Call the Saint Bernards!!!!

It is POURING out today. When I got home last night, it was chilly, and Elli was nowhere to be found:

She was doing a pretty good job of hiding from me. She totally looks like a fetus here.

She was finally convinced to come out after I turned the furnace way up. I get too hot, but I had some work to do in the garage, so I went out there until she came out. I cancelled the rescue squad of Saint Bernards.


We had a game day substitution in the old outfit today. It was even colder and drearier than expected, so I decide to wear a turtleneck sweater, instead of the embellished Tshirt I had picked out.

The turtleneck is made by Classiques Entier, a Nordstrom house brand. The black blazer is Emanuel Ungaro, and the knit skirt is made by Clio. I decided to give it some shape by wearing a black velvet belt with a gold buckle. Here's a better look at the vintage dance hall girls print on the skirt.

I originally had on my long tassel necklace, but it hit my belt, so I changed to my shorter goldtone collar.

Since both the sweater and jacket have long sleeves, no bracelets today. On my right hand, I wore my Saks white enamel and crystal ring.

On my left hand, a smoky topaz and diamond ring that I haven't worn in a while.

And to finish it all off, my BCBG boots.

So let's do some linking!!! First, Kileen from www.cuteandlittle.com is back, with On Trend Tuesday. Next, Jess at www.elegantlydressedandstylish.com has Turning Heads Tuesday, and finally, Laura at www.walkinginmemphisinhighheels.com has Trend Spin.

Have a good day, and thanks for dropping by.

Trouble in the Skies!!

Not really. We are just gearing up for our first El Nino rampage. We are getting light rain today, then heavy rain Tuesday through at least Friday. So I'll go see my mom today and then not tomorrow, because with the rain, it will take me an hour to get down there and back. We also saw the weirdest thing in the sky on New Year's Day. I had to look it up on the internet, because I had never seen anything like it. All the neighbors were outside taking pix of it.

This is called a Fallstreak cloud. That's not the sun. There was a hole in the clouds and it was filled with a rainbow. They are often seen in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, but are rarely filled with a rainbow like ours was. It was cool.

So back to work today, after a week off. Here's what I wore:

This sweater knit dress is by Calvin Klein. I topped it with the plum colored sweater coat that I got at Macy's on the day after Christmas. It's a very soft and snuggly outfit.

I wore the garnet necklace and earring set that my mom gave me for my 45th birthday. The earrings look just like the necklace.

On my right hand, a fire opal ring and the silver bracelet that Preston gave me for Christmas.

On my left hand, a fire opal band and a diamond solitaire, and the garnet and ruby bracelet that my mom gave me for my 40th birthday.

And that's about it for today. Let's resume our regular Monday linking. Ana Luiza at www.northwestblonde.com has Start The Week Stylish. Then, Melissa from www.mahogany-closet.com has Mahogany Closet Monday. Next, Deb from www.elegantlyfashionable.com has Classy Monday. After that, Rachelle from www.pinksole.com has How I Fall, and finally, Cherie from www.stylenudge.com has Shoe and Tell. Have a great day, and see you later!!!

Interrupting our Regular Programming

Well, not only did New Year's Eve cause a blip in the program, but my mom got pneumonia and ended up in the hospital. She is 95, so this is quite a setback for her. We were just about to leave to go up to Santa Monica for the holiday, and then we got a call that she had been hospitalized. Oh well, there will always be another New Year's Eve.

So on the day before NYE, I went to the local International market, Jon's. I wanted to get all kinds of imported food for my six days off, and I did. By the way, in order to cut costs, the hospital chain that I work for  required all managers and directors to take at least 6 days leave, so that's why I had the entire week off. Anyway, back to the haul from the market. I started with an assortment of pasta and rice:

Then I got a bunch of cheese and crackers.

I continued, with some Mediterranean goodies:

I got bananas for Doc and a monkey hat for Joseph.

One of the Mediterranean foods is Doc's favorite. It's sometimes known as Ikra, and it's a little difficult to find a brand that doesn't contain tomato.

This one is a product of Bulgaria, and it's called Ajvar. I made his dinner that night from the goodies I got.

And of course, I didn't forget my little doggie friends:

Elli was very appreciative of the Cesar Tiny Dog food.

I also got a bunch of books from the library, which is coming in handy for hanging around the hospital.

I have already finished the Marcia Clark novel. She has written four books, and I have read three of them so far. She is a very good crime fiction writer.

So what did I wear during the last two days? First, on New Year's Day itself:

This is the Karen Scott tunic sweater and the black studded leggings that I got at the day after Christmas sales at Macy's. I wore my long INC necklace and topped it with one of my all time favorite jackets, which a friend got for me at least 20 years ago.

Today, to go back to the hospital,  this is what I wore:

Yesterday, we went over to see Doc's parents, because his dad is also sick. His mom gave me a few dresses, and this top was one of the items. It would be a VERY short dress. I wore it over brown knit boot cut pants.

I wore a green and brown statement necklace that I got at our hospital's gift shop. I also wore two costume bracelets.

One of the dresses that Mimi gave me was a Karen Millen. I haven't tried it on yet, but it's my first piece by her, and it looks very promising.

And that's it, except for some linking. First, Melissa at www.mahogany-closet.com has Mahogany Closet Mondays. Then, Jess at www.elegantlydressedandstylish.com has Turning Heads Tuesday. Then, Tameka at www.pastriespumpsandpi.blogspot.com has Who's Wearing What Wednesday. Fresh Fashion Forum is being hosted by www.sydneyfashionhunter.com, and Dawn Lucy from www.fashionshouldbefun.com has Fun Fashion Friday. And lastly, www.jolynneshane.com is having her weekly linkup.

Well, see you all soon, and please give some good wishes for my mom to have a speedy recovery.

Crazy Skies

We had the most unusual looking clouds on December 27th.

They looked like frozen crystals dragged through the sky. It was really very pretty. All I did on Sunday was go for a run in Central Park, looking to give the Egyptian goose family a Merry Christmas wish.

Their buddies saw me and hurried over - I think they thought I was bearing bread crumbs.

Sorry, guys. Later that night, we watched Fifty Shades of Grey - it was horrible. Boring soft core porn. Then we watched Raven, about Edgar Allen Poe, and that was a lot better.

Now it's back to work, as promised. Here is what I'm wearing:

This is an Ann Taylor pleated skirt with a jacket from Bloomingdale's on top, Underneath, I have a long sleeved gold lurex henley - and that's a good thing, because it was 40 degrees on the way to work this morning.  With it, I wore a costume statement necklace with big crystals.

Since I plan on keeping my sleeves down, only two rings for extra bling today. Both are sapphire and diamond.

I wrapped it all up with my Isaac Mizrahi black suede Mary Janes.

Seems like most bloggers are still taking a well deserved break, but I can still link with two of them -  Ana Luiza from www.northwestblonde.com has Start The Week Stylish, and Deb at www.elegantlyfashionable.com has Classy Monday. Well, have a great day, and I will be in touch!!!

Why Does the Mud Hen Cross the Road?

To get to her Christmas parties, of course!!!

On Christmas Eve, I went down to Villa Valencia, where my mom lives, for dinner. Here is what I wore:

These are INC brocade slacks, with a Style and Co gold lurex sweater.  And the action shot

Fo the Monay!!! Anyway, I wore an emerald necklace:

On my left arm ,

My yellow gold wedding rings, and two diamond tennis bracelets. On my right arm,

A diamond and emerald ring,and two diamond and gemstone bracelets. I carried my weird Israeli purse.

The senior communities compete for the best Gingerbread house. Villa Valencia won. I must say, it was impressive.

Their version was Noah's Ark. All of the following animals  are made of marshmallows.

 Seriously awesome. So was the dinner. I had lamb chops, straight off the crown.

Also, a mixed salad and some red wine. They were absolutely delicious!!  On Christmas morning, Doc and I took all the dogs for a walk over to the Bank of America. It's about 20 minutes away. It was freezing. Christmas day was Kim's birthday, so she, Nathan, and the kids stopped by after church and brought us some Tres Leches cake. We gave her a big makeup kit. Then it was time for Christmas dinner at my brother's house. Here's what I wore:

My black leather sheath dress from Romeo and Juliet. with a red and black chiffon blouse with bell sleeves, made by Bisou Bisou.I wore my BCBG suede boots and floral lace tights.

In the action shot, you can see my red leather jacket. I also wore a black fur scarf. It was 61 in Huntington Beach, and 55 in Rancho Santa Margarita, where my brother lives. It's about 30 minutes south, and then 30 minutes east. It was me, Doc, my mom, Bob, Karin, Karin's mom Helga, Matt and his friend Mark, who had nowhere to go. He was a very nice kid.

I didn't realize that I had a shot of my jacket. Bob and Karin gave us a Starbucks basket.

Bob made prime rib, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, creamed corn, rolls and pie. He gave us 4 big bones for the dogs, and a little piece of meat for Elli. We gave them a big bottle of Mexican eggnog, called Rompope. It's delicious.

They enjoyed their gifts yesterday. As for myself, I went to the mall. I went to Macy's. But first, I stopped at the discount video store. I always look for workout videos there. They are usually $3, but they were on sale for $2. I also got a martial arts one for Doc to watch with Joseph and Benjy. But I noticed that it's a Quentin Tarantino film, so it has to be previewed first.

Doc had one request - a terry cloth robe. So I got him a nice thick one from Polo Ralph Lauren. They were almost out of them.

It was 75% off. It's really nice. Then, on my way to Macy's, I passed Hickory Farms. Everything in there was 50% off, so I got a sharp cheese ball and a beef sausage, and I bought one for the needy and tossed it in the barrel they had there.

Then, I passed DSW shoes. They had big signs that were yellow and black and said Huge Clearance. Doc was teasing me earlier - he asked if I saw a sign that said "Shoes 90% off", if I would immediately stop. Close enough. And that is where I found the score of the day.

Cognac colored sandals with stacked stiletto heels, and the logo all along the top. They were my size, and were 80% off. I got my other pair of Coach shoes here. FInally, I made it to Macy's. They were basically giving the stuff away. I spent $26, and this is what I got.

Two Style and Co ruffly long cardigan sweaters

One is plum and one is light tan. Then I got a thick, glittery Karen Scott tunic, with button detail on the three quarter length sleeves.

And finally, some black leggings with gold studs on the ankle.

That's alot of stuff for $26. The mall was very crowded, especially Bath and Body Works. I didn't go in there - I buy my shower gel at Ulta.

After the mall, I did some errands and then finished my book. Today is my last day off - I'm going to the park for a run, and then cleaning the back yard. I guess it can't all be fun and games. Boo. Now for a bunch of links!!!

First, I hope that everyone had a safe and joyous holiday and got to have some fun. Now for a few of my favorites - some of the blogs I look at have taken the week off, but these ladies are around. Alice from www.happinessatmidlife.com, Dawn Lucy from www.fashionshouldbefun.com, Nicole at www.highlatitudestyle.com, and Tameka at www.pastriespumpsandpi.blogspot.com. There are others that I read and love, and maybe my New Year resolution will be to link to them more often. This is a really big gesture on my part, because I never make resolutions. Have a great day and thanks for dropping by!!!