Somewhere In Between

We celebrated two birthdays this weekend - one for a one year old, and one for a 68 year old. I fall somewhere in  between. We will get to the festivities. But first, let me show you what I got our 1 year old granddaughter, Calista, for her birthday.

Inside this bag (decorated with a Chihuahua, duh) are the following little outfits that I got at Carter's for her.

A little French sailor dress for her to wear in the future.

A little jammie set for her to wear now. Here's a closeup of yet another nautical print.

Ahoy matey!!! And last, a sleeper that I just HAD to get.

So the joint party was held at the Worthy Avenue Homeowners Association clubhouse. The theme was Minnie's Bowtique, featuring Minnie Mouse. Here's Kim and Calista, all dolled up.

Kim made a tree of pink and white cupcakes. Benjamin kept sneaking behind the display, stealing a cupcake, and then licking off the frosting and then hiding the bottom.

There was a pink and white polka dot cake.

Lots of little kids in costume were ready to scarf the cake. They also scarfed pizza, salad, tuna sandwiches, grapes and lots of chips.

Pink balloons were everywhere to accent the various entertainment stations.

They had a bubble machine, a playdoh castle, coloring books, and a magician.

 

The magician did some tricks that required audience participation. Joseph got volunteered to help.

It was also Kim's dad, Ron's, birthday as well. He also had a huge blue sheet cake.

See Benjamin's head just above the candles? He totaled three cupcakes, and two pieces of cake. The expression on his face when he saw cake was one of pure love. Ron got a laptop for a gift.

The party was supposed to go from 10-12, but it lasted past one. Then we helped clean up and went home to rest.


On Sunday, we went to a new buffet - Curry and Kabob House. It was Indian food, and they had goat curry. I happen to like goat, despite all the tiny bones.

I had naan, raita, tandoori chicken, goat curry and a few veggie dishes. It was good, and I had a mimosa just because. Then we visited my mom at Villa Valencia, and did some shopping for her since she had the stomach flu last week and was still tired. She's 95, so it takes her a while to recover.

Onto today. Here's what I am wearing.

I made this dress about 5 years ago. The pleather jacket came form Modcloth.

It's olive green and has knit insets under the sleeves for comfort. Here's the dress without the jacket.

With it, I wore a brown elastic belt. The dress has darts, but it's still a shift style. I wore my weird green resin necklace.

 

See the gold lurex in the stripes? That's what drew me to this fabric. Of course, I wore my green witch shoes.

I have to wear them when I get the chance. I also wore tan crochet hose, because those were the only ones I could find without holes in them. Only one arm of jewelry:

My Ebay turtle cuff and my Nordstrom green creepy ring. Last night, I had to iron this dress - it has zero stretch in the fabric. Elli likes to sit on the warm ironing board after I iron.

She looks like the Sphinx.  And there's another coincidence with one of my dogs. While I was in WalMart the other day, there was a big display for Pupperoni dog treats.

Look at that dog. Now compare this dog to my little Vinnie Barbarino Holtzman.

I think I've been robbed!!! Or else, Vinnie has been moonlighting as a model.


Onto the links!! First, Cherie at www.stylenudge.com is hosting Shoe and Tell. Speaking of shoes, Sheila at www.sheilaephemera.blogpsot.com is hosting Shoe Shine. I'm a few days late, but better late than never. Lastly, Rachelle at www.pinksole.com is hosting How I Spring. If you guys have time after this mega post, check these cool gals out!!! Have a great Monday!!!

Geometry vs Algebra

Today I am wearing a suit that has a geometric pattern on the jacket. But then, it has a linear accent, so the mathematician in me is stumped. Here it is:

I got it at Stein Mart, and the brand is one I have never heard of - Roth LeCovan, California. The skirt is solid navy blue. Underneath, I have a cashmere cami from Neiman Marcus. I am guessing that this suit is late 90s, early 00s vintage. Back when Melrose Place was on TV, Heather Locklear used to wear a lot of these suits with the shorter skirt. Here's a better look at the print on the jacket.

It's also a little bit like honeycomb in this picture. I layered two necklaces - the long green apple is Juicy Couture, and the shorter lapis one is my souvenir from Coronado.

I continued the red accents with my jewelry. On the left,

A red leather and goldtone cuff from INC and a ruby/diamond ring with a pattern that is reminiscent of honeycomb. On my right,

A costume ring and three bangles from my trip to Kansas City last summer. For shoes, I went with my favorite Calvin Klein pilgrim shoes.

Well, before I console myself over the heartbreaking loss that the Spurs handed the CLippers last night, I am going to do some linking. As always on Thursday, Alice at www.happinessatmidlife.com is hosting Throwback Thursday ( Melrose Place, anyone?). Then, Tara at www.mixmatchfashion.com is hosting What I Wore To Work - self explanatory. And last, a new one, Maria from www.theclassifiedchic.com is having Thursday Fashion Files. Have a great day, and I know you will see some pretty clothes in the links!!!

Wednesday Weirdness

Today should be an interesting day. The sky is black and blue like a bruise, so hopefully it will rain. It held off long enough for us to have our tennis class last night, so that was good, because this class is a fun group. Also, here in California, we have a LOT of hospital inspections, and today our Center of Excellence for Bariatric Surgery is being inspected. I serve as the Epidemiology and Infection Prevention representative for that group. Fun and games galore.

Here's what I am wearing for this important day:

 

The gray pinstripe slacks are Banana Republic, and the silver metallic jacket is Jessica McClintock. Here's a look without the jacket:

The sweater is by Karen Scott, from Macy's. Here's a closeup of the jacket, and then the embroidery and crystals on the collar.

The sweater also has rhinestones around the U neckline, and I am wearing the beautiful braided silver necklace that my mom got me for my birthday this year.

More rhinestones appear on my black patent belt.

But I'm not stoppin' there!! (As Seen On TV reference). My socks are sparkly, too !!! I am wearing my Madden Girl ankle booties.

On my right hand, a leather and crystal bracelet that was a souvenir from Baltimore and a mother of pearl and silver ring.

On my left,  a red crystal bracelet from Maya on Melrose, a Swarovski wide band and a diamond solitaire.

So that's about it for today, except for the links. First, Lindsey at www.thepleatedpoppy.com for What I Wore. Next, Tameka at www.pastriespumpsandpi.blogspot.com for Who's Wearing What Wednesday. Lastly, Christina at www.poshpair.com has Life and Style Linkup. Visit these gorgeous ladies if you have a chance!!

The Cursed Course

It really seems as though my tennis class may actually be cursed, because it looks as though it may rain again today. Don't get me wrong - we are in a drought and need the rain, but the very few times it has rained, it has been on a Tuesday night when tennis class is scheduled. My outfit, selected last night, is a tiny bit inappropriate for the cooler weather:

This dress is by Max and Cleo. I got it at Stacy's Closet. The leather jacket is by Baby Phat and I got it at Macy's in Kailua. Here's a closer look.

I wore it with brown espadrilles from Sam Edelman.

For some reason, I always like to highlight the tiny bit of red that is right at the waistband. Here's my left arm:

A red leather and crystal bracelet from Macy's and a boulder ring with veins in it from Nordstrom.
Here's my right hand:

Another bracelet from Macy's, this time INC. I refrained from wearing a red ring, and instead wore my Swarovski Nirvana in Black Diamond.

My necklace is by Joan Rivers (RIP).

It comes apart, so you can change the color of the center stone. Unfortunately, it didn't come with a red stone.

And that's about it for today. I am going to buck tradition and link to two new-to-me blogs today. First, Natalie from www.natalieast.com is hosting Trend Spin. She is from Toronto, and I always like to see what's going on in faraway cities. Then, Saumya at www.myriadmusings.net is having Style Swap Tuesday, so check her out as well. Have a great day!!!

I'm On The Top of the World, Lookin' Down on Creation

When I last left you, I was planning on joining my hiking club for an intermediate-advanced hike through Hellman Park out in Whittier. That's a 30 minute drive north from Huntington Beach into LA county. Here was the parking lot at the start. The park is located in a residential neighborhood comprised of beautifully maintained homes from Victorians through about 1930s vintage.

We actually had to park about 5 blocks away and walk for about 10 minutes to reach the park. Here was the goal :

It took us an hour to reach the water tower. You can just barely see it in this picture.

It's just to the right of center, with the antennae. It was basically straight uphill all the way.

Here I am, about halfway through.

At about the third steep hill, we  were at the rear of Rose Hills Cemetery. This was apparently the Chinese section, because there was a huge pagoda there.

All along the hike, we had panoramic views of the entire LA basin. We could see from downtown and the Hollywood Hills, all the way to Catalina Island!!!

It took two hours to get up and back, and was quite the wonderful experience!!!

Then I came home, and Doc and I went to a new place called Go Salad. I went to one in Denver. The server gets a big stainless bowl, and then you just tell him what to add. I had spring mix, blue cheese, sun dried tomatoes, garbanzo beans and olives. Doc had iceberg with tuna and a bunch of stuff.

Then I took a nap, and we just spent the evening watching cheesy Lifetime movies. Since I took such a long nap, I couldn't fall asleep on Saturday night until 2AM, so I didn't get up on Sunday until 10:30. That's some kind of record for me.

Then we went to Costco.  We went specifically because one of the hikers had one of those 100% UV hats with the giant brim. They had them at Costco last year for $19.99. This year, they were $14.99

We both got one. See the mesh vents on the side? They also roll up for easy placement in a backpack or suitcase.

On the way out, I saw some Skechers that were Memory Foam clogs. I slipped a pair on, and holy moly!!! They were the most comfy shoes I ever had on my feet. They were $29.99, so I got a pair.

Mine are black with lime green. They retail for $62. I wore them later in the day to the Clipper game.

I also wore black stretch pants, a pink and black mesh INC shirt, and carried my fuchsia Urban Originals purse. Elli didn't go, even though she had her Clippers red T shirt on.


The Clippers are playing the San Antonio Spurs in the first round of the NBA playoffs. We are definitely the underdog. We all got T shirts.

The halftime entertainment was Coolio. Most people didn't know who he was.  Shelly Sterling was there, in her old seat, with a very tall black man. Of course, Donald Sterling is not allowed back into Staples Center, but Shelly was always a huge fan and supporter, so I was happy to see her enjoying herself.

We also saw Billy Crystal and his wife, and Robert Iger, the CEO of Disney. It was fun, and we actually CREAMED the Spurs, so that was completely unexpected and awesome. If it goes 6 games, we go again next Tuesday night.

So now, it's back to work. Here's what I wore - something very carefree and easy.

My veeeerrrryyyy old black slacks, with a chiffon top made by Jones New York. It's black, white, and gold, and I have a gold cami beneath it, because it's sheer.  It has black crystal details at the split neckline.

They're hard to see. I wore my black coral necklace with it, because it's perfect. I also wore my Enzo Angiolini gladiator sandals.

On my left arm, a black and white costume ring that was a souvenir from Baltimore, and two gold bracelets.

 

On my right, a gold/diamond dust cuff and a garnet ring.

And that's all, folks!!! But we must honor some ladies by linking. First, Rhea at www.rheaetcetera.com has Style to Inspire. Then, Rachelle at www.pinksole.com has How I Spring. Lastly, Cherie at www.stylenudge.com is hosting Shoe and Tell. Have a great day, and Inspire, Spring, and then Tell about it!!!!