I had a ton of fun on Saturday morning with my mom.  Yes indeed.  It was a slow day . . . → Read More: The Sunday Evening Post]]> So, where were we?  I think we left off where I was crazy-busy and did not even have time to leave a proper post as I was preparing for the farmer’s market.   The farmer’s market.  There we are.

I had a ton of fun on Saturday morning with my mom.  Yes indeed.  It was a slow day for shopping as far as I could tell.  Last week I sold two pins in the one short hour I was there.  Yesterday I was there for 3 hours and did not sell anything.  I did, however, have some interest, and my mom tells me to just be patient, that it’s certainly an up and down thing and it just takes time.   I actually got questions about my dress more than anything!  Several ladies said they loved it and wondered where it came from. 

Did I dare tell them?  G.W. Boutique?

Yeah.  I told them.  Goodwill.  It’s my favorite place to shop!

It’s because I can’t find anything I like in regular stores.  Seems everything is too short, or too cheaply made, or way out of my price range, or too wild.  I find really unusual things at Goodwill:  handmade things, one-of-a-kind things, or, like this dress, something that is just sweet and simple.  In this case, it is something that is cool in the summertime.

Pokeweed and phlox grow together in the little wild garden. (I’m sorry, Mom.)

I came home just in time on Saturday to sit down at my work desk and type for 8 hours.  Whew.  It makes for a long day, but the first part is so happy for me, it makes the second part happier!  I know that will make sense to you.  And it makes Fridays easier somehow.  It makes me want to get my Friday work day done because I have Saturday morning with my mom to look foward to!

This afternoon I finally had a few moments to go outside and look around the yard.  There were a dozen or so drunken bees hanging out on the sunflowers.  I love the bees.  The carpenter bees get so mesmerized that you can actually touch them.  As a general rule, though, I try to just leave them alone and let them enjoy their world.

I am writing things in my planner tonight and doing some light straightening around the house to get ready for the week.  I hope to put the shirt on the little girl doll who will be holding a goat.  More on her later.

Life sure is busy.

PS — And look at the dress, not me!  I am wilted and tired from the heat and the farmer’s market.  It’s the dress I wanted to show you. 

It was all just for one reason:  so you could see the new thrift store skirt I bought along with the “ton” of other summer stuff I found the other day.  Actually it was just a few items — not really a ton, . . . → Read More: The Skirt]]> My son John took some pictures for me in the garden.  (That sweet boy.)

It was all just for one reason:  so you could see the new thrift store skirt I bought along with the “ton” of other summer stuff I found the other day.  Actually it was just a few items — not really a ton, but a few items will get me through the summer and it’s a lot to me.

I’m plowing through the work day today.  Not feeling too great and cannot help but wonder what my TSH is as my eczema flared up over the weekend too.   Good thing I get it checked soon.

Enjoy this day!

I think what started this whole thing is that last night I snuggled up . . . → Read More: Bright Colors and Polka Dots]]> I have deemed this a good day to wear bright colors and polka dots, just in case you were wondering what to wear.  And if you’re already dressed, it is not too late for you to wear BrIgHt CoLoRs and PoLkA dOtS tomorrow. 

I think what started this whole thing is that last night I snuggled up with Michaela in her bed and read my new issue of Where Women Create.  The next thing you know, we were fast asleep and I woke up this morning to the bright sun on Michaela’s bright green walls and her very tall doll house.  I don’t know.  Maybe that green just sort of put me in the mind to be BRIGHT today.  (Dear Jessamy, I see why you love this color.)

Tumbling through the closet and some drawers, I found bright polka dotted clothes. 

And a bright skirt.  Why not go wild with patterns while we are at it?  I don’t think anyone will mind as long as we’re not too shocking.

Out in the yard this  morning, this little crocus decided to be bright with us.  And I noticed that the daffodils are not quite so scrunched up this morning, as it is bright and less cold today.

It also seemed a good day to wear a new Women of the World pin.  And it seemed a good morning to drive to the little all natural food store to get a cup of coffee, and see if anyone noticed my pin.  (I do look for feedback, after all, and I was really wanting coffee this morning, which I don’t usually drink anymore. )

Imagine my delight when the cashier said, “Oooo, I like that button you are wearing.”  I was so thrilled.  She had to read it and then we talked a bit about Etsy.  I love seeing friends and being around people, so it was nice to start the day out at the little store, before I get started typing all day.  (We’ll just pretend like it’s not happening.)

I wore the Brave pin today.  Tomorrow I may be wearing Demure.  One just never knows.

In the garden this morning, I was struck by the beauty of patina, and patina is . . . → Read More: Patina]]> patina  1 a fine crust or film on bronze or copper, usually green or greenish-blue, formed by natural oxidation and often valued as being ornamental    2 any thin coating or color change resulting from age, as on old wood or silver

In the garden this morning, I was struck by the beauty of patina, and patina is nothing more than age. 

I see my age.  Every day when I look in the mirror, I see the wrinkles around my eyes that have come from  much smiling.  But I would not trade my smiles.  In fact, every time I see those wrinkles I should be thankful that I’ve had things to laugh about.

The patina in the garden is beautiful to me.  If there’s anything I love about winter, and there are some things about winter that I love, it’s the fact that this patina — the age — becomes so much more prominent when the beauty of youth — the flowers — is sleeping. 

There’s a Jewish proverb.

For the ignorant, old age is as winter; for the learned, it is harvest.

That, dear friends, will be written into my  journal today. 

I do not want to dread another day because there might be another wrinkle, or because my joints say stay in bed when my mind says but I want to do things.

I want to wear bright colors and practice beautiful sayings in my mind and smile and have a beautiful spirit.

It bothers me, for myself and for my daughter, that we are surrounded by a culture that honors youth more than wisdom.  Neither of us is immune to the natural tendency of a woman to want to be pretty, but I struggle to help my daughter grasp now, in her youth, that a beautiful spirit is priceless.  It’s all the more reason for me to act my age and try to show her.

In parting, let’s smile.  It has been said that old age is when actions creak louder than words. 

Happily, we are all headed that way. 

Can you tell whose baby Annie really is?  I love this little puppy, in spite of her, uh, inability . . . → Read More: Dress Week Comes to an End – Day 6]]> Hasn’t it been fun?  Well, it has for me, sharing fun thrift store finds and reading all of your very kind comments!  Today will be the last day, and tomorrow a day of rest from this fashion adventure. 

Can you tell whose baby Annie really is?  I love this little puppy, in spite of her, uh, inability to understand that her bathroom is OUTSIDE.  We will get it straight one day, though.

I love the dress pictured above because of the corset-type tie in the front, and there is a repeated exact tie on the back.  Oh, I do love it. 

Dress 4.00

I am closing with just one picture showing the beautiful detail of one of my current favorites, because I think beauty is in the details.  We fall in love with people as we find out their little ways and peculiarities — their details.  Much of interior design is in the details.  There are detail shops for cars.

When I go out shopping, I shop for things that make me happy and that I can make a connection with.  I also shop for functional things, obviously, because I’m buying clothes, but if I have to choose between a drab gray overcoat and a soft pink one with a pretty charm hanging from the zipper tab, guess what? 

Thank you all so much for having fun with me this week!

Today’s a work day.  It’s snowing here today.  Again.  I told Thomas spring was right around the corner.  ”Six weeks,” I said. 

“Where’d you get that idea?” he asked.

I was picturing the little groundhog and knowing that he had seen his shadow.

Thomas interrupted my beautiful thoughts and said, “You know they’re comparing this winter to only two others like it over the last 100 years.  This winter’s gonna go slam through March.”

Was he kidding?

Oh well.

PS - Tanya, just for you…

It does have a great twirl effect!

And Ginger, the skirt yesterday is 100% polyester.  I checked this morning. 

A sweet disorder in the dress Kindles in clothes a wantonness: A lawn about the shoulders thrown Into a fine distraction– An erring lace, which here and there Enthrals the crimson stomacher– A cuff neglectful, and thereby Ribbands to flow confusedly– A winning wave, deserving note, In the tempestuous petticoat– A careless shoe-string, in whose tie I see a wild civility– Do more bewitch . . . → Read More: Feminine and Frugal Dress Friday]]> Delight in Disorder
by Robert Herrick

A sweet disorder in the dress
Kindles in clothes a wantonness:
A lawn about the shoulders thrown
Into a fine distraction–
An erring lace, which here and there
Enthrals the crimson stomacher–
A cuff neglectful, and thereby
Ribbands to flow confusedly–
A winning wave, deserving note,
In the tempestuous petticoat–
A careless shoe-string, in whose tie
I see a wild civility–
Do more bewitch me than when art
Is too precise in every part.

I asked my husband one time if he thought I was odd and he said, “You are pleasantly eccentric.”  I had a grandmother who loved hats, scarves, and leopard prints and all sorts of unusual articles of clothing.  I remember when she would come and visit, we always waited in anticipation, wondering what she would have on.  Actually, I sort of love leopard print too, but it has to be just the right thing for me to wear it.  Fair skin and freckles somehow don’t always look great in leopard print. 

I love pairing two very lacy tops together.  Having a little bit of lace show through at a collar or neckline or waist is pretty to me, though too much is, well, too much. 

The skirt has a story.  I bought this skirt probably 10 years ago secondhand.  A few years later I was cleaning out to donate some things to a yard sale and my mother saw that skirt in the bag.  She knew I had really loved it and would probably miss it one day, so she pulled it out without telling me and put it up.  She pulled it out again about two years ago and said, “Remember this?”  It was like finding that skirt all over again.  I thanked her for saving this pretty skirt for me.  It’s got two layers to it, has a beautiful floral print and hangs oh so pretty.

Brown lace top – $3.00
Lacy under-layer shirt – $3.00
Twirly skirt – $3.00
Black tights – $1.00
Sam and Libby boots – $5.00

Apron?  The first one I ever made, about 25 years ago, out of fabric bought really cheap at a textile factory I was working at.

Have a beautiful Friday.  Here’s to a job at home, hot tea, and God’s beautiful creation just on the other side of the window pane.

What we will think about is making the most of each day.  As I post this fun and sort of frivolous week of fashion, I am not unaware that there is great suffering around the world, . . . → Read More: Feminine and Frugal Dress Thursday]]> Oh, the week is flying by!  Tomorrow I’ll be at my work desk, but we won’t think of that today!  No.

What we will think about is making the most of each day.  As I post this fun and sort of frivolous week of fashion, I am not unaware that there is great suffering around the world, and many would love to have any new clothes right now, let alone a large selection purchased at good prices.

So, we must do what we can to help others and we must be all we can in our places.  I fully believe also in Tasha Tudor’s saying that we must “take joy.” 

I would like to thank my photographer, Michaela, for setting the camera on burst and then getting me to twirl, which I’m not very good at, by the way.  I reminded myself of one of those little twirlers in a jewelry box when the wire has gone awry and she spins off balance. 

Black velvety dress – $4.00

Black tights – $1.00

Black Wal-Mart Mary Janes – $9.00

Finally, the apron was a splurge and was $20.00, more than the rest of the outfit combined, but there’s a story behind it.  I bought it locally, it is handmade and supports someone who crafts and makes things and sells them, and I think that is worthwhile.    So there.

Besides, everyone needs a pretty apron to wear while cooking and cleaning.

Happy Thursday!

You get to see one of my current favorite shirts and my cluttered kitchen counter all at the same time!  What a day!

Once again I am layering shirts, which is a useful thing to be able to do since I’m so cold-natured.  The skirt for . . . → Read More: Feminine and Frugal Dress Wednesday]]> Welcome back to the fashion show!  (That was really fun saying that.)

You get to see one of my current favorite shirts and my cluttered kitchen counter all at the same time!  What a day!

Once again I am layering shirts, which is a useful thing to be able to do since I’m so cold-natured.  The skirt for the day is really shiny and crinkly.  I should have gotten a closer picture of the skirt because the hem is trimmed in lace.  It’s really pretty with black boots.  I found it in a store called Rave, in the mall, on a clearance rack for for 5 dollars.  Most things in stores like that don’t work out for me because everything, uh, doesn’t have enough fabric in it, but this skirt and one just like it in brown came home with me.

I thought this picture was worth putting in because you get to see the bright sun.  The snow looked like it had been sprinkled with bright sparkly glitter.  It was so very pretty.  Made me appreciate Snowflake Bentley all over again!

The greenish-teal shirt underneath is the one that I’m really enjoying right now.  The brand is Stamp 10.  I love how the blue in the pin brings out the blue tone in the shirt.  The black shirt I love too, because of the lace in the V neck.  It’s Chaus Organic and looked like it had never been touched when I bought it at Goodwill.

Once again, I’m covered in shawls.  The red plaid shawl was my one new shawl purchase this year.  I’ll try really hard not to buy another one until the big after-winter sales next year.

Total cost:

twirly skirt – 5.00
black shirt – 3.00
blue-green shirt – 3.00
black tights – 1.00
red shawl – 25.00