B-Day, 2014 !

With a little luck, by this coming Friday afternoon, January 31st, and just after 1:46 PM, I will have completed my 63rd trip around the sun and will commence my 64th. And every year, no matter how glad, sad or mad I might feel when I wake up on my birthday, I remember that I'm celebrating a privilege not every one I have loved still gets to experience. That's true every morning, but there's something about a birthday that makes the thought more poignant. Along with that thought, there's a sense of urgency to get up and go do something productive and meaningful. It's a personal New Year and is always about renewal and fresh starts. Not bad ideas to celebrate. No matter how many you have under your belt, it sure beats the alternative. (And the longer you live, the more platitudes you'll have to use on the day. Collect all you can.)

And once again, just as I wrote it as a 63-year-old, my blog will be about my adventures and misadventures with personal style. At this age, I should have some pearls of wisdom on the subject. You'd think so, wouldn't you? But no. I still don't have it all figured out.  Just lots of adamant opinions, some personal style puzzles and projects, minor and major shopping triumphs and frustrations, and photos documenting all of the above. And you can surely count on my review of and spoils from at least one designer collaboration with Target.  And shoes.  Always shoes.

I hope that all of you who are regular readers enjoyed what I had to say this year.

So, I really just have this one question today.

Will you still read me, when I'm 64?

(With sincerest apologies to Lennon and McCartney.)

I finally found the navy blue blazer I've wanted for the last two years! Nice little win.

(Sandals in January? It was 69 degrees on Sunday.

Today, the high was 31 degrees and high, cutting winds. Fuzzy Uggs today.)

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I'm celebrating early with the also Black and Blue and Especially Sassy Patti at Visible Monday

and with the Lovely in Leather Seeker at 

Tres Chic Style Bits .

Less Talking, More Listening

One of the problematic parts of blogging is having something cogent, or witty, or at least marginally interesting to say and then saying on schedule. All that wintry energy I felt a couple of weeks ago has dissipated, and I'm feeling the January blahs with a lot of folks. I don't have any one thing to talk about today. Rather than bang my head against the blank page here (risky for my laptop screen and difficult to do literally) I sensibly gave up and treated myself to a long-overdue session of just checking in on the blogs I especially love out there.


That was more fun than just about anything. I love to work on and write my blog, but I really savored just the pure pleasure of reading what some of my favorite people in the world are up to. I tried to drop a note where it seemed appropriate, but I want you all to know how much fun you all are! I'm sure I missed someone, and I hate that. In fact, I'd love to know any strategies you might have for keeping up. I'm not crazy about Bloglovin' and am still a bit mystified at Google +. I'm about to redo my Daily Reads section and this effort is part of my New Year's Resolution. Ideas? Other platforms?

Here's my "What I Wore" on Sunday to dash into the Big City with Dan. This little sleeveless knit dress is too hot to wear in the summer, so I dug it out to wear this way. Look, another wintry dress! It's from that crazy Missoni collaboration with Target from well over a year ago. Still looks fresh, I think.

And probably the final-ish version of the hair. Working on how to style a textured "do". I like playing with a deconstructed, messy style. Any product or technique recommendations?   I'm pleased that a smaller head has given me a little more pleasing proportion.  I think.  (No "pinhead" or "former fat head" jokes needed, thank you.)

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Linking up with the SuperHero Seeker for her Tres Chic Style Bits. She can hold up the entire Pyramide du Louvre by its apex, all by herself ... I know she can 'cause there's a picture on her blog of her doing it!  Go look for yourself if you don't believe me!

A Weather Malfunction!

Last Sunday, our local high temperature 

for the day was 12 ºF.

Yesterday, seven days later, the high 

was 67 ºF and it felt warmer.

Fahrenheit or Centigrade, that's the weather suffering a monster dissociative identity fugue .

If that's not exactly a clinical diagnosis, it's at least some intense identity confusion.

The weather thought it was Spring.

Silly weather!

And since I was out and about in the Big City, it was impossible (for me, anyway) not to notice how other women decided to dress in reaction to this.

I loved the enthusiasm of the True Optimists; the women in tank-tops, short-shorts and flip-flops. Although these items in combination might best be worn at home when you know there's a slim chance of having to answer the door, I had to admire their eagerness to embrace a little sunny warmth after weeks stuck indoors.  Like those guys that put on bathing suits and jump into iced-over lakes for New Year's fun.

And there were Deniers, the women who stubbornly donned full coats and boots. January is still winter and that's that. I felt some sympathy for the visibly perspiring, fully coated and scarf-wrapped lady who grimly soldiered on, all while maintaining a firm grip on her whining little girl. The child was all bundled up in her Barbie-pink puffy-coat and silver-sparkly faux Uggs.

"Mommmmeeeee ... I'm toooooo haaaa-ahhhtt. MOMMMMMEEEE!"

But then there were the Happy Realists; smiling women in jeans and little flats and cardigans. And although they were happy to dress in response to the balmy day, they also brought coats and left them in the car.  (In fairness, some of them also had whining children with them, but the kids were screaming about different stuff. As all mothers know; if it's not one thing, it's another. But the Realist moms did look marginally more serene and markedly more comfortable in the midst of it all.)

My own outfit was my version of Happy Realist dressing. No cardigan, but I am so in love with the black and white blazer you saw last week that I had to wear it again. ( If repeating outfit elements is bad form, I admit to it. Who decided that, anyway?) Beneath, I wore a spring-favorite Asian print shirt that I had hated storing for the winter. No flats, but a pair of burgundy-ish, cloth pumps with a very subtle reptile-esque texture. I don't wear them often enough, so it was a pleasure to bring them out and about with me.

There will surely be more cold, windy, wintry weather on the way, but it was fun to have a brief respite from winter and indulge in a little spring style thinking. And I had a coat in the car, just in case.

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And the hair evolves.  It's getting there.

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Linking up with The Ever Mysterious Patti at Visible Monday

and the Outerwear Minded Seeker at Tres Chic Style Bits/

Stop by to see the haps. Or better yet, join us!

Still Feeling New Year-ish

As I write, it's still the first week of January, and even though the parties are over, the hangovers have been cured and the overall vibe is back to business as usual,  I'm still feeling all energized and celebratory. In spite of the brutal cold in many parts of the world ( and we're no exception here!) I'm feeling more cheerful and optimistic than in recent months. January always feels like a good night's sleep after a hard December. There's a nice forward momentum that I find invigorating.

I'm still feeling New Year-ish.

And I have a New Favorite Outfit for the New Year.

I really like the way this looks, but besides that, I'm loving what these pieces didn't cost. Everything I'm wearing here was bought for much less than original price, either on sale, on clearance or just from a deep-discount retailer, like my favorite TJ Maxx. That's where the drapey trousers come from. The shoes from purchased at clearance sale at JCP and the sweater on regular sale from Target.

But my pride and joy is this boyfriend-ish, tuxedo-ish jacket at half-off clearance, again at Target.

I can imagine dressing it up or down, and love the way it fits. It's a particular pleasure as my very common sizes rarely make it to the clearance racks. This was one of those pieces that need to be tried on to be appreciated.

And that is, IMHO, the way to start the New Year out right.

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I submitted this coat to the "How I Wear My ..." project for the January subject: "How I Wear My Coat." Thanks to Jill at  Everything Just So and Adrienne at The Rich Life (On a Budget...) for making another great place to show off and out a little!

It's the last of several Duro Olowu pieces I got from the collaboration with JCP last Spring.

Especially happy to be wearing it as it was 13 degrees.  

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Linking up this week with the Furry Feline Seeker at Tres Chic Style Bits .  Join us!

Bloggy Resolutions ... Happy 2014 !

It takes a brave woman to list her most personal New Year's Resolutions on her blog. We generally don't make resolutions about the parts of ourselves we already like (although that's not a bad idea, actually!) so it's our least favorite mental private-parts we focus on. Bad habits, bad ideas, bad self-image, bad reactions, bad memories. Bad, bad, bad. And generally highly personal. We list all the bad things we think about ourselves and write vows that we may or may not keep about what we'll do to improve the situation. And frankly, for me this can result in some Serious Bloggy TMI.

This is not the way I want to spend my New Year's self-contemplation this time around. And you'll undoubtedly be glad to hear that. You're welcome.

But since this is ostensibly a personal style blog, and since I do like to consider ways to make the coming new calendar year a better one, here's a list of items I plan on improving in the coming months to make my blog life better and easier and more fulfilling. And as I love a good win-win, they should make positive change in your reading experience as well. After all, mi cyber-casa es su cyber-casa.

So here they are, my 2014 Style Resolutions

Facebook Page

Did you know that I have one for Fort Smith Stylista? I constructed it but have done nothing-zero-nada to promote it. So, I will figure out how to make a button for the page to make it easier. In the nonce, if you'd like say hello, you can pop over to https://www.facebook.com/fortsmithstylista . I will figure this all out someday.

Redesign website:

I'm ready for a change in appearance. Stay tuned.  

Find a better way to keep in touch with bloggy friends.

I have way more bloggy folks I'm really interested in than I know how to keep up with. Lately, it's been all I can do to get my own blog out. As in real life, I need to listen more and talk less ... that applies to my cyber-life as well. This will change.

Try to find some different backgrounds for photos.

My pics are dull as dishwater, and I want to be more creative about this. If I'm going to plaster my mug all over the Internet, I should try to photograph it in more interesting surroundings. So many of you inspire me! This, by the way, is probably more just wishful thinking than a firm resolution. We shall see.

Get a current avatar that reflects the changes.  Sigh. 

(And the following are more wardrobe oriented 

than about the blog ...)

Spend more time recombining items. I just know there are lots of better partnerships in my closet than I'm seeing or using.

Renew, recycle, and reuse! Not a week goes by that I'm not inspired by you repurposing and resdesigning geniuses! (Jean at  Dross Into Gold and Nell at Nelesc Design , I'm  talking to you, especially. )

Continue to try to find a decent resale/consignment shop and actually use it. This is an ongoing project. Bella (the wonderful Citizen Rosebud ) you will always be my hero and inspiration here!

Try it on before you buy it. Really. Take it back if necessary.

Love it or leave it. Also ongoing. This is the most satisfying concept I adopted this year, and I highly recommend it.

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Thank you all, who read my stuff and write to me about yours. You are all my coinspirators ... and I thank you all for the happy hours your hard blogging work has given me. I promise to try hard be a better blog-pal this coming year!

I leave you with a shout out to a blogger who is one of my newest and probably my most esoteric style inspirations of 2013: 

Maricel at My Closet Catalogue

We share a love of all things Dr. Who, and she's talked about and shown a lot of Tardis Blue this season. This has to be my Color of the Year for 2013, no matter what Pantone has to say about it.

I give you my take on Tardis Blue ...

I'm linking up with the Always Adorable Patti at Visible Monday to see what a whole bunch of wonderful folks are resolving for the New Year. Join us!

Have a brilliant 2014, everyone!