Welcome back for this week’s edition of the Fashion Files, hosted by Amy and me! If you don’t know Amy, her blog is Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa. I have noticed many fashion bloggers are disappearing. Some are going to Substack; some are posting only on Instagram; and some are just plain ending their blogs. In any event, I asked Amy if she would co-host. Then, I checked with Jill and Kellyann to see if they would be OK with Fashion Files continuing. They were gracious and agreed! So, here we are. Yes, I know this is repetitious, but maybe someone new is reading this! And, it contains our (meaning Amy and I) history such as it is! I promise I will have a different intro next week!
Last week’s looks…
Tuesday – Last Tuesday, we had a walk through of a new exhibition at the museum. If you like the Barbizon School, Impressionism, Pointillism, or Post-Impressionism, this is the exhibit for you. I wrote a little about it here in my “Little Things” post. I’ll be honest, I had no idea who the Pissarro family was. I know a bit more now. And, the exhibition is just amazing. It’s arranged in a clockwise manner (though you don’t have to walk that direction). The same curatorial assistant who took part in the lecture led us through the exhibition. Now, here’s the fun part. I think there were probably 50 or more docents all crowded into this small room, supposedly listening. I’ve discovered docents are a lot like teachers…they don’t get quiet when someone else is talking. There are always little conversations going on around the room. That’s not a bad thing, but I found it funny because that was definitely my experience as a teacher. I’m wearing the Poppie Dress in Quails from Tulip Clothing (use my code, MARSHA20, for 20% off) with a J Jill denim jacket over the top of it. When looking at it, I think the jacket really doesn’t help with any shape at all.
Wednesday – This was a stay at home day and finish planting and watering kinda day. It was also Nigel’s first appointment for physical therapy. I just wore an old chambray shirt from Old Navy and linen shorts, also from Old Navy. Want a little giggle on my dime? Long story short…Nigel left his phone at the P/T place. At first, I looked all over for it and decided to just drive back there. As I was pulling in the driveway and parking, my phone rang. It was the receptionist. She had Nigel’s phone. Want to know how she knew it was his? Well, his wallpaper is a photo of me, flipping him the bird (from the first year I was blogging…didn’t make the blog cut). She recognized me from scheduling his appointments and called. When I walked in, all the ladies behind the counter were just grinning from ear to ear!
Thursday – This was another stay at home day, but I went out that night! My oldest granddaughter takes voice lessons, and her recital was that night. I am always completely blown away by her talent. I didn’t grab a photo of what I wore, but it was a pair of barrel jeans and an old Nic + Zoe sweater. For most of the day, though, I looked like this! Not very glamorous, right? Ah, that’s OK. When I look in the mirror, I see my maternal grandmother’s family looking back at me. Here, I’m wearing my favorite floral horseshoe jeans from Gap with a 100% cotton sweater from Old Navy (last year).
Friday – I finally got a pedicure. I do get gel pedicures. For some weird reason, my toenails can handle polish of any kind while my fingernails will peel and crack. Anyway, I’d gotten a light lavender color the last time (first time this year), and it really wasn’t noticeably growing out. But, I could feel my toenails getting too long…you know that feeling, right? So, I actually made an appointment on Thursday for Friday. My toes are now a pretty pink color! I don’t get pedicures during the winter to give my toenails a rest. I wore almost the same thing as I did Wednesday. I wore the pink version of those shorts along with my Sanctuary tee. I think my favorite part of the pedicure is when they rub those hot stones over your legs and feet. I wonder if I could get Nigel to do that! I also had a Friday Kroger pick up…gotta get those 4 x gas points!
Saturday – I spent a lot of this day researching for a tour I was giving on Sunday. I decided, at the last minute, to change one and kinda create an entirely new one using works I already knew about. I also did some research for Monday’s post. But, most of the day was spent researching, writing, and practicing that new tour. The one part of the tour I love the best as a docent as well as being a guest is the information about the art and artist. Since we’re moving away from that model of tour, I have to decide which facets of both are most important to the theme and to what I want the guests to remember after the tour. I moved the photos of the paintings all around and asked Nigel which way he’d go because these paintings aren’t all in the same gallery. I wanted there to be cohesiveness in the way I’d guide my guests through the tour as well as connections between the “adjacent” (as in next in line) pieces. Nigel knew, approximately, where all the pieces were and was a great help. Again, I’m wearing the Old Navy shorts in lavender and an old smocked ruffle sleeve top from Loft. I don’t really dig ruffles on the arms like this, but the smocking will get me almost every time!
Sunday – I think I gave the best tour ever today! Even though I had just prepped on one new work, the tour went so well. It wasn’t me, though. The success came from the input of the guests. I did a VTS (read more about that here) hybrid tour. I started out with my favorite piece by William-Adolphe Bouguereau, Dream of Spring and included other pieces I’ve used before with the exception of Hotel Lobby by Edward Hopper. This group of people, a family of four and several couples, were so engaged in the art and talking about it…not just looking at it but actually talking about the way the artist did this or that. I was on Cloud Nine! I wore the Rose Hip dress by Gudrun Sjödén with my Eileen Fisher sandals. Then, as I was leaving, I met the most adorable couple of girls. I just had to stop and tell them just how amazing they were. They even let me take their photo, but I’m not going to share it here because I didn’t think to ask them for permission to share it. And, to make a good day even better, my youngest and his partner came over for dinner. I am so glad they found each other. I have seen such a huge change in him since meeting her. It makes my heart happy.
Monday – Nigel had an appointment with the Nurse Practitioner. His x-ray was something to see! There is a lot of hardware in his hip right now. He’s got a huge implant going down into his femur as well as a few screws. Let’s just say he would definitely set off any kind of metal detectors! His staples were taken out, and I had to look away. I was able to give him his meds through his PICC line and change his bandages, but removing those staples…nope, no way!!! I wore a pair of Old Navy jeans and tee, topped with an old J Jill linen duster.
Purchases…
You probably won’t believe this, but I didn’t buy anything this week! I had overloaded on buying the week before so I’ve still got things being delivered. I have a pair of Snag tights that I ordered who knows when that have finally reached the US from the UK. They’re going to arrive before fall, I hope! I don’t even remember what they look like. But, I have to tell you, if you’ve got thick thighs like me, Snag tights are your friends! And, that’s not even sponsored! I still want a pair of Sneakerinas. I keep looking at the fabric pair on the Vivaia website, but, gosh are they expensive! That, plus who knows how long I’d like them are what is keeping me from pressing “Buy!”
What to link up…
Please link up your favorite fashion posts, old and new. Please take the time to visit some of the other bloggers. I’m sure they would appreciate it, and please let them know you are visiting from our link up! A huge thanks to Jill and Kellyann for agreeing to let us host this new “old” link party. And, an even bigger thanks to Amy for being my co-host! In case you’re not sure about what to post, I’ve actually stolen some of Amy’s Monday post (thanks, Amy): “You can show one outfit you’ve worn or multiple outfits you’ve worn. You can talk about clothing, shoes, accessories, undergarments, swimwear, brands you stand by, thrifting, online shopping, in person shopping – whatever you want to talk about that involves fashion. I have had a few comment that they aren’t fashionable and I say to that “pish posh”. Just show us what you’ve worn!” I love that…you don’t have to be dressed to the nines (look at what I’ve worn) to link up! WordPress has had an update, and the Link Party button usually doesn’t show up on my draft, but here it is! Hopefully, it will show up on the blog when it’s published! As always, if it doesn’t work, please link up through Amy’s blog!
Yay for the perfect tour!
It’s so amazing how much some input from the group can change a tour. I remember one library tour with about 50 people which could have been a disaster (we usually do 15!), but the group was so amazing that it was one of my best tours ever.
My favorite outfit is the last one, I just like the look of a nice duster.