Tie-Dye Maxi Dress

Whenever it's a blazing hot day, I prefer to wear something loose, long and flowy.  So it was a perfect day for my tie-dye maxi dress.  

I got this dress long before maxis became popular and it's a size bigger than I normally wear which is perfect for a hot sticky day.

I used to always wear a tank under it because the buttons would gape open when I sat down.  So ages ago, I did a refashion with a bit of blue lace and made a fake cami underneath.

Here's a closeup:

The dress has that long-body effect which I hate, so I tied a similarly printed scarf around my waist.  It just picks up the purple patches on the dress.

I also wore my blue T-strap Mary Janes from Spain - I think of these as "school shoes" because in the old days, kids used to wear shoes like this to school didn't they?

These shoes come in blue, red and black and I think next time I'm in Spain, I'll get another colour - maybe red.

It turned out the dress was a good choice for today because it was not only hot and sticky, but we had a barbecue at work - so the loose dress was perfect for a burger and potato salad.  No dinner for me tonight.

Black and White and Red

As some of you may know, Big J and I have been trying to stick to a healthy diet with more fibre than we usually get.  Apparently women need about 25 grams of fibre and men need 35. 

So we've been at it for about a couple of weeks now - eating lots of healthy fruit and veggies, legumes, whole wheat, brown rice.  The best part is the fruit and the worst is the lingering odour of fish - we're also trying to eat less meat.

If anyone has a good solution to getting rid of cooked fish smell let me know!  In the meantime, since it's summer, we're going to try to cook fish outside on the barbie.

I don't feel any different on this diet, more full perhaps -  I already ate fibre and fish regularly but hubby certainly feels better.

I haven't lost any additional poundage since May so will have to either step up the activity level or reduce the fuel intake.

But, I am losing size I think - see that red Liz Claiborne belt in the photo?  I can actually fasten it one hole smaller now.  (I didn't, but could if I wanted to).


Today's outfit is all black and white prints with the red belt for the colour pop.

The skirt is the same Esprit one I wore back in February.  This time I added a sleeveless ruffly top, the polka-dotty scarf from Spain and a red belt.

Can you see the plums in the tree?  They are the small orange ones and are almost ready; they'll be a tasty addition to the diet.  We bought 2 plum trees years ago and get a big crop of fruit - enough for friends and neighbours.  They are in different parts of the yard so the fruit is ready at different times - makes for a longer yield period.

Like many of my skirts, this one is a touch big - I don't like tightness around the waist so tend to move up a size sometimes, but the floaty-ness was great for today's muggy weather.

Graduation Day

Today was my son's middle school graduation day.  When I was young you could only graduate from high school and university.   Now though you can also graduate from elementary school and even kindergarten and pre-school! I guess it's to give kids a sense of accomplishment.

I noticed that it does seem to increase consumerism and fashion-consciousness especially in the young girls who are decked out in fancy dresses, high heels and even makeup. At least no one fell off their shoes this year.

The day started out nice and sunny and I considered wearing a bright coral skirt but changed my mind at the last minute and wore this instead:

The top is the peach one which gives a bit of colour but without too much flash.  I tried mixing it with beigey tones this time but don't know if it goes well or not.

The long skirt is a Mantles (an HBC line) that I got for $9 a year or two ago but never wore. As it turned out, the length was good as the day got colder and greyer and by afternoon it was pouring.

Not too pleased with the shoes though - now that I see the shot.  They're a little too yellow toned, should've went with the darker pair.  And the tights are too white.  Funny how I don't see this in the mirror when dressing.

So, is anyone else having problems with the latest Firefox?  I haven't been able to comment on blogs or even reply.  I've switched to IE, for blogging, but don't really like it.  It must be a setting or something which needs to be tweaked.