Arsenic and Old Lace

Hi to All My Gal Pals,

Welcome to blog number 6 (I hope everyone has caught on to the fingers representing the number of the blog). The title of my blog makes me think of something sinister but my picture looks more like the Virgin Mary. I do love contrast! I have decided to forego the arsenic and just concentrate on the lace although the arsenic part does sound intriguing. I do love mischief which brings me to my one and only quote in this blog: “One day I intend to be that little old person in the nursing home that leads the rebellion and puts vodka in all the IV bags. Just Saying!” By the way, I am wearing some of my lace scarves in this picture from my collection of approximately 70 scarves of various materials and colors. I do love me a good scarf!

There is something so romantic about lace and I am a romantic at heart. Apparently I am not the only one because romance novels account for well over 50% of mass-market paper book fiction sold in the U.S. and a third of all fiction sold in America. Romance is hard to define because it means something different to each of us. I find romance in small gestures like seeing couples, both young and old, holding hands as they walk along or a husband putting his arm around his wife during a church service. To someone else it may be receiving flowers or having your significant other say “I love you”. Lace has been around since the 16th century and is currently trending in 2019. It has been described as romantic, ultra feminine and classic which is why you will find it in wedding gowns and lingerie. Today, you will find it in formal as well as casual outfits. Unfortunately, most of the pieces I have seen for wear outside of the bedroom are very form fitting. I have several pieces that range from a lot of lace to simple accents on the sleeves and all hide my not-so-lovely fat pads.

Before we move onto the outfits I just want to thank all of you for supporting me with this blog. Friday was International Woman’s Day and I think that we as women have to support each other in our endeavors. I spend quite a bit of time at the cottage in Michigan in a little town called Glenn which is situated between South Haven and Saugatuck on Lake Michigan. If you are riding along the Blue Star Highway and you blink as you ride through downtown Glenn, you will have missed all Glenn has to offer in the way of business. It is basically an intersection with a three room school house built in 1854 housing K-6th grade on one corner, the Glenn Store (similar to a convenient store with an excellent deli) on another corner, a little restaurant (don’t know the name, we just call it the little restaurant) on one of the other corners, and a realtor on the 4th corner. The reason I bring this up is that the Glenn Store and the little restaurant are owned by women. There may be more choices elsewhere but I think it is important for me to frequent these places in order to support small businesses owned by women. I hope all of you do the same.

As you know, the outfits I highlight in some way minimize or hide those areas I don’t want others to concentrate on when they see me. I do the same thing in my garden design. When I sit on my deck I want to feel like I am in a private space away from the hustle-and-bustle of the world. In garden design you create some sort of structure to help block out unsightly areas or create a little private niche. I won’t be showing any flowers in my garden picture in this blog, instead I am showing a simple little screen of lattice that hides something I don’t want to look at from my deck.

I used to have so much privacy on my back deck because of an addition to the house screening me from my neighbors to the west, bushes screening me from my neighbors to the east and 3 story Colorado spruces screening me from the house behind mine. That was before the arborist came and did a hack job on the spruces causing them to thin out. That left me with a section where I can see my neighbors house but nothing will grow back there to act as a screen because the shade is too deep. So I had a lattice screen built to block out but it needed something to make it interesting. In this section of the screen, I stuck a red metal flower into the ground in front of it and I hung these beautiful, multicolored, metal butterflies around it. Love it! Once again, I have my privacy.

I am an optimist so I am thinking spring in this blog. You already know from blog #2 that I love ponchos because they hide all sins so there should be no surprise that I have one made of lace. I bought this lace piece at a craft show set up along the Fox River but it was a while ago and I can’t remember whether it was in Geneva or St. Charles. I love to buy clothes from women selling their wares at craft shows. I picture them as single moms, stay-at-home moms, women educators, retirees or any women who need to supplement the family income to put food on the table. Most people think I buy clothes just because I like them. While that is true, I also want to support women who put that personal touch into their products. That’s my story and I am sticking to it! I am wearing the lace poncho with a mustard colored pair of jeans and a white pair of cork wedged heels with a white leather flower on top. The antique gold necklace has faux polished brownish-amber and milky mustard-yellow amber gems with embedded rhinestones. I wore the poncho with a statement piece necklace so I didn’t look like I was wearing my grandma’s lace tablecloth. My watch and bangle bracelets are made of antique gold and I am wearing a polished amber ring. I love antique jewelry! My earrings were my mothers and they are clip-ones. They are antique gold with golden amber stones.

Love this outfit. I think I will wear it on Easter Day. If you are someone who doesn’t see themselves in a lace outfit, this is perfect for you. I love how the buttons go up the lace on the sleeve. The lace is white but the stripes are off white so I am wearing it with off white pants. Again, I am supporting a boutique owned by women in Frankfort. If you get a chance and are looking for a cute top like this one at a great price stop by The Dressing Room in Frankfort. I am wearing this outfit with a pair of clip-on antique silver earrings, each earring is half of a flower with a rose pink stone. I am wearing an antique silver necklace with a rose pink stone. I am also wearing a simple silver ring with a small pearl.

The lace top I am wearing is like an art piece. I have put a black sleeveless shirt underneath so that I could highlight the beautiful pattern in the top. I bought this lace top at a craft show in South Haven from a woman crafter. When you buy directly from the crafter, you save the cost of the overhead of a boutique. Lace looks great with jeans so I am wearing a pair of black jeans and black heels. I am wearing black dangling earrings with a white, lacy pattern on them. My bracelet is a black bangle with a black heart charm and I paired it with a black and silver heart shaped ring, and a black and silver watch. I am holding a purchase from a small boutique in South Haven owned by a woman. I can easily slip off the top I have on, slip this sweater on and have a whole new outfit. Love the lace around the bottom and you need to wear a dark colored pair of pants to show it off. I decided to hang a few of my lace pieces in the background. I love the color combination of cream or off white with a dark tan. Any one of these would look great with the off white pants seen in the previous picture.

Well, that is it for this blog except to talk about my weight which remains the same. I have a bone to pick with the many women’s magazines that I buy. For those of you who have picked up one of these magazines, I think you know what I am talking about. The cover usually accentuates the articles on losing weight and there are a couple of pages inside that cover the topic. However, 6 or 7 pages further back there are several pages containing these wonderful recipes, some of which are these great desserts like Snickers layer cake or strawberry cheesecake cupcakes. I think they really don’t want us to lose weight, they just want us to keep buying their magazines that fill us with the hope of losing weight. When I see the pictures of the desserts, I find myself rushing out to get a $5 mini bundt cake from Nothing Bundt Cakes. I usually have a coupon to get one free when I buy one and that means I have to eat two bundt cakes. I just have to eat that 2nd one the day after eating the first one and then I tell myself I will start my diet tomorrow. Then I buy another magazine and the vicious cycle starts over.

Until next time (probably in 3 weeks) remember: God loves you and so do I.