Fresh, But Not Easy

The paint job on the house is finally finished!!! It looks great. I told a friend that yesterday may have been the first time in history that both the outside and the inside of the house have been pristine at the same time.

Isabel came yesterday and scoured the inside. Meanwhile, me, Jim the Painter, Elli, Kenni and Vinni were all out in the back yard doing our thing. Jim's thing is painting. Here are the results:

The back - new patio cover, new windows, new furnace door, planters all hoed and replanted and covered with red mulch chips. Let's get a better look at the planter.

 

 

Three rose bushes lead to the patio cover - yellow, pink and huge red cabbage roses. They have all been pruned and shaped. To the right, toward the other side of the yard,

 

 

A chiminea with a gerbera daisy in there, and a whisky keg with succulents. Moving around to the dog run- I have never spent much effort keeping that side of the yard super nice. But right now it is.

 

 

 

There was a wood gate there, but I tore it down. Then I put two trellises and two succulents on either side of the opening. You can see the hoe, shovel, and spade leaning against the chimney. I actually use them - they are not just for decoration. Here's a better look.

 

 

The garden window is over the kitchen sink and now it's all pretty. The door is brand spanking new. The blue tarp way back in the corner covers some extra building materials. There is a tangerine tree back there that produces TONS of fruit. It got all nicely pruned, and I filled the base with more red mulch chips.

 

 

 

 

 

Let's go around to the front of the house. Here are the shutters and the shelf on the garage window.

 

 

 

 

It's light gray stucco with white shutters and shelf trimmed in navy blue. The bottom planter has geraniums - there were red ones there, but I added pink and hot pink. The shelf has three green pots with flowering plants. There are pitchforks on each end by the Italian cypress. They are just for decoration. The front of the house has shutters too, that frame the master bedroom window.

 

 

I put some of the plants in some different containers that I have been picking up here and there. Last, we have the front porch area. I got a new entry mat at Costco. I put the ficus back in its place, and surrounded it with succulents, a Martha Washington geranium, and some other little pretty doohickeys.

So now I am all done working on the house. Onto maintenance mode. Hopefully, I can keep it up, now that it looks so pretty.

Guess what else happened? My March Birchbox came!!!

 

 

The box itself was very pretty. Being a pack rat, I will save it to use for something else. But what was inside?

1) Bee Kind shampoo - I just bought a GIANT shampoo at Ulta, but I will definitely use this tomorrow night when I get ready for the next work week.,
2) Cargo Swimmables Water Proof Bush - I guess some people wear makeup to the pool, but I don't. But this could also come in handy for events that have the potential for tears, like a funeral or some movies. Probably give this away.
3) Embryolisse 24 Hour Miracle Cream- it says that it's a must have, because it doubles as a makeup primer and a makeup remover. This leaves me confused, but I will use it.
4) Fekkai PrX Reparatives Intense Fortifying Masque - a lush treatment for damaged hair. Right up my alley.
5) Mirenesse Glossy Kiss in Cheeky Kiss - A lipstick that goes on with a gloss finish. Must try.


So since it's Saturday, Sheila at www.sheilaephemera.blogspot.com is hosting Shoe Shine Saturday.
I wandered around the house, trying to think if I have gotten any new shoes. Nope. But since we are having a huge heatwave here in Huntington Beach, it's a shorts, tanktop, and sandals kind of day. So I figured that I would just photograph the shoes I'm wearing.

 

 

 

They are from Forever 21, and I bought them for last summer. They still look almost new. They are beige suede with a bow covered in gold studs. They also have a gold trim on the edge of the toe box. I'm glad they're still alive, because I like them.

Anyway, That's about it for today - later on, I'm going to check out all the participants in Shoe Shine. Right now, I'm going to Marshall's to look for a picture frame. Have a great Saturday!!!

Addendum : Here is the picture frame. It's by Laura Ashley. The picture is Doc's card to me for our last anniversary. So cute I die.

Unveiling the Masterpiece

Okay, so there was silence on the Rosie front yesterday, and you know what that means!!! A super long post today. Get a snack. First of all, the video that I did last week was published. Here I am, blabbing away.

And in the interest of full disclosure (and belly laughs), here is a frozen screen shot that my boss has been taunting me with:

He says this is a true depiction of me, since I never have my mouth shut. Gotta love him - or else I would kill him.

Then yesterday, we had a Patient Safety Fair here at the hospital. It's a yearly event that is designed to teach the staff all the new and cool things we have developed for excellent patient care. Here is the welcoming banner:

 

Here is a look at the posters before the crowd arrived:

We also had demonstrations of all the new patient handling devices. This chair allows patients who have been bedridden for some time to sit upright and get wheeled around to have some relief from being cooped up in their rooms.

 

 

The employees visited the booths and got cards marked off as they did so. If they got 5 booths marked off (out of 12) they were eligible to win some nice prizes.

The Grand Prizes were a $100 gift card to Southwest Airlines, and a $100 Amazon card. And of course, there was lots of food. If you feed them, they will come. There were mini burritos and mini  quiches.

There was also fruit and mini muffins.

And of course, beverages, although not of the adult variety.

The event is always well attended, and a big success. Our theme was "Go For the Gold" so we were supposed to dress like Olympians. I wore one of my cutest tennis outfits, but no pix, at least today.

So it's back to our regular programming today. Here is what I am wearing.

This dress is one of those things that looks blech on the hanger. It's Armani, no less. The fabric seemed nice, so I tried it on, and voila!!! I loved it. It's a taupe silk number with the coolest seaming effect on the bodice. It's also featherweight silk. Here's a look at those seams.

The jacket is by Cache. It's a khaki safari style with gold lurex running through it. I got it during the closing of Happyness Consignment (sniff).

This gives you a good idea. The necklace came from our hospital gift shop. I chose my Jessica Simpson shoes to go along with the ensemble.

I really love this outfit. It's so elegant and lady like ( even on me????). Onto the crown jewels. On my left arm,

My Ebay turtle cuff and my Nordstrom creepy green ring. On my right,

My Swarovksi Nirvana in Black Diamond and a selection of RJ Graziano rose gold bangles with crystals.

Onto the links!!! All the gals I missed yesterday!!! First, lovely Tameka at www.pastriespumpsandpi.blogspot.com for Who Wore What Wednesdays. Then, Christina at www.poshpair.com for Life and Style Link up. This week's theme is Spring Forward. I do believe that I will be wearing this dress a bunch this spring. Lastly, sweet Alice at www.happinessatmidlife.com for Throwback Thursday. Hop over and give these ladies some love - I'm a day late and a dollar short, but I will get there!!!

Lacy Days and Nights

Today I am dressed up in two kinds of lace - a skirt made of lace and a top trimmed in lace. Here is the complete look:

The skirt is J Crew, the pink top is some random purchase and the black waterfall vest came from Stein Mart. Here is a closer look at the top.

It's pink, and it has lace trim down the front, as well as on the sleeve edges (which are covered by the vest). The skirt is lined down to about the knee, then three or four inches of lace are exposed.

I wore a long silver toned locket with a faux onyx center with this top. I also wore a black patent belt with a buckle made of clear crystals.

My Leopoldo Giordano butterfly sandals were the perfect compliment, and also coincidentally tie me in with one of the links today, as you will shortly discover.

To add a bit of flavor, I went with purple jewelry. On my left arm,

More lace, in the form of a black metal stretch cuff.  I also chose a tanzanite solitaire ring. On my right,

A wider band with small tanzanites, and a toggle bracelet made of quartz, agate, and amethyst. I am fairly comfy in spite of all this foofaraw. I did snag my hosiery on the way out the door. I decided to just stop the snag with nail polish rather than change. Jim the Painter painted the back steps yesterday, so I had to go through the garage to feed Kenni and Vinni, and in their excitement, they ruined my pantyhose. Oh well, it's all in love, so it's okay.

Now for those links!!! First, Erin at www.thefashioncanvas.com is hosting Trend Spin, and guess what??? Today's trend is sandals, so my LGs will do just fine. Then, as always, Amber at www.induffinitely.blogspot.com is hosting Tremendous Tuesday, which I join every Tuesday. Have a good day, and more later!!!

Let The Light Shine Down on Me

I made it to work on time, despite the daylight savings time change. Doc has a really tough time with this - he will be angry about losing an hour of sleep until we gain it back next fall. First world problems. More first world problems - my delicate little feet get all wet when I garden, so I bought myself some snazzy leopard garden boots. This is especially funny if you have ever seen my huge clod hopper feet. Anyway, here they are:

I wore them when I was putting back most of the plants and stuff from the backyard. The painting is basically finished back there. Now all Jim the Painter has to do is the trim on the front. Moving those big plants really gave me a back ache. But taking the dogs for a nice long walk loosened it up quite a bit.

Onto today's outfit - more animal print, surprise, surprise!!!

The lighting was pretty wonky in my office this morning. The skirt is by Kasper, the tank from Stein Mart and the cardi is my favorite ivory waterfall number. Here's a better look at this cute, comfy giraffe print knit pencil skirt.

As you can see, I accented it with my black suede chain belt and my pedometer. Here's a better look at the cardi and the attached necklace embellishment on the tank.

 

 

This tank made it into my number one favorite summer outfit from last year.

I can't get so tan this year - need to preserve the newly remodeled face :).  The shorter necklace from today is my chocolate diamond piece that I seem to be reaching for again and again lately.

I chose a pair of favorite sandals from Nine West - they are black patent with gold studs.

My arm jewelry combined a variety of colors and metals. On my right, another favorite!!! My Swarovksi Nirvana in Black Diamond and the matching Platinum cuff.

On the left, a gold/diamond dust bangle and a costume ring that I got In New Orleans a long time ago.

 

 

How about some more favorites, with my links!!! Patti, from www.notdeadyetstyle.com is hosting Visible Monday. I love to play along with this link. Then Cherie, at www.stylenudge.com, is hosting Shoe and Tell. I think I will!!! Lastly, Rachelle from www.pinksole.com is hosting How I Fall. Let's go!!! Have a great day, and I will see you later for more shenanigans.

Sure and Begorrah!!!

My St Patty's pot of gold came a little early. If you shop at Costco, you get a 3% rebate at the end of the year. Some people cash their check out, but I went on a spree and got everything we will need for quite a long time. First, I got dog supplies - canned food and flea medicine. I am tired of struggling with Elli to get the Comfortis down her. Now, when she smells it in the ham, she runs. So I got drops.

Then I got a new mat for the front door - the house painting is making real progress now. We got a little behind because of the rain last week.

It's blue-grey - the perfect match to the new paint. I also got some snacks.

The coffee is for work, the cheese and crackers for me, and the beef jerky for Doc. I also got toilet paper, paper towels, laundry soap, dishwasher soap,  Elli pee pads and Vitamin D with calcium.
Everything is Green Giant sized.

Onto my hair. This was the scene before the salon (aka my bathroom).

Yuck. Here is the same view after my ministrations. My nails are fixed as well.

Back to a color seen in nature. So enough about all that stuff - What am I wearing?

My burgundy leather jacket and a wrap dress that is faux DVF. Here it is without the jacket.

Underneath, I am wearing a mesh cami by Clio, since the V neckline is a little deep for work. I doubled up on the necklaces.

The shorter one is sapphire and garnet, and the longer one is sapphire. Here's a closeup of the short one - I haven't worn it in a while.

On my left arm, my wedding set and a cool red stone bracelet that I got at Maya on Melrose Blvd up in LA.

 

 

 

On my right,  a ruby cocktail ring, a garnet bracelet, and a gold bracelet.

 

 

I wore my Calvin Klein pilgrim shoes.

 

 

 I carried my Versace crossbody.

 

 

Onto the links!! As always on Thursday, cute Alice at www.happinessatmidlife.com for Throwback Thursday. Then, a new gal, Christina at www.poshpair.com for Life and Style Linkup. If I was a good blogger, I would have looked ahead for the theme - it's black and white. Well, I do have some black on. Have a great day, and I'll see you soon!!!