Spring Fashion Review

This is a bit late, but I had a busy month of June, so I didn't get a chance to look at my spring outfits. But today, it's raining, so I am writing this post while watching Lifetime movies on TV.

So let's get started!!! First of ll, there were a lot of outfits that I really liked.When I told my friend Lauren, she said that I'm probably getting better at knowing what looks good on my body type, especially from photographing everything I wear for my blog. That's good advice. I also get to see how I look in other people's view. My favorite five outfits consist of 4 dresses and one pair of pants. That's probably because I mostly wear dresses.

My first top five outfit happened on March 26th, right after Spring started.

This is my Celine wool skirt in fuschia, orange and ivory, with a fucshia ruffled tank, an ivory waterfall cardi, and my ivory and gold vintage cord belt.

The second outfit in the top five was worn on the day before, March 25th. I tend to have streaks of successes and failures.

This is the BB Dakota dress that I got at Stacy's Closet, topped by a red cashmere cardi from Neiman Marcus, and a gold leather belt in a Celtic knot pattern. I have the exact same dress in a floral colorway, and it made the summer best list last year.

My next favorite occurred on April 30th. It was a skirt ensemble.

My olive skirt was dotted with purple and ivory. it was made by Sharagano. On top, I wore a studded tank by INC, and a grey lace back cardi from Target.

The next favorite was actually pants!!! I wore it on April 17th.

These are my Rampage floral Florida grannie pants. They look good with everything, and I always feel great when I wear them. This time, I topped them with a satin tunic with matching sash.

The next one happened on May 4th, and it is another piece that I have worn with different sweaters and jackets, and it always looks great.

This houndstooth knit dress came from Nordstrom Rack. I topped it this time with a black cardi with red lurex flames on the sides, and a red sash. It's a very flattering, swirly dress.

And now, my top pick from Spring 2015!!!! Drumroll, please.

My gorgeous Calvin Klein knit with sparkly details from Saks. Here is a closeup of the detail.

This is a beautifully made dress that I absolutely love and will wear for a long time. This is also Doc's favorite dress, coincidentally.

Now for the duds. I only found four that I would not repeat, and three of them are pants. One of them also appeared on the best list. But when I styled it differently, I disliked it.

Even though it got a lot of compliments, I didn't like this rendition nearly as much as the winning version. It needed a belt, and I preferred the red cardi to the grey one. Lesson learned.

The next one happened on May 29th. It's not so much that it was awful. It was that the sweater looked ratty to me, and the blouse had nice ruffles that were squashed under the old sweater, and made my boobs weird and lumpy.

I kept the blouse and pants, and donated the sweater, in case anyone else wants it. The next outfit happened on May 12th.

I was getting set to leave for Orlando the next morning, and I threw this mess together. It's too casual for work, and the combination of white pants and a suede jacket is weird. Next time, no jacket.

The last disaster happened on June 6th. It was pants again.

I keep trying to make these H and M pants work with different tops, but I have only had one look that I really liked, and it was the first try. From now on, that's how i will wear them.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this little retrospective. I really have learned a lot about what looks good on my older, petite figure. And also, when i get a winner, I need to stick with it and not get creative. See you all later!!!

Is There A Doctor In The House?

Thank God, we have them at Casa De Holtzman. Last night, I was standing by the TV in the living room, watching the news, when I heard a commotion outside. Kenni and Vinni were fighting, and Kenni clearly had the upper hand. He was wiping the floor with Vinni. So, like the brilliant student of animal behavior that I am, I stuck my arm in there to break it up. Here's what happened:

Approximately 7 puncture wounds. Judging by the size of the teeth, the culprit was Kenni. If you have to go to the ER or to a doctor's office, it is mandated that animal bites are reported to Animal Control. So we busted out the wound kit that I had previously assembled.

First, I irrigated the wounds thoroughly. Then I sprayed them with an antiseptic that I got at one of my conferences. Then I soaked them in chlorhexidine, and let that dry on there. Then Doc took over. First, he smeared triple antibiotic ointment all over the area.

Then he placed Xeroform gauze over the gobs of ointment.

                              Then, he placed sterile gauze pads on top of the Xeroform.

                                         Then he used roll gauze to hold it all together.

                                                         Here's the finished product.

It's wrapped in Coban to hold everything in place. Tonight, Doc will cut it all off, and look for redness. If there is any, then I will have to take Keflex. Hopefully, it will be fine.

 I asked Doc to use red Coban, because it matches the outfit I had prepared for today.

                           Here I am, in the bathroom. Here's a better look at my outfit.

It's my famous Florida grannie pants, with my new Suzanne Somers Three Way Poncho. I am 5'5", and I do not see how this thing can be used as a dress. The good china would be on the table :).

                I wore one of my favorite necklaces that I got at JC Penney years ago.

                         I also wore my DexFlex shoes, this time with black lace footies.

                                 Only one arm of jewelry, since the other one is occupied.

My silver filigree bracelet from Maya on Melrose, a fire opal ring and a marcasite ring that Luke, Ashley and Preston gave me for a gift at some point.

So let's link up !!! Christie from www.theclosetbychristie.com has Friday Favorites. then, sweet Dawn Lucy from www.fashionshouldbefun.com has Fun Fashion Friday. and last, Lauren from www.stylelixir.com has Fab Favorites.

The moral of the story??? Keep away from biting dogs. These guys of mine tussle every now and again, and nobody gets hurt - maybe a bite mark on somebody's fur. I probably won't do this again too soon, but I am obviously a slow learner!!!! Have a good weekend!!!

Paisley and Pants

Last night, I reached into my mystery bag and pulled out this top. I have only worn it a couple of times, but I remember loving the way it looked and felt, so even though it is summer, and the colors are more suitable for fall, I am wearing it.

It's a poncho style, made by Style and Co, and worn with Express black knit pants. Here's a better look at the paisley print.

The rust color gave me the chance to wear my red druzy necklace.

I also wore my Calvin Klein pilgrim shoes.

On my right arm, a gold and diamond dust bangle and a smoky topaz flower ring.

On my left, a the same stretchy baroque bracelet as yesterday, and my veiny boulder ring from Nordstrom.

Last night, guess what was in the mailbox!!!

My July Birchbox!!! I have been using the pretty boxes to keep my statement necklaces in. Inside, we have these items:

From left to right:
1) Davines MINU shampoo, conditioner and hair serum for color treated hair. I need to touch my hair up this weekend, so I will be using this then.
2) Clarisea Rapid Detox Charcoal Exfoliant - I used this with my Clarisonic last night.
3) English Laundry Eau de Parfum No 7  - I am wearing this today. It smells earthy - the main ingredient is musk, and I love musk.
4) Stila Look At Me Liquid Lipstick - gloss that is supposed to last like a stain. I have it on today, so we shall see.
5) Masqueology Pore Minimizing Mask - I'll try this soon.

The masque reminded me that I already have two more collagen masks left in my beauty drawer.

One sad note - Freebirds World burrito has closed their Huntington Beach location. Doc was heartbroken when he went by there to get a burrito and saw this:

Well, at least we got to eat there about a million times. I guess we go back to Chipotle.

So let's link!!! As always on Thursday, Alice from www.happinessatmidlife.com is hosting Throwback Thursday. If my musk and my poncho don't scream throwback, then I don't know what does. Then, Nicole at www.highlatitudestyle.com has Top Of The World Style, so I am joining up!!
And finally, Tara from www.pennilesssocialite.blogspot.com has Look What I Got. Go over and check these linkups out, for some cool fashion ideas. See you all later!!!

Everything is Peachy !!!!

Last night, I got some of the prettiest peach roses !!!

Sorry to photograph them on the bathroom floor, but that's the brightest room in the house, and they are so pretty.  Here's what I am wearing today:

Pale pink pants by Express, and an unknown top from the bag of mystery in the garage. Although it's pretty, it's not very comfy, so I think it will be donated after I wash it. It has some 3D details on it.

The problem is that the fabric has no stretch in it. I have gotten used to almost everything having some spandex in the blend for comfort. I wore my floral statement necklace that I had to repair after my trip to Orlando, where it was a minor casualty.

Last night on the way home from work, I stopped to get dog food. When I passed by Payless, they had a gob of these summer wedges in every color of the rainbow. I used to have some gold espadrilles, but they died a nasty death from overuse. So I got a pair - and they were only $10!!! So if they get trashed, I won't care.

On my right hand, I am wearing a large costume ring from H&M.

No bracelet on this arm - very unusual for me. On my left arm,

A baroque stretchy bracelet from INC and another costume ring.

I have a lot of linking to do, so let's get cracking!!! As always, Lindsey from www.thepleatedpoppy.com has What I Wore. Then, also as always, Tameka from www.pastriespumpsandpi.com has Who's Wearing What Wednesday.  And for the second week in a row, I made Wednesday Pants with Allison from www.sydneyfashionhunter.com. Last, but not least, Grace from www.colorandgrace.com has Color and Grace.

So have a great Wednesday and I'll see you all later!!!

Nothing is Black and White

There is a grey area to every story. Well, today, my entire story is grey.

This is a dress that my MIL, Mimi, gave me to take to Orlando in May. And it worked out perfectly for that humid weather. Today, I topped this comfy number with a knit jacket from 6 degrees. Here is the dress without the jacket.

Now let's get a better look at the jacket. Here is a front view. It has long sleeves and lace insets from the shoulder down to the empire waist. Then it has a waterfall front.

The back also has bands of lace, at the yoke and in a waist inset. It's soft jersey. The dress is more of a slinky type polyester. The ruffles on the neck of the dress are really voluminous - I had a statement necklace out originally, but it was too much. I changed to a hematite number.

On my right arm, I have a costume bangle that I got from Ebay, and a mother of pearl "spaceship" ring.

On my left arm, a costume silver toned bracelet with crystals, my eternity band, and a small ring with 3 diamonds. The center stone has a very slight lavender tint.

I haven't worn these shoes in a while. I got them at Nordstrom, and the brand is Preview International.

Since my outfit is composed of the most neutral of shades, I had some fun with my handbags. To carry, I used my new grey faux snakeskin clutch.

Then, to carry my lunch, my laptop, and other large items, I broke out an adorable felt tote bag that has a Scottie dog motif on the front and back, done in fuchsia.

He's even wagging his tail!!! Wanna know who wasn't wagging their tail yesterday? Our little Elli, who found a nice cool spot on the hardwood floor in the hallway, which is probably the darkest part of our house.

Poor little amiga. Well, I have a ncie afternoon off yesterday, but that means that I have to work extra hard and fast today, so I had better link, and then get a move on!!
First, Tara at www.mixmatchfashion.com is cohosting Summer Style, and today the theme is dresses.  Then, Kileen at www.cuteandlittle.com is hosting On Trend Tuesday, so I will join. Lastly, one of my favorites, Jess at www.elegantlydressedandstylish.com has Turning Heads Tuesday. Hop over and check out these fun linkups!!!