Wednesday, August 12, 2020

All New Things, and Shoe Shelving

I'm out of sorts the past few days, restless and irritable. Changes are needed. 
Starting with my hair, which I had cut tonight, and you will see on Friday. I repinked it a bit yesterday.

  • Dress - Proenza Schouler for Barney's, thrifted; purchased here for $22.95
  • Shoes - Gadea, consignment; purchased here for $15.00

I needed that lift you get from wearing something new. 
This lovely new-to-me tunic-dress hit my sweet spot. Proenza Freaking Schouler! Designer! 
I layered a black cami and short slip under it - it was quite windy today, and I had to hold onto the hem for dear life. 
Isn't the pattern cool? I like the "negative-positive" effect of the two fabrics. 

Matching my blue and white mask to the blue and white in the contrast fabric. 
I finally finished all the sign placement in the office today. I'm worn out. 

The stuff: 
I also finally wore these new-to-me shoes. I did some modifications to them to make them more comfortable: 
  • Cut two "slices" into the back of the heel with an exacto blade, on either side of the main seam, so that they don't rub my heels, and 
  • Removed part of the tongue on the right shoe, which seems to have been sewn in wrong. That's probably why they were consigned and why the price dropped so low.

It helped immensely, and they were excellent for all the running around between floors I did today - I even walked to the hairdresser in them. Since I'd only paid $15.00, I was willing to wreck them (but I was sure they'd be fine).

Silver bling: 
Simple things to let the dress shine. 

  • Bangle - Lazy Susan's
  • Bracelet - Fossil, gift from L
  • Earrings - Fossil, thrifted
  • Lapis lazuli ring - Wendy Brandes
  • Shield ring - Nine West

On Tuesday (one of my off days from work), I got up early, sucked back a bunch of coffee and tackled some of the shelves full of old books in our den (where my closet is). L and I have a goal that we're haphazardly working towards: turning our den into a shared giant closet room for both of us! 

It's not going to happen quickly - we have to divest ourselves of a lot of the stuff we've collected over the years - but I needed CHANGE, and I was tired of seeing dust-covered shelves. I didn't take any "before" pictures, because they were just horrific. The dust bunnies had dust bunnies! 

I did take a bunch of "after" shots, though. This is L's new shoe shelf. Pretty swanky, eh?
I do my "stuff" shots on that table to the right of it. There are 14 pairs of his shoes there, and still more in his other shoe closet. 

I piled L's most-worn hats on top of two of our photo albums. My sun hats (I'd completely forgotten about them!) are sitting on top of a Fluevog box which is full of unpainted miniatures. If we're not going to do our hobby, then it can't take up valuable shelf real estate. 
"Rar! Godzilla will protect this shelf from Mecha-Ghidira!"


Three pairs of L's fancy shoes on the top shelf - yes, we both own the brocade pair on the right. 

I pulled all my fashion books out, and used them to fill the ends of the shelves. 
"Baby Godzilla is coming to help!"


Six more pairs of gorgeous Fluevogs including his newest, the Dios with the red soles. The man has style. 

You'll notice all of the shoelaces are tucked tightly into the shoes.
Someone is fond of shoelaces. 

And the bottom shelves. 
Two pairs with no shoelaces on the "Vizzini level." The spiky Danger Pumps are mine. 

We also have a shallower shelf behind the door - it's excellent for storing a lot in a very small space. 
I cleared off yet another bookshelf on the other side of the room and moved most of the stuff here. These are also Things We Want To Keep, But Rarely Look At. 

I put my fancy hats on the top shelf. That Fluevog box contains more unpainted miniatures. 
And there are my fedoras, my floppy hat (oh yeah!) and my faux fur winter hat.

I moved L's Boston Bruins and Miami Dolphins "Shrine" onto it.
He was not exactly thrilled by that, but it has had its time out on display and now I want its old space for something more useful. 

Junior high and high school annuals, old photo albums, vacation albums, and our Magic: The Gathering card collection (1996 to about 2003?). 
"Hey, these weren't here before."

That big bag is all our wedding stuff. So many pieces of memorabilia! 
"I don't see any pictures of me here."

That giant black jack is made of painted cast iron - heavy! I've had it since about 1985, bought at an old local store called Zydeco. It props the door open. 

Deep in that corner, I rediscovered a true Blast From The Past. This is my journal from my grade 12 Creative Writing class! 
Everyone in the class had to write two pages a day (longhand!) and have the teacher initial it, although he didn't read it, so we could write anything. I haven't read it since I wrote it, aside from cracking it open, and going, "Oh my gawd, I have always been a Drama Queen!" It's so weird reading what I wrote 35 years ago - I remember some of it, and other things I'm like, "Bill? Who is Bill?" 

My goal is to transcribe it - completely unedited! I typed 8 pages yesterday - a good start. 

And now, I will leave you with some cuteness. 
"Well, hello there."

He was going for my earrings, the little monster. 

26 comments:

  1. Love the Proenza Schouler dress -- fabulous! I love seeing how other people organize their clothing - thanks for sharing this.

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    1. Thank you, Cynthia! I'm big on organization following function. L wears all his shoes a lot, so it's handier to have them where he can see them rather than in a closet where he can't.

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  2. That dress looks so good on you, easy and comfy but still stylish & sassy. The shoes are fab, I'm glad you were able to mess around with them and make them less ouchy!
    I can't wait to see your new hair.
    What a great job on the reorganising, L's shoe collection is incredible and I'm loving all the hats. That giant jack is fabulous, I'd have fallen for that as well.
    Vizzini is more on the ball that our lads, it takes them 24 hours to notice if anything changed! xxx

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    1. It was so lovely to wear, Vix. Thank you - I am not afraid to customize 'em!

      It's different, but familiar - not too crazy. :)

      Thank you - this is only about 2/3 of his shoes too. I am glad I've kept the jack for all these years.

      Vizzini is on the case! He notices everything, although he's left the shoes (and laces) alone, shockingly.

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  3. Hi Sheila, wow you have been busy! We were in lockdown for months so yeah there was a lot of closet reorganisation going on. It makes sense to have a devoted closet room for both of you. That dress is so cute and love those shoes with it. I love silver jewellery. I must confess I enjoy the pictures of the"stuff" as much as the actual clothes. Really enjoyable post. Thank you Shazxx

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    1. Hi, Shaz! Yes, I just felt like doing some reorging this week. I clean out my own and L's closets every 6 months, and this is going to slowly move to this room, to give us space to spread things out a bit.

      Thanks, I love this dress so much. I'm glad you enjoy the stuff pictures - I'm a detail person, so I always want to see the accessories!

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  4. Well didn't get a email for this post! And they say that women have a lot of shoes!! Haha. Looking forward to see your haircut!

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    1. It should have come - I got it about 24 hours after posting.

      I still have about 4x the shoes that L does.

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  5. This is a beautiful design dress on you. The colour and the pattern is wonderful. I also love the shoes you paired it with and the silver jewellery. Very pretty styling. The pink in your hair looks lovely. I'm looking forward to seeing the new cut.
    I used to write journals but when I started to write a blog it kind of turned into my diary I guess....but it is good to write like that. Creative writing on a higher level or just a writing outlet- either way it is good for the soul.

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    1. Thank you so much, Ivana. I love the quality of the dress - it's very special. I liked the chunky-ish shoes with it. There's no more pink in my hair! I've gone steel grey again, but I'll be toning it lavender again in the near future.

      Yes, my blog is my current journal too - transcribing what I wrote 35 years ago is interesting!

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  6. Oh, Sheila, I do know that feeling so well. You did the right thing initiating some changes, which often makes me feel better too. You are right that wearing something new gives you a lift too. That always works with me, anyway! That dress is gorgeous on you, and yes to coordinating masks! I might very well steal that shoe hack from you, although, knowing me, it would probably end in disaster :-) A giant shared closet sounds like the ultimate dream and a great goal to slowly work towards. I will forever regret not keeping my teenage journals, so I'm rather envious of yours. I think I was a drama queen too, but then aren't most of us at that age? xxx

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    1. I've been in a funk lately, Ann, and doing all these things really helped me. It felt good to DO something.

      I felt good in this outfit, and I like coordinating the masks to match. I'll take some pictures of my hack so you can see what I did. I never recommend it unless you're willing to ruin the shoes.

      I would love to have it actually be a fun shared space for both of us. We have a lot of crap in that room to get rid of first, though.

      I definitely was a drama queen! It's been cringe-worthy, but also hilarious reading and typing out all my random 17-year-old brain's thoughts.

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  7. So many people I know are feeling off or out of sorts these last two weeks. I'm usually a very even keeled person and lately I've been grumping around. Maybe the "new normal" isn't all that normal. I hope the changes you've made do the trick for you and get you feeling back on track.

    A giant closet is an amazing idea. Good for you for digging in and getting started. I have difficulty not getting sidetracked when I'm organizing. Marie Kondo I am not.

    The swing dress is terrific and Vizzini has good taste in earrings, lol!


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    1. We just hit the 5-month mark of COVID, Nana, so maybe that's part of it. I am feeling better having done all these things to shake myself up.

      I live with a man who doesn't like to give things up, so it's a challenge whenever I want to do something new.

      Thank you! He likes ALL the earrings.

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  8. Hi Sheila, I just love that tunic dress. The colours are wonderful together - the blue trim against the burgundy. And the positive /negative patterning! Awesome!
    Looks like a very satisfying tidy up. Congrats!

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    1. Thank you so much, Juliana, me too!

      It felt good to get a bunch of reorganizing done.

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  9. Proenza Schouler... my gawd, how fancy is that? It is a beautiful dress and suits you very well.
    Applause for doing the shelves. I wouldn’t put fedoras out to gather dust, I would put them in a hat box. But that is me.
    L does have a terrific collection of shoes. So nice to have a husband who likes these things.
    As for the adjustments you made to the shoes... I am amazed. What do you mean, you cut two "slices" into the back of the heel? What does that look like? Please send me a photo. And you cut out a piece of the tongue? Gosh, I would think this ruins the shoe.
    Greetje
    PS Vizzini remains the cutest.

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    1. I KNOW! So cool! I was so thrilled to find it. Thanks, Greetje.

      I will be wearing them as soon as it starts getting rainy, which is only about a month away. When I put things in boxes, I forget about them.

      He does, and this is only 2/3 of his collection! It's fun that he loves to dress up too.

      I will post some pictures of my slicing of my shoes tonight for you. Yes, the tongue had an extra big wrinkle in it, which rubbed the top of the foot badly, so I cut it out, leaving only a bit of the tongue under the zipper. I only paid $15 for them, so if I ruined them, I'd only be out that much...but I didn't ruin them, and now I can wear them with no rubs!

      Vizzini IS the cutest! :)

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  10. That dress is beautiful on you, it's a stunning find! I'm impressed you were able to fix the shoes too, I had a pair of shoes that were a bit uncomfortable a few years ago and I remember reading about your trick but I wasn't brave enough to try it - I donated the shoes instead, hopefully they would fit someone else better! Looking forward to seeing your finished room, it will be wonderful!

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    1. Thank you so much, Mica! I will be putting some pictures up about how I did it, so maybe that will make you braver. :)

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  11. Sometimes a new dress does wonders for our mood and your pink dress looks great!

    I love how you're rearranging your den. What a great idea to have a giant clothes room! And how interesting it'd be finding your creative writing folder from 35 years ago! I cringe at mine from about 7 years ago! I must be a bit dramatic too! X

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    1. Thank you, Jess, and I so agree!

      It's been fun so far, and this is only a small step. I'll just rest on this for a while.

      Finding my creative writing binder has been amazing.

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  12. That dress was such a good score. L has the coolest shoe collection of any man I've ever known! I saw the description you gave of how you fixed the shoes on your next post and that was very ingenious; glad it made them wearable.

    That must be so much fun going back over the journal writings from high school - I love your idea of transcribing them. Just reading them must bring back such memories.

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    1. Thanks, I agree, such a DEAL. L has fabulous flair - I love that so much about him. Yes, I felt very clever in fixing my shoes.

      It's amazing, I'm loving it. I don't feel the embarrassment - it's just so fun to relive all this time in my life.

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  13. Den progress is sooooo exciting! Excellent take on nature’s Botox with the hair.... I’m with you on that although I do like the floppy look here too. You’ve had more hair styles than anyone else I know, come to think on that.
    Sweet a** dress too babe. Love love love!

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    1. Thanks, sweetheart. Ha ha, you don't need it, darlin'. I have had a few styles in my day, ha. Thank you, honey. Mwah!

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