New Suit Debut Part Deux

The second half of my "New Suit Debut"... actually wearing it in a courtroom:



Would it be better to leave it untucked?

OK, the photo was obviously not taken in a courtroom... no mirrors. I picked up some shells on sale, and I have since noticed similar ones on several attorneys lately. Of course, it's a bit chilly for just a shell and jacket, but I have solved that problem:



The shirt under the shell is a bit too low to wear to work, so I'm glad to find an alternate use for it.

closeup of shell

I like this necklace, but I think I need an extender... it's just a smidge too snug:



At least these earrings are a good match for yet another item in my wardrobe... such a great find:



I didn't want to wear the heels from the previous evening, as my toes suffered a bit. So I broke out some flats:



Funnily enough, one of the male attorneys was wearing something similar... brown wool-and-leather wingtips. I had to laugh!

Shell: via The Bon Ton
Suit: Lane Bryant
Necklace: via flea market
Earrings: Cost Plus World Market
Shoes:

Merry (belated) Christmas!

After Stinky left for his mom's place, Hubby and I settled in for out traditional Christmas Eve viewing of "It's a Wonderful Life" while chugging eggnog:



I also had to repair my broken "Hope"... a metaphor for my life lately:



The wreath has seen better days, but I made it for the first Christmas that Hubby and I were actually together. So I'm sentimentally attached. A boost to my "Hope" for the coming year is that a friend surprised us by bringing over a gorgeous Christmas dinner:



And a few folks still sent out cards. We didn't send any this year, as the postage is a bit more than we can handle at the moment. And I'm think we aren't the only ones, as there are typically more cards. Again, here's hoping next year is better for everyone!



One of my favorite things is to mix the homemade and gifted ornaments with my fancy stuff... I adore the effect:



I do want to figure out a way to light up the star, though:



Before he left, we hung Stinky's stocking by the Netflix version of the Yule Log. The Christmas music was lovely, not overbearing... just perfect!



I hope you all had a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and that you have a Happy Kwanzaa. If I missed your holiday, I apologize... and extend my best wishes!

Should I keep this shirt?

I've just been at home over Christmas,  and the courts are closed the following week,  so I'm just laying low a little. But I've been wondering whether this shirt suits me. Here's a shot with no makeup:



Love the"Crazy Eyes"!

I like the appliqué detail,  but I'm uncertain about the color. Does a little makeup help? 



Your thoughts? 

New Suit Debut

Last Wednesday, I went to a holiday get-together for a local Toastmasters group. I'm not a member, but one of the local prosecutors keeps inviting me to join, and I'm hoping to make the time for it soon. So why not meet a few of the people ahead of time?

Since I had just seen her in court the previous day, I didn't want to repeat my outfit. Fortunately, my jacket finally got back from the tailor:



I really should have steamed it... I'm hoping, since we were at a hibachi place, that nobody noticed.



I also broke out my Lane Bryant "Perfect Shirt". I have to say... it's pretty great. Modest neckline but will still show a necklace well, and no need to safety-pin at my check to keep it from gaping. Apparently, the neckline was still low enough for a hot chunk of veggie to land in my cleavage when I failed to catch it with my mouth... youch!

At least the gorgeous aubergine color was perfect for this delicate beauty...



...which I think I've only worn with my "princess shirt". I'm so glad I finally get another use for it! The sleeves are a bit long, but they fold up so nicely:



And a cheap pair of crystal studs to go with, but not overpower, my necklace:



I was feeling a bit festive, so I felt a bit more sparkle was needed:



I'm not accustomed to tucking shirts in, but I should get used to it... as part of my move to brush up my image:



It's really best with the jacket on... and I did keep it on the whole evening. Another pleasant surprise was that the suit works with a pair of shoes that I haven't worn in years:



Suit: Lane Bryant
Shirt: Lane Bryant
Earrings: via Sally Beauty Supply
Necklace: gift from Mom
Pin: gift from M-I-L
Shoes: Proxy via VanHoeck's Shoes in Grand Rapids, MI

Life in the Funhouse

I've already chosen my future Daughter-in-Law:



Aren't they adorable? She is my karaoke buddy's (aka the Big Guy) daughter. Stinky met her over the summer at a birthday party, and they immediately got on like a house on fire! So the Big Guy and I make an effort to get them together once or twice a month... it would be more, but she lives with her mom a good distance from here.

Since his thirteenth birthday was last week, we took the kids to one of those "bouncy" places. They also have arcade games, laser tag, a snack bar, and prizes for tickets. And funhouse mirrors on the way into the joint:

Don't I feel attractive... ugh! Those photos look like I feel when I'm shopping for clothes. At least I looked more human, if a bit "understated", in the restroom mirror:

It's starting to look like these simple twist hoops are going to be my go-to "dress-down" earrings:

I just adore my patterned Crocs. I know I used to saw that Crocs are a tool of the Devil... but then they came out with cuter designs:

So why am I calling this twelve-year-old my FDIL? She asked her dad to hold onto her tickets from the arcade games. Because she wants to save them up to get a cool prize. For my Stinky!

Yep, we'll keep her!

Top: Danskin Now from Wal-Mart
Pants: Just My Size from Wal-Mart
Earrings: Premier Designs
Shoes: Crocs

Chanteuse in Chartreuse?

Thursday I awoke feeling pretty cruddy. But Hubby was in worse shape than I, so I was forced to leave my house to fill in for him in court. Brr...brr...brr! It was a double-sweater kind of day:



Perhaps I should try to clean the mirror? Or is that just "crazy talk"? Of course, the restroom at the city hall had a perfect mirror for this... but I forgot my bloody phone!

After court, I went home, took a quick blog pic, and went straight to bed. Ugh. At least I woke Friday feeling human, and with a relatively fresh outfit for the Women's Bar Christmas get-together. It was only a one-sweater day:



I took Squeaky along, and we had a nice time. I saw people I haven't seen in over a year, and met some helpful new acquaintances. Killer earrings always are always a confidence-booster:



Several of the ladies commented that I've lost weight. I have... but I'm thinking that the extra height from my shoes helped with that image:



The original plan for the evening was to go out with friends, likely hitting a karaoke night. But I fell asleep ridiculously  early. I'm so disappointed, because I was really hoping that they would have the newer song I've been obsessing over for the last week or so:



Guess I will try for this week....

Sweater: Judy via Freeda's purge pile
Over-sweater: Limited via consignment shop
Pants: Lane Bryant
Earrings: Fashion Bug
Shoes: France Sarto via Freeda's purge pile

What is Old is New Again

When I get new clothes, I tend to wear them to death... neglecting old favorites. I'm such a child sometimes!

I suppose it's natural, but I've been reading some posts on various blogs about "shopping your wardrobe". Since Hubby needed me to fill in for his night court appearance on Tuesday (he has a disgusting eye infection), I challenged myself to only wear items that I owned before my recent shopping glut:



And not a single item from Lane Bryant! Unusual for me, eh? I'm so happy that these pants and the jacket fit again... even though I've fallen off the diet wagon. I don't usually buy jackets that are meant to be fastened all the way up, because I like to show my shirts. But the few I do have, I bought because I was attracted to some element of color, design, or texture. I really love this:



Hmmm... what to go with this awkward round high neckline? After trying and rejecting a couple of necklaces, I opted for:



I don't seem to remember this top showing so much cleavage... must be the better bra. So I'm thinking that this top is going to be strictly a layering piece, at least for anything work-related.



These shoes are perfect for the Christmas season... they jingle when I walk:



It's really annoying, and I'm trying to figure out a way to stop this. Perhaps judicious use of the hot glue gun?

At least my earrings had a "Silent Night":



I do get annoyed that the hinge is visible... it's very difficult to find hoops with a hidden hinge. I will be keeping my eye out, though!

Top: Mossimo via Goodwill
Jacket: VanHeusen
Pants: CJ Banks
Necklace: via Freeda's purge pile
Earrings: Lia Sophia
Shoes: Anne Klein Flex

Wish Me Luck!

There have been a couple of questions about my year "hiatus". I went into some detail in earlier posts, but the Cliff's Notes version is that I was physically and emotionally fried... due to Hubby's severe injury and caring for him both pre- and post- spinal fusion surgery, my mother's serious health problems, and some health issues of my own. In short: I had a year where I was pretty much a zombie.

So I have spent the last year staying home, except filling in for court appearances a few times. That I can do (and probably have done) in my sleep! And I spent a solid two months of my summer kayaking almost every weather-friendly day. Really, I spent that year concentrating on feeling like a human being again.

Then I spent all of September in Michigan dealing with my mother's illness, hospitalizations, and move into an apartment. It was stressful, but I could better handle it because I didn't have to worry about my job-- since I didn't have one! I was able to take all that time to rest and to help my family by using up our savings.... Now we are out of money.

So I fired up the store charge cards, and kitted myself out to look like a lawyer once more. Actually, I'm going for a more polished and cohesive image than previously seen on this blog. I'm still sorting and debating and purging and making my final purchases and returns... so there will be big changes from my previous look showing in future posts. I have posted a few of the new ones recently, but I'm just getting started. My bedroom still looks like the mall exploded in there!

This afternoon, I dropped off my application for a part-time public defender position in an adjacent county. If I get the job, I would make less than I did in my last (full-time) position... BUT I could still accept outside cases, and the court appearances for the part-time position would mostly be in the evenings. It's a perfect base (steady income plus bennies) while I am building up my law practice.



Pretty please... let it go to me!!!

I didn't have an interview scheduled, but I still wanted to look good when taking the application in. You never know who you might see.... Normally, I would have just mailed it in. But since three reference letters had to be submitted with the application packet, I had to wait for those to arrive.

The benefit of this requirement is that I actually got to see people (do two attorneys and a judge count as "people"?) saying nice things about me. The downside of having been a public defender for almost five years is that the clients are generally unhappy because we can't work miracles. They don't value our services because they're "free". *eyeroll*

I suppose the fact that I'm female doesn't help... considering that I'm technically in "Appalachia". Which is where my wardrobe overhaul comes into play. I've been reading a great deal on projecting authority through my image, and I'm revamping my wardrobe with that goal in mind.

My new necklace was a good choice for today, because it filled the neckline of my shirt without being distracting:



I wasn't thrilled with how these earrings went with this necklace, but it was the best I could do for this outfit today:



After I delivered my application packet, I did a little shopping. I found the perfect black crystal studs to pair with this necklace, and a couple items of clothing that will make future appearances. At least I was still feeling pretty put together today:



Taking blog shots in store mirrors seems to work much better than taking them at home. Must be a lighting issue. I would have taken the time to get more focused shots... but my phone was almost dead.

I really love the slight sheen on these pants, but it doesn't show up well in photos.



I haven't worn these pants for years, as they were too tight. Not only am I thrilled that they fit again, I'm also amazed that they are so long that only my highest-heeled "witchy" shoes could work with them:



They just make me feel so tall! I do wish they had a more pointed toe box to lengthen my short, blocky feet, but they will do well enough for the time being:



I'm going to be on pins and needles until I find out whether I get the job. Eek!

Top: Merona from Target
Sweater: Worthington via Baby Sis' friend's purge pile
Pants: Lane Bryant
Shoes: Franco Sarto via Freeda's purge pile
Necklace: Lane Bryant
Earrings: Corning Museum of Glass gift shop

Court

Wednesday was day two of court on the same matter... billable hours-- yee haw!



My suit jackets aren't back from the tailor yet, so I went with my colored tweed jacket and the same ponte knit pants I wore the day before:



I don't know why it looks like these pants "grab" my knees in photos, they don't look that way in real life. Irritating. I really need to find a spot to put my good mirror, so I can bring it up from the basement! Perhaps that would help. Our place is small and weird, so it's going to take some doing....

It does crack me up that, as many accessories as I already own, I did not have the willpower to resist this beauty:



I've actually seen real lace necklaces at the farmer's market, but I didn't like that they were so lightweight. This one is metal, so it stays in place nicely.

Of course, I don't really like any of the earrings I already own with it. *sigh* I tried these hematite ones with it, but I was disappointed with the combination:



So I will have to keep my eyes peeled of something I like for the necklace. But at least I'm loving that I can finally wear these high heels... but they only seem to work with the new ponte knit pants, so I'm breaking them out as often as possible:



I wonder how some of my other shoes would look with those pants... hmmm....

Jacket: Lane Bryant
Top: Three Seasons via The Bon Ton
Pants: Lane Bryant
Necklace: Lane Bryant
Earrings: Lia Sophia
Shoes: Franco Sarto via Freeda's purge pile

Back Into the Fray

After my year hiatus, I've recently started accepting court-appointed cases... since I'm out of money and all. The nice part about doing this is that I don't have office hours. Because I can't afford office space! So I was up at odd hours again Monday night, researching some issues for a case I was appearing on first thing in Tuesday morning:



Bad hair day! I dozed on wet hair following a 4 a.m. shower, then did the best I could before I had to leave for the 9:15 docket. It seemed to get even worse as the day went on:



Perhaps I need comfort food... to overcome the humiliation of appearing anywhere with that hair? I stopped into the drugstore after court to pick up a couple of things for Hubby... and was confronted with something I just had to try. Almost a dare, really:



The idea sounded weird... but... Yum!

I'm so thoroughly tired of these earrings... they look "amateur". Without the sentimental attachment of someone close to me having made them. Perhaps I should remake them into studs? Or just get rid of them?



I saw a nice pair of black studs at Lane Bryant... maybe I will see if I can catch them on a good sale.

I'm so glad I finally have pants long enough to wear these shoes! They have been wardrobe lurkers for ages... and are the highest heels I am keeping. I thought they might have to go as well, but my new ponte knit pants are apparently even longer than my other new ones. I'm thrilled!



I'm calling them my "witchy" shoes... *cackles*.

Houndstooth jacket: Lane Bryant
Turtleneck sweater: via Pip's Boutique, Corning, NY
Pants: Lane Bryant
Shoes: Franco Sarto via Freeda's purge pile
Black-and-white earrings: via consignment shop