What did I say last week?

Red or royal blue. I wore royal blue to church yesterday, and I was literally inundated with compliments. Admittedly, it is one of my best colors.

Red has always been one of my best colors.

If I wear it to church, I can almost guarantee receiving a compliment.

The same is true of royal blue. If I wear it, people comment.

Wow. Has it been that long?

I need to get back to posting regularly. It will help me with my weight loss. Thanks to a mild bout of food poisoning In New Orleans, my annual October respiratory ailment, and Michael Pollan, I am down 10 pounds from the end of September. So yay, me! I go see my doctor for a 3-month follow-up next week, and I am going to be thrilled to hear him say, "You've lost some more weight." :-)

In addition, I have begun shopping in my closets for other things to wear, as I am at that incredibly awkward point between sizes. My 18s are too loose, and my 16s are too tight. If I lose 8-10 more pounds, I will be solidly in 16 territory and have a whole new wardrobe to wear. New Year's Day is my next weight loss goal. If I can navigate the holidays carefully, I should be able to make goal.

Sunday Outfit, July 8, 2018

Black/blue/white swing dress
Black Vaneli wedges
Blue leather Coach purse
Black hat with blue feathers from Makowski Millinery in Memphis
Black/silvertone pendant
Pandora bracelet

This is my favorite purse. I just love this particular shade of blue. I won it in a silent auction at an association event several years ago.

Sunday Outfit, July 1, 2018

I am really falling down on my blogging about my Sunday outfits.

Red/white/blue maxi dress
Blue Clarks flats
Red Liz purse (I've had it so long that it's practically vintage.)
Red sinamay hat
Red/white/blue bangles

Not to brag or anything, but I looked pretty sharp.

Sunday Outfit, 6/24/18

I had a new dress to wear, which is always pleasant.

Pink/gray/white/black A-line dress
Black flats
Black Italian purse
Black straw fedora with shaped brim and pink feather
Sterling/pink shell pendant
Sterling/gold bracelet
Sterling/gold/pearl rings

I am wearing a super cute outfit today.

Even if I do say so myself. I’m wearing the blue/white tunic and dark blue leggings that I bought at Janice Ann’s. I’m wearing the blue/white hat that I bought at Makowsky Millinery. I have on my new brand new dark blue Clark’s Cloudsteppers. I’m carrying my green/blue plaid Sperry bag and wearing my sterling/gold/pearl rings, my Calvin Begay lapis bracelet, and the sterling bangle I bought on Jekyll Island.

I am a picture of summer fashion. Even though it isn’t even summer yet.

Sunday Outfit, 5/27/18

Aqua jacket with black buttons
Narrow black trousers
Black top with lace back
Black trainers
Vintage black paper straw picture hat
Black leather purse
Turquoise link bracelet
Sterling/gold/pearl Atencio link bracelet
Sterling/gold/pearl Atencio rings

Sunday outfit, May 20, 2018

Red for Pentecost.

Full red skirt
White T-shirt top
Red vintage straw hat
Red leather Liz Claiborne tote bag
Cork sandals
Assorted red bangles
Sterling/gold/pearl rings

I read many years ago that every French woman had two beauty secrets.

A signature fragrance and a good lipstick. It really stuck with me, and I have lived by that adage for decades. L'Air du Temps has been my signature scent since the Reagan Administration, and Revlon's Blushing Mauve has been my lip color for several years now. I wish I could do a bold red lip, as French women prefer, but I have thin Irish lips, and a red lip color just accentuates that fact.

I've been reading the Inspector Armand Gamache Quebecois mystery novels (they're wonderful). There are parts of them that are very French, and they reminded me of this adage. So I went looking to see if I could find it again. I came close.
https://graziadaily.co.uk/beauty-hair/hair/french-beauty-secrets-bourjois/

One the best pictures I've taken since I turned 50.

It's a selfie from outside the Frist Center for the Visual Arts. I love the diffuse nature of the light.

Sunday outfit, May 13, 2018

Red jacket
R/W/B top
White jeans
White trainers (I was doing greeter duty, and I ended up doing tour duty, as well)
Red straw picture hat with R/W/B scarf (found hat at Goodwill, added scarf)
Vintage blue pocketbook
Sterling bangle
Sterling/gold/pearl rings
White sunglasses

This is the hat I wore to the Iroquois Steeplechase on Saturday.

I have a physical in two weeks.

So I'm trying to eat more healthy food. I'll also start walking again after Steeplechase this weekend.

Today, I had bran cereal for breakfast, vegetable soup for lunch, and 2 halos for a snack. Tonight, I'll eat the last of the meatloaf and a baked potato (no butter). Then I'll have a cup of grapes for dessert.

Sunday, I'm planning on making pork meatballs and red sauce, and I'll have those for supper for the rest of the week. I'll need to pick up feta, tomatoes, green onions, and cucumbers to make a chopped salad to go with it.

Sunday Outfit, 5/6/18

I'm going to try to keep up with my Sunday outfits, so I don't repeat them too often. This Sunday, I wore:

Black/white swing coat with puffed 3/4 sleeves and a shirred collar
Narrow black pants
Black trainers (I was ushering)
Black asymmetrical sinamay hat that I bought in Seattle
John Atencio sterling and gold bracelets
Sterling, gold, and pearl rings (Atencio and Barrack)

Personal Fashion Post

I was styling last night at the church concert with the Violins of Hope. I have a fringed, B/W sweater tunic that, if you lay it flat, looks like a rectangular poncho, but it's stitched and cut under the arms to give it shape. So I wore that, slim black pants, a brimmed vintage straw hat shaped like the one Audrey Hepburn wore in "Breakfast at Tiffany's", a vintage black and silver-tone pendant, and an armful of silver bangles. A woman I had never seen before saw me in the church parking lot and said, "I love your outfit! You look beautiful!" Such is the power of a well-deployed hat. ~(:-)

Ghost Forest

These are photos that I took while on vacation in Shenandoah National Park last week. It was foggy the first and third days I was there, and I was fascinated by the imagery of the trees in the mist.

Pictures I took of the blooming trees outside my office.

Beautiful Old Doors

Some pictures of beautiful old doors that I have collected recently.

It's been over 6 years, but I'm back! Huzzah! I need a blog that I can post about stuff that I don't want to include on Facebook, and since I already have this one, time to reactivate it.