Greening Up

Everything is greening up for spring and I decided to follow along. The old timers tell me the sap's rising. I laughed the first time I heard my mother-in-law attribute someone's behavior to sap rising, but now I'm beginning to think there's something to it. If I look a little pale and peaked, I didn't feel too great and did a rare indoor photo session.

Happy Mentally Unstable Mom Day!

One of the twins was kind enough to create labels for me in case I forget who I am. He loves to mess with me! It's so great when they're this age because their expectations for you mental abilities are so low. My parents were really dumb when I was 14 too, but turned smart about the time I got my first job and first apartment. I figure I have around 4--10 years before I get smart again. Meanwhile, I intend to enjoy being stupid and embarrass them a little. It's fun!

Note the ever-present coffee cup in the background. I love coffee!

I'm not sure what I was thinking with this outfit but for some reason grey and white were calling to me. I've been so much about color lately that I needed a break, I guess. Note that my hubby has a grey uniform shirt on with greying hair and doesn't he look cute? Grey can be quite cool and relaxing. This particular day I had morning meetings and the rest of the day off, so I grabbed this with my dark wash jeans and brown sneakers. We'll get back to colors tomorrow.

Gateway to a Fashion Fantasy World

 Hey, it's "pretend you're rich enough for a gate" day. Not only did this driveway have the loveliest flowering trees lining it but also a cool gate. Best of all, it was right on my way to work. What you can't see is the goats staring at me from across the street in my decidedly non-status neighborhood in the middle of nowhere. It's a lovely place but different than the picture would suggest. There's a fashion connection I could draw somewhere in here, I just know it.

I swore I wasn't going to buy any clothes for a while, but this striped sleeveless sweater was at the Goodwill store and well . . . did I really have a choice?

What Should I Wear . . . to a Small Town Theater Production?

If you are going to Theater in the big city, look elsewhere. But if you are attending a high school theater production in a small town, I'm your woman. Last night after work I coerced my boys into attending Darlington School's musical. No, they aren't Darlington students but I figured it would be a quality production.Their dad recently took them to a real Broadway production of Wicked in Birmingham, so I knew this wouldn't compete with that. I just thought it would be something different on a Friday night.  My parents met us there with plans to get coffee and dessert afterwards for a fun family outing. 

The twins wore their Alabama hoodies and jeans (which in small town GA is appropiate theater attire for teenage boys). I wore my red print dress, black cardigan, wide black belt and black boots with grey tights. 

Hmph! Apparently my boys aren't Gershwin fans. More drama went on in the parking lot than on stage with my boys exclaiming, "My ears, my ears!" Let me say quickly that nothing was wrong with the Darlington kids; my kids just have very high expectations! So we left my parents behind to watch the 2nd act without us and went to Starbucks.

I blame the Cedartown Community Theater which really are top notch, believe it or not. Seriously, I wouldn't be surprised to see Elizabeth Arencibia and some of the Lundy kids on Broadway some day. I don't know much about theater but I know what I like. I'm blown away whenever we go to their productions. Well, you can't blame a mom for trying. More attempts at culture will come later.

Orange You Glad

I'm wearing a handmade crochet clothing item, in bright orange no less. It must be a risk-taking kind of a day! Even though the outfit isn't perfect for figure flattery, I'm taking a chance and posting it anyway while making a mental note to do better. As usual the pets must remain close to me at all times. Maybe I should be doing a pet blog instead of a style blog.
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Me and Mater

I've been thinking that the farm would make the ultimate photo backdrop. This is where my hubby and friends run a paintball field on his grandparents' old farm.  His uncle has the odd habit of leaving vehicles wherever they stop running, so randomly scattered throughout the property there are tractors, boats, school buses just for starters. Once when I was helping him mark the field boundaries for a game, we stumbled upon a '55 Chevy truck buried in the underbrush, but that's another story.

 

"Tow Mater" looked like a friendly prop for a departure from my usual backdrops. My nephew is crazy about Cars. Would he be mystified and creeped out or thrilled by a real life Mater? We'll have to see.

Grey sweater vest, thrifted
Maroon cardigan, Cato
Dark Wash Jeans
and my trusty sneakers

What Should I Wear To . . . A Community Meeting?

This dress and cardigan are as comfy as pants. I almost wore burgundy tights but decided since I'm over 40 and  about to attend a meeting, maybe I should go more conservative. Then tonight I looked at some other bloggers with their cute bright tights. Maybe I should have just gone for it. Is it time for me to get brave?

Holiday Blues

The peacock blue and teal looked so awesome together that they practically glowed. You'd never know it by these pictures though. Ah well, I will photograph it when I get my new camera and see if it looks any better.

 For some reason I'm not loving myself in pants/trousers these days and I'm ready to A. Ditch pants altogether, B. Get them all altered or C. Go out and purchase all new pants. Right here at Christmas I can't afford to do any of the above! I read somewhere that people with my body shape--X, hourglass, pear or curvy depending on who you ask--have trouble with trousers pulling across the crotch. Well, I can vouch for that. It seems all of mine sag horribly or are too tight with no in-between perfect fit. As a person who has always bought straight off the rack and hoped for the best, this is all a major change of mindset for me. I had my 1st wedding dress altered and not much since then. After I hemmed them, they are the proper length for flats, but I'm loving my BOC by Born heels. I hesitate to call them heels as they are comfy and kind of wedge-ish. I just know my feet actually tolerate them pretty well.

These pants don't look terrible I guess, but my standards are getting higher. Hopefully watch for changes in the new year!

Mirror vs. Photos

I have spent most of my life preferring pants over dresses and skirts and also being afraid of leggings. Now all the sudden, my preferences are reversing. What gives? I would have to say recent weight losses and shifts have something to do with this, but primarily photographing myself in different outfits almost daily has had a huge impact on me. For some reason, I can't get a good objective view from the mirror. Looking at photographs allows me to step back and get a better idea what I really look like.

I found this out several years ago in the famous "clown pants" incident. I had these pants that I loved bought from the clearance rack for $8. They were baggy elastic waist pants with a bold autumn leaf print. The fabric would have made lovely curtains or throw pillows, but pants? No. I wore those things all the time and my husband would just cringe. All that time I thought it was just his personal preference for dark colors and simple solids. Nope, they were hideous, but I didn't know it until I saw a picture of myself in them. I'm still searching through old photos so I can post one here, but it's possible I destroyed them all.

Anybody else get better insight from photos?

Grinch Colors

We're having a Grinch theme at church because of a sermon series our pastor is preaching. The front of the church is even decorated Whoville style, and there's a stuffed Grinch that shows up in different places around the sanctuary. So when I got dressed Sunday morning, Grinchy colors appealed to me. This sweater is almost his exact color and the scarf I call my Oscar the Grouch scarf because it has a muppet-like feel to it. It has some cookie monster blue mixed in. Usually I hate, yes hate, working with novelty yarns but I did crochet this one just before swearing off any fun fur, eyelash or otherwise difficult yarn. I hear it's easier to knit with it, but since I'm a very, very new knitter, I haven't tried it.