The Look of Love is in your eyes......

You know, before I started blogging, I would have NEVER put this together.  I would have thought that this skirt could only be worn with black or white or something with a similar color in it.  But you, my fabulous blogging friends, have taught me!  This came together so quickly on a whim, and I just felt SO great in it!

The biggest perk though?  My husband LOVED it and LOVED me in it!  He took these pictures and THAT'S why I'm smiling so big!   What you see there.....is the look of love!

Cue Diana Krall...

Just a Quickie...

This is seriously one of the BEST posts I've ever read....

http://www.theculturecynic.com/2011/08/freestyle.html

I just HAD to share!  I LOVE her attitude and so much of what she says eloquently states what I feel, but could never have expressed it the way she did.  So interested to hear what you think, so please let me know!

Back In Black: An Accessories Story

Black can be a lot of things, but it certainly doesn't have to be BASIC!  When wearing primarily black, the key is that it's all in the accessories.  And the fun thing is you can get as creative and funky as you want.  The black will keep it toned down to a respectable level.

Here are some tips to wearing black without feeling boring:

It's a bit difficult to see in this picture, but I have  a vintage black slip on.  It works as a pretty camisole AND I really don't have to worry about length.  If the black lace peeks out the bottom, it's just an added interesting element!  I have a fire engine red vintage slip with some great accordion pleat and lace detail.  if I wanted to dress this up more, I'd pair the red slip with this and have it peeking at the top and below the hem.  Instant GLAMOUR!

Add a show stopping scarf!  Sometimes I feel like I never really know what to do with a scarf, even though I  canNOT pass up a pretty scarf!  In fact, a shock of color works GREAT with a black background!  This vintage beauty made it's premier around my neck today!  It was time to let the leopard out of the cage!

Every girly needs a great pair of movie star sunglasses and red lipstick!  The great thing about black is that you can really have fun with your make up.  Draw all the attention up to the face and then blow their socks off with highlighted eyes, bright lips and great earrings......just not all at the same time!

If you know me at all, you know my penchant for a statement belt.  This sweet dress needed to be toughened up a bit so I opted for a leather and hardware southwestern style belt.   Amid the sea of black, the belt was the star!

Got shoes?  Bring on your craziest, your most colorful, your totally funky shoes!  While your more colorful or patterned items can't handle it; pure black is not so insecure.  It welcomes the chance to accompany statement shoes out scooter pootin' around!

While this necklace seems to feel a bit too heavy with a lot of my clothes; black seems a friendly base for it.  When you're wearing all or mostly black, grab those big pieces of jewelry.  Now's no time to be timid....pile it on!

Now wear your black and get creative.  I guarantee you, you could wear black every day for a month and still keep it fresh and interesting!

Here me calling out your name....I feel no shame....

This was a picture of the first time I wore this dress.  See what difference sleeve length makes?  

This dress and I had a thing for each other the first time I laid eyes on it.  The fullness of the skirt.  The abstract beauty of the print.  The vibrancy of color. The care with which it was hand sewn.  All these things held a promise of love reciprocated when I rescued it from the racks.  

Dresses aren't the easiest things to wear differently with each use.   But that's okay.  The way I see it, I get more points for looking cute than by changing up ways I wear something just to be different.  If it ain't broke?  No fixing it here!  The first time I wore it (second pic) the sleeves were longer and they just didn't work.  Rather than going straight for sleeve mutilation, which I have a tendency to do, I decided to cap them instead.  WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!!!!  It's such a subtle change that makes a really big difference.  Before, the sleeves were a bit cumbersome with the fullness of the dress.  NOW, they're just the right delicate length to allow the rest of the dress to be the star!

Speaking of stars....be sure to check out the constellations of "Visible Women" on Patti's Visible Monday.  If you've never met Patti, go there RIGHT NOW. Patti is a sweet wise lady who has the kindest eyes I've ever seen.  You'll love her!

It must be LOVE....LOVE....LOVE!

 What you can't see is that this skirt has tiny multicolored pin stripes in it and the tank has a lace front sewn on....one of my favorites!  I threw the vest on at the last minute and it added just the right amount of "something" to complete the look!

Do you love what you wore yesterday?  
Or was it just "okay"? 
Wouldn't it be great to get dressed everyday and just LOVE what you're wearing and feel great in it?

You know how that can happen?  Here's the trick right here.  It's taken me a while to get this, but now that I have, I'm a convert!  So here it is...I'm going to speak up so you can hear me.....

ONLY KEEP CLOTHES YOU LOVE!!!!

Sounds simple right?  Go take a look in your closet.  Go item by item and ask yourself, "Do I love this?"  You'll be surprised.  I promise you, there's a lot of clothes in there that you keep because you think you can use it.  You purchased it because you wanted something different, feeling kind of bored with your wardrobe.  Or maybe you saw another blogger wear something similar and you loved it on them; but just haven't made it work on you.  But you kept it anyway.  Buyer's remorse kicking in and then you're feeling like you HAVE to keep it.  Did someone give you something that is really not you, but you feel guilty re-gifting or donating it? 

All these scenarios lead to having a closet full of acquaintances rather than true friends.  It's quality that we're after.  Authenticity.  A closet full of items that get you excited and inspired!!!  I mentioned in the previous post that I did a closet purge.  I was shocked that I had 2 big trash bags of things that I didn't love! I swallowed hard, forgot about what I spent on it and piled unloved items in the bags and took them toot sweet to donate.  Now, I look up in my closet and see items that I just ADORE which will lead to outfits I just ADORE!

I'm telling you, free yourself from the so so.  And then don't look back!  You'll have even MORE clothes and outfits to wear than ever before and a renewed love of the daily dress up!  

How long has it been since you purged? 

Doncaster Tanner ...... Ageless & Timeless

As I was moving my clothes into my daughter's closet, I did an extreme purge.  I made a vow to myself a few years ago to only keep in my closet what I love and what fits.  I had gotten away from that and had far too much potential clothing mixed in with the true love items.  That being said, this dress is true love.  And like real love, it just grows with time!

This is a very vintage Doncaster dress.  Doncaster is based out of Rutherfordton, NC.  The company, started in 1931, began as the Doncaster Collar and Shirt Company.   Doncaster sells it's apparel through independent consultants nationwide and a small chain of outlet stores primarily in the south.  More about the history of Doncaster here.   It grew tremendously over the years and became a luxury line that has had it's ups and downs.  At one time, ALL of the sewing was done right here in our little western North Carolina town.  This was once a booming textile community that was devastated by NAFTA and the lure of inexpensive overseas labor.  Now,  Doncaster apparel is produced out of their China factory.  And while that's disappointing to me, I still have a HUGE place in my heart for the Doncaster Tanner label.

When my mother was still alive, no visit to see her was complete without shopping the showroom.  I was always captivated by the fabrics, cuts, colors and prints.  Their pieces are completely timeless and ageless.  When my mother passed away, I inherited her Doncaster collection and they're just as wearable today as they were when she purchased them.   Over this past year of blogging, I've photographed many Doncaster items that were key parts of my outfits.  Take a look.......

This is just a boatload of FABULOUSNESS!  I purchased this satiny trench at the warehouse store and it was the last one they had.  I don't think I'll EVER give this baby up!  I plan on wearing it this winter as a dress with black hose and red or animal print flats.  

I got this jacket on one of my thrifting expeditions!  It came with a matching skirt....very Alexis Carrington    a la Dynasty!  What the picture can't show is the metallic gold thread stitched throughout.  I separated the set (I'm not one for that kind of matching) and rolled up the sleeves to keep this highfalutin blazer humble and approachable!  I plan on taking the skirt up several inches to the knee and pairing it with a white button down blouse.

This skirt belonged to my mother.  Words cannot express what a work of art it is!  It's a long lined wool very full skirt.  Originally, it had a TINY waist and I thought I would just have to relegate it to a lifetime in the back of my closet as I could NEVER get rid of it, but had no hope of wearing it.  Then, as fate would have it, I met an older woman who had worked at Doncaster years ago as a seamstress.  I asked her if there was anything  that could be done and she was able to cut a couple of inches off from the top and then replace the waistband where the skirt sufficiently widened.  May I just say, "BRILLIANT!!!!!"  Now I get to wear this amazing piece of art!  One of my favorites!

I thrifted this silk blazer at a local charity shop.  The quality is amazing and even though I know it's very old, the color remains vibrant.  I've since replaced these dated buttons and can't wait for the weather to turn a bit cooler to wear this again!

Okay, seriously.......how cool is this lion print blouse?!?  One of my older Doncaster items that I thrifted locally.  One of the things that roped me in, besides the neutral color scheme and eye catching print, was the quality.  Even where the blouse buttons, the fabric is lined up so that the lions are intact.  C'mon!  You know what we'd pay for that kind of quality today?

Alright, "Keep it real, Serene!" time here.  This is pretty awful!  It's so uncharacteristically Doncaster.  So why did I snag this when it was gracing the racks at a local thrift store?  I was drawn in by the sheer OUTRAGEOUS-NESS  of the design and the attention to details.  French cuffs on silk fabric?  It had me at, "Shield your eyes!!!"  I cut off about half the length of it, but to be honest, after wearing it once I just couldn't do it again.  I felt like a walking silent scream all day!

This right here is a wardrobe staple.  The long ivory wool sweater is in the thinnest weave so it's never too hot or too bulky.  This is another inherited item.  It originally came with a think matching fabric belt, but I just took that off.  There is nothing that I put this with that it doesn't improve the entire look!  

Okay.  Stop EVERYTHING!  This navajo print sweater/jacket is just the most FABULOUS thing I have in my closet.  Inherited from my mother, she wore the fool out of this.  Since it's come into my hands, I've worn the heck out of it too.  And guess what?  It just keeps getting better.  This jacket is probably at least 10 years old.  There is never a time that I wear it that I don't get at least one compliment.  Seriously, I'll have this till I die, and if I could, I'd take it with me!!

I purchased this camel toned sweater at the warehouse store a couple of years ago.  This is the softest cotton and for an oversized sweater, it just hangs beautifully.  When it's cooler, I wear this nonstop!

This skirt is a tad tight in the waist, but I just can't let it go!  It's lined silk and THE COLOR!!!  The color is just so vibrant and ripe!  This skirt will help me liven up the darker colors of fall and winter.  I may have to take it back to Miss Lucy, that amazing seamstress and see if she can buy me a little extra wiggle room in the waist.  The woman is a MIRACLE WORKER! 

Now in the interest of full disclosure, I want to point out that I'm NOT receiving any compensation for this post.  This truly is a post from the heart.  I worked for Doncaster in their Customer Service Dept a few years ago for about 3 months.  I would have stayed longer but was offered a MUCH higher paying marketing position.  The women that I worked with there were GODSENDS and I'm not exaggerating one bit.  My boss at the time, Lou Haynes, has been at Doncaster for over 40 years now!  You read that correctly....40 years.  Lou was absolutely precious to me and treated me with the tenderness of a mother.  I had just lost my own mother the year before and was going through a difficult divorce when Lou hired me.  She would hug me and being slight of build like my mom, she felt like my mother in my arms.  

I still have wonderful relationships with the women from Doncaster that I had the privilege of working with.   They were there for me when I didn't even know I needed them and now I don't know how I would have managed without them.  

Doncaster is special to me probably most of all because it reminds me of my mother because of her fondness for the clothes.  But a very close second is that I've always been in awe of the gorgeous creations! Be sure to check out their 12 page spread in this month's In Style magazine and you'll see where my enthusiasm comes from!

For more information about the Doncaster History.......click here.

To take a look at this season's line and shop the In Style magazine items......click here.

Stay tuned for some of my favorite items from their current line.

But you gotta keep you head up...HEY HEY!

Alright, so I'm not ALWAYS in a dress or skirt!  This is me pretty dressed down.  We had some errands to run on Friday and so I threw on these capris (which normally I hate, but I like these) and this great t-shirt (also something I almost never wear) with some clogs.  My husband LOVED the look and was more than willing to direct me and take my picture.

My hair is completely undone and in the second picture, I look like I smelled something stinky.  But since this is The Elegant Bohemian and not Vogue, I decided to leave it in.  You know, as much as we all like to dress up, sometimes I just don't want to!  Usually, when I come home, I'm out of my clothes and into a pair of shorts.  Oddly, however, when I worked from home, I've always "dressed" for work.  I just don't feel like myself if I'm all unkempt.  How do you do casual?

One way....or another....I'm gonna find ya....

Dress: Vintage, Thrifted.  Belt:  Ralph Lauren, gifted.  Shoes:  Stuart Weitzman, thrifted

Thanks for all the sweet encouraging words that made me feel much better about my daughter going off to college.  I gave myself a kick in the pants this morning and gave me a good talking to.  It went something like this:

"Serene!  Get over yourself already!  Your daughter is alive, well and healthy and she is off to college starting her adult life.  So stop acting like she fell off the planet and GET HAPPY already!"

And so I did!  Well, it IS a work in progress, but I'm actually fine.  Fine enough to take over my girl's closet!  Yup.  That's right.  I have commandeered my daughter's room and closet.  It helps ease the pain........

Oh, Baby I love your way......every day.....

This outfit right here, probably encapsulates what my blog is all about:

1.  Each of us can have defined personal style - signature style using either what they have, or spending very little.
2.  We're never too old to express ourselves through dress.
3.  Dressing for ourselves, NOT to camoflage perceived flaws.

This dress sums it up.  It's a bit campy, a bit elegant, can go in a lot of different directions AND was thrifted for about $3.50!  AND it's vintage!  There's a lot of khaki goodness going on here!  I loved that the belt was such a statement piece.  It belonged to my mom and I don't think she ever even wore it one time.  I'm just such a sucker for belts!

These Lela Rose shoes were purchased off of ebay.  I really really love them....love the way they look!  But to be honest, these shoes are meant for all day wear.  After a full day in them, I'm ready to cry or kill!

I hope you all had a fabulous weekend!  We took my daughter to college.....5 hours away!!  I miss my girl already; but this is what it's all about, eh?  They have to grow up and grow wings!  Maybe that means I need to spread mine a little more!  Big hug to all of you!!!!

It's like starting over.......

Tomorrow, we take my only daughter to college.  She and I have talked a lot about what it will be like that first year.  As she has prepared to pack her things, we talked about how she would like to dress in college.  For the past 7 years she has worn a uniform to school every day.  My girl loves a great outfit and has a wonderful eye for what works!  She dresses on the conservative side and there are a few things that she'd like to start consistently wearing once she goes to school.

One of those things is heels.  She loves high heels but has never felt comfortable wearing them, partly because no one is used to seeing her in them.  You know what the great thing about starting over is?  You can reinvent yourself!  No one knows you.  No one has expectations.  You begin with a clean slate!  So now, she will incorporate things into her wardrobe and wear them as if she's been wearing them for years!

Are you starting a new job?  Moving?  In a brand new situation?  NOW'S the perfect time to reinvent those parts of yourself that you may have been nervous about before.  Want to step up your style?  Want to be more casual?  Experiment with vintage?  Start wearing make up?  Try it now and OWN it!

All the other kids with the pumped up kicks.....

Guess what!  There's a dress like this in a thrift store near you.  There really is!  I mean, this is just a plain, vintage, jersey dress that wears like a dream.  It really couldn't be more simple.  But that's the beauty of it.  It's like a canvas and your accessories are the paint.  I have worn this with flats and a simple belt.  I've worn it with brown accessories.   I ALWAYS wear it with a statement  necklace!

When I wore this on Monday, a coworker told me, "Serene, you look very svelte today!"  Svelte you say?! Buh BAM!  I'm ALL OVER svelte!  I think I can count on one hand....okay, maybe one finger the times I've been called "svelte".  But that's what a monochromatic look will do for you.  It'll SVELTE you right in the face!

Mini Makeover: To Tuck or Not to Tuck!

Remember my friend, Carrie?  I first introduced her here.  Carrie has lost a lot of weight and yet, as I mentioned before, she sees herself larger than what she is.  She came in wearing this outfit yesterday and looked WONDERFUL!  She mentioned that the shirt was a bit big on her.  I told Carrie, "You're NOT as big as you think you are AND tall doesn't equate to BIG."  When she was showing me to top, I saw that her skirt has a belt detail on it.  So to illustrate to her how small her waist is, I got her to tuck in her shirt.  Now I have to tell you, for Carrie, this is WAAAAAY out of her comfort zone.  She told me she hasn't tucked her shirt in in YEARS!  So, granted, she was expecting the worse!  Well, you be the judge:

Well Helllllooooo Waist line!!!!  Can you believe the difference!?!?!  I can actually see her gorgeous hour glass figure!  Think about this....

Carrie always thought she was pear shaped.   Full hips do NOT make a woman pear shaped.  It's when  one's shoulders are very narrow disproportionately to her hips.  For years I thought I was pear shaped (and there's nothing wrong with pear shaped if that's what you REALLY are).  But that was during a time when it wasn't cool to have some hips.  Thankfully Ms. Lopez and Ms. Beyonce changed that for us!  Carrie is clearly an hour glass coming in at the waist and basically the same in the shoulders and hips.  She has a FABULOUS shape!

Carrie tried to cover  what she considered to be her flaws.    I'll say again, "FORGET YOUR FLAWS....OR WHAT YOU THINK THEY ARE!"    Just put it out of your head!  Look for what is GREAT about your figure, because I'm telling you....I PROMISE you.....IT'S THERE!  Carrie has a wonderful waist line, but because she was self conscious about her hips and tummy, she tried to cover it all up.  When really, she didn't need to.  She's got it so FLAUNT IT!

Those parts of us that we try to use our clothes to camoflage?  It doesn't work.  They're still there and while we are trying to hide them, we're also hiding some of the best things about us!  So rule of thumb:  FOCUS ON YOUR ASSETS AND EVERYONE ELSE WILL FOCUS ON THEM TOO!  

I'm so dizzy....my head is spinning....

I am NOT gonna lie.....this dress was really fun to wear!  Although it HAS gone through a lot of cosmetic changes!  When I picked this up at my favorite thrift haunt, it was a long sleeve (with those long cuffs that give it a bit of a pirate look) MAXI dress.  Now, I've gotta tell you, that's alotta dress going on there!  So first thing that had to go were....you know what's coming.......THE SLEEVES!  Next, that skirt part had to lose half of itself.  When a print is really busy like this, I HAVE to take it in smaller doses, otherwise the dress wears ME.  And how fabulous is this print?!?!?  I'm in polyester heaven over here!!!!

Oh, and notice the hair pulled up?  I finally realized that I may not be alone in some silly thoughts that go through my head.  With a dress this figure hugging and my hair down, it feels a bit floozy-ish to me.  Trollopy if you will.  With all the loose hair and fitted dress....well, you get it, just too much.  Turns out I'm not the only one that feels that way.  November Grey (just came across her blog a couple of weeks ago and I just love her style!!) noted that she feels like a tart with long wavy hair and a tight dress.  So no tarts, trollops or floozies around here!  Keeping it PG!

Day Dream Believer and Visible Monday!

Surprise!  Surprise!  I DO wear pants every now and then!!!  But to be honest, pants are tricky on me.  I feel like it's difficult to get a really good fit.  I have muscular legs and a full BE-hind, so pants aren't always a flattering fit for me.

So when I DO come across a pair that fit and feel good, I snatch them up no matter what the cost!  Fortunately, the cost for these was only about $10!  Ann Taylor Outlet is one of the best places to find pants.  They have different fits and styles to choose from and it's rare that I go and don't find some kind of bottom.

The day that I wore these, I ran out of the house to go the gym around 4:30 am and completely forgot bracelets.  I felt a little naked without anything along the arms, but what the hey!  I got over it quick! So for wearing this color, I'm going to make this my Visible Monday outfit!  What?!  You haven't heard of Visible Monday?  Wellllllllll, then just head on over to Patti's blog, Not Dead Yet Style and check out all the other over 40 and super visible women!

Oh black water.....keep on rollin'

As much as I love color.....and I DO love me some color.....sometimes the eyes just want to rest.  No stimulation.  No vitamin "vibrance".  Just resssstttttt (read while exhaling!).  This dress was given to me by a sweet woman I work with and as soon as I put it on, I felt at home.  Amidst all the vintage, the color, the tailoring, along comes a simple black dress and all of a sudden:  Comfort is Chic!

I have a schizophrenic closet.  There's vintage.  There's over the top.   There's color.  There's minimalist.  There's some of everything!  I finally gave up trying to define a certain style that I have.  I say this over and over, ad nauseum, but the common thread I look for when putting something together is elegance with a touch of drama or whimsy.  My mother's liquid silver necklace did the trick for drama!  Notice the absence of a lot of arm candy?  For me, I decide which piece of jewelry will speak for the crowd....ya know what I mean?  Again, this necklace talks loudly enough.  Another armload of silver or big honkin' earrings and the fabulousness of the piece gets lost in the noise.

Hope you all have a FABULOUS weekend!!!  Big hugs to all of you!

The Importance of Fit: A Before & Happily Every After Story

I'm no fan of camoflauge dressing.  I don't think clothes should be worn to hide, but rather to HIGHLIGHT!   Let's face it.  We all have our more attractive physical qualities and the art to fabulous personal style is finding and highlighting those qualities.   But sometimes FINDING them tends to be a bit tricky because we really don't see ourselves the way we are.  We tend to view ourselves in a very critical light, picking apart our perceived imperfections and then trying to completely cover them.

I'm going to show you, very simply, what a difference a good fit makes.  You may feel like your hips are too big so you cover them with flowy pants.  Not a fan of your stomach?  So you hide it with a big or shapeless top.  These are NOT good ideas and they do NOTHING for you!  

Take my good friend, Carrie.  Carrie has CHANGED HER LIFE in the past 8 months.  Carrie works with me our local health club.  She's a tall woman and had put on weight since having 2 kids.  Last Sept when we did our first Weight Loss Challenge, Carrie enrolled and has never looked back!  Although she no longer weighs herself, I would guess she's lost at least 30 pounds and literally a number of sizes!  She works out like a fiend now, usually at least 3 times a week, 2 of those times in a small group training.   She's got muscles where she never imagined she'd have them and her natural hour glass figure now shines through!  But the problem Carrie is having is that she still sees herself as WAY bigger than she is.  She's not fully appreciating all she's accomplished OR embracing her figure.  In trying to illustrate this to her, I took her picture just the way she was dressed to come to work.  This is Carrie:

Can you tell that there is a FABULOUS shape under there?  The colors are gorgeous, but where's Carrie?!?!  She literally was pinning her skirt in at the waist about 2 inches and it still hung on her!  To show her what a difference a proper fit makes AND how much she has REALLY toned up, I had here pull her blouse and skirt in.  Now take a look at the difference:

Va Va VOOM!   Homegirl's got a FIGURE!!!  Look at that waist!  Look at that hourglass figure!  That's a MAE WEST figure right there!  Now THESE pictures got Carrie's attention!  She told me today that she thought of the difference in these two pictures all day yesterday after I took them.  She said, "Alright Serene, I get it.  That really is a big change!"  My girl had NO idea how much her body had changed because she was still dressing in clothes to HIDE her shape rather than HIGHLIGHT her shape!

Are you convinced yet?  If so, get ready to take a hard look in your closet and incorporate some of these tips:

1.  Look at yourself objectively in the mirror and name your 3 best features.  At least one on your face and two on your body.  Now if you come up with 5 of your best features....hey!  That's all the better!  Hey!.    Hey! Heeeeeyyyyy!  Are you looking at what you don't like?!?!?  STOP IT!  Forget those!  Find those best features.  They. ARE. There!

2.  Now you're going to highlight those.  NOT camoflauge, but HIGHLIGHT!  Do you have great legs?  Well girly, let's see some!  Are your shoulders WONDERFUL?  Then mutilate those sleeves and gimme some shoulder!  A full set of hips?  Well come ON!  What woman wouldn't love to have some curvy hips ala Beyonce?  Show us your best side!

3.  A belt doesn't create a waist, it shows yours off!  So if you've got tops that are a bit big, either get rid of them, have them taken in, or BELT it baby!

4.  A pegged skirt (where it tapers in toward the bottom) shows off your hips.  Actually, Carrie could wear a pencil skirt and look AMAZING.  

5.  I know maxi skirts are all the rage, but ladies show some leg.  Most of us have good calves....I mean c'mon, they're CALVES!  So show them off!   Personally, I'm not a fan of short short skirts, but right above the knee or in the middle of the knee?  Now that looks good!

6.  Get rid of all your clothes that don't serve you well.  It's better for you to have 10 items in your closet that look FABULOUS on you than 30 that just look so so.

7.  If it's too big or two small, alter it or get rid of it.  It's not your friend and not worth it!

Let's face it!  We're GORGEOUS so let's show it off!

Now that we've found love, what are we gonna doooooo...

What hooked me with this 70s era vintage skirt was the bright royal blue....just so pungent in color!  Then, this colorful silk blouse is something I had been watching for a couple of months.  I'm wearing it backwards as I really am not crazy about something so high on my neck.  Let's face it, this blouse is LOUD with color!  But that's what I love about it!  It's so bright that it seems to just absorb light and draw it to my face.

I would encourage anyone who is a bit timid when it comes to color, to experiment with bright hues on top.  It's color that highlights the face and spotlights it!  Two years ago, I was TERRIFIED of color.  I could certainly make a wardrobe if I had to, out of my beloved black and white.  But now that I've found color, I just don' think I could ever give it up!  Try it!  If you don't feel like yourself, then try a different color.  But at least give it a shot incorporating color into your personal style.  You'll be AMAZED!

Me and you and a dog named "Blue"....

This past Thursday, I had what I call a "Maintenance Day".  I took care of some neglected grooming maintenance that could no longer be curtailed!  We have a small spa at the health club where I work.  The esthetician who works there is a friend of mine, Charlotte,  and she normally waxes my brows for me.  Brow waxing is the only waxing I get done.  Upper lip waxing leaves me with an ugly rash and any other waxing........well, let's just say, I'm not interested!  But Charlotte has gone part time and we are almost never at work at the same time.  Hence, I think 3 months went by with my brows untouched by hot sticky stuff!  Now I've done some light tweezing in between, but seriously, when I say my brows were bad.......they were BAD!  I found out that Charlotte would be in for a couple of hours on Thursday and decided to wait it out and take any spot she had available.  She took care of my brows first thing and I really think it took her about 15-20 minutes.  For you non waxers, THAT'S A LONG TIME!

Then, I got my hair trimmed.  I almost never take scissors to my hair.  Just seems like such a waste of money  and time since it's just long anyway.  But my hair had gotten so long that it was really thin on the ends.  My elegant attempt at long hair was taking a much more "earth mother, birkenstock wearing, not very elegant at all turn"!  But an inch and a half off and my hair feels thicker and healthier and I'm loving it again!

Finally, I feel like I have to say something about my dress!  I've worn it one other time on my blog and it was about 2 inches longer.  While not fully sure about hemming it, I took it up a couple of inches with hem tape.....the most wonderful thing EVER invented!  I like it this length, but not necessarily any more than I did slightly below my knee.  It's a good idea to have some varying lengths of skirts though, so I'm thinking I'll leave it like this for a while.  I absolutely love the color and my husband made me feel like a beauty queen! He went on and on about how pretty this color is on me, so guess what I may never get rid of!?!