A JCrew Box to Keep!

I am hoping you all have a peaceful Sunday!

Ours has started out less than peaceful, but that is another story for another day....

Late Friday afternoon, my recent J Crew order arrived.  I must say, I was pleased.  It was a simple JC order, which I have come to believe is the best, and most typically reliable, kind.

I am sharing today as I know the sale is still on and because I was so happy with one aspect of my order, I actually re-ordered two more of the same item!

What did I get?

Twill Minnies in beechwood.  These pants work for me. I know Tabs finds them scratchy.  I typically have sensitive skin, but maybe my own legs are like sandpaper now so I don't notice, but I find them great!

I also ordered the Sera blouse in the dark cove colour (I believe it is now sold out online but watch for it in popbacks) and the featherweight vneck cotton cardigan in the same colour



I wore this outfit on Saturday with my purple medallion ballet flats in the same tomo print as the pumps below.  These also pop back regularly and are therefore worth checking for as they are very comfortable and fun!

I really liked the vneck cardigan - it is the perfect summer weight and goes nicely with shorts and trousers and with dresses.  It also hit me at mid-hip, which is important to me as sometimes the longer v neck cardigans hit half way down my thigh and then I look like a little girl wearing her dad's clothes!

The outfit IRL (not in me - forgot to get a picture yesterday and look a fright this am!)

For some reason, the pants have a yellow undertone in this picture, but they look exactly as shown above in real life.  For those of you who have last year's floral perfect shirt, the cardigan is a nice match.
 

Because I liked the cardigan so much I went back for two more neutral ones this a.m. while they were still on sale - ivory and black.  Mine from previous years were looking worn and these are 100% cotton and flattering, so I thought I should get them while they were such a good price.

I also got an odd popback this morning - the domino eyelet cafe capri in ivory from last summer sudddenly popped back this morning in my size and for only $40 on sale.  I own the navy version and love them and kept missing the ivory version all last year.

Here I am last summer in the navy capris:

Boy, I do not like that top on me - that may be going into the JCA exchange.  But the capris were flattering and comfortable.  And I wished I had not missed the ivory colour last summer and now I am completely set for spring-into-summer pants.  I already have linen trousers, so it is all good.

This has led me to another topic we will discuss later this week - material.  I have some thoughts and would love yours!  So stay tuned for Wedneday!

I will also post tomorrow on a calvin klein blazer I scored yesterday for a song.

Today is, I hope, a quiet day. Have some laundry to do and some cooking.  Need to phone some friends.  Game of Thrones is also on tonight.  Perfect day!

Have a restful happy one and stay safe out there!

Random Saturday Musings

So much to talk about today, so I will get right at it!

1) The Death of Roger Ebert

Oh Roger, how I did love your thumb!  Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert brought thoughtful movie reviews to the masses, educating people, myself included, along the way.   I didn't always agree with their perspectives, but I always learned something.  I was sad earlier this week when Ebert released the note that his cancer was back and that he was taking a break.  How long that break was became sadly clear the next day when he died.  While the balcony may now be closed here on earth, I suspect it opened to some fanfare elsewhere, where Siskel and Ebert, back in their tweed jackets, are currently extolling the virtues of "My Dinner with Andre" to a skeptical God.

GF told me the other day that in honour of his passing, she was going to work on her own list of the top ten movies she would need to take with her to a desert island.  I think that is a good idea and include mine here!  No judgement now, folks, and please feel free to share your list here too!  Today it will be only "thumbs up".  In no particular order:

1. Casablanca
2. The Wizard of Oz
3. Sleepless in Seattle
4. The Lord of the Rings trilogy (a cheat, I know!)
5. To Kill a Mockingbird
6. Rear Window
7. It's a Wonderful Life
8. Schindlers List
9. The Quiet Man
10. Meet Me in St. Louis

Of course, that is today's list.  I completely reserve the right to revise this list tomorrow!
2) The Cherry Orchard

We are off to see a high school production of the above, with my son in one of the smaller parts.  It is his first time performing on stage and he quite likes it.  I admit it; I have never read this play or seen it performed live.  It appears that any actor of consequence lists this, along with MacBeth or Hamlet, as part of a well-rounded Curriculum Vitae!  We will see if the same holds true for my lad! 

nope - not in this picture, but his buddies are

Another happy event for him is that he applied (with some prodding) to one of our local universities to begin their liberal arts program.  Given his current lack of direction and his need to learn both critical thought and the art of writing well, I am certainly encouraging this.  He seems more excited about the possibility since his acceptance letter arrived and it might inspire him enough to pass in those journalism assignments which hitherto, he has considered too "lame" and therefore beneath his attention...I did not feel that when my daughter graduated that I had much to do with that accomplishment.  With the boy on the other hand, I feel we are all going kicking and screaming to that diploma...

3) Kate Spade New Arrivals

While there isn't much that I feel is appropriate for me and my style these days at Kate Spade, I do always love the purses and this time, I am intrigued by a dress that looks like a basket, the natural tromp l’oeil mariella dress,  which I cannot decide if I think is so clever it is cute or so clever that it is bizarre.  The advent of the new technologies that allow designers to put ANYTHING on fabric and have it look quite real is certainly creating a plethora of interesting and sometimes questionable fabrics.  As I said, I am on the fence on this one and would love your thoughts!

I can't seem to get a good shot of the details so you just have to go over and take a look yourself!

How about the apple basket wristlet?  More whimsy than one can shake a stick at!



4) Anna Karenina

I know, I am WAY late to this show.  My daughter and I watched it last night.  Actually, she left after an hour.  "Clever," she said "but with nothing to love about the characters."  She was the smart one and by the time old Kiera threw herself in front of the train, well, I was just glad I wasn't there as I might have pushed her just to have it all over.



I look like that at Barry all the time....

Don't get me wrong.  It was clever setting it as they did in a theatre.  The costumes were sumptuous.  They somehow managed to make Jude Law homely.  But the conceit of the staging grew wearying for me quickly, Kiera Knightly (she of the pouting lips and smoldering eyes that are are used by her to great effect in all of her movies) did not make me care about her and if you don't care about Anna, well where is the tragedy?  It just felt like a long march to the end.  Sorry if some of you really loved this movie - perhaps it was the wrong night after a long week, but more likely it was simply not my cup of tea!

5) The New Chair Arrived

As some of you may recall, we began redoing our family room once the laundry was completed.  This was logical, as one project did begat the other.  The laundry room's structural changes resulted in drywall in the family room and a decision point about finally changing out the windows and making the room more of a family room than its current incarnation as simply a TV room.  Well thank God the Chair arrived (it had been 9 weeks since we placed the order and my special workman seemed reluctant to do much in the interim) as Barry is back at it in full fury.  While the whole thing will likely not be completed for a couple of months, as some things need to ordered, such as windows, etc, now that the weather is getting warm enough to change the windows, it is heartening indeed! 

The chair is by Lazyboy and is a lovely thick linen material in a paisley print which has the cobblestone colour of our couch and the blue that will be a focal point when the room is completed.  It is comfortable and a good size without being too large, which has often been an issue for us before, no doubt because Barry is 6'3".  It was lovely fun to pick out our own material and have it done properly to our taste at the factory, including the proper stain-repelling done before the material is even placed on the furniture.  There was none of that dreaful off-gassing that you get when the local store does it for you.  So we are pleased and I will take more pictures as the work progresses (I hope!)

So that is my Saturday - what about yours?  Have a great day and stay safe out there!

Miller Time Friday: Champagne and a Banana Republic Review and Oh Yes! We have ducks!

Happy Friday! 

Firstly, THANK YOU sincerely for the kind wishes and positive energy that you sent my way yesterday!  You have become the wind in my sails (NO - you are not the wind beneath my wings - that would be creepy!) setting me off from what most would consider a safe harbour.  I coincidentally did a personality quiz yesterday with a friend of mine who is training to be a career life coach.  It was a freeby.  I laughed when I read the report which described me as "collaborative, purposeful, spontaneous, imaginative, observing, empathetic"  There was other stuff there, too, like under pressure I get bossy, but it was interesting and an interesting day to do it. 

But it is Friday and before we get on the porch for a celebration, I actually have clothing to review!!!!

My Banana Republic package arrived yesterday.  I have tried to do a thorough review (well as thorough as I can do!  I am no XOXO, GF or M!)

Close-up:

The material feels very soft and linen-y.  The colours are as depicted in the picture.   The lining is polyester and not a soft polyester.  The waistband is wide and a wide waistband is no friend of mine!

Inside out - NO TAGS!  Isn't that odd?  There is the BR tag with the size, but no care tag, no tag telling me what the lining and outer skirt are made of!

And on the old Wendster:

It was late, and I wasn't going to put on the shirt that arrived in the box for reasons I will describe below and I thought I would prove that I do have toes.  There is a lot of pleating at the waist in front, so it bunches up.  Bunching pleats are also no friend of mine!  It is a pretty skirt and if you did not have a tummy and you don't care what this skirt is really made of (I was imagining all kinds of horrors, since we know you can't trust website descriptions) this might be for you!  It is getting sent back today!

The peplum top was also in the box.  Remember it?

I ordered the white version to go with the skirt.  They look very nice side by side on my bed:

It has a nice texture to it - it is a cotton-poly blend that wants you to think it is linen.  From the back:

Smooth lines - it looked very nice.  A closeup of the collar below.  It has almost a jacquard-y feel to it.

The inside of the bodice is lined in a soft polyester and the peplum is unlined. 

You will not see a picture of me in this, as it was completely unflattering as the line between the bodice and peplum was only 2 inches below my bust line.  I have to keep some modicum of dignity.  Not for me.  It is a nice top if you can't get the JC version, which I think is nicer (having seen it not only on Ema but also in real life in NYC).  So back this goes as well.  Sigh..  Off to the Tommy Bahama website to order a nice couple of linen skirts to try!

On a happier note, on my walk yesterday, that Robin that I spied in Madison Park in NYC a month ago arrived here yesterday!  Yay!  and thanks Ema!

And around the corner in a ditch, a pair of mallard ducks are nesting.  We go visit them every day.

You gotta love Spring!
Since this is Miller time Friday and since I am having a week of great endings and new beginnings, I think I will join Tabs, who has reminded me of the Champagne cocktail in her tale of woe, debauchery and youth here.  We might as well steal her recipe and make up a batch.  Now for god sakes, let's make sure she is comfortable and doesn't need to get up much for the bathroom.  Maybe we could each have our own spotter to get us to the washroom when required?    Either way, I am happy to be with you all again, sitting on the porch and toasting life.  It is what you make of it, after all!

Have the loveliest of Fridays and stay safe out there!

Chapter Two - AKA the Incredible Lightness of Being Wendy

Hi Everyone,

The sun is rising quite splendidly here this morning and I am feeling particular grateful for life and for you all.

It has been almost a year since I began this blog.  In the beginning, I was really looking for some help in refining my fashion style as I entered my 50s.  And then I just started chatting about my life and whatever else popped into my head on any particular day.  So the blog has evolved, just like me.  You have been here for happy vacations, scary outfits, the death of my dad, my 50th birthday and just about averything else.  You are always so kind and rooting for the old girl to keep going!

So today is a BIG NEWS day.  Yesterday, I formally wrote to my boss to advise of my intention to retire from my current position.  One of the gifts of my three month sabbatical has been getting a good rest.  The other, greater, gift has been perspective.  For 24 years I have enjoyed my career and responsibilities.  They were challenging and exhilerating and I know that I made a difference.  But I realized that I wanted to leave when I was on the top of my game, not when the door was hitting my bottom on the way out!

More importantly, there are other dreams that refuse to go away and if ever I am going to pay attention to them, it is time to getting go!  All we have is now, so we better like it and if we don't well, maybe it is time to switch it all up.

So one career chapter ends, another begins.  This second act will be less of a 9-to-5 thing and more of a what-interests-me and what-needs-to-done thing.  I am already writing my book, already exploring other possible business opportunities.  This second chapter must be a mixture of creativity and passion.  I also want time to be able to give back through volunteering, which I have not had time to do (except monetarily) while I was working 70 to 80 hours a week.

My entire life,  I have just wanted to make a difference.  I have always wanted people to feel better having spent time with me, not deflated in any way; that is how I have treated my staff as well as every business-related experience I have had and it has paid off in spades.  But now I need more time for my other dreams.

While my boss was disappointed to get my letter and it will be a surprise to others when they get the announcement later this morning, I feel light.  When I drove away after my meeting (which was positive and wonderful and affirming), I had to pull the car over and had a good cry.  The tears were a mixture of memories, relief and some sadness.  I was glad there were tears; they confirm to me that my old job had meaning and purpose that was not so easy to leave.  Funny enough, I didn't realize until I stopped crying that I had pulled the car over right in front of an old apartment where Barry and I lived in the early 1990s and the first place our daughter ever lived.  Given that the baby who lived in that apartment is now 21 and will likely be flying from the nest her ownself soon, that seemed pretty appropos a place to stop as any.  You can get a lot of whispers of affirmation in life if you only choose to listen to them.

So while technically, I still have all of the paperwork to do, I am, as of today, a free agent.  You know what this means:

1) more free time for Nigel and George and I at Lake Como
2) my debut as a real-life model for Mickey can only be a matter of time
3) more randome blog posts



You'll need a break before you start that new career, Wendy....

It is an exciting thing to be jumping off the diving board at 50.  I am going to be "leaning WAY in" as I create this new life and career. Quirky little thing that I am, I think I will be adopting the model of my Philsopher-King Yosemite Sam:

"I paid my four-bits to see a high-diving act.  I'm a-gonna see a high-diving act!"

 I am putting all my eggs in the Wendy basket and making myself the high diving act!

Here we go!

Have a Happy Thursday and stay safe out there!

My Outfits of the Day and the Awful Truths Behind Them! Style Shoot Expose!

Okay, so it is already Wednesday!!!  Where is the time going????

I am just now posting my Easter Sunday outfit!

I was not all that imaginative.  I did not get a chance to move clothes around this past weekend and the only things in my closet remotely easter-y were my J Crew skirt in that lovely floral of turquoises and mints and my brocade blue Tippi Sweater.  I paired these with my minty Valentinas.

I am not sure about that blue and those colours, but whatever.

This picture does not tell the whole story...

The reality:

I am glistening because I have cooked for 3 hours straight.  There is probably chicken fat on my face!  While I have lost 5 lbs, it wasn't enough to zip that skirt up without creating a MOUNTAIN of MUFFAGE, so I didn't zip the final part of the skirt at the waistband!  My feet were killing me - I wanted to wear Uggs by then as my feet were so sore and swollen from standing around in the kitchen.  I put on a number of strands of pearls and in my haste (because I was running behind), I broke one of the strands and I swore.  I THINK my hair was clean, but I am not sure.  Oh yeah - and my dinner was not great, though for some reason, we had the leftovers last night and it tasted much better.  You gotta love those do-overs.

In other words - My OOTD was a typical catalogue fashion shoot!  Just with a shorter, earthier, model!

Those kind of fashion shoots or re-touching drive me mad! Though if I could have carved out a waist with photoshop I would have!  It's like when you go into a store and you see they have a baggy sweater artfully pinned in the back.  I wish someone would artfully do that with my double chin.. But never mind, I did look Easter-y!

Sometimes I take 5 or 6 photos till I feel I have one presentable to put up here.  Am i the only one who suffers from this?  Please tell me no.  Or lie to me - I don't mind if you lie to me!

But today was MUCH better.  I got up, was inspired to move clothing around, took a bagful of clothing to the consigner, who gave me a lovely cheque that was already spent anyway, and had a nice day, despite the biting cold.

Rather than an easter egg, today I was Blue Steel with Bling!  Cheap Bling!

This is all old stuff with new shoes - a navy Michael Kors cotton pullover, my navy wide-legged Pink Tartan Trousers and my new Tory Burch wedges.  The latter are starting to hurt now, 6 hours later.  I know better than to break shoes in all at once, and yet I refuse to remember that fact until hour 4 every single time!

Everything is zipped here, but I am slouching forward, as my daughter would not get out of bed to take the picture! SHe wouldn't let me run for lipstick.  Never mind, I look like a wall of navy, which is attempting to camaflouge all the wobbly bits!

Around my neck, I am wearing a cheap little necklace I purchased last summer at Le Chateau.  I thought of wearing a scarf or a long pendant, but no, I had my heart set on this once I remembered I owned it.  The truth of being a visual person is that if I don't see it, I completely forget I own it.  I am not proud of this fact, but I sometimes feel like I am in the movie 50 First Dates: "Hey THAT's a great Necklace!  Hey, THAT'S a great necklace, etc, etc, etc.."

But it actually is a fun little necklace and I paid all of $10 for it.  I am sure some of you are thinking "well duh - it looks like you spent $10 on it.." and you would be absolutely right to do so, but I am going to go on blithely as if you are saying "Hey THAT's a great Necklace!"

See - it sparkles and there is blue and what looks like a part of a daisy and have I mentioned that on April 3rd I love daisies?  Well, I do!

So I was the Blue Tower of Bling, and though no one mentioned how hot I looked I felt like it, and honestly, that is enough, because how many days do you really feel like you are all that???

So my Style Question Wednesday as been pre-empted my my Style Shoot Expose Wednesday, but I am all the better for the honesty.  Sort of.  Maybe...

Have a wonderful Wednesday and stay safe out there!

Fuss Budget

Tuesday, Tuesday, Tuesday....

While March actually went out like a lamb, April arrived cold, rainy and blustery.  I am typically 36 hours behind whatever weather GF and Dani are having, or, if the wind is blowing the other way, I am about 6 hours behind whatever weather Lane is having.  So not sure who got this first, but it was a shock to the system..

And speaking of shocks. 

Have I mentioned we are budgeting?

Have I mentioned that we have never typically budgeted?

Sigh...

We started this budget on January 1st.  We have an online tracking tool and we enter everything.  It can be tedious, but also empowering.  We have budgeted amounts and we try very hard to stick to them.

We talk about money.

When you are both working and have good incomes, you tend to not think about these things.  We have good pensions built up, we have invested (I won't talk about the losses of the last few years), but we have never tracked how we spend money until now.  For us, money was definitely an art.  We could spend with the best of them!  And on such nice things!

Why the change?  Well my husband's retirement and new part-time business has meant that he has reduced monthly income and sporadic business income.  My sabbatical has me considering a career change.  We have one child in university, the other potentially about to start.  We need to finish paying off our house and we needed to save, stat.

Look honey, our ship has come in. our investments in Blackberry worked!

The early conversations were NOT all this cheerful...

It turns out that I was secretive.  I did not want to share how much some of the things I have cost.  He suddenly wanted to take up a hobby that would cost $20,000 to learn. 

But, we have just finished month three and we are doing much better.  We sat down today, revised our expenditure numbers downward again, to squeeze a little more out of our wallets and we survived the conversation intact.  I only wanted to yell once, and I didn't.  Really, I felt like someone should buy me a pair of shoes and a new skirt as a reward.  Oh wait, that was the weekend's shenanigans...

For 28 years I have managed our money and did our taxes and that was that.  And we never talked about money except when we had a situation arise.   This was due in part to my need to control and his complete lack of interest in anything monetary.  Now we are taking a team approach and I must say, it feels really good.  We didn't fight about money often, which is good according to this article.  But we were not on the same page at all, and I think if we hade been earlier, we would have even more socked away!

My next step is to actually sit down individually with each of my children and show them our budget.  Right now, they each get an allowance.  They help out around the house.  They have work in the summer.  But they need to learn to have these conversations and make good choices early, since who knows how easy it will be to get good jobs or affordable homes when they are finally out on their own. 

My dad never talked to us about money.  He just squeezed every penny till it screamed.  I think there must be a middle ground.  While our kids have always had to put some away, I think we can all do better and they can learn to be a good financial partner.

So yup, I am a bit of a fuss-budget these days!  How about you all - is money an easy topic of conversation around your house?

Have a great day and stay safe out there!

Beauty

Beauty is not defined universally.  It is almost a wholly personal thing, I think.

Sure, there are some things that many of us can agree on - roses, a cherry tree in bloom, the ocean on a beautiful day - but often the things, the scenery, the people that I think are beautiful may mean nothing to someone else.

We all have our own taste, our own experiences, our own lens through which we experience the world.  The meaning we impart to the world, to what we see, often defines whether or not we consider it beautiful.

the most beautiful hummingbirds in the world - I think that because they come and see ME every year...

I was thinking about beauty the other other night when I was sitting reading in my little chair in the corner of my living room.  I looked over into the dining room and seeing my mother's portrait, against the gold-green wall, over the chaise, just seemed achingly beautiful to me. 



look you can even see my ruby slipper...

 So I snapped a picture, but of course, I couldn't capture the essence of that moment.  Sometimes we can do that through our camera lens, sometimes we can't.  Sometimes it is just enough to remember.

I remember years ago, in our old house, Barry was giving our kids a bath.  They were probably aged 1 and 4.  They were laughing hysterically, and the summer light was streaming in the hallway window onto the old hardwood floors and it was just a moment of perfect happiness and beauty.  I thought to myself "I have to remember this moment" and I always have, and I was glad that I was present enough (how many times when we had little kids were we just going through the motions?) to know it was a beautiful, happy moment in time.  And it is as alive to me now as this moment in time when I am writing this blog post.  Thank God for our minds!

Colour almost always triggers feelings of beauty in me, as do patinas, worn things, how the light is hitting something.   Most days, we live in our spaces and while we like them and enjoy them (we did typically decorate them, so I assume we mostly enjoy them!) we may not see them.  But then every once in awhile, a moment happens and what was mundane or typical suddenly becomes special and treasured. 

People are also like that.  The more you get to know and like someone, the more beautiful they become to you.  I am always telling my husband "so-and-so is so beautiful!" and then when he meets them he says "well, sure, they are nice, but I wouldn't describe them as beautiful.."  But he would if he knew them better, I think.  Or maybe not.  Beauty is a personal thing.  And he might never like them like I do. 

Barry photo-bombing - when I first found these pictures, I thought "What the hell?"

Sometimes, you are in agreement.  Barry had never seen Ema before we met her in New York City.  While I always thought Ema was lovely from her blog, I thought she was truly beautiful once I met her and realized she was indeed a kindred spirit.  Barry agreed!

Sometimes all we need to do is look at a picture and we are immediately back in the moment.  And sometimes, even if the moment itself didn't seem particularly special at the time, it becomes special because we remember the person in the picture, what they were saying, what they were doing.

Son sitting by setting sun in South of France...

Sometimes we are fortunate, and we stumble upon beauty.  Sometimes someone has "gifted" us by making a space lovely...

.....other times, higher powers are at work

One of my vows in 2013 was to be more in the moment.  As I have said, I am taking more time to really look at the world around me, really listen to the conversations, really enjoy what the world is offering every day. 

If you don't mind, from time to time I might share some of that beauty with you.  And my thoughts about it, not only to remind myself, but because I find when I tell you all about, you folks who have become my "friends from away", it seems more real. 

As Keats said so famously (and which I wrote a paper about in high school and only received a B+!):

When old age shall this generation waste,

Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe

Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou sayst,

"Beauty is truth, truth beauty," – that is all

Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.

And your beauty is your truth.

So have a beautiful Monday, and stay safe out there!

And no, this is NOT an April's Fool Post!  I thought about telling you all I was pregnant, but who would believe that?  Well, my waistband, but no one else!