Flowers and Denim on a Weekday (Oh, and A Butt Shot)

Today, there were glimpses of sun, and not just on my lapel:

I do like to make my own sunshine. And as you can see from the glare on my picture, it's actually light outside! Will wonders never cease?

This jacket is new-to-me: it's another Smoking Lily item (I adore their clothing - here's a post with links to my Smoking Lily items). It was $26.95 in a consignment store and you can bet I snatched it up! It's a stretchy denim with aqua denim piping all around the edges, and aqua on the cuff linings:

The skirt is my mystery skirt - I thrifted it in Seattle a few years ago. It doesn't have a label, just a little tag with a leaf on it. I love the heathery green tweed of it and the embroidered flowers on the bottom.

I'm wearing a red top underneath to tie in with the red in the flowers. My second day with no neutrals! Colours are the new neutral!

Detail of the jacket:

Hand silk-screened detail on the inside back.

The stuff:

I would love to show when I last wore these, but it's nearly impossible to search on a brand called "Me Too". Actually, I think I remember when I wore them last...yup, here. Hmmm...I need to wear that skirt again.

A close-up of the bits:

That is a most excellent flower. The earrings were a gift from my dear friend Sherylyn.

Note: no kick-backs from Smoking Lily - I link because I love.

Jacket (Smoking Lily, consignment), top (Planet), skirt (mystery, thrifted), shoes (Me Too), flower (Roberta's Hats), earrings (Shi Studio, gift from Sherylyn).

Oh, and yes, that is my butt over on Wendy Brandes' blog, doing an imitation of a Loverboy album cover. I was browsing online late the other night and well...the rest is history:

I guess you could say I got lucky!

Tuesday WW Group - Coral for Spring

Ah, my last day off before I get back to the ol' grind. I'm excited/nervous about starting fresh - I'd been at my old job for 5 and a half years before they outsourced us - but with Spring finally arriving, everything feels like a fresh start!

I even decorated my flip charts for today's meeting with shamrocks and tulips. Unfortunately, I got caught in a flash rain storm on the way home and got completely soaked - at least it was warm!

Anyway, I have all these lovely Spring-y things I've thrifted and nowhere to wear them (yet!). First up, this new cardigan and skirt:
The skirt is almost a neon coral - it's a linen and nylon blend, so it feels luxurious but doesn't crease! It was all of $5 in the thrift shop a few weeks ago. I vaguely recall that coral is an "it" colour this Spring, so woo!

The cardigan is also new-to-me - it was around $18 on consignment.

I love the big ruffles on it.

The blouse is one I've had for years - last seen here. Ha, I always wear the same accessories with it!

I can't wait to start building some new outfits for my new job...I have my clothes already selected for My First Day tomorrow, but how about a game? Let's see who guesses the closest to what I'll actually wear. Here's a poll - you can pick more than one item.

What Will Sheila Wear For Her First Day of Work?
	Trousers
	Mini skirt
	Pencil skirt
	Long skirt
	Dress
	Blazer
	Cardigan
	Blouse/Shirt
	Menswear-inspired
	Preppy
	Rock-n-roll
	Floral girly
	Multiple bright colours
	Primary/basic neutrals
	Pattern mixing
	Strapless
	Sheer fabric
	Bright legs (tights)
	Dressy boots
	Casual boots
	High heels
	Low or kitten heels
	Flat shoes
	Subdued jewelry
	Bold jewelry
	Belt
	Scarf
pollcode.com free polls

The stuff:

Lovely orangey-yellowy shoes. The buckle on the belt that came with the skirt is actually made out of bamboo!

A close-up:

I usually toss these belts, but I am going to keep that one. You never know when I might need to go on safari.

We donated a huge amount of stuff to charity lately. Inigo is very happy that he has his box back:

Lovey eyes!

Cardigan (American Rag Cie, consigment), blouse (I.N.C.), skirt (Rocket, thrifted), shoes (Tsubo "Erebus"), cuff (thrifted), earrings (Foxy).

Work Outfits - Mustard and Brown

Well, the last couple of days have been crazy. First of all, it snowed! Not a little piddly amount, but a foot of snow! You folks who don't live on the West coast don't know how fragile we delicate flowers are out here - we don't get snow very often and it shuts down everything!

Secondly, I don't have my Wed WW group anymore, so one less day of outfits (booooo). However, I did work a meeting today downtown and finished up my Receptionist training tonight. So here's an outfit:
Last wore this sweater here, and this skirt here. It's freakin' cold out, so I'm also wearing a cami under the sweater, a half-slip under the skirt, tights and then socks over the tights.

Classic leg on table pose:

I've had these shoes for ages (last seen here) and I just can't bear to get rid of them, even when I'm in a major clean-out-closet mode.

The stuff:

Kristen and I are the queens of yellow! We do love our mustard.

A close-up:

Pretty scrolly bits.

And...in other news, I have a job interview tomorrow morning (please send good vibes!). I applied online on Monday, and got the call on Wednesday. I was put through a half hour interview right then and there (!) and then they set up the interview for Friday. I have my fingers crossed but I am trying not to get my hopes up. I'll post the interview outfit when I get home and let you all know how it went.

Sweater (Pria), skirt (Liz Claiborne, thrifted), shoes (Unlisted), belt (Anne Klein pour Caleche, consignment), earrings (Plum).

Wednesday WW Group - Beech Butt

Today was my first meeting with my Wednesday group, after meeting some of them last week. I was a little sedate (for me) last week. Today, I went "Full Sheila":

Crazy Aunt whackitude! Woo! I felt like some sort of Robin Hood-esque hippie in this, which was fun. It's all about the skirt.

The drama!

Check. Out. That. Skirt. Seriously, isn't that cool? It's Smoking Lily from a season or two ago. I found that in a consignment store for $38.50 (it was on an extra 20% off). Then I walked up the street and found nearly the same skirt in the store for $96. Sweet!

I am planning to include this skirt in the Fourth Annual Capsule Wardrobe Challenge that Jane over at The Small Fabric of My Life is hosting this year. Although there are tons of wardrobe challenges, "diets" and capsules out there (I did my own year of not buying any new clothes or shoes), this has always been my favourite one because it's so few items (10 clothing/shoes, 5 accessories). I've done them all (2008, 2009, 2010)! Are you going to try it?

Oh, and FYI, I'm not getting any kind of kick-backs from Smoking Lily - I just love the quality of their items and own a lot. I have the Chair Skirt, the Dotty Dress, a maroon/grey silk obi, a pink/olive silk obi, and a silk bug scarf by them. Every piece except for the bug scarf was bought on consignment - I even found a black velvet cotton skirt by them with a silk-screened white flower in a thrift shop for $10.50 that I bought for my friend Cat, who shares my love for the Lily.

If you clicked the link for a similar skirt, you'll see that this skirt is actually a cape! Ooh, I can't wait to try that out! Mine is a thick but drapey tweed, and is fully lined in a beautiful, thick pewter satin. I love the uneven hem, the major (may-jah!) zipper, and the silk-screened pattern on my butt:It's a beech tree trunk! While I may never again have a "beach bottom," at least I can have a beech butt, hee hee.

Because of the uneven waist and the fullness of the skirt, I wanted to wear a slim-fitting top with some colour. I started out with the mustard top and trying on jackets over it, but they didn't look quite right. So I layered this long green sweater (last seen here) and loved how it worked. The mustard cuffs peeked out. This was snuggly and warm all day!

It was a bright, crisp day today, weatherwise, so I just wore my suede jacket (last worn in September) over it all:

As you can see my right boot has a habit of slouching, while the left does not (compare in the top picture, which I took first). I wore my brown stripey socks to help it stay up and ensure that even if it didn't (it didn't), I would still have a consistent boot shape there and I wouldn't look uneven. Boots last seen here (4 months ago? that's atrocious!).

Here's a detail of the skirt's pattern:

The name and the flower are silkscreened on the lining at the bottom of the point. For you sewers out there, dig the lovely finish on the lining edges - it's all sewn down all the way around.

The stuff:

These boots are devilish on the bottoms of my feet, and I walked in them more than I thought would have to today, so my poor dogs are howlin'. I put insoles in them when I got home. Low heels tomorrow, I promise, feets.

A close-up:

I've had that necklace for about 7 years - I bought it at Plum. It used to have matching earrings, but they killed my ears so I got rid of them. I also removed the little crochet-covered balls that were in the necklace - they didn't look right.

Coat (B.U.M. Equipment, thrifted), sweater (Max Studio), mustard tee (Mexx), skirt (Smoking Lily, consignment), socks (can't remember, got them at The Bay over a year ago), boots (Le Chateau, consignment), belt, necklace and earrings (Plum).

In My Comfort Zone

I'm gradually rolling out all my Plum goodies that I picked up last week. First up: this top/dress that didn't grab me on the initial run through the store:
When I scout a store with the intent to buy and/or try on stuff, I grab all the things that immediately leap out to me. Then, for my second go-round, I pull out things that intrigue me, scare me (yes!), or are a little outside my comfort zone (especially if they're on sale). You never know until you try things on!

I loved how this dress fit, and I'm totally (dude!) having an 80s flashback with the batwing sleeves.

There are two zippers off the neckline that sit at the shoulders - you can't see them very well in these pictures (sorry). It made for a very forgiving and comfortable outfit.

This is a very thin viscose knit (nice and soft, with some stretch), although the material is a bit see-through. I kept pulling down the hem when I was walking. Good thing the tights are thick! I think I might wear this with my skinny black trousers. The dress was $23, regular $85.

I wore this to my regular Weight Watchers meeting (I hadn't been in six weeks, what with being sick, going to Florida, Christmas, New Year's, and visiting L's folks) - it was perfect and light for my weigh-in. Only gained 0.6 lbs over the holiday season (and considering the amount of booze and junk food I consumed, that's amazing), but that has strengthened my resolve to exercise more.

I bought one of the WW workout kits: Punch! it's called. It's a DVD and a set of weighted gloves, and it has Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced kick-boxing/boxing moves. I did the Beginner mode (30 min) yesterday and I was actually sweating!

I did my fab yellow leather jacket over all this business:

All dressed up for lunch with L after my meeting. He dressed nice for me too (in his skinny purple jeans), and one of our regular waitresses, Sarah, asked us what the special occasion was. Heh, just bein' with my sweetie.

The stuff:

These boots have earned their price tag a dozen times over (I got them new, on consignment for $79.99).

Jacket (Danier leather), dress (Kensie), boots (Aldo, consignment), necklace (The Bay), earrings Aldo Accessories).

Another WW Meeting...and Lunch Out

WW meeting number two went well - although, wooo...funny how quickly you get out of the habit of getting up at 6am. Heh.


I had another new pair of shoes I just HAD to wear: Plus, I needed to break out the glitzy clothes for late December glamour! I last wore this vintage Alfred Sung skirt here (holy moly, last Feb/March!).

I really loved the neutral metallic colour of the shoes but the floofy bow really pushes them up a notch, so I kept the rest of the outfit (aside from the green lame lace skirt) also neutral.

Sorry, blurry - hard to keep my balance!

I last wore the jacket back in June (here) - it was a little cool, but I have a hard time finding really unique plain brown jackets.

Oh, but I know you're dying to see the shoes:

Pretty sweet, eh? My mom's vintage necklace added a bit more green up near my face (to bring out my green eyes!).

These were the best score of the four pairs I got:
$174.95 and I paid $40.00. Wow.

Mom gave me this awesome purse for Christmas:

I love the colour, and it's a really nice quality vinyl.

Jacket (Pelican Cove, consignment), top (Ellen Tracy, gift from Caro), skirt (Alfred Sung, vintage 80s, consignment), shoes (Jeffrey Campbell), necklace (Mom's, vintage 60s), purse (gift from Mom).

Today, L and I went out for lunch, then bought groceries. Of course I dress nice for groceries!

These jeans are new! I adore black jeans, and these were marked down to $27 at Plum, from $90. They are pretty long on me, but I'll see how they shrink after I wash them. It's not like I suffer from a lack of heels to wear.

The top was last seen here - the bright sunny colours make me feel happy!

I also got some new outerwear accessories at Plum earlier this week:

It's that 80s shade of green - really vibrant. The gloves and scarf are acrylic wool; the gloves were $4 and the scarf was $7. I love long gloves.

And if I'm going to do yellow and green, then I have to wear the yellow leather jacket:

Woo! Bright!

My new little wrist-twist:

I like the neutral metallic leather and the studs - cool clasp, too. It was $7, regular $45 (I hit the Club Monaco accessory sale selection again). Gotta have my rock 'n' roll, man!

I needed a) heels with these long jeans and b) comfy shoes and c) something that went with the outfit. My python wedges fit the bill:

I totally cheated and wore taupe socks with them! Bwahahaha! The jeans were so long, you couldn't see them, even when I was sitting down.

I also wanted to wear this awesome new belt buckle (I just attached it to the belt that I use for this buckle worn here):

I'm a huge fan of pin-up girls - and I fell in love with this lovely beauty. This buckle was 1/2 price for $12.50. I got it at the same store where I got all the shoes.

Top (Liz & Co.), jeans (Dish), shoes (Aerosoles), gloves/scarf (Plum), jacket (Danier Leather).

A very Happy New Year to all my fellow bloggers, readers and commenters. I am honoured to know you all, and thankful for your kind words, encouragement and I celebrate your general awesomeness. I hope you have a safe, happy and fun-filled evening tomorrow night!

I will be posting my New Year's Eve outfit (we're throwing a party!) after the fact...and stay tuned for the 2010 Major Awards!

Florida, Fashion and Festivities!

Ho ho ho! Hope you all had a fab Xmas! As I mentioned, it's been a busy last week for me - so I'm catching up now.

We went to Florida last weekend, as L's 40th birthday present (his birthday was in June, but no football then). It was a crazy time to travel. I should have listened to Inigo:
"Don't go!"

I had to wrestle my bag away from him so I could pack.

We traveled very light. This is what I wore for my travel outfit (it was 11+ hours each way):
I wore the same thing coming home, only a different long-sleeved top and tee.

I layered to stay warm on the plane:

My bare legs were chilled - thank goodness that stripey scarf opens up really huge (and it's cashmere so lovely and warm).

Jacket (Gap, consignment), t-shirt (Upper Playground), long tee (Esprit), skirt (InWear), shoes (Vans).
We stayed in South Beach, at a fabulous Art Deco hotel that had been recently renovated:

We had a big suite, complete with kitchen.

We checked out the beach, of course:

It was only two blocks from our hotel. Those rain clouds presaged a 10-hour stretch of torrential downpour, and although rain doesn't bother us (hey, we're from the Pacific Northwest, we practically have webbed toes), both L and I were so sick on the Saturday, we crashed in the hotel and slept during the rainiest bits.

I did manage to stick my feet in the Atlantic Ocean:

Ruth's black dress (I also have a cami on, but it's hard to see), and a scarf for a belt. I'm holding my orange sandals, which were pretty thrashed (I left them behind). I had planned to dress up for dinner on Saturday night, but we ended up dashing out to TGIFriday's for a quick dinner, then watching a movie in the hotel while we sniffled and honked.

Dress (BCBG, gift from Ruth), shoes (can't remember).
On Sunday, we met up with Kim and Spence and their daughter, Eloise, to go to the game. Self-portrait with L, all decked out in our Dolphins gear:

L looks really excited to be going to the game!

Sadly, our team lost, but it was awesome actually being there. We headed home on Monday - we had delays in Miami and in San Francisco (our flight didn't end up leaving until 12:30am) and ended up getting home at 3am. I'm sure glad I didn't have to work on Tuesday!

After spending a day doing nothing (movies and TV), I girded my loins for my Christmas shopping. I also met my bestie, Janet, for lunch:

Nice bright colours, thigh-high boots and some punk accents.

My outerwear:

I felt very Christmassy.

Coat (Mario Serrano), plaid tee (TMT), yellow tee (Mexx), jeans (Esprit), boots (Pegabo), gloves (Parkhurst), belt (from Ruth), cuff (old).
I had to get groceries and finish up my shopping on Thursday:

A bit more casual - I've been living in my jeans lately.

Black tee (BCBG, consignment), red tee (Kersh), jeans (Esprit), boots (Aldo, consignment).
I spent a few hours wrapping presents. Kitty helped.

I had to sacrifice a piece of tissue so that he could sit on it and stay off my wrapping paper.

We did our stockings Christmas morning. I was spoiled, as always.

"The Walking Dead, Vol. 12", the new Stephen King, the new Kim Harrison, "Never Let Me Go", a new crossword puzzle book, my usual page-a-day calendar of Forgotten English, a large selection of chocolate bars (yay!) and some mini vodkas (most chocolate and vodka has now been consumed).

L also got me a lovely top, but it's too small, so I'll see if I can exchange it at Plum tomorrow.

We do a stocking for the cat (aw...this is our first Christmas without Othello). We get some new mousies and toys, and wrap them up with a bunch of loose catnip and tissue. Inigo gets very excited about this:

He was flipping mousies all over the bed.

We had our breakfast, got dressed and headed over to my ex-sister-in-law's for presents with the nieces, then Mom came home with L and I and I did a roasted chicken. It all turned out pretty good except that a) I burnt the stuffing and b) my mashed potatoes' bowl broke in the oven and made a mess (but we saved most of the potatoes). Otherwise, tasty! I'm making soup out of the leftovers right now.

I dressed Christmassy:

Since we walked, I went with my boots again.

Sweater (Tobias), skirt (Nygaard, consignment), snowflake bracelet and earrings (Metropolitan Museum gift shop).
A very Merry Christmas from my fam to yours!

Inigo stuck his paw out just as the timer went. What a ham.