Jungle Cashmere Dots, and Kitty Therapy

Okay, I'm getting my mojo back slowly, but today felt...pretty good. 

It helps that I'm wearing some of my favourite patterns and textures and colours.

• Sweater - Lord & Taylor, consignment; last seen here (2nd outfit) in April as a Rock Princess
• Pants - Tara Jarmon, consignment; last worn here in May while being Indolent
• Shoes - Joe Fresh, thrifted; purchased here on Sunday with Jodi for $8.50

Showing a bit of my ink

I need to get back into the habit of taking a picture of my outerwear again - I wore my fluffy long cream light coat and my red hat with this (with aqua sneakers, see what you're missing out on?) today.

This sweater is cut like a t-shirt, and if you checked the previous wearing of it, you can see that I tucked it in then. This is actually a very thin cashmere, and I have a vintage camisole on underneath it to keep it from being see-through

I love these polka dotted pants, and I enjoyed how harmoniously they played with the peachy-coral of the sweater. Red goes with everything. Seriously. It's a neutral.

The stuff:

First wearing of these fabulously comfy flats today. My coworker Lesley exclaimed over them, as she'd tried them on at the same thrift store and they weren't quite her size. Sorry, Lesley, sucks to be you! Mine! Ha ha!

Polka dots with jungle print is a YES in my book. And it follows the number one rule of pattern-mixing: one geometric pattern (polka dots) + one organic pattern (jungle) + at least one colour in common that's a neutral (white and red). I won't be keeping either the pants or the shoes out in my fall/winter wardrobe (changeover in two weekends, eeee!).

Green bling:

All. The. Green.

• Glass bangle - thrifted
• Glass bead necklace - vintage 60s, Mom's
• Earrings - Stella & Dot, consignment
• Turquoise/silver ring - Glee

I also felt like all that pattern business going on in the bottom half of the outfit left the top half a bit lacking, so I pulled together another colour from one of the patterns - green, also found in the jungle print of the shoes - that is also a complementary colour of the main bulk of the outfit (green is opposite of red/coral on the colour wheel).

And so I feel pretty good. It helps that I got some good ol' fashioned kitty therapy.

Vizzini roams around the house in the morning, poking his head in the bathroom and visiting me on the computer while I'm getting ready in the morning. Whenever he comes to find me, I'll always give him attention. So today, when he didn't visit me, I went looking for him.

"What is it, I am busy!"

He is mid-meow there. The acorns are falling from the oaks all around our house (it's a mess on the road) and there are squirrels everywhere right now, harvesting them.

He came to visit me later and we sat on the cuddle benches.

"Mmmmm....you're not taking my picture now, are you?"

While Vizzini is 80% monster, he is also 20% cuddle-kitty. I rarely catch him this way in pictures.

"No one's going to see this, right?"

He is totally fine with us rubbing his tum until he's not. His paws are all happy there, and he's drooling all over the bench - no scratches today.

He sat on the bench watching me leave.

"But I'm not done with our cuddling!"

This cat makes me late for work some days!

Presidential in Cerulean Blue, and An Interview With Ally

What a day - the Canadian President of my company came to the office! We were all given the head's up to put our best foot forward and dress up, instead of dressing like IT workers. Skip the socks and sandals, and put on a tie! 

Of course, I'm classy as heck every day (she tells herself), but I took it up a notch today.

• Jacket - Le Chateau, consignment; last seen here (4th outfit) in May as a topper over a yellow dress
• Camisole - not tracked, thrifted
• Skirt - handmade, vintage 80s, thrifted; last worn here in July with a southwest blouse
• Shoes - Elegant Conversations Kendra, Fluevog; last seen here (2nd outfit) earlier this month to see "Spamalot" with Mom

And I had a bag of ties ready for the managers who'd forgotten to wear one!

I felt very corporate in this, and actually really liked the outfit overall, although it did feel just a titch too conservative for me. Heck, it's good to shake it up a bit, right?

Nothing new here, all stalwart favourites in my wardrobe. I love this jacket and always mentally thank the person who had the sleeves shortened to this nice bracelet-length before she consigned it.

The skirt is a work of art, and again, thanks to its former owner who used a gorgeous wool crepe, lined it fully and was the exact same size as me!

The stuff:

The shoes are probably the funkiest part of the outfit. Well, aside from my hair. No toning that down!

Sparkly bling:

My headset that I have to wear all day at work covers one ear, so I put the matchy clip on the uncovered ear, and wore a pearl in the other. I'm sure not a single person noticed.

• Belt - Danier Leather
• Brooch/earring - vintage 60s,vintage fair (one earring was lost a few years ago)
• Pearl earring - don't remember (not a real pearl)
• Bracelet - Coro, vintage 60s, Mom's 
• Fulvia Ring - Wendy Brandes

In other, much more super-duper exciting news: I'm interviewed on Ally's blog Shybiker! Get over there - here - to read all my secrets (hee). I have to thank Ally for being so kind and patient - I wrote the darned thing back in January and have been too lazy to dig up pictures. Finally, I thought, "I'm just going to send it and apologize profusely, and hope that she still wants it." And she did!

I'm also quite embarrassed at all the sweet things she's said (I am not that interesting, really). Oh, go on, Ally, I'm blushing. Thank you!

Power Colour: Rockin' Red

You guys are the best - thank you for your empathetic responses to yesterday's "mojo-less" post! I am still feeling "meh" but I faked it better today. Helps when I wear one of my power colours (or Power Colours, to emphasize their importance to me).

Red has always been a Power Colour for me (yellow too).

• Blouse - Michael Kors, thrifted; purchased here for $16.95
• Skirt - no label, handmade, thrifted; last seen here (2nd outfit) in June with a cheonsam top
• Shoes - Big Presence Desmond, Fluevog; last worn here in May with fucshia and copper leather

I felt better in classic shapes: a simple blouse, and a straight skirt and pumps. Easy.

First wearing of this blouse and it is very slippy and slidey! I couldn't tuck it into my nylons (one of my usual tricks) due to the waistband of the skirt being low, so I was tucking it back in constantly. The sleeves also wanted to unroll very badly. However, overall I really liked it.

I love this wonderful Indian handwoven skirt - it's a bit hard to see but it has wonderful bands of gold and bright red weaving along the bottom, and the body of it is a fine black and red stripe, which gives it an overall burgundy look.

The stuff:

Shiny copper shoooooooes!

Copper bling:

Most of my copper collection is packed away for fall/winter - these bracelets have both been purchased recently.

• Cuff - Renoir, vintage 60s, consignment; purchased here for $12.00
• Bracelet - Renoir, vintage 60s, thrifted; purchased here for $4.00

Do you have Power Colours? What effect do they have on you?

Many Colours and Sick Pants

Today was one of those days. My mojo is missing: I feel blah and dead and tired and completely uninspired. I don't even want to smile. 

A very forced smile

This made it hard to do my job, which is mostly smiling and being upbeat, but I was plagued by work-dreams last night and woke up with just...nuthin'.

• Jacket - Danier Couture, consignment; last seen here in June with dots and dragons
• Blouse - Spense, consignment; purchased here for $22.00
• DIY harem pants, thrifted; first worn here (2nd outfit) in August after I turned them from palazzo pants to harem pants
• Shoes - Grotesque; last seen here in June with grey lace

"I think I smell your mojo on the carpet."

My coworkers were pretty nice about it. Thanks to Chris for the big bear-hug.

I wanted to wear these pants once more before I pack 'em away, but they didn't ring my bell this time around, although I like the outfit overall. This is also the first wearing of this gloriously bright cobalt blue ruffled blouse, but even the vivid colour and ruffles failed to raise my spirits.

Nothing about the outfit rang my bell - I wanted to be at home in my house stuff.

"Is that your mojo at the door?'

Apparently, my pants are also "sick" which I believe in the current lexicon is a good thing, as in "Yo, those are sick pants."

The stuff:

I love these shoes, but even they did not contain enough oomph to get me out of my bluesy slump.

Minimal bling:

For a maximalist like me, these earrings are practically a crime.

• Earrings - local

A huge "thank you!" to Shelley at Forest City Fashionista for naming me one of her "8 Coolest Outfits Worn by 40+ Bloggers This Month" for this lavender and dotty outfit from a couple of weeks ago.

I'm sure I'll be mojo-ing again soon - I always bounce back. I'll have to put together something really "ME! for tomorrow to try to jump-start my mood.

Weekend Wrap-Up: Perfect Purple, Painty Linen and Leather, Shopping in Green With Jodi

Hello, my friends! I hope you're all having as nice a weekend as I've had.

Here we are with Friday's dinner outfit. L and I went to Stage, a little charcuterie and wine bar in our 'hood. 

I rained briefly on our way - so good thing I wore these boots...again!

• Dress - Jackpot, thrifted; first worn here in February with greys
• Boots - Matisse, consignment; first worn here (4th outfit) last weekend with an Italian dress
• Jacket (below) - Lord & Taylor, thrifted; last seen here in June with pink paisley

Hmmm...being self-critical, I have gained a few pounds since February when I last wore this dress, but I don't care - I felt good and I had a lovely time.

I'm also still at my goal weight. I don't wear any kind of spanx or that awful stuff, so these are my own lumps and bumps. I earned them - I live an action-packed life!

I still like this dress, and I'm keeping it. Plus, it matches my hair perfectly!

It was chilly out, so back to this stellar light jacket for these few weeks when it's still sorta warm.

This jacket has been one of my favourite pieces in my closet over the last 6 months.

The stuff:

Really loving these boots for these last days of summer.

Multi-metal bling:

The secret to mixing your metals is to wear them with one solid colour.

• Necklace - thrifted (first wear!)
• Cuff - gift from Karen
• Earrings - Aldo Accessories
• Bronze ring - P. Sarpaneva, vintage 70s
• Gold ring - Dad's, Frances Jewellers, vintage 60s

L and I hung out at home after dinner, slept in on Saturday, then walked to town to go for brunch. All this walking!

I wore the wrong bra with this outfit - this sweater (and my boobs) deserves better.

• Sweater - Lord & Taylor, thrifted; last seen here in August with the picador skirt
• Skirt - Premise, thrifted; first worn here in July with tangerine
• Boots - 1883 Lucchesse, consignment; last seen here for Canada Day in July
• Jacket (below) - Danier Leather, consignment (I don't track my outerwear)

Meh, whatever, that's what I say.

L and I had Cat and Ross and Yvonne and Randall over for a rousing game of Arkham Horror on Saturday night, so we shopped for booze and snacks after brunch. It was rainy again! Gah!

Hence more boots! I don't have a lot of rainy-appropriate summer shoes.

Yup, going to have to dig out the scarves and gloves soon. It's leather weather, so I loved wearing this butter-soft Danier jacket.

And my bowler for the rain!

The stuff:

These are the most comfortable boots I own.

• Earrings - Tania Gleave

Today/Sunday, I headed to town to get groceries, then I met up with Jodi of Day2DayWear for some thrift shopping.

It was sunny and warm this morning, but by the time I got home it had clouded over again.

• Dress - H&M, consignment; first worn here in August with florals 
• Shoes - Born, consignment; last seen here (2nd non-travel outfit, way down at the bottom) with alt-camo

This dress and I are through. It is just okay to wear. It's a bit itchy (cheap fabric), not lined (but it has pockets), and it mashes my boobs.

Also, worst back picture ever!

Gone, gone, gone.

The stuff:

I love these gold ballet flats. They have at least another year in them, and they are great for my weekend expeditions.

• Belt - vintage, thrifted, gift from Louise
• Earrings - Stella and Dot, consignment

Jodi and I met up at the WIN Warehouse store and did four try-ons of stuff. I was being super-picky for myself, and also encouraging Jodi to try on tons of stuff. She ended up with some great items, including an amazing polka-dot dress.

I found this copper bracelet for only $4.00.

The WIN always has nice jewelry.

I was happy to see the "Renoir" stamp on this piece.

This is probably mid-60s. Another one for my collection. I'll have to take some pictures of it all some time.

I had 3 pairs of shoes in my basket for a while, but ended up with only one in the end.

A jungle-print floral d'orsay pointy-toed flat loafer. They need a shorter name.

They are fabric and are quite comfy.

The back of the heels shows evidence of a gripper, so I think they were too big on their previous owner's feet.

They're a bit worn, but for $8.50, I was happy.

Oh, and they're by Joe Fresh! I was shocked.

I hemmed and hawed over this jacket, before finally giving in and buying it.

I love the marled grey, the short overall length (just to the hip), the short, bracelet-length sleeves, and the double-button.

And I squealed when I saw it was Jaeger. I know their stuff is good quality - and yes, there it is, 100% wool and made in Great Britain.

And only $16.95. I hesitated because it's not as fitted as I normally like, but I know it's because this is a vintage piece, probably from the 60s. So I'll play around with it, and you never know! It sure doesn't hurt to try.

Linking up with:

• Patti's "Visible Monday" over at Not Dead Yet Style
• Judith's "Hat Attack" at Style Crone
• Catherine's "I Will Wear What I Like" at Not Dressed As Lamb

Two-Fer: Thursday Sheer Dots and Teal and Friday Fringe-O-Rama

Woo, it's the weekend! I'm about to go out for dinner (that outfit will be included in Sunday's wrap-up of the weekend), so let's see if I can get this post up in...30 minutes. And...go!

This is the replacement skirt for the silver polka-dot skirt here that I passed along.

• Sweater - Dalkeith, vintage 60s, thrifted; last worn here in March with that silver dotty skirt
• Skirt - Orenzo, vintage 80s, thrifted; last seen here in June with these same shoes
• Shoes - Channi B; last worn here in August with green and some sheen

I prefer this skirt - I like the length, the better quality polyester weave, the gold dots (not regularly spaced) and the fact that it was made in Italy (not China). Also, my mother-in-law bought it for me, so aw...

I've done the lining "hem" (i.e. I raggedly hacked at it with scissors) on this one too, which you can sort of see.

The stuff:

Awesomely comfy shoes! These carried me through a very hectic day, followed by my WW meeting, followed by Book Club.

Pearly bling:

I'm having a pearl moment.

• Necklace - Joe Fresh, thrifted
• Earrings - thrifted

Book Club was late (wine! conversation! chocolate! cheese!), so no blogging last night, and I didn't even put an outfit together. For shame, Sheila.

My half-assed attempt at a last-minute outfit is not that bad. Could have been worse, could have been better.

• Kimono thing - Design Lab; last seen here in January while fully fringed
• T-shirt - Plum; last worn here (2nd outfit) in March with maxi plaid
• Pants - Banana Republic, thrifted; purchased here on the weekend for $24.95
• Shoes - Noa Noa, consignment; last seen here in August with double baby blues

I love this topper piece and wanted to wear it. I started there...hey, it goes with these new pants I bought. I loved wearing the pants - they are really stretchy, although you can't see the awesome texture/pattern of them in these shots (worth looking at the purchase link above so you can see the nice jacquard weave of them).

Sure! Then I need a top. Hmmm...a black one, yes?

Shiny top!

My "I don't want to go to work" slouch.

The stuff:

Comfy, easy shoes for running around. I had a mostly frustrating morning, but by afternoon I was all chill again. Yeah, let it go, first world problems, these things won't matter in a week, a month, a year. I am learning to be more chill instead of a spaz (although being a spaz comes naturally to me, hee hee).

Silver bling:

Much badassery in the bling department today.

• Necklace - thrifted
• Cage cuff - Bauxo
• Bangle - local
• Earrings - local
• Red/silver ring - gift from Cindy
• Shield ring - Nine West

We have a mostly relaxing weekend ahead with very few things on the schedule. L and I both need it. Vizzini, what about you? Plans?

"I have a strict napping schedule."

I think he has the right idea! A very happy weekend to you, my friends!

(And this whole post took less than 30 minutes to write, including uploading/editing my pictures - go, me! Off to dinner!)