A Shopper, Then A Whopper

So it's Memorial Day, and I just got back from Florida. Then I worked a hectic 3 days. Then, I will have 4 days off. What to do, what to do. Feeling a little monastic since I didn't buy myself more presents in Orlando, I decided to go to South Coast Plaza. I also had two home décor projects in mind.

So I went to Macy's first. They were having a 75% off clearance. Plus, I had a 20% coupon that I got in the mail. Nobody was there. The entire store had maybe 20 shoppers. So I cruised around all the departments, liberally grabbing anything that looked cute. I ended up with 5 dresses and two jackets to try on. I bought one dress and one jacket. Here is the dress:

It's a fine gauge flat knit skater style dress by Rachel Roy. It's navy with a black band at the hem.

The transition between colors is smooth. it has 3/4 length sleeves and a deep U neck. It fits like  a dream.

It has an exposed zipper in the back. At 75% off, it was a steal. At regular price, I may have choked.
I also got a jacket. it is made by Bar III and it's made of black lace.

 

 

 

It's a classic baseball style, with a knit collar, cuffs, and waistband. The rest is sheer Chantilly lace.

 

 

I got a GOB of pretty costume jewelry. It was so reasonably priced. I will point each piece out as I debut them. There were two necklaces, three bracelets, and three pair of earrings.

Then I stopped at a couple of furniture consignment shops. None of them had what I was looking for. Then I went to Home Goods, and they had one of the pieces I wanted.

 

 

I had an old black metal table with an outdated home entertainment system that we never used. So I took it apart, packed it up, and took it to the Salvation Armani. Someone else will want it.I took the little mosaic table,put it in place, and organized a few tsotchskes on it.

It fits nicely next to the little leather sofa. Here's a better look at the mosaic top.

Then I came home, ran a nice loooong run, then walked dogs with Doc, and watched TV.

In the morning, I got up and went to Hobby Lobby with my other bright idea. If HobLob doesn't have it, then NOBODY does. And they did not disappoint.

 

 

 

Here's Elli, checking out the redecorating supplies from Hob Lob. I got a bench that is black, distressed with deep red. That's the color of my kitchen cabinets. I also got two black and jute colored geometric patterned burlap baskets. Elli and I  consulted about our "vision" for the living room giant TV, and here is the result.

The TV looks so much more streamlined. and my gigantic collection of workout tapes fits in the burlap bins. I am pleased.

So then, we got hungry and Doc and I went to Free Birds, and got food to go. I got a Freedom Salad with tempeh and guacamole. Doc got a monster burrito with tempeh, beans, guac and sour cream. Halfway through the process, the girl dropped the burrito on to the pizza pan they hold beneath it as they make it. It was huge, so it splatted all over than pan.. In order to salvage it, she asked us if she could just wrap it up in two tortillas, and she would give us a free scoop of tempeh and a free scoop of guac. It ended up huger than huge. We brought it home. Here's Elli, welcoming the new family member,

This doesn't realistically depict the enormosity. So Doc placed a $100 bill next to it.

Take out a bill and see how big it is. Even Doc couldn't eat the whole thing at once.

Then we went to Jon's international Market. That's my favorite grocery store. I got a lot of imported food, which I will tell you about as I cook over the next two days. Right now I am getting ready to watch Miami Vice. We walked the dogs, and I did a little housework, and now I am kicking back.

On Sunday, I got up and went running again. Then I prepared the feast from the groceries we bought at Jon's the day before. First. I sautéed chopped Fuji apple with butter, cinnamon, and sugar.

 

 

I mixed it into a jar of Mott's apple sauce and let it blend.

We also got four giant, thick pork steaks.

I fired up the Smoky Joe and grilled those babies to perfection. The marinade is soy sauce, olive oil, garlic flakes and dark brown sugar.

In the meantime, I chopped zucchini, broccoli, red,orange, and yellow bell peppers, carrots, and onions, and sautéed them in olive oil. The Good Housekeeping cookbook said to add salt, sugar, and garlic, so I did, and they were delicious.

Here is the feast - grilled pork steaks, broccoli-cheese Rice a Roni, stir fry veggies, and applesauce.

 

 

 

Yummy. Then we went shoe shopping for Doc. We went to A Snail's Pace running shop first, but all their shoes were very pricy, and no sales. So we went over to the Skechers outlet and got him a pair of Memory Foam walking shoes.

 

 

 

 

 

He hates shopping. Then we went to Sit N'Sleep and OC Mattress and picked one out. We got a San Clemente all organic memory foam blah blah blah. I am doing this while I wait for them to deliver it.

On Monday, I got up and did some stuff around the house that needed work. Then I took a car load of crap to the Salvation Army. Then I cooked another lunch with basically the same food. First, I chopped up the pork into one inch chunks, egged and breaded it, and fried it.

 

 

Then I mixed the chunks with Panda Express Orange Sauce. They sell it by the bottle in the Asian foods section. Then I made another batch of stir fry - this time cabbage, red, orange, and yellow bell pepper, and zucchini.

 

 

 

You cook them a long time and the cabbage shrinks down. Here they are, steaming away. 

 

 

 

It fogged my camera. Then I made old fashioned fried rice. I beat three eggs and fried them in the oil left over from the veggies. Then I added 3 cups of cooked rice, bacon, scallions and soy sauce, and fried it all up. Here is the spread, with everything.

 

 

MMMMM MMMMMM.

 

 

 

So today, it's back to work. In order to cheer myself up, I wore my new dress and jacket.

They go together well. Here is the look, without the jacket.

That lump on the right is my pedometer. That was the best I could do to conceal it. The necklace was also one of my Memorial Day Macy's purchases. It is made by INC.

Here's a better look at it.

I wore navy tights and deep purple shoes. They are from Payless.

On my right arm, two sapphire bracelets, and a London Blue topaz ring.

On my left, a stretchy crystal bracelet from Saks, and my wedding ring. I took the band in to have an opal replaced, and I'll go pick it up later today.

We ended up getting a new mattress. It is sooooo soft and luxurious. It was also badly needed. We ended up choosing one from OC Mattress, called the San Clemente.

It is a firm, with memory foam and a pillow top. It's made of organic cotton.

It's really tall, and also really deeply fluffy. Here it is, left in place.

It reminds me of the clouds when viewed from an airplane.

Anyway, onto the multitude of links. I'm not really back in the swing of blogging yet, but soon, my friends. First, Rachelle, at www.pinksole.com is having How I Spring. Then Rhea, from www.rheaetcetera.com is having Style to Inspire. Next, lovely Cherie at www.stylenudge.com is hosting Shoe and Tell. Last, but never least, Jess from www.elegantlydressedandstylish.com is hosting Turning Heads Tuesday. Hop over, and see these sweet ladies and all their friends.

Ugh. Back to work. Boo.

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!!!