All Things EARTH... part 2

[laurspag]

Anita, on the venue's website, they have a few pictures from a different reception where all the chairs were completely different.  It was a fun look.  I said to my daughter "it's your wedding, so if you like that, fine.  But me, I want all the chairs and the decor to be the same - symmetrical, very matchy match.  It's whatever you want though."  She immediately said, "I want the same as you,"  So that was a pretty funny moment. 

 

It's fun how a wedding can be a reflection of who you are.  I have seen a lot of weddings that were about traditional things, or maybe someone getting caught up in the trends of the day.  When me and Brian were married, I had been married before but it was a first marriage for him.  We went the route of traditional, and threw in a few things that felt like us.  The whole time though, I was concerned of what others would think because I had been married before.  I often wish I had just listened strictly to my heart.  My daughter is listening to her heart, but she is aware of budgets and getting carried away and all that.

 

She is really fun to work with on this.

 

Now knees...I don't like mine very much.  My calves, from a front most picture, don't look great.  But from a side view, they look nice.  So maybe, subliminally, it's my knees that I am avoiding because I don't like them too much.

[Sailor_Sally]

Anita, Cute outfit ! Definitely you !

We went to see "A star is born " . It is a great movie . We both loved it .

 

Laurie .,It is great that you are letting the wedding reflect your daughter . I did the same with my daughter .They did not want liquor but had wine & beer .Her venue looks gorgeous .

My daughter has a cap from when the Red Sox won the series . She met her husband in Boston and they went to tons of games .She got married in Lakewood ,Ny . It cost a little less than $15,000 for everything in 2006 .

[laurspag]

Let's see about posting pictures directly from my phone without having an app now.  Here us the spare room. I still have things to do, but the bulk of it is done.  

 

[awhfy]

Laurie I like the look of this room, very soothing. 

 

‘’Go Sox!  One more win. Les says they didn’t win Friday night because I couldn’t watch 😂😂. The meds put me down for the count after the 4th inning. 

 

Foot is doing ok, I go back on 31 October to see if it’s going to be a cast or boot (really hoping for a boot, so much easier to deal with). 

 

Anita I like that look on you. I also don’t like my knees, I tend to wear many more slacks than skirts & I think it’s because of my knees. If I do wear a skirt & boots it’s a below the knee skirt with tights the same color as the boots. Melody

[Anita Latte]

Lovely looking room Laurie. What did you do about the dinky window? I like the curtain on the closet.

 

I ordered a book about making tee shirt quilts. I have had several different themed ones on my to do list for years now. Mine from college. DH from college. DS could probably have a couple. One with sports related and one with music related. I have plastic storage tubs full of tee shirts. I've had issue with the methodology that is touted online and so I have resisted, thinking there was a better way...and doing more research, I found one. Of course, they wanted $ for the knowledge but not too much and I decided I didn't have to reinvent the wheel so to speak...and so I bought the book. It came and I am so happy I bought it. The system is awesome and the result is a dynamic quilt that is so interesting to see. It's call Too Cool Tee Shirt Quilts. I'm very excited about it all.

 

Here's hoping for a boot for you Melody.

 

I was complemented on my outfit yesterday. Should have taken a photo. Oh well. Cruising through Pinterest I saw advice to wear a vest over a floppy, flowing cardigan. I did that. My super fun medallion design leggings with a newer terra-cotta colored bamboo knit shirt with a wine colored flowy sweater cardigan and my olive colored cargo vest. I went with it partially because the cargo vest gave me some much needed pockets, but then it also helped to give some shape to the shapeless cardigan. I liked it and apparently it was a winner.

 

I think I realize that I haven't been having very much fun with my clothes in recent times...I've been inspired by all the people watching I can do here so easily living downtown. It's easier to play with cooler weather too...all the layers can be fun to mix and match.

[MJC]

Laurie, what a lovely wedding venue. I like it when you can personalize the place, make it your own. I think you and your daughter will have some fun choices to make.

 

I get the thing about knees, I really do. It's just not my issue. I like my legs. My problem is that when I'm heavier, I can't show them off because my proportions from top to bottom are so off, I look like an ostrich. I also have disproportionately long lower legs which just exacerbates the issue. I would trade a couple inches of leg height for a longer back and better symmetry top to bottom. I look best in dresses that hit about an inch above the knee because it creates a nice 2/3, 1/3 proportion for me (a la Tim Gunn):

 

Tim's Rules to Dress By

1. SILHOUETTE: "When getting dressed, think of your body as a series of thirds; the worst thing you can do is cut yourself in half. Pair a top that ends at your waist (one third) with long pants (two thirds), or wear a knee-length dress that goes no longer than the bottom of your kneecap."
2. PROPORTION: "If you have something loose and blousy on top, whatever you wear below should be sleek and well fitted to serve as a counterpoint, and vice versa."
3. FIT: "Most women wear clothes that are too big — that's the comfort trap. Women don't want to feel constrained, but I say, if you want to dress to feel as though you never got out of bed, then don't."

 

Anita, I love the look you rocked to the opera. It's so you. I love the kitty photo bomb. And your hair looks very pretty. 🙂

I appreciate your comments about my boots and future Margaret. I've actually been thinking about that a lot lately as I ponder whether or when I might leave my current job. I've been critically eyeing what I wear when I'm not at work, what are my go-to items, what is my current style. I tend to focus a lot more on what I wear to work than what I wear at other times. I'm always caught flat-footed when it's "going out in Manhattan" time, for instance. My work clothes are kind of boring for that, and my casual outfits aren't stylish enough to satisfy me as it's mostly jeans and Lucky shirts. So I've been watching myself a bit more, pondering, evaluating....

 

Laurie, your room looks so restful and lovely. It's kind of the negative to our bedroom at the lake that has pale blue walls with white trim and light taupe bedding. We call it the "cloud room" because it's like sleeping in the sky.

 

We had a clothing swap at the clubhouse that I helped with, and I took at least four bags of his/hers to donate. In return I picked up three things.

 

A second fleece so I don't have to wear my nice one while hiking or doing yard work:

 

 

I can't tell if this is a dress or a tunic because of how it fits on me. I'd either have to shorten it to a longish top, or wear as is with leggings. It's a nice washable heavy linen in shades of brown. Haven't decided whether it's a keeper because it's a bit boxy:

 

 

Love this Lularoe tshirt dress:

 

 

 

 

[pacruise804]

19 hours ago, laurspag said:

Let's see about posting pictures directly from my phone without having an app now.  Here us the spare room. I still have things to do, but the bulk of it is done.  

 

 

 

 

Laura - is this the small window?  I like the long curtain treatment.

Congratulations to your daughter ❤️ The venue looks very nice.  I can't remember how we handled drinks (23 years ago 😉), but we didn't have alcohol at our wedding either and I don't think it was missed.  Maybe have large servers of water, iced tea, and lemonade?  I like the convenience factor of water bottles, but they aren't very pretty.

 

Anita - the t-shirt quilt is a neat idea.  We have tons of shirts from races that we keep but don't wear.

 

MJC - I'd never seen the 1/3 rules, but it makes sense.  I love the concept of a clothing swap, but in my area people don't seem interested in them 😞 

 

9 hours ago, MJC said:

 

I can't tell if this is a dress or a tunic because of how it fits on me. I'd either have to shorten it to a longish top, or wear as is with leggings. It's a nice washable heavy linen in shades of brown. Haven't decided whether it's a keeper because it's a bit boxy:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I like the colors, but agree with it looking boxy.  I'd probably keep it long over leggings by layer it over a long sleeved t-shirt and maybe add a vest for shape? 

[MJC]

I'll probably wait until spring and then see how it fits again. I could easily take it in a bit and give some shape to the waist. I love the pattern and colors so I'm willing to take a shot at it but not invest too much time and effort. The fleece is a bit dated looking but who cares when I'm doing yard work.

[Anita Latte]

I did read several of Tim Gunn's books...I recall reading all that advise. 

 

Margaret, have you seen any of those shirt extenders? Or dress extenders? I would describe them as a slip that is meant to be seen...so that it peeks out at the bottom of whatever you are wearing to extend it so that is it the proper length for whatever it is. I've seen them for tunics and dresses. Look that up and maybe you can be inspired there. How does that material go with your new boots? I can imagine seeing that dress/tunic with an extender and either leggings or tights and your new boots. Add an extra layer for warmth. I'm pretty sure you have a cardigan sweater that seems to blend with those colors...I think I recall seeing you wear in it Houston when you took the cruise that wasn't!

 

Also...I would say that the dress needs a long necklace...or scarf or something. Something to create that nice V shape down your torso...

 

I just finished reading the Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning. More of an inspirational type book than a how to. Good thoughts there. It's basically centered around the idea of taking care of your stuff before you die so that you don't burden your loved ones with having to deal with all your junk and the many facets of that idea. It is geared toward an older crowd in a way but the message is a little bit along the lines of not waiting too long to deal with all your stuff. Do it while you have the stamina to deal with it...and involve the people in your life in the process. Maybe. Depends on the people. It's a short read. The author is very grounded. I enjoyed it. I find it helpful to read things or watch things to support what I'm doing. 

 

I have bags of give away lining the entry area. I was going to go through them to see what was worthy of passing on to others, but I don't get the feeling that anyone is really interested in my stuff on the recycle thread. Not sure it is worth my time. There is a local resale shop that I think I might take some things to...

[MJC]

Anita, I think you mean my 3/4 sleeve gold sweater. I have one similar to this but a tad lighter which has better proportions for this dress, I think:

 

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-ab&biw=1280&bih=888&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=tajYW9yrF42Z5gLNtorYAg&q=marled+brown+sweater+long&oq=marled+brown+sweater+long&gs_l=img.3...2765.3447..3622...0.0..0.46.217.5......0....1..gws-wiz-img.ZEA0vGYSJBk#imgrc=KTYk7MWZ3GEVIM:

 

then add this:

https://www.shopthegaudy.com/all-my-life-lace-dress-extender-2bt-e20?color=Brown&size=LG&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIpZWSh-qu3gIVTVqGCh1mjg1UEAQYByABEgLaePD_BwE#size=1316

 

and some neutral tights and my booties.  A couple of long necklaces, maybe with some red in them. Ta da! New spring outfit. Switch out the tights and booties for some gold sandals... summer or cruise outfit. Add my brown waterfall jacket and brown heels, fall dinner out. Except for winter, I think it works for three seasons.

 

 

[pacruise804]

I love the dress extender - especially the wide straps.  Are these usually found in the lingerie department of stores or in with the shirts and dresses? Or typically just ordered on-line?

[Sailor_Sally]

Anita, I have going through my stuff and getting rid of tons of items .Now if I could only get Gary to do the same .

 

Laurie, The room looks nice . Good job !

 

Margaret , Cute tunic . You & Anita could pull off that dress extender . I would hate it but then again I probably dress too conservative.

[Anita Latte]

Nice find on the dress extender Margaret! That's exactly what was I talking about. That's a pretty one! I've never actually seen on IRL before...it's only something that I have seen on Pinterest actually. I think it's a great idea though and so it's one that has stuck with me. I looked into them briefly when I first got my bamboo knit swing dresses because they are a little on the short side...I didn't spend a long time looking...the colors are generally neutrals and I wasn't enamored with the ones I could find for wearing with my bamboo knits...so I let it go.

 

I would take a chance on that darker mushroom color though. Or even the black...especially if you were thinking about wearing tights. Especially with that particular dress.

 

Sally...are you seeing a benefit from your cleaning out efforts? I have. It really helped me to go through and just take stock of all my stuff. Funny how you can forget that you own somethings...sad but true. And a testament to having aplenty.

[Sailor_Sally]

I am not only cleaning out clothes but lots of other stuff . Every week I am trying to throw or donate one huge bag . My fear is something happening to me and having my daughter have to deal with all the stuff. My life feels lighter with each thing I toss .Extra luggage & Christmas extra's are the next to go.

[MJC]

Sally, you are a sweetheart to think of your daughter in this way. I wish my parents had done any thinking at all about their future and made some plans. Of course, their dementia meant they could not think and plan ahead when it became extremely necessary. Still, I was the one working 18 hour days for a whole month trying to empty their house and clean it and get stuff fixed when my dad sold it. It's hard not to feel resentful sometimes because dealing with their stuff was hard and exhausting even without all the other craziness that was happening.

 

I could still live with a lot fewer things of all types even after our big renovation purge last year, but DH is not of the same mindset. I will be able to purge a lot of work clothes when I retire. I find that with casual wear, I have my favorites that I'll wear for days in a row. The new thing I've learned about myself is that it is not variety that I crave, but novelty. I'll wear something new all the time (like my new boots) when I first get it. So I don't really need a big stock of things to choose from. I just need to rotate out the things that I'm tired of in a more timely fashion. Pants and shoes are an exception because when I find ones that fit well and are comfy, that's very important to me, and I'll keep them until they wear out.

 

Anita, I see dress extenders quite often on students at the college. They wear them with a longish top and leggings to keep their their bu++s covered, what with all the up and down subway stairs and whatnot. 🙂 Plus it's a more pulled together look for them than basic athletic wear.

 

I am not really a lace person, so I'm going to think about that one for a bit. But I was happily surprised to find that muted brown color.

 

 

[Anita Latte]

Sally, that's exactly the topic of the book I just read. Not to be morbid, but one thing that the author appreciated so much that her mother had done, was to have left pinned instructions with many things. Her mother had already arranged for some things to be donated to places, etc., and pinned some of those instructions to her things. In the event that you have things that you still enjoy but know that no one else would, you can also just communicate your intent so those decisions aren't having to be made by your daughter.

 

Margaret, the lace was one reason why I didn't get any extender yet. Most of them are lace but there are a few that aren't. Use chiffon in your search and you can find some more solid sheer ones which are kind of nice. I took a look just on etsy to see what was there and saw that someone was selling a very lightweight linen slip dress as a slip/dress extender/nightgown, which reminds me that the idea of a dress extender is simply to have a strategic layer of clothing that is visible...the extender can be ANYTHING that makes sense. Slip material is popular probably because it isn't bulky, but you may have something already. Maybe check out your skirts? 

[pacruise804]

I need to start purging my clothes and papers then see what else I can get out of the house.  Unfortunately, my husband isn't as willing to part with stuff so it's hard to tackle some of the bigger items.  I think he's slowly getting there 🙂 

 

I'm so grateful that my in-laws have been purging incase they need to downsize at some point.  Their place seems pretty manageable, but I'm sure it will still be a lot of work when the time comes.  My dad has an overwhelming amount of stuff that we've been trying to go through a few days at a time once or twice a year (distance and scheduling makes it hard), but even he is getting better at getting rid of items.

 

I'm around the age now (45) that my mom was when she stopped being able to help with much, so I think I'm starting to sense more urgency to do all I can to not be a burden if anything should happen to me (no reason to think it would, just a semi-irrational concern  )

 

When I looked at extenders (growing up they were slips/petticoats and you didn't want them to show 🙂) I saw a video about sewing some crocheted trim to the bottom of a shirt or skirt.  It would be a heavier look than the lace but still pretty.

[awhfy]

Margaret I completely understand what you went thru with your parents. When my Dad decided to sell the family home (that had been in the family since the 1700s (yup). We opened the house to any family member first to take 3 items of their choosing. If two or more wanted the same item they put their name on a slip of paper, it went in a hat & my dad drew the name. Surprisingly there weren’t any arguments. But there was so much dreck left!  We did have an auction after the family was done. I’m glad I was in my 20s because I couldn’t do it now. I’m downsizing madly here, especially clothes. 

 

My new fashion accessory these days is an orthopedic boot 🙄. Can’t make it pretty. At least I only need to be in it for several weeks (not months)

 

how about our Red Sox Laurie!  Les says it was our new highlighter hats 😂😂😂. Melody

[Anita Latte]

I'm so glad that you got a boot Melody! Even if it isn't pretty...

[Sailor_Sally]

Thank you Margaret , I was lucky in when My Mom died she had already purged several times so it only took a few days to clean out the rest .

[Anita Latte]

DS is retaking the SAT today so we were up early and out the door. Decided to go back to Macy's to check out a leather jacket for DH that we had seen two weeks ago. Turns out Macy's is having a huge sale today. Picked up several things for DH and then went looking for me. I've been looking for a longer sleeved dress for myself for a while.

 

Found one! Interesting thing. The dress isn't currently on sale but will be on sale tomorrow. With that, they offered to let me pre buy the sale? The purchase won't ring through until tomorrow and I have to go back tomorrow to pick it up, but hey, not a problem for me. This is the dress:

 

https://www.macys.com/shop/product/connected-floral-printed-tiered-bell-sleeve-dress?ID=6631114&CategoryID=5449&isDlp=true&mlt=true#fn=sp%3D1%26spc%3D16%26slotId%3D11

 

Prints make each individual dress unique depending on print placement. We were paying close attention to the placement because of the black background. Mine had the burgundy type color and the olive type color at the neckline and no black right there in the front V. I was super excited to find the 3/4 sleeve with the scoop and knees showing. Very excited1

[awhfy]

Anita, this dress looks like you!

[MJC]

Sally, my parents did their big purge when my dad changed jobs in his 50's and they moved from a large house to a condo in FL. Ten years later they moved back to Michigan and proceeded to fill their new house, basement, attic, and garage with more stuff. When I think of all the money they spent (almost all of their retirement savings in less than eight years) I am still flabbergasted. My dad's dementia made him a big, secret hoarder.

 

Anita, that dress is so perfect for you. I can picture you in it with a choker and your moccasin boots. Or your metallic oxfords and some night-on-the-town earrings. And such a spot on fashion moment choice! Thanks too for sharing your wise pattern placement analysis.

 

Melody, how is the foot feeling? I hope it hasn't been too awful.

 

I get my temporary fake tooth on Tuesday. I'll be very happy to smile normally again. I find I am quite self-conscious about it.

[Sailor_Sally]

Anita , That is a cute dress . I am having a difficult time finding some transitional outfits . It is still warm in Florida but most year rounders change their wardrobe slightly . I am going to visit a nearby outlet mall and see if I can find a few items .

Melody , Hope your foot is healing

Margaret , My Mom was widowed at 64 . She then sold our Family house and moved into an apartment near her Sister .That was a major purge . She then moved in with my Sister at 92 . That did not work out but another purge . She then moved back to Pa. at 95 into an independent living facility so except for lots of clothes and pictures and some furniture there was not a lot to get rid of . We gave a lot of her things to her friends in the facility .( walkers , chair that boosts you , ensure , depends ).My Sister's and I all took different items. I was lucky to have my Mom so long .I miss her every day .

[pacruise804]

Anita, I wish I could see your dress - for some reason the Macy site is just showing little broken squares for pictures 😞 

 

Melody and Margaret, hope you both are continuing to heal well.

 

Sally, I'm glad you had such a long time with your mom ❤️Mine's been gone for 13 years and passed much too young at 55.  This is her birthday month and I seem to be missing her more during this season. 

 

In purging some of the stuff at my Dad's we did find an old sweater of Mom's that her aunt made for her.  It fits me surprisingly well and is a nice brown and white for fall/winter.  Despite being around 40 years old it surprisingly doesn't seem to dated.  We had a beautiful sunny, but cool fall day yesterday - perfect for putting on the sweater and having a "hug" from Mom for the day.