All things EARTH...

[Member123]

@Margaret. Those shoes are great! I've never seen a hidden platform shoe and I think that is a great look. I think the platform shoes look... well... stupid.. and I know that they make all the difference between being able to walk in those high, high, sky high heels. But, when you see a woman walking towards you in those platform shoes, it frankly looks like she's off balance. HIDDEN PLATFORM, what a brilliant idea. So, tell me, does that mean that the difference between the heel height and the platform is 2-1/2" or does it remain a 3-1/2" difference? Back in the day, I wouldn't have hesitated at the 3-1/2", but I just can't put my hips through that anymore. But, 2-1/2"... I can go for that! Please, let me know.

 

@Laurie. Thank you for sharing! Laurie, that brown dress formal picture outfit is so, so sophisticated! I love that you polished your nails an exact color that brings out the beads in your necklace. I love the shine of the belt against the dress fabric; it's such an elegant touch. Beautiful.

 

What I would say about the formal portrait in the red dress is that it's all about the POSE. Your body angle to the camera is better in the picture taken in the stateroom; when you stand face on toward a camera lens, it's going to add bulk to the picture.

 

Another thought: Blue Lizard sunscreen. I went all through some very intense days of sun exposure and neither of us (DH included) got the least bit pink. It's fabulous stuff and just soaks right into your skin. An Australian product. They know about sun exposure, for sure. I got a Sport version and one for the FACE, just because I'm sensitive to potential clogging of pores; I'm not sure that I needed to do that though. Anyway, FYI.

 

Senor Frogs. I know. Right? But you look calm, cool, and collected there! :D

[Anita Latte]

Since Mom starting talking about it...I wanted to share more thoughts on posing for photos. I think I have said before that watching America's Next Top Model is something of a guilty pleasure of mine...and one thing that I have picked up from watching the show is the importance of our NECK in a photo. If a model is not stretching out that neck and clearly showing it...if it looks too much like a head on a body without enough neck...Tyra Banks always goes off into something of a lecture about the no neck photo.

 

In the most constructive way...I offer to us all the following information:

 

1. If you place your hand on your hip to help have that space...don't let that arm's shoulders raise up.

 

2. Don't stand up perfectly straight. Find an angle with your body so that you visually change dimension at the waist.

 

3. If you can...cross your feet so that your knees have the smallest width possible to create a visual hourglass with your hips. That combined with a slight lean at the waist will visually create a more pleasing hourglass in a 2-dimensional photo.

 

I went looking for a photo that would demonstrate these lessons learned from my trash tv...and I found this one:

 

 

Notice how her shoulders are on level...thus her neck is nice and also her girls are on level...her weight is solidly on the one flat foot and with the other foot raised...that foot's hip is lowered, creating that lovely angle at the waist and the small width at the knees that is helping to create a visual hourglass. Tyra always says that you have to know your angles...and this particular model has mastered hers.

 

Laurie, I have felt the same way as you when I look at photos of myself, which is one reason why I have been studying this...because I am tired of looking at myself IRL and thinking that I look like a lovely curvy girl only to feel like I look unattractive in the photos because my pose is lacking. It's really hard to translate real life into a photo...taking good pictures isn't that easy.

[laurspag]

Margaret, I love those shoes. The best part is that the toes are a bit squared off. That is so much more comfortable than pointy toes for me! I like the platform that is built in too. I had a pair, but my feet were a bit swollen at the time, and because I have a wide foot, I often buy a half size to a size bigger than have to put inserts in he heel. Once my feet were no longer swollen, they ended up huge! But I see that Bon Ton has them in a nude color again (same brand - Madden Girl) so I think I'm going to try them on again.

 

Mixing things up is so fun, isn't it?

 

My jewelry choices were decent for my outfit, but I was off a bit in that I forgot to pack my bracelets and rings! So, I felt I was half done and half undone, lol.

 

Anita, you are absolutely correct about posing. I tend to raise the shoulder which does look awkward. I think it's a bit subconscious thing in that I don't want to look frumpy. I got in the habit of doing that because shoulders tend to be big on me and I'm trying to offset that by bringing my shoulders up. I think that is part of the issue with the short dress even. The first time I posted a picture, I was more relaxed and didn't do that. In the picture from this cruise (not posted) and from the February cruise, I have some bloat but I look like the dress is tight, and it's loose. Your comments made me think about that, because the dress is not tight at all. Pull the shoulders up, try to stand up too straight, etc...you arch your back, pushing your middle out a bit. I do it with my legs too.

 

Anita's mom, I am going to look for that sunscreen. I had reddish face by the end of the cruise because the sunscreen was irritating. It passed quickly, but who wants that to begin with, right?

 

I learn so much from all of you, and I very much appreciate your feedback. I do love my formal dress, and I've never felt prettier.

[Member123]

Laurie, and everybody, I've found a new shopping site! drugstore dot com. It's where I purchased the Blue Lizard sunscreen. But, let me warn you! It's addictive because it is a sister site to beauty dot com. There are so many brands that I buy and you can travel back and forth between the two sites; shipping is reasonable as I believe that you can make a minimum order and get it for free. There is a shampoo that I use, for color-treated hair, that is only available here at salons... Yes! it's on either drugstore dot com or beauty dot com and it's so much less expensive (can't say cheaper) than salon pricing. So, go there and have some fun! I believe that the site is really backed by Walgreens, fyi. Anyway, the sunscreen was fantastic.

[cruzisme]

Welcome back-- loved seeing you in your gorgeous red dress-- very flattering!

And you have amazing necklaces-- wish we had a Sam Moon closer too.

[Joby]

Welcome back Laurie. Great looks too :)

 

Sunscreen--I use and really like Neutragena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch spf 100. It goes on really nicely and isn't greasy like many that I have tried. I am really fair skinned and it protects me. I don't know that the spf 100 is really necessary, I think most any over spf 30 are ok.

[MJC]

Laurie, thanks for posting all your photos. It was wonderful to see you in all your pretty clothes. You look fabulous in your dresses, and I enjoyed seeing the long red one after the alterations and the brown one on. Really, really nice choices, and you look so comfortable and elegant. I, too, looked at your brown sandals and went "oh, cute!"

 

I just have to say about posing: in my previous life I was videotaped and photographed a lot, and even when you kind of know what to do it still is hard to remember everything in the moment. I like Anita's photographic example, very helpful. I think you can also learn a lot from looking at red carpet photos, in terms of finding for yourself a handful of poses which do similar things to the body. Then just practice those a bit in front of a mirror. Eventually they will feel more natural, and even if you forget all but one, at least you have one that you know works for you.

 

For me, I hate 3/4 length photos. As I've said before, I'm a spoon so I lose a lot of my length if it's just a torso shot. I never look good in those.

 

@Pam: yes, the actual height of the shoe is more like 2 1/2, which is why they are so great because they look high but they're not! I love the pleated toe because my toes are very even in length, so pointy toes are very uncomfortable for me. I also think these make one's feet look a bit daintier. I am very vain about my feet. :)

[MJC]

Gosh, I'm so behind in my magazines! End of semester rush gets me behind in everything. But, here are a few tidbits:

 

 

I love pencil skirts! Some are in nice EARTH colors too:

 

 

Pantone colors notwithstanding, there are many different oranges this fall, and here are some great ideas for accessorizing:

 

 

 

 

The colors are all wrong, and the shoes are too high, but this to me is a classic big city casual day look, perfect for shopping and sightseeing:

 

 

 

Ok, I picked this one because I have a jacket like the one on the right that I never know how to wear. I've tried an ivory blouse: boring. A dark blouse: to much contrast. Hmmm... blue... interesting...:

 

[MJC]

I'm thinking about putting this on my Christmas list, it would be pretty for New Year's Eve:

 

http://www.coldwatercreek.com/product-detail/67512/74535/plum-floral-blouse.aspx?colorid=N20&refLink=search.aspx

[MJC]

:D:D:D I'm going on a Spring Break cruise! :D:D:D

[laurspag]

Hello everyone! Boy, it's been one hectic week. One thing about cruising close to a holiday, it takes time for you to get back to your normal routine quickly.

 

Thank you for the sunscreen options. I want and need to protection, but that was such a greasy feel that I wouldn't want to use it again unless I had no other options!

 

Margaret, I love that shirt. Very pretty! And a spring break cruise sounds fantastic!

 

It's funny, we made plans for the family cruise over 400 days ahead, and now we are in less than half that time period. It will be here before we know it.

 

Of course, there is Christmas coming up, and my younger daughter got accepted for an internship with the New York State Assembly in Albany. We've been scrambling to get her an apartment and work out the details, as she starts January 6th. Most places were quite expensive and required a lease, but she is only there for 5 months. The short term stay hotel type places were outrageously expensive. We lucked out, as one of the apartments we really liked had someone looking for the balance of their lease to be taken over - from January 1st until May 30th, just the time my daughter needed a place for!

 

Another lucky thing was that she stayed in a campus apartment for a year and a half at one point. This means she has a lot of basics for the apartment already, such as cookware and so forth. But, we still have a ton to do over the next month!

 

I'm really digressing, aren't I? We've had a lot of snow and cold weather here. It's made me wish I was back on a cruise ship!!! It was ten degrees this morning, but warmed up to 30 during the day. Brrrrrr....

[MJC]

Laurie, congrats to your daughter for the plum assignment! That sounds like an awesome opportunity for her. Although I bet winter in Albany is pretty harsh (but then look where you are already)!

 

I looked back at your pictures again and wanted to comment on how pretty your hair looks even in the casual photos. I especially like your formal look, because it is clearly "done" but also so natural and free looking. I think that's a fine trick to pull off, and I like the style a lot.

 

I only have four months to figure out what to wear on my cruise! How will I ever manage! My last trip was 1 1/2 years in the planning, so this seems positively reckless. :)

 

I don't know where all the catalogs in my mailbox come from, but this is new to me and an interesting catalog with a lot of EARTH colors. They aren't trendy or young, but there are some nice finds:

 

http://www.serengeticatalog.com/

 

I especially like this jacket:

 

http://www.serengeticatalog.com/itemdy00.aspx?T1=WB972%20BR%20S&ref=us

 

and this top:

 

http://www.serengeticatalog.com/itemdy00.aspx?T1=WB931%20MUL%20S&ref=us

 

and this top (though it may be more FIRE than EARTH):

 

http://www.serengeticatalog.com/itemdy00.aspx?T1=WB218%20TQ%20S&ref=us

 

and this cute watch:

 

http://www.serengeticatalog.com/itemdy00.aspx?T1=WB4428&ref=us

[Anita Latte]

Hey Margaret,

 

How fun that you are going on a Spring Break cruise!! So excited for you!! I found your roll call post because I was so curious as to when you were going :o. I saw you say that you were going to Belize and Roatan. We went there when we went on our spring break cruise out of Galveston. So fun. LOVED it. We cruise the week after you!

 

We will have such fun talking about our wardrobe plans! I have to get on the ball and get back into some of my clothes. The weather has been so cold here...I know ya'll are colder up north...Laurie! OMG that sounded SO COLD!! but I am looking forward already to the warmer weather of the cruise.

 

Mom and Dad are still here and we have been having a great visit. I'm trying to tell Mom that she needs to share these absolutely gorgeous photos. I agree that she didn't get great wardrobe shots...but the trip photos in general...wow, I want to go on that cruise! Beautiful area of the world!

 

I just wanted to post a quick hello. I got a new laptop and I'm very excited! And having fun with getting that set up...I had to sign on here, of course. ;):D

[MJC]

I can't help but buy a few things for myself when I'm out shopping for gifts. Here are a couple of my recent treats:

 

I bought these jeans at Penneys, and in spite of the black they go so well with so many of my tops! The teal and purple really dominate, so they are much more colorful than this photo shows:

 

http://www.jcpenney.com/women/jeans-/i-heart-ronson-plaid-skinny-jeans/prod.jump?ppId=pp5003162715

 

Did you know that Old Navy sells workout clothes? I never shop there for myself, so I had no clue. I bought this top in purple and teal:

http://oldnavy.gap.com/browse/product.do?pid=387760032&locale=en_US&kwid=1&sem=false&vid=1&sdReferer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.oldnavy.com%2Fproducts%2Fwomens-workout-tops.jsp#close

 

and this top in purple and teal, and though the purple isn't quite right for us, it's still better than black. I don't know why the teal isn't on the website, but they had all four colors in my local store:

 

http://oldnavy.gap.com/browse/product.do?pid=953554012&locale=en_US&kwid=1&sem=false&vid=1&sdReferer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.oldnavy.com%2Fproducts%2Fwomens-workout-tops.jsp#popup

 

They definitely had quite a few choices in teal and purple. Yay!

[MJC]

Hey Margaret,

 

How fun that you are going on a Spring Break cruise!! So excited for you!! I found your roll call post because I was so curious as to when you were going :o. I saw you say that you were going to Belize and Roatan. We went there when we went on our spring break cruise out of Galveston. So fun. LOVED it. We cruise the week after you!

 

I definitely want to pick your brain about these ports. Our roll call is so quiet, only four families at this point. The ship is very sparsely booked. So far, the plan is that Belize will be a snorkel only day, Roatan will be beach and snorkel, and Cozumel will be at the Nachi Cocum beach club. I am not a big shopper so we are really loading up on activities vs. time in town. Princess has Zumba so I'm hoping to do a class on each of our sea days.

 

We will have such fun talking about our wardrobe plans! I have to get on the ball and get back into some of my clothes. The weather has been so cold here...I know ya'll are colder up north...Laurie! OMG that sounded SO COLD!! but I am looking forward already to the warmer weather of the cruise.

 

60 degrees yesterday, 30 tomorrow, snow coming on Sunday. I am SO ready for some beach time! The fashion challenge I'm facing is that I have no formal wear. I think the biggest size in my storage closet is an 8, and that would be very nice to achieve by March but I can't count on it.

 

Mom and Dad are still here and we have been having a great visit. I'm trying to tell Mom that she needs to share these absolutely gorgeous photos. I agree that she didn't get great wardrobe shots...but the trip photos in general...wow, I want to go on that cruise! Beautiful area of the world!

 

I'm so jealous of your "mom time." You are so lucky to have her. Hi to Pam! We are waiting for your photos on the FIRE thread, nudge nudge. :)

 

 

I just wanted to post a quick hello. I got a new laptop and I'm very excited! And having fun with getting that set up...I had to sign on here, of course. ;):D

 

My latest tech adventure is converting DVDs to load on my tablet for the trip to Florida. I'm very proud of myself that it is going so well! Not bad for an arts major.

 

I leave for Florida a week from Sunday, and I have clothes all over the place in various stages of pre-packing, pre-laundry, and just general confusion. The combo of plane travel/road trip and 25 degrees/80 degrees is a bit overwhelming.

 

Anita, I'll email you later this week with an update. I hope you are still up for lunch on the 16th! OMG I have to figure out what to wear....

[Joby]

Just saying hi to everyone over here, FIRE thread is so quiet.

 

Pam NEEDS to post photos (ok, I NEED Pam to post photos:D ).

 

I always love your magazine posts, Margaret.

 

Margaret and Anita get to meet up???? What fun that will be! It was so much fun for Pam and me to meet 3 years ago! I was just looking at our southwest photos the other day. I love to relive our travels by looking through the photos again.

 

We have some snow here now, about 3" or so. It looks pretty now but, in a few days I will be ready to have it gone. I'm much more of a warm weather gal!

 

Anita, I still want to do the sewing project we have talked about. I'm just so lazy about things sometimes! No reason, just am :)

[MJC]

Where are all those FIRE ladies?

 

Anita, I posted some Texas questions on the pictodiary thread.

[laurspag]

Hello everyone! It seems like I'm on here every day at times, and then I get busy and so much happens while I'm away. This has been a busy thread.

 

Margaret, thank you for the compliments on my hair. I think I'm starting to get better with what to do with it. My hair is rather straight and silky. Although that is great for those who want to wear their hair in the longer, straighter styles, it's a real pain for me. I've been making small changes when I get it cut, and it seems to make a difference in my ability to style it.

 

Anita, I'd love to see your mom's trip pictures too!

 

My daughters and I were talking about booking some excursions very soon. Our cruise isn't until May, but we love planning and looking forward to it.

 

Belize and Roatan? Oh, that sounds wonderful. And Joby, you are welcome over here at any time! I love seeing all the posts on the fire thread too.

[Member123]

So, Anita told me that I was really, really not taking my responsibilities to heart by delaying in posting my pictures.

 

I thought that with the holidays in full swing that no one would be really interested in seeing those pictures. But, from the comments posted, I guess I was wrong and Anita was right... as always....

 

So, I'll take the time to put some pictures together and go to the other area and just post some pictures of the trip along with some outfits. We had a really lovely time (lovely is one of Anita's and my new favorite words!)... goes along with gobsmacked and blindered....

 

Trying to get my Christmas tree decorated! I'm so behind... really, really behind...

[Anita Latte]

blindered....

Blinkered!

 

 

Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk 2

[Member123]

Blinkered!

 

 

Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk 2

 

:D

 

Blinkered... brilliant :D

[MJC]

Anita, you have mail. :)

 

I was Christmas shopping Wednesday, and thought I'd run through L&T and look at formals, just curious. Everything was on sale already! Like, 1/2 off! I was shocked. No, I didn't buy, but I did love this (though I probably couldn't wear it):

 

http://www.lordandtaylor.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/en/lord-and-taylor/womens-apparel/wa-gowns-evening/beaded-lace-silk-gown

 

As I was shopping, I realized that if I want to have all my cruise clothes by the end of February, that's only two months away. OMG! I'll probably be shopping for a formal in January during all the post holiday sales.

 

Do you have an outfit from the past that you just loved, and wish you could wear again? For me it's this classic style silk suit that I wore for my sister's (afternoon) wedding way back in 2004 (pre-braces and -auburn hair). I'm working to fit in it again to maybe take on our cruise for second formal night. I'd ditch the pearls and wear something more evening appropriate. Do you think it's formal enough to go with DH in a tux?

[laurspag]

Margaret, don't you find cruise planning almost as much fun as the cruise? I know I do. I was really excited about our getaway cruise we took. It was nice to go through what I already had and choose my favorites. I ended up thrown off a lot when I got sick, but fortunately, I bounced back quick and didn't get too far off track. I noticed that I missed rings and bracelets, things like that. I also was concerned that a short cruise such as that would end up very informal and that I might stick out too much. All in all though, I'm learning to not care what others think. If I want to dress to the 9's on formal night, I'm certainly going to do that. And if my attire for casual night is dressier than what most people wear, that's okay too. I just try to draw the line and make sure it isn't too far over the top.

 

I love that dress at Lord and Taylor. Did you try it on? I isn't often we find our brown in evening wear. That is a stunning dress. I have issues with higher necklines, although I will wear them at times if I feel the rest of the look helps to make up for it. That is like the brown dress I wore on the cruise. It would have been better as a v neck, but overall, I thought the dress looked pretty good so I went with it.

 

I love that suit too. Is there a skirt or pants? What length? If there is a skirt, I think it would look nice on formal night. The only part I'm not sure of is your husband wearing a tux when you wear that outfit. Anita, what are your thoughts?

 

Pearls are always elegant and classic.

 

Now, I was looking online the other day and Dressbarn had 30% off online purchases with free shipping. I found a dress that was on clearance and I still got the 30% off. I would have to double check, but I think I got the dress around $20.00

 

When I have a moment, I will post a picture. It's a beautiful green lace, v neck, some stretch for the perfect fit. I think it is great from a style perspective. It shows some cleavage, but I think it will be okay. It depends on what I think when I see an actual picture. The most questionable thing is the color.

 

I will post a link, but in real life, the dress is kind of a bluish green. It isn't really an earth color, but it is a shade that I've always thought of as being flattering. I know that a gold tone or warm necklace will help a lot.

 

http://www.dressbarn.com/detail/scalloped-lace-dress/101566556/803

[Anita Latte]

Laurie, I think the color of that dress is very like the color of Margaret's sweater that she was wearing earlier today! It takes seeing it IRL to know for sure, but potentially, that's a great color. It looks fabulous on Margaret. :D

 

We had a lovely meet and greet today. (Lovely is my new word that I adopted from one of my Brit ladies). It's really fun to meet someone that you have been talking with and known virtually for several years! She was passing through with her parents on their drive to Florida, so we didn't have very long to sit and chat...a little over an hour. I'm so glad that it worked out for us to meet though! The time passed quickly...conversation was easy...I found myself wishing that we would have more time so that we could talk more and even more in depth than we were able to over lunch.

 

We did take some photos...but it will take some doing for me to retrieve mine. I do want to see Margaret's too because I am smiling funny in the one that I got. :rolleyes:

 

So everyone will just have to wait to see our lovely EARTHY selves and what we were wearing! I will say this...we looked FABULOUS!

 

I can say this...our lunch made me excited for the thought of being able to hang out for a longer period with everyone next summer. We need to get back on that topic...I know that the possibility of going may dependent on certain events for some...but for those that can go, we should get that conversation rolling again. I'm just that much more excited to meet everyone IRL!

[laurspag]

You know, we live in a small world. I was on one of the other threads prior to my February cruise, and then someone posted pictures after they got back...I immediately recognized this person and said, "didn't we go on that tour together?" Sure enough, it was her and she happened to take a group photo.

 

The fact that you were able to meet up with Margaret is just the neatest thing! With the way we chat on this thread, I would imagine it would be easy to strike up a conversation and keep it going. We have enough similarities, and enough differences, that we would keep a conversation going for a long time!

 

I can't wait to see pictures!

 

It is interesting how we change as we get older. I know, I'm completely digressing. But, there was a time when I wouldn't do this, wouldn't do that. For our May cruise with the girls, we are already planning on swimming with the stingrays, a dolphin excursion and (gasp!) ziplining. It's very freeing to let go of fear and just decide you are going to do something.