laurspag

I hate when something arrives that I was excited about and then I end up disappointed. Quality issues are the most disappointing, in my opinion. Is this something you think you might try reordering? I was putting something away a moment ago, and I saw something where I had to go grab my phone and get a picture. My sister likes to give me jewelry that she comes across that she thinks I will like. For some reason, it always seems to be something that I would never have grabbed on my own, yet it works perfectly with something I have. Remember this photo? She gave me a bracelet recently that looks fabulous with both outfits. Here are the outfits: And here is the bracelet. I will only wear it with the floral shirt and camel shorts because the brown beads aren't right with the other shorts. However, the color in the photo really isn't accurate for the brown shorts. Close, but not quite. Here is the stock photo, which is accurate. and here is the bracelet:

Your pictures from Hawaii are great, Melody! You all look like you had such a fun time. It has been on my bucket list for a while now, but we have not given it any serious thought due to the cost. A cruise may be the only way we are able to have that experience, which is not a bad thing! It is funny when I look at my outfits, and think about what I'm going to wear. One thing that I often do is remain on the lookout for possibilities. Even though I am almost certain of what I am bringing with me, if I come across a good deal on a dress or top, I will consider it. I do try to purchase things that are not cruise only clothes, but I don't really have formal dress occasions very often. This is one of the reasons why I grab a great deal when I find it. In the past, I would re-wear dresses more often than recently. This is because of weight. Even when I lost weight, I found that the distribution of weight changes after a while, and things didn't fit the same. Ironically enough, I couldn't fit into some items even though I weighed less than when I wore it initially. I have no idea how to explain that! Anyway,,Nordstrom Rack has some great deals right now. I tried a few things that didn't work out, but if you are looking for a dress or top that are a good quality and brand for a low price, check them out. The only downside is the deduct $9.95 from your return if you send it back by mail. Here are the items I tried, but sent back. This is a lovely satin type fabric. It is fully lined, and with my chest being heavy, it wasn't a deep V. The slit didn't go up that far either. The color is a very strong, true spring/fire color. While I can often wear spring colors, I felt like the dress was wearing me instead of me wearing the dress. It was not the most flattering, but not because of issues with the dress, it is just my current shape. It is $40.00. This dress here left me wanting it so badly, but I needed to send it back. First, the colors are some of the best soft autumn colors combined that I have seen in a while. The photo does not do it justice. There are touches of metallic gold, and the fabric was high quality. I would describe it like a silk. Now, with my chest, the dress tented out. I felt like it could have been made in the exact same style with less fullness, and it would have had more widespread appeal. The second issue is that at the neckline area, they could have added an inch or two of fabric to maintain the halter look that would have allowed you to wear a racerback bra. I seriously wanted to find a way to make into what I wanted because I loved the fabric so much. This dress here I think I am keeping. At $30.00, it isn't a big investment and the alteration I want is super simple. Once again, it kind of tents out a bit. A small adjustment to the side seams will take care of that. The color is called faded rose red. I wasn't sure what to think of that, and it seemed very earth like when I looked at it online. In reality, it is a color that is hard to describe. Salmon, maybe? A pink coral kind of color. It works. This is also available in an olive green that looks warm. Isn't it funny how olive can be? Often, it is very cool and air like. The olive version of this is not, at least online. There is also a midi blouson version of this dress that I am seriously looking at in the olive. I often think that for simplicity, buying a dress such as the one above and adding my gold sandals and some blingy or gold jewelry would work just fine on dress your best night. I love the dresses I have that I can dress up or down. I even think about that green dress I'm bringing, and how the plisse fabric lends itself to being dressed up easily for DYB night. I know that wearing it more casually is questionable. I've got two months to go, so I can always switch it over to the formal accessories and bring along another casual dress that I already have, or even the one I just posted above. In other clothing news (lol) I found myself thinking about the Lucky Brand jumpsuit that I had returned. For $139.00 and feeling like I would get limited use from it as well as not thinking my husband would like it, I just couldn't bring myself to keep it. Last week, it was on sale for $89.00, and I had $20.00 in Macys Star Rewards about to expire. So guess what I did? I reordered it. For reference, I have free shipping and returns with Macy's and the rewards were about to expire, so I had nothing to lose. It came in on Thursday, and I was trying it on again when my husband walked in and said "that's cute! You bringing it on the cruse?" The rest is history. 🙂 To me, this is a bit of a more frivolous purchase in a way, and I try hard to keep that under control. I buy things, but return most of it since I know I am picky about color and fit. The item really doesn't fit in to what I think I would be expected to wear, but it makes my heart happy. Here is a picture,, as a reminder of what item I am referring to. Sorry the picture is so small. I didn't save it the last time, and I guess it is now out of stock. Time for me to get back to laundry! My husband is at a car show, so I am by myself today. This was a nice digression. 🙂

Anita!!! It is wonderful to hear from you. You seem to be in a good spot and a tough spot, all at once. I think your husband looking for a job back in Florida sounds ideal. Being at a job you aren't happy with is really rough. The water zumba classes sound like such a great idea. I'm struggling a lot with my hips, and often wish I had the ability for some water activities, as they are known to be helpful. My husband has been told a number of times that a pool where he could exercise would be great for his arthritis. It just doesn't make financial sense to put in a pool in our climate. I've looked at rashguards a lot but can never quite figure out if I want to get one. I love the idea of sun protection, but wondered if the are hot or restricting? I love the colors on both of those. My bedspread is a true testament to the weird lighting. I think the actual color only looks correct in two of them. The spare bedroom was a much better place to take clothing pictures, but that is the home gym now. I plan to post pictures of that room soon, but I'm waiting for us to put in the new fan. It isn't exciting, but it is a really good room to be in. Sometimes, I will go in and sit to clear my head after a long day. My exercise consists of using weights for the upper body, and doing a lot of great exercises for hip mobility, flexibility and so forth. We plan to add one more piece of equipment and it is to give us some variety similar to the items we used at the gym. They have regular sales on it but we want to finish our deck before making any major purchases. This is what we have in mind: https://totalgymdirect.com/shop/total-gym-xls/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwkdO0BhDxARIsANkNcrfAe97FJpUad7B4L-LN8EQv3nRkKivnIKR9J5ZtJfxAkqXL89a2xioaAvXXEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Weight is an interesting thing, Margaret. When I lost weight a while back, it was so difficult. I got to a certain point and just couldn't lose any more. It took so much effort to maintain, that when my husband got sick and I stopped going to the gym, my body changed almost immediately. We are now using our home gym, and it feels good to be exercising again. My body seems so resistant sometimes, and my hip issues have been worse lately. I think it is because I became too sedentary and my body is adjusting. I really have no choice but to but clothes, although some of what you saw in this picture isn't new. Same with the accessories. Shorts are the worst right now. I'm glad for the ones I have with an elastic waist!! Melody, we have had some days with temps like that too. It's been mostly mid 80s with high humidity here. We just have a few room air conditioners, and we have had them running a lot Margaret, is the hest more bearable at the lake?

That is a wonderful shirt! I think I saw that the other day and was thinking about it. Fortunately, many of my shorts and tops are stretchy. I'm down 5 pounds but I have a way to go still. I love the colors in that shirt.

Living room chair to the rescue, lol. The picture window can be so helpful with colors. Still, you can see how easily what you put next to something changes the color. Overall though, the blue is so much more accurate. I didn't post the purple option earlier, because the color was so far off. The greens look much better in here too

For port days, I love tech fabrics if possible. They let my skin breath and dry fast. Plus, the stretch makes them comfy. The shirt is ivory and the blue skort is a much better color than you see here. Now the green skort and top...yikes on the colors! No filter would fix it but you get the general idea.

Just a heads up, but it is a gloomy day and the light above out bed gives off the weirdest light. I tried to adjust some of these but couldn't get them right. Here are two outfits with closeups of the shirts. These here I feel pretty sure are going with me. These here are all very likely. I'm missing a pair of shorts in one because they are in the laundry but they are a pull on, linen blend in an ocean blue type color. This is where I HD some difficulty with color. That's light brown type color with the rust shorts. Here is another outfit. The peach shorts are very muted and the top is from Target from years ago

That last pair of sandals will probably be worn in place of the other pair a few times.

Here are the dresses for dinner, followed by pictures to show the accessories.

Hi all, I took a vacation day today as my husband is out of town until Sunday. Both of our dogs are getting older and have some health issues, so it is sometimes helpful to spend a bit more time with them as they get stressed when we aren't around. I went to work this morning for an hour and came back home as planned, and they were so excited. It made my day. My goal is to get some odds and ends done, and I've already done a lot of little things. My daughter and I may go to dinner later,since it isn't often our schedules line up. I spent a bit more time working on cruise outfits. I will post some pictures shortly. My daytime outfits in particular aren't really settled. I often find that if we have a port day and I get really sweaty, I'm certain I will change when I get back. One nice thing about my past 2-3 cruises is that I feel that I am bringing more travel friendly clothing. It is lighter and easier to pack. I will re-wear shorts when I can but I tend to go through extra shirts. My dinner attire is almost completely set. I wanted that maxi dress I posted a few days ago so badly...sometimes, things just don't work. I have the dresses I need though without it. There is one dress that may change, depending on something I ordered from Nordstrom Rack. I just love to plan it all out.

Happy 4th of July, everyone! It is just me and my husband today. It kind of feels like a Sunday, because I work tomorrow. My husband is off - lucky guy! I ordered a very good deal on a top from Macys that seemed perfect for summer and for a cruise, with some great colors in it. It didn't fit right, so I decided to order a size up when I noticed that they also have a maxi dress version. All was on sale at great prices, so I ordered both. Sadly, the fitch just isn't right. Oh well! Who knows - they may be right for one of you, so here are the links and pictures for you. This is definitely more of a dark aqua or teal color than how it looks here. I may try to get a copy of the fabric before I make the return for you. I.N.C. International Concepts Women's Printed Keyhole-Neck Maxi Dress, Created for Macy's - Macy's (macys.com) I.N.C. International Concepts Women's Crossover Halter Top, Created for Macy's - Macy's (macys.com) In the photos, I really thought this was more fire than earth, but in person, it could go either way. I found the colors to be darker, for sure. The shirt is currently $23.00 with the coupon, but when I ordered it, it was $19.00. Both the shirt and dress are lined. There is a coral version of the shirt, and I tried that for the fun of it too. I did not try it on, since the print didn't fit right. It is a very bright color though - perfect for our friends that are spring or fire. I'm off to grill some dinner, but wanted to check in with you all!

Neeuqdrazil, I am glad you understand what I mean. My husband is always able to point out very valid things to me about my outfits and choices. I also can very readily see the difference between something he just doesn't love or care for, and when there is something amiss. For example, he doesn't love high low dresses, but he will also say that it is just him, and it doesn't stop me from wearing those. On the other hand, if he says that he thinks the waist area of a dress makes me look out of proportion, he is usually spot on. I can love how a style looks on someone else, and I may really, really want it to look good on me, even if it doesn't. In the end, there are things that I may end up keeping and things that I do not. Usually, if I am seeking out his opinion to begin with, it means I have doubts and I need someone to give me honest feedback. I didn't end up trying that jumpsuit for my husband to see, as I realized on my own that I can absolutely love it, but that does not mean it looks good on me. Once I realize that, I can categorize the pros and cons much more objectively. Should I lose a few more pounds, I think I want to try that jumpsuit in a medium. I know that with the looseness, I could wear that size now but it won't be quite right. I'm down 4 pounds only, but my muscle tone is getting better so maybe it will still be available later on. We are having a very rainy day. I'm watching baseball while doing laundry, and I plan to put up the TV mount in the gym a bit later. The blinds I ordered for the window should be in sometime today, so it will be great if I can do both of those things.

I'm sorry for your loss, Margaret. You will be sailing out of For Lauderdale! Where are you staying? That is where we are sailing from too, and I wasn't fully sure if my hotel choice was the best, but we will make it work! Wow, you're going to Japan?!? That sounds very exciting! Being able to explore different places is very exciting to me, and something I hope we will be able to do in the future. It's funny, because for so long, retirement seemed to be very far away. As we have been planning and trying to figure out estimated dates, it has become much more real. I know if I work longer, we will have more "extra" income that can be used for travel. At the same time, we may not have the health or the longevity we want to have. For me, it is about coming up with that in between. I know I've said it a few times before, but my husband is three years older than me. He is 62. Right now, he is planning on retiring at 65. I am 59, so I will turn 62 the year he is retiring. If things look solid enough, that is my goal...between 62 and 63. My husband has talked about working an uneventful part time job at first, as he feels he will need to ease into the idea of retirement, and the little bit of extra income won't hurt. Our financial advisor has indicated that we are on track, and has given us suggestions for where we want to be as far as emergency savings and so forth. It really helps to have guidance. I decided to try that jumpsuit out. I am returning it, but I almost kept it! Here are the positives: comfortable, lightweight but not see through, nice, earthy print and you can get it off and on rather comfortably. I felt like it had a sense of stye, despite being rather unstructured, which is difficult for me. I seriously wanted to keep it and wear it for my boarding day outfit! Here are the negatives....I felt guilty buying it for $104.00 on sale. Silly, I know. The thing is, I'd get a lot out of it, but I wasn't sure just how much. I would have rather had it fit a bit differently and just have a side zipper. I'm big on top with broad shoulders so I needed the size that ordered, but would have gladly went down a size if it had a zipper and the same overall feel. The looseness is necessary in order to step into it, but it has pleats. They could have made is smaller in that area, I think. When you are built the way I am, a jumpsuit such as this "tents out" over my chest so from the side, it created a barrel effect instead of a loose fit. It was soooooo close. I haven't even drop the return off, because I keep thinking about it. Here is another things, too, and I wonder how many of us on this thread feel this way. I dress for me, so I will wear things that my husband doesn't love as long as I do. But if he really doesn't like something, I know it in the back of my mind and it hangs over me. Part of that is because he can often have great taste so if he doesn't like something, he usually can make some valid points. He hasn't even seen it on, but I don't think he would like it at all. To me, this is hard comment to make, because it sounds like I need his approval, and I do not. I'm not looking for it. Am I making sense? Anyway, I might try it on quick to show him, because he may be able to verbalize something that I haven't figured out yet. In other news, we have been off for a few vacation days. Yesterday, we went to two different places to start ordering our deck building supplies. It's a big project! We have been doing lots of odds and ends, nothing exciting. One of the small projects has been working on, and using, the new home gym. It isn't fancy. We got the elliptical a little while ago, but with all the things in the room, it hasn't gotten much use. We have been picking up items a bit at a time. We now have a weight set, flooring (that thick foam stuff), and exercise mats. We have a TV that we replaced in another room, and we are going to be mounting the TV in the gym today along with adding a shade to the windows because the sun is pretty hot. For my work anniversary last year, they let me choose something from one of those books, and we have a little item that plays CDs, has AM/FM reception, a docking station and wifi, so you can just play Spotify or whatever. That is in the room too. The other item we will do soon is replace the ceiling fan. The current one has an extender and light kit, so it is in the way a bit. We are replacing it with a compact flush mount. The room feels really good, and it was so good to exercise again. I'll take some pictures soon!

I saw this online today, and thought it was so cute! I know I won't look like this in it, that's for sure. But who knows, maybe it would still look nice? I think I need a better sale though. It's $104.00 today. Lucky Brand Women's Pleated Sleeveless Jumpsuit - Macy's (macys.com)

Melody, I'm a little late responding to this, but have a great time! I hope that with all everyone in your family has been through, that you are able to relax and enjoy yourself.

Oh Melody, I'm so sorry to hear that! You all have been having a really rough few months. Maybe you would be able to rebook this a little later out when you are all healed up?

After 3 weeks, my sister is home. The biggest thing is that they couldn't figure out how to get her up stairs to her apartment. It is one of those deals where when you go in the door, you have to go down or up about 5 stairs to that particular level. On top of that, she had about 6 stairs to get into the building itself. She found a YouTube video, and showed it to her physical therapist. After some practicing, she was given the okay to do this as long as she had at least one person with her. it worked! Now my older daughter is working with her regularly on her occupational therapy plan. She is doing so well. The thing I feel bad about is that she doesn't have a balcony, and we are having such nice weather. She is pretty much confined until her next appointment, which will involve a big process to get her out of apartment and into a car. She has started weight bearing exercises, and like everything else she does, she is doing better than expected. I took off Tuesday as a vacation day to create an extra long Memorial Day weekend. We did a bunch of yard work, and on Monday, we took a drive to Watkins Glen. Let me tell you, that is a ton of walking! It was so beautiful and the fresh air does wonders for mental health. Of course, all the hiking and walking is great for your physical health as well. The Jacob's Ladder section has something like 180 stairs alone. I am anxiously awaiting my cruise. My final payment is due in two weeks, and I went ahead and paid it now. I generally wait until a few days before in case of a price drop, but I have been watching for a while and it felt like a good time to get it out of the way. Now I will focus on the details. I had a few items booked, and there was a price drop so I rebooked them. I saved $180.00! I rebooked the cruise a while back when the price went down so I am very happy with the savings. I plan to set up our own walking tour in San Juan, but I don't know what to do yet in St. Thomas. Maybe go over to St. John? I am not looking for a beach or shopping. We are going to Cococay so I will already have a great day to spend at the beach, and we don't really buy jewelry when we cruise. We love historic places or other types of informational excursions. My husband doesn't drink, but I do. I think I saw a tour with a stop for rum tasting? Maybe that would be fun. (my husband can't drink due to medicine that he takes)

Thank you! While I've always associated beavers with water I never realized they get into your gardens and the like. We have a lot of wildlife here - deer, fox, coyote, possums, woodchucks. Then there are the little guys such as moles, mice, chipmunks and squirrels. The most annoying animals are the raccoons, which rip apart bird feeders and get into the trash. We have acres of vacant farm land behind our home and a large wooded area to the side of us. Oh, I forgot to mention all the wild turkeys! I can imagine you love being at the lake at this time of the year. Melody, how are you and Les healing? My sister, who has had both hips replaced, fell a few weeks ago. Those strong "bionic" hips broke her pelvis. The hip issues are a hereditary thing. She is active and fit. She just didn't see the pot hole in the parking lot. It's a rough thing to break. They originally said non-weight bearing for eight weeks, but she is doing well so they are teaching her to move with a minimal amount of weight bearing so that she can go home.

I decided to get out some tops and shorts, and get some ideas for my daytime cruise attire. I try to consider what we are doing each day. On my last few cruises, I have tried re-wearing some things. It really depends on what we are doing. If we are in port and doing a lot of walking, I know we are going to get sweaty. So I still go the route of bringing 8 daytime outfits for a 7 day cruise, but I have found that I do re-wear some shorts from time to time, and I usually don't need the 8th outfit. I try to really go the route of mix and match, and sometimes it works better than at other times. They are mostly pretty simple outfits, with some jewelry thrown in. I was liking what I had in mind so far, and was kind of wishing I had a few other things in my wardrobe. My daughter came home a little while ago, and we just had a new Old Navy store open up just a few minutes away that I have been wanting to go to. She surprised me with an outfit and I just need to try it on. This top and shorts will definitely be going with me, and the shorts can be reworn with a number of different tops because they've ivory. The top is a warm purple, and I was looking to see if I had anything purple earlier. It's like she knew, even though she wasn't home at the time. That was so sweet of her. Mother's Day and my birthday are close together, and my husband always has to work on Mother's Day weekend. My daughters usually cook dinner, and that is what they did last Sunday. We decided we would all go to lunch tomorrow for my birthday. It was sweet of her to pick something up for me. I hope you are all enjoying the weekend! Since we got the hall painting completed and the stair runner is in, it looks so much nicer. We will figure out what project is next, as we continue to develop the deck plans.

It was too cloudy and rainy last night for us to see. Supposedly, we may get another chance tonight!!!

It's good to hear from you, Anita! I will definitely check out those videos. I do have a focus right now, I just don't have a starting point yet. We are working on that, as we get closer to at least having a room we can use for a gym. I have a lot of comfort that comes with my home, so the idea of a home gym is very exciting to me. I think it is helpful that I had a gym membership for a number of years, and it was not a chain. It was the kind of place that had something for everyone, and I was able to see what I liked and disliked. For me, that is key because I found that the things I wanted to try and do, weren't the things I ended up liking. Imagine setting up a home gym, spending a lot of money, and realizing that rowing machine bothers your back or whatever. It's funny about aging. First, I feel like I have a better and better understanding of who I am and what I like every day. Secondly, I can acknowledge that my weight isn't where I want to be, but that doesn't mean I necessarily care what others think of it. I want to feel good about what I wear. I want my clothes to make me smile and say, I really like this instead of I look good in this. I hope I make sense. I'm starting a few small exercises right now that are really basic, and just focus on getting in some movement, and giving my joints some exercise. It's baby steps, so I really want to check out those videos you have referenced. Your pictures are fabulous!!! I think all the time about having a good camera to use. I'm feeling extra sensitive lately to living in the moment, so I find that when I am enjoying something, I almost don't want to take pictures, for fear that I will miss the feelings that something evokes, especially since I am not a very good photographer. An example would be last night. I got home from work, and my daughter and grandson were at the house. He constantly wants us to play with him, and we have this little kid sized lacrosse set. He has never used it, and the concept was tough for him. I picked up some bubbles and blew them, and he promptly told me there are no bubbles in lacrosse. It was very funny, but he was so focused on learning how to catch and throw the ball well. When he finally caught the ball, he was all excited and so we celebrated by clapping and blowing bubbles. THEN is was appropriate to blow the bubbles! I wish I had pictures of it, and fortunately, my daughter was taking pictures. But I didn't want to be distracted from watching his face and seeing how focused he was. It was really sweet. Melody! Good to see a picture of you...I can see that you are healing up and doing better.

It's always so busy when we return from vacation, isn't it? We have to sort out all the laundry and souvenirs, organize pictures, etc. I am going to try on that yellow dress again soon. I've just been busy and haven't gotten back to it. We did decide on a stair runner, and based on how long it will take, I need to get moving on painting! My husband has graduation weekend next weekend, so I will probably get it done then. The hall is really the upstairs hall, the downstairs hall, and the staircase. However, when I was doing all my painting in the fall, I did the upstairs and downstairs hall, so it is only the stairway left. The reason I need to get moving though is that I want a fresh coat of white on the stair risers, and then paint the spindles and newel post. At least I won't have something half done, which is a pet peeve of mine. I kind of knew when my husband said he wanted to do a little cosmetic work first what would happen though, lol. We have the bed down from the spare room, and frame is partially dismantled. I expect to have a lot finished up by the end of next weekend. Removing the bed is for the home gym setup. We have floor mats and a set of weights now. We are very seriously looking at something called Total Gym, as it will give us some variety in exercises and not take up too much space. I have an elliptical, but I admit it isn't not as easy on my hips as the ones at the gym so I am going to have to ease into it. Hip issues abound in my family and I had to get a cortisone shot last year. I find that it feels better with activity, but I have to make sure I don't overdo it. I may need to think about a new routine, which is why Total Gym seems like a good choice. I've always loved all those machines at the gym, and this kind of combines them to a cerain degree.

Thanks, Melody. My last dress to complete out the seven nights should be the gold swing dress, but while it still fits, I've always been a bit uncomfortable in the dress as it is a little short. I have those crescent earrings with the dried flowers on them and I really want to wear them! I think I may just try on the dress with my sandals and re-evaluate. I have other options, but I really wanted to wear that outfit so we will see. As to the orange/coral dress. I really do like it. I have shapewear, I just need to try on the dress with it. One thing I'm not keen on with some shapewear is that it creates what I call the barrel effect. Maybe I'll try the dress on with a few different things and see if it makes a difference.

This outfit here is fairly set. I'm unsure about the sandals right now. I have a few that I can wear with the dress. I often look at a few features for cruising in footwear: is it versatile so that I can wear them with multiple outfits? Is it comfortable? Is it safe? We take the stairs a lot and there is nothing worse than bring worried I will slip or to feel a blister forming. So these are comfortable and safe, I just don't know how many pair I'm bringing. Once I nail down the dresses, it becomes easier. with the purple dress, im feeling more confident daily that it is going on the cruise. I was stumbling on jewelry when my same daughter reached into my jewelry and said "wear these!" I think she is right. I was looking to make statement with the earrings and these do. I couldn't get a good picture of the bracelet, but it is a nice look that goes with everything. So these are almost set. I have a dress I can wear for the other formal night. I got it before my last cruise, and it was a great deal. I tried it on recently and my husband thought it was great. I'm feeling kind of self conscious at the moment so I am not sure. it is full length. I took a picture using the mirror in our room, but since we have been sanding some.sheetrock repair in the hall, I never realized how much dust was all over. I think this may be what I bring. Thoughts? With some better shape wear? Maybe.