Bathroom Update

Anyone who has been to my house would know this room as "going to be a bathroom" for about 2 years. For those who don't know, we had some plumbing issues within the first month of moving in and it has been torn up and in various stages painting etc. ever since. (FYI-Red is a very difficult paint color...) The toilet and sink were finally installed and usable in September. I put up the mirror last weekend and it now looks like this...



It's getting better! I think a towel bar and toilet paper holder are next, followed (hopefully) by molding and maybe art...and probably at that point I'll be 80 years old.

J.

Hello Knees

Being a child of the 80's I have a certain strong liking to pinstripe pants and skirts, I think I have 2 of each, (of course all being different enough to warrant space in my closet.) This particular skirt was one of my good (meaning cheap) finds. Or was it? A couple of weeks ago I wore it to work. First I heard a rip as I got out of the car. Thankfully, it was early in the morning and few of my co-workers had yet to arrive. So I hightailed (I just wanted to use "hightailed,") it to the door, stopped at the break room door to ask about a sewing kit and quickly backed out. When I ran to the bathroom to make the quick fix I discovered why it had been such a breezy walk. Had the seam ripped any higher I would have been arrested for flashing! Fortunately, I had no other issues while at work that day.
When I got home that night, I was getting ready to make the change from work to home clothes and when I stepped in front of the mirror on my closet door I realized that my body dismorphia must have been on when I made this purchase. It was a pencil skirt that hit about 3-4 inches below the knee and made me look dumpy frumpy! I am not 6 feet tall, nor anywhere near it and I'm not sure what made me think I could pull it off. (I have a picture of it but not on my camera...believe me it's really bad.)
Anyway, tonight I hemmed it and the results are much better. It's still work appropriate but I have not officially worn it with anything so we'll see if it fits into my closet now...



Oooh, but I do like these shoes...

J.

Bebop

This is my cat, Bebop, and his favorite blanket. As a kitten he would instantly purr and drool a puddle on it. It was gross so it became his blanket.

Go ahead and laugh. He'll probably bite you.

J.

A Possible Goner

Saturday is the one work day per week that I'm not getting dirty and can actually wear something cute. I like this dress, got it for a very good price and it fits the bill for for work and other occasions. What's the problem? I don't normally suffer from static cling but today I was close to mad with it! I tried on 2 pair of tights and attacked it with Static Guard. ( I lost.) The first pair of tights I had on were my favorites- a pair of Donna Karan's I purchased years ago that I have managed to keep looking almost brand new- but after spraying half the can I was still crackling with electricity and my legs were wet. Nice. Pair number two, which I went with for the day, were only a little clingy, but worse than that the waist band was just loose enough to continuously keep down sliding all day. It was a very slow madness. (Don't ask why I didn't take them off.) I can't live like this! So I ask you this...

1) Should I cut it shorter into a shirt or mini dress that I would only wear in the summer? ( Static cling can't survive Texas humidity.)

2) Should I bid it adieu and donate it?

3) Make it into a pillow? It would actually look pretty good in the living room.

Sigh...It's hard to get rid of a good dress. Anyone want a good dress? I'll throw in the static cling for nothing.

Nothing

I spent an 1.5 hours at DSW and found nothing. Nothing! That has never happened! Maybe I'm just full. (Is that possible?) I didn't necessarily go in there with a need, (again, is this possible?) although my favorite black heels are on their way out, so I sort of felt lost. I looked at flats, boots, heels of all kinds, the clearance section, purses and socks. It wasn't until I got in line with a pair of (ahem, sleek,) fingerless gloves, tights and some men's socks did I realize I had been entirely suckered in by the "Spend $39.95 and received this cool clutch for free" coupon. I had carried $40.00 worth of crap around and was actually the next person in when I had this epiphany. So then I excused myself from the line and let the next coupon grasping groupie ahead, pretended to be interested in some sneakers for a second, dropped my useless goodies and fled. Ahh DSW, you are good. You are very good. And I still love you.

J.

Faux Fur = Fun

It's finally cool enough to bring out the faux fur. This vest is fun, but maybe it needs a little update, new buttons perhaps? Any suggestions? It used to be a jacket however, being very DIY, again I removed the sleeves and I like it. I wore it during the day with black pants, but I think I would like it with a skirt, leggings and heels for night. (Maybe you'll see it soon.)

J.

All Work and No Heels

I'm a regular person with a regular job. 4 out of 5 work days are messy and sweaty and require moving heavy things or climbing ladders. I love what I do, but clearly, nice business clothes and heels are out of the question.So am I stuck in a world of jeans and T-shirts? Almost! How not to get stuck in a rut?



I chose a fun belt for this outfit, one of my favorites but I admit that I don't wear it often enough. I love how it looks with dark denim.



My top had long sleeves and I wasn't wearing it at all, so I cut them off. Unexpected as a turtleneck, but it makes the outfit a little more pulled together. Gym shoes or flats are pretty much the only practical choice so they may as well be cute. This definitely worked for work. Comfortable and practical for 8 hours anyway. (I miss my heels...)

J.

Final Show-Back to Reality

Last show was tonight and now the set has been struck and I'm home...and soon to bed...last few pics...











1) Dead Emily
2) Patty finally has an idea
3) Sarah & Phillip in the basement
4) Amy and Me
5) Sarah & John at the cemetery











1) Phillip
2) Amy in neon green
3) Sean and his weird looking props
4) Dead Little Nick
5) Sarah, Michael & Phillip

It's bittersweet - I'll miss everyone, but at least I'll finally get some sleep.

J.

Halloween in November

Here's a few pics from Halloween...

1) How do you like my ears?


2) Let's play hide & seek! I'll count.


3) Too hot!


4) Playing with the Queen of Hearts.


I had Night of the Living Dead so I couldn't trick or treat this year, but I still had fun!











1) Nick
2) Avery
3) John
4) Jenni
5) Amy

I'd wear a different costume everyday if I could get away with it! I hope everyone had fun!

J.

Everything in it's place, but do I need everything?

Everything is in it's place, but I haven't really gone through it, just sort of pushed it around I guess. But this is when the fun starts...I get to go through it all and show it to you as I decide what to keep, toss, donate etc. But before that happens, this is what my closet looks like now.



This is why I need to go through my closet, but it is now sorted by dresses, skirts, tops etc. and each section is (believe it or not) sorted by color.



I don't like to hang my sweaters because they get stretched out but this way I can see every one of them. I keep my over sized purses in this little suitcase that I used when I was little.



These are my jewelry boards that I made and they make it really easy to find just what I want to wear. They are super easy to make and I'll probably do a D.I.Y. post for them. I like and use jewelry boxes also, but only for bracelets and rings and other items that don't get tangled.



White boxes and baskets keep things light in a small spot. I used white contact paper but you could easily use the opposite side of wrapping paper. I also try to keep shoe boxes, but I don't label them, that way I can rotate out seasonal footwear.



Wow...this picture just made me realize how many pairs of shoes I have...the door on the left is hiding quite a few pairs and the hanging thing on the left has a few pairs stashed as well. I also keep my smaller purses there because I like to trade them out fairly often. I used some 3m hooks for my belts and maybe I could use one more...

Hmm...this doesn't include the things in my dresser. Well, this should be interesting. Here we go!

J.

Here it is

I'm ashamed to admit it, but this is my closet. It wouldn't be so bad if it were a closet for one, but I do have to share it and it is packed! Clothes, shoes, bedding luggage - the usual suspects. Cleaning it is on my list of things to do today, but I'm sure my Virgo-ness will kick in and make it more difficult than it needs to be. I'll have to wash all articles of dirty clothing and bedding, put summer clothes away which is not an easy task since I have experienced 80 degree weather on Christmas day, not to mention ironing and vacuuming. Unfortunately I don't yet have my dream closet - I'm holding out for an Elfa system from The Container Store - so organization is a little tricky. No doubt this is more like a project that will take longer than just something on my to do list...wish me well!

J.

As Promised...

Due to daylight savings, I'm up and can't sleep at 7:00 a.m. Go figure. So as promised, here are some more ghoulish pictures...




1) Holly and John
2) Little Nick's hand
3) John S.
4) Kevin's diet secret
5) Cynthia

O.K. So some of these aren't very ghoulish. Sorry about that!
Being that I'm not a computer person, it takes me a really long time to do this picture thing!

J.

Beautiful November 1

Today was beautiful here in Texas, a perfect day to begin a new month, a day to begin the blog that I've been threatening to start. So.....
HELLO!
I had originally intended for this blog to be about my ideas of fashion and it probably will be about 90% of the time, but before I can get started with that, I need to finish up with something very messy. I've recently been and am still consumed by "Night Of The Living Dead," a play that I've been involved in since September. It will be running a few more times this coming week so I expect it to be another week before I get any real sleep, but it's been a lot of fun so far. I had been looking for a new extracurricular activity and my co-worker Kevin suggested the play and I said "Why not?" I've never been involved in drama (theater type that is...) and I wouldn't call myself an actor but as long as I didn't have to memorize any words I was in. So I signed on as the Ghoul Movement Coach. And I guess the rest is history. Or will be at the end of the week. Anyway, enjoy these pics from opening night...

1) Nick taking care of "props" preshow
2) Kevin, Emily & Patti
3) Amy & Little Nick
4) Cool Dad Mark
5) Montana

I'll be posting more photos of the show very soon. I think my face was stained tonight from my "guts," I can't wash it off. Not very stylish at all.

J.