Heavy Metal

                                  Today's outfit has a lot of metal trim going on.

This pleated skirt is by my favorite brand, Calvin Klein. It's topped with a tank by Luox, and a soft jersey waterfall cardi that my MIL gave me. Here's a closer look at the trim on the tank.

There are chains and sequins galore!!! I wore my mother of pearl spaceship necklace, since it's smaller and doesn't compete or interfere with all those dangly bits.The cardi also has studs in the shoulder region for more rock and roll vibes.

I could have easily gone beltless, but I tied a black satin ribbon around the waist, just for a little extra oomph.

On my right arm, a vintage bracelet that I fixed over the last long weekend, and a mother of pearl ring. The bracelet is the perfect width to hide my chomp marks from Kenni/Vinni biting me the other day.

On my left arm, my favorite costume silver bracelet with crystals, and another mother of pearl spaceship ring.

I wore my Nine West gray ankle strap shoes for the finishing touch.

Lotsa links today!!! First, Tameka at www.pastriespumpsandpi.blogspot.com has Who's Wearing What Wednesday. Then, Liz at www.shoppingmycloset.com has Style Me Wednesday. Next, Lindsey at www.thepleatedpoppy.com has What I Wore, and last (I told you there were a lot), Ashleigh at www.fashionablyashleigh.com has Trend Spin Linkup.

Well, I have a busy day ahead of me, so I had better get cracking!!! See you later!!!

The Spoils of Swag

I told you that I would reveal the three items that I selected at the clothing swap on Sunday. So without further ado, numero uno!!!!

An Yves St Laurent flared hem jacket. So cute on the hanger, but wait until the end of the post to see how it looks on. Next, another jacket, this time from Nipon Boutique.

This one will have to be saved for cooler weather, but it's also really cute. The fuzzy trim goes around the collar, down the front, and at the top of the pockets. Lastly, a Loft skirt.

It will also have to wait for some cooler weather. It has machine embroidered trim at the hem.

So that's what I got from bartering. But, a box came again yesterday, with three things that I actually paid for :). Saks was having a flash sale, with some items 70-80% off, so I got three bracelets that I have been eyeing. First, a brass link bracelet with two Howlite stones.

Then, a multistrand bracelet of amber toned beads with a cool crystal clasp.

And finally, the matching bracelet to the enamel ring that I wear all the time.

So let's see how some of this looked once I put it on. First, my outfit for today:

It's the YSL jacket with a pair of Armani trousers. The shape of the jacket is adorable. It has wide shoulders and a nipped in waist. This shape makes me think that the jacket is 80s vintage, but it has either never been worn, or not worn very often, because it is in pristine condition. On my right arm,

The two matching enamel and crystal pieces!!!! Luuuurrrvvveee it.  On my left arm,

My wedding rings, and a stretchy crystal bracelet that I got at Saks last year, when I got the enamel ring. For my necklace, I stuck with the polka dot theme, but branched out as far as colors are concerned.

This is the necklace that I got at Charming Charlie a couple of weeks ago. I was going to wear some Valentino sandals, but the heel was too low for the length of the pants.

They are the ones on the right. So I switched to my Payless $10 wedges.

And the big reveal is over!!!! So let's link. First, Jess from www.elegantlydressedandstylish.com is having Turning Heads Tuesday. I finally feel somewhat elegant and like a head turner :). Then, Kileen from www.cuteandlittle.com is hosting On Trend Tuesday. And finally, Lauren from www.stylelixir.com has her weekly Style Sessions. I hope you have a great day and get yourself all styled up as pretty as these ladies did!!!

I've Seen Fire And I've Seen Rain

What a wild and woolly weekend Mother Nature gave us!!! On Friday afternoon, there was a brush fire in the Cajon Pass, north of LA. It jumped the freeway, destroyed about 20 cars, then continued to burn 3500+ acres. Some people had to leave their vehicles on the freeway and flee. Then on Saturday and Sunday, some much needed rain helped the firefighting efforts. We are getting the tail end of Hurricane Dolores here in SoCal. But I was so happy to see the rain, even if the humidity is off the charts.

So what did I do while getting drenched? First, on Saturday morning, I went for a hike with my hiking club. We went up to Palos Verdes, a city in LA county that's about a half hour north of Huntington Beach, and hiked in Del Cerro Park.

That slice of island that you can barely see is Catalina Island. In this view you can see the trails we hiked on..

We also got a good view of the Terranea Resort, which is lovely.

That's it on the very right hand side.  There are a lot of gorgeous ocean view homes up there.

The hike was quite hilly, but it only lasted an hour, so a nice pharmacist named Kirsten and I continued on for an extra 45 minutes, giving us a total of 5.5 miles. Then I came home and showered off and went to lunch with Doc. Here is what I wore, plus a view of my frizzy mop au natural.

My nustard check shorts are from Target, and the top is dotted swiss of unknown origin. I am also wearing Sam and Libby sandals from Target.

They have  super cushy insoles. Here's a look at the cute plastic details on the criss cross straps.

We went to Curry and Kabob House for their mimosa brunch. Doc was really hungry. Here are our plates.

I had goat curry, chicken tikka, raita, and an assortment of veggie dishes. The mixed veggies at 9 o'clock in the picture were SPICY.

On Sunday, I went for a run. Due to the humidity, it took 10 minutes longer than usual, because I just couldn't keep up my usual pace. Then, in the afternoon, I went to a clothing swap. I will show you what I got tomorrow, since this post is already long. I turned in 5 items, and took home 3, so I came out ahead in not re-cramming my closets.

Today, it's still humid and showery. Here is what I wore.

My stewardess skirt from Worthington, with a white nylon T shirt on top. This plain outfit is all about the accessories. The skirt has a cool waist detail, as does the top.

I wore my Joan Rivers convertible necklace. I used the coral and turquoise insets.

I never show my earrings, but today, I had to, since they echo the necklace exactly.

                                                I wore my beautiful Ivanka Trump shoes.

On my left arm, I have my wedding set and two enamel bangles from Charming Charlie.

On my right arm, my white enamel/crystal ring from Saks, and a wide enamel cuff that covers whats left of my encounter with Kenni's teeth. The wounds are doing nicely - Doc did a great job of patching me up.

Time to link!!! Three lovely ladies today. Melissa from www.Mahogany-Closet.com has Mahogany Monday, Rachelle from www.pinksole.com has How I Summer, and Cherie from www.stylenudge.com has Shoe and Tell.

Have a great day, and stay tuned for more shenanigans!!!

Spring Fashion Review

This is a bit late, but I had a busy month of June, so I didn't get a chance to look at my spring outfits. But today, it's raining, so I am writing this post while watching Lifetime movies on TV.

So let's get started!!! First of ll, there were a lot of outfits that I really liked.When I told my friend Lauren, she said that I'm probably getting better at knowing what looks good on my body type, especially from photographing everything I wear for my blog. That's good advice. I also get to see how I look in other people's view. My favorite five outfits consist of 4 dresses and one pair of pants. That's probably because I mostly wear dresses.

My first top five outfit happened on March 26th, right after Spring started.

This is my Celine wool skirt in fuschia, orange and ivory, with a fucshia ruffled tank, an ivory waterfall cardi, and my ivory and gold vintage cord belt.

The second outfit in the top five was worn on the day before, March 25th. I tend to have streaks of successes and failures.

This is the BB Dakota dress that I got at Stacy's Closet, topped by a red cashmere cardi from Neiman Marcus, and a gold leather belt in a Celtic knot pattern. I have the exact same dress in a floral colorway, and it made the summer best list last year.

My next favorite occurred on April 30th. It was a skirt ensemble.

My olive skirt was dotted with purple and ivory. it was made by Sharagano. On top, I wore a studded tank by INC, and a grey lace back cardi from Target.

The next favorite was actually pants!!! I wore it on April 17th.

These are my Rampage floral Florida grannie pants. They look good with everything, and I always feel great when I wear them. This time, I topped them with a satin tunic with matching sash.

The next one happened on May 4th, and it is another piece that I have worn with different sweaters and jackets, and it always looks great.

This houndstooth knit dress came from Nordstrom Rack. I topped it this time with a black cardi with red lurex flames on the sides, and a red sash. It's a very flattering, swirly dress.

And now, my top pick from Spring 2015!!!! Drumroll, please.

My gorgeous Calvin Klein knit with sparkly details from Saks. Here is a closeup of the detail.

This is a beautifully made dress that I absolutely love and will wear for a long time. This is also Doc's favorite dress, coincidentally.

Now for the duds. I only found four that I would not repeat, and three of them are pants. One of them also appeared on the best list. But when I styled it differently, I disliked it.

Even though it got a lot of compliments, I didn't like this rendition nearly as much as the winning version. It needed a belt, and I preferred the red cardi to the grey one. Lesson learned.

The next one happened on May 29th. It's not so much that it was awful. It was that the sweater looked ratty to me, and the blouse had nice ruffles that were squashed under the old sweater, and made my boobs weird and lumpy.

I kept the blouse and pants, and donated the sweater, in case anyone else wants it. The next outfit happened on May 12th.

I was getting set to leave for Orlando the next morning, and I threw this mess together. It's too casual for work, and the combination of white pants and a suede jacket is weird. Next time, no jacket.

The last disaster happened on June 6th. It was pants again.

I keep trying to make these H and M pants work with different tops, but I have only had one look that I really liked, and it was the first try. From now on, that's how i will wear them.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this little retrospective. I really have learned a lot about what looks good on my older, petite figure. And also, when i get a winner, I need to stick with it and not get creative. See you all later!!!