All things EARTH...

[mousey]

Laurie, glad your flight plans worked out!

Waiting to hear more.

 

Thank you ladies on the babies congratulations! They are only 3.5 lbs each and in neonatal care until they get bigger. But of course they are cute!

 

Congratulations on your new grandbabies!

[Anita Latte]

I was in Target shopping.

 

I saw a great sale on their tanks and tees that they have folded and stacked for display. 40% off. Looks like the sale is online too:

 

$6.00 tanks.

 

http://www.target.com/p/women-s-favorite-tank-merona/-/A-15630335#prodSlot=large_1_1

 

With the thought that it is almost impossible to find EARTH tanks in the spring...I feel confident these colors are EARTH (not every color was in the store), my tags read:

 

Orleans Red

Teal

Olive

 

$5.40 Short-sleeved Tee:

 

http://www.target.com/p/mossimo-supply-co-boyfriend-v-tee/-/A-15678206#prodSlot=medium_1_1&term=embassy+purple

 

Embassy Purple

 

There was also "Mineral Yellow."

 

I grabbed one Long-sleeved Tee ($7.20):

 

http://www.target.com/p/women-s-ultimate-long-sleeve-crewneck-tee/-/A-15616673#prodSlot=large_1_4

 

Most of my LS Tees are solids...so I grabbed this "Seed Stripe" which is yellow and cream. I'm going to see if I can make crew neck work with some creative scarf and/or necklace looks OR see how it looks layering up with some things I have.

 

Just wanted to share...

[awhfy]

Thanks Anita (Melody, not Sally). So we leave in 9 days, driving to Galveston & cruising to WCarib. Can't wait after this unseasonably cold. Really glad I'm not in Buffalo with up to 6' of snow! I'm already tired of sweaters & cashmere socks. Melody

 

 

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[ChollaChick]

Oh, Anita those shirts are exactly what I need. My last job I wore a lot of dresses and my current is not even remotely that dressy. So I need layerable pieces. And stuff that in the summer still looks okay without lots of extra layers. Does that make sense? Currently my Target online shopping cart is filled with shirts. Now I just need to decide which to actually buy. How was the sizing, Anita? Trying to decide which size to get.

 

Oh and I LOVED you outfit for the choir concert. You looked fabulous.

[Anita Latte]

Sorry I couldn't respond last night! I find the sizing to be fairly true to size. The Mossimo brand is more of a juniors brand (but it's in the same section in mine) and so I think the bust area is not as true to size for what we expect in misses sizing. Merona seems to be more generous in the bust. That's my trouble spot in sizing. I'm around a 12/14 size shirt because of bust issues (was a 38 DDD but I think I may have lost a bit up there, those bras have gotten annoyingly loose). I have Merona's M that have gotten a bit too tight to wear as anything BUT an under tank...I bought L in Merona. I buy XL in Mossimo (that's partly because of my sleeve issue...I really don't like things digging into my armpit in any way.) HTH!

[Sailor_Sally]

Thanks Anita (Melody, not Sally). So we leave in 9 days, driving to Galveston & cruising to WCarib. Can't wait after this unseasonably cold. Really glad I'm not in Buffalo with up to 6' of snow! I'm already tired of sweaters & cashmere socks. Melody

 

 

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We are leaving Saturday & I am already rethinking my wardrobe . It's chilly in Florida .

[laurspag]

Just a very quite note here...

 

Anita, we kind of do decorate in that nostalgic, does it really happen kind of way.

 

We go with the Sunday following Thanksgiving. We all decorate together, with Christmas music playing, a glass of eggnog, and some Pepperidge Farm cookies because I haven't had a chance to start baking yet. If all goes well, we are dressed in festive colors and we get some photos so that we can plan our Christmas cards.

 

We will probably turn on the fire place too! Now, if we are in a position where we just can't coordinate with the girls, my husband and I will decorate the house and set up the two trees, but we will wait to decorate the trees until the girls are both available, which will usually be a work night a day or two later.

 

Oh, and we have turkey surprise for dinner. :-) :-)

 

I am going to head to Target sometime over the weekend to check for those tops. I was in there a few weeks ago, and they had fabulous earth colors and I passed them up because I was in a hurry. I've been thinking about them since, and your post reminds me that I better get them while they are there!

[Anita Latte]

I hope I didn't come off as a scrooge! Not really the right word...but for lack of a better metaphor... Laurie, so envious at times that your family is still somewhat clustered together within a reasonable distance.

 

We have a bit of a family cluster here (but it's DH's family) and if that seems negative...well...it's just a reflection of the lack of intimate relations that I have with his family...there's distance there emotionally and this is not likely to change. I can say that there is a certain amount of familial love and caring...and a certain amount of reliance and sturdiness that you would expect to have within the family unit. Family, not necessarily friends, if that makes sense.

 

There are bright moments though. I asked my FIL to do a bit of shopping for me in Texas and bring some things that I can't get in Georgia. We heard about his shopping last night and I'm absolutely thrilled and excited to receive my delivery!! We'll see my FIL/MIL briefly tomorrow and more extensively Sunday, after they rest up from their drive here from Texas.

 

Sorry for the Melody/Sally mixup!

 

Sally, I hope you have a great vacation! I hope you get your wardrobe sorted...you might have to take more variety than normal since the weather may rebound, or not, I suppose. Where are you cruising again? I can't seem to keep everyone straight...

 

Melody, I've made that drive from Colorado into Texas several times. Hope you have no weather (or other) troubles. You will be in my old stomping grounds...as you pass by the exits for Webster, TX and see the Baybrook Mall...you will be less than 5 miles from my old house (this on the Gulf Fwy). I suppose I could say something similar as you drive through Fort Worth! LOL. Oh how I miss Texas...

 

Ah well...

 

I have several overnight or 2 night trips to Athens, GA on the horizon for DS related activities. Has anyone ever traveled often for business? Or any other reason I suppose...any tips or thoughts on how to simplify packing, etc. I'm thinking that I should create a toiletry kit that is ready to go. Do ya'll have that already? Or do you create your toiletry kit every time you travel? DH, DS, and I will all be going on these trips. So definitely thinking that having certain things in readiness for us all will help simplify things.

[awhfy]

Anita, we're actually driving out earlier than expected due to a nasty Thanksgiving storm coming in. We normally fly everywhere now, I'm looking forward to poking on our way home thru Taos & Santa Fe, gorgeous places during Christmas season. & I get to come home to an already decorated house ;). We'll do outside lights when we get home (maybe) No problem on mixing names, I'll answer to anything but late to dinner ;).

 

I traveled for work for 30 years. The guys loved me as I went with carryon only (Scarves are your friend). I have a leather dop kit (men's toiletry bag) that is always packed with my makeup, travel sized toiletries, 30 days worth of medications, phone charger, roll of duct tape & a high intensity mini flashlight, always goes on top of stuff in carryon. DH says, why can't you pack for cruises the way you used to for work. My answer, I don't have to, but I could. DH also has same kit in different color. As each of the kids left for college or military I made them their own kit, now I'm working on the grands kits. Makes life so simple.

 

 

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[Sailor_Sally]

Thanks Anita ,

I redid my wardrobe . I added two sweaters and subtracted one of my sundresses . I also changed my boarding outfit to a knit tunic with leggings instead of white pants & a linen shirt . We are cruising to Key West which we both love & Cozumel . In Cozumel we are going on the bar hop . It is a nice tour and a fun time . They take you to the other side of the island and you visit four funky bars . They really go into the history of Cozumel and the bars so it is more a tour than a drinking expedition. Their are five boats in Cozumel the day we dock so we picked this to escape the madness .

I do have a large cosmetic bag that is always ready to go with all the basics .I just add the extras.My Mom is 98 so I never know when I have to travel quickly .

[Sailor_Sally]

Melody , Have a great trip !

[laurspag]

Anita, no worries!! It is just me, my husband and daughters. It's a tradition we try hard to keep alive but it gets harder to do with some of our crazy hours.

 

This crazy weather has really impacted all of our plans, hasn't it?

 

 

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[Anita Latte]

Today, I wrapped the bottom of my staircase rails with fluffy lighted garland. I wrap the bottoms of the stairs...I don't like to interfere with the handrail.

 

And I got my doe and buck out for the yard. They are rather old...but still going strong, sort of. I reclipped all the lights to the various parts of the wire cage for the doe...plugged her in...and no lights. SO SAD. Worked on the buck, and he's just fine. Figured out that the plug in had gone bad on the doe...so I spliced the plug in from the strand of lights that I bought for light bulb replacements...and used that plug in for the doe...and VOILA!!...lights for the doe. SO EXCITED!!

 

I love my deer. I really do. Like I said to DH...this is the season of the very meaningful and the essentially meaningless...but wow...how I enjoy the meaningless to remind me that it is such a meaningful season!

 

I have a "natural area" in the backyard where the trees grow and the pine needles accumulate and that's where I'm going to put my deer this year. The back of my house is virtually a wall of windows...so I will get to admire my deer. They go out tomorrow.

 

The decorating will continue tomorrow...I'm in the spirit.

 

Has everyone seen "The Holiday"? OMG...LOVE!! Having Ladies night movie watching at my house Dec 1 to watch it! The house should be well decorated by then! Might have to post pictures! :cool:

[awhfy]

No clue if this is Fire, Earth. I've had sweater for two years & last night's jazz band dinner dance was the first time I've worn it. Melody

 

 

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[Member123]

Good morning, Melody. So I answered your post over on the FIRE thread. Hopefully some of the other FIRE ladies will chime in and I think you'll get some opinions here, for sure!

 

Pictures! Oh, please post holiday pictures!

 

Something happened to my motivation this year... or my energy level? I don't know what it is. Maybe I'm just doing a bit of a cocoon from my fabulous trip? Does anyone else do this? I had such a great time... it was such a meaningful break from my routine... that I'm resisting getting back into any part of my old routine (and I mean, ANY part... like cooking, cleaning, laundry: I need to make a play date with Laurie so she can come over and help me get started doing laundry... LOL)... it's like I'm holding onto the energy from my trip, in my head, and I don't want to dislodge it!

 

Anyway, I'm supposed to be getting myself ready for our Caribbean cruise and then our visit with Anita! And, because Anita will have her house so beautifully decorated, I am absolutely, totally resisting the effort to decorate this house! The problem is twofold: I would need to decorate it before we leave on the 4th of December, so I would have to get everything out and done and then promptly leave... and I am coming back on the eve of New Year's Eve... so that means, literally, enjoying the decorated house for about FIVE days! All that work... for FIVE days? This is so not going to happen! (But I bet I'm going to be sad not to have a tree on New Year's Eve! I LOVE my Christmas tree on New Year's Eve, probably even more than on Christmas day, itself). I love to look at my tree, sipping on a glass of champagne, and contemplating the wonderful times to come in the brand new year. See... I'm feeling the emptiness of not having that tree... but, omigosh, FIVE DAYS!!! For all that WORK! I can see my future... and I think that Anita and I need to sip some champagne and look at her Christmas tree... sometime around the 29th of December!!!! LOL.

 

So, post pictures! Help me!

[awhfy]

So Pam, just put up the tree with only lights. Best of both worlds & less mess. Melody

 

 

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[laurspag]

You know what's funny? I can't remember the last time I felt this excited to decorate for Christmas. The thing is, I'm always excited, it is something I love. But this year, I can hardly contain myself to wait until our traditional weekend after Thanksgiving.

 

Pam, Melody makes a good point...you could do something simple. Another thought is a little tabletop tree even. I have a huge tree we put in the living room, then a skinnier one for the family room. But then I have these little trees...

 

One is also in the family room. My husband's mom made it and I would say it's a few feet tall and has lights and mini ornaments on it. Then there are two others that are only about a foot tall each. I kind of put them throughout the downstairs. It doesn't matter what room you are in, as every room feels like Christmas.

 

Anita, you take pictures of your decorations, and I will take pictures of mine. All of us should do this! I admit that my collection of decorations is a bit eclectic. I group them in a way that they go together, but I have a lot of different things I've collected over the years.

 

On a different note, I did something interesting this weekend. My daughter and I were at Dressbarn. I was meeting her there when she got out of work Saturday, and we were going to Target and Famous Footwear, which are in the same plaza. My eyes went straight to this dress and I wondered, "how did she not tell me they had this beautiful, brown sparkly dress?"

 

When I got up to it, I realized why she didn't tell me about it. It was not brown, it was black. The metallic that ran through the entire dress is gold, so from a bit farther back, it looked just like brown. I tried it on, and my daughters really liked it. I have it hanging up, and I'm really in a quandry. On one hand, it is a nice dress and it looks like brown from a bit farther back. But up close, it is black and gold. And I know it's black and gold.It so happens I have this little sweater like thingy that would work really great with it and it's gold. But I don't know.

 

Here is the link. I will likely take it back.

 

http://www.dressbarn.com/detail/textured-metallic-dress/101965015/946

 

I will take a picture of it in real life to post here as well.

[ChollaChick]

Oh Laurie, that dress is fabulous. Keep it. I honestly thought it was brown when I saw the picture. If it looks good on you and you like it, it's a keeper.

 

We put up our Christmas decorations the weekend after Thanksgiving too. It's a tradition from when I was a little girl. My husband's family isn't really into Christmas very much and didn't have any traditions about decorating (I think they put up a tree but that's it) so we turned my childhood traditions into our own. I love the decorating -- listening to holiday music and drinking a beverage of your choice (for me, either red wine, baileys or eggnog). I love the whole season. Unfortunately I will be working on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day :( but we will celebrate anyways. I don't go to work until late in the day (I work overnights) so we can still get some Christmas in and then we might celebrate over the weekend (I have the 26th through the 30th off). It will be different but it will still be Christmas.

 

I'd love to see your Christmas decorations - so please post pictures. I promise to do the same.

[ChollaChick]

Well tomorrow I am changing my hair. Not sure quite what I am going to do - been thinking about darkening it up and adding some red or purple peekaboo highlights. Fingers crossed it turns out well.

[MJC]

Gosh, I go away for a while and all kinds of fun things happen here! Exam week is over, another necessary trip to Michigan accomplished, and here I am looking at my calendar for December and it is crazy busy.

 

Anita, I too really like your gold sweater/boots outfit. Do you find you are wearing the boots, have you incorporated them into your wardrobe? Did anyone talk about your packing question?

 

Laurie, I thought that dress was brown, too, from the picture. Interesting. Let us know what you decide. I would love to see it on you in a picture to see what effect it has on your skin tone.

 

Like Pam, I am having a hard time getting into the holiday spirit. It just seems like so much work. We celebrate Hanukkah too so it can be a bit overwhelming, plus we travel for Christmas week so our tree and menorah sit here alone for the holidays with just the cat to admire them. :) I think the issue for me this year is that our ornaments are all sentimental ones, either from my childhood or from our travels, and thinking back is making me a bit sad. Things have changed so much for my family this year.

 

I have no interesting fashion news to report. However, I did wear something different to work every day this semester, though by necessity I repeated pants and shoes. I was able to do so in spite of the fact that those five pounds I added mean that some things in my closet were too tight to wear. I was helped along by the weather, though, since I wore summer weight clothes for most of September.

 

What I learned is that I have plenty of pieces that require layering, especially sleeveless shells and sweaters, and not many long sleeved tops. This was an issue for me on days when it was too warm for a sweater or jacket, but not warm enough for short sleeves.

 

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving! It looks like we will be driving through several inches of snow, but I will take that over cooking all day. :) Enjoy, and travel safely.

[MJC]

p.s.

 

Barbara, I can't wait to see your hair!

[mousey]

Hi everyone,

 

November has been a horror. I just want all my cyber friends to know why I haven't been posting.

 

I don't have time to read all the posts so when I get back to posting I'll be starting from scratch.

 

The worst of our problems was dad being rushed to the emergency room the day we got into NY for our DS's big interview (which went amazing well and is the only thing positive so far about this month). After being told a month ago that he had no heart problems, he ended up in the ER with water on his lungs because of congenital heart failure. He was in the hospital for a week and is now home and doing okay. There's so much more to this story but I don't want to bore anyone or rain on anyone's holiday parade. Suffice it to say he's doing as well as can be expected (given the other things they found) and will be spending Thanksgiving at my brother's house. So that's good.

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!

 

I will give thanks tomorrow for all the lovely ladies on this Earth board. You are all awesome and unique! I miss posting and reading your posts. I'll be back as soon as I can. Just dealing with tons of other problems that have come up in the last few weeks on an emergency basis. Here's only one example and it's only the tip of the iceberg...my parent's dryer went kaput and my brother had to rush over there to make sure the garage wouldn't catch on fire (something to do with a hose)! I ended up buying them a new one. Unexpected cash out of pocket but it's a done deal and they have a new dryer they love.

 

Hope to get back to you soon from...

"The Mouse That Roared" (and that's yet another story)!

Edited November 26, 2014 by mousey

[ChollaChick]

Oh Mousey I am so sorry to hear about your dad. Sounds like he is relatively stable now (or I am truly hoping so).

 

And the dryer incident... wow. You need November to be done and a good drama free December to start.

[mousey]

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

 

ChollaChick,

 

Thanks for the nice post. Unfortunately since I posted...he's not doing well. He did make it to my brother's for Thanksgiving dinner but he and my mom left early as he just wasn't feeling well. I just spoke with him a few minutes ago and he doesn't sound good. On top of all he's going through, I only mentioned his heart problem in my last post but he's got a lot more he's dealing with medically, he seems to have caught a cold. I'm just so worried about him. The DH and I are going to FL around the 3rd week of January so I'll be able to go with him to one of his doctor's appointments and talk to his doctor directly and find out exactly what's up.

 

But...enough of that....

 

Hope everyone is having a great "Turkey Day". I'm off to meet the DH and DS at the golf club for our Thanksgiving pig-out! LOL!

[ChollaChick]

Oh Mousey, I'm so sorry. I am glad that you are able to go see him in January. You and your family are in my thoughts.