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. 

Teeth Pulling Duds

I hope there are no squeamish readers ... So finally today was the big day - the two fractured teeth got pulled.  I was a little nervous because the last time I had teeth pulled it was all the wisdom teeth at the same time.  There were about 3 sets of hands in my mouth and they had to cut into the gums more than normal since the roots were fish-hook shaped.

Today was a little better, lots of needles but a fairly straight-forward, albeit time-consuming, jiggle-jiggle and pull.  Then they put in one post, some graft material and stitched it up.  The other implant will have to wait 4 months while my body makes some more bone to support the post.  I won't get the actual teeth until probably 6 months or so down the road. 

Needless to say, today's outfit was strictly comfort based.  Jeans and a shirt - no worries about stuff dripping onto my clothes.

Grimace - Not a Happy Camper

The shirt is a basic button up from Jacob, but I like it for the little flowers:

I keep thinking this shirt should have flower buttons and might just change them one day.

It's Summer!

It's finally summer and warm enough to go out without a coat.  It actually felt a little springy so I wore something green.

Everything in today's outfit was bought at Sears.  They have an outlet store where you can get stuff at clearance prices and will often have an additional 30, 40 or 50% off.

The skirt is another tube-waist skirt - one of 3 or 4.  The tube I unrolled as it was a bit thick.  The top is nice; it has ruffles and a small, all-over print.

The accessories though are a bit hard to see: green necklaces on green.

Also wore another Dollar store bracelet and my Rocío bracelet from Spain.

Rocio is one of the pilgrimages that Big J and I would like to complete one day.  The Sunshine and Siestas blog has a post for those who want to read about it.

Meanwhile in Lotusland, Big J and I walked from the train station today - about 45 mintues!

To Lop or Not?

Are there some things you would wear if not for looking horribly out-moded?  I am that way with long dresses.  Being a reader of historical and fantasy novels, I like longer hemlines, capes, lace and clothes with details.

I regularly read Refashionista and she recently had a dress that I really liked the "before" version, although the "after" is definitely more her style.  Isn't this a great dress?

source: refashionista.net

Unfortunately, I'm not self-assured enough to wear stuff like that without feeling completely unfashionable or costumey. I have a dress which I've kept for years just because it was floaty and looked like something from another time.

I lopped off the self-ties and the collar (the pic above is post-lop; I just "placed" the collar back on for the picture which is why it's crooked).

and got this:

It still looks a little peasant-goes-to-the-may-fair. I am considering shortening it, but it's difficult to make that first cut. Big J likes it like this so I might try to style it with a belt or something first.

Does it look any different or am I just kidding myself?

A Bit of Red Lace

The main focus of this outfit is a hand-me-down top which I've had for over 10 years.  It's a cotton sweater which has short sleeves, so is not overly useful in our northern climate.  But, we are now in that sort of in-between weather so it is perfect.

It has a v-patterned piece down the front, so I hauled it out for the lace which is back in vogue.  It is also an orangey-red which looks a little more current than plain red.

The scarf is one of many that I got for a $ from a vintage shop which has since relocated; unfortunately they are no longer in the downtown area, so I can't pop in at lunchtime anymore.

The bracelet is from Big J's mom and are giant pearl beads with a sparkly flat bit.

The other news is now that summer is almost upon us, Big J and I are going to walk a lot more and we are trying to go on a high fibre, low fat diet. Perhaps I can lose another 5 pounds by summer's end!

Today's post is linking to:

• Visible Monday,  
• Monday Mingle,  
• Mannequin Monday

These Boots are Made for Walking

Since it's still autumn here in Lotusland, I am still in fall colours.  Today's outfit is made for walking.  I had clients to see off-site so wanted to wear something comfy for travel.  What better than a jacket, flippy skirt and booties?

The jacket is super-old, yet I notice it has that faux fur which is still (I hope) fairly current.  I was feeling lazy, so just put on the same scarf from the other day which I've worn a lot already - whenever I'm wearing brown or similar colours.  This scarf was actually my Mom's suggestion and it has become a go-to item.

These are my favourite non-Doc boots.  They are peregrine or pilgrimage boots from Spain.  This is the traditional style which is for hot climes. (vs the rainy season boots from the Welsh Cape post.)

I've had them for years. They are hand-made and I had to eventually put topy soles on them so as not to wear out the stitching.  Having a wood heel they make that nice tok-tok sound. 

 
They are well worn and comfy. Don't they remind you of movies like The Magnificent Seven or Once Upon a Time in the West?

 
The strap criss-crosses in the front and they have the typical Spanish detailing in the back.

Brights for a Grey Day

Cold, later warm, rainy, muggy all good words for today's weather.  Today's Everybody Everywear theme is Neon and I'm kicking myself for having just donated my Mango neon green asymmetrical tee.  I'd had it for years and really only wore it maybe twice.

So instead, I went for blue and hope that it is neon-y enough to qualify:

See the bug-whacker?  I hate bugs.

I wore a sweater tank with another tank under it - don't like to look overly bare at work, and covered it with my usual blue cardigan.  The scarf is an ombré-ish one and is another find from the mercadillo in Spain.  It was only €2 which I think is quite a good buy.

 

The sweater tank has sparkly bits which was the main reason I bought it years ago from Sears.  It's a little hard to see:

I like the frilly bits on the scarf too.

My boots are getting to be a little uncomfortable.  The innards are going - so might have to make me some insoles again!

All Dotty

I'm trying out the inspiration method of dressing today and am not sure if I carried it out or not.  The inspiration outfit from two birds was Kate Bosworth in a floaty skirt, sweatshirt and runners.  Not exactly what I can wear to work.

So I wore this, substituting a biggish sweater for the sweatshirt and flats for the runners. What do you think?

The floaty skirt I found in the PJs section - it came with a matching tank, but I don't think it is nightwear.  It's that chiffony fabric that wouldn't be very comfortable to sleep in.  There are 2 sizes of dots: big yellow ones and small white ones.

I didn't have a blue tee and black seemed to clash so I decided to go overboard on the dots and wore my dotty black tee with my dotty made-it-myself scarf which has yellow and black dots.

Here's a closeup:

I liked all the dots, and it was comfy, but the whole outfit felt a bit frumpy (or perhaps the lower half) - I think because of the shoes.  Plus the skirt was a bit big so I had to wear it lower down than usual.

I'm linking to these link parties today:

• Visible Monday @ Not Dead Yet Style
  
• Mannequin Monday @ ArtsyGirl Connection
  This is only her 2nd link party, so please have a look!
  
• Mellow Yellow Monday
  
• Inspiration Monday

Faux Wrap Dress

Do you ever pick out something to wear in the evening and then the next day change your mind?  It happens to me all the time.  So it was with today's outfit.  Being Friday, my original plan was to do a dress with jeans look, and then I thought dress with footless tights.  But it just seemed a bit weird so I went back to dress with regular tights.

I wanted to wear a bright tee on the inside but the day started out drizzly and cold so I reverted back to a basic black turtleneck.  It looked a bit plain so added the obi thing which I've worn previously as both a scarf and a belt.

To match it all up I added my dollar store accessories (the necklace and bracelet), and at the last moment tossed on another scarf from the market in Spain:

I'll have to try experimenting with my look a bit more because this outfit got a lot of positive comments. 

The dress was $8 from Old Navy, but from about 5 or 6 years ago.  I find that I no longer like Old Navy; most of their clothing is poorly made and of shoddy material.  This dress seems to be an exception.  Seams are serged and it has held up well.

It's actually a faux wrap dress which is nice because you get the look without the hassle of having to worry about the dress flying open or gaping when you sit.

I only wish the cute flower print was on the outer panel instead of the inner.

Taupe, Red and a Safety Pin

The weather outside is still autumnal so another fall outfit today (in June!). This cardigan is another buy from the Spanish market.  I had been looking for a long time for something in this colour, and when I spotted it, instantly got it without thought to price.   

It's a very neutral taupe colour which goes with everything.  I am trying to introduce more contrasts into my wardrobe so wore it with my orangey-red French shirt instead of a taupey coloured top.  The scarf is also from the market and doesn't really go, but doesn't clash either:

I would've normally worn lighter-coloured tights, but the ones I had were a bit too light for the weather so I subbed in a pair that had a pattern with some lighter coloured lines.

It was the first time I wore the cardigan and when I took off the tags, noticed that the safety pin was very unusual:

Have you seen anything like it? Here it is open:

It may not be anything special, but I like uncommon things, so will probably keep it - at least for a while, pack-rat that I am.

NWT

For those who know something about Canada, NWT means the Northwest Territories, that cold polar area up north where there are few trees and fewer people.  For thrifty fashionistas on the other hand, NWT means New With Tags and that's exactly what I got for $5 the other day: a NWT blue print tank!

I decided to wear it for the Visible Monday and Monday Mingle link-up:

Here is a closeup of the print, I really like it:

Being a matchy-matchy type of person, I then wore all sorts of other blue clothing. Tights:

and a bracelet got on the same trip for $2:

The only jarringly non-matching piece is my Spain futbol bracelet which I'm wearing for soccer:

Olé!

Darks

It's still wet and soggy here in Lotusland; it just doesn't feel like summer is on its way, it doesn't even feel like spring.

A dark day called for dark clothes so I paired another mercadillo find with Costco staples.  The mercadillo is great, can't wait to go back - got so much stuff there.

This is actually a summer item, but I wore a turtle-neck under it for warmth.  It turned out to be slightly muggy, so probably could've gotten away with a tee underneath.

Since it poured with rain in the morning, I wore my Docs again.  Hope it gets sunny again soon.  The rain does keep the plants nice and green though doesn't it?

Blogger Appreciation !!!

So the fabulous Sheila of Style Agent 909 kindly awarded me the Blogger Appreciation Award!   Thank you Sheila!

I've seen this award in the blogosphere and often wonder how it started, and whether or not the first person to get it is still blogging today?

The idea is to answer four questions and then pass on the award to someone else. 

The actual rules are:

1.  Thank the person who nominated me by linking his/her blog.
2.  Answer the four questions below
3.  Award the Blogger Appreciation Award to fellow bloggers
4.  Let the Bloggers know that you have nominated them.

So here goes: 

How long have you been blogging?
I started blogging about 6 months ago. 

Why did you start blogging?
I'm not sure why => I've been a blog reader (or lurker, haha) since about 2005. Then in 2006 when Twitter came along it was called micro-blogging and I tried the mini 140 character tweets, but didn't really like it. So I decided to try "real" blogging.

I try to refashion / macgiver things and the original idea was to blog about that and to chronicle my weight loss journey.  We are all getting laid off at my place of work next year and I set the final day as the target day for a new me.  But being a full time worker who commutes 2 hours daily, there's not a lot of time for refashion projects, and there is only so much you can say about trying to lose weight.

I have for years "logged" wardrobe choices in my agenda, and have a dream of cataloguing my clothing in some sort of database, so decided to mix that in too, et voila ... Pink Calico was born.

What type of blogs do you like to follow/read?
All sorts! Sometimes just using the "next blog" button will lead to an interesting read, but my favourites are:

• fashion / what i wore / thrifting
• refashion / crafting / sewing
• living in Spain
• IT, technology blogs
• blogs of people I actually know
• and if I like a blogger's writing style, then I will quite often read the blog, no matter the subject

What is the one thing you’d like to improve on as a blogger?
There are so many things I would love to improve.  The most important right now is probably my writing; years of writing user manuals and work aids as part of work has given me a slightly more formal tone.

And now the best part:  passing on the Blogger Appreciation Award!  There's no indication as to how many people to tag, so I will pick a few. 

Karla at My Serendipitous Life has an amazing blog filled with craft projects, recipes and random posts on life. She hasn't been blogging that long, but has already developed a following.  Her projects are all very professional, and her blog looks really nice. 

Sonya at Sonya's Mixed Media is sooo creative.  Her blog is chock full of her wonderful paper creations.  If you normally only read fashion blogs, this is a good introduction to something new.  It's full of colourful pictures and Sonya's imagination.
 
Finally, for a thrifty clothing blog, Grunge Queen is a great read.  She has an  eye for thrifty buys and her style is that fabulous timeless mix of old and new that we all aspire to.  Plus, she is moving to France! so we might see some posts on finds from fabulous French flea markets.

Big Yellow Bag

This is the same Nygard top, in fact almost the exact outfit I wore in the Wordless but Colourful post, but I switched out the necktie for my red obi scarf-belt and for such a small change, I think it looks much better.

But today's post is another bag post.  It's been on again, off again sunny vs  rainy and today looked to be a cloudy day so I wanted to use this new-to-me bright yellow Aldo bag.

I've been reading about yellow and have seen it around town, but it's not a colour I wear a lot of, so this bag was perfect.  It's got both the hand-bag handles and a shoulder strap, so just the thing for lugging my stuff. 

Here's a big pic:

I also wanted to give a big thank-you and quick shout-out to Sheila of Style Agent 909 for giving me the Blogger Appreciation Award, and will dedicate tomorrow's? post to answering the questions etc.

Blue, Peach and a Tapestry Bag

Today was a jeans day again since it was council meeting day.  I am liking jeans less and less since starting blogging - what looks good in the morning just does not look good in a photo - or it might be that I just haven't found the right style for my shape. Or my shape is just not the right style for jeans!

This combination of blue and peach is not a normal one for me.  Not sure if the scarf ties it all together or not.

But, today's post is really about this nice bag that I found.  Actually Big J found it - he knew I was looking for a bag like this, and brought it to my attention.

It is a big overnighter bag in a blue tapesty print.  It was only $4 in an animal hospital store.  I assume other than overhead, all the profit goes to the animals since there were about 4 or 5 people with "volunteer" name tags.

Here is a closeup of the bag:

The other thing I'm trying out is the watermark - I am always afraid of someone using my pics as an example of what not to wear!  What d'ya think?  Overkill?  Should I transparentize it a bit more? Does it get in the way?  I thought of putting it in a corner, but thought it could be cropped.

Today, I'm linking to Visible Monday, Monday Mingle and Thrifter's Anonymous

Floaty Tunic

Today we are thinking of going down to the states to do some shopping.  Our younger son needs new shoes - his feet are bigger than mine now!  So we thought we would grab some lunch at the buffet (great for the diet) and stop at the mall.
It is a hot day, so I have on a loose sleeveless tunic top over a tank:

I'm not sure where I got it, it was $6 and about 10 years ago, and at first I was hesitant to wear it because it felt a little bit maternity-like.  But now that everyone is wearing tunics and smocks, I've hauled it out from the back of the closet.  I quite like the flowy-ness of the top - it has two layers front and back:

But again, felt a bit bare so I put a scarf over it lol-style.  The scarf is from a Danish furniture store JYSK which is similar to IKEA. They quite often get in items which I think have been liquidated from another store.

The shoes are also quite old.  I got them for 900 pesetas in the old Continente supermarket (yes supermarket) in Spain which has since been bought out by the giant French Carrefour chain.

They are super-comfy and I always regret not buying the tan colour too.

The Blogger Zeitgeist

Being a relatively new blogger - new defined as blogging under a year or having fewer than 500 followers - I often wonder about blogging etiquette.  What are the rules?  If someone follows me, must I follow them back?  I check other bloggers and find that some have more followers than they follow, and others follow more than have followers.  I usually do try to follow back others who follow me, but only if their blog is of interest.  If the blog is just a bunch of ads for clothes or hotels, then no.

What about people who say "Follow me and I'll follow you"?  I always check out their blogs too and won't hesitate to follow, but then what if they don't follow me back?  I feel cheated.  I feel let down.  I feel that someone has broken their word.  But I continue to check their posts in my reader anyway.

When surfing the blogosphere, I must admit that I am sometimes afraid to follow people whose blogs are a good read and instead just bookmark the page.  I don't want to appear too eager, and would prefer to lurk.  I do try to follow new bloggers because I know it can be intimidating and disheartening if you think no-one is listening.

Sometimes when I want to comment, I don't - again for fear of looking like I'm fishing for followers.  And what are the rules for commenting anyway?  I see a lot of blogs with comments and yet the blogger is silent.  Is this okay?  Do they see the comments?  Why don't they answer?  In the real world I would feel rude if someone spoke to me and I ignored them.  So I try to reply to all my comments.  This brings me back to the followers, what if a blogger has too many followers and too many comments?   How can you possibly keep up?

I have other questions too.  Experts say a blog should have a theme and many blogs are very very consistent, always posting on topic: outfits, crafts, recipes, photos or what-have-you; but what if your outfit was nothing special, you didn't have time for crafts, you bought take-out and your photos were blurry? What do you do then? 

Have you asked yourself these questions?  Are there any rules? What do you do?

Today's topic is linked to: alphabe-Thursday