All Things EARTH... part 2

[awhfy]

19 hours ago, jhsocal said:

Briefly, back to that dress with corset--what did they wear underneath the top? Did they wear bras as we know them?

No true bras until the early 1940s. Before that it was like our sports bras

Edited April 19, 2022 by awhfy

[awhfy]

We arrived home last night.  Travel outbound was miserable (4 hours on the plane on ground due to horrible storm in FL & high winds in TX; you know it’s bad when flight purser said you can claim this delay on your travel insurance; thank goodness for first class!!!). Travel home was seamless 

 

great cruise, lousy wifi, fabulous food & lots of fun at Martini Bar. Great excursions. I’ll post pictures after my mountain of laundry. Melody

[Anita Latte]

Welcome back Melody! I’m eager to hear all about your cruise!

 

I’ve taken a break on my own reporting. Have needed to take care of too much around the house/garden. Will be sharing more though. Just need to finish dealing with the home office. We ordered adjustable desk bases and are reusing the wood desk tops from our current desks. Rearranging the office and how the desks are…and dealing with the last of my computer transfer so I can trade my MacBook in for a bit of credit.

[awhfy]

Here’s a couple of the professional photos. All Chicos except the blue dress. My legs & feet swelled terribly on this cruise. The next to last day I’m in the abstract print jacket, almost couldn’t wear shoes. Melody

[Anita Latte]

Oh what fun! You look great Melody. That poncho blue dress is lovely. Great color for you, whatever that is. I also like the multi-colored diagonal stripe top on you. My fave two photos are the martini bar and the Opus dining room. Both you and Les have such great smiles in those. I especially like how his arm must be around you in a bit of a side hug in the dining room, you can really see the love between you in that photo. 

[PurpleHays]

@Anita Latte  I might have an answer from your museum pictures. If you try to change the f-stop, that might blur the background. I just looked it up in (one of my many) camera book(s). By adjusting your aperture, you can change the depth of field. The lower the aperture number, the shallower the depth of field. So, an f/2.8 would blur more in the background than an F/22. (straight from the book)

 

I need to play with my camera before my next cruise. . . 

[awhfy]

16 hours ago, Anita Latte said:

Oh what fun! You look great Melody. That poncho blue dress is lovely. Great color for you, whatever that is. I also like the multi-colored diagonal stripe top on you. My fave two photos are the martini bar and the Opus dining room. Both you and Les have such great smiles in those. I especially like how his arm must be around you in a bit of a side hug in the dining room, you can really see the love between you in that photo. 

That’s my favorite too

[MJC]

Here are more photos from our trip. We couldn't hike Hurricane Ridge because it was too cloudy and wet (slippery) again, so we drove to Poulsbo, a small town settled by Norwegians. You can see the influence. Had an amazing halibut lunch then visited some of the shops.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was a well-curated thrift store, a very nice bookstore, some Nordic gift shops, galleries. Nice unique things. And we had to visit their famous donut shop. 🙂

 

 

 

 

[awhfy]

Margaret, looks like a great trip

[MJC]

This was my first visit to Victoria, B.C. We went just after the testing requirement to enter Canada was dropped. We did have to load and use the ArriveCAN app, which was easy to do on a PC but I had trouble with it on my phone. I recommend printing out your Q code because some restaurants would scan it, though some wanted to see your actual vax card. Plus your ID.

 

Chinatown:

 

 

 

 

The harbor and provincial capital building:

 

The city was very pretty, and oh so clean. I mean, eat on the sidewalks clean. Local ferryboats:

 

 

Awesome Greek food, just across the street from our hotel:

 

 

The lights at night were so pretty. This photo was from our hotel:

 

 

[purduemom1]

Margaret, love the Victoria pictures. It’s one of our favorite places to visit. The last few times we’ve stayed in Sydney which is a small, picturesque city not far from Victoria. From there we can take a local bus into Victoria to  enjoy the city. Thanks for posting the pics.

Sharon

[MJC]

https://www.today.com/style/what-grandmillennial-style-why-young-people-are-embracing-granny-chic-t175706

 

 

[slidergirl]

4 hours ago, MJC said:

https://www.today.com/style/what-grandmillennial-style-why-young-people-are-embracing-granny-chic-t175706

 

 

I had to chuckle a little at this.  i've seen the trending of the crochet'd tops and such.  i actually have 2 crochet'd vests and a granny-square long skirt & button-up vest that my grandma did for me back in 1971-72.  They are in my cedar chest, along with a cool skirt & sweater set that she knit for my mom back in the 50s.  How things come back around!!!

[laurspag]

I have always joked with my girls that certain clothes went out of style for a reason.  🙂  It's funny in a way, when i see them wear something that I would have worn years ago!

 

That being said, my younger daughter is about to get her master's degree in accounting, and she fully understands the whole thing about work clothes, and how conservative they have to be some times.   I try to envision her wearing certain things, and it just doesn't seem likely.  She is on board with the higher waist mom jeans right now.

 

Margaret, I love seeing pictures from your trip.  It looks like you had a great time!

 

Melody, it looks like you had a great cruise.  I love the blue dress on you for formal night. That really seems to be a color and style for you.

 

I still have not ordered that dress, but I might do so very shortly.  I found that I can order it right from Julie Brown and the price is almost the exact same amount as Dillard's, but I got a 15% off coupon for signing up for email, so I think I will go for it.  since this is buying it directly, I wanted to post a link as a few of the photos are different.  I am still apprehensive about spending the money on it.  Maybe because it is a pretty basic dress?  I checked the measurements, and it will not be that short on me. 

 

Livie Dress - Julie Brown NYC

 

My daughter and I are only a month away from sailing!  I started my daytime outfits.  Those are simple, and since we are currently expecting it to be warm, that means shorts and sleeveless tops.  The evening dresses are set, as well as shoes.

 

I plan to finalize things like jewelry and sandals soon.  It is easy when it comes to the dresses, but I try not to pack an excessive amount of shoes when possible.  My daughter already told me she is packing 5 swimsuits.  I asked why, and she said "because I can" and laughed.  She then followed up by saying they don't always dry quick, and they don't take up much room.

[MJC]

Laurie I'm excited for you with your cruise coming up so soon. I hope you have an awesome time. I look forward to more pictures. I forget where you are in your choices...  aside from formal nights have you more planning to do or are you mostly set with your outfits and shoes? 

 

Shoes are always the determiner for me. I always want to take more than I should, so there is always that make-do moment where things get purged so I have fewer shoes to pack, and then I make those final clothes picks based on what shoes are going.  Mostly that has to do with flying and luggage weight. Our next two vacations don't involve flying so I can take as much or as little as I want to.

 

I need to make some choices for our Niagara trip soon so things get washed before I need to pack them. Since it is a driving trip, I can take as much as I want, but at the same time I'd like to be streamlined so that I don't need to wade through too many choices each day. Weather will be a factor too and I plan for some layering.

 

I keep thinking our QM2 cruise is far off, but it is actually only 4.5 months and the excursions are now available for booking. So I will have to start my research soon! We already have our plan for Boston, which we've been to several times, but all the others are new to us. Since it may be cold I'll avoid any water activities in favor of hiking or history walks. 

 

 

[awhfy]

Margaret, Boston my favorite walking town. Make sure to go to the North End & go to Modern Bakery on Hanover (it’s across the street from Mike;s Pastry tgat gets all the press, but Modern has better pastry). We love Niagara Falls too, try to be there on a Friday night for the fireworks, what a show for a photographer. QM2 also!  You’ve got a few busy months ahead!!

 

I have a tough time with shoes, my foot swelled so much this past cruise that I was limited to one pair of undressy flip flops. I’m going to buy a pair of dressy sandals that are too big & leave them in my suitcase!!!  Melody

[laurspag]

Shoes.  Melody, I too have trouble with my feet swelling.  They always do on a cruise, but they do at other times too.  I have never understood why.  My salt intake may be a little high, possibly.  They say there is a lot of salt involved in the food on a cruise.  I never add any salt to my food, but if it is added at a restaurant, cruise, or by the manufacturer, it is there.

 

Since I have a lot of foot issues, it is always hard to purchase them.  That is why when I love a shoe, I wear it into the ground.  I am trying to be more resourceful, so if I find a really good fitting pair that doesn't bother the neuroma or bunions, I think I will order a second pair to have on hold.  I wear out shoes fast, and right now, I have been looking all over to get a certain pair and no one has them.  I want to jump on it next time.

 

Margaret, I like to get my outfits picked out, and then pick out the shoes.   I hate having half a suitcase of shoes.  I also hate just bringing a few pair in order to save space.  It can be a tough decision.  

 

With daytime outfits, I usually end up with two pair that I rotate with, but there is this one pair of sandals that I have had for YEARS, because while I wear them every year, I don't wear them a ton.  They don't take up much room so if I wear them once a cruise, that is fine with me.  That being said, I may skip them for this four day cruise, to allow myself some variety for dinner.  

 

I hope to take a few pictures this weekend, but here are some of the outfits, as of right now.  The shirt on the left is a favorite vacation shirt.   The shirt on the left is a wonderful chocolate brown.

 

 

I need to take new pictures of the other three.  I make it a habit of bringing one extra outfit, and trying to make sure I can mix and match at least some of it.

 

I also always bring an outfit for if it is cool in the evening.  This may be a little weird, but I went right for the exact same thing I brought the last cruise.

 

 

Funny thing is that I was looking for a print tee.  Something that I could wear with a certain pair of shorts I have.  I do have plenty of neutral shirts I can wear, but I've been wanting to add a print tee for a while.  I found one online at Old Navy that is perfect.  It turns out that the shirt above is available in a warm blue.  At least online, it looks warm.  If the color is good when it comes in, I may take that one instead of the brown just to change it up.  I also think it will look great with those cropped ivory jeans.

 

Did I ever post the dinner dresses?  three of four nights is set.  The last one isn't...because I found that Julie Brown dress on the direct site, with 15% off and free shipping.  So I bit the bullet, so to speak, and we will see if maybe I take that instead.  

 

Formal night dresses first.  My daughter is wearing black sandals, but hasn't decided on jewelry yet.  I am wearing gold sandals, and I posted a picture last week of a lariat stye necklace.  It has matching earrings and a bracelet, so that is complete.  The color doesn't look right, but the lighting in my room is just so bad.

 

 

 

We will go to Chops one night, and we will likely wear these dresses.  My daughter's dress is the animal print one.  I might wear my animal print bracelet a s subtle nod to her dress, but we will see.  This is wear narrowing down sandals becomes complex.  I think I will bring my bronze sandals to wear with this.  I haven't worn them in a bit.

 

 

Now, the brown dress is snugger than it used to be.  I have a back up dress if I change my mind, but I will make the decision before we pack.  Here it is with my daughter's dress.  I have had this for quite some time. I recall the color is called luggage.  it's like a cross between olive and brown.

 

This is a casual night, and it will likely be the last night.  What is funny is that I have the gray dress in a rust color.  She loves gray.  I chose the maxi because it is comfortable.  That isn't black in the dress - it is brown.

 

For one of the other casual nights, my daughter wants to wear the dress on the left.  I am not wearing the maxi again, I currently have a golden color dress picked out with a bright tropical print bracelet that has the same blue as her dress.  

 

So I thought about substituting the new swing dress dress when it comes in.  It doesn't match.  While our outfits don't exactly match each night, I try to make sure they go together.  At the same time, neither of us tries to tell each other what to wear.

 

I may stick with the golden one, since I think we would both be wearing bright, fun colors.  I need to get a picture of the dress, but I do have an up close of the bracelet next to it.

 

 

 

Edited April 30, 2022 by laurspag

[laurspag]

One of my plans for tomorrow is to get the outfits out again, take pictures of the rest of the day time outfits, and figure out which two pair of flat sandals are going.  I have jewelry out for those, so I can put everything together, and finish picking the last few things.

 

Then I will finalize jewelry and sandals for the dinner dresses.  There is a very strong change I will stick with the gold dress.  The new swing dress may be what I wear to her graduation, depending on the weather.  

 

I love doing this.  🙂

 

I have a question for you all.  In Roatan, we are doing an eco walk.  Cozumel means Nachi Cocum.  I have never been to Puerto Costa Maya.  I am seeing excursions to the Mayan ruins.  Have any of you done this?  I recall a discussion about Cozumel, and that it is farther away and you spend too much time on the bus.  How is it from Puerto Costa Maya?  

 

My husband and I have always wanted to see the ruins, and I was thinking this may be a good option.  

[MJC]

We enjoyed the ruins very much and they are much closer than anything from Cozumel that would involve a trip to the mainland. They are perhaps not as extensive as say Chichen Itza but still a very nice day. 

[MJC]

Laurie, I don't think I ever posted photos from our cruise on Rhapsody OTS. Here is one from Costa Maya, at the Mayan ruins Chacchoben.

 

 

 

[awhfy]

Another vote for the ruins at Costa Maya. Just make sure you use bug spray. I posted this earlier, but cc wasn’t cooperating. 
 

Laurie I absolutely love that luggage color dress, the lines are fabulous. Melody

[MJC]

I just want to share a few photos from my visit to Butchart Gardens in Canada. Then I will be done with Pacific Northwest photos. I had thought we would be too early in the season to see much, but it turned out that the bulbs and flowering trees made a beautiful display, and the shapes and different greens of the other plantings were very interesting themselves. So here's a taste.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MJC]

I had never heard of a monkey puzzle tree. This one was spectacularly shaped and so interesting.

 

 

 

The Japanese garden was so beautiful with lots of nooks and crannies with their own vignettes. The pictures take themselves because the designer leads the eye around like an artist does in a painting. In fact the entire garden was that way. So beautifully structured without seeming to be.

 

 

 

 

[awhfy]

Margaret, great pictures!  They must’ve had a mild winter to have that much color already, looks wonderful

[laurspag]

Those pictures are stunning!  I'm surprised also to see everything look so lush already.  I love going places such as that.  

 

The first time I went to Boston, we were taking the train around, and we ended up at this part that was in the city, but they the most beautiful garden.  I am always amazed, because you really don't see that kind of thing around here.

 

I especially like the style of those gardens, Margaret.

 

Well, I am going to try some photos with jewelry and so forth.  I struggle so hard to get decent pictures with my phone that reflect colors well.

 

I am missing necklaces in this trip, so I may use this jewelry with the aqua floral shirt instead:

 

 

 

The bracelet and ring here are really not anything much.  I get sentimental sometimes.   was thinking about what to bring, and I saw my sister's bracelet and my mother-in-law's ring, so I got those out.

 

The green here is much nicer than it looks, but it is a little bit cool.  See the bracelet?  It as silver, gold and different shades of olive.  I can wear this easily with the tropical coral colored shirt too, as it picks up the olive green in the shirt great.

 

As you can see, this is 5 outfits.  I like having one for backup, or if it is really warm when we arrive, I can easily change because I have an extra outfit.  The extra outfit may be the rust shorts and print tee.  This is the one that I wanted from Old Navy.  It is super earthy in person.