A Painting I Never Forgot

Sometimes you see a color combination and it stays with you your whole life.  When I was in college, every year my mom and I would attend a craft fair in a nearby town.  One spring, as I was walking along the tree lined path that wound through all the venders, I saw a painting displayed on an easel and I fell in love with the colors.  It was an acrylic portrait of a woman and man sitting on a couch and it was painted in the secondary colors of orange, green and purple.  I wish I could have bought that picture, but $100 for a college student was a lot of cash.  I didn't get the painting, but I kept my love of orange, green and purple.  My OOTD uses orange and green.  Maybe next time I'll include all three?

This is OPI polish in Last Friday Night over Tammy Taylor polish in Breakfast at Tiffanys.

What I'm wearing:
Green Cardigan, $20, Target
Orange skirt, $4, Bargains & More (local thrift store)
Glass Bead Necklace, handmade by my mom
Beaded sandals, $5, Family Dollar

Total cost of Outfit:  $29

Sunday Inspiration: Combining Seasons and an Essay on Balance

My Sunday post is a little late today, but it all goes back to the blogging discussion on balance.  This was my anniversary weekend (23rd!) and we celebrated by taking an overnight trip to Tennessee.  After a day of Dollywood, a Dolly Parton sighting (our 4th), walking the streets of Gatlinburg, shopping and several good meals we started back home.  When we arrived home on Saturday night, our two youngest teens were up for a game of Monopoly (our oldest is away in college).  If you're a parent of a teenager and an opportunity for family time presents itself you better pounce, so we did!  Today was church and an outing with my youngest son this afternoon.  So all in all, it's been a very good weekend and I hope yours has been good as well!

My husband bought me this pale green spring skirt at the Eddie Bauer Outlet.

 When I began my blog, I struggled with balance.  There was (and still is) so much I want to do, so much I want to learn.  I enjoy responding to comments, visiting blogs, taking photos and writing my posts.  I keep paper and pen handy because I am constantly coming up with new ideas for a weekly series, a photo shoot or some idea I want to flesh out in an essay.

We're in a cold snap and it's in the 30's here today, but I wanted to wear this skirt today!

It's easy to forget the dishes, the laundry and all the things you used to do before you discovered this wonderful world of blogging.  It's only been within the last week that I've started figuring out how to make blogging a part of my life for the long haul while still leaving time for all the other things I want and need to do.  And of course, as I've heard many other bloggers say, family comes first.

I'm trying that thing where you wear two seasons at once. I paired the pale green cotton with a black background and I like how it turned out. Have you tried combining seasons and if you have, did you feel that it worked?

I'm so thankful to have found this outlet for creative expression.  It fulfills me in so many ways.  It's changing how I dress and more importantly, how I feel about myself.  If you are looking for a hobby or business of your own, I can highly recommend this business of blogging.  And...as long as you keep your head, it's something you can have of your own that will fit in well with the rest of your life, as it is fitting in mine.

Yes...that's cat litter on the floor and here is the culprit!  He had a little business to do right before I started snapping.  So now back to that balance I was talking about.  It's time to sweep! 

 What I'm Wearing:
Green skirt, Gifted
Black shirt, Bargains & More, $3
Black blazer, Goodwill, $5
Black tights, Walmart, $6
Black shoes, Shoe Show, $10
Heart charm necklace, Gabriel Brothers, $7

Total Cost of Outfit:  $31

Happy Saint Patrick's Day

Everyone's bringing out the green today.  My closet is sadly lacking in green so I made a special trip to my favorite local thrift store to remedy the situation (post upcoming on a future Wednesday Wanderings).  I found a bright lime green skirt that I'm wearing today.

I remembered I had a vintage heart necklace in lime green that I've had since I was about 14.  Since I'm playing with my camera and trying out different settings anyway, I switched out the scarf and made a few more pictures.

Vintage Acrylic Heart Necklace, Est. 1974

Silver shoes from Old Navy.  I love anything sparkly!

What I'm Wearing:
Cream knit top, Eddie Bauer Outlet, $7
Lime green skirt, Bargains & More, $4
Silver shoes, Old Navy, $20
Pink scarf, Catos, $6.99
Lime green heart necklace, Gifted, approximately 36 years ago

Outfit Total:
$37.99

"Fashion Gossip"

Do you remember the game called "Gossip" that we played when we were kids?  If you've never played it or if you've forgotten, it went something like this: You sat in a circle and the first person would whisper something to the person sitting beside them.  Then that person would whisper into the next person's ear all the way around the circle.  You could only whisper it to them once. No repeats if they didn't get it the first time.  After the "gossip" makes its way to the end of the line the last person would tell what they had heard.  Then the first person would tell what the original statement was.  These two statements would always be vastly different and everyone would fall over giggling.

I remembered this little game today when I was deciding on what to wear.  Interpreting an outfit and making it your own is a lot like the game of gossip.  You start with one thing, a picture in a magazine or a post in a blog, then you look in your closet to see what you can use to get a simular look.  The look you create will end up looking a little different than the original.

If you take this idea a little further, what if someone else then copied your look.  And on and on down the line.  I bet after going through a couple dozen of people the last outfit would look quite different than the first.  It sounds like a fun game to play. I think I'll call it "Fashion Gossip". 

So, I was trying to figure out what to wear and I found a look I liked on J's Everyday Fashion.  Click on the link to check it out.  The first outfit, pictured on a model, was a gold jacket, white shirt, beige skirt, blue purse, necklace and black shoes.  J reinterpreted the look using a gold sweater, white shirt, gray skirt, hot pink belt, necklace and beige shoes.  I liked the look but I didn't have a gold sweater so I looked in my closet and here is my interpretation:

Reinterpret this look your own way out of what you've got in your closet.  Link to your blog page if you comment; it's your turn to play! 

What I Wore Today:
Lime cardigan, Gifted
White shirt, Goodwill, $2.50
Gray skirt, Burke's Outlet, $12.99
Brown boots, B&H Shoes, $26
Black patent belt, Goodwill, $1
Pearl and black necklace, Gifted

Total For Today:  $42.49