Fashion Files and a Link Party!

Week 24!

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. Nigel began physical therapy at the place he originally started, and his mindset is definitely more positive. He’s scared the bejeebers out of me a couple of times when he’s taken a few steps without anything! I know that doesn’t sound like much, but it’s literally been years since I’ve seen him walk unaided. I have tried commenting on many blogs and still get a weird message about “nonce.” If anyone knows what that means, and how I can bypass it, please let me know!

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 will try to get to your blogs this week! So, on with the show! Huzzah!

Last week’s looks…

Tuesday – Nigel had his physical therapy consult. Luckily, he’d worked with this therapist when all of this first started so they had a good working relationship. The therapist thought Nigel would be in really bad condition after reading the notes so he was pleasantly surprised to see just how good he’s doing. For both of us, it seems like he’s not. But, I guess when you’re an expert, read the notes, and expect something really bad (Nigel’s been through it, right), you are thrilled your job is not going to be as tough as you thought it would be. I was really happy to hear him talking about how good he thought Nigel walked. Does he have room for improvement? Absolutely, and I finally feel like he’s where he needs to be for that to happen. In the morning, I lazed around a bit, read blogs, commented, did laundry, emptied the dishwasher (it runs a couple of times a week), and straightened up as much as I could. I don’t really feel like doing any deep cleaning because I know the house is just going to be torn up again. I’m hoping for a text, phone call, or email with a date for the countertops to be installed. I wore a pair of my Old Navy barrel jeans with one of my favorite ON tanks and a Gudrun Sjödén cardigan. I love this wig and get so many compliments on it!

Wednesday – I had a hair cut and color. I wasn’t sure what to expect. All she’d said was to look for some chromatic hair on Instagram. I sent her several and said the only color I didn’t want was yellow! I’m not 100% sure it’s chromatic, but my stylist was thrilled with it. As she was applying the colors, I asked if she’d done it before. Her answer? “Nope!” That’s OK; I like to experiment. Now that I have wigs, I can also just cover it up! As most of y’all know, I’ve been taking minoxidil for hair loss. I lost a lot in that initial shedding. That has stopped, and I barely have any hair loss. I can’t tell if my hair is coming in or not. I do know my eyelashes are longer, and the peach fuzz on my face is coming in fast and furious! Thank goodness for dermaplaning! When I got home, I read and commented on others’ blogs. I had already decided I wasn’t going to be ready for a Thursday post. I gave myself a little grace there which is unusual for me. As you can tell, I really dressed up for this appointment! Hahaha! I wore an old Talbots tee with a fox on it. The fox is actually all sequins and is really cute. I added another pair of wide leg Old Navy jeans. I still don’t know what to think about whether or not to keep wearing them. What I really need to do is grow about three or four inches! Oh, man! I’d be so tall then.

Thursday – I took the photos for my “Big Smackdown” post and got most of it written before Nigel had to go to physical therapy. He can drive in case you’re wondering. The problem is dealing with his walker. He can’t get in the SUV without it so that means he’d have to leave it behind. Then, when he got wherever he was going, he wouldn’t have it there. The place he receives therapy is just a hop, skip, and a jump down the road from us so it’s no big deal for me to take him. I usually read and respond to blogs during the time I’m waiting. That night, our oldest granddaughter had a concert. Her high school has several different choirs, and she’s in an all-girl choir. She loves it, and I’m amazed at how good she is! That girl can dance! Last year, during one of their numbers, she had to wear combat boots with five inch heels. I think they had an inch platform, but they were still high! And, she (as well as the other girls) danced like they were in ballet slippers. I wore the Halara jeans with an Old Navy white button up. The jeans have that asymmetric waistline so I couldn’t wear a traditional belt. But, you want that to show so I just tied a little neckerchief around two of the belt loops on one side. I love these jeans and can see why Amy does. Would you believe she’s already pressuring me to get a pair like hers? That’s the teacher in her, my friends!

Friday – After I got up and had my breakfast, Nigel suggested we take an itty bitty nap. Well, those turn into really long naps for him. I can’t just fall asleep like he does. I watched a Bailey Sarian episode on YouTube. If you’re into true crime podcasts, hers are really good. She has another series called Dark History when she does a deep dive into some subject. I watched for a bit, then took a shower. I didn’t bother to wash my hair because I was going to get my second microneedling treatment. I get a bit of a numbing cream first. It’s a really weird sensation because my lips get numb quite fast, and they don’t even get needled! I’ll admit I’ve tried Botox and decided it wasn’t for me. The top half of my face was nice and smooth while the bottom half still had some wrinkles. I think there’s a point when Botox really isn’t the answer, and you just need to either quit or get a good facelift. Guess which one I’m going with? I also have no desire for lip fillers. I have those ugly lines around my mouth that smokers sometimes get. Mine are from wearing braces in my mid to late thirties. Anyway, I’m going to have one more session of microneedling later this year. During the winter, I’ll have another laser treatment. I consider these investments in my well being as well as in delaying the aging process on my face as long as possible. I know, I know! There are lots of feelings about women and aging. I am on the side of aging gracefully, but I’m also going to indulge in the measures I want and can afford. Do my boobs sag? Why, yes, yes they do! Am I going to get a boob job? No, no, I am not! I can wear a bra and hoist the girls up. I mean I guess I could wear some kind of medical grade tape and wear that around my face to hoist up my sagging skin. But, I digress. I’m honestly just trying to preserve the good skin my parents gifted me. Also, if you’re considering a facelift, lip injections, Botox, etc, you’ll get no judgement from me! You do you, boo! As women, we just need to lift each other up instead of tearing each other down. There’s enough of that going on as it is. Off my soapbox now! As you can see, I just wore a really old J Jill linen button up along with a pair of grey leggings. I don’t dress up to get facials!

Saturday – All day long, it felt like a Sunday. I knew it was Saturday, but the day was giving me Sunday vibes. A docent friend was having her Colleague Feedback tour, and I told her I’d come as both moral support and someone who would talk during the tour. She had a really cool theme…something along the lines of The Music of Our Lives. She had three distinctly different pieces yet she tied them together with that theme. It’s amazing what you can come up with as a theme and then find pieces to work with it that shouldn’t go. But, if you’re good, they do! Oh, I forgot to mention it, but I was also working on a brand new tour during the week. So, after her tour was done, I checked to make sure all four pieces I was using were still on display. Luckily, they were. I’ll be giving a different version of this tour the week after next. I dressed “down” for a visit to the museum. I wore a different pair of Old Navy barrel jeans with a lettuce edge ON tee. Over the top, I wore a Gudrun Sjödén cardigan. You can’t necessarily see it, but the cardigan is edged in red which matched (close enough) to the tee.

Sunday – I got up, had my breakfast, put in the barest of bones for my Monday blog post, and took a shower. All that time, I was also practicing my tour because it was brand new. As I said before, I will be giving a different tour (VTS) with these same pieces, but I wanted to see if they worked with my theme. I had three women as my guests. I would guess they were close to my age, and we had such good conversations about each piece as well as how it fit into my theme (though they didn’t realize that’s what I was doing). I wore this Banana Republic shirt dress from a couple of years ago. If you look really closely (though I don’t think you can), there are two buttons on the left side. They look like they’re out there in the middle of nowhere. The point was to button at least one of the regular buttonholes to the top button to create an asymmetrical look. I did that, and I actually got it to work. It looks a bit awkward as well as kinda hobbling your ability to walk. I finally decided to just wear it normally. At the end of the tour, the three guests remarked on how much they liked my dress. While I always “dress up” when giving a tour or doing Gallery Conversations, this was the first time I’d had guests remark on my outfit! Of course, I thanked them as I’ve finally learned to take compliments. It takes a while, right? When I got home, I had to do the photo shoot for my Monday Songful Style post as well as a couple of other items.

Monday – We went to the mall today so I could return several items to Talbots. I have to stop giving in to the pressure of the sales they have! I do only buy all cotton sweaters, and thought I had a couple of winners. But, they just didn’t scream, “Keep me, keep me!” And, they certainly wouldn’t pass Amy’s dog poop test so back they went! I meandered through J Jill and didn’t find anything to excite me there, either. What’s happening to me? I wore my Gap floral horseshoe jeans with a really, really old hot pink tank and a Garnet Hill signature merino wool cardigan. When we got home, I had to run and get some ice for an event at the church only to discover it wasn’t needed until Tuesday night! Oh, well, it’s there, and I don’t have to worry about it. I then ran to Lowes for pumpkins and mums. I love those weirdly shaped pumpkins in odd colors which are ungodly expensive! I was going to go ahead and buy them. Then, I turned the corner and discovered these beautiful green pumpkins as well as the regular orange and some white ones, too. I picked them up, only to discover they were artificial. They were a little bit more than the real ones, but these I can reuse for several years. I also got some small mums as well as some fairy lights. So, later tonight (Monday), I decorated the front porch. I still haven’t decorated the inside which is really unusual for me. I almost always have my pumpkins in place by September 1st…September 2nd at the latest. I just haven’t had the inclination nor the time.

In between…

I’m still knitting. Nancy asked how I was going to wash this blanket. Well, the answer is I haven’t the foggiest clue. I’m told wool is self-cleaning, but you can be sure Jack will never get the chance to lie on it! We finished “The Last Airbender” and started a Ryan Murphy “Monster” series about Lizzie Borden. Since it was Ryan Murphy, I knew there would be a lot of gore, and there was. There was also a lot of poetic license taken with poor Lizzie’s story. What do you think? Did she do it? Now, we’re watching the first “Practical Magic” so I can then go to the theater to see the second one. I have also been working on my artist report for Giants. That is the next thing on my to do list. In case you didn’t notice, I haven’t been participating in the Bucket List bloggers group. I just don’t have the time to make a list, let alone do it! I have been thinking about my 70 things to do before I turn 70 (ye gads how did that happen). If you have “reasonable” suggestions, leave me a comment!

Purchases…

Well, of course, Gudrun Sjödén had a sale, and I might have bought a few things. I actually was going to exchange something I’d bought just the week before for a different color, but I decided to just buy it and absorb the shipping cost of a return. I also bought a couple of Halloween graphic tees from Old Navy. And, I might have bought a corduroy shirtdress from Talbots! Of course, I also bought a couple of new wigs. I am at the point where I would really rather wear a wig than mess with my hair. I don’t know what has happened to it, but it just doesn’t want to do anything anymore. It’s as stubborn as the head it’s on! Anyway, I’m really looking forward to Black Friday when it comes to wigs! I hope they have some super duper sales!

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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