Drawer Redo 2

After the successful re-org of my top drawer, I spent some of the weekend doing some more organizing of drawers.  I found a lot of sites on-line advising folding and "filing" your clothes so decided to give it a try.

I was able to do 4 drawers: a sweater drawer, 2 tshirt drawers and the pj/yoga drawer.

With the sweaters, they were too thick to fold flat and "file" so I had to roll them suitcase style:

The T-shirts are thin enough to fold flat:

The T-shirts would probably have to be rolled if you don't have that many because they only stay up if there are lots to pack together.

Sorry for the fuzzy pictures - the camera just did not want to cooperate today.

Results so far are positive.  I like being able to see everything at a glance and it will probably make getting dressed less stressful.  I even found a whole giant black garbage bagful of clothes to donate!

Big Stripes and a Boar

I bought this big stripey vest thing on a whim and am not sure if I like it or not.

The colours are nice, but the top is a little skimpy (not sure if that is the right word).  I feel like it should have wider shoulders - or maybe I just don't have the right body shape for this garment.  Mongs @ My Thrifty Closet has a good post on body shape this week, and it might be I have something to learn.

I had the urge to wear this chunky necklace even though it didn't really go:

A former co-worker came down for lunch the other day and then talked me into going in with her on a Buy 2 Get 2 sale as she could only find 2 items she liked.  The chunky necklace was one of the items and I wanted to try it out.

And I held the top of the vest together with a pin:

Here is a picture for better detail:

This is actually a pewter Scottish Clan MacLaren pin. Their rallying cry is "Boars Rock".  Nothing to do with me though, the only Scottish in my family is MacIntosh, methinks.

Jeans Day

It was Jeans Day today, so out came the denim.  My first thought was to wear my staple Refashioned Jean Vest which I generally haul out whenever it is Jeans Day.  Instead I wore a different vest and a long midi-skirt.  It looked like this:

The skirt is really comfortable, it has pockets, a bit of stretch and I like the dark wash.  The green sweater was originally to go with a green skirt, but I wanted to wear knee-socks instead of tights so switched the skirt out at the last minute for something longer.

The vest has a cute lining on the underside of the collar:

This look is slightly outside of my comfort zone because of all the different solid colours: dark blue, green, denim blue, the beigey scarf and brown boots. I am usually a more matchy-matchy person, but I think it looks okay.

Service Excellence

When I fell the other day, my watch also broke so I took it into the repair shop.  The watch is quite old and there are only a few places in town which can repair it.  I took it to a little shop which I'd been to a few times but years ago. 

The first time, I switched out my leather strap for metal links and the little old watchmaker kept the strap and the extra links - I was super skinny and all the links would've made the watch loose and floppy.

The second time, the watch was fogging up and running a little fast.  When I got it back, the little old watchmaker had not only fixed it, but cleaned the links and polished the scratches in the crystal.

The third time, over 15 years later, having gained some weight, I went back to add the extra links.  The attendant insisted that they did not have my links, but when she went to look, there was a little wooden drawer tray with the links in it! so the watchmaker was able to add them back in.

I was very impressed.  Fast forward to last week.  I took my watch to the same place and just picked it up.  I was quite pleased that they fixed both sides, not just the one broken side.

But, when I took a look at it, the watch was not cleaned.  I mentioned it and the attendant said I never asked for it to be cleaned.  I told the story of my prior experiences and she took it away to be cleaned.

Then I asked about my leather strap and she said if it was years ago, it wouldn't have been kept and a new strap would cost me $300!  I mentioned the little wooden tray and she said no, the links would've come from somebody else's bracelet.  There are always loose links lying around.  I found that a little hard to believe.

Now I feel very disillusioned.  All these years I had such a warm fuzzy feeling for this shop.  The little old watchmaker must have passed on or sold his shop; I am quite disappointed.  Things are not like in the old days.

Today's outfit is another rainy day, keep-air-flowing-around-the-wound outfit.
You can't tell, but the sweater is a nice soft Parkhurst one which is coming back into favour.

I'm smiling but not for long - my teeth are wobbly from the fall and might need to get fixed.

Boteh - Love it or Leave it.

Paisley is one of those designs that you either love or hate.  I am on the love it side.  So when I saw this cute top in a paisley pattern at the flea market in Spain, I snapped it up.

I usually wear it with a dark brown T or tank underneath, but today being one of those miserable wet coast days that we get (all the time) I tried to brighten it up by layering it with a reddish T instead.

I think it looked okay - at least some co-workers commented on it.  Here is a closer look:

The scarf is also from Spain.  I'm doing one of those mixed prints combinations that not everyone likes, but I think the mere the morrier as they say.  Also  wearing a Dollar bracelet again.  I never knew when I bought them that they would go with so many outfits!:

Animal Prints

Today's outfit is a sweater set from way back, literally ages and ages ago - from when the kids were small.  It's a twinset which I like for these transitional not quite hot but not really cold days.  I had stopped wearing it for a while when leopard was no longer the mode.

The under-sweater has short sleeves so it's not overly hot. I doubled the animal print by adding a leopard scarf, here's a closeup:

And to complete the zoo theme, I carried a hand-me-down "snake" purse which I got from my Mom:

I think this is now one of my favourite bags for several reasons.  It is big, has lots of pockets for transit pass, keys, security card etc and is perfect for the rainy days we get here.  It is also a relatively neutral colour.

I'm linking to Patti's Visible Monday where you can see everyone else's outfits for today!

Skirts Don't Scratch

After yesterday's fiasco with the jeans, I decided to wear a long floaty skirt since it was a nice sunny day.  This was a much better idea - it was even easier to move about.

I am really a closet bohême at heart and like to think that I would probably wear more of this sort of thing if the weather was better and if I didn't have to work.

I mixed more dollar store bracelets (the two beaded ones):

with my multi-colour beaded watch and some religious bracelets:

Also wore my Mary Jane style Docs:

All this to go for a dim-sum brunch:

It was actually quite yummy - not overly salty for once which is better for my blood pressure.

Utilitarian

Having a big bandage round my knee today, I thought it would be best to wear jeans.  And then I got to thinking about possibly tripping and falling down again - I'm a bit of a worrywart, so I dressed in what I call "ropa de guerra" or war clothes.

So today's outfit is very utilitarian: shirt, jacket and jeans.

I should've gone for even wider leg jeans as the fabric kept catching on the bandage causing it to scrape against the wound.

I wore my Spanish shortie boots again for sure-footedness, and actually walked quite slowly today with an eye on the ground.  Of course, nothing happened.

There was a huge crowd downtown though for the 4:20 event; I saw a lot more security people standing around. You could actually see a cloud of smoke from my office building.  Our office celebrated a baby and we had ice-cream instead.  Yum.

Snip Those Plastic Rings and Ties

I always cut those plastic 6-pack rings before recycling them so that they don't accidentally get caught around the neck of a bird or animal, should they for some reason not make it to the recycling plant.  Newspapers and magazines also come bundled in a plastic tie, albeit a much bigger one.

Today when out for a walk, one of those plastic ties for bundles of newspapers crossed my path.

I was walking quite quickly when all of a sudden ... face-plant!  I tripped by entangling my feet in a plastic tie.

Luckily, I broke my fall with knees and the heels of my hands before landing on my teeth and cheek! 

So I spent half of the day looking like this. As you can see, there is nothing broken and I escaped with a scraped knee, sore teeth and some bruises.

I wore the skirt I altered back in January - it fits nicely and is very comfy.  It looked to be a rainy day, so I wore my knee-high Docs also.

I also wore excellent tights that I got in Spain from a shop called Calcedonia.  They are triple-stitched and have a nice wide band across the tummy so they don't bind.

Unfortunately, the fall completely wrecked them:

I didn't bother to buy new ones, just pulled the torn ones right over the dressing.  I wonder if there is some way to salvage them?  Hmm ...

Wordless but Colourful

Welsh Cape

My mom has had this Welsh Cape ever since I was quite small and I've always liked it, and in fact commented on it in a previous post. When I was in Spain I noticed that she still had it and she gave it to me!

I was glad that the weather turned cold and rainy again as it gave me a chance to wear it:

Here is a close-up of the pattern, and you can check out my $1 bracelets:

Also wore my shortie Spanish Boots:

They are made for pilgrimage walks and are usually worn with a longer flouncy skirt.

My outfit today was a bit cool for the weather - especially with semi-exposed arms:

This is a very strange top that has almost every type of embellishment all concentrated in the neck area: faux fur, beading, lace and ruffles.  I think that's why I bought it!

Council Meeting

Today was another meeting day so I got to wear jeans again.  Here is the outfit:

This is in what Big J and I call the "rustic" part of the garden.  In the heat of summer, it is a cool shady refuge with green grapes hanging down.  Now though it's mostly twigs and bare vines.

I'm trying to wear more accessories and today sport bracelets from my Mom (left arm, worn with watch) and Mom-in-law (3 strands on right):

They felt a bit dressy for the jeans, but why not?

The jeans I actually thought I liked, but now that I see them in a photo, I think they need to be taken in a bit around the knee area.  They are those stretchy jeans that have a bit of lycra - they fit well first thing in the morning, but by end of day get all bagged out.

Garage Sale Indecision

Our town is having one of those city-wide garage sales next weekend and although I haven't officially signed up, I am hemming and hawing over whether or not to haul stuff out for sale.

The pros:
1) Clear out the stuff
2) Make a bit of money
3) Lots of buyers making the rounds

The cons:
1) No time to get ready
2) Everyone else is selling that day
3) Bad guys casing out the place

Big J thinks I should wait until we have more time to prepare and for a date with fewer sellers. Being a bit of a procrastinator, I have a feeling the garage sale date will come and go and I will be thinking "maybe next year".

I do occasionally like to check out garage sales, as does my Mom, and in fact my Mom has a lovely collection of brass knick knacks many of which are garage sale finds. You never know what you might find.

Someone in our neck of the woods found this at a garage sale:

For the paltry sum of $100, this person walked away with 2 paintings which may be valued at over $200,000 !!!  Here is the news story: Garage Sale Find.

Being a thrifty person I don't like to shell out a lot of money for anything.  Big J and I were talking about this and decided these happy accidents would never happen to us because we would hesitate on the price and everyone knows about he who hesitates.

Classic But Fun

Although it's warmed up a bit, it's still a bit chilly in the morning and evenings, so today's outfit allowed me to doff the sweater-jacket if need be.

The houndstooth sweater is an old-old one from way back which has held up well.  I tend to forget that it's in the closet because it's hanging with the suit jackets which are hardly ever worn.  It's in better condition than the red one underneath which is literally at least 10 years newer. 

I wore it with another one of those tube waist skirts which have become a go-to item for me.  Tube waists let you enjoy a "comfort waist" without the look of elastic.  The best thing is that the skirt has pockets too.

And the fun item for today is the hair ornament.  If you look closely you can see that the red and clear ones are little Mickey Mouse heads!

Not Completely Wordless, but Thrifty

This is really supposed to be a Wordless Wednesday post, but first, I am back from Spain and would like to thank everyone for their kind words and wishes sent via comments and email. My mom is doing as well as can be expected and I'm glad I was able to be with her. 

Here is today's Wordless Wednesday post: