Mona Lisa, Mona Lisa, Men Have Named You

I would venture to guess that the Mona Lisa is perhaps the most famous picture ever painted. So I decided to make my own version of that famous painting. And I guess that you can figure out who the subject matter will be. But first, we must take a look at the score of the weekend.

I went to visit my mom at Villa Valencia this weekend. We went to Wal Mart. They had quite a selection of doggy costumes, but most of the tiny sizes were picked through. But we did manage to get this:

They had a lot of hats, but dogs hate hats. I might get one anyway - the best one was a red crown with ermine trim. But Doc suggested the jester cap, and I agree, that would go better with the ruffle we got her.

At any rate, when I was trying to get on the freeway to get home (I hate the freeway and avoid it 95% of the time), it was jammed up. So I looked around for somewhere interesting to spend some time. Well, there was a Salvation Armani with a 50% sale. So in I went, clutching the $20 bill I was allowing myself. I looked around, and was seeing nothing worthwhile. Finally, I wandered over to the dress section. That is where I found this:

Let us illuminate the features of this gem:

1) Adrienne Vittadini

2) New with tags

3) $118.00 retail, $59.99 at Loehmann's

4) $7.19 with 30% off = $5.03 !!!!!!!!!!!! 5.03!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

5) Polyester/rayon/spandex = Washing machine.

So I brought this treasure home with me. I will be bringing this with me to my conference in Philadelphia in 2 weeks. I will be needing to bring professional outfits, so one black suit, and then this dress for dinner programs, and I am good. The closeup shows the best part - there are bands of plain ponte, and then they are separated by thin bands of tonal sequins. The band is actually only one sequin wide. A very elegant and sophisticated detail that elevates this ponte sheath way above the everyday.

It took me pretty much the entire weekend to complete my masterpiece. Here is how it started, on Friday. I did the background first, then did the black parts.

I finshed it on Saturday afternoon/evening after returning from VV. I did my front yard yardwork, then spent the evening painting. On Sunday morning, I played tennis, then took it to be framed. My first choice is always Hobby Lobby, but they were closed. So we went to Michael's, and this is the result.

I absolutely love it. It captures Elli's unique beauty and personality. I cannot wait to hang it. It will most likely be in my office for a while, but I would like it in our home eventually.

So yesterday was the Autumnal Equinox. That is the day when daylight and nightime are approximately the same amount of time in one day. It also happens in spring, and is called the Vernal Equinox. In honor of this auspicious occasion, I am wearing a fall-themed dress that I made back in 2010.

This dress was very simple to sew. The focal point was the beautiful print. I also made the belt of two colors of ribbon.

I can wear either green or red jewelry with this, so I mixed the two colors. For my necklace, I am wearing a costume piece that is a large faux stone. I have had it for a long time.

On my arms, I have mixed the two colors. On the left, a costume ring from Nordstrom with a large green stone, and two gold bracelets - one ruby and one peridot.

On my right arm, a semi-precious malachite ring, an emerald Claddagh bracelet, and a diamond/garnet bracelet.

To really make this a fun outfit to wear, I chose my Guess tricolor T strap shoes. Then I upped the ante with tan fishnet hose.

I am very happy with how this getup turned out. Since I missed yesterday, today I am linking with Patti for visible Monday at www.notdeadyetstyle.com. I know Patti is an animal lover, so I hope she (and all of you) enjoy Elli's portrait. See you soon!!!

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

So yesterday was challenging, to say the least. When I left for work, Elli Had a little booboo on her tail. It looked minor. When I got home,it was huge and scary looking, so off to Dr Lizardo's we went. As I was walking across the parking lot, it exploded all over me. OMG. I was covered in blood and goo.

So he took us in immediately, cleaned her out and gave her pain meds, and an antibiotic. Then he instructed me to administer an oral anti-inflammatory and apply ointment to the area.

He said it would be challenging. He recommended that I make a burrito out of her, with only her tail sticking out. Worked like a charm!!!Then I had to reinstall her donut. I squirted her liquid pain killer on some pieces of brown n' serve sausage.

This is her, all stoned out of her mind. She fell asleep standing up. The bill was $272.50. I am singlehandedly putting Dr Lizardo's kids through college. But her "lesion" looks great today - no more redness or signs of infection. She has to go for a recheck on Monday.

Onto more pleasant topics. Guess what came in the mail? My Birchbox!!!

They changed the box from plain brown to a keepsake pattern - something I can use to keep the samples in. Here's what I got.

1) Harvey Price Ageless Liquid Loofah - a facial wash. I can always use these.

2) Noir Cosmetics Long Wear Eyeliner - this was the full sized product.

3) Real Chemistry Luminous 3 Minute Peel - Will be using this weekend.

4) Ruffian Nail Lacquer and Remover in Naked - a nice color. Will use in a couple of weeks for vacation.

5)Tommy Girl Fragrance - I used to have this, and loved it. I had forgotten about it.

So that's the bad, then the good. There really isn't any ugly, but I am feeling less than creative today, due to the stress over my tiny sweetheart's malady. But here's what I'm wearing - I have worn it many times before, and no one has said it's ugly, but you all know about the eye of the beholder and all.

On second thought, my hair looks pretty bad in this picture, so that can be the ugly. This dress is by Collected. Here's a closeup of the ruched waist and the ruffled front slit and sleeve hems.

It's black with tan polka dots. To add a bit of color, I wore my Sesto Meucci pumps with the organza rose trim on them. This is their first outing of the fall.

These pumps are black suede and are super comfy. For a necklace, I chose my black plastic waterfall number - it fills in the neckline perfectly and covers my bony chest well.

For my arms, on the right, I have a trio of silver bracelets - two liquid silver and one with crystals. I also have a silver and black onyx ring.

On the left, I have some nicer jewelry. I have the garnet and opal bracelet that my mom gave me for my 40th birthday, and a marquise diamond ring. Under it, I put a ruby and diamond wedding band type thing.

So that's about it for today - I hope that the weekend brings me some well deserved rest and relaxation. I am going to visit my mom on Saturday, and play tennis on Sunday. The rest of the time, I plan to be lounging and kicking it. I am painting a portrait of Elli, so maybe I can work on that a little. Hope you all have a great weekend!!!

Dem Bones, Dem Bones, Them Dry, Dry Bones

So I was AWOL yesterday. I went to a conference at the Pacific Palms Resort in the City of Industry, a little east of Los Angeles. I like to go to events at this venue, because the food is all kinds of awesome. Case in point:

This was just one table of pastries. There were also bagels and english muffins. Then a couple of hours later, we had lunch.

I had garden salad, mozzarella/tomato/basil salad, broccoli/bacon salad, broccolini with garlic, and two meatballs. They also had quinoa, chicken with mushroom sauce, spaghetti, and rolls. Yum. Oh, and a whole table of bite sized desserts.

So today, it's back to our regular programming. The heat wave has finally broken, so this is what I wore today.

My good old Worthington pants, with a yellow tank with attached seed beads, and a dusty blue safari style jacket by Yansi Fugel. The lady who sold me the jacket said that this is a well known Israeli designer. Here's a closeup of the trim on the tank.

I can just toss this tank in the washing machine and it comes out fine. Nothing falls off. As you can see, I also wore my unusual lapis necklace.

For my arms, I chose silver and sapphires. On my left, a silver bangle and a sapphire/diamond ring. On my right, a Brighton bracelet and another sapphire ring.

In keeping with the comfort theme I have going on, I wore my Style and Co wedges.

So you may be wondering about the title of this post. I went to Famous Dave's last night and brought home some rib bones for my dogs. This resulted in them drinking a lot of water. They have really cute water bowls.

See the top one? On the side, it says "Puppy Love", and one dog is giving the other one a bone. After demolishing the rib bones, Kenni went to his rawhide bone basket, and got his favorite chewie. Then he spent a half hour hiding it. I'll bet you will never be able to see where he hid it in this picture.

That's right !!! It's on the right of the seat.

Even though dogs are color blind, he should have been able to figure out that I can see the bone. It's s good thing he is so good looking, because he is a bit lacking in the brains category.

So I am linking twice today, since I missed yesterday. As always on Wednesday, I am joining www.thepleatedpoppy.com for What I Wednesday. And since this is Thursday, I am also linking up at www.simplyjustlovelyblog.com for Working Girl With Style. Take a look at these fun blogs!!!

White Lightning!!!

I think that's what they sometimes call moonshine. I'll bet that I will be wanting some later - I have an important meeting today. When I have one of my big quarterly meetings, I try to dress with extra panache and care, but professionally as well. I think that shows respect for your audience. So today, I busted out a dress by Altazzurra that I bought last winter on deep discount, but never wore. The reason is that I needed to take up the hem by 2.5 inches. So let's do the reveal:

It's all white with gold detailing at the waist. It feels like there is a very high spandex content. Here's a closeup of the waist.

Aren't those gold details awesome? The real kicker is whether I can make it to my meeting without spilling anything on myself. I managed to get Kenni and Elli fed without dribbling stuff down my front, or Kenni jumping up on me. He has ruined several pairs of pantyhose that way. This dress also just screamed for me to wear the rediscovered Joan Rivers necklace.

Remember, this is how it comes apart.

I only wore the pearl part today. On my arms, I opted for a classic look as well. On the left, my wedding rings and my J Crew twisted crystal bracelet. On my right, a gold/diamond dust bangle and an emerald/diamond ring.

I din't even debate the shoe choice at all. Any time that I have the opportunity to wear my gorgeous Ivanka Trump shoes, I will.

As a final touch, I am carrying my thrifted Mondani bag.

Every Tuesday, I link with www.stylelixir.com for Style Sessions. And today, it seems as though I requested the topic - White After Labor Day !!! So wish me luck - I am toatlly prepared for the meeting, but I will need some luck in not spilling on myself. Until tomorrow!!!

I Am Trying To Shine, But I Am Boiling!!!

This weekend was the one weekend every year in Huntington Beach that you need AC. I think it topped out at about 88 or 90 degrees today. So me and Doc and the kidz hung out at home. I swept the yard, dipped in the pool, and walked the dogs for about 20 minutes. The rest of the time I worked on a new painting and watched KC vs Denver. Doc, meanwhile, cooked up another of his egg based "omelette" feasts. He said I could take pix if they didn't include him. So I did. Here we go - the end result was delicious. Feel free to take notes.

Doc is half Mexican and half Ukranian Jew. That is why he likes spicy goulash. A friend of his has started a new company.

It's called Helen's Kitchen, and they make organic, high quality frozen foods. As far as I know, they have them at Mother's Market, which is a long established health market here in HB. They gave us coupons for 4 entrees. Today, Doc used two entrees in his breakfast dish.

First, Doc fried up some chorizo. In this shot, you can see my stove. My house is 55 years old, like me. I have paid various artisans to keep the original vintage gas range going. It's the coolest. And it still works great.

Then Doc added frozen fajita veggies - that's basically onions and tricolor peppers. He also tossed in the rest of the thick cut tater slices that I had the other day.

He didn't have to use any additional oil. I had it set out in case, but he never had to use it. After that, he beat 5 large eggs. In the meantime, he defrosted both curry dishes. He then put them in the beaten eggs, and added everything to the pan. He cooked it, and stirred it like when you make scrambled eggs.

He then let it set, like an omelette. Here was the final product. I added the hibiscus flowers for their awesome tropical beauty. We ate the whole thing in seconds flat. It was delicious. Since organic food can be pricy, this would be one way to stretch these delicious entrees to feed a family.

Enough home economics, onto shoes!!! Here are the beauties that I have decided to feature for Sheila's Shoe Shine Saturday at www.sheilaephemera.blogspot.

Aren't they something!!! They are made by Charles David, and I got them through Thred Up for $25. When I opened that polka dot box, I was stoked (a little surf city HB lingo there). So I immediately devised an outfit that would highlight these babies while keeping me somewhat cool in this heat wave.

Even though I'm a little tilty in both pix, I am completely sober and ready to tackle those infections!!! The green satin top is from some little strip mall store, and the skirt is Laundry. Let's get a better look at that necklace.

This is a statement necklace that I got from EBay - it has peridot, topaz and amethyst colored stones. It weighs alot. You can also see that I am wearing a gold lurex tank for coverage. Here's a closeup of the trim at the empire waist of the top.

I mixed it up a little with the gems, as well. On my left, 4 of my RJ Graziano rose gold bangles, and an amethyst ring. On my right, my Swarovski Nirvana in Black Diamond, a peridot bracelet, and a gold/diamond dust bracelet.

Well, that's about it for today. Tomorrow, I have a big quarterly meeting that I present to alot of staff, affectionately called The Dog and Pony Show. I always try to look extra fab for that one. Stay tuned!!!