Fashion Files and a Link Up!

Week 13!

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 hope you’re staying cool or warm wherever you live in the world. I’m really dreading our electric bill because our air conditioning has been running just about non-stop. It’s supposed to be even hotter this week. At least, I don’t have to water the grass or some of my plants. The irrigation system is working and watering plants near the borders of the landscaping. 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 try to visit everyone’s blog who links up, but for some reason, I can’t leave comments. If you don’t see a comment, please know I’ve visited, but I just can’t comment. So, let’s get the shenanigans going, right?

Last week’s looks…

Tuesday – Nigel had a physical therapy appointment in the afternoon. I dilly dallied around for a bit of the morning, worked on the blog by responding and commenting on other blogs. This is the Willow dress from April Cornell. It’s on super duper clearance in limited sizes. It’s also fairly sheer so if you’re modest, you might want this for either a nightgown or wear something under it.

Wednesday – One of my museum besties has a pool and invited us over for a pool day. I forgot to take a photo, but I have been in a blog post featuring swimwear. This was pre-blog days. What’s really strange is I have several swimsuits now. When the kids were little, and we went to the pool a lot, I had one each summer. There were other expenses, and swimsuits were not one of them. I wore a cover up I’d gotten in London in 2012, my surprise retirement trip from Nigel. I didn’t actually buy it, though. I have a sort of friend on Facebook who lives near Vancouver. She was going to London that year at the same time as us. She was going solo, meeting up with some running friends who lived there, and suggested we meet for a meal. I don’t know that she’d ever traveled alone before because, once we met up, she invited herself along for almost everything. She bought a dress at some boutique and received the coverup as a freebie. She gave it to me, and that’s the tale of said coverup which I don’t have a photo of!

Thursday – This was another work at home day. I did laundry, dusted and swept, emptied the dishwasher (which I run about two times a week). I placed an order at Kroger online for a Friday pickup because they give 4x points on Fridays! I wore another dress. This one is an oldie from J Jill. I’m trying to decide if it’s still me and still deserves a place in my closet. It’s one of those perfect hot weather dresses except it doesn’t have pockets. But, the embroidery is just amazing. I realize it’s machine embroidery, but it’s still beautiful.

Friday – Another physical therapy day for Nigel. Another day spent on blogging as well as planning my outfit for Style Imitating Art. I picked up my order from Kroger. I received an email (along with several other docents) that a docent who was scheduled for a VTS tour on Saturday was sick. Would someone take it? I debated for a bit before deciding to take it. We have Colleague Feedback tours coming up, and I needed the practice. So, part of that day was spent deciding what I was going to wear…remember…clothing is armor sometimes! I wore this cute orange Sally dress. The design is hot pink. It’s all cotton, very light, and perfect for the weather we’ve been having. I’ve also been wearing my topper a lot more. My confidence in it looking like it’s my hair is growing. And, it is my hair because I paid for it! I spent most of the evening pulling together parts of different tours to create one for Saturday. The museum currently has a focus around the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. I have googled it several times and get different answers. Some say it’s of the signing; others say it’s the adoption of it. Maybe they’re the same thing!

Saturday – I wasn’t exactly nervous about this tour, but I did want to see how it would go because it’s one I’m considering for my Colleague Feedback tour. This is something new (I think) at the museum. Active touring docents must do a tour and receive feedback from a colleague in whatever kind of tour they’re doing. In addition, a staff member (who is not a docent) will also give feedback. I’ve heard from docents it’s no big deal while another one told me, “You should worry.” And, that really makes me worry! So, I thought I’d have a wonderful tour when I had 15 people show up for the tour. That’s the largest group of people I’ve ever had. A VTS tour is much different from tours you’ve probably taken. If you’d like, you can read about it here. A pure VTS tour gives no information about the art or artist. It is solely about looking closely at the piece of art. There are three questions asked in a specific order with no variation on the words. We don’t do pure VTS tours. Ours are a hybrid where we share pertinent information about the art and/or artist. I have had tours with six people and have had wonderful conversations. I’m not sure if the size of the group created some apprehension about talking, but very few people responded to the questions. I did end up giving more information than I normally would. I girded my loins and put on some good armor for this tour. This is one of the two Farm Rio skirts I bought a few weeks ago. It has a really cute matching top with the eyelet part on the front and back. In the first place, I was already spending a good bit of money on the skirt, and, in the second place, the top really seemed too matchy matchy for my taste. I had gotten some linen tees from J Crew over the Memorial Day sales (or maybe it was the July 4th sales). One of them was lavender. Now, if you know your color wheel, you’ll know purple and yellow are opposite each other. Even though my skirt is a more vivid yellow, I decided the pale lilac color was just what it needed. I accessorized with a cute Sylca Designs necklace which brought in a new color…pink. So, I wore my pink and lavender flats from Miz Mooz. How about all those colors for armor? My tour went well, and one of the couples wanted me to show them some other places in the museum. I love when that happens because I feel like I can go to favorite pieces and talk my little heart out. I’m not sure if that’s frowned upon or not. I probably should find out. But, as a docent, part of my “job” is to make sure the guests’ experience is a good one. I also had a gentleman from the tour ask me about Tonalism. It was one of those moments when you think, “Do I try to BS my way through this one, or do I admit my ignorance?” I admitted my ignorance because I could tell he knew exactly what it was. So, I asked him to tell us all a bit about it. You can bet I’m going to be looking for more Tonalist pieces and create a tour based on that!

Sunday – I watered plants because the ones on the porch and near the garage don’t get water from the irrigation system. I also worked on my blog post for Style Imitating Art as well as doing the photo shoot for it. Yes, I waited that long. I almost always do that…wait until the day before a specific challenge. Queen of Procrastination, anyone? I have several photos on my phone just waiting their turn for a fashion post. This is one of the two dresses I bought at J Jill that went on sale shortly afterward. You can read about my thoughts on sales here. I really do love this dress. I mean…look at that print! Look at the shape it creates. And, it has pockets! Yes, I’m obsessed with pockets because I have rhinitis and always need a tissue. I could tuck them in my bra like my mom used to do, but I think that might garner me looks I’d just as soon not receive!

Monday – I had a meeting at the museum today. It was quite informative, and I’m looking forward to the coming months there because things are a-poppin’! I don’t know what most of them are, but the exhibits opening soon look quite intriguing! I wore the gauze dress (sold out) over the gauze palazzo pants again. But, the museum is often cold, so I layered a lace Halftee (use this code, Marsha15 and click through this link if you’d like one of your own…I’ll earn a small commission) under it. The first time I wore a lace Halftee for warmth, I was really surprised at just how warm they keep you. Today was no exception. I had to hurry home to get Nigel ready for physical therapy. I wait for him, and it’s always cold there, too.

Purchases…

I made a return at Talbots and saw a dress I’d been eyeing on the site. They didn’t have my size so I ordered it. It doesn’t have good reviews. Many people say it’s too big in the bodice, but I think they just weren’t getting the right size. Mine fits perfectly. I also ordered the Meadow dress and a pair of Vendeela pants from the Gudrun sale at a huge discount.

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 Thursday look! I’m pretty sure we’ve got the bugs out of the link party now so you can link up through me or Amy! Just, please link up and spread the word! Thanks, my friends!

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