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Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Twee To Be You and Me



 Some days, it takes all the florals you own to get out of bed. Grey, damp, cold-I won't go on describing what greeted me when I looked out the window this morning. Yesterday was so gloriously warm and sunny I was able to throw open the windows for the first time since autumn, but it seems Mother Nature has reminded herself it is still February in the American Midwest, and if I want cheerful, I'll just have to find it in my wardrobe. Yeah well, I'm up to the challenge.

But first, here are a few views of Towl park in Omaha yesterday. I'm sure most of that snow was gone by day's end.
 Hey, that tree is where I wanted to walk! What nerve. I had to walk around it, in the snow/slush. Thanks a lot, tree.
 These trees were better behaved. We stood there taking in the sound of several red bellied woodpeckers calling.

So that was yesterday's nature walk. It is about a mile if you walk the entire path around, and unless you knew the park was there, you'd drive right past it. We're so lucky in Omaha to have all the beautiful parks we do, scattered throughout the city.  There's an Earl May garden shop across the street so we stopped -in to see what seeds were arriving. I bought a packet of cumin which I plan to grow in a couple of massive containers in back of the house. I might buy another large bag bed for it-I haven't decided. I am incredibly excited at the idea of growing my own cumin seed. I also bought more viola seeds because I'll want the candied flowers next winter for cake decorating. 

Our neighbours (the bad ones) have moved-out and there's major renovations going on in their house. I have no idea who will be moving in, but I'm putting together a welcome basket with some packets of seeds, and a nice pot to grow them in. We have a lovely street of neighbours, and with the exception of the people that moved, it is very quiet here. Hopefully the new neighbours won't have the police surrounding the house and telling them to "Come out with your hands up" over a megaphone. That was a fun day. Anyway, keep your fingers crossed for us.


 Outfit Particulars:
1990's silk skirt-Hand-Me-Ups
1980's blouse-Goodwill
Cardigan-Goodwill
Satin shoes-Goodwill
1960's evening bag-Hand-Me-Ups
Bangles-all over
Rings-all over
Clip-on flowers-Tiff and Tam at Walgreen's
Tights-Leggs
Vintage clip crystal earrings-Hand-Me-Ups
Fragrance-Cabotine Rose


 Too much? Eh, whatever.


 I wouldn't try this look in summer as I might attract real bees.
Moving along (get it, a motion shot? Ain't I clever?)...


I neglected to post an outfit from Sunday that I later thought was worth noting, so briefly: 

 Hey, that's not me! That's a Merganzer.

 These were some escaped domestic geese that decided to go live at the DeSoto Wildlife refuge in Iowa. I'm sure the Canada goose is looking at them in the way people look at me in my wilder outfits. "What the hell is that?"
 Ah, there we are now. What were the odds that I'd have an ultrasuede skirt in the exact shade of teal as my new boiled wool jacket? If you're me-pretty good!

 Outfit Particulars:
Country Shop cashmere poloneck-Marshall Field's 80's
Geiger boiled wool jacket (80's, I think)-Hand-Me-Ups
1970's Ultrasuede skirt (part of a suit)-Goodwill
Tights-Walgreen's
Flower-Tiff and Tam
Handbag-Goodwill
Boots-Hand-Me-Ups
Earrings-Old, can't remember
Necklace-Mum's
Fragrance-Vintage forulation Diorissimo

Hope the week is treating you well. 










11 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness - what a treat you look in pink and green! I love everything you're wearing. You are so right about the bees; you do look like a rather glorious flower!

    Red bellied woodpeckers? They sound so exotic! That is a lovely park, aren't you lucky to be so close.

    I love the teal outfit - it's a fabulous colour - and it's the first time I've seen you in boots. Very nice you look, too. I'll keep my fingers crossed for the new neighbours....

    I have some Cabotine perfume - Gres - or is it the other way round? The bottle has a green flower type top. I bought it in a chemist in a little town a few miles away that always has reduced perfumes. I also bought some cheap Amarige there (I used to wear it back in the day) and some 'White Diamonds' which is too musky for my taste/nose. In a charity shop the other day there was a gift pack of Je Reviens with a body lotion for £5.00 - I wished I'd bought it now - oh well. Sigh. xxx

    Veronica
    vronni60s.blogspot.com

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  2. @Veronica
    The original Cabotine was something I had to learn to like as it screams, "I'm fresh" from a mile away. I do like it now and then in small doses, but the others in the Cabotine range like Pastel, Rose, and Fleur are much better in my opinion. White Diamonds is my favourite for shower gel and body lotion-I'm not mad for the perfume itself (though I do wear it)but it layers well with other perfumes.

    Be very cautious with Je Reviens because when it goes off...let's just say unless you're fond of the smell of fried organ meat...well, learn from my mistakes. It fooled me too because it smelled fine for the first few minutes before it turned into kidneys!

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  3. I am loving the very springy pink & green floral ensemble.
    And the boiled wool jacket with the embroidered phoenix is wonderful also!
    I bought some Halpinger boiled wool slippers that I've really enjoyed wearing this Winter. Geez, I feel like an old lady wearing boiled wool slippers with cat appliques on them.
    http://calmlycookingcurry.blogspot.com/2016/02/pudina-chatni-mint-chutney.html

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  4. Jessica10:22 PM

    Two Outfits! The flower outfit is just amazing and I think it was brilliant of you to go all the way! Love the teal, too, and I know that feeling of satisfaction when a newly-thrifted-something works perfectly with a long-ago-thrifted-something. The boots are fab, too.

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  5. Oooh, great teal outfit there. The floral one is definitely springy, and I love the shoes/skirt/bag combo there.

    You new neighbours can't be any worse than the old ones. It sounds like a real 'the only way is up' situation.

    It'll be interesting to see how your cumin does - I'd never thought of growing it fresh, though I do grow coriander (cilantro) every year. I tried Thai basil last year but it was a massive disappointment; either the stuff the Thai supermarket sells and the seeds in the packet are two completely different plants or Wiltshire simply has the wrong climate for getting the lovely aromatic taste into the leaves.

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  6. The teal ensemble is terrific! As beautiful a blending of blues as one could hope to see on a drake! (And those Emden geese do look ready to cope with new neighbors on the pond. Good luck to you in yours.)

    The satin shoes are enchanting with the floral theme. I love bright pinks; however, I always lose my nerve and wear black patent shoes and bag, and back when one wore hats to church, a wide brimmed black straw.

    *The comment about leftover Je Reviens smelling like organ meat is intriguing. As a woman lacking an experienced nose for fragrance, I do appreciate your imaginative vocabulary in describing scents and peoples'reactions to them. Danny's recoiling at oak moss was a hoot!

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  7. If it's worth doing then it's worth overdoing as your brilliant explosion of florals prove! Loving the teal ensemble on you, too.
    How many wardrobes do you have? I don't think I've ever seen you wear the same outfit twice.
    Great bird photos, I bet that goose thinks you're fabulous, like the rest of us do. xxx

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  8. @Bibi
    I need boiled wool slippers with cats on them! I guess we're both old ladies.

    @Jessica
    Thank you. I don't wear a lot of pink, but when I do...look out!

    @Mim
    Coriander won't grow well in my micro-climate as it bolts at the first sign of heat. We go from freezing to boiling without much to call spring between. I gave up on purple basil too-but I have a wonderful Asian supermarket five minutes from my house, so there isn't much incentive to keep trying. Italian basil grows fine though. I can't wait to see what you do with your garden.

    @Beth
    People still dress for church here-Sunday is like a fashion show in Nebraska. You'd fit right in with a hat.

    @Vix
    Thank you. You have incredible fashion sense, so if you think I'm doing something right, I'm quite flattered.

    "How many wardrobes do you have?"
    Have you ever seen an American Mobster movie where they refuse to answer questions in court by pleading the 5th (Amendment)?
    "I respectfully decline to answer that question on the grounds it may incriminate me."
    Let's just say after a dozen years on a farm where I couldn't enjoy nice clothes, I'm taking full-advantage of the spacious storage in this house ;)

    It doesn't help that vintage is dirt-cheap here. I can have ten nice dresses for the price of one fast-fashion piece of junk.

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  9. A super flowery Goodie. That's what we all need in the middle of February. When I was little we had a couple of Easter basket ducklings that grew up to be big squawking backyard ducks. When my mother, who was bit of tough nut, had enough of the noise and the duck poop and the constant chasing away of neighborhood cats, she hauled the ducks to the local park and let them off at the pond and off they went with the wild Canadian ducks. I always felt bad for them. I kind of imagined that the wild ducks made fun of them because they were white and spoiled and probably didn't know how to catch their own food.

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  10. @Connie
    Even domestic ducks are on the mean side-I'm sure they managed just fine (probably snatched the food out of the wild's geese's bills). I was once chased down the street on my bike by one (I must have got near the nest). Mean little beasts.

    Did they dye chicks different colours for Easter in Montana? That seems to have been a thing in Pennsylvania where my MIL grew up, but I never saw it in Illinois.

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  11. Nope. They didn't dye the chicks in Montana. Things up there are pretty basic and no frills. Here in California, however, people not only dye their chicks but their cats and dogs and they dress them up in little outfits and let them get mani/pedis. Eventually the whole family ends up getting cosmetic surgery, including the pets. I've drifted a looooooong way from my childhood home.

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