Happy New Year! Last Outfits, and My Reading Resolution Recap

H A P P Y  N E W  Y E A R! 

Well, here we are - 2018! We live in the future! Wishing you all a very Happy 2018 - all the best to you and your families (furry and/or human) from me and Vizzini!

"My fans appreciate an action shot."

 He wouldn't be Vizzini if he didn't go after my earrings! That is my New Year's Eve outfit above (more deets below), but first, we have Saturday's brunch outfit, plus how I did on my 2017 New Year's resolutions (always rather loosey-goosey). Let's get 'er going, so that I can go sit on the couch.

The above outfit is my entry for the first "Visible Monday" of 2018! Thank you to dear Patti of Not Dead Yet Style for reminding me and so many others, year after year, that we need to stay visible, be true to our own style, and that age ain't nothing but a number.

Saturday brunch! L and I took it easy all weekend - both of us are feeling the impending doom-laden weight of the spectre of work looming in our very near futures. I'm trying not to think about it!

 My last outfit of the year features some of my favourite things - as should most of my outfits, best intentions, ya know.

• Wool sweater - Rino Rossi, thrifted; last seen here in January 2017 with black and magenta
• Skirt - Leifsdottir, Anthropologie, Vancouver; last worn here in August 2017 with the jelly-deer sweater
• Shoes - Hispanitas; last seen here in November 2017 with soft textures
• Coat (below) - Rodarte for Opening Ceremony, consignment; last worn here (2nd outfit) in December 2017

This vintage sweater is very nice quality - I like the higher neck (usually doesn't work on me), and the long length of it.

 What long length, you say? I've tucked the hem under to shorten the sweater by about 3 inches.

 Here is it at full length. Too long - I lose the detail on the skirt, and it visually lowers my proportions oddly. I tried tucking it in, but nah, not quite. I made do with a tuck.

And coffee, lots of coffee.

 It was crisp and cold for our walk to town - our last brunch at Floyd's for the year.

 I grocery shopped for New Year's Eve, and then we came home and watched movies and played board games. Heaven!

A dramatic skirt calls for a dramatic coat! Ringmaster coat to the rescue!

 I rarely do a back shot of my outerwear, but this is just such a wonderful piece.

 I wore my new-to-me pink leather gloves for the first time. I like the bright contrast to all the black and the turquoise.

The stuff:

 This year, I made a conscious effort to buy more flats for my wardrobe. Be kind to your feet!

Brass bling:

 The diamond-shaped brass earrings have skeletons on them, and were a stocking present from L. They're locally made!

• Poe cuff - Jezebel Charms, gift from L
• Brass/leather cuff - c. 1968, Mom's
• Spinner ring - Twang & Pearl
• Earrings - HollyHawks, gift from L

I had been in a conundrum over what to wear for New Year's Eve. With all the shopping I did, I was kind of hoping to find a new piece to wear, but after I found these boots, I knew that they would be the centrepiece of my 2017/2018 outfit.

I've had this dress for going on 8 years (bought it in London, England here in 2010), but have never worn it to a party. It was a big hit, along with my velvet blue boots!

• Dress - Desigual, 2010, London; last seen here (2nd outfit) in June 2017 for the opening of the Victoria Fluevog store
• Boots - Ishshoes Chatterbox, Fluevog; purchased here for $199.99 in gift cards
• Coat (below) - T Tahari, thrifted; purchased for $69.95 and first worn here last week

 2017 was full of so many anniversaries, from my 20th wedding anniversary with L, to my 10 years of keeping my weight off, to the 20th anniversary of my Dad's death (and the ensuing tattoo with Dave to commemorate that), to my 50th birthday (and our trip! And my custom dress!). I'm exhausted just looking at all those round numbers.

2018 has only one anniversary, but it's a biggie - it is 10 years since I started this blog. I can't express how much this has changed my life, and how much it's meant to me to be able to grow and evolve my style in such a supportive an encouraging environment (that's you, family, friends, readers, commenters). I love that I have this archive of...my life, basically. I've been through several haircolours (red, burgundy, blonde and shades of purple), we're on our 3rd cat (RIP Othello and Inigo), and well...10 years is a lot! I'm thankful for this platform to put myself out there.

But enough of that, let's get to my New Year's Eve outfit.

 One of my New Year's resolutions for 2017 was to do my nails - it's a bit of self-care that makes me feel good (shiny! glitter! colour!), but after about 3-4 months, I got thoroughly sick of doing it. Plus, Ultimate Frisbee season started! I enjoyed this challenge to myself, but I'll pass on doing my nails unless I really want to do it, or need a lift. I thought I'd do a call-back to that with my blue and glitter nails for this New Year's.

In addition to shopping my closet and wearing this "old" (and getting to be home-grown vintage) dress, I wore a cami under it that my former coworker Ruth gave me well over 7 years ago. She was the person who pushed me to start my blog ("your outfits are just as good as those!" she said, after getting me hooked on fashion blogs back in early 2008). So, thank you, Ruth, for encouraging me to explore this creative outfit.

 We went to a small gathering with some friends for New Year's Eve - it was perfect. I'm so grateful for "the family I choose."

L and I bundled up with all of our libations, food, shoes and other necessary party items, and walked to the venue.

 Yeah, baby! Of course, I did not walk there in my new boots - I wore my white floral Doc Martens.

Fully bundled. I was snuggly warm in this lovely down-filled coat.

 Furry accessories for the win! We staggered home with our friends at around 3am.

• Fur toque/scarf - Danier Leather
• Wool gloves - vintage, thrifted

The stuff:

 The party had disco lights which really accentuated the colour of my boots - it's hard to see the colour, sorry, but they are a very deep rich blue. Most of our friends stroked the soft velvet at least once!

Party bling:

 I think of my Wendy Brandes rings as anniversary rings too - the lapis lazuli one was bought by me for my 5th anniversary of my weight loss in Feb 2012, and the Fulvia Ring was bought to commemorate 5 years of keeping my weight off in March 2013. And since Wendy is someone I've known through blogging for nearly the entire time I've had Ephemera, it also seemed appropriate to wear these for my last/first outfit of the years.

• Lapis lazuli ring/Fulvia Ring - Wendy Brandes
• Earrings - vintage fair

I have to share this picture that Yvonne took - I made deviled eggs and even brought my own vintage yellow Indiana Glass Company egg display plate!

We had to change the lighting scheme shortly after this - it was really making the food look weird!

 I brought the egg whites in a Tupperware, and the yolk mixture in a Ziploc baggie - I arrayed them on the plate, and piped the yolks into the eggs (I cut a small hole in the baggie), then sprinkled smoked paprika on them.

 Always a hit, and so klassy!

My New Year's picture with L.

 Looking stylish as always. Much love to my dear best friend and most amazing husband - thank you for another wonderful year.

And my other guy...

"What a noble profile I have. What intriguing earrings the Woman has provided for me to play with."

 My other New Year's resolution has been ongoing for a few years now - to "meet or beat" the number of books I've read from the previous year. I read 45 books last year, but I didn't beat that this year - that's a lot of books!

I did read 36 books, and here's a list. Most of them were my choice, but some were my Book Club books (marked "BC"). I have been writing down all the books I've read since late 2007 - the ratings below are out of 5. I'm a hard marker - not many books get a 5! I strongly recommend the 5/5 books (bolded), and really enjoyed the 4/5 ones (you probably will too!).

1. Devil's Right Hand - Lilith Saintcrow - 3/5
2. Saint City Sinners - Lilith Saintcrow - 2/5
3. To Hell and Back - Lilith Saintcrow - 1/5
4. The Girl Who Was Saturday Night - Heather O'Neill - 4/5 (BC)
5. Boneshaker - Cheri Priest - 2/5
6. The Bazaar of Bad Dreams - Stephen King - 4/5
7. Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits - David Wong - 4/5
8. The Fireman - Joe Hill - 4/5
9. Tales From the Darkside - Joe Hill - 3/5
10. Black Coffee Blues - Henry Rollins - 3/5 (BC)
11. The Stars My Destination - Alfred Bester - 2/5
12. Carrion Comfort - Dan Simmons - 1/5
13. The Death of Bunny Munro - Nick Cave - 4/5
14. The Girl With the Lower Back Tattoo - Amy Schumer - 4/5
15. The Hatmaker's Heart - Carla Stewart - 1/5
16. Orphans of the Sky - Robert A. Heinlein - 2/5
17. Matter - Iain M. Banks - 4/5
18. Make Something Up...Stories You Can't Unread - Chuck Palahniuk - 4/5
19. Finders Keepers - Stephen King - 4/5
20. End of Watch - Stephen King - 3/5
21. Stonemouth - Iain Banks - 4/5
22. The Sellout - Paul Beaty - 3/5 (BC)
23. Redshirts - John Scalzi - 3/5
24. The Lady in the Tower: The Fall of Anne Boleyn - Alison Weir - 3/5 (BC)
25. The First Bad Man - Miranda July - 5/5
26. The Girl on the Train - Paula Hawkins - 2/5
27. Hidden Figures - Margo Lee Shetterly - 5/5
28. The Business - Iain Banks - 4/5
29. Where'd You Go, Bernadette? - Maria Semple - 3/5 (BC)
30. Horrible Words: A Guide to the Misuse of English - Rebecca Gowers - 4/5
31. I Remember Nothing...and Other Reflections - Nora Ephron - 3/5
32. Trigger Warning - Neil Gaiman - 4/5
33. Norse Mythology - Neil Gaiman - 4/5
34. The Wind Through the Keyhole - Stephen King - 3/5
35. The Abominable - Dan Simmons - 3/5
36. Sweet Tooth - Ian MacEwan - 2/5

Pretty good! That's my 2nd most books read in 10 years, so I'm happy with that. I made a good dent in my piles of "to read" books. Let's do it again this year!

Vizzini, anything to add?

"Wishing all of you good stretches, and many tummy rubs."

That sounds lovely. Here's to 2018!