spray on the car.

Look at that smile. She got up on the dash and tried to paw at the bubbles, until we hit the part where the air blows.

 

 

 

Then we were free!!! A clean car and a happy Chihuahua.

So I guess you are wondering exactly how the face turned out. It has been a month since the ViPeel and two weeks of using the Clarisonic Mia. This morning, I took closeups of the right and left sides of my face, concentrating on the cheeks, where most of the spots and sun damage were.

Let's compare these pictures with the one taken the night of the procedure.

My face is smooth and soft and unspotted!!! My mustache is gone!!!This thing worked great. And the Mia helps all the creams and potions soak in better, so you get more apparent results. I would say this is $500 well spent. Now I'm good for a while. Judgment = pleased as punch.

For some reason, I took a picture of my lunch yesterday. We have good food here at the hospital, and one of my favorites is the chicken curry.

I got double veggies instead of rice. It's sooooo gooood.  So now, let's get down to business. What am I wearing?

A reptile print knit pencil skirt and a blouse made by Style and Co (A Macy's brand) . We are having a Santa Ana, so it will be in the high 80s today here in SoCal. The blouse has a gold lame bib on the front.

You can see that here. Obviously, I wore my long pearl Joan Rivers necklace. I also wore the shorter neck wire with the faux topaz drop.

My skirt is just a bit big in the waist (a common problem for me), so I cinched it in with my favorite belt.

You can also see that the skirt has two diagonal pockets with gold zippers. The black and gold allowed me to keep the same purse - my Versace messenger bag. Since the blouse has long cuffed sleeves, no bracelets. Just two favorite good old standby rings.

 

 

My Swarovski Nirvana in Black Diamond on the right, and my crystal/enamel from Saks on the left. I toyed with the possibility of wearing my new Ebay shoes, but opted for one of my Jessica Simpson pairs.

 

Didn't pick these.

These T straps are what I wore. They are tan suede with reptile accents. I like J Simp shoes.

So onto the links!!! Since it's Thursday, of course I am joining a fellow SoCal-er, Alice at www.happinessatmidlife.com for Throwback Thursday. She looks very Valentiney in her pretty outfit. You can see from her pictures that we did have some coastal fog the last couple of days. Also, I am participating in a new linkup, Rhea, at www.rheaetcetera.com for Style To Inspire. Rhea is new to me, but you can bet I will be visiting both of these blogs later today. Have a great day!!!