Let The Sun Shine!

Hi to all my Gal Pals,

Welcome to my end of spring garden. Some of my plants are waiting for sunny, warm days so they can bloom. Hopefully that will be soon! It is hard to believe we are halfway through the year which means that there are only 6 blogs left before this all comes to an end. It also means that this will be the last time you get to see the spring/summer flowery entrance to my townhouse. I try to do something different each year. Writing this blog has been so much fun but I think my sister/photographer will appreciate not having to be on her knees while taking all the pictures of me. I am always so astounded how easily she can get up off the floor. I, on the other hand, am not so agile. I was laughing at a Facebook cartoon post by I Love Horses that depicted a character trying to get up from the floor and had the caption “I used to envy people who could do cartwheels…but now I’m jealous of anyone who can get up off the floor without making grunting noises and holding onto the furniture”. That is me! My knees just don’t have the strength to lift me. Also, my knees are the reason I am going through something akin to withdrawal or mourning. I am having to get rid of most of my shoes that have heels higher than one inch. I can tolerate some shoes just shy of 2 inches but they have to have stacked or wedged heels. It is hard to part with lovely things that still look so good on me. That is one of many problems with aging. I think I knew this for a while now but parting with my shoes is traumatic! I have come to the realization that less pain wins out over my vanity. Thank goodness getting my hair colored is not painful! On the upside of getting older, I love getting discounts for my birthdays from my favorite retail stores. On the downside it is like Joan Rivers said “You know you are getting old when you buy a sexy sheer nightgown and don’t know anyone who can see through it.” Life is a balance!

My fashion focus for this blog is summer hats. I was one of those young adults who used to sunbath with reflective foil under my chin so I could get a deep tan on my face. Little did I know how that would turn out in my old age. Now I wear hats because not only are they very functional but also very fashionable. I wear them to keep the sun off my face to minimize any more wrinkles but also to ward off melanoma. Summer hats come in a multitude of styles and colors. There are baseball hats, wide brim hats, bucket hats, visors and fedoras. I have all of these but mostly wide brim hats to protect not only my face but also my neck, décolleté and shoulders. They look great with summer outfits and beach wear. They are a must if you plan to attend an outdoor event, visiting tourist attractions on vacation and especially at the beach. Shady can be chic!

Here is where I usually discuss some aspect of landscape design but a couple of times a year I show 4 outfits instead. The outfits are from some of my favorite retail stores that gave me a birthday discount this past May. I can’t pass up a good sale so I indulged. Hey, it is only once a year! I have paired each outfit with one of my hats and a pair of sunglasses. Both a must for the summer sun.

Let the fashion show begin.

I bought these blue and white striped pants at Macy’s and they are so comfortable! They are wide leg pants with a cute elastic waist. I paired it with a blue, square neck, sleeveless top and a white short sleeved sweater with pockets. The white sandals give it a beachy look as does the large wide brimmed hat.

All the accessories are some shade of blue or white. The faux pearls of the necklace go beautifully with the pearls of the ring and earrings. You can see “roundness’ is a theme throughout. The ring is two tone blue with a navy stripe down the middle. The round dial of the navy blue watch looks great with the round two tone blue bracelet.

This is such a classic look. You know by past blogs how much I love polka dots and flowing sleeves. I bought this top at Macy’s. The hem of this top is just as flowing as the wide leg pants. The pants are made of such a wonderful stretchy material that goes all the way to the waist. Another comfortable outfit. The black shoes have a one inch wedge heel. This black straw hat has the cutest bow coming off the ribbon that goes around the crown of the hat.

The accessories help to highlight the polka dots in the top. The black and white polka dot watchband and the round black earrings go beautifully with round faux pearl in the necklace and the ring. The black wooden ring and the round bangle bracelets along with the white sunglasses complete the outfit.

This would be a great outfit to take on a cruise. Unless I can see the shore I cannot be on a boat without panicking so an ocean cruise is out as a possibility for me but I think one day I will try a river cruise. I bought this outfit at Karisma boutique in Naperville. The loose fitting pants are from Italy and they remind me of my Jams which I call my Dream Of Jeannie pants. These pants, however, have a silk overlay with the under layer made of stretchy material that goes all the way to the waist. The tropical pattern on the top is multicolored so picking out accessories was easy. The little ruffle on the neckline looks so cute with the flutter sleeves. The floppy hat and the coral colored sandals complete the outfit.

I decided to enhance the purple and peach colors in the top. The purple band of the watch matches the purple coloring of the faux pearl earrings and one of the rings. The peach of the glasses goes perfectly with the peach bracelet and the bracelet goes perfectly with the shape of the earrings and purple ring. The other ring is green and compliments the green leaves of the top.

I bought these flowery crops at Chicos as well as the green pullover top.. Since there are two shades of green in the pants I added the forest green vest to match. The flowers are different shades of coral and rust. The coloring of the braided leather of the belt and sandals complement the color of the flowers and the hat is made of thin weaves of both green, coral and rust.

What a great grouping of accessories. The green band of the watch and one of the rings are a match to the leaves in the pants. The coral flower earrings, the rust colored bracelet, the rust color of the Jasper ring and the coloring of the sunglasses really complement the pants. There are rust colored flowers in the pants that are not seen in this picture. The deep red-orange color of the flower pin just enhance the color of the whole outfit.

I suppose I will have to talk about my weight. Unfortunately, May was not the best month for me to lose weight. Between my birthday party, Mother’s Day, unexpected celebrations and breaking my toe I had a hard time curbing my appetite and exercise was limited. Unfortunately, I am back to the weight I was when I started this blog. It is like something I saw on a T-shirt “My weight loss journey is like a soap opera, full of drama and unrealistic expectations”. Lately the only exercise I am doing is chewing. Since walking is the only exercise I enjoy and that wasn’t an option because of my broken toe I decided to follow Aunty Acids advise on exercise “Whenever I feel the need to exercise, I lie down until it goes away”. What excellent advice! Besides, I told my refrigerator I was on a diet and it just laughed and said “Good one!”.

Well, until next week remember God loves you and so do I.