All things EARTH...

[MJC]

Well, I scanned a bunch of pictures for this weekend, but due to more family drama this week I was distracted and scanned them all as pdf's. So, sorry ladies, no pix yet.

 

mousey, those black boots with the gold detail on the heel come in brown too. Unfortunately nobody has them in my size. I ended up buying some Clark's which are a safe (i.e., boring) choice but I know they'll be comfortable all day.

 

Anita, nice nails! I love the colors you choose.

 

Laurie, I hope your ear is better. It must be so frustrating. Let us know how things are going for you.

 

I've worked very hard at having a fun weekend and leaving the stress behind. We had been trying to shoehorn a mini-vacation into December, and I found out on Friday that it won't work. So, to make myself feel better, I tried to be outside as much as possible this weekend, which has been very warm. Yesterday we grilled steaks and drank waaaay too much red wine. And guess what?? I waterskied today. The water was only 67 but I wore my shortie suit and gritted my teeth, and it was totally worth it.

 

NOBODY makes an EARTH wetsuit. Not even close.

 

Those teal boots? They are so gorgeous, and I really love them, but I am way too practical to buy something like that. They appeal to me as an art object, which shouldn't surprise my Style Statement buddies, but I would ruin them within a week. Life in NYC is hard on shoes, and I am not a decorative person who sits around having lunch and drinking martinis. I used to watch Sex in the City and I always wondered, who lives that way, wearing those high expensive shoes and taking cabs everywhere? Who has a closet for that many coats and purses? That is a rich NYer's life. I am too busy and have too many things on my mind to worry about scuffing my expensive suede boots. And it would totally annoy me to dirty something so beautiful, and I would fret over it. I don't want to fret over stuff like that. So, that's my teal boot story.

[laurspag]

Anita, that is a great nail color. For my cruise, I plan to try Jamberry nails. Not sure if you've ever heard of them, so you may wish to google it. My daughter has a friends who loves them, and my niece was having a party so I ordered some. I plan to give them a test run, and if feasible, they will go with me. What I like is how simple they are to apply, no drying time, etc. But if they start to get beat up, it is very easy to change them. We'll see. There is little if any traditional colors, but I did find a few. Believe it or not, I think I will be wearing the purple ones on the cruise that are called boysenberry.

 

My ear is getting there. The perforations should heal themselves, but right now the ear drum is still rather infected. The hardest thing for me right now is wanting to do things, but being limited. My husband and I ran some errands yesterday, and today we took our dog to Pet Smart to get his nails trimmed. I don't feel sick-sick, if you know what I mean. I have pain, but I can still do things. I tried my hearing aid for the first time since Wednesday, and it wasn't too successful.

 

Enough of that nonsense! I'm only 5 weeks away from my cruise, and I'm sure I will get better.

 

It is interesting to hear about family drama. There have been times in my family that has been less than pleasant. On my father's side, there used to be all these family arguments. I guess we have never wanted to go through that, so we handle things a bit differently. Not better, just different. We are a bit distanced from one another. Growing up, I was close to two of my sisters, and one brother. I was not so close to another brother and sister. Now that we are all older, I find that I'm still somewhat close to my younger brother, but the opposite has occurred with my sisters. I also have a half sister that I didn't see or hear from for about 40 years, until she reached out to us a few years back.

 

I love them all, but...well, let's put it this way: I can't imagine ever going on a cruise with them. Oh, that sounded awful, didn't it? We are just different, and out of respect for one another, if we don't have something nice to say, we don't say anything at all. So, we are quiet!

 

Margaret, Clark's makes some good, comfy shoes. Sometimes it takes me a while to find things that are both comfortable and stylish. I don't know how it is in NYC, but in the City of Syracuse, which I am very close to, people take the bus and wear sneakers, with everything. Then, when they get to work, they switch over to their nice shoes. I admit that I can't imagine doing that because I have a strong dislike of sneakers, even when exercising, lol.

 

Anita, that outfit sounds perfect. It makes a world of difference to me to put on an outfit I feel good about. I really do like those sandals. Do you have the kind of weather there often for closed toe shoes? It's 2 1/2 seasons for my area, and I love what I will call clogs, since they are easy off and on.

 

I was thinking about San Francisco being windy, and hilly. I have a lot to think about with my selections.

 

Margaret, I'm sorry you won't be able to plan a getaway. I was thinking about how I will have a bit more vacation time beginning next year, and it will be a few years before my husband catches up to me. I've been thinking of taking a few days for things like some painting I want to do in the house, or maybe spend a day with my sister, the one that I have become closer to. She took an early retirement not too long ago.

[Sailor_Sally]

Margaret , I was a big sex & the city fan . I actually thought a lot of New Yorkers were living that dream in smaller apartments .

Laurie , Sorry about your ear . That most be so frustrating .

Anita , I love the nail polish color & having my nails done also gives me a boost .

Mousey , Sorry about the drama .

I have been having a stress filled month . My SO of fourteen years was supposed to have knee surgery but after a failed stress test he ended up having open heart surgery last week .He is doing great but it has been super stressful .I knew I was stressed when I stress shopped a lot.

[laurspag]

Oh, I am so sorry to hear that!!! That is very major surgery. I hope he has a speedy recovery.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[Sailor_Sally]

Thanks Laurie , He is healing at an amazing rate . We are so lucky the blockages were discovered and repaired since he had no symptoms.

[ChollaChick]

Sally - so glad to hear that your SO is recovering well.

 

Mousey - you and I definitely seem to have similar tastes. Wish we could shop together!

 

Laurie - I hope your ear feels better soon. Several years ago I had a bad infection in both ears. Between the pain, not being able to hear, and the vertigo I thought I was going to lose my mind.

 

Margaret - sorry to hear about all the family stress. We live far enough away from family that we can stay pretty insulated from a lot of the family drama. Just the way we like it. :) I hope you are able to find a bit of peace.

 

Anita - awesome nail color. You have inspired me to polish my nails. Black. Don't hate me. I have a problem. I admit it. Lol.

[smitty34877]

We came back last week from a great cruise to Quebec from NYC. I saw Sailor Sally's note and had to send my best wishes to them. It is a very stressful thing-my husband had open heart surgery under similar(no symptoms) circumstances 6 years ago. He is doing well now and we remain grateful for stress tests. Sally,hang in there-it gets better! Lou was able to climb steep hills in several cities without difficulty last week.

[Sailor_Sally]

Smittty , Thank you ! He is doing great .What cruise line did you go to Quebec on ? Two years ago we did a seven day new England cruise from New York & next year hopefully we plan on doing the longer cruise that goes to Quebec .Did you fly from Quebec ?

I envy yours & Mousey's adventuresome dressing . I tend to be conservative with a twist .

[laurspag]

You know what one of the best things was about going through the style statement process? Realizing, and embracing who you are. At one time, if someone asked me about my style preferences, I found myself uncomfortable. I'm not bothered about it all now, because I have been able to put it in perspective. Selecting those three dresses was a process I was comfortable with. Then it was a matter of having seeing about the fit and color.

 

Once I get an item, I enjoy the accessorizing greatly. I have some ideas floating around already for the dresses. The red one is trickier for me - not in knowing what I want, but finding what I want. I will know it when I see it.

 

I don't know about all of you, as I know that we all feel differently about jewelry. but, when I have something with a pattern or print, I approach the jewelry differently than I do something that is simpler or a solid color. It's like making the coordination feel harmonious. That is one of my SS words, harmony or harmonious.

 

The brown/purple lace dress is something where I want a distinct necklace, and I want to pick up the idea of the flowery lace. But I want simplicity. This is an idea that I have at the moment, but I'm just starting to look and haven't been up to par:

 

http://www.charmingcharlie.com/wired-roses-necklace-set.html#color=gold

 

Then I've been thinking about the blue dress, and what am I looking for? I've seen two possibilities, and they each have a different feel.

 

http://www.charmingcharlie.com/deluxe-chain-link-statement-necklace.html#color=light-seafoam

 

http://www.charmingcharlie.com/fern-gully-fashion-necklace.html

 

I'm just toying a bit with ideas right now. The blue dress has quickly become a special dress to me. It probably sounds weird, but sometimes you just find a special item, and this is one of them.

 

The red dress is going to be a bit harder to accessorize. It's important to me to make sure I keep the necklace as warm and earthy as possible. I have a few necklaces I want to try with them.

 

By the way, even if I pick a necklace special for a dress, I will wear it a lot in addition to that dress. I buy with the idea in mind that everything should be well used, and I should get my money's worth.

 

And I will get to taking photos of some of my Pacific Coastal cruise ideas, I promise!

[ChollaChick]

I love your necklace ideas Laurie. I especially love the gold roses. I have a really hard time accessorizing. I love the look of well accessorized outfits but I seem to lack the genes to figure out how to do it. A friend at work recently went with me to Charming Charlie and was busily picking out necklaces and bracelets while I aimlessly wandered the aisle clutching one pair of very non-earth silver earrings. I love silver. I love black. I rarely find anything non silver or black that I am drawn to in jewelry. But I really like the rose necklace. The rose theme kind of resonates for me.

 

I have a cruise coming up late next year and even though it's a long way off I am already starting to look at clothes for it. Especially dresses for dinner. My favorite look these days is sweater dresses with tights and stylish boots. Sadly, usually in black. Or tunics and leggings and boots (basically the same thing, huh?). I know I will do some outfits like that as our cruise leaves New Jersey on November 1, so the weather will be cool for several days at the beginning. But then we wind up in the Caribbean so I don't know what will be best for then.

[laurspag]

Since I'm not all that far away from New Jersey, I think I can give you an idea of what to expect. First, I think it will probably only take a day to a day and a half for it to warm up. Same way on your way back, when it comes to cooling off.

 

Temperatures can be interesting. I'm gonna guess around 50 degrees. But it tends to be rainy around that time too.

 

What cruise line will you be on?

 

You will probably like sweater dresses, tights, leggings, etc. on the first and last nights the most.

 

All of my cruises have been to warm climates, and I've either sailed during summer or from a warm port. Even though my May cruise is not like going to Alaska, it is a bit different. I love that I can wear some of my favorite things that I don't get to wear as often as I would like. I am just hoping to look earthy without looking like I'm dressed for fall. I think I have some great options though.

[ChollaChick]

Laurie - thank you! We are sailing Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas on a repositioning cruise New Jersey to Galveston with a bunch of Caribbean ports in between. I am excited. We are going with a couple we met on our last cruise and recently DH's best friend and his wife signed up to go too. We don't see either couple very often so it should be a fun trip. Plus, since we haven't had a vacation since 2011, we are due. Lol.

 

That's always an issue for me too - trying to find earth colors and not looking like I am dressed for October. When it's June. Lol. But so often, I can only find our colors in the fall so I stock up. I am interested in learning to sew so I could find stuff in styles that I like in colors that work for me. I am really uncomfortable with my body these days so when I find something flattering I tend to buy multiple colors of it (when possible). Often times those colors are far from anything I should be wearing, but I like the style so much I don't care. But if I could learn to sew some simple styles, maybe it would be a good thing. Only problem is I don't know when I would find the time. If I could just have some 26 hour days, I would be set. :)

[notsoredhead]

Sally, best wishes to your SO. My BIL had similar surgery 10 yrs ago and is doing swell now.

 

Laurie I hope you are feeling better. Don't you find head related issues to be extra hard to deal with.

 

I really like the simplicity of the gold rose necklace with the lace dress.

 

We leave for our cruise on Thursday so I will be busy packing tomorrow. Not nearly as organized as you and Anita are.

 

Bev

[mousey]

Geez, where do I start?

 

First of all I feel bad that I didn't explain a little more about the "drama" but I was in a hurry and just wanted to make a quick post to stay in the loop. I get along fabulously with my family (although I must admit that Dad is a bit of a grumpy old guy sometimes...okay, most of the time...LOL! But we love him just the same.). The "drama" was not with family...it was with Roaches! Yes, freak'n German Roaches! The young couple that we rent to are not the cleanest people and they started seeing roaches and set off one of those "bombs" which caused all the nasty pests to jump on over to my parent's little apartment off the garage. It was really BAD! All this happened since I was last there in late April I believe it was. So I had to call a pest control company and we all had to vacate the premises while they sprayed and set traps. Ugh! I lived in FL until I moved to CA when I was 25 and never had a problem like this and neither had my parents. So this was pretty disgusting to us. Anyway by the time I left there were very few of them slowly running around. At two weeks they will come out and do the process all over again. Dang it was awful. It was hard for me to sleep at night.

 

Laurie,

Sorry about your ear...hope you recover fully and quickly. I'm so sorry that you're in pain.

 

I love your choice of jewelry as always! You have exquisite taste in all the things you choose fashion-wise. I love Charming Charlie's it's like a big candy store to me. I go in there and spend over an hour just looking at everything. I got a great laser-cut, brown leather cuff that has a beautiful rhinestone rose that looks like the one on the rose necklace you're looking at to wear with one of your new dresses. Love the place! My bracelet was only $8. Such deals they have there.

 

Anita, love the polish...you sure know how to pick beautiful, interesting nail colors.

 

So Chollachick...yep you are I are definitely on the same wave-length. I'm addicted to black, tunics, leggings, and boots are my fall and winter go to outfits. I wear them with big, felt, floppy hats (kind of Boho style). And silver...I have a humongous collection of sterling silver jewelry. I wear a set that consists of hoop earrings, and small ball studs (I have double-pierced ears), a silver cuff bracelet the DH bought me years ago in Cabo, 3-4 rings, and sometimes a silver ball chain with silver charms on it. I get compliments all the time on my silver jewelry. I'm seriously beginning to think that maybe I'm not an Earth...still waiting to get my Style Statement book to see what's up.

 

Sally,

So sorry to hear about your SO and hope he recovers fully and quickly.

 

Bev,

 

Hope you have a safe and awesome cruise!

 

Well, I'm back for a few days and then a week from today I'm off to AZ for Parent's Weekend. Got our game tickets and today I got a really cute, red, navy, and white plaid flannel button down shirt (AZ's colors are Red and Blue) to wear as a jacket over a white (I know, I know) tank top. I'll wear it with my boyfriend jeans and Timberland boots. I'l also wear a Navy blue floppy beanie with the big red, white, and blue AZ Wildcat "A". I'm so looking forward to this trip. I also have a pair of "A" earrings, an AZ Wildcat navy blue plastic watch, and a bracelet with crystal red, white, and blue beads. It all sounds so corny but hey...Bare Down Arizona! Go Wildcats!

 

It will be so awesome to be able to give my DS a huge bear hug and kiss him all over his beautiful face. OMG...I just can't wait to see my baby's smile and hear his amazing laugh.

[ChollaChick]

Mousey - I am at work and we were watching the UA vs Oregon game and I thought of you and your DS. When is parents weekend? Is it this week or next week? I live outside of Phoenix so we have a lot of ASU alumni at work so they were rooting against UofA but I was cheering them on. For your DS. :).

 

We definitely have the same taste in clothes. I wonder if I am a true earth too because I get a lot of compliments on outfits that are more saturated color than muted. I think its just wishful thinking because I love black so much. And I want to keep it as a staple in my wardrobe. Lol. So I will whine a little every time I throw out something black.

 

Love your UA clothing choices. You will fit right in. ;)

[mousey]

Mousey - I am at work and we were watching the UA vs Oregon game and I thought of you and your DS. When is parents weekend? Is it this week or next week? I live outside of Phoenix so we have a lot of ASU alumni at work so they were rooting against UofA but I was cheering them on. For your DS. :).

 

We definitely have the same taste in clothes. I wonder if I am a true earth too because I get a lot of compliments on outfits that are more saturated color than muted. I think its just wishful thinking because I love black so much. And I want to keep it as a staple in my wardrobe. Lol. So I will whine a little every time I throw out something black.

 

Love your UA clothing choices. You will fit right in. ;)

 

 

ChollaChick,

 

Thanks for cheering on the U of A...that's so sweet of you! Did you see the end of the game? That was an amazing thing...the way #33 (can't remember his name) stole the ball away from Oregon! I cannot believe they beat the 2nd best team! It was awesome! We'll be at the AZ v USC game next Sat. night and the DH will cheer for AZ even though he did his graduate work at USC. I told him I don't want to hear a peep of cheering for USC even though we've been cheering for them for years. LOL!

 

Parent's Weekend is next weekend and we'll be in AZ from the 10th through the 12th. I'm so looking forward to seeing my DS because I just found out that he hurt his knee skateboarding and I want to see for myself what he's referring to as "Everything's fine mom, don't worry." As if that would make me not worry. LOL!

 

Thanks for being so supportive and yeah, I'm with you on the black. I just can't give it up! LOL!

Edited October 3, 2014 by mousey

[laurspag]

Liberty of the Seas! Whoo hoo, I think you will love it. I haven't been on Liberty, but it is the same class as Freedom, which I've been on twice. Most ships within a class are exactly the same.

 

It's nice and big, but I found that it didn't feel crowded or anything . It is really wonderful. Our waiters remembered what we liked after the first night, even the little details. For example, my daughter asked if they had chocolate milk the first night for dinner. They had it ready for her every single night after that. (she's 26, but loves milk)

 

Mousey, what an ordeal those roaches must have been. Those are nasty critters. They seem to thrive and get bigger in the warmer climates. That had to be a bit hard on your parents too, as they are older.

 

Well, I spent last night cheering on our favorite college football team, but they lost miserably.but they will always be my favorite, but college basketball is my first love. Go, Syracuse!!

 

It's going on 4 weeks and my ear is still infected. This is very odd for me, I'm not sure what the deal is. I'm not able to wear my hearing aid (haven't had it in for a week and half now) but my workplace has been so accommodating. I just want it over with. I wish they knew why it is lingering. I think that for my next appointment, I'm going to really prepare myself with questions, and have them consider some different treatments.

 

But, I'm in good spirits!

 

The foliage here is just beautiful. It's all of our colors! For those of you who love black, it will take time. It was an easy transition for me because it wasn't a staple of my wardrobe, but I did have a lot of it, especially in pants and shoes. I just started by saying nothing black near my face, and then I stopped buying black pants, then shoes. A few of my tops have some black in them, but definitely as a minority and with a lot of good earth colors thrown in. There is also that animal print bathing suit...

 

It's a difficult process!

 

The nicest thing about wearing our colors as that we get to wear the clothes - they don't wear us. In other words, we stand out, not our outfits.

 

Tomorrow will be picture posting day. I will try and finalize my outfits for the November cruise (just a month away!) and also some ideas for my May cruise.

 

I may just order those necklaces this weekend. I'm really liking both of them.

[laurspag]

I did a bunch of picture taking this morning. I'm going to start with items for the upcoming cruise this November.

 

As a reminder, these are the three evening dresses I am sure about. I am pretty sure I know what I will be bringing for the 4th dress as well.

 

 

Here is what I think I will end up with for the last night:

 

 

I haven't decided if I will wear those shoes or not. I'm just thinking about keeping the luggage light, and wearing whatever sandals that I decide upon for the maxi dress to be worn with this one as well, since they are both casual.

 

Here is the jewelry and shoes for the purple dress.

 

 

Here is formal night accessories. Sorry for the green background, but I grabbed whatever was handy for a solid color background:

 

 

With the dress:

 

[laurspag]

For the maxi dress, I was struggling a bit with jewelry. I kind of got off track, and really didn't see anything that jumped out at me. However, I think I have a few options already in the jewelry box that will work. The color looks a bit off here, but they are nice and warm, with a bronzy type finish to the metal on both.

 

 

I will wear one of those two with my boarding outfit. I had a lot of trouble getting the blue shorts to photograph well, but they are warm and muted.

 

 

[laurspag]

Here are some of the other day time outfits.

 

 

 

 

I am thinking I will likely wear this necklace though:

 

 

 

I've mentioned this before, but this shirt has a neat story behind it. I bought it before I learned about color theory. It has faded over the years, so the blue and greens are now muted, and the black is now a dark brown!

 

[laurspag]

There will also be a day in Cape Canaveral, so I'm bringing along this. I'm showing it with two different shirts because I like having an extra shirt along, just in case. The shorts are not earth, but since they are away from the face, I do wear them. They are Travex so if they get sweaty, they dry super quick.

 

 

 

The outfit above is much more muted than you see here. I'm not sure why, but the picture without the flash came out super tiny, you can barely see it.

 

Let's see if I can get it to show up right here:

 

[laurspag]

I wanted to wear this necklace with the maxi, but I think it might be too busy?? What are your thoughts?

 

 

I'm also bringing a few bracelets along:

 

And that's it for now. I'll stop hogging the thread, and save my ideas for this fall and the May cruise for later in the week!

[MJC]

Laurie, what great outfits! I bet you can't wait... it's only about a month away now? How is your ear? I had ear infections often when I was a child, and my parents never took me to the doctor. I have constant ringing in my ears from it. I was an adult before I finally figured out it was connected to swimming pool water. They can be soooo painful.

 

Sally, how is your SO coming along?

 

We are starting to have nights in the 30s and 40s, and highs in the 60s. Sometimes it's very windy and rainy. I would think that for a cruise leaving NY or NJ in November you would be spending the first day or two indoors a lot, and might like to have some cozy clothes, especially for embarkation and sail-away. Anita can comment on what Galveston weather will be like, but I can tell you that in Houston in March, so many people showed up for embarkation in their Caribbean clothes and it was only about 60, and cloudy to boot. They were freezing. I am guessing fall weather is comparable.

 

As for wearing black, yes this is the EARTH thread and that is what we mostly talk about here. But, I think the essence of all our discussions is to maximize our individual expression of style, whatever that may be, and make ourselves feel good and be happy about what we're wearing on any given day. If we want to get dogmatic about it we will take some of the fun out of dressing for ourselves and our moods, I think. I know Laurie and I have talked at times about integrating black because of our work wardrobes, so clearly we bend the "rules" at times too.

 

Lately I have been mentally beating myself up because I gained back the five pounds I lost in Michigan, and I'm having a hard time motivating myself to get back into the calorie-counting thing. The family drama is just never-ending and I keep waiting for things to settle down, and they don't. My parents can't help their mental states, but it's like trying to take care of toddlers with guns, and they can be so unreasonable sometimes. I'm considering petitioning the court for guardianship of my mother to prevent them from doing something stupid. It's exhausting.

 

Is anyone else longing to hear from Pam and hear about Paris???? Talk about wearing scarves... Parisiennes seem to do it so effortlessly.

[laurspag]

Margaret, you are very right about black. It is one color you can find every season of the year, in every style imaginable. I think it is very hard to go without it. I've made it a point not to buy any black, but it will always be in the prints I wear. You can't get around it. Plus there are the stereotypes we've heard for so long "everyone looks good in black" or "black goes with everything".

 

When I get stuck and need something but can't find it in an earth color, I opt for navy. Some shades of navy are almost black, but many are not. some even have a warm tinge to them, and there is a color for the fire ladies described as clear warm navy. It's a really nice color.

 

Right now, my biggest issue is shoes. I have a navy suit, but I've found a very limited selection of navy shoes. This is a suit that I need to have for certain business events, since I've opted not to buy black.

 

There are some nice brown shoes, but they tend to be what I will call smart casual or business, as in pant suit shoes. I have found a few things on Zappos, so my next goal will be a pair of navy shoes and a pair of dressier brown ones. (you mentioned this once Margaret - most brown shoes are loafer like!)

 

I have a dress that I really want to bring on the cruise instead of that last one I showed a few posts back. It's ivory with beige and brown...and black. I really love the dress. But I can't figure out which sandals to wear with it. She wise, I do have a pair of nude sling backs, but the dress needs something different. I'm stumped. The main reason I no longer have black shoes is that the pair I had really hurt my feet and I couldn't wear them. Since they weren't worn much, I gave them to good will.

 

So, I try to live an earth world, but I do have exceptions!

 

I am very excited about our upcoming cruise, and hopefully my ear will be better by then. It's taking it's time healing up. I tried my hearing aid yesterday and that did not work too well! I go back again Thursday. I will get past this.

 

Margaret, I feel so badly for you regarding your parents. This must be very difficult. The distance doesn't help matters. The concept of guardianship is a good one. You have to do what you can.

 

When I first started going to the doctor's for my ear, my weight was down to the lowest it has been in years. I too gained 5 pounds, and I'm not really as up to par as I want to be in order to lose it. I go to work and so forth, but it is that feeling of not quite being healthy, and I got a cold to go along with it. I just want to feel better!

 

And the weather...you are right! I've been cooking today and using the oven, but I think I may have to give in and turn the heat on. I've been avoiding that! Winter and snow is just around the corner!

[laurspag]

I too want to hear all about Pam's cruise and Europe!!!! I think she is back now and visiting Anita? We will probably hear more in a week or so. I look forward to it. I would love to visit Paris and places such as that some day, and I'm also curious on her thoughts about Oasis. I've been wanting to go on that ship.