Back In It, Back On It, and All Over It.

After over a week away to help make some important decisions about the future of our business, I can report that all is copacetic (or at least approaching it) and I'm at last comfortable coming back out to play. We had to do some serious thinking about how we want to continue since we decided to carry on with our little restaurant. And there's no doubt about it; some of the decisions were based on our ages.  Of course, that mindset has slopped over into my thinking about how I want to conduct my own aging generally and how all that affects personal style.

Consequently, I've been doing a lot of consideration of what I want to personally accomplish and how I want the rest of my life to be.  Some of that is inevitably about what I wear and what I want to say with my choices. I have no big conclusions to offer you, only an increased awareness that the process is really important to me. It can be good to reach for a modicum of control where there seems to be none. I hope to get much older, and hope to do it with as much consciousness and thoughtfulness as possible, for as long as it's fun.

I've missed you all, and am sorry that I'm so far behind in getting around to see what you all are up to. I owe all of my blog-buddies some catch-up time at your respective blogs and will make that the focus for the rest of my week.

So, here's a What I Wore photo for your consideration. 

Wasn't hard to make a decision about how to dress. It was bloody-blazing-hot and humid (your can see the indelicate sheen of sweat on my chest) and I dressed to go off to the Big City for supplies and a bite to eat with Dan on Sunday. Keeping it simple, 'cause it's serious summer-for-real now. A loose-waisted cotton dress ( that Dan especially likes) over jeans to keep it comfortably casual. But, true to form, I couldn't bring myself to get too casual, and chose minty high heels just because really wanted to wear them. No jewelry except the wedding rings and a plain gold and turquoise band, and lots of antiperspirant. Lots and lots of antiperspirant ....

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I'm off to say hello to everyone over at Festive Patti's Visible Monday . What cool a treat after a long, hot weekend!

How Rude!

Really.  How rude of Real Life to interfere with my Bloggy Life!
Oh well.  In the interests of putting food on the table for us and the animals, some professional concerns require my attention for the next few days.  

So here I am in my work clothes.   This is my summer uniform; slightly dressy top, comfy skinnies and a sweet little heel (can't see the ankle strap, and the color is off, but these little bronze d'Orsay pumps by BCBG were a gratifying purchase at deep discount, and they are wear-all-evening comfy.)

The top you saw here last winter ... it's a favorite and sheer enough to be comfy on this 95 degree afternoon.  Summer is here.

Ho hum.  Yawn.  I expect I'll frequently choose some variation on this combination, but I'm feeling the need to step it up a notch.  Stay tuned.

Please note the little ear cuffs.  Since I've cut my hair so short, I'm suddenly yearning for earrings, which I haven't worn in a couple of decades.  I'm particularly fond of these sleek little cuffs, more sedate than the ones I wore in the art school era.  Shopping for earrings is a challenge because there are so many to choose from.  Bazillions of them.  Any suggestions?



Late and on the run, I'm joining the ladies of Visible Monday over at the ever elegant Patti's.  Lots to look at and love over there!  

Will Wonders Never Cease?

If you live long enough, you'll see it all.

Lots of you know I love me some glossy fashion magazines. They've been a part of my life since I was a little girl (with a decade or so of feminist fervor diluting my devotion just a little and some student and non-student years when I couldn't afford them.) And I have a process for reading them. In the same way some people ritually twist apart the halves of an Oreo cookie, then eat the filling first and chomp the cookie last, I have a similar technique that allows me to really savor magazine contents. I do what is technically called a flip through wherein I rarely stop to read, but just let the visual feast tease the palate. I'll put the magazine aside, and when I next pick it up, the actual reading begins. In that process, I'll sometimes make a note or two on what I've seen for my personal use or inspiration for blog commentary.

I was in a happy flip-through of the July issue of Lucky, when I thought I saw the words "Embrace high waisted: It makes curvy/petite proportions work." ( Imagine the sound of screeching automotive breaks here for effect.)

Surely I misread.

I stopped and flipped back. There it was. In the "Dear Lucky" style advice column by Jean Godfrey-June, she featured an interview with the insightful and delicately beautiful young blogger, Wendy Nguyen ( http://www.wendyslookbook.com/.) Ms. Nguyen addressed the advantageous wearing of flared or pencil skirts and offered the above advice, word for word. I wasn't hallucinating.

Well, I'll be.

All of my life, one of my worst figure flaws challenges has been my short waist. So many years with so many suggestions and artifices to hide my short waist and make my torso look longer! But now, I'm advised as a petite with a surplus of curves to "embrace high waisted!" I can do that!

I do understand that "high waisted" now means what we've all understood as at our natural waist, perhaps at the top of that range, but I'm suddenly IN THE BALL PARK. I'm almost NORMAL!

After a lifetime of fretting about my high waist, I'm actually OKAY. What do ya' know about that?! (Yes, it's important to be proud of one's personal idiosyncrasies, but sometimes, it's just neat to fit in. )

Same afternoon, at JC Pennys: I found a Nicole Miller crop top and pencil skirt that I've longed for but dismissed as unworkable, and they were deeply discounted, on clearance, and sort-of in my size. Both pieces look easily alterable, and I remember another piece of advice from Ms. Nguyen about crop tops and the petite woman; "Where it's cropped is the important thing: It can't be right below your bust, but it also can't end too low. The tops should start a few inches above the smallest part of your waist."

I took home a skirt one size too large, and with two quick seams, nipped in the width and the waist so it fit very high. The pretty design at the hem would have been ruined if I had taken it up from the bottom. The top was my size, but longer than was flattering. So, with one seam, I raised the hem to a more flattering spot as well. Ta-Da!

I think it works well, and with a black cami under, there is no possibility of exposed midriff, keeping it at least closer to age appropriate.

Thank you, Wendy Nguyen.

Soon, we might well be seeing magazine cover headlines advising us to "How to Rock Your Droopy Boobs!" and maybe "Pancake Backside is The Shape for Fall ! "

You laugh, but it could happen. I now know anything is possible.

Liked It So Much I Did It Again!

I just had to go back and get this second shirt-dress, just like the one you just saw last week, except in a black, gray and white print.

Lots of mini-style forays for me in this one little look. No pop of color this time ... staying clean-lined and minimal and monochromatic.

Python ... I don't wear a lot of animal prints. I've known and liked some very nice real-live pythons, and loved one particularly charming ball python (or royal ... python regius) who was pretty adorable with a very nice temperament. Even for members of her species, who are generally fairly docile, she was a peach of a python. They get their name because, when freaked, they roll up into a ball. She was good company, and liked to hang out, draped over my shoulders when I would watch television or read.

Haven't decided if wearing an obvious print in a very un-snake-like fabric encourages the use of real skins, or discourages it and takes the pressure off the market. I very much hope it's the latter.

Consequently, wearing this print makes me a little self-conscious, but the fabric is so cool and light I get over it fairly quickly. Just a fashion victim, conscience be damned.

Skinnies ... this cut is new for me; Old Navy "Rock Star" with a side zip. Great skinnies to go under long tunics with flat front. Not quite leggings, not traditional jeans but with back pockets. I love the fit.

I'm getting a great deal more wear from this watch with a white leather strap than I imagined. Like white shoes, it feels fresh with things I'd never imagine it with.

I haven't so much suddenly started carrying a clutch as remembering to photograph them. This one holds the Kindle Fire and the other necessities easily. As with this dress, I liked this clutch so much I did it again, except in creamy white.

Speaking of my Kindle Fire ...

I'm such a Senior Citizen. One of the reasons I'm behind with my correspondence, blog visits and comments and responses and sewing is that I just discovered Bluetooth super-light headphones. Really, they're ear-buds attached to a StarTrekish,  almost weightless,collar-thing, sort of a space-age torc. And with it, I can not only talk on the phone ( imagine that!) I can connect to my Kindle Fire and listen to all the music I own. With astonishing sound quality. I know you all know about these things, but I'm a little behind in the tech department.

The really time-killing and insanely fun part of this is that a couple of days ago, Amazon announced the start of their Prime Music feature. With Amazon Prime, there are umpteen bazillion songs and albums you can get at no extra charge. Prime membership is now $99.00 a year, and at that it's a value for us, but I've had that much and more fun the last couple of days, downloading and play list building.

Picture me bopping all around the house (ALL around the house!) in my jammies, dancing with the dogs! I'm so happy. I have about 35 minutes of high energy work out plays that, if I dance my way through all of them, I need a hit on the inhaler. (We shall see how long that enthusiasm lasts.)

The currently playing list includes;

Raise Your Glass (Pink)

Brave (Sara Bareilles)

Carry On, Wayward Son (Kansas)

Go Your Own Way ( Fleetwood Mac)

Grenade (Bruno Mars)

I'm Alright (Kenny Loggins)

I Only Want to Be with You ( one by Dusty Springfield, another by Bay City Rollers)

Jump ( Van Halen )

Saturday Night (... yes, another BCR favorite ...)

Relax (Frankie Goes to Hollywood ) (...yikes...)

Glory Days ( Bruce Sprinsteen)

Kyrie (Mr. Mister)

She's So Mean (Matchbox Twenty)

Sharp Dressed Man (ZZ Tops)

... and I'm just getting started.

Gotta go ... the poodles want to tango. Tell me what songs make you dance like nobody's watching!

Linking up with Our Favorite Lion-Tamer, Patti at

Visible Monday .  Come see what we're all wearing and why we're wearing it!

Dressing for Schizophrenia

I admit it. There are just some days when I have no idea how to dress. I can put on my clothes and shoes with no problem. I just mean I'm having trouble choosing outfits for this schizophrenic season and this weirdest of weather. Sunday, when this photo was taken, was one of several days in a row of steaming hot temperatures and sunny skies, suddenly morphing into noisy, windy, black thunderstorms that dumped rain and blew the world around, then stopping as suddenly as they started. Then sunny for a while, followed by more wild bluster.  And repeat.

I'm relieved to report that I'm not the only one who had trouble . It's my habit to cruise around TJ Maxx while Dan shops for the restaurant. When he dropped me off right at the front doors, the sun was shining and the rain was sprinkling big, sloppy drops. When I got inside, I saw a young woman in cutoffs and flip-flops, with her barefooted kids in bathing suits. I also saw some after-church outfits, a few yoga pants and racerback tops, but with everyone unprepared for any serious rain.

I particularly noticed a tall, graceful woman with a sleek salt and pepper LOB. It didn't take a psychic flash to know that she'd pulled out the perfectly new, spotless, olive-colored Wellies to wear them at least one time, as well as a very silky, and designer-ish anorak to sport with the boots. A black turtleneck peeped out from under her jacket, which could not have been comfortable in the warm store.

I get it, though. I've welcomed a stormy day in early spring so I could wear a winter piece that I had just got on clearance. Fun to wear it once before it was completely out of season. But in spite of the rain, she looked out of place in the heat, but no more so than the nearly barefooted flip-floppers splashing through the parking lot puddles under the now steely skies. I think the kids in the bathing suits probably were the most practically dressed.

I did okay, though. You can see how the wind bells out the silky little dress ... but it stayed cool (and decently dry in gusty wind) with my jeans underneath. The day I found it and tried it on in the dressing room, I was wearing the blue skinnies and these coral shoes. I loved the long-over-long look, and the blue, white and coral together, so I'm wearing a happy accident. I wore just enough shoe to keep my toes dry, and I no longer care very much if the wind blows my hair around.

Perhaps not what I think of as traditional play clothes for a rainy day, but it worked as well as anything. ( I remind you that I'm not shaped like that with a largish goiter just above my knee.  It was just windy. It's actually pretty when it falls normally. Please use your imagination in my favor.)

I got to see the kids in their bathing suits whooping it up in the largish parking lot puddles as their mom shepherded them toward their minivan. They were enjoying themselves.

The woman in her new wellies must have gotten a similar thrill when she glided elegantly back to her car, impervious to wet feet and shoulders.  She might have been too warm, but I'm pretty sure she was happy because she looked good and she knew it.

I got to wear an outfit that I liked, so that was good.

There really can be no rules for dressing in weather like this.   The best you can do is just wear what makes you happy.