All things EARTH...

[Anita Latte]

I was trying to post after dinner so that it wouldn't make anyone TOO hungry! LOL.

 

We ordered our sides to be served so that we could share. Not an unusual thing to do in Spain, I think...it feels all about having service together and sharing there. Isn't that the heart of Tapas? Little bites that everyone shares?

 

Anyway...the sides could be served however. The restaurant is flexible...the prevalent feeling is that they aim to please...whatever they can do, they will do...KWIM?

 

There was good wine! Didn't make too big a deal about it though because Mom had just taken her last antibiotic this morning. :( So, no alcohol for her.

 

As I recall...the wine selection included varieties with which I am unfamiliar. And didn't include many that are familiar. I don't recall a Pinot Noir on the menu. I'm sorry that I don't recall what I ordered. I know that they take the tasting very seriously.

 

The couple that sat next to us were French. Pretty sure. Anyway...the man was tasting two different wines. They had unique glasses for each taster pour. And I recall that he tasted the wine that I thought was very yummy and made "ick" noises about it! :eek: He went with the other one he tasted...

 

The server swept away the unwanted glass with the rejected wine...and poured a glass for the man and his lady.

 

This didn't seem unusual. So if you are unsure...I didn't realize that they would bring out more than one at a time and let you pick. I wasn't upset with my decision...these things are subjective and who knows the wine the Frenchman has been able to drink in his life? KWIM?

 

The Earth window display was so surprising. Such a rarity.

 

Laurie...Mom and Dad and I have been sharing all the emotions that seeing your pictures of San Francisco have brought up today. I'm so glad that you are sharing your trip with us! It's somewhat bittersweet...I admit. Regardless, I'm LOVIN' seeing your pics.

Edited June 23, 2015 by Anita Latte

[mousey]

Finally, some good news!

 

The DS and his team won the coveted Case Presentation at the Argentina Cohort! We're so proud of him! He worked really hard on his part of it. He's having a great time in Argentina but still can't wait to get back home where he says, "A McDonald's hamburgers doesn't cost $10!" LOL!

 

Anita,

 

Loving all your fabulous pictures!

[Anita Latte]

Great news mousey! Funny...talking about the Argentine Steakhouse...I hope your DS is eating empanadas and dolce de leche and not MickyD's!! ;)

 

I so curious as to how the reno is going Margaret?

[Joby]

Don't you just love the artful presentations many restaurants do when they serve dishes????? At our house it gets plopped on the plate, sometimes right out of the pan :eek:

[Anita Latte]

I do love the artful presentations. I often think that it makes a huge difference in how a meal feels. Going to places like this makes me want to "try harder" in the kitchen. I keep thinking that it doesn't take that much effort to make pretty plates...why don't I do that more often? Doesn't have to be everyday...

 

It's a personal goal. Life is about to get really crazy with marching band season in our household. DS's life will pretty much be about marching band...HEY! We'll be in your neck of the woods in November for Grand Nationals at the Colt's stadium. Is that far from you?

 

Anyway...dinner times will be awkward with Ds' practice schedule and football games...I'm thinking that it would be nice to have a more scheduled sit down meal in our dining room on Sundays...just because.

[Anita Latte]

As incredible as it seems...while I was completely satisfied with our meal...I wasn't stuffed! Yay!

 

Having a bit of walk back to the hotel after dinner was nice...

 

And I discovered that taking photos of window displays is MUCH easier at night!

 

This is the other window at Stradivarius:

 

 

I wonder about this idea of the over layer being longer than the dress... I liked the way the scarf was styled...It kind of looked like two scarves from a distance...but it was just the way the pattern worked:

 

 

H&M is a brand that I see a lot on Chicisimo. Very young...but these patterned pants seem to be "in" now...I'm seeing people wearing them all over:

 

 

I thought both of these patterns would likely coordinate well in an Earth wardrobe:

 

 

Jumpsuit

Pants

 

This is Bershka. I was attracted to the lacy dress with the sneakers...and also the touch of camo. I like that contrast. Also...the idea of the scarf like overlayer on the left...I've been in search of a little something that I can do to be a bit more modest with my tanks...especially when dealing with school functions. I'm always on the lookout for a something to throw over my exercise clothes too:

 

 

It turns out that the item on the left is called a "fringed cape".

 

Love the message on the window of the Adidas store:

 

[Anita Latte]

The lights in the cityscape are pretty fabulous at night...

 

The fountains that we passed earlier were both lit...

 

This one in the middle of the roundabout changes color:

 

 

 

This one in the park-like area changes water patterns:

 

 

 

 

We had a leisurely walk back to the hotel...and then it was time to turn in for the night.

 

The plan for the next day was to sleep in a bit...but not too long. We would get Starbucks first thing and then contemplate our day...

[Anita Latte]

It is now the next morning.

 

It is Saturday. It is NOT International Worker's Day!

 

The sun was shining...it wasn't too cool or too warm. There were all the makings of a beautiful day happening outside in my courtyard.

 

After one of the best night's of sleep I had on the vacation...I headed down to Mom and Dad's room...only to discover that I had freaked them out this morning...

 

First words out of Mom's mouth...WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?

 

:confused:

 

Uh...in my room?

 

So.

 

In the room key slot...where you have to store your room key to keep your room active so that the lights will work...there is a "Do not disturb" setting. If you push this little button...the Do Not Disturb indicator lights up...and it will light up the corresponding card slot in the hallway.

 

I thought this was very sophisticated and used this methodology in lieu of the hanging door knob sign...

 

Apparently...if you use the button for the room...it deactivates the ringer on your phone!

 

SERIOUS Do Not Disturb.

 

Which seriously disturbed Mom because she couldn't get a hold of me...

 

And sent Dad down to Starbucks to look for me...thinking that maybe I thought we would meet in Starbucks?

 

So the crossing paths began as she sent me down to look for Dad looking for me...

 

And he was in a different elevator...

 

But it was sorted soon enough.

 

We found a great smoothie for Mom at Starbucks. A little sustenance to help her feel more energized for being able to leave the room and get some real food.

 

The prices of Starbucks were way cheaper in Spain. WAY. For about 15 Euros we got 2 Triple Venti lattes (one with a shot of syrup), 1 Grande Hot Chocolate, and a packaged Smoothie.

 

Here is the smoothie brand:

 

http://www.innocentdrinks.co.uk/things-we-make/our-smoothies

 

Starbucks carried two flavors. The packaging was not in English but I could reason out the ingredients with my high school French...which I did NOT brush up on. Very clean. Very healthful.

 

Highly recommend if you like that sort of thing at home.

 

The drama of the morning subsided as we sipped and enjoyed our lattes in Mom and Dad's room.

 

We made our plans for the day.

 

First, we would eat. Just a little something because it was getting along in the morning and it would soon be time for lunch. ;)

 

Then, we would have a bit of a wander...

 

Big plans.

 

Warning...more food pictures coming...eat up. :D

[mousey]

Anita,

 

It's funny that you mentioned empanadas as that's what the DS has been eating everyday for lunch! There's a really neat place about a block from the hotel/apt. complex where the student's are staying that sells nothing but empanadas...and at $10 for one tiny burger...no he's not eating McDonalds...LOL!

 

Love the clothes you are showing pictures of. I have one of those "fringed capes". Also, the outfit with the scarf and long cardigan over the shorter dress is exactly what I've been wearing this spring...only instead of a dress I've been wearing the scarf and long cardigan over jeans.

 

Loving your pictorial!:D

[GrannyFlamingo]

Hello Ladies. I stumbled upon the thread explaining earth/fire/air/ice and found it interesting. I think I may be an air. I can't find an air thread, so I'm hoping you can answer a question. Would I choose makeup to match the shades of the same air colors?

[laurspag]

You know what I would try first? Check your local drug store for a Loreal Colormatch display. Some of them have this guide where the colors are transparent. Then use it to find which shade seems to disappear or blend into your skin. You don't necessarily have to buy their makeup, but it will point you into the right direction as far as shade. If you are air, then the color will start with C. The nice thing is that once you have that, you can find a corresponding shade of blush.

 

I hope this helps!

[laurspag]

Anita, that is a funny story about your parents trying to find you. At the same time, they must have been worried. At least they knew to check for you at Starbucks!

 

I thought it was beautiful there during the day, but at night...wow. I could watch that for hours. I was fascinated to see San Francisco from my balcony at night.

[GrannyFlamingo]

Thank you laura.

[Joby]

Anita, yes, we totally should plan to meet up!!! Email me and let me know your schedule.

[MJC]

Anita, I'm enjoying your fashion pictures so much. It's always fun for me to see what people in other big cities are wearing IRL. I am a big people watcher here, I love to check out people's clothes. There are even neighborhood-by-neighborhood trends that are always interesting to me. I can always find a trend that suits me, there are usually several running at a time.

 

"H&M is a brand that I see a lot on Chicisimo. Very young...but these patterned pants seem to be "in" now...I'm seeing people wearing them all over" - Yes, I'm seeing them everywhere too.

 

 

Here is a new one. Would any of you wear culottes? I would not because they aren't really right for my body shape. Perhaps if I were much, much thinner, but even then I don't know.

 

http://nymag.com/thecut/2015/04/culottes-are-they-right-for-you.html

 

http://nymag.com/thecut/2015/06/how-to-wear-culottes.html

 

 

I have been having skirt week. It's hot, I have skirts that I neglect, so I'm making it a point to wear skirts. It's easy to get in a rut when school is out, so this is a fun little pick-me-up.

 

Our renovation plans are in the waiting-for-bids stage. It is frustrating because it seems like nothing is happening, but it is what it is. Yesterday I spent a whole day sorting our books and now I have four giant bags to take to the thrift store, and another bag to go to the lake house where DH keeps his "professional library" (basically a metal shelf in the garage). Doing the Kondo thing, I gathered every book from all over the house. OMG they were everywhere! For the books that were in my "to be read" pile, I searched our online library, and if they were there, they went in the donate pile. I tend to read mostly on my Nook now, so illuminating that habit made it a lot easier to downsize.

 

I'm currently reading another organizing book called "Organize for a Fresh Start." Her emphasis is really as it sounds, trying to help people who are going through a life transition (divorce, death, children moving out, young couples having a baby, etc.). But, in a way I feel that we are in that place, only more like we've already made a transition and are now wanting our home to reflect the life that we live now, and the one we want going forward. Her process is MUCH longer and more complicated, with way too many acronyms. But, some of the questions she asks us to ponder have been very helpful to me. It's funny, I really need to focus on the living room, dining area, and bathrooms because that is where the work will be done, but I find that in order to do that I'm having to organize the other spaces, too. All those books in the LR? Guess where they had to go. It's a great time to re-think how we use our storage areas.

 

In the midst of this, we discovered yet another leak in the bathroom which was coming from under the tub and into DH's closet. So, all his clothes and shoes had to come out and they've been all over the apartment. We were lucky we were able to save his shoes. Just his work shoes alone are a significant sum.

 

I want to share my recent black tie wedding clothes. I can't look at myself now without thinking "rectangle, rectangle, rectangle!" All along I've been thinking that it's just because of my belly fat, and when I'm skinnier I'll be an hourglass again. But I'm not. I don't have any pictures of me from the back, but it is plain as day from that angle what I am.

 

This first dress -- black, I know -- I bought for the Christmas wedding last December in Williamsburg. I had planned on wearing my brown sequined dress, but decided at the last minute I wanted something more New Yorkish for the trendy location and artsy crowd. Mostly I loved the shape of this dress and that the gold meant I could wear my emerald necklace with it. For the first wedding, I wasn't sure how conservative the crowd would be so I wanted to bring a shawl to cover my arms in the synagogue. I knew that probably 90 percent of the guests would wear black:

 

 

 

There was a woman there wearing the most beautiful coral dress, and she stood out like a flower! Some of the young girls were wearing color, but by and large it was a LBD event. With my in-laws, being the shiksa wife I am always trying to fit in and be discreet, so I was happy with my choice.

 

For the second wedding (with the FUN cousins), I knew there would be more variety, and I knew what some of the other cousins were wearing, so I decided I wanted a summery dress. I didn't have a summery evening dress! So off to L&T and I got this:

 

 

The silver shoes I got for my anniversary party dress, and I wore my diamonds. I figure all that silver didn't matter because everyone talked about how pretty my eyes looked in that color. High five! There was a huge variety of styles and colors, so I was happy to be colorful. It is the first time I've been to a black and white wedding. The bridesmaids all had individual black dresses, and they were all ICEs so it worked for them. It was interesting but I kept thinking how dull the photos would be. This photo is after the party so excuse the bloat and the hair (it was raining when we came home).

[awhfy]

Margaret, love the neckline on the black/gold dress, very flattering. The teal is a great color for you. I went to one black/white wedding, the only color being the flowers; it was different. Melody

[Sailor_Sally]

Anita , I am really enjoying your photos and I am amazed that your Mother was able to do so much after being so ill .

 

Margaret , I love the two dresses . You look fabulous ! It is funny that we all complain about our bodies . I would kill for your legs . My legs are my worst feature so while I have a smallish waist I have larger legs and spend most of my time in maxi dresses or pants .

 

Laurie , I am also enjoying your review . I love San Francisco . It is one of my favorite cities .

 

Mousey , Congratulations to your son !

[Anita Latte]

I'm so glad everyone is enjoying all the fashion photos! It was on my mind the fun of sharing them as we were taking them...

 

Culottes. Two pairs that I inherited from Mom didn't make the KonMari. SO comfortable. I would wear them quite a bit. The ones from Mom were simple...one pair was a rayon knit in a medium-dark brown with a 2" elastic waist that wasn't super gathered...the other was a traveler's knit (Chico's) in deep chocolate.

 

I don't know why they didn't make the KonMari...but I didn't love them. No joy. I know I loved wearing them but whenever I saw myself in the mirror, I think the way I styled them make me look very frumpy dumpy.

 

I'd be willing to give them a try again because I did enjoy wearing them.

 

I have found organizing a house to be like sweeping/vacuuming. Sure...you can just sweep the kitchen...but if you don't sweep elsewhere, it's only a matter of a few foot steps for the floor to be all messed up again. You really need to sweep/vacuum all over.

 

Your comment about thought provoking questions makes me want to check out that book...

 

Ah...the view from the back. That's where my high hip is so obvious. It makes swim suits especially challenging because the wrong suit makes my rear end look gynormous! But the high hip makes having anything lower feel like it might fall off...or cut in so tight that I have the dreaded muffin top roll on the backside...:eek:

 

Love the shape of the black/gold dress...and I think that the color isn't so bad until I see you in the blue dress. OMG...GREAT COLOR!!

 

My wedding was a black and white wedding...mostly. My ladies wore black. The men were in black tuxes with colored on a black patterned waistcoats. I don't think we did neckties? Waistcoats and pocket squares...I'll have to look. DH wore a kind of neutral metallic looking waistcoat and his men wore a deep green. My youngest SIL was the flower girl and her dress was a deep, deep green. The green was so deep as to almost feel black-green.

 

GrannyFlamingo...I'm wondering which thread you found? Laurie started this whole discussion of color theory with the thread titled "What Season Are You?" From that thread, Kim started the Fire thread and I started this Earth thread.

 

The best authority on this subject is Curt. He's found here now:

 

https://fireiceearthandair.wordpress.com/

 

Toward the end of this linked page, you will see the color charts for Air and the kind of basic info:

 

https://fireiceearthandair.wordpress.com/category/air/page/2/

 

If you are truly interested in an AIR focused discussion, then start a thread and see if you can find more AIRS out there wanting to talk. I can easily think of two AIRs that used to participate in our discussion that I think are still around on the boards...but they don't seem to post much on the Fashion Board any longer...

 

But maybe it's because there isn't an Air thread? IDK.

 

Looking for other ideas for Air...I know that Helen Mirren is an Air that usually dresses in Air and looks great in her muted cool colors often. Jennifer Aniston is an Air that doesn't often wear Air. Those are the two that I can always easily remember. If you look at the celebrity collage in the blog mentioned above, you can google the celebrity that most closely resembles your coloring (hair, eyes, etc.) to see some inspiration.

 

For makeup tips in general, Mom and I are huge fans of Lisa Eldridge. Warning: watching her videos can consume much time unbeknownst to the viewer...hunger pains will let you know that you have sat at the computer for far too long:

 

http://www.lisaeldridge.com/video/

 

Kim...I'll be in touch when I know a bit more. Things are a bit generalized right now. :)

 

I hope everyone has had breakfast...

 

Here we go...

[Anita Latte]

Up a few blocks...about 3 businesses down on a side street is one of many little bakeries:

 

 

The interior space of the bakery is limited. Out of the vision of this photo, on the other side of the commercial refrigerator is a counter height shelf...this is the only available "seating" for the bakery. It is simply a place to set down your beverage and/or food while you stand and eat.

 

 

Today...Mom is wearing one of her fun layered exercise tops that are a loose shirt that flows around and is attached to a made to be seen coordinating exercise bra...her aqua cardigan sweater...Cache cargo capris...and carrying her Pacsafe shoulder bag.

 

I am wearing the same travel pants, the shirt I wore in Malaga...and I'm wearing the black scarf DH gave me because I wanted to feel more in sync with everyone else walking around.

 

We are not posing...so not good pictures of either of us...but a good picture of the bakery...

 

For breakfast...several tasty temptations:

 

 

Dad eats the chocolate croissant. The real star in the display though is the Xoxo Crema. This is a flaky croissant covered in sugar cinnamon dust and filled with Catalan cream. OMG. Instant mouth watering...

 

We also picked out croissant bites from the other display that were ham and cheese.

 

Very reasonably priced. You are reading it correctly if you see 1.55 Euros for the cost of the Crema.

 

I recently verified a Starbucks claim...Notice that the croissants are mostly straight croissants. This means that they are made with butter.

 

I guess the French actually have a LAW in place regarding this...not sure about Barcelona...but tradition holds that straight croissants indicate butter as the ONLY fat ingredient. If the croissant has ANY other fat besides butter (even if butter is included), then the croissant has the namesake curve to it. BUT...not ALL curved croissants contain other fats.

 

The baker can choose whatever shape for an all butter croissant...just not for a straight croissant.

 

We did not partake of lunch...but these are more of the savory options here:

 

 

 

The displays are the product. They serve you from the case.

[Anita Latte]

Fortified...we set forth on our shopping adventure...

 

And now...

 

FINALLY...

 

I can talk about what has easily slipped into place as my FAVORITE clothing store...

 

DESIGUAL!!!!

 

*heralding trumpets sound!*

 

Mom found this store on her prior visit to Barcelona...and we found it in Malaga.

 

The Malaga store was a boutique sized Desigual...

 

 

Casual clothing that is fun, Fun, FUN!!

 

 

The store itself is rather fun with quirky decor...like the glass covered ceiling:

 

 

In Barcelona...it felt like you could talk about locations of Desigual stores in number per city block...because they were ALL over...in all different shapes and sizes. Walking to dinner the night before:

 

 

There was this one taking up the entire lower level of this building.

 

Some stores had just shoes and accessories. Some had just women's clothing. Some had EVERYTHING in abundance...some had a bit of everything in touches.

 

They were all over.

 

And they were all CLOSED on International Worker's Day.

 

So the first thing we did today was to wander over to the one across the street from the bakery...

 

I had tried on a shirt and a dress in Malaga. The style was wrong so they weren't a good look.

 

The thing about the fun designs is that if your body isn't the right type for the particular clothing item...you can end up with circles and other design elements calling the wrong kind of attention to certain body elements...

 

Not a good look...

 

Shopping in Barcelona therefore had a bit of experience behind it to be able to make wiser selections...which is why we ended up with close to a dozen items in the changing room.

 

Now the changing room in this Desigual was not what we would ever think appropriate in the States.

 

The store had clothes for women, for men, and for kids.

 

The store had ONE changing room.

 

It was essentially a hall with tiny, little, just bigger than an entry hall coat closet area with a CURTAIN for privacy. The "changing rooms" were on each side...in the space of a very small galley styled kitchen, I'd say there were about 6 rooms on each side of this hall. The only mirror was at the end of the hallway...so if you wanted to see what you looked like, you had to get out and vie for mirror space.

 

Funny thing though was that as chaotic as it was...

 

And as crowded as it was...

 

People didn't really get into each other's way.

 

I wonder if the Europeans are just so used to close quarters that they know how to take turns, yield, and otherwise work their way around crowded, tight quarters without having it feel like a mash pit.

 

It was quick work to discover that we had some real WINNERS in the dressing room.

 

But a new post is necessary for sharing...

[GrannyFlamingo]

Thank you Anita! In searching threads for cruise clothing tips, I found an old thread called "what about this fire, earth, air, ice?" I followed the links and found it really informative. Thanks too for the names of some air people. I confess, I don't know any of the celebrity's names anymore. Well, maybe Sean Connery lol

[Anita Latte]

With all my maxi skirts...I only own one maxi dress (currently too small). I was very excited to find this wonderful red maxi, which is more muted IRL than this picture indicates.

 

 

I do need to shorten the shoulder straps. What you may not realize is that the bodice area is a decent size! Too often, those little triangles at the top are just that...

 

LITTLE...

 

And the effect is awful on anyone with not so little girls. These triangles will accommodate a more normal bra. YAY!

 

This very flattering fit and flare red and black dress...the red at the face helps the coloring look better on me:

 

 

This super fun sun dress:

 

 

This super fun tee...it says "Fresh Fruit"

 

 

It has a solid black back.

 

And this super fun leather like (cotton and polyester) jacket:

 

 

Which is way more interesting that it first appears:

 

http://www.desigual.com/en_US/women/clothing/coats-jackets/prod-tropical-50E29A9-1015

 

This is the fun shirt that Mom got...Fire's "Fresh Fruit":

 

 

There was a great sale going on. We didn't know it but it was Spain's Mother's Day Sunday...as in tomorrow from this Saturday in Barcelona. Spring was in full swing too and so the pricing was really good...

 

THANKS MOM AND DAD!!!!!

[Anita Latte]

How does fun and successful shopping in Barcelona feel?

 

 

Definitely hungry work...

 

It was lunch time...

[Anita Latte]

Thank you Anita! In searching threads for cruise clothing tips, I found an old thread called "what about this fire, earth, air, ice?" I followed the links and found it really informative. Thanks too for the names of some air people. I confess, I don't know any of the celebrity's names anymore. Well, maybe Sean Connery lol

 

I'm not the best with celebrity names...taking a look at the collage, people I recognize:

 

Alicia Silverstone

Sarah Jessica Parker

Emma Watson

Jennifer Aniston

Rashida Jones

Michelle Pfieffer

Helen Mirren

 

Scrolling through Curt's posts, you might also see some other's identified when we does his report on the dresses worn to the different award's ceremonies.

[mousey]

Anita,

 

Still enjoying the pics and trip report!

 

Sally,

 

Thanks for congratulating the DS. I really am so proud of him!

 

Laurie,

 

I love hearing about San Francisco as we lived there back in the early 70s for 2 1/2 years and we love it there.

 

Margaret,

 

I loved how you looked in that black and gold dress and the turquoise one is stunning on you. I'm may be odd man out as it were...but I like the look of the black and gold on you the best. Maybe it has more to do with the fit more than the color. I just think you looked great in it and hardly, to me anyway, rectangular.

 

Culottes! Love them! Have worn them for years. I love that the way they look and I especially love the ones with pockets. I have a great denim pair that I've had for over 30 years that I still wear to this day!:D