In The Navy

In the Navy,

Come on and join your fellow man

In the Navy,

Come on people make a stand

This inspiration brought to you by the Village People. My favorite was the Indian Chief. Yesterday was pretty boring, so nothing to show you except my outfit. So away we go.

And of course, it is navy. The skirt is by Charter Club, and it's a navy based status print pencil skirt. The top is from Coldwater Creek. I got it at the shop outside Reno. It is knit, and has an attached chiffon scarf trimmed in bugle beads. You can kinda see how it drapes down the right side of the top. Here's a closeup of the beads.

I also wore another "vintage" belt that I bought new many years ago. I ordered this one and the ivory one from some catalog. Remember how we used to get big catalogs in the mail? My favorite was always Speigel. As a kid, I loved the Sears and Montgomery Ward Christmas catalogs. I would show my parents what I hoped Santa would bring me. It worked most of the time. It still works with Doc, on occasion. Except now, I show him my laptop.

They are very similar - lots of twisted cords with gold accents. You will note that the navy one is getting a little fuzzy around the edges, probably because I wore it much more than the ivory one. I layered my necklaces today - you have seen the longer one many times. The shorter one is a squiggly line of sapphires.

This shot actually gives a pretty good look at the braided neckline on the top. It has a lot of subtle details that don't show up too well in photos. This is my favorite piece from Coldwater Creek. My arms are reruns today - on the left,a sapphire bracelet, and a gold one, and a London Blue Topaz ring, and on the right, two more sapphire bracelets, and a sapphire and diamond ring.

Since I am lacking in adventure today, I will show you my shoes and bag. The shoes are my navy satin sandals (they are Sam and Libby, and I got them for a wedding), and the bag is my Neiman Marcus freebie from a fashion show.

I am so matchy matchy today that even my nails are navy - the color is called Mezzanote Blue, and it's made by Borghese. It's one of my favorite colors, but it needs daily touchup, so by the end of the week, there are several layers and when I take it off, there are smears of blue everywhere. That's why I have a white marble master bath - bleach cleans everything!! I also chopped my nails down, because they were getting too long. We have a rule at work - your nails must be less than 1/4 " long when doing direct patient care.

Today, I am linking up with Amber at www.induffintely.blogspot.com for Tremendous Tuesday. Go take a look. Let's hope that something tremendous happens today, cuz mama is bored. See you all later!!!

Sisters Are Doin' It For Themselves

Oh YAY!!! The title of this post will soon become evident. But first, we went to the joint birthday party for two of my grandsons this weekend. J turned 4 and B turned 2. It was held at Chuck E Cheese (where else?) Here the boys are, looking at their cake, and somewhat traumatized. A lot of the smaller kids were scared out of their wits by Chuck E. They were crying and gripping their moms for dear life.

That accounts for the confused expression on J's face. See that clear booth behind them? That's a wind tunnel - it gets turned on, and tickets swirl around and the kid grabs them. We elected not to do that this year, because that was the traumatizing element last year. I wonder what kind of nightmares we can cause next year. Anyway, the theme was Birthday Rock Stars. Each birthday kid got a guitar.

Of course, I immediately stole one of them for my own purposes.

Ugh. When will I grow up? Doc got each boy two silver coins for a gift - one really nice one, and one silver dollar from 1885. I was in charge of the toy part of the gift package.

J got a Spider Man Hippity Hop and a plastic orangutan. B got a Doc McStuffins Play Doh set and some magnetic letters. A great time was had by all - once Chuck E split, that is. Enough about that. The title of this Eurhytmics/Aretha song was chosen because I FINALLY figured out how to use the timer on the camera. You go Rosie!! It only took 4 months or so. So here is my first ever selfie outfit of the day:

I need to work on the background. So this top is by Harlow and Graham and I got it at Nordstrom. It looks pretty blah from the front, but from the back

All cut out and meshy !!! The skirt is by Ann Taylor, and it also has the element of surprise

It is made of two layers of chiffon, one floral and one cross hatched. The floral shows through - it's impossible to see in the full shot. For my shoes, I went with something in the color family, but not exactly matching - leopard and brown suede wedges.

To tie in the brown, I wore a Dolce and Gabbana belt.

You have seen the arms before - on the right, my Swarovksi Nirvana in Black Diamond, and a gold and diamond bangle. On the left, five of my rose gold RJ Graziano bangles, and a smoky topaz ring.

I haven't worn this necklace in a while. I got it at a jewelry party that my neighbor had. It's crystals and semi-precious beads, and I am wearing the matching earrings too.

So that's it. Except for the fact that once again, I am linking with beautiful Patti for Visible Monday at www.notdeadyetstyle.com. Hop over for a look.

I will leave you with a portrait of little Elli - this was taken right before I stuffed her in her crate, pending Isabel's arrival to clean. Her expression just about sums up her feelings about her crate.

Blue Jean Baby, LA Lady

Well, Mr Elton John, I am most definitely not a tiny dancer. When I dance, I am a clodhoppin' hoedowner. But I do have some blue jean going on. We'll get to that in a bit. But first, more food. We went to the Crab Cooker on Balboa Island again last night. Here was the scene (sorry young lady - I didn't mean to get you in the picture, but hey, you look cute).

She did look cute - she had a kimono over a black maxi dress. But in this picture , you can see how cluttered the room is, and how close together the tables are. But that's all part of the charm. You also eat on paper plates with plastic forks. Picnic inside!!! So, I got the scallops again, and instead of rice pilaf, I got double tomatoes.

They were so good. My companion got King Crab legs with Potatoes Romanov and coleslaw. Here it is:

I like to eat there - my dinner was nice and light. I don't like to feel stuffed, and if I eat too much, my belly acts up big time.

So after getting home, walking Elli and Kenni, and showering, etc, the last thing I felt like doing was ironing some elaborate getup. So I went with the dress that I got at the opening of the new Goodwill a couple of months ago. I wore it in Las Vegas, and it was great.

It's a little sex-ay for work, so I topped it with an ancient denim jacket made by Clio. I can get away with this, because I have no meetings or conferences today.

As you can see, I have my trusty Steve Madden blue espies on. If I get called over to the hospital unexpectedly, I will cover up with my exam jacket. I also went all lazy with my hair. I tossed two of those big pink foam curlers in it while I got dressed and did my makeup. Then I unwound it, and put it in an updo. This took all of 3 minutes total. I secured it with one of those barrettes that has a stick going through it.

For my necklace, I wore my weird lapis number. I has blue, green, yellow and tan in the stones.

You can also see how the dress is made of little tiny ruffles. On my left arm, a turquoise bracelet and a turq/MOP ring that Luke, Ashley, and Preston gave me for Xmas one year.

I cleaned the fingerprint off the camera lens before I took my right hand, with a silver bangle, and a diamond and sapphire ring.

Today, I am joining Fashion Friday Link Up over at www.diaryofabrwneyedgirl.blogpsot.com. Go over and see what our brown eyed girl is wearing. That reminds me of Van Morrison. All my favorites are old school. The other day, I was in Nordstrom, and they were playing Led Zeppelin. I was kinda surprised, but then I remembered what one of my colleagues told me - we are now so old, that they play the Rolling Stones in the convalescent homes. Rock on, sixities kids!!!

Ice Ice Baby

Nope -not Vanilla Ice, but ice blue, as in my Moschino jacket. I elected to go all professional once again, with a nice suit. This outfit was not purchased as a two piece set - the pants are by White House Black Market, and are the replacements for my beloved ivory pants that got all stretched out. They are made of nice fabric, and are fully lined. The only unusual part is that they zip up the side. The tank is by The Limited - I have another one that is more cheaply made, and the square sequins dig into my armpit. Not so for this one - the armholes are nicely bound with wide ribbing.

My necklace is quite the production. I got it many years ago, at Nordstrom. I also got a similar style in earth tones and gold metal. These kinds of necklaces are irresistable to babies and toddlers - there are so many interesting doohickeys to pull on.

I one-armed it again today with my jewelry. I usually go easy on the bracelets when I wear a suit. On my left arm, I have a silver costume bracelet with clear crystals, and a Liz Palacios ring with turquoise and fuchsia faux stones.

Now for the funnest (is that a word?) part - my purse!!! I got it in Palm Springs. That is where the flagship store of the brand Trina Turk is located. Also, in Palm Springs and Palm Desert, they have a lot of consginment shops, and they are always gold mines for Trina Turk and Lilly Pulitzer. But I got this bag at the TT shop on El Paseo, the big shopping street out there. Funky, baby.

And the lining is equally cool:

As for shoes, my good old Lauren Conrad wedge sandals from Kohl's.

And I know you all were looking at my scarf belt. It is made by Elaine Gold, and it came from Nordstrom as well.

All in all, I am very happy with how this outfit looks, but nothing will match the comfort factor of yesterday's getup. I didn't start yanking and pulling until I got home. And when I did get home......

My August Birchbox was there!! I had an issue this month - it never came, so I called and they sent a replacement. Good customer service. It had five items this month:
1) Amika Perk Up Dry Shampoo

2) Noir Cosmetics Long Wear Eyeliner - full size!!!

3) Vansanti Cosmetics Detox Nutrient Rich Purifying Facial Cleanser - I used this already, so nice!!

4)Dr Jart Pore Medic Pore Minish Primer

5) Harvey Prince Ageless Body Creme

These last two were in the box that says Tee Hee, so I took a picture of them by themselves.

And last but not least, the way the box was labelled was priceless...

And Oh So True !!! Now onto Rosie and Elli's excellent adventure !!! Have a great day!! And in keeping with the day late theme of the week, I am linking up at www.thepleatedpoppy.com for What I Wore Wednesday.

I Smell A Rat

Ever since the death of the sweet Jackpot, I have been doing everything in my power to keep the others happy. Kenni now enjoys longer walks - today we walked for an hour. (Mostly because I don't want to wash my hair again tonight, so no heavy sweating). He also has the "privilege" of twice weekly baths. Today on our stroll, I took a couple of pictures of some native plants.

The state has been encouraging us to "Go For The Gold", meaning a dead lawn, or native landscaping. As my potted plants need replacing, I am getting succulents. Here are some that I already have.

I am sitting here waiting for Doc to come home. He hired a second doctor to work in his practice because he is too busy and has no coverage for vacations. Every night, he texts me about walking Elli. It has gotten progressively more terse and to the point. For example, it started out "Hi sweetie, are we walking Elli?" . Then it became "Are we walking your rat tonight?" Then it became "Rat?". So my response has likewise shortened to "She waits." And she does.

But enough about the most patient pet rat on the planet. What in the world am I wearing?

The skirt was thrifted, and it's by H&M, and it's two layers of crystal pleated polyester. Both tops are also polyester - the lazy working girl's best friend. Wash and wear. They are both by Exhilaration, which I recognize as a cheapo junior brand from Kohl's. But hey, how cute are they together?

I love this outfit. This is one of those days we all have, where we feel like we hit a home run. Other days, not so much, but I will be repeating this combo again. As for the shoes, they are by Guess. They don't get much lovin', I suppose because they are so noticeable. I got them in 2005, and I paid $90 (the sticker is still on the box). I only wear them a couple of times per year.

My necklace is another wonderful goodie that I had forgotten about. My mom gave it to me, and it's another of those Joan Rivers pieces that comes apart to make all kinds of different configurations. It has a neck wire and a pearl strand with a big gold clasp. Then it has 6 charms that you can put on either one. Here's how I lego-ed it together today.

I took it apart and put it on a piece of paper to show you how it works.

For my arms, on the left, we have the leather bracelet that I got in Baltimore, and a costume ring from H&M at the Grove in LA. On my right, two of my Aloha Bowl bangles.

So that's about it for today. I am linking up at www.bonbonrosegirls.com for Monday Mingle, and also at www.mispapelicos.com for Share-In-Style :Summer. Gotta double fist it since I went AWOL this weekend. Check 'em out!!!