Cut It Out!

Hi to all my Gal Pals,

Well, I have finally moved into my new place and hoping to get back to a regular schedule with my blog. I love my new place! I’m claustrophobic and this townhouse is so open and has so many windows. I will describe it to you a little later in this blog except I will tell you now that the only downfall is the 17 steps to the second level. There is a little landing half way up where the steps make a direction change but it is a long way up. I try to take as few treks to the top as possible. That brings me to my first quote (author unknown) “I will never be over the hill because l’m too darned tired to climb it!”

Let’s talk fashion! The trend I am highlighting today is the open shoulder look. The cutouts at the shoulders not only highlight my best feature but also helps me to cool down in this hot and humid weather. I am so confused about the aging process. I thought as you got older everything slows down including the metabolism which in turn makes you more sensitive to cold. The older people I know are wearing sweaters while I am sweating, even in air conditioning! I am one of those lucky people who has never experienced hot flashes, but for the last several months I seem to get really warm after exerting a little bit of energy (like climbing stairs) and find it hard to cool down. I feel so uncomfortable! Do you think this could be a good thing like maybe I am going through a reversed aging process? Well, this quote says it all, “I need to get my life together! This weather made me realize I can’t go to hell!”

At this point I usually put in a garden picture of which I have many but for this blog there is a feature of the townhouse that depicts so perfectly the cutout trend I’m highlighting in this blog.

I love the cutouts in the walls! The two cutouts in the walls are like the two cutouts in my top. I love this place because I feel like I can breath. My sister is taking this picture from the living room that has a vaulted ceiling going up to the second level. The ceilings in the formal dining room, dinette area, kitchen and guest bathroom are all 9 feet high (now you see why there are so many stairs). I love that I can interact with my family and friends in other rooms because I can see everyone no matter where I stand. I have so many large windows that when they are open, I feel like I am in the outdoors under a pavilion. It reminds me of my trip to Phuket, Thailand. I stayed in a massively large tiki hut where the bedroom and bathroom had walls but all the other rooms just had a thatched roof.

Enough of house talk, let’s look at some of my clothes that are fashionable, comfortable and hide the worst feature of my body, the dreaded belly.

Before I talk about my outfit, I have a new walk-in closet that I am standing in front of but it is packed with clothes and accessories because it is only equivalent to two double closets. I have a double closet in the second bedroom but I had 5 double closets at the house I sold. Also, I wanted to show you how I store my 108 bangle bracelets. They are assorted by color and I like that I can see each one so I can figure out quickly which bracelet I want to wear.

This is a beautiful top. It has a floral overlay with an attached stretchy white undershirt. Both layers are fairly loose and fall just below the belly so the belly is minimized. The sleeves also have two layers creating a soft ruffle. The green cropped pants are stretchy and so comfortable. The sandals look like they are made of straw with a straw flower on top. They match the straw yellow color in the floral top. I have the picture of the accessories below.

The color scheme of the jewelry goes beautifully with the outfit. The necklace is gorgeous and not real expensive. I bought it at The Bridge in Holland, Michigan. It is the only fair trade store in Holland and it features handmade jewelry, scarves, baskets, stone sculptures and other unique handmade gifts and products from 35 developing countries. The gold flecks in this man made green stone make this necklace a standout. I get so many complements on it. I love the ripple in the gold earrings and the design on the gold bracelet. The flower ring on the left came from a craft show and the one on the right from an antique store, both in South Haven, Michigan.

This gaucho looking outfit is so comfortable. The pants are wide leg crops made of 100% linen and the top is made of cotton and polyester. The beautiful pattern in the top has a flower looking design embedded in it so I paired it with metallic flower earrings seen below. The top has a burnt red band around the hem so I paired the outfit with a beautiful metallic bracelet that has the same colors as the top and the filigree metallic design is similar to the pattern in the top.

I wore a garnet gold ring along with a cream colored flower ring. The filigree patterns and flowers are seen throughout the outfit. I love this hat! It was a new purchase this year at the craft show in South Haven. I have quite a few hats because if I am going to be out in the sun for a long period of time I wear a hat to protect my face. It needs all the help it can get!

This green top is perfect for the weather we are now having in my neck of the woods. It is very light weight and made of spandex and polyester. The seersucker pants are green and cream checked and they make my legs look thin (miracles do happen!). The neckpiece has a mass of gold metallic threads throughout so I paired it with a scarf that also contains a mass of gold metallic threads throughout. There is a better picture of the neckpiece below along with the jewelry I am wearing.

You really can’t see the gold threads in the neckpiece in this picture but it shines when worn. I paired the outfit with all gold jewelry including an emerald and diamond chip ring, and a gold, pearl and peridot bracelet. The gold earrings have straight lines like the straight lines in the pants. The links in the gold bracelet match the checks in the pants.

Well, that is it for this blog. I am still the same weight but I am building up the muscles in my legs by climbing the stairs a few times a day. I met a neighbor named Pam (easy to remember) who teaches fitness classes through the park district and she got me some free passes. Since I no longer spend a lot of time gardening and I am eating out a lot with friends, I think I am going to give it a shot. I will let you know how that turns out in the next blog. Until then, remember, God loves you and so do I.