Little Jeannie One Note

Hi to all my Gal Pals,

I am running a little late with this months blog because Vicki was my house guest during her quadruple bypass recovery and I am currently in the process of buying the townhouse I currently rent. Buying the townhouse is very unnerving to me. I realized that all my major purchases in life were based on my age. When I was a teenager, I didn’t mind having an old used car because I knew I had plenty of time to get a new car. When I was in my twenties I didn’t mind buying a a nice used car because I had plenty of time to buy the car of my dreams. In my thirties I didn’t mind buying a small starter home because I had plenty of time to save my money and buy a nice family size home. In my forties I got the car of my dreams (a little red convertible, 5.0) knowing that I was working and could eventually pay it off. I also got the house of my dreams knowing that a 30 year mortgage payoff was possible. In my 50’s my husband passed away and I realized how short life is. I had a major decision, do I try to keep the house or sell it? I kept the house but, in hindsight, I should have sold it. Financially it was draining and I realized I no longer had all the time in the world to pay off my bills. I eventually sold the house in my 60’s and I loved renting but my landlord decided to sell the townhouse so I had a decision to make. Do I buy it or do I look for another rental? What is unnerving is that I realized at almost 70 I don’t have all the time in the world. Being on a fixed income and looking at a 30 year mortgage that I know I will never pay off I realized that I was buying a place that needed some work and that I no longer had plenty of time. I don’t mean to be macabre but sometimes truth smacks you in the face. It’s like Crabby Maxine says, “You know you’re getting older when the younger generation show up on the cover of the AARP magazine”. For those of you who don’t need to worry about money you may not be able to relate to my unnerving revelation. There are a few perks to growing old, I can follow the path of Aunty Acid who says “When I get old, I’m not going to sit around knitting. I’m going to be clicking my Life Alert button to see how many hot firefighters show up.”

Let me explain the title and picture for my blog. “Jeannie” is because I decided to take some of my old but favorite pairs of faded, denim jeans and dress them up. I have many pairs of jeans of various colors but don’t we all have those favorite denim jeans we never get rid of? The age of my jeans range from 1 year up to 20 years old. I love my 20 year old jeans because we have grown old together. I know it seems like I am hung up on my age but it is as Crabby Maxine says “My age doesn’t bother me, it’s the side effects.” The “one note” stands for the monochromatic coloring of the outfits. I like to take different shades of one color and come up with a nice outfit. You can really show off your colorful accessories when you dress in monochromatic shades. Monochromatic outfits tend to appear more modern and make you appear taller and slimmer which is great for all body types, from petite to plus size. Texture is an important element when putting together monochromatic outfits. If your monochromatic outfits were comprised of the same fabric throughout, it would come off looking dull. That is why I like using denim jeans because most of us would not wear all denim tops. We don’t want to look dull, we want to think like Aunty Acid “When someone is staring at me, I assume they’re taking notes…on how to be fabulous”.

I used monochromatic plants when designing my 50’ by 15’ shade garden seen below.

I am not sure if I used this picture in other blogs but it depicts beautifully how to use plants in shades of green to make a lovely garden. I have all green and variegated leaf hostas, epimedium, ferns, lenten rose, goat’s beard and the green leaves of white flowering hydrangeas. There is a beautiful metal arch in the center that has “God Bless This Garden” written on the arch with a cross in the container underneath. I added a little color with the annual begonias in the container and perennial purple leaf coral bells.

Now let’s look at some monochromatic outfits using some of my favorite old jeans.

Pant suits are in this year so I threw on my favorite suit jacket with my old black jeans and a black capped sleeve top. I think I said before that I love to wear gold jewelry with black outfits. In the summer I tend to push up my jacket sleeves. Not only is it cooler but you can see the wrist jewelry as seen below. I also have a picture of my sandals below because when you are wearing monochromatic shades in your clothes you should also match your footwear with your outfit.

I am wearing sandals that I picked up at Meijers for less than $20. I loved the gold band that runs across it. The three necklaces on the right all contain rhinestones and create a layered look which is so on trend. The lapel pin and rings also contain rhinestones which look great with the necklaces. The earrings have both silver and gold hoops which I love because then I can mix my metals. The gold watch, link bracelet and bangle bracelet came as a set.

The short sleeve olive green jacket was purchased at a Holland, Michigan craft show. The leather looking pocket has metal studs and rhinestones and the same leather looking material was used at the shoulder as a background to the beautiful stones of varying colors. I matched it with a green top and faded green jeans. The sandals are more of a sage green. Here I added a little more color in my accessories.

I laid the jewelry on the jacket so you could see the ornament sewn onto the shoulder of the jacket. I wore old rhinestone earrings (that have screw-on backs) because of the rhinestones on the jacket ornament. I pulled out the rusty red color from the ornament with the bracelet and the crystal of the long necklace looks great with the rhinestones. The watch has an olive green band and the rings each have a green stone. I love these sandals that zip up the back.

The denim jeans were once a light cocoa brown but with all the washings they have been through they are now more of a taupe color. The whole outfit looks great with my taupe walls. The cape looks like it is suede but it is polyester and spandex. It has a beautiful cut-out pattern and goes great with the shoes that also have a similar cut-out pattern. Brown accessories look wonderful with the different shades of taupe.

I laid the jewelry on the cape so you could see the design. The necklace was bought at a craft fair in Holland, Michigan. The feathers are real and the metal is gold. The watch and bracelet are a set and they are a copper color and contain rhinestones. The ring has a smokey taupe colored stone and the wood earrings and beaded bracelet are also a set and designed by a crafter.

It will be interesting to see if I lose any weight. I still weigh the same as I did for the last few years but I have decided to give up my candy Kisses. My primary doctor told me it was OK to eat a little chocolate but what she didn’t know was that I was eating a little chocolate every half hour for 16 hours a day. The cardiac rehab staff told me that chocolate is bad for me so I get my sugar fix from apples and Frosted Flakes. Let’s see how long I can hold out. It has only been a week. Going on a restrictive diet is difficult for me. I am afraid that I am more on the same wavelength with Crabby Maxine “I hate brushing my teeth at night because that signifies that you can’t eat any more food…and I’m just not ready for that kind of a commitment”.

Well that is it for me until next month. I think I will be a homeowner again by the time you hear from me. So until next time,

Remember, God loves you and so do I.