Fashion Files and a Link Party!

Week 22!

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. Boy howdy, have I been busy! I am now in the last lap before the church weekend retreat, and I’ve got that to finish up! Last week was a good one. The weather was warm and sticky which affected what I wore even though I was inside most of it! I didn’t make it around to everyone’s posts, and I’m really sorry. I will try to do that, along with this week’s. Some day, I’m going to catch a breath, I hope!

Let’s get this party started!

If you’re a fashion blogger, this is the place to be. It’s the day of the week where I talk about the things I wore last week and what I did as well as anything I might have bought. It’s also the place where you can tell us about what you wore, what you bought, what you wished you’d bought! Please tell your friends about our link party because we’d love to see it grow and grow! I’m hopeful I can still comment on others’ blogs, but who knows with google and WordPress. I will try to get to your blogs this week! So, on with the show! Huzzah!

Last week’s looks…

Tuesday – I had a Contemporary Core meeting at the museum. We spent the time talking about the Giants exhibition which opens this coming weekend. There will be at least 130 pieces of art on display. Our task was to come up with a way for all docents to provide tours and gallery conversations about a portion of those pieces. Of course, other pieces will be researched as the exhibition opens and docents finally see the pieces up close and personal (well as up close as we can get). I am scheduled to do one hour of Gallery Conversations at this point. I’m waiting to see if I’m up to giving a tour until I’ve see the pieces. I want to give these pieces of art, and the collection in general, the attention and research it deserves. Hopefully, I’ll be able to tell you more next week. I wore a merino wool sweater from Garnet Hill (Painted Pomegranate Floral) with some wide leg Old Navy jeans in a dark wash. I don’t know. I’m beginning to think the wide legs really do me no favors, but gosh do I love them!

Wednesday – I spent most of this day working on three writing projects. One of those was my Thursday Poetry post. I also needed to make some revisions to the participant guide for our weekend retreat that’s coming up. The third was a five minute presentation I had to give on Thursday to the European Core. My part was about the Pissarro family and the Impressionists. There were several other people doing short presentations so we had a lot of overlap. The difficult part was parsing through all the information. I found at least three “Fathers of Impressionism!” I’m happy to report I got them all done before bedtime! Since I spent most of the day researching, reading, and writing, I stayed in my nightgown all day. And, nope! You don’t get to see that!

Thursday – I overslept this day. Well, let me rephrase that…I overnapped. I don’t stay up with Nigel when he gets up which is anywhere from 5:45 to 7:30. Since I don’t go to sleep until after midnight, and I get up with him a time or two, I seem to get my best sleep in those couple of hours after he gets up (he also snores because he sleeps on his back). Anyhoo, I hurried up and took my shower, helped Nigel with his shower, fixed his lunch, and headed to the museum. Oh, and I took Jack out a few times and fed him, too! I gave my presentation. I was right in thinking we would have lots of overlap. But, that’s better than gaping holes. I learned a lot from each presentation, too. I love the Impressionists and was happy to have researched the movement a bit more. I wore a pair of Talbots pants that are a weird length. I know they would look better with sandals. But, a) I knew we’d be walking a lot, and b) I desperately need a pedicure! So, I wore a pair of my neutral color Sambas. I added this cute ribbed tee from Old Navy. It has tiny little blue flowers. The cardigan is an intricate crocheted or woven fabric. It’s from J Jill and dates back to my teaching days. It’s probably at least 15 years old. I have a tank that matches it perfectly, but I wasn’t sure how warm or cool the museum would be.

Friday – I had a grocery pick up late in the day. I started my research for next Monday’s Style Imitating Art post. I gathered together several different articles. Then, I read them and synthesize it all together in one post. I am trying to gather better sources rather than just relying on Wikipedia. What’s funny, though, is how many museums use Wikipedia’s information on their sites. I also got a new wig and couldn’t wait to wear it. I’ve been wanting to try a much shorter and straighter version. I did have to do a bit of training because it’s a “face flopper.” That’s when the hair keeps flopping into your face. I’ve learned to check to make sure the synthetic wigs I buy are heat friendly. I use a couple of techniques to do things like move the part as well as to tame those flopping parts. One is to spritz some water on the wig and using a blow dryer to brush it into place. The thing I always forget is you can’t just do the front part. You have to do the bits behind the front, too, because it all kinda works together. Another way is to use a curling iron or brush on a really low setting. That one is probably my favorite way because I can see where the hairs are going. I did move the part on this a little to the side. I like the blunt cut, but I have to get used to the look. I haven’t worn my hair like this ever! I wore this pretty Gudrun Sjödén dress. A friend of mine would call it a schmata! I love the colors in it! I spent most of the day working on blogging in one form or another as well as laundry and some cleaning. I also did the photo shoot for next week’s SIA. I think that’s the earliest I’ve ever done one!

Saturday – I spent a lot of time outside as I trimmed bushes, pulled out crabgrass, and deadheaded rosebushes. I keep telling myself next year I’m going to go a little easier on the flowers. It’s the time of year, though, when I’m just tired of them. My petunias never really did very well which is weird as they were wave petunias. These usually just grow like gangbusters, but I think it was just too hot for them. My Boston ferns are looking good, though. I really wish I had the space (and natural light) to bring them inside. I know, from experience, they are such messy plants. I think I’ll try to keep my Kimberley ferns in the garage for the winter. Our garage stays warm enough for that. Anyway, I finished up fairly early with outside chores and took a shower. I should mention I help Nigel with his shower every day. I know he can shower on his own, but it’s the getting in and out of the shower where I’m needed. I wore these Tulip Clothing Palazzo pants with a very old Banana Republic top. I wasn’t sure if it worked. But, when I looked in the mirror, I was pleasantly surprised to find I really liked it! By the way, Debbie is having a huge sale right now. She has several items, including my pants, for $15! I’m not sure how long that sale will last, though.

Sunday – Our son came over to work on the dry wall between the upper and lower cabinets. Nigel is now champing at the bit to find tile for the backsplash. I really want to wait until the quartz is put in so I can live with it. Then, I can decide how I want to go. Over the years, we’ve had a variety of backsplashes in our houses. One time, our house up north had every single square inch of the kitchen covered in wallpaper. When I took it off, I painted the space. Then, I discovered beadboard and just love that! At our last house, the granite was very dark. The builder had also done a short backsplash of the same granite. It was so difficult to figure out what to do. Once we painted the cabinets, I convinced Nigel to put in beadboard. The whole effect was perfect as far as I was concerned! But, I’m wondering if this quartz is a little more modern and “chic” for beadboard. That’s why I want to wait. The other reason is knowing just how difficult it is to remove tile. I love to change things up a lot. So, beadboard can be painted and achieve a completely different look. I then worked almost all afternoon and evening on Monday’s post for SIA as well as the following Monday’s post with my interpretation. I write the post first. Then, I know how many collages I will need. I wore a pair of my Old Navy shorts along with this cute crocheted top from Loft. It’s 100% cotton, and I can see it stretching out near the bottom. It’s a beautiful piece, though.

Monday – I was awake early but fell back asleep. I had a weird dream which kinda threw off my whole morning. Does that ever happen to you? It included many people from my teaching past. It makes me wonder why I dreamt that. I had a Women’s Ministries meeting in the afternoon to finalize plans for next weekend. We also went through the agenda for the weekend. I can tell our fearless leader is beginning to feel some relief. She was really giddy during the meeting as were the rest of us. It was a hilarious way to spend the afternoon and gave me the lift I needed after that weird dream. I wore a pair of straight leg Old Navy Jeans with an old Talbots button up with a Parisian print. Then, I came home to finish this post as well as to work on my presentation for this weekend. If I can just get through this weekend, I’ll be so relieved. But, then I need to start researching and writing the mini-retreat I’ll give next year. You know what they say…no rest for the wicked!

In between…

I am still knitting away on my little squares. I don’t know how many I have to knit for the whole blanket, but let’s just say it will be the Christmas after this one before it’s done. Can we do that? I love to knit these little squares…they really help me wind down. And, I haven’t started any new projects so there’s that! We’re still watching “The Last Airbender” though Nigel has discovered these AI videos on YouTube that show celebrities as they currently look (or when they passed away) then they peel away those older faces to reveal their younger selves. I can’t watch those…I kept gasping and saying things like, “Oh, now that’s a handsome man!” Or, “Oh, my gosh, what a face!” I’m sure it didn’t do anything for Nigel’s ego! I didn’t have time to write a book review on the last book I finished, but I still intend to do that. I’m going to be finishing up and polishing my presentation for the church retreat this coming weekend, too. Then, I’ll have to get started on creating (from scratch) my own mini-retreat I do in the early spring. Who was it who said, “It’s always somethin'”? I have a good friend I met on Facebook (and in person). We are good friends, and I call her my second cousin twice removed. She’s about six weeks older than I am and is currently starting her 70 things before she turns 70. I’ve been thinking about doing that for a bit, and since I saw her post on Facebook, I think I’ll see what I can come up. I don’t want to just do 70 random things. I want them to have meaning to me.

Purchases…

OK, I caved. I bought a pair of Halaras. It was homework Amy gave me last week. You can be sure I’ll do a post about them. I had a code for 10% off at Miz Mooz and was so tempted to buy a pair of shoes. But, I decided I would wait until later. They didn’t have any reviews, and I depend upon those. I also bought a sweater from Talbots as well as another button up with a French theme. I didn’t realize the one I wore on Monday was a French theme. I don’t think I need two so I may return it. I am also returning the sweater because it’s just not me. I have been wanting a ballet top and had ordered one from Old Navy. I ordered a petite size, and it was really short. So, I ordered a regular which wasn’t any longer. So, I ordered a larger size as well as a tall! I also ordered a cute pointelle tee, a floral printed one (I thought it was the one I’d seen in the store, but it’s completely different), and a cropped top. I’m returning the last two items as well as the ballerina tops that don’t make the cut.

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! I really do thank Amy for being my co-host! Feel free to show us what you’ve been wearing, what you’ve bought, returned, or just thought about. Maybe you could share something you’d love to have but never will for whatever reason. You can tell us…we’ll understand. Tell us about your shopping habits. Do you enjoy thrifting, reselling, or online shopping? Just write a post about fashion of any kind. You could even do a review of an awards show. There are always awards shows, it seems! And, remember, even if you’re a movie reviewer, a baking blog, a book lovers blog, a blog that’s anything but fashion, I’m betting you get dressed. Snap a photo, write a little about it, and link it up! You really don’t have to dress up, either…take a look at my Sunday outfit! Thanks, my friends, for linking up and spreading the news!

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