All Things EARTH... part 2

Without the colors being accurate in the dress photo, it may be hard to imagine certain things.

I'll start on the left. I think this dress would be good in a warmer color. It actually looks better in the photo than in real life, color wise. It fits well, as all three do. It doesn't wow me. I like it. I like the texture that the lace adds, although the circles are normally not something I would be drawn to. Sometimes, it's the way something comes together as a whole, so overall, my feeling is that I like it, would wear it, but I don't love it. And I think it would be put back in the closet at times.

Next up is the rusty orange dress. This is where I really, really wish the colors showed right. I honestly think it's one of the very best colors I can wear. I live the v neck, color, tonal embroidery. I don't like the ruffle, I could take or leave the fabric (kind of a crinkled gauze) and I would like it to fit a bit different. The fit is a very easy fix. The ruffle is simple to remove, but I wouldn't do it myself since I have some limitations with my very basic sewing machine, and I don't think I'd like the result as much as I would having it done by the tailor who helps me out. So I would tack on about 30 dollars between taking in the side seams and removing the ruffle and hemming it. I would want to sit down and figure out if it feels worth it to me.

The red dress. My phone camera brought out a blue undertone that I wasn't picking up in real life. I knew it wasn't an earth red, but I avoid reds when they have too much blue or purple coming through. The style I love. The fit is great. The fabric lays really nice. But the shade of red is bothering me.

And I am tempted with all of them to toy with the side seams. Not as much with the red one though. It lays really nice, like the new dress I wore on the cruise.

I didn't even bother to post a picture of the olive dress because ti was a darker, cooler olive, was not a quality fabric, and I didn't like it at all.

So maybe I will bring them all back? But I want to get photos of them on first. That really allows me to think about fit, style and color, and I get great feedback from everyone. You help me to consider things I haven't thought about.

Anita, there are four of us here. I have a desk top computer, we each have a laptop, we each have a phone. I have a Nook, the other three have Ipads. We do not have a limit on our data with our Fios WiFi, but if we are using a lot of devices, we will pick up a bit of slowness at times with videos.

Many SU games are televised, but the early season basketball and lacrosse games are usually on ESPN3, which we get through the internet. The buffering and freezing up drive me crazy. That is also how I am able to watch so many Red Sox games. They had an offer the 4th of July weekend with MLB where I could get internet access to watch all games that weren't televised for $19.99, so I grabbed it. Those too sometimes freeze up.

I think cutting the cord would be something I would have to think a lot about. Since i don't watch shows often, I wouldn't miss that. But I think watching sports would be annoying after a while.

Melody, Chowdaheadz has some really fun stuff. I like seeing all the lingo I associate with the Red Sox, it's really fun. Unfortunately, there are no jerseys. They have a few women's t-shirts that I like a lot. I don't wear too many tees that are unisex styling.

Is that picture in your back yard? It looks beautiful.

Anita, how cold does it get where you are now? We are starting to see a bit of color change in the leaves. We had a a slow start to summer - it was cold and rainy for much longer than usual. Then when I left for vacation, it was really cool out. When we came back, it still was. Now we are having a beautiful week. It's sunny and warm.

I'd love to see your new scarves. I have a lot of nice ones, but they are distinctively fall like. Was it you, Anita, who mentioned how it can be hard to dress in earth colors without looking like we're dressed for fall? That happens to me a lot.

Back to my trip report!

The last day was a sea day. I don't know about you, but I love sea days. Sometimes, I feel like I get up, go to work, come home cook dinner, do laundry, pay bills, clean house, do some work I brought home, and then repeat the process. When I'm on vacation, I love to just be able to slow down, listen to some music ( I have a special gadget for that), read a book, and just watch the water. I really cherish sea days, and I told my husband once that I would gladly do a 4 day cruise to nowhere, or something like that. I know it would get old after a while but my brain would really love the rest. I'm an overthinker.

So, we had breakfast on the balcony. I always look forward to that. We went to the game room and played some Scrabble. Adventure has two game rooms, which is neat. One is on deck 13, I believe, near some of the lounges. There are all these windows on that deck. It tends to be more of a family game room, and we had been there a few times. This time, we went to the other, which I think was on deck 5. It only has the port hole windows, but it is very nice, and serene.

We are so awful at playing Scrabble, lol. The rules go completely out the window, while we have words coming off the game board, and we fail to keep score.

We also had a wine tasting. What I love is how they pair it with things, and discuss all the different qualities. I have a few pictures, which I will post. This is the night where I wore the chocolate brown dress. I really like that dress.

Now, this was Friday. On Thursday, when we were in Bonaire, I had a phone signal and had internet off the ship. Our flights were still on time, and the captain had said the airport and port were open in San Juan.

So during dinner, our tablemates asked if we had the ship's internet, and I told them we did not. He gave me his phone and told me to check on our flight. It was now canceled.

We went back to our room, and we called Jet Blue. They had a new flight, but going to JFK. They had one seat available. We explained that with my hearing loss, we needed to travel together. They suggested we grab the last seat, and have a second one on standby. So we did that.

We got to the airport after departing, and got to the Jet Blue desk. While we there, a seat freed up. We were soooo happy, since they told us on the phone the next flight available was Wednesday. We decided to immediately get over through security, which was nice and quick. We sat down and my phone buzzed. Our flight was cancelled. We had to actually leave as if we were getting off a plane, and then go around through the front to get back to the Jet Blue desk.

By that time, the next available flight was Friday. We booked it, and then when from desk to desk to see if there was anything sooner with the other airlines. Delta had one on Thursday, but we opted to stick with Jet Blue, hoping they would schedule more flights and we could move up.

Then we had to find a place to stay. I really loved the idea of going back to the Hilton Caribbe, but it isn't cheap, and we were looking at 6 nights. Plus there food is expensive, and they have a resort fee for each day there. We started looking through Booking.com to find something reasonable that was in a safe area and had a good reputation.

For various reasons, I am not listing hotel names here. We found a hotel with a 4.7 out of 5 rating, and the price was good. It was a boutique hotel, so we knew it would be small and maybe not have a lot of amenities. I was trying to find out how close it was to a laundromat!!! I was out of clean clothes and totally freaking out about it.

Seriously, I was. So we got a taxi, that dropped us off in the front and took off quickly. The door was locked. There was a doorbell. We rang it. No answer. Then we noticed the sign that said if you are checking in after 11 PM, go to their sister hotel a block and half away. Well, it was around 5 PM, so we thought it odd but we headed up the street.

Sister hotel is locked too. But someone answer the bell by opening the door and immediately walking away. We schlepped our luggage up the steps, to a crowded little lobby. No one at the desk. A maintenance worker told us he would be back, so we waited. Finally, after about 40 minutes, he comes back.

Hotel #1 has no power, no water, and is closed. We asked if they had room for us there. He said they have no water or power either, but the may have the power back on shortly. So we waited. By this time, most of us were asking if there were any hotels we could go to?

They have another sister hotel, with power, with water! Yay! So we took another taxi and arrived. I got scared. There were missing windows, and it was vacant. Then I noticed the hotel was in the adjoining building. We got through the gate, and the person at the desk was talking to his girlfriend, and completely ignoring us. We were getting eaten up by mosquitoes, and it was getting dark.

More of the story later!

Yes, I'm the one that says that it can be so hard to dress in Earth without looking like we're dressing for fall all the time.

This is the smaller scarf:

https://www.target.com/p/women-s-floral-scarf-a-new-day-153-navy/-/A-52373411#lnk=sametab

Dh was with me and helped me with feedback. Here at home, this scarf goes with A LOT of my things. The orange and the aqua accent colors are really fabulous...I'm feeling like this is a good blue, but the proof will be in putting together the outfits and taking photos, but meanwhile it goes beautifully with the sweater and fits in well with my clothes.

I'm pretty sure this is the other one:

https://www.kohls.com/product/prd-2969076/lc-lauren-conrad-opulent-passport-square-scarf.jsp?prdPV=8

It's a very low contrast scarf that looks really good on me. It might be slightly cool...but that should look okay on me according to the whole Soft Autumn deal... I actually think this one is more flattering than the other, BUT...this one, because it is all blue tones is a bit harder for me to figure out in an outfit... I like the way that other one brings together the cardigan and an accent colored tank...

I have no idea how cold it's going to get. We're in the mid to high 80s this week and then it's like only 70s starting next weekend...and that's as far as I can see on forecast. DH and I were pretty pumped to see that we live in an area where they sell ski bibs in Walmart again! So the access to cold is here for sure. I haven't seen that since, OMG...Colorado? And I haven't lived there since 1999! Very exciting!

I was wondering about the blue in the one red... The burgundy one actually looks a bit soft to me. Do you have that same Merona tank I do? There's a couple of those that are actually really soft, even while they are a deeper color. I could see that dress on me color wise...because of that I could see how you would want it warmer...because that touch of cool is usually okay on me, so long as it isn't too cool... I'm still so surprised that the red one is more rusty, orange. I wonder what the influence of the other dresses is doing to the way the filter is on the camera? What if you took a photo of it with the brown dress? And something that was more orange or rusty? Maybe the camera would pick up the orange in the dress more if it were surrounded by more orange?

Laurie , Those dresses are nice but I do think the one with the ruffle is not worth having alterations especially taking in the sides . If you do not like the flair I would skip the dress .

Anita , I have a ton of scarves from JJIll and the great thing about them is they match all the colors in their clothes . I wait and buy them on sale .

Laurie, look at Kohls or Penneys for team shirts. I bought a Pedroia shirt on Kohls.com for $49. That is my backyard it's looking pretty tired this time of year.

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Anita, this is what the color is like. I'm hoping it shows up right on your screen.

https://goo.gl/images/ijZsw4

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Sorry. Try this one.

http://www.oprny.com/pantone-smart-18-1447x-color-swatch-card-orange-rust/

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Laurie, my t-shirt is a woman's cut. I can't wear a unisex shirt either. Melody

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Well, we received the itinerary change for our cruise on 26 Nov. St Kitts instead of St Maarten. I didn't expect to receive word till mid to end of October Melody

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I'm reluctant to say anything about the dresses without seeing them on you. The lace overlay one seems very you to me...and so is the one on the right these days...it seems a bit like the yellow and the brown ones. The one in the middle has a lot of detail on it that I don't really associate with you...including the ruffle and even the appliqué...IDK though, without seeing them on you.

Ditto. IMO taking the ruffle off the middle dress would take away a lot of what is appealing about it, but I would say that because I like a little more quirkiness than you. I also prefer a looser style like that when it is hot. I think it is intentionally supposed to be more flowy and you might consider whether that is something that would fill a gap in your wardrobe or just be the dress that sits in the closet and doesn't get worn.

Anita, when we used to ski we always met people from your neck of the woods because the closest mountains to us are only a day's drive from there. When we really wanted to have fun we'd go to Vermont where there are real mountains. :)

I like the first scarf better. I have a similar one and it just goes with soooo much, it's very versatile.

Melody, I like your shirt!

I have to point out that that commercial is a clone of a scene from The Big Bang Theory. Two of the characters who have nothing in common are in a car together and discover a shared love of Neil Diamond. It's one of my favorite episodes:

Back to the whole Natural, Gamine thing. I have to say the terminology through me off a bit because I didn't recognize it. I believe I did this test a few years ago and came out as a Dramatic Classic (I got so many "c" answers). I would peg Laurie as a Classic, too.

The thing is, I am not fond of straight lines and angles in my clothing, but I still think I am a Dramatic because my sheath dresses always have to have some embellishment of some kind, or an interesting texture, and while my hair is not sculpted it is usually shaped or contained in some way. I did have my 80's big hair moment, but even then it was shaped around my face. I definitely do not skew Natural. That loose, slouchy look is so not me.

Melody, I like your shirt!

 

I have to point out that that commercial is a clone of a scene from The Big Bang Theory. Two of the characters who have nothing in common are in a car together and discover a shared love of Neil Diamond. It's one of my favorite episodes:

 

That is also my favorite Big Bang episode

The more I look at the dresses, the more I think the only one I think that meets my needs is the red one, but I would rather have a different color. Did I just say that? Lol.

I am looking to fill a void in my closet. I want to have a few casual dresses that are easy to wear. Online, the orange/rust dress is not as "trapeze" like as it is in person. That isn't to say it's really big, just bigger than what I wanted. Taking it in would be to make it more of an A-line dress, not a sheath. Since I am not certain I would love it, I would just rather leave it alone.

I think I said I paid $150.00 for four dresses, but it was actually $115.00. Ironically, the orange/rust dress was the most expensive, and I felt it was a bit overpriced. I got a lot off with combining some coupons, but ...

Well, it was worth a try!

Margaret, I have not researched Kibbe the way I want to yet, but certain aspects of the classic description stood right out to me, and I could relate. The only thing I wasn't sure about was my love of jewelry. Maybe that would swing in the dramatic direction? I love jewelry, and I never really wear little pendants or things like that. But I don't think the jewelry I choose it loud either.

On another note, isn't this dress just dreamy? I mean, totally dreamy?

https://www.macys.com/shop/product/michael-michael-kors-one-shoulder-sheath-dress?ID=4584275&CategoryID=14728&LinkType=&selectedSize=#fn=COLOR%3DBlue;;Brown;;Gold;;Green;;Purple;;Red;;Tan/Beige;;Yellow%26DEPARTMENT_TYPE%3DDresses;;Jumpsuits%26sp%3D1%26spc%3D119%26ruleId%3D9|BS|BA%26slotId%3D29

Then there is this...I seem to really like Michael Kors. You may recall two of my standby dresses are Michael Kors. This might have the same overall fit as the snakeprint dress.

https://www.macys.com/shop/product/michael-michael-kors-embellished-maxi-dress?ID=4589849&CategoryID=14728&LinkType=&selectedSize=#fn=COLOR%3DBlue;;Brown;;Gold;;Green;;Purple;;Red;;Tan/Beige;;Yellow%26DEPARTMENT_TYPE%3DDresses;;Jumpsuits%26sp%3D2%26spc%3D119%26ruleId%3D9|BS|BA%26slotId%3D54

I think this is beautiful, but I don't know if I would wear it. It looks like too much dress for me. Not enough shape? It's not that everything has to be fitted, but I struggle with things that are very loose and unstructured.

My daughters love The Big Bang Theory. I have gotten quite a few laughs myself when I have seen episodes. That particular scene is epic.

I'd never seen Big Bang Theory until this summer, haven't seen that episode yet. Laurie I like the green dress, but I'd call it olive not ivy. I think it has more shape to it than you think. I also like Michael Kors. Melody

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Margaret...I figured you would be Dramatic one way or another. I figured that with your height Dramatic might not be the base I guess, but more the leaning. Just didn't know if you were more Dramatic Classic, Theatrical Romantic, or whatever a Dramatic Gamine is...is that Flamboyant Gamine? I also figured you would not be in the Natural category at all...but that makes total sense to me comparing you and I.

Your dreamy dress is nice. I could see you in that... I agree that the maxi may be a whole lot of dress on you. I would have been more attracted to that Ivy colored dress in the past, but now I recognize that it is too shapeless for me...the straight lines with no help at all on the shape...and way too much of one solid color for me...I really need to have the body broken up more than that dress would do.

DH and were in a mall mood...we were actually looking at sheets...very unsuccessfully...and had a couple other items in mind. I'm on the look out for more transitional clothing. Longer sleeves...and I bought this...which has a horrible picture online:

https://www.macys.com/shop/product/style-co-cold-shoulder-peasant-top-created-for-macys?ID=4835073&CategoryID=255&swatchColor=Enchanted%20Ruins&ruleId=78|BS|BA&slotId=1

I think that the fabric being a stretch knit will always photograph cool...which just goes to show you how you really need to see fabric IRL and can't trust the photos. I think we've all experienced how the accent white in a print pattern can also dominate the print in a photo? One of the base colors is a perfect match for my new green Target pants, which I bought to wear with my knee high boots. It's my first cold shoulder shirt...I think it's pretty feminine so the pairing with the skinny green cargo pants and tall lace up knee high boots will work well. Seem like a good fall outfit...if ever we can get some fall like weather.

I'm still on the fence with the second scarf. Both go perfectly with the sweater I intended to wear with them...I just don't know how to pair up the blue pattern with a shirt. None of the shirts I have seem to really work with it.

I've never really watched Big Bang...that clip is funny though.

Laurie...are you wanting a sleeveless casual dress?

Yes, sleeveless. Fall is pretty short here, and I wear few dresses in winter. i get a lot out summer dresses because I can wear them on cruises too.

Have you thought of something like this? Looks a bit like a tee shirt version of so many of your formal dresses:

http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/leith-ruched-body-con-tank-dress/3741346?origin=category-personalizedsort&fashioncolor=TAN%20DUSK%20HTHR

Anita, that is very pretty. My only concern is that very top. A higher neckline means I need to do something as far as breaking up the shoulder area. It does seem to come in a bit like some of my dresses do. I like the coral cedar heather color a lot! Do you think the red tannin color looks warm? We do not have a Norstrom around here for me to look in person.

I like the ruching on that too.

I think the Red Tannin is worth a shot. It's so hard to tell online! I would think that the right necklace would do what you want on the neckline. I just thought that the dress (ordering a size up for ease like the description says...) would have that shape that you like with an ease that make it more casual for you...the knit in the pullover style...and it doesn't represent any major bra challenges! (always something I look for in a casual dress). My only concern would be more if the color were rich enough on you...because it looks a bit soft.