Amiable's Blog

I'm still lurking around here most days - just not taking time to take, crop and upload photos :(

I have a free moment this evening, and I thought I'd drop by and wish you all a Happy Holidays, and share a few of the things I've been wearing, since I actually copied the contents of my camera on to my hard drive today :)

So here's a whole bunch.

#1 cape and printed jeans
#2 pleated skirt with biker jacket
#3-4 lumberjack vest with two pants styles and new Danskos!
#5 citron and gray sweater that is a very happy sweater for me this winter.
#6-7 cozy sweaterdress with coat (coat is purple, but looks black in photo).  I tried to make it more festive with a sparkly scarf and jewelry.
#8 tunic sweater and leggings - felt great when sick.
#9 trying out the turtleneck under a plaid shirt ensemble - I think I need a turtleneck with a tighter cowl.
#10 sparkly sweater and floaty split skirt (in the wind) dressed down with a jean jacket.
#11 shiny silver/taupe vest over black (vest is reversible - I wore the taupe side out)
#12 eggplant, burgundy and grey.  
#13 burgundy with citron - didn't realize that the sweater stuck to my underlayer so badly until I saw this photo.  Wonder if I was like this all day.  This color combo was inspired by merwoman, and really made me happy.
#14 mixed blues and greens (teal cardigan over huntergreen sweater and paisley print blue/greens jeans)

Many of these photos feature my new Dansko books.  They have a cutout, and I'm finding it way too fun to wear wild socks with them.  Sometimes I even coordinate my socks to my outfit.  They are almost as comfy as my Dansko clogs, and I can wear and walk in them for a full 16 hour day, so they are winners!  I'm hoping that the not-so-fuddy-duddy shoes up my style a bit :)

Merry Christmas to you all!

As I slowly get settled in the new house (it feels like a palace!), and work toward getting some semblance of a life back, I'm still getting dressed most days (unbelievable, I know).  

And in my busy absence I missed signing up for the Secret Santa :(

I've mostly given myself permission to get dressed without much planning or forethought, but my wardrobe is in a happy place where most things that don't fit or flatter have been purged, and I have lots of clothes that I like.

Still, that doesn't make for great outfits every time or anything.  

Nevertheless, here's a few that I've liked this fall.

#1 - caramel sweater, white jeans, cognac accents.  I love this sweater but have a hard time styling it.  I think this combo works okay, right?

#2 post-apocalyptic attempt.  I don't have many drapey black items, but I did manage to pair black skinnies with moto boots, a multimedia black tee and a drapey black sweater.  I was suprised how much I liked it.  

I lightened the picture to show texture.

#3 A denim "dress" over leggins.  I think this is too short to be a dress on me, and am not sure the proportions worked even with the boots.  I did get compliments on it.

#4 My current favorite flares, with a sweater that I didn't straighten out before the picture.

#5 poncho with jeans.  I lightened the picture to show texture.

#6 a summer top brought in to fall with an undershirt and jeans.  It continues to be a workhorse for me.

#7 another poncho outfit - this time with moto skinnies rather than flares.

#8 Black, white and cognac (the jeans are black).  This was an ensemble a while back now, and I still love wearing it.

#9 Sub the jacket in #8 for a beige vest that I don't think it terribly unflattering on me.

#10 Cobalt and olive.  I had forgotten this combo until assembling pics tonight.  I need to repeat this outfit.

#11 Another one I need to repeat - flares with a gray/green sweatshirt.  

#12 A different pair of flares - these ones dark with studs down the leg.  Paired with a blush and burgundy striped sweater that might be too big to be flattering?

#13 A way to wear a warm sweater when it's not really cold yet: with rolled boyfriend jeans and sandals.  It worked well with our current mild fall weather.

#14 An attempt at a new silhouette for chilly weather - a long drapey sweater over skinnies.  It's comfy, but I'm not convinced that it's at all flattering.  (I have this sweater in both cobalt and purple, and they are very warm and cozy, but I feel like they're a bit too big. I may pass them on).

I'm enjoying trying out a variety of silhouettes this fall, but feel like I'm mostly staying true to myself with how I dress too.  So that makes me happy :)

All comments, especially suggestions for improvement, are very welcome.

I took a sanity day off yesterday, and met up with WordLily (Hannah) to hit several GoodWill stores.

We had a blast, and completely forgot to take a picture to prove to you all that we were together.

When I saw these trousers, I pointed them out to her, telling her that her husband would approve.  We agreed that I should really try them on. The rest may as well be history.  They came home with me, and I had to wear them right away.  

I've decided that they're "retro futurism", and thus fit with current trends. We had a lot of laughs about how if I paired these with anything other than solid black (or maybe white), it would go gaudy so very quickly.  We also agreed that these don't exactly make one's hips and thighs look smaller.  I'm fine with that.

My kids said "Wow Mom, those pants are sooo cool!", and "I wish I had pants like that".

So what do you think - should  I wear these out of the house?  I have to admit, the happiness factor is pretty high :)

I'm really copying others on this second day of the Seasons and Nature Challenge.  I loved the pairing of olive and blue based on this photo that several of you have already done, and decided to just copy it.

This is my "down to nature" look - unkempt hair, no belt (which I really do need), and barefoot.  But it's how I spent the day, and it's a "nature" challenge, so it fits, right?

(I also reversed the top and bottom of the photo, to be suitable for the warm weather and the clothes that I know where they are....)

I joined this forum, it must be three years ago, for help deciding what to wear for a work conference at which I was scheduled to speak.

And I've asked you all for help for every conference speaking engagement I've had since.

So, in keeping with tradition - I'm speaking at my normal fall conference this week.  I have work shirts from the spring conference that I'm not required to wear, but it's somewhat expected that I do (besides that most of my other clothes are still packed from moving).

The conference is three days, but I'm only required to go to two of them, so I may or may not attend the third.  I need at least two solid outfits.  I'm speaking the second day, which means that the first impressions outfit will be different from the speaking outfit.

 I have three possibilities for trousers (light gray, dark gray and black) and two colors of shirts (black and white - but I own two of the black). Here's what I've managed to come up with as possibilities so far.

#1 - black work shirt, dark gray trousers, cognac belt, shoes and jacket.
#2 - same as #1, but with a white work shirt that just seems glaringly bright to me.
#3 - black work shirt with light gray trousers - belt and shoes also black.
#4 - column of black with a white jacket.

New options:

#5 - Narrower black pants with black top (white belt and jacket, black shoes).  I like these better than the black pants in #4, which feel too big to me.  These are also big, but less obviously so, to me.

#6  -Same as #5, without jacket

#7 - Cropped navy trousers, with high-shaft beetle booties, so that I can wear socks.  This looks strange, right?

#8 - Same as #7, but removed the socks and put on the more comfy shoes.  It's summer, maybe I can get away with showing my ankles?  I'm nervous about the frigid A/C, but it's quite warm outside (almost 90F).

#9 - same as #8, removed the white belt.  I'd add a black belt for low contrast.

#10 - same as #9, but with navy ankle pants rolled.

#11 - Navy jeans with black shirt (they're a dressier fabrication than most denim, and would be dressy enough - this is construction industry and Nebraska).

#12 - Navy jeans with white shirt.  I'd add a black belt, or maybe a white one.

#13 - As long as I'm considering bare ankles, why not culottes?  I have a pair of silk long underwear under these, and they were very warm for this try-on.  (Still no guarantee that my ankles wouldn't freeze, but the rest of me wouldn't).

#14 - Culottes with black shirt.

#15 - added the white jacket.  There's no belt loops for me to add a white belt, and I'm not sure the jacket goes by itself.

#16 - totally bare legs and knees.  I think I'd freeze.  And it's not seasonally appropriate to add thermal tights to it, so I doubt this one will happen (besides that the proportions are off, aren't they?)

All of these are dressy enough - that's not a real concern for me.  My real care is to look competent and be comfortable.

What would you suggest?  (Do you see a combo that I'm missing?  I don't think I can get away with a skirt or ankle pants because they keep it 65* in there, and I'll freeze to death).

My current thoughts are to wear #5-6 one day, and either navy trousers, navy ankle pants or culottes the other... I'm not sure.  What do you think now?

This is a pretty lateral interpretation, I know.  But I love the photo of the poppy field, and the nostalgia that poppies invoke.  I didn't realize until I googled it that to associate poppies with "remembering" was an Australian thing.  I have no idea where I got it.  Here's the Google statement:

The Red Poppy has special significance for Australians. Worn on Remembrance Day (11 November) each year, the red poppies were among the first to flower in the devastated battlefields of northern France and Belgium in the First World War.

Anyway, because of Poppies and Rememberance, I decided to wear  a shirt that has special significance to me.  I spent the summer of 1999 in Cameroon, West Africa.  I lived with some missionaries just outside a small village for seven weeks.  During that time, the town tailor made this shirt for me as a gift (Actually, I think a different merchant ordered the shirt for me from him, as a gift).  I've kept it since, and even though I rarely wear it, it brings back special memories, and I enjoy keeping it.

So today, for the poppies, I paired my Cameroon shirt with gray jeans that used to be skinnies on me but are now more boy-friend fitting.  And my happiness factor is high!

Thanks Diane for terrific inspiration!

You may recall a while back I told you about a house that we'd bought to renovate.  Well, after over six years of labor, sweat and tears, we passed our final inspection last week!  We can now legally inhabit our house.

To celebrate, I wanted to share with you a few pics.  I've shared pics before, but I'll link to them here, just for completeness.

Here's an interior tour when we bought it. (It's okay to laugh and know that we were nuts to buy it.  )

Here's some pics of the gutting.

And putting in the new foundation.

The exterior wall repair

Repairing fire damage

This post has pics of painting the walls.

And here's how it looks now:

#1 exterior front (beige and gray, with a dark red door).  The front porch has a "bridge" over the lowered front yard, creating a sort-of moat.  The main floor is wheel-chair accessible.

#2 exterior back (I had a hard time getting a good pic of this).  There's a walk-out basement, and a huge deck off the main floor.  We'll eventually put a second stove out on this deck so that I can do summer canning outdoors.

#3 - #4 Gutting the house removed a lot of old character (it was originally built in the 1890s), so my hubby custom-built molding to re-instate some of the character.  Main floor walls are gray, trim is white.  Exterior doors are dark gray.

#6 Hickory flooring on the main floor.  It's stained a grey-ish mid-tone that is a bit lighter than I thought I wanted, but I ended up loving.  

#7 Kitchen has cream cabinets with dark hardware, concrete countertops, stone-look linoleum flooring, and a stainless steel backsplash behind the stove.  Same gray walls and white trim as the rest of the main floor.  Eventually we'll pop a panel over those holes under the sink....

#8 Second story (there's 3 bedrooms and a big bathroom up there) has very pale greyed out blue-green walls (that I'm mentally thinking of as "Russian sage", because it's nearly the color of their leaves), with light maple floors and teal doors.  

#9 The second story bathroom has dark wood, and eventually will have some color other-than-white walls, but right now they're still just primed.  It also boasts a jacuzzi.  (Main floor bathroom didn't make my pics - it's a very greyed-out lavendar color, with white trim and all white fixtures).

#10 The basement stairs have bright carpet to visually signal that we're entering the kid zone.  Basement walls are where the bright and fun painting is, and where the kids play area will be.  It's officially unfinished territory (we're not adding a ceiling or floor other than the concrete), but I suspect we'll be down there an awful lot.  You can see pictures of most of the fun wall murals here.

The basic themes that we went for in decorating is muted and calm main floor (it ended up with light and mid-tone neutrals, with dark hardware and dark gray doors.  The main colors are cream, white and gray - floors add in a mid-tone brown.)  Upper story theme is light and airy - it's mostly blue-green - very light on the walls and teal doors, white trim and light floors.  The basement theme is fun and kid-friendly - there's murals on the walls, and wild crazy carpet going down the stairs.

Thanks for indulging me with this post - I'm so thrilled with how things are turning out, and excited to move (we'll officially move toward the end of this month - we have to build beds for the kids, do lots of finishing touches and pack up the house we've lived in for the past ten years).

July is over, and my summer wardrobe is serving me well.   I started the month with a few wardrobe holes, and last week (I think?), I spent a day goodwilling with a couple of friends with these holes in mind.  I'm pleased to say that I think I plugged them.  I even found a few nice surprieses :)    

My wardrobe holes were:  
- casual skirt
- casual summer dress (for when it's too hot to wear clothes)
- casual summer top
- replacement jean shorts in a light wash
- olive bottoms 

I found them all, and will take pics as I wear them to show you (that's my August challenge).

Here's the couple that I've worn so far.
#1 - Olive bottoms and casual skirt, check.  And I got to try out the olive with cobalt ensemble (and I loved it).  This may be my new favorite summer outfit.  (Posing with my daughter after her gymnastics class).

#2 Another casual skirt (this one with built in shorts, which I love), and a stripey tee that I picked up with it.

#3 A fun tube skirt that came home with me. (#4 shows it with the addition of a white jean jacket that also found it's way home with me, but that didn't really go well with this outfit).

#5 replacement jean shorts.  Are they too long?  They replace the shorts in #6, which have become painting shorts.

And, you can see in each photo my new fitbit.  Sigh.  I love the data, and it's on my project list to de-uglify it. For right now, it's just an ugly non-accessory.

Oh, and #7, the top that got away.  I tried it on and loved it, but my friend hated it.  I almost got it anyway but decided that it wasn't a need and that my impressions of it might be off.  Both friends loved the top in #2, so I got it instead. but as I edit my pics, I'm kinda wishing I'd gotten the top in #7, or maybe both, instead.  Oh well :)  The fish that got away was always the best one, right?  :)  

Anything I should change or ditch?

The casual skirt I wore yesterday was wrinkly, and not the perfect shape for me, I thought.

So I tried a different casual skirt today.  How does this one work?  It's gray, which for some reason I find hard to pair with other colors - maybe because most of my tops are blue, and this gray plus blue looks like a police uniform to me....

It feels just fine - it's cool enough on a pretty warm day.  I'm just not sure how many things I have to wear it with.

I've been enjoying repeats lately. I have summer casual and smart casual capsules working pretty well for me, and am enjoying that.  Here's a few combinations from the first half of July that weren't repeats.  You've seen most of the pieces, I think, but this was the first time I wore them in these combinations.

#1 - #2 red drapey top with striped tube skirt.  Added a jacket for frigid A/C at church. This was the first outing of these nude sandals, and may be the last - the straps weren't comfortable on me.

#3 striped top with boyfriend jeans.

#4 - #5 apple green shorts with button-down top - one chambray, the other woven.  This has become a pretty favorite combo.

#6 - worn for indoor A/C - white jeans with buttondown.

#7 - worn for a July 4th bbq wedding.  I was actually on the dressy side of appropriate, believe it or not! (The bridesmaids were a bit less formal than this outfit)  These white sandals here served me well that day. Do they look current?