Another Disastrous Day !!!

It's that time of the year again - every November and May, the State of California conducts an emergency disaster response exercise. This time, we pretended that there was a 7.2 earthquake centered in Huntington Beach. I am lucky enough to be the Incident Commander. Yay.

So what am I wearing to conduct this most vital of activities? PS - it's really a hard job.

Check out the pants!!! I caved and ordered the Iman palazzo pants from HSN. I got two pair, one solid navy and one paisley print navy for $49.95. The paisley has metallic accents. Here's a closeup look at that print.

 

 

On the top, I have a gold lurex shell and my Bloomingdale's navy jersey jacket with the white lacing and gold hardware.

With this very comfy outfit, I am wearing all sapphire jewelry. First, a long necklace.

 

 

I also have a shorter sapphire necklace to fill in the neckline.

On my right arm, I have a sapphire and diamond ring and three matching bracelets.

 

 

On my left arm, two gold bracelets and my crystal/enamel ring from Saks.

 

 

That just about covers everything. I was a little apprehensive about these pants when I opened the package. They were just crammed into a plastic bag, and I am used to better shipping packaging from the nicer stores. Then I thought that the fabric was a little flimsy. But then I tried them on, and they are perfection. They are slinky and fit wonderfully. The elasticized waist is wide and has several rows of elastic. They are flat in the front, and the gathering around the sides and the back is very well done. Verdict = keeping and loving.

What else happened? I got my May Birchbox !!! Here it is:

And what is in it?
1) Cotz - Flawless Complexion SPF 50 - I have gotten this before, and can always use it.
2) Number 4 Thermal Styling Spray - to use prior to heat styling
3)Whish Flawless Swipes - to use after shaving to prevent ingrown hairs and bumps.
4) Sumbody Salt Scrub Bonbon - a buffing bar made of sea salt to smooth legs and arms
5) Mally Evercolor Waterproof Automatic Eyeliner - in Plum. I have blue eyes, and usually use a brown liner, but I will try this next.

Onto the links !!! First, Alice from www.happinessatmidlife.com for Throwback Thursday. Also, Tara at www.mixmatchfashion.com is having What I Wore to Work linkup. I have been MIA from these lovely ladies for a week, and so now it's time to catch up. Go over and visit their cute blogs!!

Get Ups and Gifts Galore

Even though I am quite elderly, I do remember that I promised to show you what I bought at Walt Disney World in Orlando. I would have bought a lot more, because on Sunday, I rode a city bus for an hour to go to the Vineland Premium Outlets. Since I have a moral obligation as a grandparent to bring back presents for my sweet little grandkids, I could only carry so much, so I was forced to buy fewer things for myself. Oh the horror !!!

So what did I get those kids? Well, Preston got two awards at school - Outstanding Reading and Outstanding Arithmetic, so he got two gifts, even though one was sorta jerry-rigged. First of all, I got him a Star Wars playset. It has Mickey and friends dressed as the Star Wars characters.

I also decided to give him my Magic Band. This is a wristband that the resort gives you in lieu of a room key. You just hold the MM head logo against the door, or the gate to the water attraction, or to the cash register, and it will charge all your items to your room automatically. That way, you don't have to carry a wallet or cash when you go to the beach. I will tell him that it magically allowed me to get things with no money, but that power has evaporated, and he needs to give it a new magic power.

 

 

 

For Joseph, Benjamin and Calista, I got the things shown in this picture. The boys got coloring books and Dirt Cake Kits. Calista got a t shirt, the detail of which is shown below.

Well, that took up most of the spare room in my suitcase, so I was only able to get a couple of things for ME. First, I got two keychains for me and Doc.

Elli is a Chihuahua, and Kenni is a Min Pin. I couldn't find one that represents Vinni, but he was cool with that.

For myself, I got a purse at Aldo. Isn't she beautiful? It was 65% off retail.

Then, across the street, I spied the Holy Grail - a Saks Fifth Avenue outlet. I scurried over there as fast as my stubby legs would take me. I saw a gob of shoes that I would have loved, but there was no way I could transport them back to California. So I only got one measly dress.

I wore it for my big Committee meeting yesterday. It's by Saks Fifth Avenue Black, and it was 85% off. Otherwise, it would have been out of budget for me. It was the only one there, and fortunately, the stars aligned and it was my size.


It is polyester, rayon and spandex. The overlaid top part is decorated with little pewter squares.

For my Committee meeting, I wore my black Escada blazer on top.

For a necklace, I went with a bold piece that I got at Macy's here in SoCal.

On my right hand, a crystal/enamel ring from Saks (here in Cal) and a goldtone cuff that I got at Macy's in Fort Lauderdale.

 

On my left, my wedding set, and a stretchy crystal bracelet from Saks (here in Cal).

I wore my David Aaron shoes.

Can you sense a pattern as to what my two favorite stores are?


Onto today. It is overcast and gloomy and more rain is expected (YAY!!!!). I am wearing a chiffon midi skirt that is a grey and black reptile print. On top, I have a Joseph A turtleneck that is a marled black and grey.

On top of this, I wore the top piece of my black satin jog suit that I got at White House Black Market.

For my necklace, I wore a three strand costume piece that also came from......... Macy's.

On my left hand, another wedding set and a silver/crystal costume bracelet.

On my right, a silver and mother of pearl ring, and a stretch bracelet made of safety pins that a dear person who is now deceased made for me.

I wore my Nine West grey ankle straps that I got at Nordstrom.

So that's it for today - the outlets were awesome. When I called the Lynx (the Orlando bus system) office and asked how to get there, it sounded super complicated. In reality, it was very easy - it just took a little bit of time. And time was on my side. I did bring a gob of cash, just in case I became horribly lost and had to cab it back to Disney World. It was a bit of a struggle to carry the big Star Wars box home, but I was successful. I will try and take pictures of the kids getting their treasures. I am linking to a whole bunch of sites today, because I am just getting back into the swing of blogging after returning home. Have a good day, and I will see you tomorrow!!!

Lord I Was Born A Travelin' Man

The jig is up, the secret is out !!! I was in Orlando, Florida, for the SHEA (Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America) conference. I left at 9:20 AM last Wednesday from John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California. Eight hours later I landed in Orange County, Florida. Here is what I wore, my tried and true travelin' duds.

 

Love the closed eyes after long flights across the country.

I took the complimentary (much appreciated!!!) Disney Magical Express to the Wilderness Lodge. It is amazing. All the resorts are, especially the pool areas. When I got there, the bed had towels shaped like Mickey Mouse Ears. The only bad part was that it took 5.5 hours for my luggage to be delivered. I may have made a naaasty phone call. It was deserved.

Anyway, it finally came at 12:30 PM, and so I took a shower. These tiles were in the shower.

Here's a look at the 7 story lobby. It is beautiful. It looks like a log cabin mansion. There are glass cases with Indian War bonnets that are astounding . Everyone wears prairie style costumes.

Behind the pool, which has a giant slide and water spouts and all kinds of stuff, like a jungle gym with water squirting everywhere, is this beach. They show a free Disney movie every night and had fireworks from a ferry boat at 9:30. They do A LOT for little kids.

Here's what I wore for the first conference day. Pants by Limited, tank by Old Navy and mesh vest by Chico's.

Here is a better look at the tops.

 

 

This necklace was a casualty of the vacation. I need to fix it with a jump ring.

The conference was held at the Contemporary. It is just called that. It looks like a giant cruise ship, because that's how it was built. A frame was put up and the rooms were prefabricated and slid in, like the way a cruise ship is built.

There was a skyway that connected the Contemporary to the Bay towers resort. I walked around this whole building on our break.

Here is the pool at the Contemporary. This resort had the fewest children. Here is their children's mega fancy water attraction.

 

 

All of the resorts are joined by a huge lake. You can take a boat, a ferry, a bus, or the monorail to get around - all free.

So after the second day of the conference, I did just that. I took the monorail to every resort. First, the oldest, The Polynesian Village. It's gorgeous. The lobby is so genuinely Polynesian. With the architecture and landscaping, it feels like you are in Hawaii.

Here is the Lava Pool, and the crazy, extreme children's water attraction.

I stopped in the Taboo Lounge and had a Smoked Turkey. All the cocktails I had were deelish. They were also all themed, but I think I had four over the five days, because they are pricy. Everything is very expensive here.

After that, I hit the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa. It is Victorian in style, and super well done. It's like the Hotel del Coronado on steroids. Here is a view across the lagoon from the back beach of the Polynesian Village, which looks exactly like the photos of Bora Bora, with cabins on stilts and white sand beaches.

Here are two shots of the lobby at the Grand Floridian. I think I took this one while trying to capture the guy playing the Grand piano. Everyone was older and sitting around, having tea with or without whiskey and enjoying the breeze off the lake.

This shot shows the giant bamboo bird cage that was there. There were huge floral bouquets, and replicas of fine Victorian furniture. This resort was the most elegant and upscale.

Here's a pretty good shot of this giant resort. It looks like the Hotel del, doesn't it? It had a ton of pools, quite a  few restaurants, a spa, and a wedding chapel. It also had a children's water attraction, but I think it was just rock grottoes and a typical curly slide.

Here's the wedding chapel. If the ceremony is in the back, then you have a direct view of Cinderella's castle at the Magic Kingdom, one monorail stop away.

That was all five of them. I went to the Wilderness Campground on the third night. It's a very nice, KOA type of place. It has pony rides, buggy rides, a Saloon Revue show, a BBQ dinner in a dining hall with a show, and a gift shop. The main attraction for me were the Clydesdale, Percheron, and Belgian Draft horses they keep there. There are 50, and they rotate through the shows and parades. They work four days and rest three. They are all beautiful beyond belief. They are kept in a barn, and you can watch them get groomed and brushed, and go up to the stall and look in. But you can't touch, pet or feed them. I didn't take any pictures because no one else was, and I thought maybe it wasn't allowed. My favorite was a Clydesdale named Sarge. He would keep sticking his enormous head over the rail to look at and sniff the people. He was a big hit. I did get a picture of this deer in the woods on my hike back and forth from the Lodge on the Nature Trail.

The next day, I wore my grey dress to the conference. Most of the time, I felt way too casual. There were people that were much more easygoing than me, but I like to err on the formal side. It was 90 - 95 degrees out, in my defense. Love the Albert Einstein hair and bamboozled expression.

That night, I caught the bus to DownTown Disney. It's just a huge shopping and dining mecca. Here's the Fulton's Crab House Restaurant. There were many things, including Wolfgang Puck, Circe De Soleil, and Planet Hollywood.

Here's the skyline. They are planning some huge expansion by 2016 or so. There are cranes everywhere.

I got candy at Goofy's Candy Shack. And I bought a few things here and there, and will be writing about them in the next few posts, as they are displayed and handed out to the lucky recipients.

They had other stuff too, like a shop that make-overs your little daughter into any Disney princess she desires. This was a bell ringers show. They were mind boggingly good.

I didn't eat at any restaurants, because we got buffet breakfast and lunch at SHEA. The catering was done by the Contemporary, and it was delicious. We got an hour and a half for lunch, so I walked over to and around the Magic Kingdom every day. I was joined several times, and the person I enjoyed the most was Diane from Ontario, Canada, Department of Public Health. I also took excursions every night, and walked as much as possible, which was a lot. I only went to the workout room once, and was almost immediately bored.

Well, that's it for today. I am sitting here waiting for Doc to get home. We are taking the dogs for their first walk in a week. Elli was beside herself at the sight of me. I got up at 4:30 Florida time, and it's 9:30 PM Florida time right now, so I am gonna quit before I get punchy. I am happy to be back in my little home with my little loved ones. More later!!!