Going dotty!

This post is a mixed bag of odds · and · ends!

After the Apple store visit regarding my MacBook keyboard problems, 
we swanned around the always bright and beautiful mall for a while. . . a 
little indoor exercise, and supposedly window shopping!

Although we're less than 10 minutes drive away we haven't spent time there lately.  

Much had changed, including many new stores and restaurants we'd never heard of.

H&M - love it or hate it?
I actually love looking here as the fashions are current. Yes I know
they're geared perhaps toward the younger generations - with a certain 
'street style' more than pandering to the country club set, which I am not
and never have been by any means! But they do it right, are affordable,
fun. . . . . .and I've never had a problem with their garments falling apart
 or shrinking in the washing machine.

The above window is dressed in what must be the current style
and includes polka dots, lots of different sized black and white ones.
I actually like polka dots, always have, but might have to stay with smaller,
less conspicuous ones at this age!

This is me. Well not really me, it's a mannequin of course!
She's wearing a garment I thought might be fun to wear casually on the cool, 
not really cold, days we are currently having around here. Some sweatshirts
 are too thick and bulky, this one is light and very soft on the inside, perfect
 length and has longer sleeves which I need.
 It's a rich cream, not white, the appliqué is beautiful black. . . . . .and I
 really would love to be back 'in Paris' right now, or any time in the future.
In fact Bob just read my mind as he called out "would you like to go
back to Paris some day" - and he hasn't even read this post yet.
We know each other far too well and often think alike!

So window shopping turned into real shopping. I bought it and am going to
 love it. . . . . . .except for those weird gold-toned faux metal (plastic!) buttons. 
I'm changing them to lovely plain black buttons as I wear mostly silver
 earrings - yellowish 'gold' buttons won't work that close to my ears!

On a recent evening I removed the last of the amaryllis pots from the dining room table. 
They brought so much joy to this room over the holiday season, and longer.
I'll be on the lookout for a new plant soon - meanwhile will keep the amaryllis
bulbs in their pots in the house where it's warm, later moving to the potting shed
 in hopes they'll re-bloom later this year.

Here's an excellent video about amaryllis care and re-bloom
if you have some you would like to try keeping.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnNuDb31gHw



Whilst searching for paint colors for the bedroom refresh, I found that
 papering walls seems to be very popular again. Included are amazing
 wallpaper murals, some at extraordinary high prices I must add.

Above is the more classic oil painting look which appears to be in a kitchen -
I love that somewhat unconventional look but have no kitchen wall that big.

Above is a more casual stenciled mural on a printed concrete-look
 background - I like the herringbone old wood floor with this look.

via 

What about this beauty!  This is quite a show stopping wall. One of many 
available, however if you have photos of your own flowers, or anything else
 your camera has caught during your travels. . . . . .or even in your garden,
this company can make it into a mural.
The only wallpapered room I have now is my kitchen.
I do have textured wallpaper below the chair rail in the dining room but
 it's painted over in the same rich cream color as the rest of the walls so 
is subtle and I like it that way.

What are your feelings about wallpaper?
Do you have any papered walls?

'Rusty' knits - and dogs!

This winter I changed up my wardrobe a bit to include shades of RUST.

Still wear a lot of grey and of course black, however thought the golden browns

 fit in well and brought color and warmth - although still neutral/natural - to what 

was becoming my somewhat dreary 'twenty shades of grey' closet. 

I'd also bought the lovely taupe wrap coat whilst in ZARA in London, and the

 camel coat at H&M, so adding warmer colored sweaters seemed the way to go

This rust color, more dressy cowl neck, I wore to dinner on board the ship as we

 headed to the Western Sahara desert in October - it was a bit more dressy and

 worked well for evenings with a black trouser or silky printed skirt. I pinned on a

 favorite brooch rather than dangling necklaces. . . . . . 

The neutrals - classic naturals.

. . . . . . . and then there's this gorgeous chunky sweater - found this week in the

 clearance sale at Target for just $17!  Of course I didn't go there looking for 

clothes but this was on a mannequin with black pants and caught my eye!  

It ticked all the boxes - rusty gold, loose crew neck and longer length, with

 very long sleeves to roll up or cover the wrists on cold days, and with just a little

 shaping knitted in to make it non-baggy looking. It's extremely light and feels

 awesome on - don't think it will itch - and goes with my reddish hair!  

Anyway it was tossed into the cart along with the items I was really there to buy!

Have you read this book?  If you enjoy classical music as I do, you will find

 this is a wonderful true story written by Korean violinist Min Kym. 

I grabbed this at the Dollar Tree store and must say it's been a great read.

While talking about the color rust I have to share my hairstylist Suzi's

'babies' (she's given me permission to post their picture). 

Roxy the miniature Schnauzer and Lucy the Goldendoodle were at the

 salon on my recent visit - so well behaved and of course adorable.

They posed for me. . . . . . and made me wish I had a doggie of my own!

Hope your weekend is fun, as ours has been so far.

Dogs were also in the spotlight for us last evening when we

 spent a couple of hours at our local theatre watching the 

English play, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

It also included a handsome 'rusty' Golden Retriever named 

Sandy - much admired for his acting skills during his brief appearance.  

BTW - I'm actually a cat person, my favorite being rusty colored

'marmalade' kitties, although I've never had one that color of my own!

Skirting the issue!

What are your feelings regarding skirts?  

Do you wear them, and if so when and where?
Time for a fashion post.

I've noticed skirts are fashion's darling once again now that spring is on the way. 
After months of huddling in pants of every description, it seems the time has
 come to feel fresh air on our legs and ready ourselves for summer days in
 shorts, or at my age, a neat cropped trouser! I will wear longer to the knee
 shorts working in the garden or at the beach, but the days of true short shorts
 and 'hot pants' are just fun youthful memories.

But which length skirts are best?

Remember back in the day of dictated skirt lengths when

'to be in fashion' meant we all wore maxi, midi, at the knee,

or the audacious thigh-high mini skirt. 

Hemlines went up and down almost overnight. I tried them all as each

 length was in style, sometimes even shortening hems to get more wear

 out of a longer style when suddenly a shorter one became de rigeur.

Today, thank goodness, any length of skirt is in style.

We no longer allow the fashion houses to tell us what to wear.

We can now feel comfortable in anything we choose to wear 

without feeling 'out of style'.  How much better is that.

Of course designers will always design new clothes.

Those tall, slim, highly paid models will sashay down the runways

in high fashion.

Then high street versions of what are often ridiculous styles for

 everyday living for 90% of us, will arrive at the mall as each

new season comes knocking.

All above skirts ~ ZARA

I do like some of the new, what I call 'flimsy' fuller, often pleated, mid-calf  

skirts. I can see wearing them on a warm spring or hot summer 

evening. I also love the idea of not having to wear really high heels

with them. Flat sandals or a stylish or even classic sneaker pairs up

well with many skirts.

The classic narrow black midi length skirt below is perhaps my personal favorite.

I have a similar one in a heavy waffled cotton knit with an elastic/adjustable tie

waistband and deep walking slit in the back. This skirt (from JJill and looks as

 good as the day I bought it) I've worn for many years with boots, both tall or short,

 and loafers in winter, or with summer sandals, and of course with sneakers any time. 

This post came about following a closet clean out last week!

I found several skirts I haven't worn in a while and decided to 

play with them in new ways, putting together some really different

looks. Yes, I may be older but I still love fashion and always will.

Will you be buying any skirts for spring, or like me,

do you have some hiding in the back of your closet?

If so, pull 'em out and play with them, it's fun, and you may end up

 sashaying through your grocery store feeling a cut above all those 

same old jeans and leggings walking up and down the aisles!

For my trip to the beauty salon this week, a warm and sunny day, I wore

 a 'flimsy' but lined, olive, coral and black print midi length skirt, a mid-weight

long-sleeved olive sweater, and my olive safari vest.

On my feet, clunky but comfy, khaki suede/leather oxfords picked up a few

 years back in Barcelona.

I felt like a million bucks even though nothing was new.

I just mixed things up in a new way!

The biggest secret I'll share with you is the skirt. . . . . . it was my dear 

mother's about twenty years ago! (For the Brits reading this - it's from M&S).

I love it and it's back in style!

This evening we're off to a local restaurant for a wine tasting with a friend's 

a capella group providing live music.

What to wear? It's warm again so a skirt may be in the mix - off to the closet 

right now!

Your fabulous 'skirt stories' shared with us here will be welcomed.

Thanks for the kind comments you left on yesterday's 12th blogging anniversary post.

Changes being made. . . . . . . . . . .

Monday again and before practicing my Tai Chi (oooh! it's really 

hard to remember all the moves) for tonight's class, I feel like writing

 a 'fashion post' of sorts.

I'm making what hopefully will be some easier to manage wardrobe changes.

This winter I decided to start on minimizing my overloaded closet.

This doesn't mean I've yet completed this project by any stretch of

the imagination. . . . . . . .but I have made some changes and am

definitely working on more. When I pack away my cold weather clothes

come Spring I plan to donate everything I didn't wear.

At my age I don't require so many clothes hanging in closets, folded on

 shelves, and stacked in drawers.

I have some favorites I will never part with. I have many items of the past few

 years working perfectly for my lifestyle, but I also have a load of lesser loved

clothes which have run their course for one reason or another. 

This doesn't mean I'll never not shop for anymore clothes, shoes, bags etc.

Let's face it, I'm only human and admit to being a woman who loves fashion.

Also, between you and me, just today I ordered footwear. . . . . more on that

in another post!

What I'm wanting for my lifestyle when it comes to dressing at this time of my life, 

is a cut and dried plan where less is more. It's going to be hard but the outcome 

looks promising.  Sailing on ships where I've been limited to keeping my 

clothing at a minimum due to space, I've discovered life is a lot easier 

when you have less to choose from, and even more exciting when your

 creative side is tapped into.

I plan to follow the mantra of companies such as Cuyana, 

'Fewer, better things.' 

This embodies essential pieces for the modern woman

made from premium materials and well constructed.

Eileen Fisher also comes to mind and I often look for sales as regular

 prices are high, but I can vouch that her clothes wear very well, the

 fabrics are wonderful, my type of elegant fashion - styles are edgy and

 never look dated.

I'm also a great J.Jill fan (see below) of many years and have several

now 'almost vintage' pieces of their clothing still wearable and enjoyed.

I think back to my younger days when my wardrobe was similar, much more

 sparse (and what I'm aiming for again) mainly because my mother made

 many of my clothes, textiles were important to us, and I didn't find what I 

wanted to wear in affordable shops. These days, with so many options for

 purchasing trendy clothing at cut rate prices, it seems we are lured into

 buying far too much. This way of dressing is great for the young, however

 perhaps we mature women need less as we downsize not only our wardrobes,

 but also many other facets of our lives. 

All that said, as I go through my clothes choosing what to pack for my upcoming

somewhat 'wild trip', I decided I will take one dress after all!

Several years ago I purchased a really nice black textured knit dress from J.Jill -

in fact I liked it so much I bought another when it went on sale. 

For me it's actually a perfect length worn as an above the knee tunic over leggings

 so will be ideal on board the ship as we don't need to take formal clothes.

 This little dress can easily be 'dressed up' with scarves or jewelry for evening. 

Jewelry!

That's something I plan to address also in another post.

Costume jewelry to be exact - not our keepsake pieces marking those

very special dates in our lives - all the other cheapo 'stuff' which gets crammed

 into jewelry boxes, little cloth drawstring bags, discarded chocolate boxes!!!

You know where I'm coming from don't you?

Hope this will be a great week wherever you are.

Any plans to reorganize your own wardrobe?

Tips will be appreciated.

The lovely Japanese decluttering guru Marie Kondo can help with

 organizing and more. I'm pulling my copy of Spark Joy out of the

 bookcase right now!

Please note, I'm not involved in any advertising on my blog - any companies' products I name are only because I use/wear the items myself.