All Things EARTH... part 2

[laurspag]

Anita, I was certain I wouldn't like that idea. I decided to try it though. These are straight from the package so they don't lay well yet. The idea is growing on me for.sure.

 

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[Sailor_Sally]

Laurie ,I agree with Anita . I think leaving the curtains long brings symmetry to the room.

I am very similar to Margaret in when I get a room looking right to me it stays that way .My house is very personal to me and I like it cozy . I tend toward a casual look with some surprising twists ,

Margaret , Have you tried Lands End for fleece ? They are always having big sales .I can not wait to hear about your trip .

I have been really stockpiling summer clothes since I wear them most of the year .

We are going to Cuba Oct.15th . We arranged for a three hour tour of things we missed and then may go to the Revolution museum.

Fort Myers can be expensive in season but if you wait until season is over the prices will drop .Cape Coral is a really boring place to stay .It is not near a beach .I know the red sox play at the other spring training fields so maybe one of them would work out better . Have you ever looked at Anna Marie Island . It is a real beachy island off of Bradenton .It is close to several ball fields and there is a lot to do in the area .An easy trip from Tampa .

We are debating at either going to the Panama Canal . We have been there before but it was a long time ago or taking a repositioning cruise to Canada or one from Canada .

Melody , I hope you are having a ball .

[MJC]

Laurie, I agree with Anita too about leaving the curtains long. Have you thought about a skinny bookcase that would fit under the window and between the curtains to fill that space? If you had one built by a cabinet maker, they could carve the back to fit around the radiator so it would fit flush against the wall. If it were white it could look like an extension of the woodwork, almost a built-in.

 

I hung the curtains in our den/tv room outside the window frames. It helps to disguise the fact that the windows on the two walls are different sizes, and especially that the windows flanking the fireplace are not symmetrically placed. The curtains are full-length wide corduroy in the same color as the walls, so it creates a nice repetitive balance around the room, and a bit of texture, but a non-look for the windows that doesn't draw the eye too much. I did the same thing in our bedroom, but in that case it was so that the windows could be completely uncovered during the day to take advantage of the view since our room faces the lake.

 

It's funny to me what you said about our house and the cottage being different. Initially that was true because we had some family things and lots more knick knacks in the apartment, and many things that we had just acquired over the years of being married. Then when we bought our current lakehouse, it really wasn't very cottage-y, and asked for a more minimalist approach, which is what we did. I call it warm modern, because we have lots of soft green and blue, wood, and very simple furniture. In the living room we don't even have window treatments so we see the lake all the time (at night it can be very beautiful, too). After living this way in this house, I really wanted that zen in the apartment too. It's so restful. So our homes are much more alike in spirit than they used to be. Of course, I live with a giant, clumsy man, so it's never been practical for us to have lots of little tables and things everywhere. And with our cats, we've never had much in the way of delicate table-scapes because that stuff just ends up broken on the floor. :p I am always doing the dance between displaying things for sentimental reasons, and the need to streamline for cleaning purposes and a more curated visual aesthetic.

 

I like the decanters. I think if you consider shape, color, and texture, it doesn't matter what the original purpose is if they go well in the space. Decanters are sculptural in that way. We have a set from my FIL's apartment. And I love that painting, it is perfect both in color and mood for that room, I think.

 

Sally, I just finished the photo album for our Panama Canal cruise. Tomorrow I'll review it on our big tv before I send it in for printing. I use Shutterfly now for that. It was a really wonderful vacation because we made sure to have interesting ports before the crossing and a wonderful resort day at the end at the Gamboa Rainforest Resort. PC and Canada are vastly different trips! Panama is one of the hottest places we've ever visited, and the Canada/New England cruises can be cold and rainy. Apples and oranges. I imagine your ship needs will be very different between those two.

 

The problem with Lands End for fleece is that their colors didn't work for me. Many of the fall color options are very, um, fall-like, and I needed something light. I also bought it a size too large for layering, and I really don't expect to keep it after Africa so I didn't want to spend a lot since it will probably go to the thrift store after. We leave on January 1st! We just had our flu shots today and scheduled our yellow fever vaccines in two weeks. I need to dig out the date of my last tetanus shot and I think DH will have to get a new one. We both had hepatitis vaccinations before we went to Vietnam, and those are good for life. We will get fresh malaria pills and some Cipro in December.

 

Laurie, congratulations on your work milestone. I am so happy they made a fuss over you, it is a beautiful sign of how much they value you, and a much-deserved recognition of a significant accomplishment. There should be a high-five smilie for you. :halo:

 

I'm watching a documentary on the Galapagos while I write. What an amazing place.

[Sailor_Sally]

t. PC and Canada are vastly different trips! Panama is one of the hottest places we've ever visited, and the Canada/New England cruises can be cold and rainy. Apples and oranges. I imagine your ship needs will be very different between those two.

 

.

 

These are just the two places I have narrowed it down to but anything could pop up and interest me .I did a Canada cruise years ago but I never went to Quebec . We had great weather except one day on that cruise . I have some ongoing health concerns so a lot of the exotic travel has been eliminated .

[Anita Latte]

I like the way the curtains look! What Sally and Margaret are saying about using the curtains to bring a rhythm and symmetry to the room...to help bring two different sized windows into a more pleasing visual...that's using the curtains as a decorating element as much as a functional element that just covers the windows. It'd be interesting to see both windows in a picture...but I visualize it and I think it looks great.

 

I'm going to check that book out Margaret. It's at a nearby branch...it's also on Overdrive but there's a wait list.

 

I really like what you said..."We don't have many family heirlooms, and if we did, who would I leave them to, anyway? The older I get, the less emotionally invested I am in stuff."

 

 

My situation is that I inherited quite a bit of furniture and stuff. Partly, it made sense because I didn't have a lot of what I was given...chest of drawers, nightstands, dining table, chairs, accent chairs, etc etc. The list is long...and while I have enjoyed the use of these items over the years...it can be hard to separate something that is in the category of "family heirloom" and something that could ALMOST be more like a hand-me-down that was good to use while it was useful or appropriate but can now be passed along or replaced because I have the means to replace it.

This is all a part of my goal over this next year in getting ready to move again.

It's telling to me that the times when I have enjoyed my living space is the MOST is when I have packed things up and put them away or into to storage (for instance, when we might have a house on the market), OR when we were getting to move and I started early by packing things that weren't used everyday away so our stuff was greatly reduced, OR when we were in an even more temporary living situation and we had stuff in storage and only lived with some of our stuff.

It all lets me know that I'm much, much happier with less stuff.

I've never been one for too many things out and on table tops, etc., because of kitties too. And if anything is out...it's not breakable.

I keep looking at cruises because I enjoy having a vacation on the books...something to look forward to, but because I absolutely do not know what is happening over the next year plus, I can't really plan anything.

I'd like to do even a short thing over the next year, but I think I need to save my vacation budget for the potential for college interviews (DS MIGHT have to also audition but as a composer many of the schools interview composers only). Music is different. His applications go out and get prescreened. If he makes it past that first screening, then he will have an interview/audition and THEN we'll find out if he is accepted. So...there is quite the potential for travel for us during January and February when most interviews/auditions are conducted. Some interviews can be a video conference call type thing...but many of them will be in person.

The first round of college apps are due Oct 1. There isn't too much pairing down on the applications going on. We get some breaks in the application process in that many conservatories don't care about test scores (so we don't have to pay for those) and some application fees are waved for one reason or another...so there isn't a good reason to NOT apply to many schools.

I also really like that painting. Good colors for that room too. That's something a family member painted right?

[laurspag]

I do agree, and I've had different sizes windows in a room before where I've done this. Just never with such a small window, you know? But I like it, my husband likes it. So I'm going to do this and order another panel.

 

When you think about it, if I ever changed my mind, at least I could hem them up. If I do that now, I can't go back.

 

That painting was done by my mother-in-law. I had a few options, but the others didn't fit the room style. I'm trying to use things that I have that work, without creating a space that looks like it contains a bunch of castoffs.

 

Its rough having things in your basement that are collecting dust. Most items I can part with too, I don't have an emotional attachment. But my husband does and since we are saving for other things right now, I wanted to stick to a smaller budget.

 

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[laurspag]

Furniture arrangement is tricky with limited space. I'm going to move the bed over a bit.

 

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[laurspag]

Hope this is readable...

 

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[awhfy]

Here’s a couple of pictures from the reunion & wedding. I guess the pictures of my blue dress are on the camera I can’t download yet. The guy to the far right has played on Sopranos & many movies. He’s engaged to one of my best hs friends. . Melody

 

 

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[Sailor_Sally]

You look marvelous in the black jumpsuit !

[MJC]

Melody, looking so good. Pretty table, always love blue+white.

 

There is no detail too small to consider for making travel go smoother:

https://www.cntraveler.com/gallery/travel-wallets?mbid=nl_090418_Daily&CNDID=53507426&secondary_link=1&spMailingID=14171301&spUserID=MjY1ODU1MTg5NDgwS0&spJobID=1480278667&spReportId=MTQ4MDI3ODY2NwS2

 

How was everyone's weekend? We had a nice surprise with our lousy forecast full of clouds and rain actually turning into lovely warm sunny days. So, lots of swimming, boating, barbeque with different friends every day. Lounge chair time. Sleeping as much as we wanted. Some dockside chores and boat cleaning. Pretty mellow. :cool:

[Sailor_Sally]

We got the rain and lightening so it was a quiet weekend .We did go out with friends on Sunday and had a lot of fun . Monday was clean a closet day in my down sizing mission.

[Anita Latte]

Love your jumpsuit Melody! You look fabulous!

 

We had a relatively quiet weekend. We watched a lot of tennis...big US Open fans. We had a couple friend over for dinner on Sunday night...the first time we've had anyone over to our loft here in NC. That was really good.

 

The weather is still so incredibly warm...in the 90s with heat index pushing 100. Just not really wonderful or motivating for doing much of anything.

[awhfy]

We’re having a marvelous vacation. The reunion was fantastic, the wedding was fabulous. Yesterday we were leaving Kennebunkport for York (45 minutes south) & we ended up in Bar Harbor at Acadia National Park (4-1/2 hours north [emoji51]).

 

 

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[awhfy]

It’s 96 in York Beach. So glad water is 68!

 

 

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[laurspag]

All the food pics...yum! I'm glad you're having such a good time. We are having that heat here too. It's been a rough few days.

 

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[awhfy]

Heat broke today with an intense thunderstorm. We’d just left the beach for lunch. The Maine Diner! . Best pie I’ve ever had

 

 

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[laurspag]

I'm gaining weight just looking at all these food pics. :-) It all looks great.

 

 

I got a new Chadwick's catalog yesterday, and there are a few earthy things in there. There is a suit in a lighter olive green that I think I will order. I can buy the pieces separately, so I can get a decent fit that way. I am looking forward to seeing what it looks like online, as you never know with a catalog. I was surprised that it appeared to a more of a mid tone instead of a deeper olive. If I want a basic, straight skirt, they have chocolate brown. I am really getting annoyed with my work clothes right now, and I know I need to do something so I'm trying to focus. Most companies make clothes in seasonless fabrics, so I am thinking I should be able to find some good colors right now and make them work year round.

 

 

 

I wear brown pants all year, and I find that I can make outfits that don't look too fall-like by just choosing the corresponding item accordingly. For example, my muted coral shirt is something I wore in the summer, and I have a fun necklace with coral and starfish on it. For fall, I'll grab my gold sweater and a scarf. I think you get the idea. Darker olive green is another good basic I can build on.

[laurspag]

From a color perspective, I like all three colors on this jacket. From a style perspective, I'm not so sure. The color and ruffles I don't think I would like. I am open minded though - maybe I should try that spice color, and see what I think? I would actually wear any of those colors with brown, but the purple is tricky. It's warm, but I would want a scarf that has both of those colors in it.

[MJC]

Laurie, I like the ruffles. It's the kind of unique detail that appeals to me and makes the jacket interesting. I agree that the purple is hardest to deal with. I would pair it with black or taupe (or gray, which I don't wear), but I don't know that you would wear those colors. The other two colors are more versatile with brown, IMO.

 

Supposedly today was our last day in the 90s. Yesterday I visited The Cloisters with a friend, for the second part of the Costume Institute show.. Fortunately it is up high inside the park and near the water so there was a lovely breeze. If you are at all interested in medieval art, it is a great collection to see, and the location is lovely:

 

https://www.metmuseum.org/visit/met-cloisters

 

The gold wheat ballgown was my favorite:

 

http://bjadamsmallwork.blogspot.com/2018/05/heavenly-bodies-at-cloisters-continued.html

 

My fleece arrived yesterday, and it's a nice muted medium green color. Perfect.

[Anita Latte]

I can’t see any jacket or anything? Is there a pic or a link?

 

Melody...looks like you are having a great trip! So happy for you,

[MJC]

I think she means this one:

 

 

https://www.chadwicks.com/product/ruffle-trim-double-cloth-blazer.do?sortby=ourPicksAscend&refType=&from=fn&ecList=7&ecCategory=100615

[laurspag]

Thanks, Margaret. [emoji4]

 

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[Anita Latte]

Laurie...knowing that you find brown and navy in suit separates more than any other color...I think the spice color would work the best in your wardrobe. I like the ruffle detail...I think it's a great detail for a more buxom person to wear...so often details are higher up on jackets, around the collar or whatnot and I generally don't like that as much because it emphasizes attention where I don't need any additional attention KWIM? That said...I'm not sure about the neckline...it's so tall. Fit will be really important...with those long, long sleeves and those high buttons...it's a very covered up kind of blazer. It's shown with the turtle neck...IDK if you wear turtle necks, it seems like a jacket that would pair well with high neck blouses but I wonder what it would be like with scoops and V-necks? Would that tall front work with your typical shirts or not...only trying it on will tell. I'm not the best with wardrobe...but those are the concerns I would have if I were purchasing it for myself.

[Sailor_Sally]

I really like that jacket . The ruffle detail is very subtle . I agree with Margaret that it would look best with black pants .It is hot here but not any hotter than usual . We are having storms every day around 4 with lots of thunder .