The Tax Man Cometh

I am going to beat that dead horse. We got our taxes back from the CPA yesterday. Our hope was that we would get enough back to cover the CPA bill of $2700. Well, we are getting that plus a bit more, so we have dodged the bullet yet again. See you next year, IRS.

Yesterday, my April Birchbox came. It was so pretty!!!

The design is from Rifle Paper Co. I want to use this box for storing makeup, etc. Inside, it had 5 treats.

From left to right:
1) Harvey Prince Yogini perfume. It is mainly grapefruit and star jasmine. I love it. I prefer light and fruity fragrances.
2) Jouer tint (the tiny black square). It's a two in one pigment for lips and cheeks.
3) Darphin Hydraskin Intensive Skin Hydrating Serum .
4) Beaver Professional Nutritive Shampoo and Conditioner - I used this last night, and like all nice salon products, it left my fine hair soft and shiny.

I also had my second tennis class last night. There was a mishmash of students from all different classes. Some of the regulars were missing (doing their taxes) and some were doing make up class from Monday. There were ten of us. It was really fun, as usual.


Onto the duds. I shopped my closet like a good girl and remixed some very old stuff.

The charcoal jacket is the top of a suit by Ann Taylor. The burgundy pants are by Cacao (never heard of them, but these are nice pants, all lined) , the button down is Facconable, and the sequined shell is also Ann Taylor. Here's a peek without the jacket.

I have been watching Hart to Hart on Cozi TV on Monday nights. It's a detective show from the 80s. Stefanie Powers plays Jennifer Hart, and she almost always wears suits. So I attempted to copy her.

For my shoes, I went with my awesome Guess multicolor Mary Janes.

I am wearing the pair on the left. The other pair is their cousin. For my necklace and earrings, the garnet set that my mom gave me for one birthday.

I didn't wear bracelets, since the shirt has French cuffs. But I did wear a fire opal on the left, and a tanzanite on the right.

Let's link!!! More blog buddies - Tameka at www.pastriespumpsandpi.blogspot.com is hosting What I Wore Wednesdays. She's so pretty. Then, lovely Liz at www.shoppingmycloset.com hosts Style Me Wednesday. And, Lindsey at www.thepleatedpoppy.com is having What I Wore.

Have a great day, and I hope you aren't rushing off to H and R Block. 

The Post To End All Posts

Hi guys - long time, no blog. It's actually only been 4 days, but a lot of action has occurred. Let's start with Friday night. First, I went to the library and got two new (to me) books written by my favorite author, Elizabeth George.

Ms. George used to live here in HB, and would make appearances at Barnes and Noble and the library. Now she lives in Washington state, and I am still a major fan. Next, I am sure you have heard that we are having a major drought here in California. I heard that people were placing buckets in their showers to collect the runoff water to use on their flower beds. So I have joined that bandwagon.

I get about 1/4 of a bucket per shower, and Doc gets about 1/3 of a bucket. We are doing our part as good citizens.

Then on Saturday, I went to the Angel game. My good friend is a native of Kansas City, Missouri, so He and I cheered for the Royals, who won. We got calendars as gifts.

I gave mine to two friends who are huge baseball fans. Here's a picture of Angel stadium.

We had great seats along the first base line. Here's another picture of the action.

This pic was intended to show the cheerleaders, but they came out really small. They are over by the third base dugout. What did I wear?

Some orange Bermuda shorts and an orange/yellow/brown Chico's T shirt. I wore my Cookie Lee necklace with this getup.

I also wore my most comfy shoes, Dex Flex bronze metallic slides. I got them at Payless, and I love them.

On Sunday, Doc and I went down to the HB pier for lunch. Here's a look at the pier and the ocean. There were a lot of people in the water without wet suits, so it couldn't have been too chilly.

Here's a view from the pier, looking up Main Street. There's good old Doc, in the black T shirt.

We ate at Ruby's, which is a 50s style burger and fries diner. We had a gift card from Christmas.

Doc had a ranch burger and fires, and I had a low carb cheeseburger. It was wrapped in lettuce instead of on a bun, but it was delicious!!!

Yesterday, a friend and I went up to Los Angeles. I got a call last week from the Dr Phil show. We have been in the audience twice, so they invited us for a special event. Dr Phil goes on hiatus until August after tomorrow. We were told that we would see a movie, then watch a special taping that had to do with the movie. We arrived at Paramount Studios and were led all the way across the lot to the Sherry Lansing Screening Theater. Once there, we saw a feature length movie that will be airing on the Lifetime channel on May 2. It was called "Criminal Abduction" and was about the Cleveland case where Ariel Castro abducted 3 girls and held them as prisoners and tortured them for 10 years. The film was disturbing and chilling. It was extremely well done and everyone clapped at the end. Then we were led back to Stage 29, where Dr Phil always tapes. We waited with baited breath to see who the guest would be. It was Michelle Knight, the first girl who was kidnapped.  She is tiny and still (understandably) freaked out. Dr Phil interviewed her, then Taryn Manning, the beautiful young actress who plays Michelle in the movie. Then he brought out Raymond Cruz, the actor who played Ariel Castro. Michelle was visibly upset at the physical resemblance. She is doing as well as one can expect after an ordeal such as hers. We got a copy of her New York Times Bestselling novel.

Then Dr Phil taped a short segment with a lady who wants to lose 70 pounds to be alive for her daughter. So we got a copy of his 20/20 diet book as well. Then his wife, Robin, got up and taped a PSA for her foundation, which helps victims of abuse. As her gift to us, we got a full sized bottle of her fragrance, Georgia, named after her mother, who died at 59 of heart disease. We also got a full sized tube of shower gel.

Here's the bottle out of the box. It's a musky, woody fragrance. I like it.

When you go to Dr Phil, you are asked to wear dark business clothing. If you comply, you get good seats. We got seats in the third row. Here's what I wore.

It's black slacks by Barney's, and an ombre knit top that I got in Philadelphia. I wore Enzo Angiolini gladiators, my red leather jacket, and my buffalo turquoise statement necklace.

 

 

 

We had lunch at Nate and Al's Deli in Beverly Hills. I had a chopped liver sandwich with macaroni salad. We didn't see Larry King, who reportedly eats lunch there almost every day.

So that's what I have been up to. So now I am back at work, nose to the grindstone. Here's what I am wearing today.

This is a cashmere dress by Ann Taylor. I wore a sequined belt with green, purple and pink sequins.

This dress gave me the perfect opportunity to wear my purple and green shoes by Poetic License.

It also gave me the chance to carry my Urban Originals purse, from Neiman Marcus.

I wore two necklaces, one faux emerald and one amethyst. Both are on long gold chains.

I went heavy on the arm candy today. On the left, an emerald and diamond ring, and three gold bracelets, two with amethysts.

On the right, an amethyst ring that Doc had made for me, and two gold bracelets.

Whew. That's it, except for the links. I have gotten 4 reminders from various blog buddies, so here we go!!! First, Cherie at www.stylenudge.com is hosting Shoe and Tell. The Poetic Licenses are perfect for this. Then, Rachelle from www.pinksole.com is hosting How I Spring. Next, Rhea at www.rheaetcetera.com is having Style to Inspire, so I will give it a try. Last, Laura at www.walkinginmemphisinhighheels.com is hosting Spring Dresses. I will try and be a better blogger, and will also try to get some inspiration from these gorgeous gals!!!

Animal Crackers in My Soup

Today's outfit is a mishmash of animals. The print is zebra inspired, but in a tiger style. Zeeger.

We had a Department of Surgery meeting this morning, and my boss "jokingly" told me to wear something nice for a change. So I jokingly countered with " I don't have anything nice, so give me some money." Even though that works with Doc, no dice with the boss, so I had to wear an old favorite. I topped it with my classic black leather jacket.

I took the opportunity once again to wear an item that will probably be going into storage for the warmer months - my bronze studded black suede boots. They will have to go to the shoe repair for new heel taps first.

The neckline on this marvelously comfortable and flattering dress is a bit deep, so I always fill it in with a black plastic waterfall style necklace.

It's faceted, so it's somewhat sparkly. On my right hand, I have a ring that is carved from agate or some such material, and a bracelet from Coldwater Creek. I got it a couple of years ago when they were closing down in order to revamp their brand. It was originally $69.95 (WTH !!!) but I paid $7.95. It's nice, but not worth the original price.

On my left hand, a pear shape solitaire with the new eternity band that Doc got me for a recent occasion. Also, a black metal stretch bracelet that mimics lace. Some of the black is wearing off, so I will rectify that this weekend with a little paint job.

That's about it for today. Isabel is coming, so my little amiga, Elli, will be quite crabby and upset when I get home. I'm sure that I will be in for a big ration of squeaking and other weird noises coming from her crate.

Thursday's links - first Alice at www.happinessatmidlife.com is hosting Throwback Thursday. She is so sweet - she always comments when I join. Also, Tara at www.mixmatchfashion.com is having What I Wore To Work. Self explanatory. See you all later, and thanks for stopping by!!!

Wednesday's Not Wet !!!

We had our little rain storm last night, so my tennis class got cancelled. When that happens, we have a make up session added on at the end, so we get our full 11 lessons. However, it was still cold this morning, so I took the opportunity to wear something that will most likely be seeing it's last outing of the year.

I am wearing my JoanVass waterfall sweater from Neiman Marcus, with a suede maxi skirt from Coldwater Creek, and a V neck sweater from INC. Here's the look without the Joan Vass.

 This skirt is very full and swishy. The last time I wore it, I kept hearing it flapping and thinking that someone was right behind me. That happened again this morning.

Unfortunately, my shoes are biting the dust, and they are one of my favorites. Maybe they can be fixed. I can also look on EBay and see if I can find the same or a similar pair.

Notice that I am wearing leopard patterned tights under my skirt - that will be our secret!!! I chose my freshwater pearl torsade for my necklace today.

Continuing the earth tone theme, here is my left hand.

I have a costume turtle bracelet from Ebay and a costume ring from H&M. On my right hand,

A copper souvenir American Indian cuff that I have had since teenager-hood, and a carved amber ring. I even coordinated my handbag (although I usually do).

So that's about it for this slightly chilly day. Since it's Wednesday, I am linking up with Lindsey at www.thepleatedpoppy.com for What I wore. Also, Liz at www.shoppingmycloset.com is hosting Style Me Wednesday. And then, for an extra treat, Tameka at www.pastriespumpsandpi.blogspot.com has Who's Wearing What. Have a great day, and I'll see you soon!!!

A Chilly, Cheery Cherry

Hey now!!! We are actually supposed to get some rain today!!! As it is, I am usually very careful when it comes to resources. For some reason, electricity has gone way up in price. Last month, my bill for my little house was $127. So I did small things like turn out lights when I am not using them, only have one TV going at a time, and not use the big chandelier with all the bulbs. This month?? $56. I know that Daylight Saving Time had a little to do with that, but I am still proud. I have likewise been conserving water when possible - shorter showers, not washing down concrete, etc, but I am thrilled to hear about the rain.

So what am I wearing to face the elements?

I topped my dress with my tweed lurex Newport News coat. Underneath, I have the Calvin Klein dress that I got at the after Christmas sales at Saks.

It has the stud detail at the neckline and down the front. The studs mimic a curvy shape.

So how does it look on? Pretty darn good, if I do say so myself. I find CK to be very flattering and well made.

I decided to wear my David Aaron Black and gold shoes, since they seemed to be a good counterpart to the coat.

Jewelry was red and gold, of course. On my left hand, my wedding set and two gold bracelets.

On my right arm, a ruby cocktail ring, a ruby bracelet, and a garnet bracelet.

That's about all I have to tell you today, except that I tried the Nads Eyebrow Wand after seeing it on TV.





I was less than thrilled. But it may have been that the nubbles I was trying to remove were too short, or I didn't leave it on long enough. I will be looking for a YouTube video to see if the problem was me.

Onto the links!!! Two old favorites of mine, Lauren at www.stylelixir.com for Trend Spin, and Amber at www.induffinitely.blogspot.com for Tremendous Tuesday. Then, I got an email to join Cheryl at www.ohtobeamuse.com, so I think I shall. Have a great Tuesday, and I'll let you know tomorrow whether I get to play tennis tonight, or if it gets rained out, and I get to hang with Elli.