What Happens in Vegas.....

So I'm going to Las Vegas this weekend. Good part = Las Vegas, baby. Bad part = packing my crap up. Okay, so if you've been reading the blog, then you know that I went to Kansas City about a month ago. I did a packing post then. Now for the recap:

1) Luggage. I will be using the same pink and purple bags. They worked well, weren't too heavy, and were easy to find on the baggage carousel. My bags have only been lost once, and it was on a return flight, so I got them the next day, delivered to the house. But I still have that anxious feeling that it will happen again on the way out.Then I would be stuck, and would have to buy new underwear ASAP. These puppies are easy to see, so it helps me stay calm.

2) Basics = underwear, swimsuit, workout gear, T shirt to sleep in. I have this part down to a science. I know exactly how much I will need. One modification? Last time, I finished my book early, so I didn't have anything to read the last day. This time, an extra book is coming along.

3)Shoes. The same black sandals and tan sandals are coming. They worked well. This time, instead of the red flats, I am bringing my new Style and Co wedges. We are going out in the evening, so I want something a little dressier. I am also bringing some extremely comfy elastic wedges made by Dexter, because I brought them last year, and they actually worked well for evenings in Vegas. So if the new shoes turn out to be torture chambers, I have a back up plan.

4)Daytime wear = I am bringing two pairs of shorts, as well as wearing one more pair. The pink print ones are coming again, along with some blue ones. I am going to wear the mustard ones. I am only bringing one top for each pair. I doubt that I will wear each pair more than once, because it will be about 105 - 110 degrees there, and they will get way too sweaty to wear again without washing. Likewise, one top for each pair - the pink seahorse print T, a ruffled navy tank, and a black chiffon top. I am also bringng an extra black and an extra white cami top, just in case I spill something on myself or actually sweat right through my top

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5) Dresses/ Evening Looks - First, I am bringing the dress I got at the new Goodwill last week. It is very evening in appearance. The light blue dress can be worn in the daytime, or else as a swimsuit coverup. I am also bringing two shift dresses. One is the zebra print that I took to KC (but didn't wear), and the other is my black shift with the sequin neckline, which has already seen active duty in Las Vegas. Both are loose and roomy, but also very appealing.

6) Jewelry. I brought too much last time. This time, I am sticking to 2 color schemes, blue and tan. I will wear a couple of black pieces on the plane with the mustard shorts outfit. The bag that I am carrying them in can do double duty as an evening bag.

7)Room for purchases. Unlike last time, there will most likely be some shopping (there always is, in Las Vegas. There are just so many cool stores.) I even worked this element into my monthly budget, in order to alleviate the guilt factor. I already know that I want to get a new visor at Caesar's Palace.

8) Personal issues, namely providing for the pets, and keeping up my blog. The pets are also down to a science - I know exactly how much food to leave for Doc to feed them, and also I like to have extra, so that when I get home, there is still plenty of food for my little friends. That way, I don't have to run to the grocery store the minute I get back home. I leave giant tubs of water for them, because that is the one thing that they need desperately in the hot weather. Blogging presents another problem. When I was in KC, I tried to schedule posts to publish, but I guess I did something wrong, because they didn't publish. So I'm gonna try again, and maybe take an hour to sit at the computer at the Palazzo, and pound a post out. But if it doesn't work, I won't be too upset. Actually, I won't be upset at all. I'll just fill everyone in when I return. There should be plenty of pictures.

9) Toiletries and gadgets - I keep little sample sizes of everything I need, and if I forget something, I'll just pick it up there. I only take one prescription medication, so that part is fairly straightforward. The only gadget I need is my phone charger, and I haven't forgotten that yet. I used to have to bring cameras, but the cell phone took care of that.

So I think that just about wraps it up. The main goal now - have some summer fun!!

Graphically Groovy

Today's challenge at www.eleganceandmommyhood.com is to wear a graphic T shirt. I didn't even know what that meant, so of course, I Googled it. Graphic refers to any visual art. So then, I thought about what printed Tshirts I had, and which one would be the coolest. Voila !!!

This T shirt was purchased on the island of St Kitts, in the West Indies. The island was a British territory until 1983, when they and their sister island, Nevis, gained independence from British rule. So that means that this T is 30 years old. I remember when I bought it - it was a lot of money for me at the time, since we were poor then. I bought 2 shirts and a wall hanging. Spencer Cameron was the only artist on St Kitts at the time. His batik work was actually well renown. I still have all 3 pieces. Here is a closeup of the print, which depicts a Carnivale participant. Carnivale was a big deal - for 5 days, ending on Fat Tuesday, everyone on the island ran around drunk on rum punch (deelish!!) and Carib beer (yucky).

The skirt is made by Intriguing Threads. I got it at Stein Mart, and shame shame, the tags were still attached. It matches this T perfectly, and now that I have "discovered" it, I will be wearing it. I am full of stories today. There is a story about these shoes, too.

These are Calvin Klein shoes, and this is the second time I bought the same pair. I originally got them at Loehmann's. I loved them and wore them into the ground. I had them repaired. They died again. I was heartbroken. Then, one day, I was strolling down 17th Street in Costa Mesa, and peeped into the window of a consigment shop. OMG. THE SHOES. So I bought them again. I have had them repaired again. I wanted to use them for Sheila's Shoe Shine Saturday, but I will be in Las Vegas. I'm gonna email Sheila anyway, so at least she can see them. So which necklace did I wear with this outfit (which I LOVE, and which I was so excited to wear).

My little black and red ceramic doohickey. I love black and red together. And my left arm illustrates that perfectly.

I have my black leather cuff with the red stones, and a fire opal ring. On my right arm,

I have my red leather cuff with the matching crystals, and another fire opal ring. Well, that's about it for today. (I'm sure that's more than enough.) So I am just going to enjoy my wonderful outfit, and hope to see you all later!!!

Making a Statement

So yesterday went without a hitch. When I got home, Elli was making all kinds of noises, which constitutes her statement about getting out of her crate - NOW. I figured she must have some very important matters to attend to, and I was right. I put her Gooby on, and let her direct me to her office, where she conducted the most urgent of business.

Sigh. A dog will always be .......doglike. Anyway, while I was waiting for her to decide which course of action to take, I was staring at my feet. I realized that I have had my shoes since 2007. These are Fit Flops. I paid $80 for them. I got suckered into the belief that they would perform miracles. They didn't, but they are super comfortable and look how well they have lasted.

Whenever we go anywhere that involves lots of walking, like the swap meet, I wear them. And now they have really cute ones with crystals and stuff on them. If these ever die, I am going to upgrade. They are worth the money.

So today is statement necklace day at www.notfancyjustlife.blogspot.com and www.eleganceandmommyhood.com. I love statement necklaces, so I had one all picked out. It's a costume piece by Joan Rivers that my mom got me. I have several JR pieces, and I like them all, but this one is definitely my favorite.

It's tones of blue and brown. So then I thought, "What the heck should I wear with it?" I have always worn this blue satin top and tan slacks with it. But since yesterday was MixIt Monday at www.fizzandfrosting.com, I was inspired to remix my look. I have never worn these two pieces together, but I like it.

And yes, I am a hand talker. I wave them around like crazy when I am talking,as you can see. This top is by American Rag and the skirt is Alfani. In order to accent the brown, I chose my Michael Kors sandals, which are also worth the money.

I even extended the blue/brown remixing to my jewelry. On my right hand, I have a sapphire bracelet, a diamond bracelet, and a smoky topaz ring.

On my left hand, I have a trio of sapphire bracelets, and my London Blue Topaz ring, which is also a statement making piece.

So I told two of my office mates about today's challenge, so they wore statement necklaces as well. Behold, L and V and their beautiful necklaces:

Such a fun and fashionable group we have here!!. So go on over and explore the blogs I mentioned, and myabe you will be inspired, just like us!!!

Maximum Maxi Madness

This should be a fun week - for me, anyway. There is a week long link up with Maria from www.notfancyjustlife.blogspot.com and Ada from www.eleganceandmommyhood.com. Each day, we are invited to wear a specific item of clothing, and they are to cost under $20. That's easy for me, because I am so cheap that I have lots of stuff that fits those qualifications. Then, I am off to Las Vegas on Thursday. This will be my last vacation until October, so I plan on enjoying myself thoroughly.

So what is today's item? Maxi skirt or dress. I have a few of these, and actually, I haven't worn them in a long time. This is weird, because they have been on trend for a couple of summers now. So yesterday, after we got back from the beach,I went excavating in my closet. I pulled out 4 maxi dresses. Then I had to go waaaayyy back in time to try and remember where I bought them, so I could judge what each one cost. Here's the big winner:

I have not worn this particular dress in at least 10 years. I remember the store where I bought it - this store is no longer in existence. It was one of those places where everything was $15 or less. It was in Belmont Shore, which is a little town sort of between Seal Beach and Long Beach. I got my MBA at Cal State Long Beach in 2003. I remember buying this dress for a trip to Vegas during that time. So we will go with $15 for this dress. As the other ladies can tell you, this thing is as comfy as pajamas. I just have to be careful that I don't have any meetings on the day I wear it, because it's a bit casual for healthcare administration. But today is A-okay, no meetings at all. I had a couple of choices of footwear to go with this, but I ended up going for the most comfy choice there as well.

My trusty Merona brand elastic wedges. This time, no old lady peds. I went with knee high hose. We have to cover our toes in the hospital. I figured that as long as I was busting out some ancient history, I would find the necklace I bought to wear with this dress.

It's kind of a goth looking thing with deep blood red stones. The dress is deep forest green with tan flowers and black velvet trim at the neckline, so I don't know why I like this necklace with it so much, but I do. I continued to reddish accents with my bracelet

This is an elasticized bracelet made of red-orange pearls and red faceted stones. The ring is from Nordstrom, and it's an enamel pyramid that is green and tan, and kind of marbled. On my other hand

As you know, the copper cuff was free - my brother found it on the street when we were teenagers. The boulder ring is another piece of costume from Nordstrom - it's tan with tiny thin black veins running through it.

So Elli had a GREAT day yesterday - we wanted to go for a nice long walk, so we went down to downtown Huntington Beach, parked at the park a mile away from the pier, and strolled down and back. She loves to be carried around like a baby, looking at all the people and smelling all the food aromas coming form the restaurants down there. It was sunny and beautiful and there were lots of people to look at, since the bars were all showing the World Cup. But that was yesterday. Today, she is one mighty unhappy camper. Isabel is coming to clean today. Elli tries to make herself into an X, thereby preventing me from shoving her into her crate, so she doesn't get in Isabel's way. When I went to put her in her prison of the day, she gave me this extremely suspicious look:

So I put her into her crate, and she immediately began fussing and digging at her pink towel, letting me know exactly how displeased she was at this intrusion.

Just wait a couple of days. I pulled out my suitcase and threw a few things into it for my trip. However, I am not completely heartless - it's still in the garage. Elli hasn't seen it yet. We are trying to avoid a repeat of this sad and pathetic situation:

Poor little precious. Well, I know you will feel less sad about poor Elli, if you go over to see Maria and Ada and look at the link up. Maxi away!!

ADDENDUM : My sneaky coworker has once again beat me to the punch. She also, by chance, has on a cute maxi skirt, and she only paid $8. Way to go girlfriend!!!

Fresh Air, Blue Skies, and Cool Water - Oh, and They're Back From the Dead

So I got off work today, and I didn't feel like doing a formal workout. Those days happen - I figure that this is my body's way of telling me that I need to take it easy. So I went down the road a ways to Huntington Harbor. I started at the marina. I walked around the docks, looking at the boats.

The tall building to the left is where the parking lot is. It took me about 20 minutes to get to this point. Then I came back around to the ocean side, and this is the view across the channel toward Sunset Beach.

The area below the palm trees is basically a restaurant row. My favorite one is called Don the Beachcomber. It's decorated like a Hawaiian Tiki room, and it's so corny that it's awesome. Next time I'm there, I'll grab a picture.

Some of these areas are private, and some are public. I lived down there in a condo a while ago. It was lovely, but we needed a bigger house and I don't have 10 million bucks, so off to Huntington Beach we went. It's only a couple of miles away, but not on a channel or a beach. Here are some people enjoying one of the public areas.

I love some of the names of the boats. Also, I like to see where they are from. In this sleepy little marina, most of the boats say Huntington Harbor. Here are some of them in their docks.

Huntington Harbor is composed of 5 man made islands - Humboldt, Trinidad, Admiralty, and I can't remember the other 2. It used to be (when I was there, 15 or so years ago) that it was super quiet because most folks were old, and the weather was PERFECT. Better than San Diego, even better than Hawaii. Perfect. I've been lucky, living my whole life in SoCal. And at Xmas time, there is a big boat parade through the channels, and you go house to house, partying. Haven't done that since we moved. Here is one more view of the lovely Harbor.

To the left are expensive custom homes, and to the right are rather affordable condos. Same Channel, different side. I would totally go for the condos if I had the chance. I'm notoriously frugal.

Speaking of which, I got two pairs of my favorite shoes reheeled. So I go into the shop, tell the man what I want, and he says $38. So I say "I'm sure, that's way too much. I will go somewhere else." So he drops it to $16. I said okay, but this dude is so trying to rip people off, and that is not right. So I'm going to try somewhere else next time. But anyway, here they are BACK FROM THE DEAD. My black pilgrim shoes with the red buckle doohickeys, and my overdose green witch shoes.

I CANNOT wait to wear them. Besides being cheap, I am lazy. I hate to do chores. Taking shoes to be fixed is chores, so I let it slide. For months. So I haven't had my cool shoes for months. So now, I am drooling to wear them. Pavlovian to the max.

One more good thing happened today. I got my July Birchbox. Looky looky!!! I get so excited when I see it in my mailbox.

Here's what I got: 1) Cynthia Rowley Black Eyeliner Pencil. Going to Vegas with me next week. Smokey eyes = Sin City. 2) Naobay Body Radiance Lotion - Save for end of summer when olive oil and avocado oil is mandatory to prevent reptilian skin. 3) Number 4 Super Comb Prep and Protect - a leave in conditioner. Save for later. 4) Supergoop Anti-Aging Eye Cream - 911 for Vegas. Has SPF 37. 5) Smartypants Gummy Vitamins - couldn't care less. I don't take vitamins. I eat a wide variety of foods, lots of fruit and veggies. Snack.
So that's it for a lazy Friday evening at Casa de Holtzman. Now, I'm gonna shower and watch TV with Doc and Elli. Please be advised that I am not always this exciting. But now that I am blogging, I figure that I ought to put my best face forward. Oh, excuse me, I am laughing too hard to continue. Stay tuned for more excitement - tomorrow, Rosie pulls weeds and visits Villa Valencia (the retirement home where my mom lives. Free wine from a box.) Hope you all have a good evening!!!

Black Friday Part Deux

It's Friday, and I'm wearing some black, but not all is dark. For one thing, it's FRIDAY, so the weekend starts in T minus 8 hours. Also, it's PAYDAY, so now I have some moolah for the weekend. Shall we see what I have on?

I went to Napa and Sonoma a few years back. We stayed in Napa. There was an outlet mall there, and they had a Karen Kane store. KK has long been one of my favorite brands. The clothing is made of high quality materials and the styling is always cute and classic, with a twist. I bought a lot of pieces on that trip. I got this sweater vest, the matching skirt, and a black bolero jacket with faux turquoise trim. I have worn them all together on occasion, and it wasn't too much. Sometimes, all matchy matchy outfits are.

Both the sweater and the skirt have the blue embroidery on the sides. Here's a closeup of the embroidery on the sweater.

It has bugle beads, seed beads, and tonal sequins around the flowers. So of course, I busted out the blue jewelry. I wore my Southwest Indian Foundation cross necklace

I continued the Native American theme on my left arm

I am wearing one of my turquoise cuff bracelets and my Swarovski Nirvana in Indolite. On my right arm

I have a bracelet of larimar, freshwater pearl, and aurora borealis crystals. The ring is something I picked up at Villa Valencia. That's where my mom lives - it's a senior high rise that offers room, board, transportation, and activities. Every now and then they have vendors set up in the lobby, so the residents can buy things for themselves, or to give as gifts in case they can't get out to shop. This ring is amethyst, with thin bands of opal surrounding the crescent moon shaped stone.I bought it for myself, because I was proud of something I had accomplished ( I don't remember what it was, but I felt I desrved it at the time). Maybe I should move into VV if my memory continues to be this spectacular.

As for shoes, another Karen, this time Karen Scott black suede loafers, with BLUE tassels.

These shoes couldn't be more perfect in color. These pants are somewhat unusual. They are from the Gap, but they were hand me downs. They are a steel blue satin, and are cropped length. I was kinda stumped as to what shoes would look good with this weird style of pants. I put out a couple different pairs to try, but I tried these ones first, and liked the look, so I didn't go any further. Here's my head to toe look of the day.

I guess these pants are a bit stumpifying, but it's okay. I really like the shiny fabric and the unusual color. So today, I am linking up with www.stylelixir.com for Friday's Fab Favorites. It's really fun to see all the bloggers that I have admired and read over the past couple of years, and now I can actually play along with them!!! Have a great weekend, whatever you do.(And if it's crazy, be sure to tell us ALL about it).

Let's Get Down to Business

Today is a big day for me. I have to do 3 presentations. I actually prefer doing them all in one day, because then it's all over with faster (and I am not at all shy or unaccustomed to public speaking). I have Department of Surgery at 7:30, Critical Care Committee at 12:30, and then I will be meeting the administrators of a hospital across town, since I will be doing a project with the hospital in the next couple of months. So now I have a dilemna - what should I wear??

Obviously, I will need to wear a business suit, but I sure would like to wear one with a little character. I will NOT be wearing the hobo suit that I wore for the first day of inspection a couple of weeks ago. I know what I have in mind. Let's experiment !!!

It is supposed to be in the low 80s tomorrow. So a summer-ish outfit is called for. I narrowed my options to two choices - one pants and one skirt suit. Let's check out the pantsuit first.

This is a polyester suit made by Kenar. It's hard to tell, but it is a celery green color. It's a nice suit, given to me by my sister in law, who was a trial attorney at one time, but stopped to raise her family. So since I was the same size, I inherited all the retired courtroom suits. With it, I would wear a celery/blue/white shell made by Petite Sophisticate. There is also a closeup of the print on the shell.

My second choice would be a dress ensemble that I got at Goodwill. The brand is Mossimo, and that's a Target brand.

The dress is a navy lace type fabric. Here's a closeup of that.

After debating, especially about the comfort factor, I went with the dress and jacket combo. The next choice will be ths shoes. For business, especially healthcare, closed toes are the most appropriate. I decided to wear black suede Maryjanes that are made by Candies, from Kohl"s.

They are trimmed with flat studs. I think it was last year when having these big spikes on the heel area was a popular shoe style. Due to my well recognized clumsiness, I did not follow that trend - if I did, there would have been big holes all over my ankles from that, as well as a lot of ruined pantyhose. So what jewelry did I pick to go along with this outfit?

Since the jacket has pink, tan, purple, and several shades of blue in it, I went with my statement necklace from Ebay. As I mentioned before, I think it's made of glass. The stones aren't real, at any rate. I do like how the navy shines through the glass and gives it a slightly different color. Onto my left hand

I have my Swarovski Nirvana in Indolite, and a bracelet made of amethyst, agate, and sugilite. On my right hand,

I have a matching ring and bracelet, both silver with tanzanite and diamond dust. Even though they match perfectly, I didn't buy them at the same time. I don't even think I was aware that they would match so well.

So how did this whole mess turn out? Well,take a gander:

One meeting down, two to go. The true test will be at the end of the day. Sometimes by then, I am so uncomfortable that I begin pulling off clothing the second I cross the treshhold of my front door. The shoes always get kicked off the instant I am home, even before I pick up Elli and say hello to her.

Today, I am linking up with www.katherinescorner.com for Thursday's Favorite Things blog hop. Go on over, take a look, and see what everyone has linked up. I'll fill you in tomorrow as to how the rest of my meetings go.