Monday, October 1, 2018

Bigass Weekend Wrap-Up: Friday Lemon-Lime, Forest Urbanite, Leopard and Orange in Van, Closet Swap, Wooly Monday

 Hello, my friends! I'm back after yet another whirlwind of a weekend! We have a lot to chat about, and oodles of pictures, so here we go!

L and I both took Friday and Monday off, giving our busy weekend bookends of blissful quiet and sanity. We slept in a bit on Friday and went for brunch at Shine. 
 I felt sunny and bright in this! After our meal, we strolled down Oak Bay Avenue and popped into a few shops.


  • Cardigan - Joseph A, consignment; last seen here (3rd outfit) in August with silk palazzo pants
  • Sleeveless cashmere sweater - J. Crew; first worn here in September for a Visible day
  • Skirt - Linea Domani, thrifted; first worn here in April with olives and orange
  • Shoes - Eject; last seen here with many greens in June


Look at that lovely blue sky!
 This is my view from the stairs when I do my outside shot. The oak trees are starting to shed their acorns.

Mister Vizzini was bugging me while I took my pictures. He likes it when we're home.
"I do? I'm barely tolerating this cuddling, Woman."

It was a lovely afternoon, hanging out with my sweetie, L.
"The Man is adequate, I suppose."

I'm keeping this cardigan and sweater out in my fall/winter wardrobe. I love the light olive colour of the cardigan.
"Aren't you done yet?"

And you never know when you'll need a pop of yellow with some dark wintery outfit!
 I really liked how this skirt worked with the outfit. I'd considered keeping it out for fall, due to the colour palate, but the cotton-blend fabric is a little light for winter.

The stuff:
 Away these clompin' shoes go into storage for another 6 months. See you in March!

Gold bling:
 Plain pieces that give me pleasure.


  • Green stone ring - consignment
  • Amber ring - c. 1996
  • Ear-balls - Dior, consignment


We stopped in at Good Things Vintage, where I found this cool ring.
 It's by Erth, an Australian company. And with all that packaging, it looks like it's never been worn.

It was on sale in the shop for $14.00, but you can see the original price of $55.00 there.
 It's very cool on - I'm looking forward to wearing it.

I also popped into a little consignment shop (I can never remember the name, gah), where I found a jammie dress on the half price rack.
 It's that bouncy jersey material, but I like the allover leopard.

It's by Michael Kors and was $39.55.
 I think I'll get some wear out of this!

On Friday night, we went out for dinner with Cat and Ross and Yvonne and Randall, then we all strolled over to Urbanite at the Art Gallery for a three-hour party!
 The theme was "Supernatural: Art, Technology and the Forest" so many of the patrons wore florals, plant patterns and even some actual greenery.


  • Dress - Club Monaco, consignment; last seen here (2nd outfit) in May 2016 for Yvonne's 50th birthday party (I have short purple hair in a swoosh, and no arm tattoos!)
  • Shoes - Sol Sana; purchased here last week for $125.00
  • Coat (below) - Kimchi Blue; last worn here a couple of weeks ago



I love shopping my closet for one of my many seldom-worn party dresses - I have several that I just rotate every 3-4 years. I've had this green satin dress for a long time, through a few hair colors and cuts!
 It's deliberately cut to hang off one shoulder (it's odd-looking on a hanger).

I'd planned to wear another outfit entirely, and then changed my mind at the last minute to wear this deep forest green.
 The palm fronds on the shoes may have influenced me.

Did you spot my secret technology?
 It's my Star Trek pin - one woman at the gallery spotted it and high-fived me.

Ready with the yeti!
 My little vintage silver mail purse was the perfect carry-all for my ID, lipstick, keys and drink tickets.

The stuff:
 I walked to the pub, to the gallery and home in these, and stood for three solid hours in them. They were awesome!

I didn't even realize until I lined them up that the suede is cut to be exactly matching on each foot.
 What an incredible attention to detail!

Silver bling:
 As always, I like to mix messages.


  • Steel cuff - thrifted
  • Silver earring - Brenda Schoenfeld, 1992, vintage mall
  • Stud earring - don't remember
  • Crystal ring - Soul Flower
  • F#@! rings - Wendy Brandes
  • Star Trek pin - MoPop gift shop, Seattle
  • Wood grain button - Art Gallery of Greater Victoria
  • Purse (above) - vintage, gift from Megan Mae


We had an awesome time hanging out with our friends, checking out the exhibits, and enjoying the DJ, and people-watching.

We crashed into bed late, and spent a lazy morning around the house. As I was getting ready, Vizzini was lurking.
"I suspect something is up."

He was right - time to get our travel gear on!
 I wore this new-to-me leopard dress right away! Why not? I knew I'd want to be super-comfy.


  • Dress - Michael Kors, consignment; purchased the day before for $39.55.
  • Shoes - Clarks, consignment; last seen here (4th outfit) in April for Easter with my family
  • Coat (below) - Club Monaco, thrifted; last worn here in August



He was so right.
"I know this backpack! You're leaving me!"

Yup! L and I did a 24-hour vacation to Vancouver to attend our friends Andrew and Theresa's wedding.
 We don't get to see them very often, and all our local friends have been married forever - we haven't been invited to a wedding in ages!

We also haven't really had a travel holiday this year, so when we got the invite we thought, "Why not!? Let's do it!"
 This dress was excellent, and  I quite like the neckline and long sleeves.

My only issue was that due to the fishnet tights I have on, it clung to them a bit and rode up. I resolved this by wearing a short half-slip but still had to be vigilant on my hemlines.
This jacket is packed away for the cool weather. Thank you for all the wearings, black jacket!

The stuff:
 These shoes are comfortable. I knew I would need that, and I'm glad I wore them.

Gold bling:
 I wore these same accessories with my wedding outfit.

  • Cuff - Lia Sophia, thrifted
  • Amber ring - c. 1996
  • Gold hoop earrings - 5th anniversary gift from L


Our afternoon flight was at 1:30pm, but the weather was looking a little dubious. It was so nice on Friday - what happened?
 We had a very cramped and bumpy ride to Vancouver, flying into a headwind. We checked into our hotel, grabbed a quick late lunch, and went to the venue.

I wore this outfit, but I took my pose-y pictures today (Monday) because I barely took any pictures at the wedding. We focused on enjoying ourselves and being in the moment.
So! Orange! I felt like a million bucks in this gorgeous dress!

This is my entry for "Visible Monday" over at Patti's Not Dead Yet Style - go, run, quickly!


  • Dress - David Meister, thrifted; purchased here in July for $29.25
  • Shoes - Big Presence Desmond, Fluevog; last seen here in June with chartreuse
  • Coat - Club Monaco, thrifted; worn all during our travel


I took one picture of L and I before we left the hotel, but the momentary blast of sun leached all the colour out.
 We look fabulous, if I do say so myself!

As I was going out to do my stair shot, Vizzini barged in, trying to get to the hall.
"Well, open the door, Woman!"

No, not allowed!

I had tons of compliments on my outfit all night.
 Such a beautiful dress!

It was quite comfortable to wear - no "hoiking" the top up.
 Saturday evening was fairly chilly (we were on the water in Stanley Park) and I ended up wearing my coat most of the time, unfortunately.

I love the little swooshy "fin."
 I steamed the dress before we flew to Vancouver, but it wrinkled up a bit in my pack.

The stuff:
 By the end of the night, my feet were killing me - I stood for close to 6.5 hours in these, which is too long.

Gold bling:
Look familiar?

We had some wonderful pork for dinner, cooked by this gentleman.
 Wow, that...is a pig. It was delicious, though.

I have never seen a wedding cake made of...
 Cheese! That's a cheese-cake.

In the hopes of having Sunday and all of Monday to be idle, we'd booked an early floatplane flight home.
 No one on the rainy streets of Vancouver at 7am.

And that looks like some very low-lying clouds. I can't even see the far shore. There are mountains there!
 The water was choppy too. Our fears were soon realized, when all of the flights in the morning were cancelled.

We sped to the ferry docks, about a 40 minute drive from town.
 I think this is karma for all my "Ferries are for chumps!" comments when we've previously flown.

The view from the ferry.
 Rain. Ocean. Clouds.

And my guy, looking suave.
 We had a nice buffet lunch and chilled for the crossing.

The ferry takes an hour and 45 minutes, dock to dock.
 The face of a woman who wants to GET HOME.

Ferries everywhere...
 You get used to them when you're from this part of the world.

This only looks like aliens are attacking that ferry.
 The lights are the reflection from the buffet lounge.

Finally, we got home around 2pm (four hours later than if we'd flown!), to a glad greeting from the resident feline.
"Oh, decided to grace me with your presence?"

I immediately traumatized him by hauling out the vacuum cleaner and emptying my closet. He hates the chaos and hid under the covers of the bed for most of it.
 My fall/winter shoe collection.

More shoes and boots. I didn't count this time.
 I needed to get my closet changed over, but also wanted to not be blogging all day or caught up taking a million pictures. I've done this before - here's the last time I swapped out my closet, at the end of March/early April.

First, I took all my shoes out, and put the ones I'm putting back for the new season into the hallway. The ones getting packed away are on the right.
 That pile at the back are my spring/summer clothes that got packed up. The mess of hangers grows. The avalanche on the left is all the new things I've purchased for fall/winter over the last 6 months.

What it looked like from the closet door.
There's order in this mess, I swear.

The closet emptied.
 I oil-soap all of the wood surfaces. I see I haven't pulled out all of the bags lurking under the shelves and my jacket collection yet. Those are more fall/winter boots, shoes and clothing. It's bulkier and takes up more room when stored.

There are four longer shelves on the left side, above my shirts, long skirts and trousers. My dresses are at the far left end, on a long-hang bar.
 I have to use a step-stool to reach the upper shelves - my closet is built in right up to the ceiling.

I dust the chandelier every so often. This was not one of those times.
My poppy tile is from the Art Gallery, many years ago. The feathers on the chandelier are fascinators for my hair.

These are the spring/summer shoes, minus the ones I culled.
 I have been avoiding getting rid of the shoes I just can't wear anymore. You know those ones: too high, really too HIGH, and the ones that hurt. I did it this time, and it feels okay to let them go. I wasn't wearing them, and I'm not going to. They deserve to be worn, by owners who will love them.

The giveaway pile grew steadily (I didn't take any pictures of it) as I folded up each piece.
 I had to add some more to these piles of things to be packed away, as I ran out of hangers!

I won't buy more - my closet is a limited size, and more hangers just won't fit.
 I try to only use wooden hangers, but the thin flocked velvet grey ones are very handy for slippy garments. For pants/skirts, I have a mix of hangers, including padded foam ones for some of my delicate skirts, wooden ones for heavy pieces and gentle clips for leather items.

I moved a few things around this time. I like a bit of variety.
 This is the top shelf above my short skirts on the right. These are my vintage hats - things I don't wear very often.

I made the top two shelves of my shoe towers dedicated to my party shoes.
 There is a pair of shoes stored in the box behind them. I haven't worn the Ted Bakers on the left yet.

My wedding shoes are in the white box.
All of these are fairly high, aside from the suede/embroidered sandals, but they are delicate and I don't intend to wear them in the wet weather.

I also wanted to make my purses and handbags easier to see - I don't have many, but I still forget what I've got.
 All lined up and now I can see them! I stored my three fun wigs behind these.

The next-door shelf gets some more purses.
 Uh-oh, room to grow! That could be very dangerous.

The top shelf above my blouses/long skirts/trousers, up near the ceiling, got my five pairs of vintage/archiving/keeper shoes that I don't really wear any more, but want to keep.
 My first Fluevogs, two pairs of shoes from the 40s/50s, my leopard pumps (I need to look for a more comfy pair for every day), and my dragon shoes. I also have my bigger fascinators/feathered pieces/netted hats stored up here, away from curious claws.

This shelf is on the left, above my dresses. The boxes have some older items (purses, Dad's sweaters), that I need to weed through.
 But...not this time. I was getting tired. I did make the effort to put all of my dressy gloves (fingerless, elbow-length) out where I can see them.

I then hauled out all of the storage bins. One big one is stored under my dresses and three flat ones live under the bed.
I've emptied them of all the fall/winter items and hung them up/folded them onto a shelf.

All my shoes get loaded back onto the shelves. This year, I put them highest heels to lowest heels on the floor. 
That just made sense to me.

All my fall/winter skirts are ready! I have a lot of brown skirts. 
 A good mix of shiny ones too, for the holiday season.

My jacket collection has grown.
 So many good ones. I spy a few new-to-me pieces at the end of the bar. Exciting!

Two of three shelves of sweaters. The shelf above has odds and ends of soft tops (big fluffy ones) and special-occasion pieces.
 The bottom right stack and half of the stack beside it are new-to-me. More excitement!

And below those, here are the blouses, long skirts and trousers.
 I have more trousers than ever.

And lastly, my dresses!
 I have two new-to-me dresses to wear, but it was so nice reacquainting myself with all of these lovelies.

I went through my belts, from small/chain/metal, to thin leather, to wide, to my soft belts and obis.
 I hear belts are a "thing" again. Maybe I'll wear some!

It took me four hours to do my main closet swapover. Phew! After that, L and I chilled out and watched some football and played board games. It was just what we needed.

We were up early today/Monday to stroll to town for brunch at Floyd's.
 My first outfit of October! It wasn't warm out, but it wasn't chilly either.


  • Sweater - Banana Republic, thrifted; purchased here in July for $11.95
  • Trousers - Talbots, thrifted; last seen here in one of my last outfits of fall/winter in March
  • Shoes - Aldo, thrifted; first worn here in August
  • Sleeveless coat - Only, thrifted; last seen here in April



This lovely merino wool and nylon-blend sweater was light and snuggly, and not itchy. I like this marled light grey shade. It has a very pretty lacy-like pattern on it, and the back is about 4 inches longer than the front. 
 I am feeling grey shades right now. Expect to see lots of it in the next six months.

I love the plaid pants.
 These are also wool, fully-lined.

Layered up with my sleeveless coat.
 It just ties closed (no buttons), and has pockets. Yes!

The stuff:
 These shoes aren't leather, so I won't be able to wear them in rainy weather, but they are a nice festive red, and I like the gold heels. I do like a dressy red shoe that I can actually walk in.

Red and silver bling:
 At this point, I had not yet done my jewelry box swapover, so I just grabbed stuff that I liked that went with the outfit.


  • Cuff - Rimanchik
  • White gold earrings - 10th anniversary gift from L 
  • Ring - Nine West


We hauled a few groceries home and then, back to work, let's get this jewelry swapped over! 
 Again, I just wanted to get it done, so these are the "after" pictures of my fall/winter jewels and bijouterie. Above is my grandmother's jewelry box. I keep most of my vintage stuff in it.

This is my Bombay Company jewelry box. It's a monster and it holds a lot. There are five drawers down the centre front, including a double-deep one on the bottom.
 I give it all a good dusting when I do this. Looks like I missed the mirror...

I leave the sides of the big box open so that my necklaces can spill out. The crystal dish was picked up a year or two ago at a thrift store.
 The two-tiered vintage glass dessert tray on the lower left holds all my rigid cuffs and bracelets. All done, for another 6 months. Yay! Now I can go play with making new outfits!

Vizzini, what do you think of all this?
"I say it's time to get back to cuddling." 
I hope you all had a fabulous weekend!

35 comments:

  1. I absolutely love all of these outfits you wore over the weekend. Your collection is enviable - such good taste. Lise

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    1. Aw, thanks, Lise! I love playing with my clothes, and it shows!

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  2. woww, love your wardrobe swap posts, so many interesting ideas about how to store things and keep everything visible but tidy! I think that I need more shelves! And love to have a look at your fabulous shoe collection, it looks like Heaven!
    And lots of fantastic outfits too!. Love the olive cardi and the fab color combo with matching shoes in the first one, your skirt is so cute!. Love the Green dress with stunning shoes, you totally rock in this one!. And obviously, I love the orange&gold dress, so elegant, so absolutely You (and L. looks really elegant too, he rocks those mixed prints and cool shoes!, you look fabulous indeed!)
    And so lovely cozy sweater with plaid pants!, and those shoes enhance the whole outfit!, Red Shoes rock!
    besos

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    1. I've gotten pretty good at them over the years, thank you, Monica! I was really happy with all my outfits this weekend. Happy week to you!

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  3. You will not believe this Sheila, but guess what I saw in the opshop today? A leopard print Michael Kors dress! I laughed when I saw yours - I wonder if it would still be there if I went back for it? I do doubt it though, it's a busy (and quite expensive) opshop.

    Loved your wedding dress outfit, although what a pain getting home! Glad you made it there in the end, even if it was later than you hoped! Always fun to see your wardrobe changeover too.

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    1. NO! Ha, you have to go back for it! That is too funny, Mica! Thank you, my dear, for reading!

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  4. I love hangin out with my sweetie too - you guys look blissful together, and very fabulous in your dressy stuff! Love the lime strappy shoes too. And of course your magical organizing powers. xox

    -Patti
    http://notdeadyetstyle.com

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    1. Thanks, Patti, it's always better with your best friend, isn't it? Hmmm, I wish that was magic - it's a lot of work!

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  5. A definite one shoulder weekend then! Lovely outfits and shoes as always; you looked beautiful in your off the shoulder dresses.

    So envious of your huge and incredibly well organised closet. I spied a corridor I shall rename - 'Sheila's Shoe Heaven'! What a chore it is to swap it all over, but it is exciting to see things you'd forgotten you had and sometimes things you haven't even worn yet...

    I loved your trousers and sweater combo - those red shoes are amazing!

    Poor Vizzini; it sounds like his weekend was a bit traumatic being abandoned and then the closet chaos! I bet he got lots and lots of compensatory cuddles.

    Hope your week goes well.

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    1. Ha, I guess it was! I didn't fully intend for it to be that way, Vronni. Thank you so much! My shoe heaven is getting rather large. Yes, poor mister V has been very sulky with us. Much hugging is in order. Happy week to you!

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  6. Lovely outfits. I always admire your shoes. Also impressed by your organization. With this many clothes & shoes, that's important. Finally, you really seem to be living a great life!

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    1. Yes, you are so right, Ally! I have to be organized if I want this many clothes - it's part of the deal. Aw, thank you - I'm working hard to just be present and mindful and kind, and I'm making sure I do lots of fun things!

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  7. Oh, your wedding outfits (both yours and L.'s) are so marvelous. Truly festive.

    I love when you share your closet swaps. I am in the midst of seasonal swap myself, and your organization is inspiring.

    I am Team Ferry myself, but mostly because my husband hates floatplanes (all planes smaller than a commuter jet, actually) but I am sorry the skies did not cooperate with your plane plan!

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    1. Thank you, Julia! We were the dressiest there, for sure.

      Oh, these swaps! So much work! But totally worth it.

      Ugh, I hate the time that the ferry takes, but it is beautiful most of the time. I'm also spoiled by not having to be in that huge crowd of people too. I get your husband's thing.

      Delete
  8. Fabulous outfits - I love the orange number, it's almost sari-like and the green satin dress with those killer new shoes is stupendous.
    Thank goodness for those ferries!
    That's a humongous wardrobe you've got there, what a task that must have been and how good it must have felt rediscovering the winter stuff. I did my changeover last Sunday but it just involved a couple of suitcases and some boots! xxx

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    1. Thank you, Vix! Yes, I think the fabric must be from India and intended for saris.

      There's always a way to get home, even if I don't like the method!

      It is rather large, although manageable. I love getting all my clothes back - it's the most fun part.

      Delete
  9. Love this mammoth blog post. Yes to long weekends and lemon lime outfits . That one shoulder number is off the charts fabulous in orange and metallic. The emerald green dress is stunning too.
    Uh oh. Extra room in the closet. Lol.
    ♥️♥️♥️
    Elle
    https://theellediaries.com

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    1. Glad you enjoyed it, thanks, Elle! I know...now I'm going to have purses on my mind!

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  11. A quick question - how do you Store your off-season clothes? Are they all in plastic bins? I have, in the past, put traded out my seasonal clothing to a hanging rack in a climate-controlled storage unit we keep close-by but, I have a TON of maxi dresses, etc. that could be folded. I'm just trying to figure out if they will be "safe" (i.e. mold, mildrew, bugs). You post definitely inspired me to get more organized!

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    1. Hi, Maumi, thank you for reading and for commenting! I store them in that one big Glad tub, and 3 flat ones, that you see up there in the post - the flat ones live under my bed, and the big one goes into the closet. Shoes and boots are stored in cloth bags and stuffed under the low bars in my closet. They get quite a bit of air (the tubs are not air-tight), and I do get a few moths in them, but I like that they can breathe. Good luck with yours!

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  12. Phew, what a weekend you've had, Sheila! No wonder you needed those bookends. I often do that too when I'm having a full-on weekend. Love the yellows and olives in your first outfit, and your first October outfit gets my full approval too. Grey and red are just made for each other. You and L. are a very stylish couple. Love that photo of you both in your wedding outfits. Your man certainly has oodles of style! You must be glad to have your wardrobe swap out of the way. I've got mine planned for Friday, I've taken the day of especially! Have a great week! xxx

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    1. I know, Ann - I'm exhausted already! I wish I had another day off. Thank you so much - it was a fun weekend for getting dressed up. Yeah, you bet - I'm happy to have the swap done. It's a lot of work, but worth it. Ooh, I want to see yours!

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  13. Fantastic outfits, I love them all! Your closet looks as full as mine! Such a gorgeous cat, mine is a tuxedo cat too :-)

    Emma xxx
    www.style-splash.com

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    1. Thank you so much for reading and commenting, Emma!

      Thank you - oh, good to hear, makes me feel better about all my clothes, ha! Aw, tuxies are the best.

      Delete
  14. You two are fabulous looking! What a fantastic feel for style. And what a lovely cat. We have two Mainecoons, one is as black as yours.

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    1. Thank you so much, Nancy! Vizzini always features heavily!

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  15. Such a labor of love swapping your closet. LOVE your first outfit of October, and that dress you wore to the wedding is stellar!

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    1. Thanks so much, Gerrilyn! It is always so exciting to get all my cold-weather clothes back. I wore the dress again already!

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  16. Congratulations on your closet swap, Sheila! I just completed mine this week and it is a similar process to yours. I put my off-season clothes in a guest room closet and chest of drawers and put my best wool pieces in a cedar chest. It feels so good to have it done! I also cull pieces as I swap and that always feels good too. I enjoy reading your blog. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. So you know exactly how much work it is, hey, Susan?? It feels amazing to be done and to have all these fun pieces to play with again. Culling does feel good, and it makes room for more! Thanks so much for your comment!

      Delete
  17. Look at you rocking the fancy party dresses! I like the citrus colours of your first outfit too. Whenever you post about your closet changeover I am always so envious of your walk in closet and storage space.

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    1. I do like a party dress or two! I guess I do have a fair bit of storage space! I'm very lucky.

      Delete
  18. Oh I see it was closet swap time ! YOU know i love these posts. Yesterday I had organized my tops, blouse and bottoms. Just organisation. I kept putting things back, in order, thinking I need to edit more.
    Now, I have to say that you look AMAZINGGGGGGG in all those party dresses. If lived near you, you SHEILA would be the one I would go to to borrow dresses when I had a party. You have such a marvellous selection !
    The off shoulder, the one shoulder orange, they only keep getting better and better.

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    1. I know you do! You've seen a lot of them!

      Thank you, hon! I have a big collection and I always offer to loan them out to friends.

      Delete

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