I Want My Spring Flowers!

Another grungy weekend, so I skipped the challenge. Monday, the theme was "Play With Eyeshadow". Yeah... I was in court half the day... I wasn't about to try anything crazy. Other than wearing a linen jacket in February:



Not bad, IMO. I do love the shoes, I really should wear them more often:



I am so over winter... not that I ever loved it in the first place. Bring on more flowers:






Tuesday, I was so busy I literally had to take bites of my lunch between sentences while on numerous phone calls! I actually looked really nice in the mirror on my brief restroom respites, but my photos all sucked:



Tuesday's theme was "Go Green"... works for me! Perhaps some more flowers will encourage the real ones to come out:



I felt like adding some jangly beads for some cheer:



I usually wear black shoes with navy pants... I think this may be the first time that I have tried following the "rule" that dictates brown as the "neutral" choice. It didn't look bad to me... just a bit odd. Your thoughts? I did wear plain brown socks, so keep that in mind:



Monday:
Sweater: Old Navy via Freeda's purge pile
Jacket: Kasper via consignment shop
Pants: Lane Bryant
Earrings: VanHeusen outlet
Shoes: Bass
Hair flower: Maurice's

Tuesday:
Sweater: Falls Creek via consignment shop. According to ask.com, the brand is carried by Meijer and Target. I miss Meijer... it's a regional chain (mostly Michigan, some in Indiana, Ohio, and Illinois) that's like super-Wal-Mart... but better.
Pants: Lane Bryant
Shoes: Aerosoles
Earrings: Jacklyn Smith from Kmart
Scarf: via Musee Louvre in Paris, France. I adore museum gift shops!

Friday on the Prowl

Just kidding! But Friday's challenge theme was "Animal Print", so I pulled a top out of my "a bit snug" bag and covered most of it with a sweater:



But the pink shoes and the print peek out to break up the expanse of black:



The print is a bit faded, so I thought the "faded" black on this bracelet worked nicely:



But the shoes are still shineeee, bright, and semi-new:



I grabbed a pair of earrings that I have had for awhile, but don't think I have actually worn yet:



And it was another "ponytail day", so the requisite hair flower came out (old pic):



I went for a karaoke night with a girlfriend I haven't seen in ages... it was so nice to get to spend some time with her. I did get a little warm in my sweater, and broke down and ditched it. Here's an older pic  of the top, just imagine (if you dare) a slightly pudgier me in it on Friday:



I thought the DJ/karaoke host had a nice personality-- very upbeat, but he S-U-C-K-E-D!!! He didn't manage the list properly, he definitely had some people singing more often than others. Not cool. At one point he was singing almost in my ear and throwing me way off! He didn't adjust for volume with different singers, and he played songs too long between singers.

And yes, I get to be the critic. I've had that job, and I was B-E-T-T-E-R!!!

I slag on sucky DJs too. But I give credit where credit is due, and acknowledge those of equal or superior ability.

Top: via Stein Mart
Sweater: Limited via consignment shop
Pants: Lane Bryant
Shoes: Aerosoles
Earrings: VanHeusen outlet
Hair flower: Maurice's
Bracelet: gift from my secretary

Something Old, and Something New

I'm guessing you figured out Thursday's theme for the  FABruary style challenge!

The something(s) old were pretty much everything, including my consignment-shop wedding sweater... which was the "something new" (to me) at my "quickie legal" handfasting. I've had the shoes less than six months, which makes then "semi-new" in my accounting.

At the handfasting, my "something borrowed" was the necklace I wore, which belonged to my sister Freeda. My "something new"-- to me, anyway-- is the necklace Freeda wore on Black Friday, during her trip to see us. I (loudly) admired it, and let her know (not subtle, either) that when she tired of it, I would be happy to take it off her hands:



I got lots of compliments on it today! And a lot of wondering if it is heavy... which it's not terribly. I paired it up with my teal/turquoise-weird-colored jacket, and the color is a close-enough match (depending on the light):



And I thought it even looked interesting with the neckline of the sweater when I went sans jacket during portion of the day:



My lunar globes seemed a good choice, to complement that beads in the necklace:



And it is so brutally cold here, I decided to keep a Mediterranean vacation in the back of my mind (or at the base of my skull, anyway):



That blue isn't an exact match for the jacket, either. I'll risk it! I went the safe route for "standing-in-court-shoes:



I'm having more fun with this little challenge that I thought... but I'm still puzzling out tomorrow's outfit....

Sweater: Liz and Co. via consignment shop
Jacket: VanHeusen outlet
Pants: Lane Bryant
Shoes: Aerosoles
Earrings: Corning Museum of Glass
Necklace: no clue on the source, Freeda gave it to me

Rollercoaster Day

Overall, I like my job. But some days....



Wow, am I physically and emotionally exhausted today.

My normal routine is that when I'm getting dressed in the morning, I look at my calendar on my phone, which is synced with my work calendar, to see what's on for the day. If there is no County (higher-level) court appearances... jackets are optional, IMHO.

Today's calendar showed no court appearances, just office appointments. And one meeting to review evidence in the D.A.'s office as my first entry for the day. My mood, and my outfit, went black.



Why the dark mood when I'm normally such a colorful sort? As I said, I had to review evidence... to make sure that it is what the police are claiming it is. Let's just say that there are things that nobody should see... that should not exist. Yeah. In the course of my duty, I occasionally have to see this stuff. And those are bad, bad, bad days for me.

I got lucky because one of my girlfriends, along with her husband and their college-student daughter, just happened to be hanging outside one of the courtrooms because they had been subpoenaed in another case. So I hung out with them in the hallway until they were excused... just in time to go out for a looong lunch together. I'm so glad they were there, they really cheered me up!

Once I was feeling like a person again, I went back to work then stopped into the library for what was supposed to be a few minutes. Bumped into more friends who were there for a Chamber of Commerce thingy. So I stuck around and had a lovely time. One of the guys there had been an alternate juror in one of Hubby's trials, and was very complimentary of Hubby's trial technique. Hubby is really very good....

Oddly enough this morning, I did remember the FABruary challenge. Wednesday's theme was "Boots". I don't have any that will zip over my calves anymore, so I decided to go with Sunday's theme, "Multiple Necklaces", instead. I tried three hematite ones at first, then as I was driving to work, I decided the collar looked stupid. So I actually wore only two for the day:


(The cleavage is only due to my positioning to take this selfie, I swear!)

I forgot my earrings. *sigh* But I remembered my shoes:



Tomorrow I should be on a more even keel....

Top: via Pip's in Corning, NY
Pants: Lane Bryant
Shorter necklace: random roadside stand somewhere in Arizona
Longer necklace: pilfered from Mom's jewelry box long ago. Looks better on me anyway ;-p
Shoes: Ariat

Scarf Fun and Feature Earrings

FABruary Saturday theme: "Scarf Fun". I didn't actually get dressed on Saturday, but I did wash almost all of my scarves. They have been hanging uncovered in my closet for ages, and I've noticed some itching when I wear them lately. Hmmm... they must have been dusty. Now they are clean and nice, and covered with dry-cleaner's plastic. Yay me.

Tuesday theme: "Style a Skirt". Don't own one in my current size, so that ain't happening... I decided to use Saturday's theme instead using this freshly-washed beauty:



Here's the result:



I'm a little chagrined because I forgot to put my jacket on before I went into the Boss' office to ask him about something. Here's the cause:



Holy boobs, Batman! As you can already tell, the jacket is the linchpin of this outfit. Just for fun, here's the rest of the construction of this look:



I safety-pinned inside the belt to keep the end from flapping around. You can kind of see my hair clip in the photo, but here's a closeup (old pic):



I really should get a gold-tone hair clip... that one was the best I could come up with to coordinate with my "Feature Earrings", which was actually Monday's theme. They are a bit of a style departure for me, but there is a story... Hubby's beloved late uncle (who I have never met, but I have heard a lot of lovely stories) made them for my mother-in-law. She has now given them to me, and I wear them with pride:



The belt started bugging me later in the day, and I ditched it before I went grocery shopping. I kept my shoes on, though:



Top: VanHeusen outlet
Jacket: Talbot's Petite
Pants: Lane Bryant
Hair clip: made by me with materials from Michael's
Scarf: from the Musee Rodin in Paris, France
Earrings: gift from M-I-L

Back From the Tailor!

Remember how much I was annoyed at that bit of this top that hangs below the jacket oddly? (older pic):



The nice thing about the top was is covered my "pooch". But I finally decided it was just too weird-looking, and started thinking about taking action (older pic):



On Friday, I finally got to debut the modification:



I forgot my jacket, though... but I think you can imagine how it will look. Now I just need to baste it down a bit so it doesn't poke out like this:



These earrings are kind of fun:



I broke out one of my wooden barrettes to coordinate (older pic):



I almost forgot... Friday's challenge theme: "Coloured Shoes". Y'all know I have a few pair, but the challenge prompted me to try a new combination. I've never worn these shoes with my brown nubby pants before:



I think I liked it!

Top: via Stein Mart
Jacket: VanHeusen outlet
Pants: Lane Bryant
Shoes: Trotters
Earrings: via Bon Ton
Barrette: gift from Mom

Battenburg, My Valentine

Thursday FABruary theme: "Lace"

I love, love, LOVE Battenburg lace. For a long time, the only things I saw it on were fancy bedding and table linens. Since I don't care to look like I'm wearing a tablecloth, my beloved Battenburg lace has been long-absent from my life.

What a pretty tablecloth, though! Perfect for V-day:


source

How does one wear Batternburg lace? I'm sure many of us remember these:


source

That is soooo NOT a look for me! *shudder* On the other hand....I so very much want this gorgeous jacket, but I don't have an extra $279 hanging around! *sigh* Perhaps if my lottery ticket pays off....


source

SO when I found this beauty last year, I went nuts!



Here's the zoom-out:



And the jacket to top it off:



Yep, still need to get around to getting the shoulder pads for several of my jackets, including this one.



Finished the outfit off with earrings and my soft suede shoes, then headed out to work. I'm not sure if the earrings went well with this outfit, though. I know the shoes did, anyway.



I got some mud on them, so I used a stiff nail brush to get it off and fluff up the suede. There is a split in the lining, and I also put a piece of duct tape over it. I'm hoping that will protect the suede from splitting prematurely.

Top: via Stein Mart
Jacket: VanHeusen outlet
Pants: Lane Bryant
Earrings: via art fair in Kalamazoo, MI
Belt: from Target
Shoes: Trotters via DeGaetano's in Hornell, NY

I'm Blue (Da Ba Dee)

Wednesday's challenge theme: "Be Blue". Which instantly brought to mind this old club track:



Be Blue ba da bee blah blah blah... That track was playing in every club when I was in law school. As I was dressing Wednesday morning, it kept running through my head. So now I'm passing that on to you :-D I'm pretty sure I still have it on CD somewhere....

But back to the challenge... I picked up this knit jacket at the Fashion Bug closeout sale, and decided to debut it for the theme:



I stopped at the fabric store and picked up some shoulder pads, which I hope to install this weekend. I think I'm going to move the buttons to reduce pulling at the hips, too.



The necklace colors were a bit closer to the jacket's that this pic makes it appear:



I thought my octagonal hoops would be more appropro than regular ones. I lost one, and it took the store months to locate a second pair for me. I'm glad they came through, though!



I just went with plan black flats to avoid the previous day's flooded look, and to keep from distracting from where it was intended... the blue jacket and necklace.

I added a silver-tone clip in my hair to echo the jewelry:



I got a lot of compliments on this outfit at work and from Hubby.

Jacket: Fashion Bug
Pants: Lane Bryant
Shoes: Nine West via garage sale
Necklace: random store in Bayeux, France
Earrings: Gold Mine in Bath, NY
Hair clip: made by me with Michael's materials