Catching it all up....

The view of the battlefield on our walk today

Hiya Blogland!!! I'm catching up from a busy and crazy and emotional week. I'm definitely looking forward to a more peaceful future!! This week I'm stuck in classes all week on Public works. I'll have homework each nite so I may not be able to comment or visit everyone as much. I'm totally NOT looking forward to this--the pre-class stuff I had to review was deadly boring to put it mildly.

I was off for Columbus Day on Monday so Andrea and I decided to go thrift shopping. We had a load of fun--she got some FABULOUS bargains (I found a teal cardigan I'm wearing later this week). I intended to take pictures but we got so engrossed in what we were doing I totally forgot to.

Except I didn't miss photographing this lovely sweater. It's a shame it wasn't either of our size or we'd have been brawling on the floor over it.

 Bunnies, duckies, kitties, a peter pan collar.  So much fabulousness... NOT!!! Seriously--this is the ugliest sweater I have ever seen. Pure hideousness in pilled up, stretched out knit!!

We ran into this lovely lady in Ross. Her name is Tatiana and she is rocking the pirate look!!

I dressed for comfort and ease for trying on stuff. The sweater and boots are old, the pants are WhiteStag charcoal mini-wale corduroy that I got for $2 and put stirrups on. The t-shirt was $3--and is really a Cacique pajama top. I loved the black & white FABULOUS written down the front.

Tuesday I pulled out a dress to wear. This one will be returning to the Goodwill--it's too big and I can't alter it anymore.  The cardigan is thrifted. The necklace was from our rainbow gal Krista.

Wednesday I went all school-girl. Everything but the tights are thrifted. The plaid blouse is Chaps, the cardigan LandsEnd, skirt LaneBryant and the shoes are Aerosole. The total cost was only $12!!!

Thursday I dressed comfortable as I was leaving work early to travel to visit our daughter. Her foot surgery went really well!!! I stopped at a Michael's craft store on the way home to go to the bathroom and pick up some glitter. I was PICK-POCKETED and had my wallet stolen from my purse!! UGH!! Only had $4 and the credit card (which got cancelled immediately) plus driver's license. I was able to give the police a description of the person who distracted me with a bunch of questions. They are going to run the videotape this week to see if it caught her.

 My boots are old, the pants are LaneBryant/thrifted. The top is from LaneBryant and is another pajama top that I'm wearing as regular clothes.

On Friday I decorated the hall where Curtis's funeral repast would be held (I was doing hostess duties). Often, in America, people get together for a meal after a funeral. Friends and others donate pot-luck dishes for this.

Everything is thrifted but the shoes--which I got at Kmart several years ago.

Curtis's funeral was amazing. Approximately 500 people attended the service (only about 75 were at the meal) It was a true testimony to the mark he made in this world.

Another thrifted outfit. I wore black and gold in honor of Curt's favorite football team-the Steelers.  The heels came off when I was hostessing the meal. The jacket is getting it's last wear. I love it but it's too big now and I can't alter it to fit.

I decided to wear something FUN today. I pulled out my Laugh-In dress i made. Everyone always comments how much they love it. It just makes you SMILE!!

The booties beads and bangles are all thrifted.

I'm linking up with all the fabulous stylish chicks over at Visible Monday. Come by and check out the best fashion and style around!!

I'm off to try to catch up with everyone's blogs!!!

TTFN

Tamera

 

 

Some MrBill cuteness!

Love while you can....

Hello Blogland.  My heart is heavy this morning. Sweet Curtis passed from this world into eternity at 5 am this morning. I'd like to share what his dear wife Ronette said:

At 5am Curtis went on to be with The Lord! Last night I was singing to him and he opened his eyes, then shut them for the final time! He died the perfect death! He experienced your love before he passed and he celebrated the holidays with family and friends! Thank you all for making his life so full and memorable! Please do not say that he lost his battle to cancer because cancer lost its battle t...o Curtis... Cancer cannot get the credit for the miracles that took place over the last few months. Families have been restored, souls have been saved and marriages healed.... Those are results of someone who won.... I love you all! I will be off my phone for awhile and not available for visits quite yet! Information on the services will be forthcoming!

 

He left this world hearing the voice of his earthly angel Ronette and woke to hearing choirs of angels in heaven. No more pain, no more suffering.

  

He leaves a legacy of love behind him. Anyone who knew Curtis LOVED Curtis. He always had a ready smile and a word of encouragement. The world, and my life, are truly a better for him being in it. He will be missed greatly by all who knew and loved him.

I'm going to be taking a bit of a blogging break until next week. My daughter's foot surgery went well yesterday and I'll be spending some time with her this week.

Take a moment and call someone and tell them you love them... while you can.

TTFN
Tamera

 

 

Rain Rain go away!!

Hiya Blogland!! Greetings from soggy grey dreary Maryland!! WOW!! We've had 7 inches of rain since Wednesday and it's still raining!! MrBill and Gracie have been some unhappy campers!!

I wanted to share an easy DIY. I've wanted some skinny leg jeans to wear with boots. BUT...I hated the way any skinny jeans I tried on fit--and "jeggings" were a no go.  I found a pair of jeans at the Goodwill that fit well. They had flared legs but the side seams were "regular' and didn't have the top-stitching. I took the jeans legs in and hemmed them to my ankle. I then added a piece of 1 1/2" wide elastic at the bottom to make "stirrups". They worked PERFECTLY-my jeans stayed in my boots without bunching up.

 

The boots are from Kmart last year. The sweater is from Kohl's-gotten with a gift card. I've had the owl necklace and bangles for a bit. I think I may take the top in a bit--it's supposed to be loose and slouchy but this might be too loose.

Friday I pulled out some boots as I was wading through puddles all day!  The green sweater is Chico's/thrifted, the top Talbots/thrifted, the skirt is SagHarbor/thrifted. The boots are Aerosole from kohl's gotten at a 90% discount/sale.

Saturday I was running errands in the RAIN (ugh) Had to pick up my new specs! Wearing my DIY jeans, Aerosole boots, vintage purse and a thrifted sweater. My hubby thought it had tire treads on it!!!

Sunday I sported some serious pattern-matching!! I got a ton of compliments on this outfit. Everything is thrifted except the tights (Target)I'm wearing the new specs!

Here's a close-up of the prints. The skirt has a thread of teal in it.

And here's a closer look at the new specs. The are a translucent purple with black ear pieces. They are FUN and unexpected. If I gotta have them perched on my face I might as well make a statement!!

Tomorrow I'm off for Columbus Day. Andrea and I are having a Girl's Day Out. I'm taking her to Frederick (where I work) to check out the 4 Goodwill's.

Everyone have a fabulous rest of the weekend and I'll be back later this week!!

TTFN

Tamera

Neon, emerald, berry & gingham with a side of seahorse

Hiya Blogland!! Autumn has finally returned to Western Maryland. It's like 25 degrees COOLER today than it was yesterday morning!! YAY

I got recalled to work yesterday. Super. I'm not getting PAID (no budget for govt. yet) but I have to report. And basically do nothing as there is no one here on base. The DPW is considered essential to military operations now. So much for my plans to do stuff around the house!

Monday's outfit had a male co-worker say I looked like a colorful rainbow. I replied yeah--the colorful rainbow over crap island!! The outfit is thrifted except for the dollar store socks. The top is a very fine gauge knit--and was a size medium in JUNIORS--seriously--it's BIG on me-- a medium junior size gal would've been swimming in it. This is a great example of not being concerned with the size. I go thru all the racks and pick up stuff and decide if it might fit regardless of the label.  It's rather "trendy"--neon, striped and a sweatshirt type style. I just LIKED it. I'm not sure how well it worked with a pencil skirt but I know it will be cute with jeans. I stuck the socks on with the thrifted Ninewest booties as the ankles rubbed a bit. I liked the slouchy bit of color they provided. I slapped my "Keep Calm and Carry On" pendant as I went out the door as it was appropo for work!!

Tuesday's outfit was inspired by this outfit Sheila of Ephemera wore recently. I love the combo of emerald green, black and white!!

Everything is thrifted except for the boots-which I've had for years. The sweater is LaneBryant. I wear a lot of LaneBryant but their retail prices are INSANE. I recently had a gift card to burn there and had some serious sticker shock!! This sweater was probably $60 new and I paid $3. Funny story about the pants. I had bypassed them on the goodwill rack for about a month. They are a size I couldn't imagine wearing. Last week I decided why not try them on. To my astonishment they fit and fit really really well. They are a cotton/spandex denim. They had the original Sears tag on them for $26.99!!! LOLOLOL  I'm guessing by the tag (no bar code) and the tapered legs they are late 80's/early 90's vintage.  Not bad for $3!! They are right on trend with the narrow ankle pants that are popular--and great under boots!!  I decided that the perfect accessories would be my rhinestoned petrified seahorse pins and earrings.  Because everything is improved by petrified rhinestoned sea creatures!!

Wednesday's outfit is my Spygirl 52 Pick-me-up: Tone Poem inspiration. We were to mix a bright color with a darker shade of the color. I chose some bright pink tights(Merona/Target) with a thrifted darker raspberry cardigan.  I paired it with an aqua Lane Bryant tshirt and grey Avenue skirt (both thrifted).  My earrings and the ticket brooch are from sweet Desiree.

And the funny thing is this outfit was also inspired by an outfit of Sheila's:

This week is also Shoe Shine at Citizen Rosebud's.  I recently thrifted these Aerosole mary-janes for under $5!! I love the wing tip detailing and the lug-like soles. Plus they are SUPER comfy!!



We are expecting a lot of rain the next few days--which we desperately need. It's gotten rather raw and chilly (amazing considering it was 90+ on Sunday!!) so I'll need to put a sweater on Gracie. She was shivering in her dress this morning! I have tons of inside projects to do(CHRISTMAS!!) I'm hoping to get all the pictures I took of our friends fabulous home from this weekend edited and the post up on Friday.

TTFN

Tamera

Pink and Blue Violet-just because I can!

Hiya Blogland!! Has everyone had a fabulous weekend??? I will be so glad when this miserable heat leaves and it's properly Fall again!! I had to pull summer clothes out to wear the last few days!!

Yesterday we went to a picnic at a friends FABULOUS house. Their gardens have been featured in Better homes & Gardens. I'll be doing a post on it later this week! I wore my tribal maxi dress from Walmart. It's getting a bit big now!!

I hope you can see the new hair color. I added "Not so shy Violet" streaks--which came out more blue. I also added a pink streak. Next time I may mix the two for a more purple color.

Today I took Gracie to meet my mom and my sister. It was a long road-trip but she was a doll!! Everyone fell in love with her!! She sat on my mom's lap and gave her kisses.

I thrifted this skirt from Fashion Bug for $2 last week. The top is thrifted and the beads and bangles are vintage.

 

I'm linking up with Patti for Visible Monday!!  I'll be back later this week--no idea what kind of outfits as I'm furloughed right now!!

TTFN
Tamera

Heart of Glass

Hiya Blogland!!! How is everyone doing?? It's HOT & HUMID here--like mid-July instead of October-UGH!!!

This weekend is Sheila from Ephemera's birthday. She's having a 70's themed party. I decided to recreate an outfit I wore frequently in the late 70's. I had a pair of thrifted Levi button-front jeans back then I wore to DEATH!!!  This pair I've had probably 15+ years-they are getting that nice aged look.  Black wooden sole clogs and a band Tshirt  was part of my uniform. back then. I recently found a Blondie tshirt at LaneBryant that I fell in love with. I added some punky jewelry, my black Earth Spirit clogs and a pink tiara(why not wear a tiara?) and I'm ready to party!!!

 

Miss Gracie of course had to join in. She's wearing her candy corn dress--perfect for an October birthday!

 

Quick updates: Uncle Bill is home now--he is so much happier being in his own environment than in the hospital or the nursing home for the end.

My sister had her hysterectomy this week. She only had to stay overnight and is home recuperating now. She says she's a bit sore and tires easily.

Curtis is still hanging in there. He's been enjoying getting outside in the wheelchair.

I'm currently furloughed from work due to the government shutdown. I've been taking advantage of the time off to get some stuff done around the house.

I had to go into town today for an eye doctor appointment (cool new glasses next week!!) so I HAD to stop by the charity thrifts.  My total bill today came in under $20!!

I found something that was one of my Holy Grail items. I've wanted a leopard winter coat FOREVER!!  I almost peed my pants when I spied this one!! It's by WhiteStag- machine washable, has a hood, AND reverses to a black waterproof taffeta!! Everything on my wish list!! Oh--and it was $6!!!

 

 Here's the rest of the goodies I scored:

 

Lane Bryant polysilk tunic

CRDaniels leopard sweater with lurex-still had original $59 tags

 Avenue knit skirt

LandsEnd cotton cardigan

Vintage leather purse.

 





It was so hot today I had to pull a maxi and sandals out to wear.

Busy weekend ahead--plus I'll be doing my hair again--purple AND hot pink!! Everyone have a fabulous time and I'll be back on Sunday!!

TTFN
Tamera



Literary Textures

Hiya Blogland!! How is everyone this lovely Wednesday?? We are in the middle of a mini-heatwave. I'm looking forward to the cooler weather coming back.

Here in the US I'm sure y'all have heard about the government shutdown. This means I am off work indefinitely. I'm taking advantage of this time to do some stuff around the house. Yesterday I cleaned out some dead stuff from the gardens. Gracie and I have been taking advantage and going on some nice hikes.

I managed to do one outfit for two challenges I'm participating in this week.  The outfit below is a mix of textures for SpyGirl's 52 Pick-me-up:Textures. I'm wearing a crocheted top with a crinkly skirt, my multi-texture Skechers flats and a linen scarf.

Fashion for Giants:Literary Stylings has you style an outfit inspired by a book you've read the past month. My September book was "The Dressmaker of Khair Khana: Five Sisters, One Remarkable Family, and the Woman Who Risked Everything to Keep Them Safe"  I can HIGHLY recommend this book. it was fascinating, uplifting and I could hardly put it down.

The life Kamila Sidiqi had known changed overnight when the Taliban seized control of the city of Kabul. After receiving a teaching degree during the civil war—a rare achievement for any Afghan woman—Kamila was subsequently banned from school and confined to her home. When her father and brother were forced to flee the city, Kamila became the sole breadwinner for her five siblings. Armed only with grit and determination, she picked up a needle and thread and created a thriving business of her own.
The Dressmaker of Khair Khana tells the incredible true story of this unlikely entrepreneur who mobilized her community under the Taliban. Former ABC News reporter Gayle Tzemach Lemmon spent years on the ground reporting Kamila's story, and the result is an unusually intimate and unsanitized look at the daily lives of women in Afghanistan. These women are not victims; they are the glue that holds families together; they are the backbone and the heart of their nation. Afghanistan's future remains uncertain as debates over withdrawal timelines dominate the news.
The Dressmaker of Khair Khana moves beyond the headlines to transport you to an Afghanistan you have never seen before. This is a story of war, but it is also a story of sisterhood and resilience in the face of despair. Kamila Sidiqi's journey will inspire you, but it will also change the way you think about one of the most important political and humanitarian issues of our time.

The women of Afghanistan were educated and stylish before the Taliban came. They were forced into black burkha's from head to toe. I  decided to wear all black in reference to this huge change in their lives. My necklace is made from an Afghani charm.

 

I only had to go to work for four hours yesterday so I dressed casually. Everything but the shoes are thrifted. The tshirt is Liz Claiborne, the cardigan Laura Ashley, the jeans are Lee. The pendant is a gift from the groovetastic Vix.

 

 

 

Take a moment to check out how others did Textures and Literary Stylings!!

 

Have a fabulous rest of the week and I'll chat with ya'll later!!

 

TTFN

 

Tamera