Spring Fashions at Belk

Michael Kors has arrived at my local Belk store! It is so new that they were still setting up the department today.

Skinny jeans are still an item for spring. I've paired these white ones with a black knit tank of my own and this fabulous buttery black jacket with ruched three-quarter sleeves. The necklace is by Erica Lyons, and my own nude heels are by BCBGeneration.

There were many crisply tailored shirts, sweaters, jackets, and the ubiquitous khaki pants in the Lauren section.

The three-quarter sleeves of this pink and white stripe shirt have no buttons, just an open cuff. Perfect for an easy casual look without having to turn them up each time they slip down. I am wearing it with khaki ankle pants and my own Kenneth Cole Reaction sandals.

Every woman in my family goes to Belk when she needs a dress. They are known as the south's dress address.

This wrap detail dress is by Ralph Lauren.

I found so many great dresses I had a difficult time narrowing them down to three!

This royal blue knit dress with three quarter length sleeves was available in several colors.

For the bride or groom's mother, there were many special occasion dresses for women of every age. This blue-gray sleeveless dress came with a matching bolero jacket.

Belk also has a large selection of beautiful clutch bags that look really smart with dresses.

It was great fun chatting with all of you who showed up for the photoshoot today. I hope you found as many great items as I did!

Friday Date Night

This is one of my favorite and most comfortable ways to dress.

This is an example of column dressing.

Wear one dark color from head to toe. Add a sweater or jacket in the correct length for your height.

Add one bold accessory and a colorful bag that does not match your shoes.

Column dressing gives you a long, lean look, and it takes the eye away from the middle.

The sweater is from Chico's last year. The V neck long sleeve tee and the clutch are from T.J.Maxx. The pants are from Ross. The shoes are from Nordstrom. All these items are old, and the colors I used are black, red, and ecru. If black is too draining of a color for you to wear near your face, any dark color will serve the purpose.

Vegetarian Valentine's Day Dinner

A home-cooked meal is our Valentine's Day tradition.

We go out to eat at least once a week all year long, so when a big holiday such as Valentine's Day comes around, I prefer to prepare a lovely meal to leisurely enjoy at home.

We dress for dinner, I set the table in the formal dining room, we light candles, and have a special wine with classical music playing in the background.

Mr. Mickey had just arrived, so he was still wearing his scarf. Doesn't he look handsome?

The dinner menu included crudites as a starter. I cut up fresh baby heirloom tomatoes and served them with olives, garlic I roasted earlier in the day, and rosemary Asiago cheese slices. Sometimes the combination of fresh, delicious items presented simply on their own is the best choice.

I also added some of the roasted garlic and unsalted butter to Rudis Seeded organic bread before lightly toasting it in the oven.

The pasta dish includes Gluten Free Brown Rice Spaghetti from Hodgson Mill. The meatless sauce is the same recipe I told you about here. The leftover sauce will be served over another piece of the yummy Rudis bread as a sloppy Joe lunch with a kale salad on the following day. This sauce could be used in any dish requiring ground beef. (Even the meat lovers who tasted this the first time I made it could not tell there was no meat in it!)

Our wine was 14 Hands 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon.

Mr. Mickey brought freshly dipped chocolate-covered strawberries for dessert, cards, and flowers. He is a Prince!

I wore a rayon three-quarter sleeve black and tan blouse from Coldwater Creek from a couple of years ago. The black Traverlers pants from Chico's are about eight years old. I paired them with my Anne Klein black high heeled shoes.

Later in the evening, as we relaxed in front of the fire, I tried out some of my new reading glasses from Readers.com. Which statement style do you like best? I liked them all! When you need glasses only for reading, it's great to have a stylish pair like these near every chair and in every handbag.

This style is called The Ivy in the brown fade.

This style is The Dolly.

The Maryann comes in several colors, and each has its own matching case.

The Opera Coat

Season tickets to the Johnson City Symphony are one of the gifts I give Mr. Mickey each Christmas.

It is a long-standing tradition for us to have an early dinner at our favorite restaurant before attending the concert. This performance featured the beautiful guest artist Chee-Yun from Seoul. Her first public performance was at age 8! On this night, she played the Stradivarius "Ex-Strauss" (Cremona, 1708).

I wore items from Chico's, including a silver cardigan and tank with a long double strand crystal and silver necklace. The skirt is a straight black knit pencil style. The Assets hose/tights are from Target. The Anne Klein shoes are at least eight years old.

I bought this velvet and faux fur trimmed Erté inspired coat from one of my sales reps in 1990 when she also represented my jewelry line. I call it my opera coat because it has a rhinestone encrusted closure, and it has a theatrical shape and texture. On the rare occasions when I wear it, I feel like I have stepped out of the Art Nouveau-inspired 1920s.

Thank you for joining me on this fun journey through midlife and beyond.

Dinner At The Club

Since our usual Friday night dinner group of friends are traveling this month, Mr. Mickey and I had a quiet dinner at the Blackthorn Club.

There is no snow, and it wasn't that cold, so I was able to wear my suede cut out booties by Louise et Cie from Nordstrom. (She is the wife of Vince Camuto, who started Nine West.)

The long thin ribbed cardigan sweater is from T.J.Maxx.

The black and white jeweled sweater is from Chico's. 

The straight leg pants are from Stein Mart.

Mr. Mickey is famous for bringing me flowers. This night's occasion was that we have been dating for seven years and eleven months. He also brought a card and candy.

My coat is from Geiger of Austria.

As always, we enjoyed our evening sitting by the fire at the club, laughing and talking until they were ready to close. 

Saturday Was A Two Outfit Day!

Some days are so full of activities I need different looks.

During the early part of this beautiful warm day, I wore this great Covered Perfectly open collar tunic to brunch with a low slung Chico's belt and old side zip pants from Talbots.

We were thrilled to have temperatures above 65 degrees today!

In the afternoon, we visited Abingdon, Virginia, to have a late lunch and do some shopping.

I have a confession to make. I may have an addiction to Michael Kors bags! I bought another one just like this in black yesterday at T.J.Maxx.

The shoes are by DVF last year from Nordstrom.

In the evening, we attended the 50th-anniversary party for exceptional friends. I knew it would be much cooler later, so I wore this wool jacket from Talbots last year with a red Chico's tank underneath. The gold cuff is also from Chico's.

It was such great fun to visit with Susan (Easterly) Coleman and Tim Coleman of Easterly-Coleman on Court in Abingdon, Virginia. They are so friendly and helpful each time we enter their store. This is one of two stores they own in the region. They are a fabulous source for unique items, furniture, and design services.

Thank you for reading my blog and for joining me on this journey through mid-life and beyond.

Friday Wine Library Club

Last evening we tasted six lovely wines from the northern regions of Spain.

We tasted one white and five reds. My favorite was the very elegant white, Bodegas Avanthia Valdeorras Godello 2011.

Larry England says, let the tasting begin!

Bodegas Avanthia Valdeorras Godello 2011

Cune Rioja Crianza Tempranillo  2009

Bodegas Muga Rioja Reserva Tempranillo 2009

Bodegas Muga Rioja 'Prado Enea' Rioja Gran Reserva Tempranillo 2005

Bodegas Tinto Pesquera Ribera del Duero Tempranillo 2009

Alavaro Palacios Priorat Grenache Blend 2011

Since Rick, our usual wine guru is in the islands for a couple of months, this discussion was led by Lee Corpening, Certified Specialist of Wine. If you would like to learn more about wine, this is an excellent web site to visit, The Educated Grape.

These events are always rather casual, so I wore gray slacks with a white long sleeve tee and a navy blazer. I folded a large square scarf into a triangle and draped it over my shoulders before putting on the blazer. The shoes with low block heels are a couple of years old, but that style will be trendy this summer. 

The huge antique gold pin is one that I created more than twenty years ago. When I wear a large statement piece such as this, I minimize any other jewelry. My inspiration for wearing the pin this way came from a Ralph Lauren blazer I saw with a large gold crest on the breast pocket.

The items I wore this evening are all several years old. That's the beauty of good quality classics. They will serve you well for many years and can be worn in many combinations.