Dots, Circles and Spheres

After yesterday's Smoking Lily jacket, I was inspired to wear my lovely Smoking Lily dress today: Inigo barged into the shot - I didn't know he was there until I felt him rub my leg.

I haven't worn this dress since August! The short sleeves make it pretty much a warmer-weather outfit (I froze in the AC in the office today). I wore my burgundy vintage flounced slip with this (last seen on Valentine's Day).

It was a bit too full to wear under the dress, but I didn't mind.

The stuff:

Second wear of my gold shoes (last seen here). They were much more comfortable this time.

I love the circle pattern in this fabric, and decided to wear "ball" jewelry with it:

That's my Grandma J's necklace (it's Anne Klein, and I think it's probably from the early 80s), my cheap-o gold ball earrings, my fake Gucci eelskin bracelet and a bigass costume ring.

Dress (Smoking Lily, consignment), slip (Suzette Lingerie, vintage, consignment), shoes (Aldo, consignment), necklace (Grandma J's, Anne Klein, vintage), bracelet (Italian, gift from Mom and Dad), earrings (Aldo Accessories), ring (retro).

Out With a Bang! - Sky-High Red Heels

Well! This is my last week of work, and frankly, I have nothing to do. I played Free Cell for two hours this afternoon. Nothing like getting paid for doing nothing. Ha!

I decided that this week will be a theme week: Out With a Bang! I am going to wear a bunch of my most outrageous stuff...'cause when or where am I going to wear some of these things again?

Like these shoes:
Not exactly appropriate in most offices!

This is the second wear of the $3 polka dot top (first worn here, when I formally got notice that my job was over), the fourth wear of this $7 striped skirt (previously seen here), and also the fourth wear of the shoes (seen here).

I like the mix of the two black and white patterns. I also felt very "out there" with my semi-sheer black tights and these open shoes!

Inigo was not so impressed:

He's more like, "Feed me!"

The stuff:

Man, I love those heels!

I wore my classic black and white baubles:

A black rose for a (sort-of) black week.

Top (Majora, thrifted), camisole (Mexx), skirt (Linda Allard for Ellen Tracy, thrifted), shoes (Carvalo), bracelet (Le Chateau), earrings (Plum).

Weekend Stuff and a Book Blurb

It's been a tiring weekend, and all I want to do is nap.

What I wore to Weight Watchers:
Arms akimo, Wonder Woman! Best news I'd had all week: I only gained 0.2 pounds over the last two weeks!

Dress (no label, consignment), sweater (Jacob), shoes (Wild Diva, gift from Caro).

We had an exhausting game of 4 on 4 Ultimate on Saturday, after which I napped, then went to Winesday. Thank you, Marian, for firing up the hot tub! I really needed that soak.

I wore various bits and pieces of this outfit over the course of the evening, but back to this for the cab ride home late last night.

Cardigan (Express, thrifted), cami (Reitman's, consignment), skirt (Club Monaco, consignment), scarf (MetroWear), boots (Miz Mooz), belt (Gap).

Today, I spent 4.5 hours walking around town:

Inigo waltzed into this - I didn't even know he was there until I felt him brush my leg after the camera went off. Silly kitty!

Dress (Do & Be), shoes (Rinaldi), cardigan (Express, thrifted), belt (consignment).

I finished a book earlier this week: Stephen King's "Under the Dome":

I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm a big fan of Stephen King. I used to buy his books for my Dad for birthdays and Father's Day. Dad was dyslexic, so he struggled to read entire books, but he got hooked on the plots of Stephen King novels so they were easier for him. And once he finished with them, they came back to me. Many of my King books say things like, "Happy Birthday, Dad, love, She" inside them. I have nearly every book he's written.

Stats: 1000+ pages of interesting characters getting up to no good shennanigans. Started August 8th, finished August 17th. I toted this massive lug of a hardcover up-Island and back.

Blurb: As I said, I've been a fan of Stephen King's for ages (since at least the early 80s). I have a new hardcover original of "'Salem's Lot". I expect complicated interrelationships, gory deaths, and seeing what happens to his characters (literally dozens of them in this one) when something unexpected happens to them. Like, oh, say, a dome pops up around a small town in Maine and the bizarre stuff that ensues.

If you like Stephen King, you'll like this one. It's much like "Lord of the Flies" in that it puts people in a closed environment and then sees what they do. I'd say it's in the top half of his books, but closer to the bottom of the top half, if you know what I mean. If you don't like Stephen King, don't bother.

The Bad Bangle

I've been meaning to wear this dress again (previously worn here, and here), and today just seemed like the day.
In keeping with the Wonder Woman theme for August (don't forget!), I did a ton of bracelets to deflect the bullets of negativity!

Since I'm feeling positive, I only needed bracelets on one arm. Fewer bullets. Hee.

I also wanted to get another wear of these shoes in before I pack them away:

They just don't work with nylons or tights (or socks), so they are strictly bare-leg/toes wear. I haven't worn them a lot, so they are still in really good condition, even though I've had them for around 4-5 years now. Previous wearings here, here, here, here, here, and here. Yup, looks like I've worn them twice a year.

One risk with an armload of bracelets is the racket you make. I irritated my co-workers (sorry, guys!) until I figured out that I had a Bad Bangle in the mix. It's the one on the right:

It's hollow, so it really made a lot of noise against the other ones. Once I slipped it onto the other side of the cuff, it was fine and I was a lot less jangly.

Dress (Smoking Lily, consignment), cami (InWear), shoes (Franco Sarto), cuff (Club Monaco), brass and brown bangles (Aldo Accessories), ivory bangles (some import shop).

The Real Friday (and a Couple of Other Days)

Well, I'm back - it's been a busy few days, but now the real weekend is here! A very happy 4th of July to our US neighbours! And a rousing "Happy Canada Day!" to my fellow Canucks - I hope you had a good one!

On Wed night, L and I went to see "Toy Story 3". I'm not ashamed to admit that I wept like a baby during the last 15 minutes. Knowing this, I took all my makeup off before we walked to town:
Also, it's still chilly out in the evenings, so I layered up.

Cardigan (Express, thrifted), t-shirt (don't recall - it's one of the crappy ones I wear around the house), skirt (Club Monaco, consignment), shoes (Stonefly, thrifted), belt (Plum), scarf (belt from a skirt).

For Canada Day, L and I went to his boss' barbecue. Of course, I had to look patriotic: As I've been to these BBQs in past years, I ate before I went (ha!). No, seriously, it's a good plan for me, since then it's easier to avoid things like cake and hot dogs and chocolate chip cookies. I ate a plain (overcooked) hamburger patty, a ton of tomato slices, a smidge of coleslaw, and three Coors Lights (hey, it's a necessary social lubricant).

I got a lot of compliments on the dress:I was hoping the sun would come out so that I could take the shrug off but no such luck.

Dress (Vero Moda), shrug (Debut), belt (Plum), shoes (Tommy Hilfiger, consignment), purse (Ollie & Nic).

Friday, I had to work (gotta save up my vacation days), but it was totally dead. All my US colleagues were out of the office, as were my US clients. Half my department was empty. I planned to go shopping after work, so I wore my "shopping uniform": easy to slip on/off dress, slip-on shoes, non-bulky jacket (yeah, still not sunny), and minimal jewelry.

Dress (Jacob, gift from Elaine), jacket (Ann Taylor Loft), shoes (Kenneth Cole Reaction, gift from Cat), cuff (old).

Ruth and I headed off to the mall for a long lunch - I got a pair of shoes. I had poor luck shopping after work, though. A woman nabbed a leopard sheath dress with a bigass zipper right out from under my nose (it did look fabulous on her, I had to grudgingly concede), but I found a skirt and a couple pieces of jewelry at Plum. I headed off to Dots with my "extra 50% off" coupon, but I didn't find anything I liked. I ended up with a new stock Noa Noa skirt.

I'm loving all the fall stuff coming in - ha! Is that wrong? We haven't even gotten summer yet, and I'm looking at autumn!

Attack of the 50 Foot...Alice

Thank you, everyone, for your very kind words, good wishes and hugs for us and Othello - it's been a tough couple of days, and your words have meant so much. Our poor little guy doesn't have a lot of time left and we're just trying to make it the best for him, no matter how hard it is on us.
This picture is from last month (what can I say, we take a lot of pictures of our cats). Othello is sitting on L's lap while he paints. This shot captures Othello's general crankiness well. He's begrudgingly affectionate with us.

And on to fashion! If the world gives you lemons, suck 'em up and look fabulous!

I greatly enjoyed this outfit - I felt very Alice in Wonderland, but also Tom Waits' "Alice", which is one of my favourite albums and songs by him. The strange, melancholic tune suited my mood on Friday.

That's my old work-horse polka dot dress. I've worn it a LOT (although the only pictures I could find are here last May, and here in March 2007).

The white floofiness is this ruffly ivory skirt (worn once, here, last August), which I've been meaning to wear again. I threw caution to the wind since it was Casual Friday and did the crazy painty tights again.

And finally worked down to my flats:

I forgot my cool green and pink ring, but otherwise I really liked all the stuff.

A close-up:

Can you ever go wrong with pearls and Audrey?

Inigo was so cute today - I had to take a picture of him on L's lap:

He's sitting like that on me as I type this. *smile* We're making sure we give him a lot of love right now too.

Wish me luck! It's the big 10K race tomorrow morning!

Dress (Do & Be), skirt (no label, consignment), tights (Hue), obi (Smoking Lily, consignment), shoes (Franco Sarto, consignment), pearls (Eaton's, '90s), various charms.

Attack of the 50 Foot...Dress Week! Condiments! And some bad news...

I am always determined to wear this dress more. I've worn it twice, here (last July) and here (for another Dress Week!). Instead of mixing it with a neutral, this time I thought I'd go crazy and mix it with...yellow!
I only realized once I got to work that I was wearing mustard, ketchup and mayo - all I needed was a bit of green and I'd be relish too!

The stuff:

Went with the not-quite-matchy dark reds to go with the tomato-red of the dress.

A close-up:

More circles and swirly patterns.

And...the bad news. We found out tonight that our beloved kitty, Othello, has cancer. We love him dearly - we got him just before we got married, so he's just over 13 years old - and this is a huge blow to us. Since we don't have kids, he and Inigo are our little buddies. We're going to try to give him as much love as we can with the time we have left with him.

Othello on top of his scratching post this morning, out on the deck, looking at the cars.

Forgive my indulgence, but I'll be including pictures of him in my posts when I can. I want to have memories of him for as long as we have left.

Dress (Vero Moda), cardigan (Future Paradise), belt (Plum), shoes (Expressions), necklace (Melanie Lynne), earrings (don't remember).

Attack of the 50 Foot...Dress Week! I See Spots

Has it really been 6 months since Boots Vs. Dress Week? Get outta town!
Time to showcase some great dresses!

This weekend is the Big 10K Race, so I'm going ease myself into wearing flats by Friday so that I don't have sore feet or pull a Sheila and twist my ankle or something equally silly.

But today, there are heels:
This is my second wear of this dress (click here to see last time), and following suggestions from Megan and Audi, I went with blues (turquoise) instead of trying to be all matchy. Well, I mean, yeah, the turquoises are all matchy, but let's not get all bogged down with semantics, eh?

I particularly liked the bits of gold and ivory from the bracelets:

Okay, I know that's not a great shot of the bracelets. Here's the stuff:

Those are the shoes L wanted me to wear with this outfit last week.

A close-up of the jewelry:

Pretty curlicues in the gold.

Dress (Smoking Lily, consignment), tank (Esprit), shoes (Le Chateau), necklace (Foxy), earrings (don't remember), ivory/turquoise bangles (holiday purchase), gold bangles (Aldo Accessories).

It's a Pony! My Spot Prize Arrives!

My "spot prize" from the last Capsule Wardrobe Challenge by Jane at The Small Fabric of My Life arrived last week, all the way from the UK!

Okay, so it's not a pony, but where would we put one? It's a scarf!
A red polka dot one, to be precise! Thank you so much, Jane, I love it! It's very "me".

I wanted to wear it a little differently (not in a big bunch around my neck) for its inaugural presentation, so I crossed it in front of my neck and tied it at the small of my back to make it like a top.

Then I put this new hair barrette on it to pull it in:

I can't wear barrettes - my hair is too fine and slippery, and anything heavier than a bobby pin falls out. But I couldn't resist this little sparkly beauty at Club Monaco ($9, clearance).

In honour of the Major Prize, I wore my rosette (last worn here):

Since the back of the jacket dips down and has that nice little peplum back, the rosette worked great there (and the ties from the scarf help pouf it a big more). If you're going to do a poufy peplum, you may as well go Major, right?

The stuff:

I'm looking forward to wearing this scarf on a more casual day.

Jacket (La Classe Couture, thrifted), scarf (H&M, prize!), skirt (Nygard, consignment), shoes (Guess), rosette (gift from Mom), earrings (The Cobbler), barrette (Club Monaco).

Smoking Wrap Dress

I have been on the lookout for another wrap dress, since I gave up this one in a swap last year (wow, that's an old picture - July 2008 - but, hee, I'm wearing the same shoes!).

I've had my eye on this one at the local consignment shop for a few months. It had been priced at something like $58, which was just too much for me.
But when I was in on Saturday, there is was, marked down to $40...and Annie the owner gave me a straight trade for my bag of clothes and shoes, so really, it was free (along with yesterday's skirt and a couple of other things I'll be wearing tomorrow and Friday)!!

It's by Smoking Lily, same as this skirt and these obis here and here, and this scarf. It's a local company; all their clothing is hand-screened, and hand-made. Their stuff's not cheap, but oh, I love it. Finding their things on consignment is gold, baby!

It's a burgundy and white (it looks pink above, but I swear, it's white) with tan flowers. I liked how the mustard and brown worked with it. I like the layered necklaces too.

The stuff:

The triple necklace (steel chain, yellow crystals and beige pearl beads), the groovy silver necklace (with yellow/brown crystals) and yellow crystal bead earrings. I'm all matchy! Ah, so reassuring. Those are 4" heels, by the way.

But that makes me wonder: how else should I wear this? What colours? layers? Suggestions welcome!

Dress (Smoking Lily, consignment), cami (InWear), shoes (Unlisted), silver necklace (Melanie Lyne), triple necklace and earrings (Plum).

New Shoes! Another Confession! Push-ups Work!

This is a very busy entry. Ah, such is life.

I've been mulling over what to wear with my new shoes. I went with yellow.
My favourite mustard cardi - soon to be set aside for warmer sweaters - and my black polka dot skirt (the dots are really small).

The shoes are by Friis Company, from Denmark. They're purple! They're suede!

The shape is very 50s-looking to me, and the peep-toe is nice and small. They were were also very comfortable and did not rub a bit all day. It is worth it to spend money on good quality shoes.

Inigo doesn't care about shoes unless he is digging in them.

That is what a fat cat looks like when he's trying to get up.

And this is what my fabulous shoes look like:

Ah! They are so lovely and the suede is so soft. It says "A bit of Luxury for Every Day". You have to read their blurb - "the triviality of everyday" is such a great phrase.

I made the necklace years ago out of beads that were given to me by my mom - I think they belonged to my great-grandmother? Not sure. Mom, email me and tell me. The purple glass beads are the old ones - there is one oval one and the rest are triangles. I should remake this - the little bronze beads are tarnishing.

Okay, the confession. Just like with the birthday money that I got, I had to top up the gift certificate amount by $15.00 (the shoes were $165.00). I feel it was justified. And I'm still not off the wagon...I will still adhere to my goal.

And finally, the push-ups that I started doing last week - I did keep on doing them. I probably do about 60 push-ups a day, minimum. It's so much easier doing 10 easy ones at a time!

My biceps:

Look out, Sarah Connor! Still looking a little flabby underneath but I do have loose skin from losing weight, so I'm probably stuck with my "buh-byes," ha!

My triceps:

I'm pointing at a muscle that I can see (only me?).

I was stiff the next day after my initial day of push-ups, especially across my chest and in my triceps. Ruth suggested I do some triceps dips (using the arms of my office chair), which helped get past that stiffness. I definitely feel that my back and shoulders are stronger - and it's making me stand up straighter.

Cardigan (Jacob), cami (Esprit), skirt (Precis Petites), shoes (Friis Company), belt (Plum), necklace (mix of vintage and new), earrings (don't remember).