All things EARTH...

[MJC]

Spring break ends tomorrow, and even with the two holidays I was able to fit in some much-needed shopping. I took care of the boring stuff first -- new jeans, black knit pants for work -- and still had time for some fun stuff too. I did have a short list in my head to follow, which gave me some focus. So, with the current fashion trends in mind, here's what I got!

 

COLORED JEANS -- I had these red capris two sizes ago and loved them, so I replaced them, plus I was keeping my eye out for things to go with. I like this ivory & gold top because I can wear it under my gold jacket to work as well (and probably with many other things I have already):

 

 

red jeans from Coldwater Creek, top from a.n.a. JC Penney

 

CORAL -- so much coral in the stores! How fun. One of my favorite coral tops will probably be done soon, so I was trolling for a replacement:

 

 

coral top Breckenridge from Younkers, tan pants Alfani from Macy's

 

SCARF PRINTS -- I love these! But so many are too bright. This was my compromise:

 

 

August Silk from TJ Maxx

 

PATTERNED JEANS -- again, so many brights. I was happy to find these neutrals, and the orange tank to go with:

 

 

tan jeans Miracle Body at Lord & Taylor, top Croft & Barrow from Kohl's

 

MY SPLURGE -- I fell in love with these orange pants once I thought about how great they'd look with my tan platform pumps. I thought a bit about what to wear on top, thinking they'd need a solid color. I think this navy T will be a nice alternative to a safer tan shirt I have already but can also use:

 

 

pants Jones NY Jeans from Lord & Taylor, top Liz Claiborne JC Penney

 

BTW, that t shirt is cut just beautifully, with interesting seaming for detail and a lovely drape. Not just your run of the mill t shirt. I would wear it to work even.

 

PYTHON -- just a taste of it, with a little bling, how can I resist? Dug out of the sale bin at Nordstrom's:

 

 

So, those are my spring/summer purchases. I was proud of myself for being focused and filling holes in my wardrobe instead of making new ones. I'm trying to eliminate those orphans.

 

Anita, I can't wait to see pictures of your hair! Photos, photos, photos please.

[laurspag]

Wow, I've been busy this past week. I will start with you, Anita....

 

I think you can pull off that hairstyle completely! I am at a crossroads with my hair, I have no idea what to do with it. I know my hair will grow the same whether long or short, so I need a style that can live with the fact that I'm not that good about getting a trim every 6 weeks. 8 weeks is probably more like it. I wish my hair had a certain amount of body to it, so that I could wear a style like you've chosen to wear. I have silky hair that tends to go flat and flyaway. I'm very unhappy with it at the moment.

 

I'm also unhappy with the needing to color it, but not for the obvious reasons. When we remodeled our bath, everything is white, just about. No matter how I try, I'm always managing to drip somewhere! I feel like I need to put a painting drop cloth down over the whole bathroom, lol. I guess I'm being cheap for not wanting to have it done, but it just seems like there are so many other areas that warrant my financial attention. I have a daughter in college, and we actually help both of our daughters with their car insurance since one is in school and the other only works part time. Then there is the house, and of course....vacation!

 

It sounds like you have some fun things planned. I look forward to seeing your haircut and hearing about Disney.

 

I am already itching for some sort of vacation even though I cruised in February. I'm covering someone else's job at work this week, and part of the week, my assistant will be gone so it will be like doing 3 jobs at once. I like the challenge though.

 

My nails are a mess too. I broke 3 nails two days before my vacation, and decided on acrylic nails. The damaged nails are about half grown out now. The grind down your nails and use glue, etc. I had a much quicker recovery with the gel polish!!

 

I am hoping to do a bit of shopping this weekend. There is a lot of springy colors in the stores, but the selection was pretty limited the last time I was out. I am hoping there is more this time to choose from.

[laurspag]

Margaret, I love seeing pictures of clothes. I'm a big fan of taking pictures, as you know!

 

Your first outfit : the red capris and ivory and gold shirt - I love the red! It appears to be a really nice brick like red on my computer monitor. I love the shirt too. I love things that can do double duty for work and other things.

 

The coral shirt and tan pants work for me too. I need a deeper neckline though, I think. Don't you just love the lace that it is out?

 

I'm liking the scarf print, but it seems a bit cool in color to me. I saw a really nice dress in Dressbarn that is scarf print and it borders between fire and earth. The style isn't a good one for me, but i was thinking of trying it on to be sure.

 

I love the orange tank. It looks like a nicer fabric, so that would work great for both work and outside of work.

 

I admit to wearing navy myself, because the only suit I could find to fit right the last time I was looking was available in black or navy. There was no way I was buying anything with black, so I went with navy and I make every effort to wear a very warm top and gold jewelry near the neckline. I do think that depending on how dark it is, it can look decent on us earth girls.

 

Have any of you seen any trouser style pants or jeans that aren't overly wide lately? Me and skinny jeans do not get along, under any any circumstances. I have some wider leg pants that work, and I have some bootcut jeans. I am seeing a lot of slimmer styles in pants for work, but I can't seem to get them to fit right. they don't look good at all.

 

And I definitely need shorts. Of course, it's about 33 here today so I don't need them yet. I am so tired of winter!

[MJC]

Laurie, JC Penney has a Liz Claiborne pant called the Audra that is very nice for work. It's cut like a suit pant, not too skinny, not too baggy.

 

In pulling some old smaller clothes out to wear, one of the problems I'm having is that they're just out of date. So, even though I think I have plenty of clothes, some of them just aren't going to cut it. More editing is needed, again.

[Anita Latte]

Margaret...you had some fun shopping! I think you got some very fun and versatile things...things that have color but can be like a neutral all the same. Like those red jeans. Those are AWESOME! I had a pair of red shoes once that I thought I wouldn't wear that often, but I ended up wearing them all the time because they went with so much...it's the way you put an outfit together that makes a difference.

 

So my hair...it wasn't quite long enough to do what I wanted yet. So I have a kind of in-between hair cut. It's a good cut and I'm happy with it, but it's not what I really want, KWIM? I like taking a relaxing bath in the evening and when I go to bed with my damp hair, I especially wake up with crazy do's...which is a bit annoying...my hair is just so short that it won't lay flat. Ah well...I think that the cut with grow out into the style I want. I predict that it will take 4 weeks to really get the length where I want it. But the good news is that it should grow out right.

 

We leave tomorrow for Orlando. We are going to a museum tomorrow afternoon/evening. Magic Kingdom on Sunday. Downtown Disney on Monday and then drive home Monday afternoon. It's amazing how prepared I am to leave tomorrow. The house is mostly clean. Just the kitchen to deal with. And by clean, I mean that I CLEANED the bathrooms and vacuumed, etc...not just picked up. This is HUGE for me.

 

I'm finishing laundry and then packing. I'm not especially thrilled with my wardrobe choices because I'm having clothes issues from regaining weight. I had to make some purchases so that I could have some shorts that would fit. *sigh* Anyway...I'm trying to stay positive and just try to get after it again. It's just been a difficult time for me. Yesterday, we could no longer put off getting GA tags on our cars...I was bawling as I called my Mom to talk to me because I was so upset to have to replace my TX tags...which sounds ridiculous, but I was so hopeful that we would just boomerang back to TX, somehow.

 

My plans for the rest of this evening is to finish the laundry...pack a few things (we aren't going to be gone long) and MOST Important...paint my toes! because I'll be wearing sandals for sure...and I NEED pretty toes! :cool: I'm going with the teal blue color that I loved so much before. The hands are in too bad a shape. Not dealing with them. Just the toes.

 

Have a great weekend everyone!

[MJC]

Anita, I did have fun shopping! For the first time in a very, very long time. I hope you had a lot of fun at Disney. Can't wait to see a photo of your haircut.

 

You are right, Laurie, about the scarf print shirt. I wish it didn't have so much white. But, it is one of those trendy things that I will wear until fall and then it will go away. Fun for now, but not a staple. I'd still like to find a color-block dress, but so far the colors are all wrong. This is the closest I've seen to EARTH, but out of my budget for such a trendy piece:

 

 

This is my last Monday off, tomorrow I start my full semester schedule. My boss is out on maternity leave, so it's just me and my volunteer team plus 60 or so students every day. I am going to have to will myself not to be sick this semester. :) Plus I just found out that they forgot to book one of my classrooms, so we are trying to figure out what to do with 70 people in a room designed for 30. :eek:

[MJC]

You know when I fly, I like to look at fashion mags. So, here are my picks for this month!

 

First, two gorgeous Vera Wang dresses:

 

 

I don't think this is EARTH, but I love the blue and orange together:

 

 

This is something I would have loved when I was younger:

 

 

Love, love, love this skirt:

 

 

I don't know why Akris chooses to make all their models look so sickly.

[MJC]

Round Two

 

Just like my bridesmaids' dresses!

 

 

I don't have this store near me, but it looks like a color worth investigating:

 

 

Another scarf print:

 

 

Love this, but I don't think I'm brave enough to wear all one color:

 

 

Saw this bag, and it reminded me it's time for my gold bag and shoes to come out and play for spring!

 

[MJC]

 

 

 

 

[MJC]

How cute is this bathing suit?

 

http://www.coldwatercreek.com/product-detail/65348/72214/profile-by-gottex-kenya-one-piece.aspx?colorid=994&refLink=misses-swim.aspx

[Anita Latte]

VERY cute! Nicer than cute even. I love the deep back with the strap across the top to keep the shoulder straps in place. This is a great suit! It needs to go on sale!

[laurspag]

Margaret, I just love the gold lace dress. The tone is so perfect for us, as it's an antique gold, and it's muted. Boy, I would love a dress that color!

 

When I take the time to look, there are usually some good color choices for us out there. The catch is, they may be expensive, or not available in a store around here, etc. I have not had a moment to myself in quite a while, so I really look forward to doing a little shopping.

 

I was returning a mail order item to Macy's, and I found a few cute things on the way out a few weeks back. They aren't extraordinary, but they are nice basics. There was short in a muted pale yellow, a pair of shorts in a beige tone that is not quite cool, but not quite warm either. Then I found a denim skirt that I thought was nice. All items were on sale at fantastic prices. When I got to the checkout, they asked if I had my coupon with me, and I had forgotten it, unfortunately. The nice sales clerk gave me the 20% off anyway, so the prices were fantastic!

 

I love those bracelets you posted a picture of. I too would love to find some color block items for us!

[MJC]

Sales, don't you love sales? It sounds like you had a fun and successful shopping day.

 

I had a very busy work week, I was lucky to be dressed at all. Twice I forgot my rings, and once I forgot my phone. I lost my drivers license, no idea how. I didn't get to the gym even once. I love my job, but I hate weeks like this.

 

I haven't visited the Vivienne Files in a while; I lost interest for a bit, wasn't liking the colors she was choosing. But there is a beautiful khaki and coral wardrobe this week. Coral Keds! Who knew.

 

My hairdresser friend picked up some nail polish for me at the international hair show this week, so after I do my pedicure this weekend you'll get to see the awesome color she picked for me!

[MJC]

Here it is, a dark muted teal! Essie: School of Hard Rocks

[MJC]

I'm going to London for my birthday! :D:D:D

 

Well, technically not my birthday, but just after for a few days around Memorial Day weekend. Yippee!

[Anita Latte]

WOW!!! Yippee is right! So excited for you!

[laurspag]

My daughter has been accepted to a summer abroad program at her college. She will be in Strasburg, Berlin and Worclaw. Sorry about any typos on those names! It's going to be such a wonderful experience for her.

 

My husband and I were really hoping to go on another trip this year, maybe the fall. We are trying to rotate land trips and cruises. What makes this hard as that we have a tight budget most of the time. As much as I try, it can be hard to find things that are more economical than cruising.

 

What I am hoping for right now is maybe a 3-4 day trip to NYC. We have enough points with JetBlue that we can likely travel round trip for about $40.00 total. Now, we could drive....it's about 4 1/2 from us. But then you have the whole parking dilemma and the cost to park at these hotels...only to not really be able to get around well by car anyway. We'd end up on the subway or something.

 

There are other places we can fly to very cheaply, which is great to see. However, if we rent a car, then our costs go up. We really aren't too sure what to do now.

 

Margaret, going to London sounds incredible! How long will you be there???

 

I can't wait to see pictures, that is going to be such a wonderful trip.

 

I took a much needed vacation day tomorrow. I plan to do some serious shopping with my daughter. By serious, I mean I want to take my time and really search out some good items. I did find some fantastic things in Macy's not too long ago, so I have a few things for summer. I'm really needing some shorts to replace the baggy ones from the cruise. The seaming on those make it a total mess for me to tailor. I'd rather not have that aggravation.

 

On another note, my daughter has been looking around for a formal night dress for our cruise in May of 2014. We were in Penneys for a moment, and she just had to try this dress on:

 

http://www.jcpenney.com/dotcom/women/shop-clothing/dresses/evening-cocktail-dress/pearl-by-georgina-of-marchesa-strapless-tiered-pri/prod.jump?ppId=pp5002480316&sisearchengine=182&siproduct=Shopping&cm_mmc=ShoppingFeed-_-Shopping-_-Women-_-WomensPearlbyGeorginaofMarchesaStraplessTieredPri&srccode=cii_13736960&cpncode=31-127201542-2

 

She is a fire, so this dress would have been perfect in a more of a peachy tone than the pink, but the base color is a wonderful, warm, ivory. And, it looks just stunning on her.

[MJC]

Laurie, you are right about flying vs. driving to NYC. You can spend $40 a day just parking in midtown. It is now $13 to cross the George Washington Bridge. If you park in NJ and take the bus into the city, that's $14 each just for the bus tickets. They have purposely made it very difficult and expensive to bring a car into Manhattan.

 

Did your daughter buy that dress? It's so pretty. Very youthful but elegant at the same time. Did you find anything? We need an update!

 

I love this retro-style bathing suit in Brick:

 

http://www.onehanesplace.com/outlet/swim/one-piece/-23873--1?cm_vc=PDPZ1

 

 

London - yes, I'm very excited! I'm looking at hotels, and it's a bit mind-boggling. It appears we will have to book a "deluxe" room to get anything bigger than a double bed, and I wasn't expecting that part of it to be so expensive. I mean, I know what rates in NY are, so it shouldn't be a total shock, but still... hard to bite that bullet, you know?

 

We only have four days, so I have to plan ahead. So far the things we want to see are: the National Gallery, the David Bowie exhibit at the V&A, the British Museum (we just finished listening to their wonderful podcast called A History of the World in 100 Objects), Parliament, and the Churchill Rooms. Maybe a ride on the Eye and a play if I can find decent tickets at this late date. A walk in Hyde Park would be lovely. Four days is not enough!

[Member123]

Margaret,

 

When were in London, we had such a difficult time with hotels so I understand the research frustration.

 

We stayed at a hotel in the Park Plaza chain.

I don't know if they have the type of accommodations you need.

http://www.parkplaza.com/destinations/displayGuide.do?destination=LONDON::GB#maphotels/hotel/

Or amenities.... but we would stay in this hotel chain again, no question. The hotel was quite modern in its decorations, but so nice, clean, quiet. I wish I could remember the exact location of the one we stayed...I think it was the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge, London... because I looked at the pictures and I remember the coffee shop. I wish I could remember the exact configuration of the room, but all I do remember was being really comfortable.

 

AND, the other memory that I have is that I got really, really thirsty during the night. So, I decided that I didn't care what the price was; I truly needed a cold drink of water. So I opened up the mini-bar frig and, OMG, everything (and I mean everything!) rolled out onto the floor. I stuffed the items back into the frig... checking out the next morning, I had a $450 mini-frig bill. The receptionist said she didn't think the mini-frig even held that much; every time that I moved an item in the frig, it had registered that movement and created a charge. All it took was an explanation and all the charges were removed.

 

We had a great hamburger (I know!) in the bar on our arrival. We did a stupid thing and walked from Waterloo Station to the hotel; it looked so much easier on the map than IRL. But I got my stubborn on and just wanted to continue with the walking since we were halfway there before it became apparent what a bad idea I'd had. So, I couldn't let it become a truly bad idea by also paying $$$. So, wow, stubborn is as stubborn does. And, the kicker is that the cabbies in London aren't really all that pricey.

 

My memory is that we came into London from Paris that day, on EuroStar. We walked to the Park Plaza Hotel, and ate in the bar because we were starving and we were at a "between times" time of the day. The next morning we had an included breakfast which was a buffet type of breakfast, nothing too special but rather filling. The coffee bar was GOOD. Checked out of the hotel, and I don't have a memory of how we got to the bus station, but got a transfer with Royal Caribbean to get from London to Harwich. This was the beginning of our fabulous cruise on Jewel of the Seas, after our very first trip to Europe! We got a taste of travel then, and got thoroughly hooked.

 

We stayed at the Sheraton Park Tower Hotel, for three days before we went to Paris. I would not recommend that particular hotel or location. We were close to Hyde Park, Harrod's, Buckingham Palace, etc., but the staff was discourteous and sometimes downright rude. Pricey. Not a value for the money.

 

Our experience in London was that the Tube made everything accessible. It is so easy to get around, and you really don't spend that much time in travel. The worst thing was remembering to look the right way (which is left) for traffic crossings... even though they have the arrows pointed on the street! Walking could be a hazard just because of habits that are formed with traffic going in a different direction for safety, etc. By comparison to the NYC subway system, the Tube is EZ.

[MJC]

Thank you so much for the hotel recommendation! That chain of hotels was not showing up on my usual searches because it was "full," so I went directly to their website and was able to book a room in the Victoria, which is wonderfully close to many of the things we'd like to see. I would have preferred the Westminster because of the fabulous views, but it was full.

 

One of the things that I have found very frustrating is that you cannot search for hotel rooms by bed size. DH is 6'3" so a double (full size) bed just will not do, unless I want to sleep on the floor!

 

I'm looking forward to taking the Tube! I need to save my walking for the sights since we're doing so many museums. I just booked tickets to A Midsummer Nights' Dream at the New Globe Theatre -- how fun is that?

[Member123]

Margaret,

You are such a helpful person; I'm so happy that I could help you! I hope the experience at the hotel is wonderful. I wish I could help with the bed size; the bed sizes in Europe are amazingly frustrating. As it turns out, I found out (in Italy) that you had to request a "matrimonial bed" in order to get a larger size! How funny is that?!?

 

The Shakespeare Globe Theater looks fantastic! What a thrilling thing to do. I went to Her Majesty's Theater when I was in London with a group of ladies from a garden club; at the time, Phantom of the Opera had just opened and was taking the musical world by storm. When I entered the Theater, I thought "you've GOT to be kidding me!" OMG. The seats were so small that my knees were literally smashed into the seat in front of me; my butt barely managed to get into the width of the seat with my thighs smashed onto each other. It was so uncomfortable! And, THEN.... the first note... the music swelled... and I totally forgot about being uncomfortable... I was GONE from my body and just wrapped up. I'll never forget it! I still cry real tears while Phantom music plays. I was sobbing during that performance. OMG. Then, when we got back home... months later... I went to a luncheon with the same ladies and was sitting in a restaurant in San Francisco. All of a sudden, tears just started streaming down my face! I was startled; I remember asking one of the ladies "what is wrong with me?" She told me... good grief, the pianist is playing "Music of the Night." Wow. Music is a powerful memory trigger, isn't it?

 

When are you leaving?

 

Are you going to tour Buckingham Palace? The only tip that I can give you about that is that you can't make a U-turn, while you're on that tour. There is timed entry, so you have to enter within (I think) 15 minutes of the time stamp on your ticket; but, you don't have to stay with your group. You can walk as slowly as you want to through the tour; you just can't turn around and retrace your steps. We entered with our tour group, and we exited with the group that had entered 2 hours behind us! Loved seeing Buckingham Palace and all the special exhibits there at the time: you would love seeing the exhibit of the gowns that the Queen (and Diana) wore through the years at special events. Seeing all the jewels isn't half bad, either.

 

The tour of Westminster Abbey is spectacular and I would highly recommend that you pay for a guided tour; it was so wonderful. And the tour of Parliament was also amazing; I was astonished at how much I enjoyed that particular tour! Worth every precious vacation minute.

[laurspag]

London sounds so wonderful. Make the best of your time there, Margaret. Anita's mom, I bet you loved that trip! There are so many places I would love to travel to at some time.

 

Since I could drive to Bayonne, I'm getting excited about a future trip on Quantum of the Seas. That would be maybe 2015, since she sets sail in the fall of 2014. I really love Royal Caribbean, and I think the fact that the Oasis class and the new Quantum class are different is appealing. I love the idea of a different itinerary too.

[MJC]

Laurie, wow, that ship is crazy! I don't think I could go in that sky bubble thing. You know, even though we live here we've never cruised out of NYC, it kind of escapes my mind that we live in a port city.

 

Pam, every time the curtain goes up and the orchestra begins the overture, I get so excited! If I could I would go to a musical every week. I am completely transported in a theater in a way that doesn't happen anywhere else.

 

I wish we could visit Buckingham Palace, but since we are going at the end of this month the Queen will still be in residence when we are there. We were in London at least ten years ago, again for just 3 days or so, and we took the tour of Hampton Court, which I highly recommend also. The gardens there are amazing.

 

I've been fortunate to be able to tag along with my husband on some of his business travel, and that's how I went to London the first time. The trips are usually only for 3 or 4 days, but it's still a lot of fun. Now that I'm tied to the school calendar it doesn't happen so much. What I miss most is going to Scottsdale, AZ for 5 days every February (they moved the conference to Vegas several years ago).

[MJC]

I continue to find it interesting this spring that there are so many lovely EARTH colors available. It’s not what I expected to see. Here are my favorites from April.

 

I like this taupe color with the red skirt:

 

Yes, an elegant brown sweater! So hard to find, from NYDJ:

[/url"]http://i1093.photobucket.com/albums/i438/Marjaline/Fashion%202013/April/NYDJ.jpg[/img][/url]

 

The proportions of this suit are all wrong for me, but I love it:

[/url"]http://i1093.photobucket.com/albums/i438/Marjaline/Fashion%202013/April/suit.jpg[/img][/url]

 

I find this photo so compelling because I would never think to put these colors together like this:

[/url"]http://i1093.photobucket.com/albums/i438/Marjaline/Fashion%202013/April/colormix.jpg[/img][/url]

[MJC]

Jungle inspired – lots of brown:

http://i1093.photobucket.com/albums/i438/Marjaline/Fashion%202013/April/jungle.jpg[/img][/url]

 

I think this is where I got the idea for a navy top to go with my orange jeans:

[/img][/url"]http://i1093.photobucket.com/albums/i438/Marjaline/Fashion%202013/April/navyprint.jpg[/img][/url]

 

A nice, simple look with lace:

[/img][/url"]http://i1093.photobucket.com/albums/i438/Marjaline/Fashion%202013/April/laceT.jpg[/img][/url]

 

A dress like this is not in my future, but I love the gold one on Emily Blunt:

.html"[/img][/url"]http://i1093.photobucket.com/albums/i438/Marjaline/Fashion%202013/April/cutaways.jpg[/img][/url]

Edited May 5, 2013 by MJC
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