laurspag

First formal night. I'm pretty certain of the jewelry but if I think of other options, I will post them. Just to let you know how off the lighting reflections are in my room, my bed spread is a dark, warm teal!

I love this jumpsuit. I could go in many directions here also. I had some issues getting the earring colors to look right. They are not this bright.

Here is the green dress with jewelry options next to it. I just realized I didn't the a picture of it hanging up, but it very much looks like the stock picture I posted previously. It is a wonderful color. I am already thinking I will wear it to Chops or Giovanni's. What options do you like? The green ones look better in real life than in the photo - the fold mixed in with the green pixk up on this color. The ivory are also much warmer in real life.

Yesterday was President's Day, and I watched my grandson. We had such a fun day. I took a personal day today as well, as she needed a sitter for part of the day. I was kind of sad when I left. While he can be a handful, I really feel like we were having a great time. We didn't have enough time to go to the library as we originally planned. We will have to do that next time! Since coming home, I have been playing a bit with outfits. Right now, my focus has been on dinner outfits. I have four of seven nights decided for sure, and I'm contemplating about the rest still. It's funny, because there was a dress I purchased for my daughter's graduation when she received her master's degree, and I have then worn it on a few cruises since. I knew I wanted to bring it again. Like always, I'm having fun with the jewelry. I have never been a big earring wearer, because they tend to bother me a lot. However, many of my tops and dresses in more recent years really don't lend themselves to wearing a necklace so I've been wearing earrings more often. They still bother me, but I find that the more I wear them, they better I tolerate them overall. That new green dress? It is so much fun to dress up or down. In my mind, I have more or less decided that I am going the fun route. I will post pictures shortly, and I would love to get some feedback. I have not yet chosen shoes for each, but I find that the bone colored shoes from my daughter's wedding and the subsequent purchase of two pairs of gold sandals in a similar heel height and the same brand (I think) have been very helpful. I don't want to have hurting feet. I'm glad I was able to take a few minutes to play with the outfits. I really enjoy it, and it helps me to feel excited and gives me something to look forward to.

I've completely lost track - when is everyone cruising? What ship? Where to? I am already planning some things out for my wardrobe. I think I have toned down the formality a lot more over the past few cruises, but I still love the whole process of planning and accessorizing so much. That green dress came in, and it is a keeper! I really like it a lot, and I immediately had jewelry ideas. It's fun when you have options readily available. I have this bracelet with a citrine type stone to it. I guess you could call it a tennis bracelet, and I have earrings that match as well. I am really thinking about a different pair of earrings that I have, that just create an entirely different feel. I think I will wear this to a specialty restaurant. I like to feel that each outfit is picked just for that particular night, and I want to feel really good about it. I am okay with keeping the dress more to the casual side. It is the kind of dress that you can dress up or down. We have President's Day coming up, and I usually take advantage of the long weekends to play with outfits and take pictures. I am babysitting this time though, and my daughter's hours aren't the best so I may not get to it this weekend. I may sneak upstairs in a bit though, and see what jewelry I like with that dress! We haven't really planned out any excursions yet. In San Juan, we plan to do our own walking tour and lunch. We love to see historic places and the like, and a lot of forums have indicated it is easy to do on your own so that is what we will do. We visited the fort a while back when we were there. I recall it being very hilly to get there! We will be in St. Thomas and Cococay as well. I am going to bite the bullet and reserve a beach bed. Our last one did not provide a lot of shade, so I hope the location of the next one is good! I would love a cabana, but the very cheapest one is $1200.00, and that is ridiculous so we aren't doing that, lol.

Margaret, we are excited about the eclipse. It isn't often something like that goes through our area. I understand we will get about a minute and half. Hotels are so hard for me to figure out. I've never minded taking a shuttle. We have taken taxis as well, which is probably what we will do this time. I'm all about getting to the port and on the ship as soon as they let me. 🙂 I'm a little more concerned about the shuttle to the airport after the cruise, so I have a feeling we will just carry off our luggage if we think we need to. Do you ever just come across something online that you think might work, and order it on a whim? I do that if I have free returns. This is mostly because I have found out that things I think will be perfect often aren't, and things I don't think will work can end up being my favorite thing. About ten years, I got his brown dress that I have worn so many times. It is too tight now, but I bought it because it was brown and hated it when I took it out of the box. It ended up being one of my best purchases ever. Well, I ordered this dress from Macy's. I did not want another tent, but the color was really nice, and it seemed like it draped nice. It came in today and I was so impressed when I tried it on! It is not fitted, but not big and baggy either. This has always been a preference for fit - something that follows along with body curves but isn't fitted. That can be hard to find these days. It has a satin like look. I would need to check the tag and so forth, but it is probably a crinkle charmeuse. I love when a dress feels kind of elegant, even when it is a casual night. I can already see this at a specialty restaurant.

It seems like every hotel has issues. I found it so hard to find anything with consistently good reviews. I hope they get the elevator fixed by September! I also found fewer and fewer hotels with shuttles. In the past, it was pretty easy to get airport to hotel shuttles and hotel to cruise port shuttles. I'm sure it isn't unique to Fort Lauderdale but I'm wondering how it compares overall to other cruise ports.

Margaret, I'm so sorry to hear about your brother's heart issues. I find that I spend a lot of time lately realizing that I'm not getting any younger, and how precious life is. I try to stick with my doctor's appointments, and to take care of myself. It's not perfect, but my family has a history of a lot of ailments, and I just want to be proactive. I've decided that we will stay at the Renaissance Fort Lauderdale Marina the day before our cruise. It seems to be in a decent area with plenty of places to eat along with the hotel restaurant. I did a lot of back and forth on hotels. I'm working on airfare next, and prefer to book through RCI on that. I find the pricing is very similar to booking on my own. I just inquired with my TA on that so I don't have the options yet. She will be back in the office on Monday. The last time I spoke to her, she described the prices as ridiculous so we will see! One thing about sailing on Freedom....it has always been RCI's most popular ship. I've been on Freedom more than any other ship, so I can agree on that. I think this has a lot to do with why there have really been no price changes for cruise fare other than up, and why all the excursion and dinner packages are expensive. My husband likes a mix of the dining room and specialty dining. Last cruise, we had the three night dinner package, which isn't offered on Freedom because it doesn't have as many restaurants. They offer a 3 night package or unlimited dining or ala cart. My husband wants two. Lol. I am going to explain to him tomorrow (he is working) that it is actually cheaper to book the three night than two restaurants individually, so I have a feeling we will end up with the three night package and go to Chops twice and Giovanni's once. They have a Playmakers, which is perfect for sports lovers like us. I can see us spending a lot of time stopping in for a drink and to catch up on the scores. I'm definitely in vacation mode, but I have to wait until September! Melody, I'm happy that Les is getting around better. I was thinking not long ago about our 2nd cruise, which was in 2009. My poor husband developed shingles not long before the cruise, and they were just awful. Unfortunately for him, they went over the back of his head, onto his forehead and eye area. He literally couldn't open his eyes for a few days. I don't know how he managed to recover so well and go on a cruise. When we look at the pictures, you can still see the marks on his face when you look carefully. To this day, one his eyebrows arches a little from the nerve damage, even. I think when we really want to go on vacation, our bodies push for recovery! It also makes the trip that much sweeter.

We have a snowy day here. Nothing major, but it may get a bit worse later on. I will say, it looks so beautiful outside with a fresh, white layer of snow. It also makes me appreciate having a warm, safe home. My husband is working, and we do have plans to go out to dinner tonight. It does not faze him to drive in the snow, where I am petrified still, after all these years of living here. I've been working hard on footwear, trying to make sure that I am wearing things that feel okay. I have always had so many issues with getting shoes to fit properly, which probably explains why I have Morton's Neuroma in one foot and bunions on both. It is very hard to find things that I like and that are comfortable too. I purchased those lower heel gold sandals that were the same brand as my bone colored sandals, and I was amazed the difference it made on our last cruise. It is amazing how much we put up with pain to look good, you know? I now own two pair of Skechers sneakers, as they come in wide width and super comfortable. I'm working on work shoes, which is super hard. I found a pair I loved and purchased, and they still make them even though I got them about 4 years ago. Problem is, the color choices. I haven't been able to find brown since I originally purchased them.

Melody, I sure hope that Les is feeling better soon. You two have had so much going on the past few years health wise. While he may not love having that scooter, if it helps him, then it is a good thing!! I hope you are able to go on vacation and enjoy it. The nice thing about cruising is that you can do as little or as much as you want. Anita described it really well. I often think about things like a walk in shower. We really need to make sure the house can grow old with us. I know I've mentioned how hard it is to convince my husband of that. There have been a lot of things we've worked on lately that are not necessarily about making the house easier to age in, but it is about just getting things finished. He knows I am focused, so he is coming around!! Anita!!!! It is so good to hear from you. It sounds like through all the chaos, you have had a chance to enjoy the holidays and your family. It sounds like rough business to move like that. I know I've said it a lot, but it fascinates me. I have pretty much lived my entire life in a few different homes, all within about ten square miles. Even work....40 years this past summer! Yes, the way I approach decorating compared to clothing is funny. We were looking at rugs, and I migrated towards this one but I didn't know if it would work. We brought it home along with another one and I went back and forth. I finally decided on this one, but I had to return both rugs because I needed a different size. This arrived about three days later so there really wasn't a wait. I'm loving how the curtains, chair and rug go together. There are the wall colors too. I like to mix patterns when I'm repeating the same colors, but I can't say I've figured out my style. I just know it when I see it, and it involves some color, and updated classics. There are some old things too. That table you see in the picture was my mom's. It was in horrible shape. I found a retired gentleman who refinishes wood who did this inexpensively. We removed the top part and I found a piece of leather online that I recovered it with, just like my mom had. The finish is pretty much the same color as it was, and it goes nicely with the quartersawn oak desk and bookcase we have in here. I think that figuring out when to sell a home is tricky, and a personal decision. If it is all about finances, then I would say to fix what has to be fixed, even if it means hiring someone. Then sell now, while the market is hot. I would put the money into a good interest earning account and wait to buy. You can get top dollar right now for selling a home, but you are also paying top dollar. A few years from now, there is risk that you owe more than what a house is worth. Interest rates will be more stable as well. Sorry, didn't mean to ramble about that. Lending is what I do for a living, and it has been very strange over the past few years. As I said initially, it is about what works for you and your family. With your son deciding on schools, it probably feels like everything is up in the air right now. I really admire how you are able to think everything through and figure things out, such as the apartment in Seattle.

Hi all...how's your weather? It sounds like the Buffalo area is going to get quite a blizzard. Here ins CNY, we have had some wind today and a little bit of rain, but that is all. This storm is missing us altogether. My sister lives in Buffalo, so I worry about her. She is smart though. She will stock up and not go anywhere in this. It has been a strange winter for us so far. Mostly, we have had a lot of rain! I'm itching to start planning out my cruise. It is in September. I have lots of time, but I am also thinking how quickly time is going by. I mostly toy with outfit ideas until I get closer, but I usually have some excursions picked by now. With a long weekend, I think I am going to look at ideas for that, along with finalizing our hotel. We stayed at Embassy Suites the last two times we sailed from Fort Lauderdale, and I've been told it has really gone downhill so we are aiming towards the Dania Beach area. We finally have our Christmas decorations completely put away. My husband had Covid last week, and that had him down for the count. He is doing much better now, thank goodness. I also got a rug for the den. It s a thinner washable rug, but is slides too much so we are getting no slip rug bad to put underneath it. I have no intention of trying to fit this in a washing machine...I wanted a thinner rug for in here. Even with the pad I am ordering, it will still have a thinner feel overall. Rugs generally make a room feel smaller, but it doesn't feel that way to me. It helps to pull the room together, and almost feels bigger? I'll post a picture in just a bit. The room is messy because I'm rearranging, but I like how it is coming together. What are you all up to?

Happy New Year, everyone! We had a quiet New Year's Eve. The day part wasn't quiet, as we had our grandson over with his mom so that she could do laundry. We don't mind - the cost of doing laundry at her apartment is high, and we all get to hang out together. We made our traditional pizza around 5:30, and they went home shortly after. We watched football and got out our appetizers. I also made a chocolate mint martini....okay. Two. I had two martinis. 🙂 I forgot to get champagne, because I was not original expecting my daughter over at the house and we cut our errand trip a bit short. All is good though - ringing in the new year doesn't need champagne, it just needs the right mindset. We did make one stop that I wanted before we headed back to the house, and that was to Lowes. I'm sure that doesn't sound exciting, lol. I wanted to see what kind of rugs they have. I was looking at Ruggable and Tumble online, but I wasn't thrilled with the cost. The main reason for wanting a washable rug is mostly for the thinness. I was looking for the den/office, and I have an office chair. The room looks so great, and I thought a small rug might ground everything better. Being that it is a small, squarish room, iwth a double window, a single window, and a tiny closet area, furniture placement realy has to be against the walls, with the exception of the desk. It feels like the room could use an anchor. My husband has also decided he wants to add crown moulding. We have it through the hall, living room and dining room, and this room is right off of those areas. I think it will look nice. The room is small so it won't be too expensive or drawn out to do. But, back to Lowes. I was looking, and my husband saw a hanging rug that was perfect, except the blue was teal like and I really wanted some of that beautiful dark blue we have on the walls and curtains to be reflected. We had seen a rug earlier, but it wasn't what we wanted. However, we kept going back to it. I realized that I wasn't exactly shopping with an open mind, but I was shopping with a certain rug I saw online in my head. We checked another area, and found another option. After going back and forth on them, we took them both home to try out. They both looked great, but one of them looked right for the room as a whole, including the style and decor, not just the color. We are taking them both back today because we need a bigger size, but I already ordered it online and it should be here by Thursday or Friday. The neat thing is that I saved almost $200.00. I was prepared to pay for Ruggable, but I am so glad I looked around. There is nothing like finding a better option for a lesser price. That was a much longer story than it needed to be, lol. I'll take a picture when it comes in! We are still talking a lot about our master bedroom. It's funny, but we are always doing things in what I call the public part of our home, but the master has been totally neglected. It was last painted about 18 years ago. It is missing the baseboard moulding. I did get new window treatments when the windows were replaced, but that is it. We can bring this room back to life without a lot of money, but...we need to re-sheetrock the ceiling. We did this downstairs previously. There was damage from years ago, where a wall was moved and having someone come in and put the thinnest sheetrock up with some sand paint is desperately needed. Once we do that, we need to add the missing baseboard moulding, maybe crown moudling, two new ceiling fans, and paint. Yes, two ceiling fans. It's a long story, lol.

I'm sorry your cruise plans got messed up, Melody. My last two cruises have had changed itineraries. The cruise I have booked for 2024 is almost what I would call a default cruise. I just wasn't finding the right combination of ship and itinerary. Part of me says it might be time to try a new cruise line. I'm diamond with RCI, so I like the diamond lounge and the 4 free drinks. Maybe Celebrity? They honor the status. It will be a hard thing to sell to my husband. He is a creature of habit. We will be taking down the Christmas decorations, likely in the next few days. We have been talking about what projects we see happening this year. A stair runner is one of them, and I have some things to finish up that I started, such as painting the stairway and the ceiling in the laundry room. There will definitely be outdoor projects when spring arrives as well.

Melody, thise shirts are awesome!!! I don't know why I stopped getting the notifications for posts but I am going to see what's up.with the settings this weekend. We had a great time on Christmas Eve and Christmas day. Quiet overall, but fun! It was warm for this time of the year, so we played outside in the yard with my grandson. It was so much fun!

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate! It's been a busy few weeks, and I stopped getting notifications again. I'll have to check the settings. Your granddaughter is beautiful, Melody! Being a senior in high school is so exciting. I hope all is going well with Anita and her relocation! Any big plans for this holiday weekend? Today is typical for me, meaning cleaning and errands. I'll be making desserts and watching football tomorrow. In the evening, I make a spread of appetizers that we eat while watching Christmas movies. It is rather low key, but peaceful for us. Christmas day we will have my grandson over as well so that will be fun. I do lots of cooking then too. I'll try to get some pictures to share. I still need to share pictures of all the projects we have worked on as well. I just noticed that with the picture I posted previously of my snowman collection, you can see where I have spackled spots in the stairway. Lol. The hall will be finished after the holidays.

Melody, that is so cute! I really couldn't find what I wanted. I should try something like this. What type of paint do you use? Margaret, the decorating process is time consuming with all these trees. I use vacation time to do this, and we have to lug everything up and down the basement stairs. I did most of it myself. I treat it like a once a year hobby, lol. I haven't done much cruise planning yet, but I have quite a while to go. My TA has told me to prepare for sticker shock with the airfare. Yikes! She gave me a recommendation for a hotel in Fort Lauderdale that I will look at tonight. I already have a few things in mind though to wear!!!

That looks fun, Margaret! Peach Fuzz...hm. that's a pretty nice color! I used to have a lot of that color in my summer wardrobe. I remember a tonal cruise outfit I had once with this really neat infinity scarf. I learned rapidly that scarves don't mix with warm weather cruises. I don't have the card any more, but I tend to purge what I'm not wearing much. I'm wishing now that I had kept it. I have been paying a lot of attention to paint colors. I always go with what appeals to me, but it is fun to see what is trending. I'm a bit smitten by a color called chestnut by Benjamin Moore. It isn't right for my house, but I still love it. My house is feeling festive! We had a super busy week and a half and we also have an event to attend later today. After that it quiets down a bit. I like that...it allows us to enjoy the holidays more when we are not rushing through them.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!!!

Anita, you seem to handle these things so well. I can imagine you feel at least some stress with the whole process. I feel badly that your husband's job situation took a turn for the worse. I'm in a kind of similar situation, to a degree. About 5 or 6 years ago, I let it get the better of me and I ended up going to the emergency room with what my husband and I thought may be a heart attack. I was fortunate that it was not, but my high blood pressure, which was under control without medication for years, was back. They determined that it was stress. I had to make some decisions, and I opted to stay put in my job, but to take a different perspective towards things. It isn't a bullet proof process, but after 40 years, I also didn't want to leave a job that I had given some much time, energy, sweat and tears to. I feel very...tired. I love my work family, and love the business where I work. It was a change in management that created the problems. This is different, I know. I think it helps me to relate though. I'm currently looking forward to, and heavily planning, my retirement. It is part of the reason we are so focused on the house. We have a time frame in mind, and that means getting things done. Planning for the future we want is kind of like planning out a vacation - it gives me energy and makes me feel positive about what's to come. This is an exciting chapter for both of you. I especially love that you will be closer to your parents. I miss seeing Pam pop in and chatting with us. Being able to cruise Alaska without a drawn out flight saves a lot of money and time. Plus, you won't have to make the time change adjustment! That was a bit rough on me when my husband and I took the one cruise from San Diego. We wished that we could have at least been able to spend a half day there to explore, but we got in later the night before, and our body clocks were all messed up. Then we had t readjust when we came back home. On a positive note, we went to a local place that has a "remnant yard" for quartz, marble and granite yesterday. I was armed with the info on what we had chosen. When I saw the sample in store in real life, I wasn't as smitten with it but I did like it still. We headed out to the yard to see if they had any pieces that would fit. They did not. That being said, I found one I like even better. It was less expensive as well, since they already had the piece. Time wise, it will throw off my process a lot. I can always do things out of order, but I also feel the need to paint by the end of next weekend. I can certainly paint the room after the countertop is installed, but the idea of removing the Formica that is in there and then painting prior to the new countertop is installed is a much better idea. I can't believe that what I thought would happen in January or February is now going to be completed the day before Thanksgiving. This is good though! We are leaving to get the paint shortly, which means I have to commit to the color. It's kind of bright, so I will see if I make a last minute change in store. I am finding lately that colors are not as muted looking when I put them on the walls. This is intended to be cheerful, but we will see how that ends up. BEHR PREMIUM PLUS 8 oz. #P450-3 Rainwater Flat Interior/Exterior Paint & Primer Color Sample B310016 - The Home Depot I should add some photos of the drapes in the mudroom, to help see how the two rooms will tie together. There is an open doorway there. You walk into the mud room, and the laundry room is straight ahead. It is visible from the family room as well, but not very much of it.

Anita! It is good to hear from you! Wow, Seattle! Were you contemplating a move? You must have so much on your plate right now, with getting ready to move, your son, the existing house, and so forth. You are an experienced mover, so I know you will get a lot of things situated quickly. I would be so lost planning something like that. I look forward to hearing about the process. They have some nice cruises that sail out that a way! Speaking of which, I always love planning out my cruises but the current cost of things is really making me anxious. We got a decent deal on a 7 day cruise out of Fort Lauderdale on Freedom. The excursions, dining and so on are just so ridiculously priced right now. I was tempted to cancel and try something different, but I really love to cruise. I find that I control my spending well because I plan ahead and have everything paid for with just a few out of pocket expenses. When I start thinking about buying three meals a day, renting a car, paying for things to do, and so forth, I usually find that I do much better with cruising. A few things have literally doubled (or more) from the cruise I just took a short time ago. Slidergirl, I'm a big Olympics fan. I have traveled to Lake Placid a number of times for long weekends, and we always go to the ski lift, museum, and so forth. Our home projects continue. As we get to the holidays, I do plan to finish painting the stairway and will likely have the laundry room painted. The laundry room isn't certain though. We purchased new doors for the cabinets, and they came in this week. They are going to look really great and it was such a huge savings over ordering all new cabinets. The hardware is in also. Our biggest thing was that I decided I wanted a solid surface countertop in there. We finally got an estimate, but between booking the appointment and having the person visit to view the area where the countertop is being installed, they somehow "forgot" to tell us that there is a minimum purchase of 25 square feet. They even gave us a verbal quote in person. Needlessly to say, we had some sticker shock when the estimate came in. We are still figuring it out, and plan to check around to a few more places this weekend. This is really throwing a wrench into our plans, but we will keep shopping and figure it all out. Anita, it must be nice having your son home, even if it is only until he goes back to school.

I can't imagine what that bus ride was like for those people in the hail! You are right though - they will have some great stories to tell. Everything is so beautiful. Your pictures all look like something you could enlarge and frame. I'm very fascinated, as I'm not exactly what you would call well traveled, and I realize how much there is to see and explore. I hope to be able to see so many places, such as Norway. In the meantime, it's fun to travel along with you.

That is encouraging to know, as I use a Samsung Galaxy 23S Ultra...or something like that!

That is encouraging to know, as I use a Samsung Galaxy 21S Ultra...or something like that!

Oh, those are stunning pictures! It is such an amazing phenomenon. I have been using my phone for pictures for a while, mostly because my camera is pretty dated and my phone is small and easy to have on me. What kind of camera do you use?