All things EARTH...

[Anita Latte]

When I first started singing in HS, I was actually a 2nd Soprano. We had the all girls choir... When I made the Mixed Chorus, I was an Alto. In college, I was still an Alto...and I loved a lot of songs with male voices and so I had been working on that lower register...I qualified to sing Tenor by college. But he didn't want female voices in the Tenor part and so I sang Alto...and when they split, I always sang the lower part of the split.

 

I know that there is a natural ability in there to sing within a certain range best...but I also know that you can train your vocal chords. My very good friends daughter was a singer...and in the chorus (extracurricular) that she trained in, the teacher there worked her into the 1st Soprano.

 

Age probably plays a role in what you can do to train.

 

DS taught me that his Euphonium is not limited in its range. It can play whatever notes he can "buzz" through it. The limit is the musician.

 

This was news to me. But I understand that the mouthpieces for the different instruments play a role. Tubas have larger mouthpieces to allow for the looser aperture necessary to produce a lower note. So the mouthpiece may also produce some limitations. Trumpet mouthpieces are small by comparison so it isn't likely that you could get your lips loose enough with a standard sized mouthpiece...and explains why they typically are in a higher range.

 

Hope that isn't too OT for everyone. :o

 

Anyway...I have ideally thought about joining some of the community choruses around here...

 

I have a voice that blends really well with others. It isn't really a solo voice. But I have a quality that can make a duet sound amazing...and I say so myself repeating what a few ladies have told me over the years about my harmony sound.

[awhfy]

I'm enjoying the musical notations. My Dad was a basso profundo (2nd bass) & sang a couple of seasons with the Met. My Mom was a second contralto soloist with a warm, rich voice. I couldn't have been a soprano if I tried! It's also how I got the name, Melody.

 

I do sing, but not nearly to the caliber of my parents & yes, I'm a second contralto in chorus only.

 

Thanks for bringing back treasured memories

Edited September 4, 2015 by awhfy

[Sailor_Sally]

Anita , Have you thought about pairing that lovely skirt with a solid silky tank or tee & then adding some gold chains .I think you really look good in the tighter top look with the maxi skirt .

[laurspag]

I enjoy all the talk about chorus and music in general. I very much enjoyed chorus in my younger years, when I could hear better. As I got older, however, my ability to hear those differences and adjust my voice accordingly kind of faded out. A hearing loss is a hard thing for a music lover! As silly as it sounds, I do know how something is supposed to hear so I make up for it in my head. I very much enjoyed when my daughter was in orchestra and symphony.

 

Anita, I think that outfit seems really right for you. I love that skirt, and the way that it can be dressed up or down. I like too that the shirt has that necklace. The shorter cruises create a very large mix of closing on formal night. I think you can get away with so many different things, and still feel appropriate. You will see people wearing jeans and shorts even. I tend to feel overdressed on shorter cruises, which is why I'm looking at shorter dresses more often.

 

I put together some outfits for Lake Placid, but I'm not sure about the quality of the pictures. As you know, I prefer to take most pictures in my kitchen because the lighting is usually the best to accurately show colors. But that doesn't work when I'm not wearing the clothes because I can't figure out where to put them. I really don't want to hang things over the stove, for example.

 

I feel like I could go in so many directions. Right now, I'm focusing on cooler weather outfits. Not cold, just cool. Sweater weather, as Kim just put it.

 

I think my new brown leggings with the beige tunic are a go. The tunic is a toned down khaki like color. It's not taupe. I found that the pictures don't show that as well as I'd like. Here is the base outfit:

 

 

My scarf choices are many, because brown is like our black - a great base color. And the sweater is a neutral. I am thinking about which one is best:

 

 

The splash of color is something I crave, but I don't have the harmony I'm love in it.

 

This is satin like, and it looks really polished.

 

 

This feels like it captures the harmony, the pulled together kind of look.

 

[laurspag]

I am thinking I can wear boots if it is cooler. If it ends up being warmer, I want to go with a lighter weight top and sandals. If it is in between, then maybe I can bypass the scarf and wear a necklace instead. I have two pairs of boots that go to the bottom of the knee. One is a chocolate brown, the other has a really aged look to it. Although they are brown, I would say that they would blend better with a soft autumn group of clothing than a true autumn.

 

I have two casual knit shirts I picked up last week, but I got the wrong size so I need to exchange them. They are a bit longer, so I could wear those with leggings.

 

I am slowly building up my wardrobe, but I'm happy that a group of knit sweaters that I have can work with the limited bottoms I have at the moment.

 

Here is something a bit different. This is a sweater jacket I found at Macy's last weekend. It's great for work, but it would be fantastic with jeans as well. I'm not sure I want to go this route, but you never know. This could be fun with a scarf and just booties. I have a pair with a low heel that won't bother me walking, especially if I choose to wear this for dinner.

 

 

Here are the booties:

 

 

And some scarf options:

 

 

And if I wanted something that seemed nicer, yet not dressed up...

 

 

The shirt in the middle is that wonderful brown I wore when I did the color test.

[laurspag]

I think most of you know by now that if a color isn't earth, I usually don't get attached and I bring it back. I only have a few exceptions in my closet.

 

I found an shirt I really liked a lot. It is likely air. I posted a link to it not too long ago. It doesn't have that blackish undertone or anything, but as much as I want it to be earth, it isn't. But I like the outfit. I feel like warm accessories will help, but there is only so much I can do because it's a stand alone type of shirt. Thoughts?

 

 

I tried to do a selfie with the outfit on. I think that Margaret could pull this off better than me, as a deep autumn.

[laurspag]

[laurspag]

Ignore the piles behind me. My husband has been cleaning out his dresser!

[aoknkentucky]

Laurie, how about a more autumn colored bottom--EARTH's warm khaki or next month when it cools off, an EARTH olive pair of corduroys? I have a long chain necklace with lots of shiny FIRE gold leaves hanging as charms. Do you have the equivalent in Earth bronze tones in your jewelry stash that would just lay in the spare space of your neckline. I'm thinking if you wear everything else in your most autumn-iest colors it might work, but I'm not there to see it in real life. Would the shirt look bad with EARTH near it?

[awhfy]

Laurie I really like the last two scarves with that creamy top (great outfit!). How would the booties look with the leggings? They'd not be as warm as boots with the leggings. I also like the Merlot top in the last picture for a casual look, it looks warm to me. Melody

[aoknkentucky]

Congratulations on the weight loss, Laurie. Wowsers, sister! You are looking GOOD!

[Anita Latte]

DH is hogging my laptop as we sit here watching the US Open and staying awake to pick DS up at sometime between 1 and 2 am from performing at the very far away game tonight. So this is awkward to type on my Kindle!

 

I do not own a silky tee or tank. I have been struggling a bit with this skirt and I feel so happy to have finally hit on what I think goes well with it! Such a shirt is now on a sort of on going want list.

 

The fit of the one shirt that I pictured is different than the hanger. It looks like you are wearing two shirts. The between the V part is closer to the body so the necklace hangs in some space and you get a hint of the narrower rib cage under the bust with the shirt looking like an over layer to form that V.

 

Mom caught a concept from a blog of something being bossy. Whether it's a flooring, a paint color, an article of clothing...some things don't play nice and dictate rather than coordinate. This lace skirt has turned out to be way more bossy than I anticipated. I think I have texture issues and care more about th pairing from that stand point...that's what Mom thinks.

 

So I'm excited to finally find a concept of what to pair with bossy skirt.

 

Laurie, love the last scarf with the khaki/tan sweater. Like the far right scarf in the lay out picture.

 

I think that shirt might tend toward deep more then warm but I still like it. I've had jeans do that kind of loose gathered thing at my ankles too. I think your look would be elevated if your jeans didn't do that.

 

I second Debbie...you look so good Laurie!

 

Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk 2

[CrossBluePerchance]

Here is something a bit different. This is a sweater jacket I found at Macy's last weekend. It's great for work, but it would be fantastic with jeans as well. I'm not sure I want to go this route, but you never know. This could be fun with a scarf and just booties. I have a pair with a low heel that won't bother me walking, especially if I choose to wear this for dinner.

 

 

Love the jacket! Your scarves are very pretty.

[lah66]

Good morning, wonderful ladies!

 

It was fun catching up with you this morning! You all have such wonderful banter back and forth, encouraging each other and "shopping" together! I can see how that will be so helpful to me when we finally figure out what colors I am supposed to be wearing! Can I say with all of Lauries photos, that I may actually start liking earth colors more and can see me wearing them!

 

Life is settling down for us! We brought Brooke to college a week ago Thursday and had a wonderful day moving her in! She was so much smarter in her packing this year and it made for an easy move. Last year it was 94 degrees for her move, this year 73! That alone was wonderful. Last year I was so nervous about her relationship with her roommate and how she would acclimate. We had none of that worry this year and her and Liz were so happy to be together again! Life is so good, even when your kids leave, when you know they are happy and doing exactly what they need to be doing!

 

Ryan is flying to Scotland on Thursday. His Visa came through just fine with the expedited service. It was expensive but worth it! We originally thought he would fly out yesterday since International orientation starts this Monday, but he was unable to get into his dorm early. It is a graduate dorm and those students are still in classes now. Hotels were all booked and we found a few rooms for rent in people's homes but 6 nights were going to cost over $1000! He decided to skip orientation knowing that classes do not officially start until the 22nd and he will arrive on the 11th. He will have plenty of time to settle in. I found an online store that ships right to his dorm room so I was able to buy bedding, a fan, hairdryer, toaster, dishes, laundry baskets, pots and pans etc without him having to go out and buy it and figure out how to get it back to his room. He knows a few people in Glasgow and has one picking him up at the airport, taking him to lunch and grocery shopping then bringing him to his dorm. How nice! He is going to have so much fun and will study hard too! Cannot wait to learn his graduation date so we can start planning our Scotland adventure! He is having a pool party with friends today, so it will be a fun day! I am making myself not even think about Thursday quite yet!

 

My two best friends and I are trying to plan a three day trip up north the beginning of October. Love to see all the leaves, we do some shopping, walking around the quaint little towns, eat at great restaurants and drink some wine back at the hotel! So relaxing!! DH and I cruise in 46ish days. We have our favorite aft balcony which was a bit of a splurge for us since we are celebrating 25 years! Cannot wait for our Bermuda and San Juan port stops! It will be a very relaxing 10 days!

 

Every time I think about taking pics in my Fire/earth shirts, it is cloudy and dark! Today is too. But, my goal this 3 day weekend is to get it done! I really need to buy a few new things and it will be nice to know which direction to go, color wise!

 

Have a great three day weekend!

Lauri

[Sailor_Sally]

Laurie , Love the sweater jacket with the jeans . That is a great outfit !

[ChollaChick]

Lauri - looks like you will be disembarking on the day we board for Liberty. We sail out on November 1st. We are celebrating our 21st anniversary on the cruise as well.

 

Laurie - Oh how I love that cranberry colored top. That top is amazing and you look fabulous in it. You truly look amazing. Congratulations on all the hard work.

 

I was checking out the Vivienne Files over the past couple of days, and while I am definitely in the minority here, I absolutely loved the burgundy/black combination she did. I can totally see me packing that kind of color combination. I was actually trying to think of whether I had enough of a burgundy color to make that work. I don't think I do... but I am still thinking I can make her ideas work for my upcoming cruise. I recently bought an amazing black/burgundy plaid dress that I can't wait to wear on the trip. I am planning to pair it with black tights, black boots and a black pashmina. I am so excited for it. It's so me that I could hardly stand it when I saw it. It practically screamed "Barbara!!! Buy Me!!!" So I obliged. :)

 

My work schedule is changing (for the better, I hope). Now I am working a modified afternoon schedule instead of overnights. It will be a bit of a challenge to get used to it, but hoping it will help with my lack of sleep.

[awhfy]

I know this isn't in one drive, still can't get it to work correctly on my iPad. This was taken yesterday at the balloon festival. My Athleta hoodie (in Jasper Green) with a coral tank (peeking thru). It was very early in the morning...Melody

[lah66]

Finally...here are my four pics in the earth/fire tops. The greenish-bluish top photographed very different from the true color~ Hmmm... Still just as confused as to what season I am...

 

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Hope everybody is enjoying their 3 day weekend. Today and tomorrow are going to be 88 degrees..perfect pool weather.

Lauri

[awhfy]

Here's a different shot from yesterday. All the different colors

[Anita Latte]

Hey Lauri,

 

I'm trying to limit my time on the computer these days...so I'm not doing some of the things that I did before with all the pictures...

 

Because I know all four of those tops...and because I have seen the effect of them on myself...after looking at your photos, I can say with some confidence that you are an Earth.

 

I would also go so far as to say to you that the reason none of these tops is giving you warm fuzzies is because you are like me, a SOFT Autumn and those two greens are not soft.

 

The one shirt photographed all whited out like that because of the shine of the fabric. It does that.

 

Both greens do a very job of blending your skin...compared to the Fire orange especially, the greens really help to camouflage the discoloration around your eyes...(I hope you can get some good sleep now that your kids are sorted!).

 

And you are undoubtedly the focus of the photo in the greens...whereas the orange and the blue definitely detract from YOU and stand out, not blend into your appearance.

 

Now...because of what I see in the blue...and because the very saturated greens seem a bit drab on you...I would recommend that you check out the Soft Autumn palette.

 

My guess is that the purple sweater previously photographed is more Soft Autumn. I really find these palettes helpful:

 

http://inventyourimage.com/2014/07/17/our-new-and-improved-color-analysis-pages-are-ready/#!prettyPhoto

 

What it means to be a Soft Autumn.

 

It means that you can tolerate a touch of coolness in your colors. It means that you look absolutely BEST in the most muted colors. The SOFTEST colors. The colors that resemble the thought of watercolor paintings.

 

It means that you can also wear some silver jewelry in addition to golden jewelry...but if you are like me, then something that is more pewter-like and less "super shine" in the silver tones work best.

 

It means that actually, the deep oranges and yellows aren't that wonderful because a touch of coolness in the color actually looks best. So coral will be better than rust. Tan/Beige will be better than yellow. It means that all the greens that have a touch of that gray to them? are really good. It means that we have an easier time with some of the blues/greens than Laurie!

 

And it means that gray doesn't look that bad...and at times, will seem to look better than many browns.

 

Without all the proper photos, etc., it's hard to walk you forward to see all these opinions of mine. But hopefully, what I'm writing is making some sense to you.

 

Check out the Soft Autumn palette...the Soft Summer palette next to it in that link offers your best cheats. Most of those colors will also look good, but just might require a hint more help in the cosmetics department to smooth out some yellow/red skin tone transition around the eyes.

[ChollaChick]

You look great, Melody!!! Looks like you also had a lot of fun.

 

Lauri - I'm not exactly an expert on this (I'm still struggling on whether I am Ice or Fire truthfully) but here is what I see. The second picture is the one that stands out the most for me. I'm not sure exactly what it is in that shirt but to me, it is the one that looks the most like your color. The bright blue and orange shirt looks like it's wearing you. Those colors are the first things that I see and I almost have to peel my eyes off of the shirts to see your pretty face. The first shirt (the green tank top) is actually pretty good too. I like it but for some reason that second shirt just really pops for me. Your skin looks good, it looks like it is an accessory to your beauty and not the focus of it. If that makes any sense. As I said, I'm not the expert here. I will defer to Anita and the others for that. But my opinion is number 2 is the best.

[lah66]

Funny...I have been bookmarking a lot of soft autumn websites and really love the colors. Soft autumn makes so much sense. I never liked the drab greens, oranges or yellows on me and were concerned that they were my colors despite my feelings about them! But corals, blues, greens and purples..oh yeah! I love this outcome! You are right, those bright colors are wearing me! So you guys are stuck with me on this forum!

 

Anita, thank you for taking so much time out of your life to do this analysis! And do not apologize for not posting more! I know how band season can be!! I feel I have the knowledge to go forward and buy some new clothing in soft autumn colors! I have always loved both silver and gold jewelry, so that part makes sense too! My dark circles around my eyes have been with me since day 1! Heredity!! I have learned over the years how to disguise them well, likewise my uneven skin tones from too much sun, hormones, getting old! This girl never goes anywhere without her face on! So, thank you so much for all you have done for me and this board! I will definitely be more confident in planning my new wardrobe!

 

Chollachick, have a wonderful cruise on Liberty! We are so excited! Is your cruise a repositioning one? I vaguely remember her going to Texas after our cruise? Might be a different ship..they all run together! Anyways, we will take good care of her! Fingers crossed that we both have wonderful weather!

 

Thanks for all your advice, ladies! I will take down these pics in a few days.

Lauri

[lah66]

Have any of you purchased color fans that you are happy with? I think that would really help me in the beginning. They seem quite expensive, which I don't mind as long as they are good quality!

 

Laurie, you look wonderful! Your jeans look so tiny hanging there! You encourage me to keep going! How much have you lost? I love the burgundy shirt and the rusty sweater jacket.

 

Lauri

[awhfy]

Too funny. First Lauri then Barbara then me on Lady Liberty. If we'd have known we could've arranged dates better. Lauri on last out of NJ, Barbara on the repo & me on the first cruise out of Galveston. What cabins are you in? We're in our first aft, 7710. Melody

Edited September 6, 2015 by awhfy

[lah66]

Too funny. First Lauri then Barbara then me on Lady Liberty. If we'd have known we could've arranged dates better. Lauri on last out of NJ, Barbara on the repo & me on the first cruise out of Galveston. What cabins are you in? We're in our first aft, 7710. Melody

 

Oh that is funny! We are also aft, 1700. We have had the equivalent room on Adventure and fell in love with that room. The room is jr suite sized (but no tub) and the balcony is really big...not as big as your next door cabin 7708, I think. Our friends had that cabin and the room is regular sized but the balcony is MASSIVE! Like you could put 20 people out there.

 

Barbara, where do you stop on the repo? And Melody, are you east or west Caribbean out of Galveston?

 

How fun!

Lauri