New Purchase - Back to Work Clothes

I am finally starting back to work after being laid off from my job of eight years at Christmas. I am really looking forward to working again. And in honor of my new job, I needed what else? New clothes (in smaller sizes!!). Eric & I went through my closet last weekend and did another round of pruning, to get rid of whatever wasn't working for me anymore - sizes, styles, etc. I also went through my shoes too, this time. I really would like to invest in some nicer shoes, rather than have several pairs from "le target", if you know what I mean. So, out went some of the cheap shoes, and out went some of the shoes with a heel as wide as my fist. I made a list of the things I'd like to add into my wardrobe and/or replace with better quality.

• new workout clothes
• tops - button-down, fitted
• new pair of jeans
• mary janes
• summer heels (white pr0bably)
• ankle boots
• possibly a new black purse (the purses still need to be gone through)

Then, we went shopping. I did get some new workout clothes (which I won't bother to show you), and then a few other things. Have a look...

I wanted tops with great color, and I also found I have several black or black and white skirts, so I wanted a skirt with some color too. The top has ruching at the sides for a more fitted look.

I love the pink and white top especially. The blue one is basically the same as the red top with ruching at the sides. The purple top has ruching in the back.

And, since I mentioned I was going to have to add some emerald green into my wardrobe, when I found this lightweight sweater, I had to have it. I love the neckline on it. It would look great dressed up, or even with jeans.

And I've had this top since the end of the year, but have never worn it. I just love it, but since I'm losing weight I am sometimes between sizes. This one doesn't quite fit yet.

When I looked through my closet, I realized that the majority of tops that I have are pullover, t-shirt type tops. I really want to begin to pull a more put-together and fitted look into my wardrobe, and I think I've got a good start here!

Oh, and I can't forget...the pièce de résistance...

I cannot tell you how in love I am with these shoes. I was just immediately drawn to them, and Eric liked them as well. I've never had a pair of shoes even remotely like these. They are, shall we say, a little outside my box. I am still so pleased with the last pair of really nice heels I bought, so I was glad to be able to have another nice pair. These are Gianni Bini, the style is Viper, and they have a metallic heel. Gorgeous!!

Even better, they were on sale!

Oscar Night - A Few Months Late

Ok, ok....so the Oscars happen in February and here I am in May finally talking about them. It's been a crazy whirlwind ride here since December when I was laid off from work. But, enough about that...let's get on to the red carpet.

I love Oscar night, it is one of my favorite things to watch during the year. I love the movie industry, so I always find it exciting to see who wins. Of course, I also love fashion too, so it is a wonderful night to see what everyone in Hollywood is wearing on what could be the biggest night of the year.

There weren't as many favorites for me this year as there usually are. This could be because I watched the red carpet special with Regis rather than the E! red carpet coverage, and hardly saw anything worthwhile. But, there were a few stunners that caught my eye.

Of course, I was immediately blown away by Nicole Kidman's jewelry (photo above). I love this necklace, which apparently is one long strand of diamonds that is just wound around her neck. While the dress was nothing spectacular (although she looked beautiful), this necklace was amazing. I think it was striking against the black dress as well.

Red was an obvious choice for several women this year as well. Of course, I love red so my eye was immediately drawn to Anne Hathaway.

Apparently this wasn't a favorite across the board, but it reminded me of Nicole Kidman's dress and I just love the effect on the shoulder. I could see this with opera length white gloves. Very Audrey Hepburn, I think.

I also loved Helen Mirren in red. She looked so elegant, and the effect of the Swarovski crystal drop sleeves and back was beautiful.

I always love Cate Blanchett, so I was eager to see what she would be wearing. I loved her in this deep hue. The necklace by Lorraine Schwartz was a lovely addition to the overall feel of the dress. Pregnancy becomes her.

And then, finally, there was Marion Cotillard 's gorgeous mermaid-style dress complete with "scales" by (of course) Jean Paul Gaultier. I loved this for its originality and that she chose to wore white while most others were dressed in more vibrant hues. Again, this one was a love it or hate it kind of dress, but I loved it.

And one of my favorite categories at the Oscars is for Best Costume Design. I just adore costuming, and so I am always anxious to see who wins. This year, the Oscar went to Alexandra Byrne for Elizabeth: The Golden Age. Here are a few photos from the film.

And, since I am currently in the process of watching all the Best Picture films from the beginning, I was excited to see what the next Best Picture winner would be. This year's winner was the film, No Country for Old Men. I haven't seen it yet, but it's on my list now!

Green with Envy

The hot trend for Spring 08 is bright color, and no where is this more apparent than in the movies. The gorgeous green dress of Anne Boleyn in the one-sheet is amazing. But, of course, all the talk since winter has been about that green dress in Atonement.

When I saw the film with two girlfriends, I came away thinking it was the most depressing movie I'd seen in a long time, but that green dress was unforgettable. Just the sheer emerald green color of it in such a grey film was scintillating.

Just amazing.

I am so mesmerized by the simplicity of this dress, although it is actually quite complicated in its wraps and twists. But, that color - color in films is one of the things I so love about cinematography and costume design. It can just make a scene or a character.

And as I was contemplating and gathering my thoughts for this post, what should arrive on my doorstep but the InStyle color issue, with yet another green dress on the cover.

I think I will definitely have to add this color to my wardrobe immediately!

New Purchase - Spring Purse

I love choosing a new seasonal purse to carry. For spring (and it will work for summer as well!) I chose this fabulous bag from Baby Phat. I loved the bright, vibrant color and the gold accents. It's a much smaller purse than what I carried throughout the winter. It's like shedding all those winter layers, and going light! I love the idea of pairing this with all sorts of combinations of outfits, like teals, whites, reds, etc. It's definitely a statement piece for me!

And I can't get enough of that lemon yellow color (or shall we say canary - as in diamonds), so I decided to add a little something.

I purchased the Swarovski crystals some time ago, but finally made the necklace and earrings set that I'd been wanting...just in time for Easter. I love wearing it, and it feels so fun with my new purse.

March Showers

It snowed last night, if you can believe it. It rained really hard on Sunday and most of the day yesterday, so the weather has been very interesting here. The weather could be contributing to my general blah feeling. Last week was a hard/emotional week. Since being laid off from my job in December (the notice was right after Thanksgiving), it's been kind of difficult being home everyday, with minimal interaction with people, but knowing that I can't just relax and enjoy myself. I've been diligently working at the job search, and hope that the perfect position reveals itself soon. It's been a bit of a blow, but most days I am ok with the new turn my life is taking. Last week I think everything just got the better of me. One of the things I am doing for myself right now though, is working on keeping my energy engaged - by creating, and also by focusing on changes I want to make in my life. I've been reading Fabulosity by Kimora Lee Simmons, and it really has been very helpful to me. One of the things she suggests is that you should always dress and present yourself as if you might run into your worst enemy. I realized that since being at home I have been very lax in my appearance, I mean most days I don't leave the house, but even when I do - to run errands, go to the gym, etc. - I'm just throwing on clothes and no makeup. So, I have decided to make a concerted effort to put some energy in my appearance. I know it will make me feel better, and it won't hurt either if I run into a potential employer or new friend, right? So, on Saturday, after a huge sobfest Friday night, I went to a friend's bridal shower. Not sure of who I might run into there, I decided that it was the perfect time to dress myself and present myself well. As you can see, my red heels were in attendance. I received lots of compliments - directly and indirectly through other people. It felt really good, and I had a great time. Here are a few shots of the party...

There was cake and punch.

A chocolate fountain.

And lots of goodies for dipping in the chocolate - strawberries, grapes, pineapple, pink marshmallows, cookies and pretzels.

We all had a great time, and I know that the renewed interest in taking care of myself and knowing that my self-worth does not come from a job was jump-started this weekend as I stepped out into the world in my red shoes.

More Valentine's and a Few Improvements

Well, I promised you a few more Valentine's photos. Above are the glass scatters I bought. Aren't they cute? I love conversation hearts, so when I saw these, I had to have them. Eric's mom bought us these beautiful votive holders.

I loved how the table looked with the heart tree and the gifts.

And of course, my sweetheart brought me roses in a beautiful vase.

We had a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Over the weekend, I was feeling a bit of spring cleaning coming on. I found myself working on a few of the problem areas around the house. You may remember my New Year's Resolution to work on my office and media room. Let's start with the media room. This mainly required going through the boxes I brought home from work when I was laid off and getting rid of the extranneous junk. I also cleared off the boxes of china and crystal from on top of the bookcase, so that you don't just see stuff piled up when you look into the room. Here's the before...

And here it is now.

I am pleased with how it is coming along. Granted I still have boxes on the floor, but once I find a new job, they will be moved out of here. I think just having some vases and a photo on top of the bookshelf looks much better than the boxes. I also got rid of the stuff stacked on top of the cd tower. It was mostly videos and cds that needed to be taken and sold. So, not only did it get rid of the clutter, but we made money too! Those three boxes right next to the door are full of magazines. As soon as I can find a better solution for storing them, those boxes are outta here! I am thinking of those magazine boxes maybe, that will fit on a shelf and not look as bad as the magazines themselves. Anyway, I'm making progress!!

And I also did some work in the office. The corner where the printer and network equipment sit was bothering me.

So, I cleaned out one of the drawers in the set of plastic drawers our office supplies are in. I managed to get some of the compressed air and stuff like that into the drawer. The hard drives that were sitting over here also got moved, as did the printer ink cartridges. I also put away my quilt that was sitting next to the file cabinet in the brown paper bag.

Better, yes?

And, then for the corner of doom. I hate this corner so much, it is just a pile of junk.

So, I had a sudden burst of inspiration to get some shelves down from the attic. These were my grandmother's and I used to have my craft supplies on them. They are not in really good shape (as you can see I am missing one of the top pieces), but I think they help. They allowed me to organize some of the stuff that was stacked on the floor, like the laptop case, file folders, scanner, etc. I took all the loose hard drives and put them in that brown box on top of the scanner. I got rid of the pen holder on top of the plastic drawers, and organized the drawers themselves. I also donated the electric stapler that had been sitting here (not plugged in) for almost two years. I still have two boxes of magazine articles, etc. that I want to scan into the computer, and then that will get rid of all but the printer paper box - which can go on the bottom shelf. I am really happy that this is a little more organized now!

I think it looks so much better - not perfect, but definitely better. You may notice, I've also been working on cleaning off my craft table. I definitely want to take the advice I got about making a skirt for the table to hide some of my craft storage. I think that will definitely help.

And while I was at my attack on the clutter, I decided to do something nice. I found a great frame at Hobby Lobby last week for 50% off. So, Eric and I printed out some photos from our trip to San Antonio last year for our anniversary. I decided to hang it in the entry next to the photo from Gettysburg Eric took. I think it looks better with the two pieces now, because the Gettysburg picture was a little small for that area. Love it!!!

I'm going to keep working around the house and I'll be sure to show you my progress!

Valentine's Day

I finally feel like I'm coming out of my slump that I've been in for the past couple of months. There's been a lot going on, but I feel like it's all starting to look up now. I've been working a little bit on my two rooms that I want to get cleaned up and organized. I've made a little progress, not enough to show, but a little. I had been trying to get stuff (magazine articles, etc.) scanned into my computer in order to cut down on all the paper I have in the office. But, as my computer is dying a slow death, I haven't been working on that recently. I have two other projects I'd like to get finished - one is to finish covering the corners of my couch that have been shredded to bits by the cats. I've done two corners so far, and need to do four more. I also want to (on the advice of some of you here) make a skirt for my craft table to hide some of the storage I have going on underneath it. I think it will go a long way to cleaning that area up. Now, to decide on a fabric to use. But, in the meantime, I've done a little February decorating. I'd love to do more, in fact, I have some little items on the way. I just love Valentine's Day and decorating for it.

I put out my heart tree on the dining room table (photo above). Last year I made all the little hearts and bought the wire tree. It makes me happy just looking at it. I was inspired by this post. I went out and bought some red and white fabrics, then just started sewing up hearts! I can use the white wire tree for Easter too.

I created a little corner in the guest bath, with a few decorative items.



And, of course, I had to dress the mantel.



The vase was a wedding gift from two of our friends. The chenille heart pillow was also a gift from a friend, many years ago.



The "Just Married" bug was also a wedding gift. It seemed to fit right in with my decorations.


I'll be sure to show photos of any other decorating as the mood strikes me. I'd love to create a bowl of strawberries, like these. Wouldn't that be cute?