Yellow and Green, How do I Love Thee?

Let me count the ways.  I love thee in a Vera Wang tank, a Macy's crocheted cardigan, and in Talbot's cords.

I also love thee in velveteen and ponte, and I even love thee when I'm discarding thee. Tomorrow's post will be green and gold, which is practically the(e) same.

Hang on, abrupt segue approaching. 

Over the weekend I started thinking, "You know that feeling you get when you're getting ready for a first date, and feeling a few butterflies? How it might be great, it might be dull, it might at least involve a nice dinner?" Well, I HATE that feeling. That feels like ANXIETY to me. That feels eerily similar to some of the board meetings I've been to in the last year.

Now, I get that many people like that thrill of anticipation. There are situations where I like it too - when I'm about to go on stage, for example. Whether I'm acting or talking to a crowd, that frisson is pleasant and energizing. It makes me sharper and more enthusiastic and more entertaining.  

But that is because I know what I'm doing on stage. I don't know what I'm doing in relationships; or at least, everything I've learned goes out of my head at that moment and I become a fourteen-year-old again. I want to do what I'm GOOD at. And I fear the outcome of dating. Stage = applause, in my experience, and dating = tears. Public speaking is cake, and dating is  . . . something less tasty. Or eating too much fried food. Oh sure, it's fun for a while, but you sure feel lousy later. Sorry, I may have lost the metaphor there.

I also note that I love picking out what I'm going to wear on stage. I love the "costume". On the other hand, for years I wore the same thing on first dates; dark jeans and a black silk top. It was a uniform, concealing rather than revealing.

So for now, I'm going to stick to dressing up and going to work. 

Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

Ben's senior Capstone show opened on Saturday, May 5th, 2012.  It represented months of work on his part, two separate presentations to a panel of art department faculty, and the bravery necessary to show his efforts to the entire campus (the show is in the student center). Being Ben, this wasn't presented as a big deal.

Here are three of my favorites. They are all on themes of oppression.

Ignorance

Technology

The Illusion of Self

And here is the artist himself (Thanks, Lyds!).

Many friends and family came: elder and younger, all of them admiring the work and the artist. Ben took it all in stride. His father and I kept saying to each other, "You did such a good job." I don't think I had all that much to do with it, really; Ben was his own person from birth, and that is why we all love him.

If you're wondering, I wore the Deadwood outfit.

A World of Meh

So, I wore this to the all-staff meeting on Wednesday. Talbot's cardigan and ruffled sleeveless knit tee and velvet pants.

And that is the last you'll see of these black flats, which I loved so much for so many years. *sniff* I had to retire their cream boot cousins last year. They were like a teddy bear whose fuzz has worn off and who has only one eye.

Kenneth Cole Reaction back when that name meant something.

And then I wore this on Thursday (those are Me Too walking flats). Kohl's Apt. 9 dress via eBay, pink linen J. Jill jacket.

It was finally warm enough to try out these new sandals at work (not on the pavement) to see if they would be comfy.

 

Earthies Sienna!

They were very stable, and they look so cute on! I only wore them for a few hours yesterday, so I'm going to give them a callback audition on the next warm work day. I'm a little concerned that the pale, leather-covered heel will ding up pretty quickly. I didn't pay much for them (6PM, my friends, the show that never ends.)

You can tell that nothing thrilled me this week. Monday night I left my phone at work, and Tuesday it was dead when I got home and I didn't want to wait around in work duds while it recharged, so no pics either night. I can't remember what I wore AT ALL, except that I wore the Born boots both days. Ha!

An Elegant Gentleman

No contemporary pictures for a few days, as I was scrambling to get ready for the Rotary fundraiser, and then lying on the couch recovering from it. It was loads of fun ! Here's something from my past to amuse you: The Count of Monte Cristo, circa 2003.

Red and Gray, no, Taupe, no, Gray

I don't know what color this J. Jill skirt is. I do know that it is regularly voted MVP in my closet for comfort, flattering my figure, and going with everything for nearly a decade.

The Talbot's jacket is wool and warm enough to wear on a crisp April day with only a scarf. The jacket is a little big on me and a little staid, as I mentioned yesterday. I did order the Sundance jacket after all. Sundance has ruinous shipping charges, so I really hope I like it.

I thought when I put these together that the outfit was a little more cohesive than it actually appears in the pic. It kind of looks like two halves of different ensembles. Maybe a gray tee and red boots would have been better choices? Of course that never would have happened, because I intend to wear these boots EVERY DAY. I'm also wearing a new ring - but this is the last one, I swear. It's Lia Sophia, via eBay.

This weekend I'm going to a Rotary Trivia Night, determined to win a set of Chicago Shakespeare Theater tickets in the raffle. Even if I don't win them, I'm still going to see this:

The extraordinarily elegant Ian McDarmaid

Who wouldn't want to see the Emperor Palpatine in Timon of Athens? Appearing now through June 10 at Navy Pier.

I Want To Go To There

Jon Hamm made me pee my pants on 30 Rock last night. "Banjo!" I will just be saying that randomly from now on. Also high-larious, the sixties news skit in which a "girl with a nice shape" appears to have kidnapped the male reporter. The full episode, including different east and west coast versions, is available on Hulu if you need more of that Hamm sandwich.

In other news, I want this jacket:

Sundance catalog Wellesley Ruched Blazer

And I have wanted this jacket for almost a year (that's when I ripped the page out of the catalog). I was looking wistfully at the picture last night and wondering if waiting a year was long enough to "earn" it. Good reviews on the web site, marked down to half price, I could TRY it, right? The only jacket I have remotely like this is a red tweed affair which is kind of big on me and which you will be viewing shortly. I'll keep you posted. 

Thursday's outfit was also based on a clipping from a catalog, except I reversed the colors of jacket and shirt.

The jacket is a venerable suede number that was one of my first eBay purchases. The front has a row of metal snaps that make a wonderfully satisfying sound when you rip them open. A pale pink winter-weight jacket is a rare chimera indeed. I used to have a pink wool crepe three button jacket that I wore until the lining fell apart, because I couldn't find anything to replace it. Now I'm wearing this pink suede jacket into grimy obscurity (cleaning suede is never worth the huge expense).

Underneath I have on a beautifully made Talbot's wing-collar blouse. The placket and cuffs are a fine herringbone trim and the sleeves are three quarter length. I don't wear it often, but it is just too nice a shirt to retire.

The necklace is a slice of golden agate that a friend put on a chain for me 30 years ago. I have very few sentimental possessions, and they're all in my jewelry box.
 
 
 

Purple and Leopard

This outfit is not complicated, but I really like it on. Royal purple Talbot's tee and J. Jill straightleg cords, combined with a Boden leopard (ish) velvet jacket. The jacket lining is the same royal purple. I wore it previously with a purple skirt, but am not keen on the proportions. The jacket is pretty boxy, and also a fairly stiff fabric (though luscious to the touch). it looks better with pants.

Riley is head-butting me to feed him, not loving up my jacket. The Talbot's tee has these great vertical chiffon pleats down the front, seen below with the jacket front.

Someone please explain why occasionally my pictures rotate themselves and nothing I can do will fix them. Are they turning to face Mecca?

I bought this ring with matching earrings on eBay for a few dollars. It appears to be sterling (and wood) and is fairly heavy. The earrings are identical, but are wires and too heavy for me. I'm sure that's why they were on eBay. I'm all into rings suddenly; I've bought at least half a dozen on eBay in the last two months, none of them for more than $15. Big spender!